Decisions On The Hoof

15 Tuesday Mar 2016

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Saturday 12th March 2016 ko 14.00

Lowland League

PRESTON ATHLETIC P

THREAVE ROVERS P

Match postponed- waterlogged pitch

Saturday 12th March 2016 ko 14.30

East of Scotland League

CIVIL SERVICE STROLLERS 2 (Bogey 31 65) Neils sent off 65 (DOGSO)

LEITH ATHLETIC 3 (Glynn 2 Lowson 15 Masson 45p)

Att 165

Entry £5

Programme To be posted

The first inkling I had that something was wrong was the stream of people glumly leaving Pennypit Park, as our two coaches pulled into the ground in Prestonpans. The reason became clear as I dashed over to the club’s offices, the departing Threave team let me know that one small patch of pitch was deemed too soft by the referee as the teams had warmed up. I normally see the word “No” as an invitation to negotiate, but I was soon to discover that was impossible. Continue reading →

Reading Matters

14 Monday Mar 2016

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Saturday 12th March 2016 ko 11.00

Lowland League

WHITEHILL WELFARE 3 (Muir 17 Connolly 28 Devlin 76) Williams missed penalty 81

GALA FAIRYDEAN ROVERS 0 Gibson sent off 47 (violent conduct)

Att 324

Entry £5

Programme £2

If there was one club I’d wanted to visit on the Lowland Hop’s run it was Rosewell’s Whitehill Welfare. The roots of this hop, and the organised hop in Scotland lie with a tip I’d had at a Camelon Juniors game, and a subsequent phone call with Welfare’s Jamie McQueen. He put the idea to his committee who then got the league committee involved, and the rest is history! So if there was one club I really didn’t want to have a problem it was Whitehill…… Continue reading →

Daedalus

14 Monday Mar 2016

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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.

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Bris’

10 Thursday Mar 2016

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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 →

The Age Of The Exile

07 Monday Mar 2016

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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 →

Clincart Farm

03 Thursday Mar 2016

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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 →

Horizons

29 Monday Feb 2016

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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 →

Snowdrops

26 Friday Feb 2016

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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 →

Steelmen

25 Thursday Feb 2016

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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 →

Privilege

25 Thursday Feb 2016

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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 →