14 Monday Mar 2016
Friday 11th March 2016 ko 19.00
Lowland League
GRETNA FC 2008 0 Rea sent off 89 (2nd Booking)
DALBEATTIE STAR 0
Att 366
Entry £5
Programme £1
If last year’s Lowland League hop broke new ground in that it was the first hop organised north of the border, it did create one issue for us at GroundhopUK and that was the format. Last year we went for 1 game on the Friday, 3 on the Saturday and 2 on the Sunday, but for a few reasons that couldn’t happen this time round.
10 Thursday Mar 2016
Posted in B
Tuesday 8th March 2016 ko 19.45
Western League Premier Division
BRISLINGTON 0
MELKSHAM TOWN 3 (Hughes 3og Higdon 45 Stradling 71)
Att 42
Entry £5
Programme £1
Even this far in to my groundhopping odyssey there are still grounds that leap out from my “Football Traveller” directories. It’s almost as if Ironmould Lane, was shouting out, “Why on earth haven’t you visited yet?” Continue reading
07 Monday Mar 2016
Posted in A
Tags
Arnold Town, Eagle Valley, East Midlands Counties, Gedling Road, groundhopping, Holwell Sports, Julian Joachim, Non League, Notts
Wednesday 2nd March 2016 ko 19.45
East Midlands Counties League
ARNOLD TOWN 4 (Slawson 7 Payne 73 Wood 87 Branston 90)
HOLWELL SPORTS 5 (Joachim 12 58 Stevenson 38p Wells 65 77)
Att 24
Entry £5
Programme £1 (double issue with the previous Saturday’s game)
Teamsheet FREE
Back in 2005 I paid a visit to Arnold Town for a Northern Counties East game at their former home, Gedling Road. I found a vibrant club, right in the centre of their community and seemed to be thriving despite some fairly obvious ground constraints. The club moved to a new ground, Eagle Valley in 2009, after a season in exile but its location was, and to some extent still is the surprising factor in the club’s recent history. Continue reading
03 Thursday Mar 2016
Posted in H
Tags
Aberdeenshire, Amateur, Amateurs, Ayrshire, final, Glasgow, Hampden, Hampden Park, Inter, League, Lesser Hampden, Scottish
Sunday 28th February 2016 ko 14.00
Scottish Amateur FA Inter League Trophy Final
ABERDEENSHIRE 2 (McDougal 56 Franchi 82)
AYRSHIRE 3 (Connell 62p 64p O’Conner 79)
Att 126 at Lesser Hampden, Glasgow
Entry FREE
Programme FREE
When you look at it, Lesser Hampden is a real oddity. It’s situated at one end of Scotland’s National Stadium, Hampden Park, and as such is seen by many but visited by very few. But to understand it you need to know who owns Hampden and why.
Continue reading
29 Monday Feb 2016
Posted in A
Tags
Auchinleck Talbot, Beachwood Park, Juniors, Kirkintilloch, Rob Roy, Scotland, Scottish Juniors, West Region
Saturday 27th February 2016 ko 13.00
Scottish Junior FA, West Region Superleague Premier Division
AUCHINLECK TALBOT 2 (Hyslop 17 53)
KIRKINTILLOCH ROB ROY 0
Att c350
Entry £6
Programme £1.50
The day after this I paid a visit to the Scottish Football Museum, in the Main Stand at Hampden Park. It’s a fascinating place, well worth the £8 entry, but its coverage of the Juniors is disappointing. All there is a corner with a video on loop and the display explains the SJFA as being “Junior” in standard to the “Seniors” rather than in terms of age. I wondered if whoever put that display together had ever seen the likes of Auchinleck, or Kirkintilloch play? Continue reading
26 Friday Feb 2016
Posted in S
Wednesday 24th February 2016 ko 19.45
Dorset Premier League
SHAFTESBURY TOWN 3 (Matheszki 6 17 Bevis 25)
MERLEY COBHAM SPORTS 0
Att 95
Entry £3
Shaftesbury is one of those towns that surprises you. You are so clearly in Wessex Country, the place has the all the feel of a Hardy agricultural town, and you are only just over the border from Wiltshire! In fact so agricultural is the feel, that the famous Hovis advert with the boy pushing his baker’s bike up the hill was filmed here, by Ridley Scott, on Gold Hill. The town’s Millenium project involved the planting of 60,000 snowdrop bulbs to provide a spectacular Snowdrop walk each year! Continue reading
25 Thursday Feb 2016
Posted in E
Tuesday 23rd February 2016 ko 19.30
Gwent County League Division 2
FC TREDEGAR 1 (Monk 35)
CLYDACH WASPS 1 (Williams 45)
Att 35 at Eugene Cross Park, Ebbw Vale
Entry FREE
No Programme
In Ebbw Vale there are 2 kings, one is steel, fired by the South Wales coal industry, and the other is Rugby Union. Oddly, both are represented in the town’s stadium, Eugene Cross Park, but this ground’s connection with Association Rules is a little more tenuous. Continue reading
25 Thursday Feb 2016
Posted in C
Friday 19th February 2016 ko 19.45
Combined Counties League Division One
COBHAM 3 (Webster 15 France 25 West 68)
SOUTH PARK RESERVES 2 (Burgess 9 Campbell 54) Campbell sent off 85 (2nd booking)
Att c30
Entry & Programme £5
What is it about privileged areas and non-league football grounds? Just about every time you visit millionaires’ row almost invariably the local football team struggles for both money and support. You’re only about half a mile from Chelsea’s training ground here, and I did forget to check for stray air gun pellets… Continue reading
21 Sunday Feb 2016
Posted in B
Tags
3G, Bridgwater, Charity, College, Cup, Morganians, Rowbarton, Saturday, Taunton League, Westonzoyland
Wednesday February 2016 ko 20.00
Taunton & District Saturday League, Rowbarton Charity Knock Out Cup Quarter Final
WESTONZOYLAND 1 (J Millard 42p)
MORGANIANS 2 (White 35 Barnard 54)
Att 36 at Bridgewater Academy 3G
Entry FREE
No Programme
There are plenty of groundhoppers out there who wouldn’t be interested in a game like this. Some would say the level is too low, the Taunton League feeds the Somerset League which in turn feeds the Western League at Step 6. Others would hate the idea of a plastic pitch in a cage in a school’s grounds, but needless to say I take a slightly contrary view. Continue reading
21 Sunday Feb 2016
Posted in C
Tags
Colne, Dynamoes, GroundhopUK, Holt House, North West Counties League, NWCFL, RBL, Royal British Legion, Squires Gate
Saturday 13th February 2016 ko 15.00
North West Counties League Premier Division
COLNE 0
SQUIRES GATE 0
Att 150
Entry £6
Programme £1
You climb to get to Colne, right out of Mancunian suburbs into the mill towns of Lancashire, many still sporting the factory chimneys immortalised by Milton. You’re in the cradle of the game here too, passing the likes of Blackburn, Bolton, and Accrington on the way. As a southerner even after visiting all of those grounds, the names still resonate.
Football: Wherever it may be 