Tag Archives: League

The Devil’s Dyke

13 Sunday Aug 2017

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Sunday 30th July 2017 ko 17.00

United Counties League Premier Division

WISBECH TOWN 2 (Beck 2 Ford 45) Fairweather sent off 90 (2nd booking)

WELLINGBOROUGH TOWN 1 (Dowling 50)

Att 433

Entry £6

Programme £2

On the face of it Wisbech Town ought to be in the Eastern Counties League. The Fenland Stadium famously sits the width of a dyke on the Norfolk side of the border with Cambridgeshire. It was to be GroundhopUK’s first and probably only foray into Norfolk at Step 5 or 6 and that dyke was making it’s presence felt.

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The Quiet Ones

11 Friday Aug 2017

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Sunday 30th July 2017 ko 14.00

Peterborough & District League Premier Division

LEVERINGTON SPORTS 2 (Alexander 53 Raychev 90)

PETERBOROUGH I.C.A. SPORTS 0

Att 304

Entry £4

Programme £1

When you organise one of these events clubs tend to take one of two approaches. Some, like Steve Weeks’ Hanney United phone you up every day for advice so you know everything that’s likely to be waiting for you when you arrive. Others prefer to do their preparation quietly, and leave that element of surprise. Leverington definitely fitted into the latter category. Continue reading →

Best Wishes

09 Wednesday Aug 2017

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Sunday 30th July 2017 ko 11.00

Peterborough & District League Division One

LONG SUTTON ATHLETIC 0

TYDD ST MARY 0

Match abandoned 12 minutes- serious injury

Att 346

Entry £4

Programme £1

The coach parked up outside the ground and in front the main road looked choked. It was a mixture of through traffic, and groundhoppers who in many cases had found inappropriate places to park. The inevitable happened, a hopper’s car scraped a local’s car and apart from the thoroughly unpleasant exchange of views afterwards the best he can hope for is the loss of his no claims bonus. I wonder whether he’ll book the coach next time? I however had other thoughts… Continue reading →

The Legacy

06 Sunday Aug 2017

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Saturday 29th July 2017 ko 16.00

Peterborough & District League Division Two

SPALDING TOWN 2 (Coote 17 Wilson 90)

WISBECH ST MARY SAINTS 1 (McKenna 40)

Att 241

Entry £4

Programme £1

The story goes that a local man left a legacy leaving Spalding United £200,000 Pinchbeck United £200,000 and Spalding Town 2p! Now I haven’t been able to verify the account, or who or what at Spalding Town irked him, but if true if would help to explain how the UCL/PDFL hop came to be at Knight Street, in Pinchbeck. Continue reading →

The Compromise

06 Saturday May 2017

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Saturday 15th April 2017 ko 15.00

Northern Counties East League Premier Division

ARMTHORPE WELFARE 1 (Pearce 88)

HEMSWORTH MINERS WELFARE 6 (Connolly 4 Law 31 Collier 34 63 82 90)

Att 231

Entry £5

Programme £1.50

I’d started worrying the week before, and those worries were accentuated when counting the crowd at Rossington Main. We’d set this hop up on a “3 games in a day” basis, as we’d thought that 13 games in 4 and a bit days was enough football even for me! That format does come with a risk though and we’d just encountered the perfect storm as an organiser.

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Soothsayer

02 Tuesday May 2017

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Friday 14th April 2017 ko 17.30

Northern Counties East League Division One

KNARESBOROUGH TOWN 1 (Heath 38)

PONTEFRACT COLLIERIES 5 (Cotton 50 70 Jeffs 55 Greenough 67 Reece 69)

Att 405

Entry £5

Programme £1.50

We’d passed through Knaresborough on our way to Harrogate Railway, but the traffic was slow, even after getting over the level crossing at Starbeck station. The queues seemed to be tourists leaving the many and varied attractions at Knaresborough. There’s the remains of a castle where the first Maundy Money was distributed by King John in 1210, but perhaps the most intriguing is Mother Shipton’s cave. The story goes that it was the home of Edith Southeil who became famous for her fortune telling and prophesies in the 16th century, except done of her predictions seemed to come true. It was on reflection no bad thing that I didn’t stop for a steer on the evening game! Continue reading →

The First Lap

27 Thursday Apr 2017

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Thursday 13th April 2017 ko 19.45

Northern Counties East League Division One

CAMPION 4 (Davis 47p Cunningham 70 Kendall 77 Hey 87)

DRONFIELD TOWN 1 (Wood 46)

Att 268

Entry £5

Programme £1.50

With last year’s Easter Hop being based in Cornwall and organised by Phil Hiscox, it had seemed ages since we’d enjoyed the company of the Northern Counties East. A lot had changed, not least that we at GroundhopUK had been approached by the North West Counties League to run a hop there. We’d immediately thought that would end up replacing the NCEL as this hop saw us reach a point where there are insufficient clubs to run a full hop here. However next season the Easter Hop reverts to the South West Peninsula League for it’s final event, so we looked at ways of squaring the circle.  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 →