Lords & Ladies

25 Wednesday Oct 2023

Posted by in L

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

Friday 6th October 2023 ko 19:45

Southern Counties East League- Premier Division

LORDSWOOD 1 (Jeffrey 81p)

CORINTHIAN 1 (Billings 22)

Att 324

Entry £8

Programme £2

After the feeling of stepping out of our comfort zones in the West Wales Premier League, GroundhopUK’s return to the Southern Counties East felt like a return to an old friend even if there had been one or two potential gremlins. The first was the ill health of one member of the SCEFL committee, all the best to them for a speedy recovery and it was good how the rest of the team at the league managed to cover their absence.

Continue reading →

The Gatekeeper

19 Thursday Oct 2023

Posted by in Y

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Tuesday 26th September 2023 ko 19:45

Combined Counties League Premier Challenge 1st Round

YATELEY UNITED 2 (Rudall 75 Scott 90+8)

CAMBERLEY TOWN 4 (Taylor 37 45 47p Jones 68)

Att 427 (Ground Record)

Entry £5

Programme £2

With no disrespect to the folks at the Thames Valley Premier League I don’t expect to see them supply too many clubs to either of the Step 6 Leagues in their area, the Hellenic or the Combined Counties. That’s got nothing to do with anything to do with the league, more its geography. This is well and truly in the M4 corridor territory with sky-high land and property prices, so for Yateley to both grow their club and develop their ground here is a stunning achievement.

Continue reading →

Hospitality

16 Monday Oct 2023

Posted by in C

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Sunday 24th September 2023 ko 14:30

West Wales Premier League

CWM WANDERERS 1 (Bradford 69)

CLYDACH FC 4 (Thomas 28 73 C Jones 64 Islam 90)

Att 280

Entry £3

Programme £2

After the collective soaking we’d taken at Bryn Rovers we needed a little TLC. It wasn’t far to Cwm-twrch Isaf, around 5 miles, but I was happy to see a club official pointing out where to park the coach, and he took one look at me as a squelched towards the clubhouse and commiserated. The thought was appreciated, as I made for the final game of the hop.

Continue reading →

Criced Weather

12 Thursday Oct 2023

Posted by in B

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sunday 24th September 2023 ko 11:00

West Wales Premier League

BRYN ROVERS 3 (Campbell 45 53 61)

Campbell missed penalty 69

WEST END 1 (D Griffiths 29)

Att 153

Entry £3

Programme £2

It wasn’t that the rain on the Sunday was unexpected, I’d packed by wet weather gear in readiness, it was that it seemed out-of-step that can happened the day before. I know I’ve said it before, but the whole timbre of a hop changes when it rains. We heard that the game was in doubt then the club needed a delay to work on the pitch. Thankfully we had a brief respite, so we checked out of Carmarthen fortified with hope, and referee Robert Fulford took a generous view of the conditions.

Continue reading →

Environs

10 Tuesday Oct 2023

Posted by in D

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

Saturday 23rd September 2023 ko 16:45

West Wales Premier League

DAFEN WELFARE 0

Morgan sent off (DOGSO) 28

YNYSTAWE ATHLETIC 8 (Loughlin 5 55 Owens 14p B James 24 34 Morgan 45 Gibbons 90+4)

Att 252

Entry £3

Programme £2

We stayed in Llanelli’s suburbs for the final hop game of the Saturday. The village, as the club’s name suggests is a link to the area’s past as a centre for coal mining, the St David’s and Porthdafen Collieries were close to here. And that fact did have an impact on what we experienced at Dafen Park.

Continue reading →

The Kansei League

05 Thursday Oct 2023

Posted by in C

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Saturday 23rd September 2023 ko 14:00

West Wales Premier League

CALSONIC KANSEI SWISS VALLEY 1 (T Lewis 72og)

GARDEN VILLAGE 6 (C Rees 2 4 T Jones 39 Logan 58p 61)

Att 169

Entry £3

Programme £2

If ever a coach drove to a football team with a more intriguing name I’d like to know about it. We headed from Pontarddulais to the Swiss Valley, on the northern outskirts of Llanelli. The name evokes cuckoo clocks, snow-capped mountains and cheese, none of which seemed in evidence at the football ground. Mind you the pizzas must have had some cheese in there somewhere.

Continue reading →

The Running Theme

02 Monday Oct 2023

Posted by in P

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday 23rd September 2023 ko 11:00

West Wales Premier League

PONTARDDULAIS TOWN 1 (A Jones 35og)

ROCKSPUR FC 6 (Griffiths 2og Price 18 Williams 24 Keefe 45+4 66p C Harris 54)

Morgan sent off (foul & abusive) 74

Att 260

Entry £3

Programme £2

I’d argue we found the true nature of the West Wales Premier League on the Saturday of the hop. Whilst the visit to Cwmamman United was enjoyable, the fact was it was at a club and ground that had recently played two tiers higher. These next 3 games saw me comparing GroundhopUK’s experiences in leagues such as the Gwent Premier and the South Wales Alliance, who do operate parallel to this one.

Continue reading →

The Premier

29 Friday Sep 2023

Posted by in C

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday 22nd September 2023 ko 19:00

West Wales Premier League

CWMAMMAN UNITED 6 (T Smith 28 C Davies 59p Rees 61og Wickham 63 E Smith 67 77)

AFC GLAIS 3 (Gregory 12 Smith 35 Robb-Gregory 49)

Bowles sent off 73 (second booking)

Att 242

Entry £3

Programme £2

When the West Wales Premier League approached GroundhopUK owner Chris Berezai to invite us to organise a hop for their league, I was more than a little intrigued. For a start I’m more than aware that the restructure of Welsh club football has rather passed this site by- for example I haven’t watched a single Tier 3 Ardal (Regional) League game so far! Then the pandemic got in the way of things, and to add to that a new league was created for the West of Wales.

Continue reading →

The Rail Traction Company

19 Tuesday Sep 2023

Posted by in C

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday 16th September 2023 ko 14:30

Aberystwyth & District League

CORRIS UNITED 4 (Vaughan 2 Kohler 42 Roberts 51 Jellett 78)

LLANILAR RESERVES 1 (Ashton 75)

Att 60

Entry & Programme by donation

I’ll admit to have been feeling jaded. I was more than aware that I should have been leading a group of 100 or so groundhoppers around 5 grounds in the Witney & District League. That didn’t happen due to us not being able to find a club willing to host in the Saturday morning slot. The irony therefore of getting up at 6:30am for this one was not lost on me! As my regular reader knows, I have a bucket list of places I’d like to visit that are a little unusual. Or putting it another way, if the fixture is the kind that pops up on an App when you’re near it, then it’s not on the list! More than anything else I wanted to head somewhere far away from football admin.

Continue reading →

Leisure

18 Monday Sep 2023

Posted by in S

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Tuesday 12th September 2023 ko 19:45

Eastern Counties League Division One North

STANWAY PEGASUS 5 (Booth 6 Kabongu 14 Griffith 35 81 Ager 73)

CORNARD UNITED 0

Att 156

Entry & Programme £7

Roughly speaking I reckon there are three reasons why a groundhopper visits a new ground. One is simply because it’s there, another its because it’s known to be superb, and the third is you need it to complete a league. There can be little doubt the reason I was at Stanway School was the third reason….

Continue reading →