The Dome

21 Sunday Jul 2024

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Friday 14th June 2024 ko 20:00

Division 4 Stockholm Mellersta

SICKLA IF 2 (Rosell 40 Marsden 80)

RINKEBY UNITED 2 (Rawufa 57 Jobe 88)

Att 88 at Nacka IP2

Free Entry

The Swedish Hop’s cost of £320 included bed and breakfast for two nights, all transport in Sweden, together with entry fees for all games, and a goodie bag!

The tram from Sickla Kaj wended its way to Solna, and I used the time to reflect on how the Swedish Hop has changed everything for me since that day in 2007 when the plane landed at Skavsta and the very first Swedish Hop watched Nyköping BIS that evening. That was my first ever game abroad, and it was organiser Kim Hedwall that got me there. Since then, I’ve watched football in 28 countries, so I’ve got a lot to thank him for. He started me off, and without that start so much that’s wonderful would never have happened. It is possible that I’d never have met Robyn. Infamously we met on Twitter and what attracted me to her was my tales of footballing travel. As I said, I owe Kim and Sweden a lot.

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The Railway, finally

16 Tuesday Jul 2024

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Thursday 13th June 2024 ko 19:30

Division 5 Uppland Östra

BROTTBY SK (Rönn 34 77 Berger 38 Smårs 90+1)

RÖ IK 1 (Markström 9p)

Att 82 at Össeby IP

Free Entry

Robyn, Adrian and I were at passport control at Arlanda Airport, noticably more complicated since Brexit. Swedish border guards are unfailingly polite, but their questions are always searching, with the inevitable purpose of our stay invariably the first. Adrian handed the guard a list of the games we’d lined up. I knew the schedule had changed, but guessed the guard wouldn’t check, and he passed after she checked he wasn’t actually a fan of any of the clubs involved! As for Robyn and I we gave our reason to be there, as seeing friends and tourism. When I admitted this was my 18th visit, she half asked, half-laughed, “Have you anything left to visit??” A fair point, but the answer was yes, as dear reader you will soon see!

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Castle

11 Thursday Jul 2024

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Saturday 25th May 2024 ko 14:30

Doncaster Saturday League Knock-Out Cup Final

SJR WORKSOP DEVELOPMENT 1 (Morris 15)

BENTLEY VILLAGE 2 (Walker 61p Cairns 67)

Att 201 Castle Park at (Doncaster Knights RUFC)

Entry £5 (for all three games that day)

Programme £2 (for all 5 games over the weekend)

As a groundhopper you occasionally get an opportunity so good, you know that chances are anyone like you is going to make a beeline for the ground too. Often the opportunity involves a borrowed rugby ground, which this one was, albeit with a massive caveat!

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Freeze Frame

07 Sunday Jul 2024

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Tuesday 21st May 2024 ko 19:00

Middlesex County League Premier Division

HAYES & HILLINGDON 2 (McDonnell 4 21)

KODAK (HARROW) 1 (Goddard 8)

Att 35 at Richings Park Sports Club, Apsley Walk, Iver

Free Entry

It was an odd experience driving here. Existing the M40 at Junction 1 then picking through the edges of suburban London, where the capital collides with the Slough area. So much so I was glad my new car is ULEZ compliant, even now I’m not completely sure whether I tripped one of TfL’s cameras! If I’d have been driving my old car, I’d have had to pay, just to avoid the risk of an unwitting fine!

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One Of Ours

03 Wednesday Jul 2024

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Saturday 18th May 2024 ko 16:15

EFL League 1 play-off final

BOLTON WANDERERS 0

OXFORD UNITED 2 (Murphy 31 42)

Att 70,472 at Wembley Stadium

Entry (Club Wembley level) £59

Programme £10

It may surprise you dear reader, but Oxford’s appearance at Wembley completely took me by surprise. Just before Easter I’d been on a stadium tour at Exeter City and Martin the tour guide mentioned that our two clubs would play each other there in the final game of the league season. At that point I couldn’t see that anything would be riding on it.

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Coda

30 Sunday Jun 2024

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Saturday 11th May 2024 ko 18:30

North Berkshire Cup Final

WOODCOTE 2 (Scoffham 59 Wallace 83)

Gray sent off 120 (dangerous play)

BERINSFIELD 2 (Palmer 2 Holdsworth 21)

Chainey sent off 102 (violent conduct) 102

A.E.T. Berinsfield won 4-2 on penalties

Att 284 at Northcourt Road, Abingdon (Abingdon United FC)

Entry & Programme £5

Well, it had to end at some point. The previous week I’d announced my intention to stand down from the North Berkshire League’s committee after the North Berks Cup Final, the league’s finale for the season. There were many reasons, mainly me not having the time to devote to doing the job as I would like, and I feel the league needs. There was a straw that broke the camel’s back but that isn’t for here.

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The Cauldron

27 Thursday Jun 2024

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Saturday 11th May 2024 ko 13:00

Thames Valley Premier League – Premier Division

READING YMCA 2 (Reynolds 38 Ibbotson 50)

Burton sent off 88 (2nd booking)

AFC WINKFIELD 2 (Long 19 Forder 88)

Att c30 at The Cauldron, Padworth

Free Entry

The club do sporadically issue programmes.

Once again it was a question of finding something to pair up with a North Berkshire cup final, and once again the Thames Valley Premier supplied the goods- this was the first part of a double-header with YMCA’s reserves to follow. There was only one small catch though.

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A Blast From The Past

22 Saturday Jun 2024

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Monday 6th May 2024 ko 19:00

Premier League 2 Play-offs Round of 16

FULHAM U21 0

NOTTINGHAM FOREST U21 2 (Osong 16 Konate 90+4)

Att 116 at Motspur Park

Entry & Team Sheet £3

After the soaking at Cuckfield we were in something of a quandary. We’d watched our choice of second game at Peckham Town quickly fall to the weather and ended up at a hideously overpriced Starbucks on the South Circular pondering our plans. It proved to be an easy choice, I may have done Motspur Park before but neither Chris Garner nor Robyn had, and Chris is a Fulham fan too! In fact there was only one small issue.

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All Weather

19 Wednesday Jun 2024

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Monday 6th May 2024 ko 11:00

Mid-Sussex League-Premier Division

CRAWLEY DEVILS 2 (Cullen 31 Groves 90)

Lyden sent off 81 (2nd booking)

OXTED & DISTRICT 2 (McLean 49 Clements 83)

Att c25 at Warden Park Academy 3G, Cuckfield

Free Entry

Sometimes you need a Plan B. Sometimes you need a Plan C, but on this occasion we need not so much a Plan, more a Sou’wester and a game, any game! I’d even lost track of what I was meant to be watching in the first place!

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No, not me

11 Tuesday Jun 2024

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Saturday 4th May 2024 ko 14:00

Thames Valley Premier League, Premier Division

SLOUGH HEATING LAURENTIANS 2 (Aragrez 55 Lovering 77p)

HOLYPORT RESERVES 1 (Brinsden 8)

Att c30 at Polish Club, Stoke Poges

The weather was warm and sunny, and I had a lovely double lined up. Yet for all of that I felt conflicted, I’d made a fairly major decision in my footballing life, and that evening was when I was going to have to make that choice public and deal with the consequences. I wanted something beforehand that was low-key and relaxing.

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