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Football: Wherever it may be

~ Laurence's football travels

Football: Wherever it may be

Tag Archives: Premier

Evenlode

27 Thursday Apr 2017

Posted by laurencereade in C

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Combe, Football, groundhopping, Hanborough FC, Long Hanborough, Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire FA, Premier, Witney and District League

Tuesday 11th April 2017 ko 18.15

Witney & District League Premier Division

COMBE 1 (C Ibbitson 12)

HANBOROUGH 2 (Morton 5 77)

Att 45

Entry FREE

No programme

The great joy of unfloodlit midweek games is the chance to engage with the game at grassroots, and yes I am amused when I hear professional pundits refer to the National League as grassroots! Little do they know… The Witney League reminds me in many ways of a league I’m proud to serve- the North Berkshire League in that they both are off-pyramid village football competitions and are all the stronger for playing to their strengths.  Continue reading →

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Pepperinge Eye

14 Monday Nov 2016

Posted by laurencereade in C

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Tags

Broadmayne, Castle, Corfe Castle, county, Dorset League, National Trust, Premier, railway, The Fortress, West Street

Saturday 12th November 2016 ko 13.30

Dorset Intermediate Cup 2nd Round

CORFE CASTLE 7 (Ricketts 4 10 18 Johnstone 22p 47 Smith 37 Hector 63)

BROADMAYNE 1 (Johnson 54)

Att 28

Entry FREE

Programme £2.50

You really can’t avoid Corfe Castle on the Isle of Purbeck, the A351, and the steam railway to Swanage has to take a metaphorical deep break to squeeze past! The 11th century castle built by William the Conqueror, one of the first in the UK to be built out of stone found itself on the losing side on the Civil War and was slighted afterwards.

Continue reading →

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Folk

30 Tuesday Dec 2014

Posted by laurencereade in B

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Tags

Banbury United, Cropredy Festival, Fairport Convention, Gary Glitter, New Stadium, Patricia Amos, Premier, Southern League, Spencer Stadium

Tuesday 23rd December 2014 ko 19.45

Southern League Premier Division

BANBURY UNITED 0

BURNHAM 2 (N Webb 31 J Webb 61)

Att 188

Entry £10

Programme £1

I think Banbury gets a bad press it doesn’t really deserve. Yes I know Gary Glitter was born here, and Patricia Amos, the first person to be sent to prison for failing to send her children to school is a Banburian, and the odour of coffee from the factory does waft over the M40 as you drive past, but there’s more to the town that just those facts.

Perhaps the problem is that like many towns, you have to scratch a little. Remember the “Ride a cock horse” nursery rhyme? Well follow the A423 though the town, and there’s the cross (not the original, that used to be close to what’s now the shopping centre)  in the middle of a roundabout. Look out too for the fine lady (Godiva) statue by its side including the little frog at the horse’s hoof! Ever bought a loaf of “Fine Lady” bread? That’s from Banbury too.

Continue reading →

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Elevation

13 Thursday Oct 2011

Posted by laurencereade in H

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Tags

City, Football, Garden, Goal, Gosling, groundhop, groundhopping, Hatfield, League, Lockett, Midlands, Park, Premier, Robins, South, Spartan, Sports, Standen, Town, Welwyn, Young

Tuesday 11th October 2011 ko 7.45pm

Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division

HATFIELD TOWN 0

ROYSTON TOWN 6 (Lockett 20 Young 39 Feumi 43p Robins 67 Standen 81 90)

Att 87

Entry £6

Programme £1

Tea 50p  (in a University of Chester paper cup!)

Until last season Hatfield groundshared at Welwyn Garden City FC. Sharing somewhere other than your home town is seldom ideal, but Hatfield now at least have a home to call their own. The problem is that its still in Welwyn Garden City! Moreover the Gosling Sports Park, doesn’t just contain a 6 lane running track but a velodrome too, making the football spectator extremely distant from the pitch. That said the velodrome is perhaps the ground’s saving grace, as the banking does provide elevation, ameliorating some of the distance. Its helped further by a balcony the height of which I’ve never enountered anywhere other than Wembley Stadium. The panorama shot is from there and it does give a Subbuteo feel to wtching a game.

With 3 distinct viewing areas, the terrace, seating and balcony, the ground is certainly different, and I’ve heard descriptions of Stalinist, and East German, neither of which I’d necessarily disagree with. For me it simply felt municipal, nothing wrong with that, but I wouldn’t want to watch football somewhere like this all the time. I should add that the club has had to work hard to get the ground usable for football. Gates have to be locked at specific times, and a huge players tunnel built, which if it were in Kent would have the anti-polytunnel brigade up in arm!

Hatfield have signed a 7-year lease, but I got the impression that their tenure may well be a lot shorter than that. The bottom line is that they want to be in Hatfield, and they think they’ve found a suitable location. What happens next is anyone’s guess, but I’d get to Gosling Sports Park soon to avoid disappointment.

On the pitch there were 2 sides with radically different agenda. Hatfield are building for the future, in both senses of the word, while Royston simply wish to return to the Isthmian League. After watching one of the biggest away drubbings I’ve ever seen I’m not sure which club will achieve their ambitions. Yes, Hatfield’s defence was appalling, but they looked a young side, and an older, better remunerated team, ran riot. Are Hatfield relegation fodder? On this outing yes, but they’re not in a relegation spot, and are there better teams than Royston in the league? You suspect quite possibly.

Definately one to keep an eye on.





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