Tested For The Unexpected

14 Thursday May 2015

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Tuesday 12th May 2015 ko 18.30

Coventry Alliance Premier Division

DUNLOP 0

A.E.I. RUGBY 2 (Linton 13 Newman 48)

Att 32

Entry FREE

No Programme

A tip for those visiting Coventry, always allow plenty of time to negotiate the suburbs, it took me 30 minutes to negotiate the final mile to the Dunlop Sports and Social Club, in Burnaby Road! As the joke goes, the Luftwaffe did horrible things to Coventry during the Second World War but the town planners did worse afterwards! Continue reading →

Rounding It All Off

11 Monday May 2015

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Saturday 9th May 2015 ko 19.00

North Berkshire Cup Final

BERINSFIELD 5 (Saunders 21 D Murphy 26 37 90 Holdsworth 60)

SAXTON ROVERS 0

Att c450 at Northcourt Road, Abingdon (Abingdon United FC)

Entry & Programme £3

If there’s one game at the end of each season I hate to miss its this one, and please don’t confuse it with the North Berkshire League Cup Final, this one is open to all first XI’s in the league, and you get a far better class of guest of honour, the trophy was presented by Angela Lawrence, Mayor of Abingdon. She was rewarded for her efforts with a champagne soaking! It’s the traditional closing of the NBFL season, a celebration, but this year there was more than usual to consider.

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But It Was Gone

10 Sunday May 2015

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Saturday 9th May 2015 ko 15.00

FA Vase Final

GLOSSOP NORTH END 1 (Bailey 55)

NORTH SHIELDS 2 (Bainbridge 80 Forster 96)

After Extra Time

Att 9,674 at Wembley Stadium

Entry- Complimentary (Many thanks to the Wessex League)

Programme £4

I do enjoy my annual trip to the Vase final, even though on this occasion I found myself photographing the same people I did a few years ago! There’s something touching about the trip to the hospitality seats and seeing all those officials from Step 5 leagues. These people aren’t the career administrators from the higher echelons, these are the people who do it for the love of it, and I do wonder whether when the event will switch to a joint Trophy and Vase day that flavour will be lost in a sea of professionalism? Continue reading →

The Timeless Truth

10 Sunday May 2015

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Thursday 7th May 201k 18.45

Kent County League-Premier Division

GURU NANAK 0

STANSFELD (OXFORD & BERMONDSEY) 2 (Jolley 24 33)

Att 83

Entry FREE

No Programme

Very much with my GroundhopUK hat on I’d love to see a hop game at an ethnic club like Gravesend’s Guru Nanak. For me the clubs I like to see on these events tend to be those who give a little local flavour to their visitors, and a Sikh club with their cuisine and culture would be as much an education as it would be a football match. Continue reading →

Eastern Promise

10 Sunday May 2015

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Tuesday 5th May 2015 ko 18.30

Somerset County League- Premier Davison

FRY CLUB 1 (Gregory 78)

NAILSEA UNITED 1 (Fisher 25)

Entry & Programme £2

I’m not sure how often a multi-national company’s takeover of another sends groundhoppers scurrying to the works ground, but this one was definitely an example! When Kraft took over Cadbury in 2010, it was on the understanding that the Cadbury factory (and its sportsground) would be kept open, so when a year later the plant shut down a House of Commons investigation resulted. Continue reading →

The Blue Aeroplanes

06 Wednesday May 2015

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Saturday 2nd May 2015 ko 15.00

Cheltenham League First Division

FC LAKESIDE 3 (Bowers 55 Griffiths 22 Griffiths 90p)

WHADDON UNITED 3 (Peters 45 Watkins 62 80)

Att 116

At Pitch 4, Dowty Rotal Sports Ground, Down Hatherley Lane, Staverton

Entry FREE

No Programme

A few weeks ago I watched Whaddon United, enjoyed the experience, and paid little or no attention afterwards. I thought their win against Kings AFC would see them lift the Cheltenham League title with ease. So you can imagine my surprise when I saw the league table with them only one point clear with one game left, and my plans for Saturday were immediately changed when I saw that game was away against Lakeside, the second placed club! A shoot-out for the championship shouldn’t be missed.

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Bias

04 Monday May 2015

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Thursday 30th April 2015 ko 18.30

Spartan South Midlands League4 Division Two

WILLEN 0

TRING CORINTHIANS 3 (Brumwell 5 87 Wheeler-King 29)

Att 16

Entry FREE

No programme

I admit it, I’m biased against Milton Keynes. That may or may not have a lot to do with an unhappy 2-year stint working at a major bank there in the midst of the banking crisis. I hated driving there in the morning, and heading back home each evening (via a football ground of course) was a blessed release. Continue reading →

The Men From The Pru

03 Sunday May 2015

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Wednesday 29th April 2015 ko 18.00

Thames Valley Premier League- Premier Division

HIGHMOOR IBIS RESERVES 3 (Chowdhary 45 86 Reid 60)

MARLOW UNITED 5 (Mason 10 Nichol 14 Flint 56 Thomas 68 71)

Att 19

Entry FREE

No Programme

Many moons ago I paid a visit to Reading Town’s home in Scours Lane in Tilehurst. I endured a dreadful 0-0 draw vs Hartley Wintney and so bad was the game that I became very aware that there was another game going on next door at the Sports Club. I didn’t switch allegiances, even though the cheers indicated that a goal or two was scored, but when I returned to my flat in Henley-on-Thames, I asked my father-in-law who played there. Continue reading →

Heaven & Hell

01 Friday May 2015

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Tuesday 28th April 2015 ko 18.45

North Berkshire League Division One

CROWMARSH GIFFORD 3 (Woods 10 Sandiford 27 Joe Nathanielz 73)

BERINSFIELD 4 (Ingram 41 Osbourne 53 D Murphy 57 62)

Att 76

Entry FREE

Nothing for sale

I’m sure some of you wonder how I pick my fixtures, well this one did rather leap out of the page. Firstly I hadn’t been back to Crowmarsh since they staged their hop game in August. They’d got the biggest attendance of any hop game that weekend, and staged the game quite beautifully, including producing a programme that would put professional clubs’ issues to shame. Sadly their success on that day hasn’t been replicated on the pitch and sadly they’d been relegated the previous Saturday. So I did want to catch up with the Nathanielz family and both thank them and commiserate in equal measure. Continue reading →

Nursery

01 Friday May 2015

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Saturday 25th April 2015 ko 18.15

Notts Senior League- Senior Division

SANDHURST 4 (Shaw 30 Pearson 32 Clarkson 54p Chapman 55)

KIRTON BRICKWORKS 2 (Ricketts 6 Cooper 82)

Att 346

Entry £3

Programme £1

You could sense the worry as the stream of traffic left Burton Joyce. With hop organiser Rob Hornby scheduling four games in a day without floodlights the game that would be tightest for time would be this one, pulled forward to preserve the light. We put the postcode into the satnav, and winced as the ETA showed just 15 minutes before kick-off. With no delays, that would be fine, but the queue to the junction was being exacerbated by the regular trains using the level crossing. Continue reading →