Deuce

09 Sunday Apr 2017

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Friday 24th March 2017 ko 19.45

Lowland League

PRESTON ATHLETIC 0 Cowan sent off (DOGSO) 53

CUMBERNAULD COLTS 2 (Brown 25 82)

Att 263

Entry £5

Programme £2

If there was ever a game I wanted to take place it was this one. On last year’s Scottish Hop Preston had seen their game called off late in the day due to a supposedly waterlogged pitch. My abiding memory of the piece was the gap in the car park where once the referee’s car once stood, he’d made a sharp exit, and club secretary Lesley Birrell in tears. We eventually ran the coaches to Civil Service Strollers (We’re still waiting for the programmes from them!) but that was no consolation to the Prestonpans club.

Continue reading →

Ghost Rail

31 Friday Mar 2017

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Tuesday 14th March 2017 ko 19.45

Essex Senior League

TAKELEY 4 (Cole 16 18 65 Das 90)

WALTHAM FOREST 1 (Baluaka 73)

Att 76

Entry & Programme £7

Takeley FC, other than being mighty close to Stansted Airport is one of only a few clubs, Copnor-based Moneyfields being another, where you navigate to the ground via a railway station that doesn’t exist! In Moneyfields’ case that’s due to the station being planned but never built, but in Takeley’s case you go over the hump-backed bridge glance to your left and there’s the station- with no trains, or indeed rails either! Continue reading →

Reputations

30 Thursday Mar 2017

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Sunday 12th March 2017 ko 15.00

South Wales Alliance Premier Division

CARDIFF CORINTHIANS 1 (Canley 52)

PONTYCLUN 2 (Moss 49p Woodington 71)

Att 189

Entry £3

Programme £1

It’s worth remembering that the roots of the Welsh Spring Hop lie with GroundhopUK organising a “Hop Up” in March for clubs in the South Wales Amateur League, who due to cricket couldn’t host during August Bank Holiday.

The idea was transferred along with the August Hop to the Mid-Wales League, but then one year we were approached by the Ceredigion League who offered us a games in Lampeter, and New Quay to pad out trips to UWA and Aberaeron and we enjoyed their company so much we completed the league before moving the event to the Carmarthenshire League last season. This return to both the roots of the Spring Hop, and the now merged Alliance League was a good chance to compare past and present. Continue reading →

The Force

29 Wednesday Mar 2017

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Sunday 12th March 2017 ko 11.00

Bridgend & District Sunday League Premier Division

GARTH VADER 2 (N Whelan 65 Garfield 86)

ST PATRICK’S ROVERS 7 (Emmanuel 13 Llewellyn 22 41 Thomas 29 Kyle 42 Evans 53 86)

Att 79

Entry FREE

Programme £1

Without question the club that really lost out on the Carmarthenshire Hop was Pontlliw. They were scheduled to play Pwll on the Sunday morning, but when the West Wales FA refused to let Pwll reschedule their West Wales Cup tie, and the only possible opponents Gorseinon refused to take their place it left Pontlliw disappointed, the Carmarthenshire league annoyed, and we at GroundhopUK forced to run the hop a game short.  Continue reading →

Liking it Beside

23 Thursday Mar 2017

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Saturday 11th March 2017 ko 16.00

Carmarthenshire League Premier Division

SEASIDE 2 (Rogers 31 66)

CARMARTHEN STARS 0 Howells sent off (dangerous play) 86

Att 175

Entry & Programme £3

As any groundhop organiser will tell you the psychology is that you look to the clubs that have the best plans. Chris Berezai and I both knew that Evans & Williams our previous hosts simply hadn’t had the time to host as either they or we would have liked, so we looked to a club with absolutely rock-solid plans, and Seaside certainly came up trumps. Continue reading →

Wagons

20 Monday Mar 2017

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Saturday 11th March 2017 ko 13.30

Carmarthenshire League Premier Division

EVANS & WILLIAMS SPORTS 0

TROSTRE SPORTS 1 (Waters 22)

Att 134 at Pitch 3 Penygaer Playing Fields

Entry FREE

Programme £2

I remember when Chris Berezai and I first discussed how we were going to organise GroundhopUK’s entire run in the Carmarthenshire League. It was never going to be difficult to sell somewhere like Abergwili to the hoppers, but the Penygaer Playing Fields in deepest darkest Llanelli was another matter entirely! It is the typical unlovely council facility with 5 pitches and a tired looking changing room block resplendent in anti-climb paint and barbed wire. Perhaps it was no bad thing that we only headed there at the very last minute! Continue reading →

The Black Cats

16 Thursday Mar 2017

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Saturday 11th March 2017 ko 10.45

Carmarthenshire League Division Two

KIDWELLY TOWN 3 (K Griffiths 21 G Griffiths 37og R Jones 68)

DREFACH AFC 1 (Amos 8)

Att 154

Entry £3

Programme £1

So, off to West Wales for the sixth straight year, and would you believe the nay-sayers still haven’t worked it out! “It’s all fields, ” and “It’s a low level of football” get bandied around as if its the first time GroundhopUK have ever tried to run an event like this! So, once again I’ll answer those two questions, are you ready? Continue reading →

Traffic

15 Wednesday Mar 2017

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Friday 10th March 2017 ko 19.45

Welsh League Division One

RISCA UNITED 1 (Williams 46)

MONMOUTH TOWN 3 (Lewis 38 43 Kareem 56)

Att 147

Entry £5

Programme £1.50

Our coach left Castell’s depot at Caerphilly, and took the best part of an hour to reach Sophia Gardens in Cardiff where most of its occupants where waiting our arrival at a pub. I did find myself question the wisdom of scheduling of a rugby match at the Millennium Stadium to clash with Friday night rush hour in Cardiff. Continue reading →

Copthall

05 Sunday Mar 2017

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Wednesday 3rd September 2008 ko 19.45

Spartan South Midlands League- Premier Division

KENTISH TOWN 1 (Donoghue 68)

BRIMSDOWN ROVERS 1 (Farrell 87)

Att 48 @Barnet Copthall Stadium

Entry & Programme £4

Here’s one from the archives, or to put in another way, the “Before” shot as the ground looks radically different these days. And unusually for this blog, it’s the ground that’s more the subject than the club playing there. Continue reading →

Child’s Play

03 Friday Mar 2017

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Wednesday 1st March 2017 ko 19.00

Annual Challenge Cup

KINGS SCHOOL 3 (Rees 13 Hall 17 Newton 79)

ROYAL GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2 (Hughes 25 Saunders 27p)

80 minute game

Att c1,100 at Sixways Stadium, Worcester (Worcester Warriors RUFC)

Entry £5

No Programme

I do like a fixture that tests groundhoppers’ self-imposed rules. I’m certain that if this had been billed as a youth team game then I’m sure more than the 10 or so travellers here would have paid Sixways a visit. And let’s make one thing absolutely clear, those who decided to miss this missed out on a real treat. Continue reading →