Tag Archives: North West Counties League

The Alternate Revisit

17 Monday Mar 2025

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Saturday 1st March 2025 ko 13:45 (but delayed to 13:55)

North West Counties League Premier Division

STOCKPORT TOWN 0

Schofield sent off (DOGSO) 26

CHEADLE TOWN 1 (Delaney 15p)

Att 435

Entry £6

Programme £2

For me and a few others a trip to Stockport Sports Village represented something slightly unusual. Back in 2010 I’d paid the place a visit on a cold December day to watch the hosts play Cammel Laird. The catch is it wasn’t Stockport Town! Woodley Sports used the ground, later to be Stockport Sports, but they folded in 2015, in no small part to Stockport County’s own financial troubles.

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The Feast of George

12 Wednesday Mar 2025

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Saturday 1st March 2025 ko 11:00

North West Counties League-Division One

STOCKPORT GEORGIANS 3 (Wych 48 McFadyen 65 81p)

SANDBACH UNITED 1 (Greenop 52)

Att 532

Entry £5

Programme £2

Part of me wished we were in Wales, it was St David’s Day after all, and GroundhopUK owner Chris Berezai is Welsh after all. But it wasn’t Chris that was given daffodils over breakfast in Bolton, no that was Robyn my wife! She’s from Bristol and the joke started when she visited Tirana and our friend Ditmar commented, “Bristol, isn’t that nearly in Wales?” That was 2 years ago and the joke has well and truly stuck..

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Rammy

04 Tuesday Mar 2025

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Friday 28th February 2025 ko 19:45

North West Counties League Premier Division

RAMSBOTTOM UNITED 2 (Whyte 48 Hoyle 56)

FC ST HELENS 3 (Barker 59 Spiers 74 90+1)

Att 551

Entry £9

Programme £2

So back on GroundhopUK duty and despite this being, I believe, the only hop game ever to have taken place in February I was comfortable with what we were doing, and although noone mentioned it, the weather forecast looked kind.

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More Than

24 Sunday Mar 2024

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Sunday 3rd March 2024 ko 14:30

North West Counties League Premier Division

CHARNOCK RICHARD 7 (Power 6 Bibby 33 Nickeas 45 57 64 Davies 74p Spinelli 87)

SKELMERSDALE UNITED 1 (Rodrigues 89)

Att 534

Entry £6

Programme £2

I’m sure my regular reader is aware of how my version of groundhoppers’ O.C.D. shows itself, I tend to make a beeline for clubs I regularly see on road signs. Well, that must go double for a motorway service station mustn’t it? Clearly, I’m not the only one who’s thought that, as virtually the first thing I saw as I walked into Mossie Park was a banner with the legend,” Charnock Richard, more than a service station!”

Quite right, and I hope the hop visit helped in that way. Certainly the club’s hosting helped!

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Ex

19 Tuesday Mar 2024

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Sunday 3rd March 2024 ko 11:45

North West Counties League Division One North

EUXTON VILLA 3 (Singleton 24 63 Briggs 37)

DARWEN 0

Att 618

Entry £5

Programme £2

Sunday dawned in Blackpool and I had two reasons to marvel. The first was the Savoy Hotel’s ability to shift legions of the various coach parties staying there through a buffet breakfast, whilst maintaining the piles of bacon, sausages and so on. The second was relevant only to the GroundhopUK party- we still had two matches to watch.

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Elegance

08 Friday Mar 2024

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Saturday 2nd March 2024 ko 11:00

North West Counties League Premier Division

LONGRIDGE TOWN 2 (Homson-Smith 20 Marshall 45)

PADIHAM 3 (Price 27 Brownhill 37 James 79)

Att 438

Entry £7

Programme £2

It was odd having the hop base in Blackpool, way out of season. We were staying on the seafront at the grandly named Savoy Hotel. It was superlatively convenient, the car park was large, there was a tram stop by the entrance and the name was impressive enough for Robyn to wonder what sort deal GroundhopUK had managed to get?

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The Groove

07 Thursday Mar 2024

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Friday 1st March 2024 ko 19:45

North West Counties League Division One North

FC ST HELENS 1 (Hall 24)

Hall penalty saved 21

DAISY HILL 0

Att 504*

Entry £5

Programme £2

Maybe it was the weather, or maybe it was being in such a groove with Step 5/6 hops another GroundhopUK event seemed little more than a continuation of what had finished last October at Billingshurst. Of course there were massive differences, a shift in locale from Sussex to the North West for one but such is the preponderance now of hop in leagues at that “Sweet Spot” of Steps 5 and 6 as part of the organising team there is usually very little that a club can do that will really surprise us. And yet on this weekend, one club managed to do precisely that.

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Almost

05 Tuesday Dec 2023

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Saturday 11th November 2023 ko 14:00

Shropshire County League Premier Division

ST MARTINS 1 (Smart 28og)

DAWLEY TOWN 9 (Sabar 17 Knowles 48 67 81p 88 90 Watkins 65 Smart 67 McLeod 75)

Att c40

Entry FREE

Programme £2

After being involved in 3 organised groundhops in 5 weeks, I wanted to avoid anything quite so organised for a while. If you have asked me on the way back from Billingshurst what I fancied visiting next I’d have probably said something low-key with a view. I’ll leave you, dear reader to work out whether St Martins added up to that choice!

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Evans

05 Wednesday Apr 2023

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Sunday 5th March 2023 ko 14:30

North West Counties League Division One South

STAFFORD TOWN 2 (Simcox 27 57)

ABBEY HEY 1 (Kirkman 90)

Att 489

Entry £6

Programme £1.50

The great mercy of this particular Sunday on the North West Counties Hop is that we didn’t get the chance to get cold, in fact and don’t say this too loudly, the day was actually a relaxing meander through two charming Stafford clubs. Robyn and I even managed to get home at a sensible time after it all- that will never do! Continue reading →

Silkmore

04 Tuesday Apr 2023

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Sunday 5th March 2023 ko 11:45

North West Counties League Division One South

BROCTON 1 (Smith 61)

STOCKPORT GEORGIANS 0

Curbishley sent off 76 (2nd booking)

Att 457

Entry £6

Programme £2

Sunday on the hop dawned, and as a coachload of hoppers kept a Stafford hotel’s staff busy replenishing the bacon at the breakfast bar. I contemplated the day’s football, two Stafford-based teams, or in purely personal terms two revisits! Brocton is a village to the south east of Stafford but the club bearing their game play at the former Staffordshire Police Ground in Silkmore Lane, in Stafford itself. Continue reading →