Having a Blast!

09 Friday Sep 2016

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Saturday 27th August 2016 ko 18.45

South Wales Alliance – Premier Division

PONTLOTTYN AFC 1 (Rowlands 76) Alias missed penalty 76

MERTHYR SAINTS 5 (L Jones 18p Hassett 28 James 39 Gardner 70 Clears 80)

Att 246

Entry £3

Programme £1

Badge £3

If there’s one club I’d have loved to have visited during their previous incarnation it was Pontlottyn. I mean, who wouldn’t want to watch a team called Pontlottyn Blast Furnace? Sadly their stint in the Welsh League ended in 2003 when they folded citing a lack of players. A new Pontlottyn rose from the ashes of the old club, and had the excellent facilties at the Welfare Ground to use. The problem for us was devilishly simple, the floodlights no longer work…. Continue reading →

Trevithick

08 Thursday Sep 2016

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Saturday 27th August 2016 ko 16.00

South Wales Alliance Premier Division

PENYDARREN BOYS & GIRLS CLUB 3 (Asa Lloyd 4 Brogden 41p Alex Lloyd 75)

TON & GELLI BOYS CLUB 4 (Markus 60og Hodges 62 88 Evans 79)

Att 285

Entry £3

Programme £1

Badge £3

The third game of the day saw the hop head to the urban environs of Merthyr Tydfil and the town of Penydarren. The area is famous as being where in 1802 Richard Trevithick converted one of his high pressure steam engines used to power a hammer at the steel works. He placed it on wheels, and the “Pen-y-darren” became to many historians the world’s first powered locomotive. The Pen-y-darren is the football club’s badge. Continue reading →

Beauty & Tragedy

07 Wednesday Sep 2016

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Saturday 27th August 2016 ko 13.15

South Wales Alliance Division Two

ABERFAN SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC CLUB 4 (Caffell 21 62 80 Madgwick 49)

FOCHRIW 1 (Brannan 25)

Att 220 

Entry £3

Programme £1

Badge £3

If ever there was a village touched by tragedy it’s Aberfan. So ingrained in the collective consciousness is the village it’s hard to believe it’s 50 years since a spoil heap collapsed on Pantglas Junior School killing 116 children and 28 adults. The village will be forever remembered for what happened on 21st October 1966 and while the graveyard in clearly visible from Grove Field, this was a day for at least some of us to see Aberfan in terms other than the tragedy. That said, I was pleased that many managed to visit the memorial garden either before or after the match. Continue reading →

St Illtud

05 Monday Sep 2016

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Saturday 27th August 2016 ko 10.30

South Wales Alliance – Premier Division

LLANTWIT FARDRE 6 (L Jawad 7 Miller 16 48 80 Griffiths 21 K Jawad 60)

BETTWS 0 Williams sent off (dangerous play 45)

Att 190

Entry £3

Programme £1

Badge £3

I’m not sure why I still felt tired, one piece of useful information from 6 years previously I had remembered. If you’ve enjoyed yourself at the Otley Arms and there are four of you that are sufficiently lazy, it is only £1 each to take a taxi up the hill back to your digs at the university in Treforest! That and we’d changed the way we do breakfast too…. Continue reading →

Homecoming

03 Saturday Sep 2016

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Friday 26th August 2016 ko 18.30

South Wales Alliance Premier Division

SULLY SPORTS 2 (Briscombe 22 73p)

CANTON LIBERAL 4 (Kooper 10 Phillips 27 61 Quick 40)

Att 281

Entry £3

Programme £1

When the 2015 Welsh Groundhop finished its stint in the Welsh Alliance at Penmaenmawr Phoenix Chris Berezai and I had a few decisions to make. On one hand we loved the accommodation at Chester University, and had an excellent relationship with our coach company up there, but we were torn over which league or leagues to visit. Ideally we like multi-division leagues with no reserve teams as that allows for the hop to stay in a league for 3 or more years, but there was a clarion call from our past…. Continue reading →

Stay Clean

01 Thursday Sep 2016

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Tuesday 16th August 2016 ko 18.30

Spartan South Midlands League Division Two

CLEAN SLATE 0

LOUGHTON MANOR 2 (Line 41 Graham 73)

Att 39

Entry & Programme £2

The SSML’s third tier is something of any anomaly, as it only really exists to provide a Step 7 feeder to the rest of the league in Buckinghamshire, the Hertfordshire Senior County League does the job to the east. But if you think that’s intriguing the that’s nothing compared to club called Clean Slate. Continue reading →

Lux

31 Wednesday Aug 2016

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Saturday 13th August 2016 ko 17.15

South West Peninsula League Division One West

BUDE TOWN 6 (B Hopcroft 45p 48 69 Hill 55 72 Potter 67)

LISKEARD ATHLETIC 2 (Lorenz 20 Styring 31)

Bartlett sent off (Foul & Abusive Language) 48

Att c50 at Lux Park, Liskeard

Entry £4

Programme £1

In a purely groundhopping perspective the unfortunate spilling of engine oil on Bude’s pitch turned up an interesting double. It meant their tie with Liskeard was switched to Lux Park with Bude surrendering home advantage, this wasn’t a case of the away tie being brought forward. But with Liskeard’s home staging a reserve game at 3pm, the first XI game was simply played straight afterwards. Continue reading →

Blaise

24 Wednesday Aug 2016

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Saturday 13th August 2016 ko 15.00

South West Peninsula League Premier Division

ST BLAZEY 2 (Bello 56 63) Bello sent off (2nd booking) 80

FALMOUTH TOWN 3 (Wearne 20 25 33) Wearne missed penalty 70

Att c70

Entry £5

Programme £1

The convenience of collecting Robyn from Bristol then heading south-west should never be underestimated, and after all there are no lack of hotels to book either! Those in the know will tell you there’s a seemingly inexhaustible supply of quite wonderful football grounds in Cornwall. Continue reading →

Supreme Irony

21 Sunday Aug 2016

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Wednesday 9th August 2016 ko 19.45

Eastern Counties League Division One

WISBECH ST MARY 6 (Lennon 9 18 Davey 23 62 Harris 60 Woods 76)

DEREHAM TOWN RESERVES 0

Att 72

Entry £4

Programme £1

It was an evening of ironies, not least passing the likes of Thorney and Eye that the Peterborough Hop had visited less than a fortnight earlier en route to an Eastern Counties League game. Then  was the fact that a few had opted to miss two hop games to visit this ground. I know and understand the hopper that refuses to drop below Step 6, and of course there were plenty who couldn’t simply pick Beechings Close up on a midweek like this. I did ponder also the irony of the hop organiser getting 3 ticks out of Thorney, Eye, and Wisbech St Mary when plenty managed one. Each to their own of course… Continue reading →

Compromise

21 Sunday Aug 2016

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Thursday 4th August 2016 ko 19.45

UEFA Europa League 3rd Qualifying Round 2nd Leg

WEST HAM UNITED 3 (Kouyate 8 25 Feghouli 81)

NK DOMŽALE 0

West Ham won 4-2 on aggregate

Att 53,914

Entry £15

Programme £3.50

When you go to the first match at a new stadium one or two things you take for granted go out of the window. There are no end of means of getting to the Olympic Stadium in East London, West Ham’s new home, but stood at the concourse of London Marylebone station there were quite a few people in claret and blue looking slightly perplexed. It really wasn’t a case of follow the stream of colours.

Continue reading →