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Football: Wherever it may be

~ Laurence's football travels

Football: Wherever it may be

Tag Archives: CROWMARSH GIFFORD

Heaven & Hell

01 Friday May 2015

Posted by laurencereade in C

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Berinsfield, Champions, CROWMARSH GIFFORD, David Murphy, Joe Nathanielz, Josh Nathanielz, Mark Ingram, North Berkshire League

Tuesday 28th April 2015 ko 18.45

North Berkshire League Division One

CROWMARSH GIFFORD 3 (Woods 10 Sandiford 27 Joe Nathanielz 73)

BERINSFIELD 4 (Ingram 41 Osbourne 53 D Murphy 57 62)

Att 76

Entry FREE

Nothing for sale

I’m sure some of you wonder how I pick my fixtures, well this one did rather leap out of the page. Firstly I hadn’t been back to Crowmarsh since they staged their hop game in August. They’d got the biggest attendance of any hop game that weekend, and staged the game quite beautifully, including producing a programme that would put professional clubs’ issues to shame. Sadly their success on that day hasn’t been replicated on the pitch and sadly they’d been relegated the previous Saturday. So I did want to catch up with the Nathanielz family and both thank them and commiserate in equal measure. Continue reading →

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The Abbey

24 Wednesday Sep 2014

Posted by laurencereade in D

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

and, Ardington & Lockinge, CROWMARSH GIFFORD, Dorchester, Dorchester-on-Thames, Drayton Road, J Nicholls, Mike Stimpson, nbfl, North Berkshire hop, North Berkshire League

Saturday 20th September 2014 ko 13.00

North Berkshire League Division One

DORCHESTER 3 (J Nicholls 6 J Fleet 6 Patterson 16)

ARDINGTON & LOCKINGE 0 Fairclough sent off 73 (dangerous play)

Att 204

Entry & Programme £4

Badge £3

Food: Meat or veggie pasta

Beer: Rebellion Brewery

It was only a 4 mile journey from Crowmarsh Gifford to Dorchester-on-Thames, and for some of the trip I followed the reverse of the signs put up by Crowmarsh to guide people in to their game. I’d relaxed a little, we’d just set the second highest ever attendance for the North Berkshire Hop, and the hop’s history shows an event where few go to one game then disappear elsewhere. We’d also seen the event being backed by local people as we’d planned, and I had confidence that Dorchester had taken steps to ensure that too. Continue reading →

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Jethro

22 Monday Sep 2014

Posted by laurencereade in C

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

AFC WALLINGFORD, CROWMARSH GIFFORD, Crowmarsh Gifford Reserves, GroundhopUK, Jethro Tull, nbfl, North Berkshire Groundhop, North Berkshire League, Wallingford, Wallingford Town

Saturday 20th September 2014 ko 10.00

North Berkshire League Division One

CROWMARSH GIFFORD 0

WALLINGFORD TOWN 1 (Searle 54)

Att 215

Entry & Programme £4

Beer; Loddon Brewery

Food: Breakfast baps, pizza

Off the top of my head this was the earliest time we at GroundhopUK have ever asked a club to kick-off, due entirely to getting 4 games on in a day, and giving people enough time to get through security at the MOD base later on.

I rather took to the town where Jethro Tull invented the seed drill when I visited them over a year ago report here, then again when they were the opponents at Long Wittenham in the final game of last year’s hop. Whilst the Recreation Ground isn’t the easiest to find, tucked as is behind a new housing development, there was plenty of space to work with. Continue reading →

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Doing it Right

23 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by laurencereade in L

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Athletic, Bodkins Field, Callum Bowler, CROWMARSH GIFFORD, Joe Murphy, Long Wittenham, Matt Saunders, North Berkshire League, North Berkshire League Groundhop, Tim Barton

Saturday 21st September 2013 ko 17.00

North Berkshire League Division One

LONG WITTENHAM ATHLETIC 4 (Murphy 27 Saunders 35 Bowler 55 Barton 64)

CROWMARSH GIFFORD 0

Att 193

Entry & Programme £4

Badge £3

Didcot Power Station Beer £3 a bottle

I like Bodkins Field, as its looks like the kind of place that ought to host village football. There’s a clubhouse, a pitch and a tarmacked road, and not much else. And you know what, what more do you need? Its beautiful, its historic, and the hoppers loved the place as much as I do. In fact its views of the Wittenham clumps and the peaceful village setting convinced me to ask local author Kate Shrewsday to write a piece for the programme. It was typically thought provoking, and here’s her site. Continue reading →

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Seeds

25 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by laurencereade in C

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Bomber, Bowler, CROWMARSH GIFFORD, Gesner, Jethro Tull, Lee, Long Wittenham, North Berkshire League, Saunders, Sheppard, soccer

Saturday 23rd March 2013 ko 14.30

North Berkshire League Division One

CROWMARSH GIFFORD 1 (Lee 80)

LONG WITTENHAM ATHLETIC 3 (Saunders 33 Bowler 51 Sheppard 58)

Att 23 (h/c)

Entry FREE

No Programme

With Mum still in Wallingford Hospital, I decided to stay local as I wanted to make sure I spent as much time with her as I could. That immediately placed me four-square in the territory of my favourite league, the North Berkshire. What I didn’t realise early in the morning that this game was going to be my only option, the snow meant that everything else in the league was postponed, and I got the chance to sound out a potential future groundhop host club. Continue reading →

The Sweet Smell of Champagne

05 Saturday May 2012

Posted by laurencereade in F

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Andy Allum, CROWMARSH GIFFORD, Derran Harrington, Faringdon Town, Football, Gary Sutton, groundhopping, Ian Vallance, Liam Currell, North Berkshire League, Penalty, Tucker Park

Saturday 5th May 2012 ko 2.30pm

North Berkshire League Division One

FARINGDON TOWN 2 (Harrington 40 Sutton 77)

CROWMARSH GIFFORD 2 (Allum 55 Currell 84)

Att 38 (h/c)

Entry FREE

Badge £3

Tea-in-a-mug 40p

I like Tucker Park,with its rural views and good facilities. There’s a large clubhouse and the bonus of a covered 3-step terrace. Best of all there’s a view of the West-Oxfordshire town’s most famous feature-the Folly.

It was designed by Gerald Wellesley, Marquess of Douro, for Lord Berners and built in 1935. It is 140 feet high and affords panoramic views of the Vale of White Horse.  During the Second World War the Home Guard used it as an observation post. In 1982 Robert Heber-Percy restored it and gave it to the town in trust. It’s actually on the site of an ancient ditched defensive ring.  This was fortified by supporters of Matilda sometime during the Anarchy (1135–1141) – her campaign to claim the throne from King Stephen but was soon razed to the ground on Stephen’s orders . Oliver Cromwell fortified it in his unsuccessful campaign to defeat the Royalist garrison at Faringdon House.

This fixture was the stand-out in today’s NBFL programme. Two long-time front-runners for the championship it had boiled down to Crowmarsh needing just a point to take the championship, just 7 years after forming from the nucleus of a boys’ club.

It was clear from the outset that Faringdon would not roll over easily. Whilst Crowmarsh were clearly in the ascendancy, Faringdon looked dangerous on the break. Faringdon’s Louis Bouwer’s last-ditch sliding tackle kept Crowmarsh out, before a Faringdon corner got caught in the wind, hitting the bar with keeper Chris Sutton beaten. Faringdon took the lead on 40 minutes, when Matt Pill’s right-wing cross was met by Derren Harrington. His low drive took a wicked defection, wrong footing Sutton.

The tension was palpable with the trophy present, but artfully hidden in a box in the teabar. Crowmarsh took 10 minutes to equalise as Andy Allum was put clean though and was brought down by Faringdon keeper Ryan Curtis. Curtis was booked, and Allum dusted himself off to beat Curtis from the penalty spot.

But still Faringdon wouldn’t lie down. Gary Sutton picked up a rebound, and 20 yards out hit a real missile of a shot past the other Sutton. It looked like the trophy might have to remain in storage until Tuesday. But then a free kick was played into the Faringdon box and Liam Currell got just enough force on his header to get the ball over the line despite a desperate lunge by a Faringdon defender.

That finished the game as a spectacle and the celebrations at the final whistle were heartfelt. There was a nice touch as the Faringdon captain ordered his players out of the changing room to applaud Crowmarsh as the trophy was awarded. A class act applauding another. I like that.


Nicely marked out technical area that, Trouble is that Crowmarsh set up on the other side of the pitch



Gemini

25 Sunday Sep 2011

Posted by laurencereade in W

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

AFC WALLINGFORD, Berkshire, CROWMARSH GIFFORD, Football, groundhop, Hedges, League, North

Saturday 24th September 2011 ko 7.30pm

North Berkshire League Division One

AFC WALLINGFORD 0

CROWMARSH GIFFORD 2 (Hedges 42 79)

Att 157

Entry by Programme £3

Tea 60p

Badge £3

By the evening game, I was flagging a bit. Organising these hops is stressful enough, but doing so with a hernia made things just made things tougher. Still, I propped myself up, did what I needed to (deliver the badges, organise the team sheets, do the crowd count etc) then enjoyed a nice cup of tea.

I have time for AFC Wallingford, as life has been tough for them. From beating AFC Wimbledon to the Combined Counties League title in 2001-2 little or nothing as gone right for them since,and they’ve had real problems with their landlords. We’d annoyed them by bouncing a children’s party to host this late kickoff. Continue reading →

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