Tag Archives: groundhopping

Abandoned

12 Saturday Nov 2011

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Saturday 12th November 2011 Ko 2.00pm

United Counties League Division One

BURTON PARK WANDERERS 0

HARBOROUGH TOWN 0

 match abandoned after 9 minutes

att c50

Entry £3.00

Programme £1

Badge £2.50

Tea £1

The town of Burton Latimer has only one real claim to fame, its where the Weetabix factory is! Other than that its one of a clutch of villages separated from Kettering by the A14. The club started life as Kettering Park Wanderers but moved to Latimer Park in 1971 and apart from last season groundsharing at Rothwell Town, they’ve been there ever since.

The ground proved to be far more impressive than I’d expected. Fully enclosed, there’s two stands, one with bench seats. The odd bit is Continue reading →

The Right Way

12 Saturday Nov 2011

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Saturday 12th October 2011 ko 10.30am

Midland Combination U21 League East/North Division

WOODBOURNE SPORTS 4 (Shemwell 20 Thomas 51 Mullings 56 Carter 87)

STAPENHILL 2 (Weir 39 Crawshaw 58)

Att 10 (h/c)

Entry FREE

Programme-NO

Tea-in-a-mug 50p

The Burrows is not to be confused with Earlswood Town’s ground, that lies a good 2 miles away. This is very much a community facility, with the clubhouse being a community centre, complete with skittles alley. Just head down Rumbush Lane and its easy to find.

And what a friendly club Woodbourne is! Genuinely pleased to see two visitors they really couldn’t do too much to help me, with the lineups and information on the club. The club used to Continue reading →

Run VT

10 Thursday Nov 2011

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Wednesday 9th November 2011 Ko 7.45pm

Southern League Cup 1st Round

SHOLING 2 (Wort 40 53)

WIMBORNE TOWN 3 (Kemble 18 Cream 59 Wignall 88)

Att 94

Entry £8

Programme £2

Badge £3.50

Tea £1

Cheeseburger £3

Cheesy Chips £2

Sholing FC were known as VT FC until July 2010, and the ground is to be found in Old Notley, just outside Southampton city limits. VT refers to Vosper Thorneycroft, the shipbuilding and engineering firm, this was their works team. With the restyled VT Group now swallowed up by the Babcock Group in March 2010, the works link was lost and the club chose to name themselves after the district in eastern Southampton nearby. Interestingly the ground is still known as the VT Sports ground, and within its confines is the Vosper Thornycroft Pigeon Club. My mate May, not noted for her devotion to football, commented before I set out that Sholing sounds Continue reading →

Turktown

10 Thursday Nov 2011

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Monday 7th November 2011 ko 7.45pm

Russell Cotes Cup 2nd Round

GOSPORT BOROUGH 3 (Norton 75 E Martin 90p 120)

FAREHAM TOWN 3 (Tambling 20 77 Kessack 100) Pittman sent off 102 (2nd booking)

Gosport won 5-4 on (sudden death) penalties

att c200

Entry £6

Teamsheet FREE

Badge sold out

Bobby Robson autobiography £3

Tea 70p

Cheeseburger £2.10

Chips £1 (with inferior chilli sauce to that at Cams Alders)

So, why attend a game in an obscure cup competition and find yourself listening to the home team’s rested star player on 5live as you park up at the ground (Steve Claridge)? Because the two clubs are around 4.5 miles apart, and there’s history…..

Fareham fans refer to the fact that much of this south coast town was built by Turkish prisoners-of-war following the First World War. Certainly there’s a massive difference in atmosphere as you cross from one town to the other. Fareham is, as their fans sing is full of car parks and estate agents, while the main sight in Gosport is the massive Continue reading →

Solace

05 Saturday Nov 2011

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Saturday 5th November 2011 ko 1.30pm

United Counties League Cup 1st Round

BUCKINGHAM TOWN 0

PETERBOROUGH NORTHERN STAR 3 (Staffieri 31 61 Medwynter 57)

Att 51 (h/c)

Entry & Programme £4

Tea 60p

In 1997 Buckingham Town were playing Southern League football at their home, Ford Meadow, in the heart of the pretty Buckinghamshire Town. I saw them a few years later, playing in the UCL Premier, and loved their old stand with railway sleepers as a terrace to bolt the seats to. When a subsituted player used the showers the spectators kept warm through the steam creeping through the gaps in the sleepers!

All of that has gone, Town were evicted during the summer by landlords hell-bent on building houses on land that routinely floods, and the club are now in UCL Division 1,  based at Continue reading →

The Netting

02 Wednesday Nov 2011

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Tuesday 1st November 2011 ko 7.45pm

Wessex League Premier Division

ALRESFORD TOWN 3 (Saleh 11 32 Llewellyn 40)

FAREHAM TOWN 2 (Tattersall 32 Doswell 81)

Att 59 (h/c)

Entry £5

Programme £1

Tea £1

Cheese & Onion Roll £1.50

Now those of you know I need absolutely no excuse to go a watch a game, but for this one I had no lack of reasons. For one, it involved Fareham which means the presence of Mr Fareham himself, the one and only Splodge! Also present was Callum Smith who very quietly is building up a seriously impressive ground count. His love life is always worth a listen to also! Continue reading →

Talking Points

30 Sunday Oct 2011

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Sunday 30th October 2011 ko 10.30am

Upper Thames Valley League Division Two

YELLOW EAGLES 3 (Little 19 40 Simpson 49)

SUTTON WANDERERS 1 (Richards 73)

Att 6 (h/c)

Entry FREE

Nothing for sale.

Its been 30 years since I last visited the Horspath Road Athletics Stadium, just outside Oxford city’s limits. I was right back as the 26th Oxford won the 1981 Headington District Cubs 11-a-side football tournament. I still have the medal but sadly it was the only award I ever won!

The two pitches used that day have long since gone, swallowed up by the landscaping for the new improved Continue reading →

That Goal

29 Saturday Oct 2011

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Saturday 29th October 2011

League 2

OXFORD UNITED 2 (Duberry 11 Leven 64)

PORT VALE 1 (Richards 61)

Att 8,027 (839 away)

Entry S/T

Programme £3 (inc Oxford Mail)

Coffee £2.10

“12th Man” Badge £2

If this game doesn’t get still more people to come and watch Oxford United, then nothing will. A tip though, turn up early, as people were still queuing to get in as the game kicked off.

I have seldom seen a game so open, particularly in midfield helped by referee Mr Hayward, who despite some poor decisions, did at least try and let the game flow.

Oxford made just the one change from the Plymouth game, Continue reading →

Unpicked

27 Thursday Oct 2011

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Wednesday 26th October 2011 ko. 7.15pm

Portsmouth Senior Cup 2nd Round

LOCKS HEATH 0

MONEYFIELDS 5 (Brown 12 Gregory 40 64 66 Buttwell 83)

Att 42 (h/c)

Entry FREE

No programme

Tea 50p

A trip to Fareham to see a former Wessex League club who now play in the Hampshire Premier League, where lights are not needed. So, a slightly unnecessary cup game and and an early kick off to beat a curfew and, easy tickings!

So what’s there? Well there’s a clubhouse, and a seperate changing room block, but that belongs to the Sports and Social Club. That said, one window does give a pretty good view of the action when it rains. Which it did, and other than that window there is no cover. In fact what the football ground is, is simply a railed off pitch at one end of a cricket pitch in a pretty nondescript suburb. However there is one thing of note, and that’s the floodlights because they’re portable! Because of the cricket, the club can and do remove the lights out of season. I’ve not seen that before, although I do know of a club looking to install something similar.

The game was pretty much as the scoreline suggests and no, Wessex Premier Moneyfields didn’t put anything like a full first eleven out. They didn’t need to, as at no stage did Locks Heath look capable of mounting a serious challenge. And that dear reader is why the evening’s entertainment fell a little flat. There was nothing to inspire, although Lee West and former Wealdstone kitman Les Bull provided excellent company.

In the end we all got wet, the 3 of us collected a tick apiece but left feeling that we’d achieved nothing much more.

Mixed Emotions

27 Thursday Oct 2011

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Tuesday 25th October 2011 ko 7.45pm

League 2

OXFORD UNITED 5 (R Hall 15 67 Constable 71 90 Leven 77)

PLYMOUTH ARGYLE 1 (Walton 55p)

Att 7,802 (722 away)

Entry Season Ticket

Programme £3 (including Oxford Mail)

This blog really isn’t about my regular trips to watch Oxford United home games, but this one really did give a lot to both write and think about.

Before the game flowers were laid behind the goal by the parents of Jack Hatton a fan who recently lost his battle with Leukaemia at the age of just 19. He was a brave lad, and as Peter Rhoades-Brown recalled, Jack told him that although he was in pain, had lost his hair, and felt lousy,it could be a lot worse; he could be a Swindon fan! The club, and the city are fortunate to have Peter, a great ambassador.

The vistors are in all kinds of trouble, with massive debts, unpaid staff and are rock bottom of the league. Non-League football looks almost inevitable. Yet over 700 made the long journey, and sang their hearts out. You could look at the score too and imagine this was an easy home win, it certainly wasn’t. You see Argyle aren’t the the quintessential basket case League 2 club. Yes, they are a team of unknowns with the odd journeyman thrown in for good measure, but they gave this game a real go.

In fact for a long time the difference was Oxford United wunderkind Rob Hall. A native of Aylesbury, he’s a West Ham asset on loan to gain experience. I suspect the experience is doing him good but Oxford a whole heap more! For me he’s the best finisher at the club since Dean Windass. His second, a stunning volley from a cross from the right will live long in the memory. In fact, it was that goal that really broke Plymouth’s resistance, and as the goals rained in I was pleased for my club but sad for my mate Mike Sampson a massive Argyle fan and the rest of their magnificent support.

I suspect that maintaining league status will be too much for Plymouth this season, but I would imagine that those connected with them will be pleased just to see them still in business this time next year.