Heritage

12 Friday Aug 2016

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Saturday 30th July 2016 ko 19.45

United Counties League- Division One

RUSHDEN & HIGHAM UNITED 2 (A Cormack 20 Ainge 23)

OAKHAM UNITED 7 (M Nelson 6 61 90 Brown 14og Brockbank 22 43 Lord 53og)

Att 214

Entry £6

Programme £1

It was interesting to see the demographic of the hoppers at the fourth game of the day. On one hand we’d lost a few “Big numbers” boys who like me, had ticked of Hayden Road years before, but we gained back the hoppers who’d opted to miss the games at Eye and Thorney in favour of Wisbech St Mary. But no matter who you are Hayden Road, is a ground that’s always worth a visit.

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Motivation

08 Monday Aug 2016

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Saturday 30th July 2016 ko 16.30

Peterborough & District League Premier Division

THORNEY 3 (Gallacher 71 Lodzian 80 Rayner 87)

LEVERINGTON SPORTS 4 (Reed 19 Kudaba 54 64 90)

Att 203

Entry £4

Programme £1

There are many reasons why a club would want to host a hop game. For some it’s purely a fundraiser, for others it’s the chance to bring the community together. I remember for Berinsfield it was a charm offensive, and for the likes of Films SK in Sweden it was to show off their beautiful country. For Thorney though, the motivation was a first, and completely different. Continue reading →

Run For Home

07 Sunday Aug 2016

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Saturday 31st July 2016 ko 13.30

Peterborough & District League- Division 3

EYE UNITED 3 (Law 31 Joyce 81 90)

FC PETERBOROUGH 0

Att 196

Entry £4

Programme £1

Chicken/ Veggie curry £3

We knew we’d lose a few hoppers after the Crowland game, Wisbech St Mary’s first ever game in the Eastern Counties League was always going to be an attraction. In fact I was slightly relieved when I spotted that the opposition there was to be AFC Sudbury’s reserves. Many hoppers won’t watch a game involving a reserve side, so that league’s decision to schedule the match that way was, I’m sure unwittingly, doing us a favour! But whatever the whys and wherefores due east, I felt we had a good pair of games to offer, and Eye was intriguing. Continue reading →

Incroyable

03 Wednesday Aug 2016

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Saturday 30th July 2016 ko 10.30

Peterborough & District League Premier Division

CROWLAND TOWN 2 (Hunt 2 Ellis 29)

AFC STANGROUND 7 (West 51 62 Mahoney 60 J Staggs 83 87 Rankin 85 Brown 89)

Att 240

Entry £4

Programme £1

Badge £3

One of the things I love about this hop is the variety of grounds we get to visit, as as organiser the challenge is understanding those clubs’ highly varied needs. You saw it in a nutshell between our first game at Long Buckby and at Snowdon Fields in Crowland. In terms of facilities they are chalk and cheese. Continue reading →

The Gap

02 Tuesday Aug 2016

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Friday 29th July 2016 ko 19.45

United Counties League Division One

LONG BUCKBY 4 (Salumu 40 Kostiuk 53 67 Hinton 72)

WHITTLESEY ATHLETIC 1 (Butterworth 78)

Att 201

Entry £6

Programme £1

The third United Counties/ Peterborough & District Leagues hop felt different from its predecessors. The first was very much a trial run, the second based on a theme, the county of Rutland, but this felt like the continuation of a well-established event. That said, the issues running a dual league hop at the start of the season produces issues, and those issues haven’t changed. Continue reading →

Mundford & Sons

01 Monday Aug 2016

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Wednesday 27th July 2016 ko 19.30

Pre-season Friendly

MUNDFORD 0

DEREHAM TOWN 6 (Tuttle 23 Cook 45 Logan 65 Frary 60 73 Bussens 87)

Att 121 

Entry- by donation

No Programme

It’s still the biggest regret of my groundhop organising career that we failed to get an Anglian Combination hop up and running. But whilst I’ll never say never to it happening at the moment the idea looks dead in the water. So until the groundhopping tides change I’ll carry on picking off the league’s little gems as I am able. Continue reading →

Templar

28 Thursday Jul 2016

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Saturday 23rd July 2016 ko 15.30

Pre-season Friendly

MARLOW FC 0

ASCOT UNITED 0

Att 23 at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre

Entry FREE

No Programme

When you look at it Bisham Abbey isn’t an obvious place to stage football. It was built in 1260 for two Knights Templar, before becoming a priory. It was used to imprison Robert the Bruce’s wife Queen Elizabeth of the Scots before being given to Anne of Cleves by Henry VIII as part of his divorce settlement in 1540. Continue reading →

The Facts Of Life

25 Monday Jul 2016

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Saturday 23rd July 2016 ko 11.00

Pre-season Friendly

ANDOVER TOWN 1 (Robertson 84)

WARMINSTER TOWN 1 (Shinn 28)

Att 32 at Sparsholt College, near Winchester

It’s a fact of footballing life that by and large groundhoppers and pre-season friendlies don’t mix, and its a view I have a lot of sympathy with. Games played at half pace with no cards and roll-on/off substitutes aren’t many people’s idea of what football is about, so in the summer months you have to be creative! And this game had plenty to enthuse.

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The Pub Team That Isn’t

20 Wednesday Jul 2016

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Saturday 16th July 2016 ko 13.00

Pre-season friendly

NEW INN AFC 7 (13 17 32 41p 47 48 77)

SEVERN TUNNEL NPC 3 (65 75 90)

Att 35

Entry FREE

No Programme

The feeder leagues to the Welsh League are manna from heaven for the groundhopper. There’s a multiplicity of villages steeped in history (mainly in coal mining and steel production) and in the case of the league these two clubs play in, the Gwent County League, programme production is mandatory.

Mind you if the printed word is a deal-breaker for you I’d phone ahead before travelling, print runs do tend to be low, often in single figures. It’s seen as a chore by the majority of the clubs, little more than a means of avoiding a fine from the league! Continue reading →

The Balancing Act

15 Friday Jul 2016

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15th July 2016

United Counties/ Peterborough & District League Hop 29th-31st July

It’s just about to get busy…. as one half of GroundhopUK-  the organisers of this year’s event I don’t think there’s ever been an organised groundhop this early, not that that’s a bad thing, long days, and hopefully warm weather are things to be enjoyed and taken advantage of. This will be the third event the two leagues have done, so now is good time to step back for a minute and look at how it all works. Continue reading →