Surprises

07 Thursday Apr 2022

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Tuesday 15th March 2022 ko 19:45

Combined Counties League Division One

HILLINGDON BOROUGH 1 (Bustard 59)

Robb penalty saved 76

LONDON SAMURAI ROVERS 3 (Hashii 8 Yoshida 28 Reis 50og)

Att c10

Free Entry

Ever had a ground you know you’ve been to, but can’t work out when? For years my mystery ground was the Middlesex Stadium in Ruislip. I know I watched Hillingdon Borough around 15 years ago on a Saturday because my girlfriend of the time insisted I got home by 6:30 as we had guests. I was a very different hopper then, these days I were given that constraint, I’d take in a non-floodlit game locally. Floodlit grounds are a finite resource to a groundhopper! Continue reading →

Choices

06 Wednesday Apr 2022

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Saturday 12th March 2022 ko 14:30

Gwent Premier League- Premier Division

YNYSDDU WELFARE 2 (Bowen 66 90)

Bowen penalty saved 44

A Davies sent off 90 (2nd booking)

LLISWERRY 4 (Cooke 31 37 70 Sully 90)

Cooke penalty saved 60

Att c50 at Blackwood Comprehensive School

Entry FREE

Programme £2

Its fair too say Ynysddu and I do go back a fair way. My first game involved with GroundhopUK was the then Ynysddu Crusaders’ hop game at 9 Mile Point in 2009, and then in 2018 I was at what could have been their final ever game at Pontllanfraith Leisure Centre. When the Leisure Centre was saved, I tried to get them to host on the 2019 Welsh Hop there, but just about everyone got let down by PILCS, unless of course you were involved at Ewenny Rangers! Continue reading →

Levver’ead

04 Monday Apr 2022

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Tuesday 8th March 2022 ko 19.45

Isthmian League Premier Division

LEATHERHEAD 0

LEWES 1 (Taylor 52p)

Att 335

Entry £12

Programme £2 (re-issue from postponed game with insert)

It is of course a fact of life that groundhopping adds up to visiting a lot of grounds once, and in my case there are plenty of grounds that when I leave, there is a twinge of regret that odds are I’ll never return. But Robyn arrived in my life six years ago, so the “Robyn Revisit” is a wonderful reason to revisit some classic grounds. And let’s face it if you haven’t been to Fetcham Grove, then I’d suggest it ought to go straight on to your bucket list! Continue reading →

Baht’at

01 Friday Apr 2022

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Sunday 6th March 2022

North West Counties League- Division One North

ILKLEY TOWN 0

GARSTANG 0

Att 455

Entry £6

Programme £2

 

Wheear ‘ast tha bin sin’ ah saw thee, ah saw thee?

Tha’s been a cooartin’ Mary Jane

                                                      On Ilkla Mooar baht ‘at
                                                                                    trad.

I remember when GroundhopUK and the North West Counties League agreed the schedule for this years hop. I saw Ilkley Town and immediately thought, ” As in Ilkley Moor Baht’at?” I mentioned the song to my wife Robyn who, being younger than me hadn’t heard of it. But then, she isn’t old enough to have had John Noakes as a hero when she was growing up either. Continue reading →

Marley

29 Tuesday Mar 2022

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Sunday 6th March 2022 ko 11:30

North West Counties Counties League- Division One North

STEETON 2 (Jeffrey 33 Townend 88)

Briggs sent off 90 (2nd booking)

ASHTON TOWN 1 (D Hill 15)

Van-Aston sent off 81 (violent conduct)

Att 479

Entry £5

Programme £2

If Saturday on the North West Counties Hop had been about 4 old-style grounds, then Sunday was about visiting two of the newest in the league. We headed to Keighley and oddly two clubs playing locally- Steeton and Silsden do have something else in common than West Yorkshire. Continue reading →

The Pipe

28 Monday Mar 2022

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Saturday 5th March 2022 ko 19:30 (delayed to 19:45)

North West Counties League- Premier Division

BARNOLDSWICK TOWN 0

AVRO 2 (Ellis 53p 62)

Att 517

Entry £6

Programme £2

From Nelson we headed north once again for our fourth game of the day. So far north in fact, we saw signs for Kendal and wondered “What? Is that the Kendal in Cumbria?” Yep, that far north…. Continue reading →

Half

25 Friday Mar 2022

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Saturday 5th March 2022 ko 16.00

North West Counties League Division One North

NELSON 3 (Lloyd 13 47 Foster 28)

CHADDERTON 1  (Dean 87)

Att 351

Entry £5

Programme £2

I’m sure that for many on the North West Counties League hop, the trip to Nelson FC was the most anticipated of the 7 clubs we visited. Part was the club’s illustrious history and part was the evocative backdrop of the terraced cottages with the factory chimney jutting out from behind.

Continue reading →

Paddy

23 Wednesday Mar 2022

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Saturday 5th March 2022 ko 13:00

North West Counties League Premier Division

PADIHAM 1 (Hoskin 45p)

ASHTON ATHLETIC 5 (McDermott 16 Carr 23 53 73 Morton 49og)

Att 378

Entry £8

Programme £2

It must have been around twenty years ago that Dean, a Blackburn-based groundhopper told me I simply had to visit the Arbories. Sadly Dean was lost to the groundhopping world a few years ago, and for no sensible reason it took me until now to finally visit. My way of looking at it, is that at least now I could bring Robyn too! Continue reading →

Back-Up

21 Monday Mar 2022

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Saturday 5th March 2022 ko 11:00

North West Counties League Division One North

BACUP BOROUGH 6 (Sherriff 7 Mellor 25 45 Hall K Siddle 77 Fallon 90)

ST HELENS TOWN AFC 1 (Korie-Butler 15p)

Clarke sent off 34 (foul & abusive)

Att 460

Entry £5

Programme £2

If Friday’s game at Golcar felt like we were in Northern Counties East then Saturday morning felt we’d crossed over the border into what I’d call traditional North West Counties territory. Bacup lies on the Lancashire side of the tripartite boundary of Yorkshire, Lancashire and Greater Manchester. As the advance party we had the all-important pre-booked programmes and advanced tickets to distribute- not everyone went to the Golcar game. Continue reading →

The John Noakes Hop

11 Friday Mar 2022

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Friday 4th March 2022 ko 19.45

North West Counties League Division One North

GOLCAR UNITED 3 (Cox 14 Barrett 27 Naidole 52)

CAMPION 2 (Maltby 59 Boshell 85)

Att 467

Entry £5

Programme £2

If you are roughly my age then the most famous person to have been born in Halifax was unquestionably John Noakes. The Blue Peter presenter was, in a age of two channel tv and received pronunciation a revelation to this small boy from the shires; who could forget his climbing of Nelson’s Column without any kind of safety equipment? Continue reading →