Tag Archives: Sports

Blessed

11 Monday Nov 2024

Posted by in F

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday 5th October 2024 ko 15:00

Southern Counties East League Premier Division

FISHER FC 1 (Barrington 14)

FAVERSHAM TOWN 3 (Kwayie 43 90+6 Newman 75)

Att 423

Entry £8

Programme £2

It has to be said that over the years I’ve developed a soft spot for Fisher Athletic and when they folded in 2009; the phoenix club Fisher FC. There is no obvious reason for it, I first saw Athletic well after the loss of the Surrey Docks Stadium in Rotherhithe in 2004 during their stint sharing at Dulwich Hamlet, and even at Bacon’s College in pre-season in 2012 when I could still have a brief look at the old ground, now well and truly derelict.

Continue reading →

The Transformation

07 Thursday Nov 2024

Posted by in S

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday 4th October 2024 ko 19:45

Southern Counties East League Premier Division

SNODLAND TOWN 0

RUSTHALL 3 (Barton 5 Clover 60 Bissett 76)

Att 395

Entry £8

Programme £2

In GroundhopUK terms October added up to 12 games at 12 grounds in south-eastern England. The games were split over 2 weekends 3 weeks apart between the SCEFL and Southern Combination. In my terms that added up to 11 revisits, so I approached the two events as part organiser, part social event, and part seeing how some of the clubs and their facilities had changed. And nowhere across those twelve games saw more of a transformation than at Snodland’s Potyn’s Field.

Continue reading →

The Ships

06 Wednesday Nov 2024

Posted by in G

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sunday 22nd September 2024 ko 14:15

West Wales Premier League

GIANTS GRAVE 4 (Wayman 39 D Williams 75 Sofiu 78 Palla 81)

CWM WANDERERS 1 (Shaw 49)

Att 204

Entry & Programme £5

The final stop of this year’s West Wales Hop saw our first visit of the weekend to a former Neath League side. Giants Grave is in the environs of Briton Ferry and the unusual name is usually seen as referencing the TW Ward’s Shipbreaking Yard, but the inconvenient truth is the name pre-dates shipbreaking or even heavy industry. I suspect the derivation probably comes from folk tales with the exact stories lost in the mists of time, and perhaps the mystery adds to the legend?

Continue reading →

The Former

31 Thursday Oct 2024

Posted by in G

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Sunday 22nd September 2024 ko 11:00

West Wales Premier League

AFC GLAIS 1 (Lewis Pritchard 55)

PONTARDDULAIS TOWN 3 (Jones 39secs 2 Williams 90+4)

Att 191

Entry & Programme £5

The final day of the West Wales Hop saw us move slowly towards its terminus at Cardiff station. We left Carmarthen and headed for Pontardawe, and once again a Cymric portmanteau – this time of Bridge on the River Tawe. Other than the production of tin plate the town as being the birthplace of singer Mary Hopkin and former Pop Idol starlet Rosie Ribbons. You’ve not heard of Rosie Ribbons? Well try asking my wife Robyn; her former workmates back in Bristol still nickname her “Ribbons!” I don’t see the resemblance myself!

Continue reading →

The Estate

24 Thursday Oct 2024

Posted by in P

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday 21st September 2024 ko 14:00

West Wales Premier League

PENLAN AFC 0

L Edwards sent off 86 (serious foul play)

T Waters sent off 88 (2nd booking)

Hudson sent off 90+3 (2nd booking)

ROCKSPUR 1 (M. Davies 40)

Jones sent off 22 (serious foul play)

Davies sent off 86 (2nd booking)

Att 332

Entry £3

Programme £2 (!)

The final two games of our Saturday in the West Wales Premier League saw us in Swansea and its environs. The first was a trip to Penlan, by reputation the roughest estate in the area. You may find this surprising but I was far less concerned than one or two others.

Continue reading →

Forza Titani

03 Thursday Oct 2024

Posted by in S

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday 5th September 2024 ko 20:45

UEFA Nations League League D Group 1

SAN MARINO 1 (Sensoli 53)

LIECHTENSTEIN 0

Att 914 at Stadio San Marino, Serravalle

Entry €12

Programme €2

Teamsheet FREE

The roots of Robyn and I being at a game involving Europe’s third smallest country lie in an unlikely place- Stockholm! You may remember our friends Per and Bettan; each year they like to have a week in Rimini so when we decided to have some time away during Robyn’s birthday week, we decided to follow their example!

For those in the know, Rimini is the gateway to the tiny country of San Marino so with us in the area it was straightforward to factor in a San Marino Nations League fixture. I’ll be completely candid at this point; I didn’t pay too much attention as to who they were playing!

Continue reading →

The Gap

02 Wednesday Oct 2024

Posted by in G

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday 26th August 2024 ko 14:30

Cymru North

GUILSFIELD UNITED 3 (Haycock 17 59 Matthews 69)

RUTHIN TOWN 1 (Owen 69p)

Att 160

Entry £7

Programme £1

Back in the days when the Welsh Hop visited the Mid-Wales League we visited this part of the world a lot. The unscientific way of explaining the geography is to say flop over the border at Welshpool, then head towards the mountains. Over three years we visited a series of quite wonderful grounds, but why did Guilsfield somehow evade us?

Continue reading →

Foresters

26 Thursday Sep 2024

Posted by in B

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday 24th August 2024 ko 15:00

Gloucestershire County League

BROADWELL AMATEURS 1 (Locke 90+4p)

BROMLEY HEATH UNITED 0

Att 65

Entry & Programme £2.50

Being married to a Bristol girl you’d have thought I’d have finished the Gloucestershire County League years ago, and if they’d hadn’t turned down an approach from GroundhopUK around 20 years ago I’d have completed it well before Robyn and I had ever met. Perhaps it’s a sign of the strength of the league that they’re managed to remove the reserve sides (who kyboshed the groundhop plan) and keep up the refreshing of its membership over the years.

Continue reading →

Brackets

25 Wednesday Sep 2024

Posted by in S

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday 20th August 2024 ko 19:45

Midland League Division One

SUTTON UNITED 2 (Gildea 4 33)

PAGET RANGERS 0

Att 132

Entry £6

Programme £2

Teamsheet FREE

As the saying goes “What’s in a name?” Well quite a lot of you happen to be Sutton United! For the avoidance of any doubt this is the club based in Sutton Coldfield, not the National League Premier side based in South London. As if to make it worse I’ve seen the club referred to as Sutton United (Birmingham); Sutton Coldfield and Birmingham are two very different places.

Continue reading →

The Cherry Tree

24 Tuesday Sep 2024

Posted by in R

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday 17th August 2024 ko 15:00

Hellenic League Division One

REDDITCH BOROUGH 0

STONEHOUSE TOWN 0

Keveren sent off 49 (2nd booking)

Att 45

Entry £5

Programme £3

When Redditch Borough won last season’s Midland League Division Two and successfully applied for Step 6 status, I wonder whether they imagined that would mean membership of the Hellenic League. There can’t be too many clubs as north as this or further that have played in the Hellenic or are there?

Continue reading →