Down The Road

26 Wednesday Aug 2020

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Tuesday 18th August 2020 ko 19.00
Friendly

KING’S SUTTON 2 (Walker 1 Moore 89)

HOOK NORTON 1 (Rickard 53)

Att c30 at Wheeler’s Rise, Croughton

If King’s Sutton had played this game at home I’ve little doubt I’d have been there. But with work taking place on the pitch, they’re playing their pre-season friendlies a few miles south-east at Croughton Playing Fields. Since there’s been no adult team at Croughton for a couple of years, it was enough to see some of the more senior groundhoppers take advantage of a rare opportunity to tick the ground.

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Down On The Farm

24 Monday Aug 2020

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Saturday 15th August 2020 ko 13.00

Friendly

HALSE UNITED 2 (Ingram 58 86)

BURE PARK 0

Att c20  at Halse Grange Farm

In groundhopper speak all too often a football ground lacking a ground is sometimes written off by the less experienced as being “Just a field.” Of course the ground isn’t a field, its a pitch without much around it- and you can accept it or reject it on its merits. But Halse United actually do play on a farm and their pitch is, literally, a field! Continue reading →

Hallions

21 Friday Aug 2020

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Thursday 13th August 2020 ko 19.00

Friendly

BICESTER HALLIONS 2 (Bone 10 Brooks 68)

BLETCHINGTON 2 (Godfrey 4 Deabill 17)

Att 33 at KEA Sports & Social Club, Bicester

Free Entry

I wondered if I needed to be there, let along ought. The heat was oppressive, the clouds threatening, and I really didn’t fancy my first soaking of the season. As add to the malaise the engine management light on my car was on, and as I headed passed Bicester Village the dash bleeped “Engine Malfunction” In for a quid…. Continue reading →

Station’s End

20 Thursday Aug 2020

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Tuesday 11th August 2020 ko 19.00

Friendly

WATLINGTON TOWN 0

ARDLEY UNITED DEVELOPMENT 2 (Casbierd 15 Hollister 84)

Att c20

Free Entry

When the North Berkshire League Hops ended at Appleton in 2017, there was one club that unquestionably missed out, and that was Watlington Town. When I tried to put together the 2018 edition all the other clubs that were left for us to visit either couldn’t host, didn’t want to, or in one instance complained that neither Phil Annets nor I hadn’t asked them to be on the very first hop! Continue reading →

A Route Forward?

16 Sunday Aug 2020

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Saturday 8th August 2020 ko 14.00

Friendly

OLD WINDSOR 4 (Farnan 12 25 49, May 80)

CHALVEY DEVELOPMENT 0

Att 33 at Old Windsor Park

Free Entry

Sunday 9th August 2020 17.00

Speedway British Youth Championship

500cc 1st Jordan Palin 

250cc 1st Max James

125cc (Group A) William Cairns

125cc (Group B) Billy Budd

Att 441 at Scunthorpe Speedway

Entry & Programme £6.50

Last weekend the UK saw what could easily be the only speedway meeting staged this year. It was the Scunthorpe Scorpions promotion that managed to get both guidelines and permission to stage what in the normal scheme of things would be a fairly low-key meeting. The 3 speedway leagues have had their 2020 seasons cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak so short of a few challenge matches this could easily be it for British speedway this year. With 2 sports events in 2 days to watch there was the added bonus of comparing how the events were staged, under what restrictions and for non league football the chance to assess a possible safety blueprint should supporters be allowed back into non league grounds from National League down to feeder league level. Continue reading →

Never A Step Backward

12 Wednesday Aug 2020

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Tuesday 4th August 2020 ko 19.15

Friendly

SILCHESTER FC 0

BADSHOT LEA (4 3 31 50 77)

Att c20 @ Queen Mary’s College, Basingstoke

Free Entry

With a friendly lined up at an unusual venue in Basingstoke, and plenty of time to get there, I took the chance to stop and spend a few minutes at the Camrose.  Until 2019 the ground, gifted to the people of Basingstoke by Lord Camrose in 1945 was home to Basingstoke Town. Continue reading →

Garlic

07 Friday Aug 2020

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Saturday 1st August 2020 ko 14.30

Friendly

BASILDON TOWN 3 (O’Brien 5 Smith 56 Bradbourn 89)

BARNSTON AFC 1 (Rollins 85)

Att c50 at Basildon Sport & Leisure Club

I doubt I’ll manage a quicker trip between grounds all season. Just a fence separates the Post Office Sports Ground from the Basildon Sport & Leisure Club, and while the entities are entirely separate, the gap in the fence was handy! Continue reading →

The New Normal

05 Wednesday Aug 2020

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Saturday 1st August 2020 ko 12.00

Friendly

PITSEA TOWN 11 (Goggin 45 47 62 85 Gentry 67 M Lewis 68 Richardson 74 Lunn 80 82 L Pellin 83 R Phillips 86) 

SOUTHMINSTER UNITED 0

Att c20 at Post Office Sports & Social Club, Gardiners Lane South, Basildon

Entry FREE

The Covid 19 pandemic had given me and many others a 140 day opportunity. Yes, there was no live football to watch, but there was time in abundance. Time to work on the house, time to develop other interests, time to spend on loved ones, and also time to reflect. Continue reading →

Gay Times

28 Tuesday Jul 2020

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Friday 2nd March 2007 ko 19.45

League 2

SHREWSBURY TOWN 0

Asomoah missed penalty 90

BRISTOL ROVERS 0

Hinton sent off (2nd booking) 90

Att 4,227 at Gay Meadow, Shrewsbury

Entry £15 (Main Stand)

Programme £2.50

Oddly it was surprising I was there. Groundhopping legend Martin “Spud” Hollands phoned to ask whether I was going and preemptively ask for a lift from the station to Gay Meadow. I wasn’t planning on going, but with the ground going at the end of the season a revisit wasn’t even close to being a wasted journey. Continue reading →

The Other Ossett

26 Sunday Jul 2020

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Wednesday 26th September 2007 ko 19.45

Northern Premier League Challenge Cup First Round

OSSETT ALBION 4 (Kelsey 7, 32 78p Newton 15)

HARROGATE RAILWAY ATHLETIC 2 (Ryan 64 Hobson 74)

Jones sent off (2nd booking) 69

Att 69

Entry £6

Programme £1.50

Thank heaven for bank training courses. Thirteen years ago I’d just joined a major UK bank’s commercial department and was spending a week on a training course. I was based in a 4 star hotel in Sheffield, and once the day’s work was done there was little else to do but find a beer or ten somewhere. Unless of course you were a groundhopper…. Continue reading →