Tag Archives: GroundhopUK

The Alliance

14 Friday Oct 2022

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Friday 26th August 2022 ko 18:30

South Wales Alliance Division 2

TONGWYNLAIS 1 (Older 59)

COGAN CORONATION 3 (Vilis 8 Preston 19 Taylor 72)

Att 234

Entry £3

Programme £2

I’m sure there are better analogies but for me the re-emergence of the Welsh Hop was my sign that the we were some way of putting the troubles of the pandemic behind us. With my many and varied connections to Wales I knew just how hard Coronavirus hit here, to the extent I knew the hop coach would be driven by someone new this time round. I thought of Steve Pitt who was lost to the virus during lockdown as the coach headed down the A470 from Treforest. Continue reading →

Sunday’s Revisits

23 Friday Sep 2022

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Sunday 31st July 2022

ko 12:00 United Counties League Premier Division North

LEICESTER NIRVANA 1 (Nelson 87p)

Nelson missed penalty 66

BELPER UNITED 0

Smyth penalty saved 78

Att 285

Entry £5

Programme £2

Ko 15:00 United Counties League Division One

ST ANDREWS 2 (Law 50 87)

WEST BRIDGFORD 1 (Stevens 67)

Att 290

Entry £5

Programme £1

After breakfast at the University of Nottingham we headed south to Leicester. I opted to take my car, with my wife Robyn helping Chris Berezai and Craig Dabbs it meant a quicker trip after the final game. I took quieter country roads, rather than the motorway and with crowds yesterday and crowds to come it was a treat to have a little time for reflection. Continue reading →

Saturday’s Revisits

15 Thursday Sep 2022

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Saturday 30th July 2022

11.00 United Counties League Division One

BIRSTALL UNITED 4 (Crossley 9 29 64 84)

Lefley sent off (DOGSO) 13

SAFFRON DYNAMO 0

Gladman penalty saved 69

Att 303

Entry £5

Programme £2

13.45 United Counties League Division One

BARROW TOWN 1 (Raceala 81)

Larter sent off (violent conduct) 45

RADFORD 5 (Halls 27 45p Jebbison 68 Seaton 79 84)

Att 240

Entry £5

Programme £2

16:45 United Counties League Division One

HOLWELL SPORTS 3 (Pope 55 Allcock 69 Bestwick 86)

HUCKNALL TOWN 3 (Westcarr 9 Knight 22 Bell 68)

Att 249

Entry £5

Programme £2

19.30 United Counties League Premier Division North

MELTON TOWN 2 (Anderson 45 Lee 53)

SELSTON 0

Att 316

Entry £6

Programme £1

I do think as a groundhopper and a writer the aim should be to find something for yourself in every game you see. It could be simply following the team you love, it could be ticking of a new ground but what is there when it’s something new- four revisits in a day? For me it was seeing how the clubs had changed in the time since I first visited. Some places had changed more than others! Continue reading →

Swap

12 Monday Sep 2022

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Friday 29th July 2022 ko 19:45

United Counties League Premier Division South

LUTTERWORTH TOWN 3 (Wilson 22 32 Small 27p)

ROTHWELL CORINTHIANS 2 (Rzesteuck 57 Allen 88)

Att 320

Entry £6

Programme £2

For me the year 2022 has been about reconnecting with people that we’d been unable to meet during the pandemic. The catch has been those 2 years have seen manifest changes in all of us, so often what we’ve gone back to has been different to what we’d been used to back in 2020. The UCL Hop proved to be a case in point. Continue reading →

(Back on) My Old Stomping Ground

21 Thursday Jul 2022

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Saturday 21st May 2022 ko 14:30

South Wales Alliance W John Owen Cup Final 

CARDIFF CORINTHIANS 1 (Withers 90 +1)

LLANRUMNEY UNITED 1 (Rees 90+5)

No extra time, Cardiff Corinthians won on 5-4 on penalties

Att 507 at USW Treforest (Pontypridd Town FC)

Entry £4

Programme (superb) £1

Teamsheet Free

The truth of it is that all reputations are earned. The sheer numbers of groundhoppers at the South Wales Alliance’s Cup Final bore testament to that league’s efforts over many years welcoming groundhoppers, on no end of organised events over the years. As committeeman Phil Sweet put it, “We thought there might be groundhoppers, so we thought we’d do a programme.” They are a league that grasped what the hobby is all about a long time ago and have continued that knowledge throughout my time hopping. 

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Fields Of Fire

06 Friday May 2022

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Sunday 20th March 2022 ko 12:15

East of Scotland League- Division One Conference B

OAKLEY UNITED 2 (Love 20 40)

EASTHOUSES LILY MINERS WELFARE 1 (Goodlad 37og)

Inglis penalty saved 44

Att 365

Entry £6

Programme £2

The final game of the Scottish Hop is an odd one. Part of me would like a second game on the Sunday but coach drivers’ hours make that impossible and I do tend to change my mind about it when I type “Oxford” into the satnav as I leave the final game; I certainly did here! Continue reading →

Restless Natives

05 Thursday May 2022

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Saturday 19th March 2022 ko 19:45

East of Scotland League- Premier Division

HILL OF BEATH HAWTHORN 3 (Connelly 19 49 Allum 90p)

LINLITHGOW ROSE 1 (Sneddon 34)

Att 584

Entry £7

Programme £2

Perhaps it’s the floodlights but there’s always a sense of heightened expectation associated with the final game on the Saturday on the Scottish Hop. For one thing the league always schedules us an excellent game and this time round we’d spent the whole event with programme editor with Dave Edler and it was clear that both he, and the club had thought deeply about what was going to happen that evening. That started by the way with Dave’s programme, one of the best we’ve ever seen on one of these events. 

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Where The Rose Is Sown

02 Monday May 2022

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Saturday 19th March 2022 ko 17:00

East of Scotland League Premier Division

DUNDONALD BLUEBELL 1 (Sibanda 40p)

TRANENT JUNIORS 3 (Maugham 12 76 Renton 36)

Att 371

Entry £7

Programme £2

Just as it was at Crossgates parking was an issue at Cardenden, but again simple planning and cooperation made it all work efficiently. But I hear your question, he said Cardenden and not Dundonald, so where were we?

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Porrohman

29 Friday Apr 2022

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Saturday 19th March 2022 ko 14:00

East of Scotland League Premier Division

CROSSGATES PRIMROSE 1 (Ritchie 44)

PENICUIK ATHLETIC 2 (Danson 26 58)

Att 434

Entry £6

Programme £2

From Glenrothes it seemed like no more than a quick dash along the A92 to Crossgates. Again this was a village based around the coal industry, even down to the football ground, Humbug Park being named after the former colliery here. More recently the Big Country and Skids frontman Stuart Adamson grew up in Crossgates, and an estate of new houses has “Stuart Adamson Crescent” in it, named in his memory.

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Wonderland

28 Thursday Apr 2022

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Saturday 19th March 2022 ko 11:15

East of Scotland League First Division- Conference B

GLENROTHES 3 (L Schiavone 5 Bell 35 Cargill 64)

KINNOULL 0

Att 410

Entry £6

Programme £2

With all due respect to Caledonian Braves I felt we were moving back to traditional Scottish Hop territory. The fact was that at Bothwellhaugh we’d added roughly 200 to a crowd of 219, from now on that 200 or so would be added to local support and that would test the compromise that is every single organised hop.

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