Tag Archives: Football

The Pitch

14 Monday Jun 2021

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Monday 7th June 2021 ko 18:30

Thames Valley Premier League- Premier Division

MARLOW UNITED 1 (Austin 90)

FINCHAMPSTEAD 3 ( Vallance 9 J Day 14p Payne 33)

Att c64 at Gossmore Lane

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I haven’t checked but over the last 15 or so years you could have watched Marlow United at home on at least 4 different grounds. There was Flackwell Heath, Marlow FC, Bisham Abbey and Loudwater that I can name off the top of my head. The reason for the first two was to allow the club two stints in the Hellenic League, including a two-season stint in the Hellenic Premier from 2008-10. The issue for the club is always the same, there’s no lack of ambition, but having few facilities of their own makes progression extremely difficult.

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Reformation

08 Tuesday Jun 2021

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Saturday 5th June 2021 ko 14.30

Thames Valley Premier League – Division One

ROTHERFIELD UNITED 1 (Clarke 45p)

READING YMCA 2 (Hormola 7 Donegan 61p)

Att c24 at Bishopswood Sports Field, Gallowstree Common.

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Given I’d not seen a game at Bishopswood this was something of a sentimental return for me. Back in the day I had a blonde girlfriend who worked for a brewery, which did have a few advantages. The brewery in question was Brakspear in Henley-on-Thames, and we spent many an evening ticking off the pubs of the Brakspear estate- it was clear looking back that the groundhopping gene was active even then! One of the best pubs was the Reformation at Gallowstree Common and I remember driving past the Bishopswood Sports Field and me thinking “I really ought to see a game there!” It only took another 25 years…. Continue reading →

Henry

04 Friday Jun 2021

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Tuesday 1st June ko 19:00*

Hertford & District League Centenary Trophy Quarter Final

KULTURE KLUB ATHLETIC 3 (35, 83p 85)

ALLENBURYS SPORTS 3 (J Armes 16 Barton 35 Colbourne 90)

Att c35 at Henry Barrass Stadium, Edmonton, London

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It had been an eventful trip to North London. I knew I was likely to be tight for time, and the M25 behaved as the M25 usually does at rush hour- at one point I watched the police shut down the road, thankfully from my rear view mirror! I suspected the game might not kick-off right on time, grassroots football does tend to involve a little time slippage! The game kicked off roughly 15 minutes late, handy at the time for me, but all there were to have mixed feelings about that slippage later on. Continue reading →

The Community Umlaut

01 Tuesday Jun 2021

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Saturday 29th May 2021 ko 14:30

Staffordshire County Senior League Division One

CITY OF STOKE 5 (Meek 19 82 Marcisz 25 Sargeant 61 Armstrong 82)

Marcisz sent off 80 (foul & abusive)

HAWKINS SPORTS 2 (Pike 8 57)

Att c25 at North Stafford Sports Club, Whisper Lane, Butterton

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I’ve often opined that I don’t pick my games, most of the time they pick me, and this was the latest in the long list. You may remember that just under two years ago, I battled both appalling weather and traffic to watch a game at Keele University.  At the time I questioned why I was the only hopper there, and subsequently came to the conclusion that the reason I was the only one there with no connection to either side was my own insanity. But there was a silver lining to the evening. Continue reading →

The Unlikely Station

24 Monday May 2021

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Sunday 23rd May 2021 ko 10:30

Upper Thames Valley Sunday League

TACKLEY UNITED 1 (Wynn 38)

CHILTON BLUE & WHITES 5 (Stevens 12 Burton 45 Kerry 56 Ayres 77 Mangan 90)

Stevens missed penalty 41

Att 48

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Back in the day I was working as a financial adviser and one evening I had an appointment in Tackley. It wasn’t a push to get me there, I lived in Banbury and the village is roughly equidistant on the A423 between there and Oxford. I pulled up outside the Village Hall and as I went to my customer saw Tackley FC about to kick off a Witney & District League League game. I didn’t get much out of that appointment but I did make a mental note to visit the ground properly. Continue reading →

The Alternate

06 Thursday May 2021

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Monday 3rd May 2021 ko 18:00

Thames Valley Premier League: Premier Division

FINCHAMPSTEAD 4 (J Payne 15p Vallance 22 Hunt 73 Day 77)

MARLOW UNITED 1 (Goode 65)

Att c42 at Arborfield Recreation Ground

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I still have some affinity for this part of the world even though its been well over twenty years since I lived in Henley-on-Thames. Back then the modus operandi was driving through Wargrave and Twyford to Winnersh, then via Sindlesham to Arborfield. I suppose I associated Sindlesham with the Nirvana Health Spa that the ex-wife seemed to love going to but objected every time the monthly membership payment left her account! Continue reading →

The Somerset European Superleague

04 Tuesday May 2021

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Saturday 3rd May 2021 ko 15:00

Somerset County League Junior Supplementary Cup Group Stage

HUTTON FC 5 (Dearnley-Bright 44 47 63 Popperwell 78p N Blake 88)

NAILSEA UNITED 0

Att c25 at Springwood Gardens, Hutton, Weston-super-Mare

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With Robyn visiting family in Bristol I’d long since made a mental note to simply head south in search of a game. The route out of the south of Bristol, heading towards Weston-super-Mare will always hold great significance for me. We got married in Blagdon, drank no end of Butcombe beer and Thatchers cider and Lee Hatherall our photographer is based in Weston! Perhaps it was inevitable I’d visit Hutton. Continue reading →

The Bonus

30 Friday Apr 2021

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Tuesday 27th April 2021 ko 18:30

North Berkshire League Division One

GROVE RANGERS 1 (Faircloth 42)

DRAYTON 3 (Harrison 2 Jacks 61 Wilde 82)

Jacks penalty saved 77

Att c30 at Grove Recreation Ground

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Now I know what you’re thinking, didn’t we pay Grove a visit on the 2015 North Berkshire Hop? You’d be right, but we visited them at their original ground at Wasbrough Field. That lies around 200 yards north of their normal home at the Recreation Ground, and the game got moved there because the rugby club didn’t want football fans in their bar. I’d have thought our money was as good as theirs, but I regarded the switch as something as a groundhopper’s bonus and planned to visit the Recreation Ground at later date, but circumstances got in the way. 

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The Owls Revisited

26 Monday Apr 2021

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Tuesday 20th April 2021 ko 18.30

North Berkshire League Division One
EAST HENDRED 4 (Parrott 5p 9p L Eltham 59 B Eltham 82)

HAGBOURNE UNITED 3 (Smith 25secs 67 MacDonald 79)

Att 26 at Mill Lane, East Hendred

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My attendance here was due to one thing really, Hendred chairman Steve Mulford invited me! Most will remember the club from their beautifully presented game on the 2015 North Berkshire League hop, the club managing to produce of all things, an Owl display and a quite amazing array of food and drink. It is a matter of regret that I hadn’t been back since.

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Conversion

22 Thursday Apr 2021

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Saturday 17th April 2021 ko 16.30

Cambridgeshire County League Senior Cup Group D

COTTENHAM UNITED 2 (Males 32 Course 81p)

MILTON FC 0

Att c60 at King George V Playing Field, Lambs Lane.

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The FA’s edict that that matches shouldn’t clash with the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral did create an unwitting opportunity for groundhoppers like me. It wasn’t difficult to find a game beforehand, and there was ample time to travel from Barton Mills westwards for around 30 miles. Continue reading →