Tag Archives: Wales

Athletic On The Road

24 Monday Apr 2017

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Saturday 8th April 2017 ko 14.30

Welsh League Division 3

TREHARRIS ATHLETIC WESTERN 1 (Mitchell 55) Mitchell missed penalty 86

TREFELIN B.G.C. 1 (Latham 23) Monks-Landeg sent off 65 (dangerous play)

Att c25 at Welfare Ground, Fochriw

Entry £3

Programme £1

In the lexicon of great South Wales non-league grounds three places stand out. There’s Blaenrhondda, Garw and until recently Treharris Athletic Western’s Athletic Ground home. Those in the know knew it was on borrowed time, if for no other reason than the pitch being too small for Welsh League requirements, but the club’s abrupt departure earlier this year took many by surprise. 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 →

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 →

Aqueduct

19 Monday Dec 2016

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Satursday 17th December 2016 k0 14.00

Welsh National League (Wrexham Area) Division One

ACREFAIR YOUTH 1 (O Evans 5)

LLANGOLLEN TOWN 6 (Williams 8 19 45 Prosser 32 83 Jay 80)

Att 32

Entry FREE

No Programme

If you’re one of those football fans that likes to turn up at the ground 30 seconds before kick-off, then the Bont playing field, on the outskirts of Froncysyllte is definitely the the ground to break that habit. The ground sits with the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct as  is it’s backdrop so it makes sense to park up in either Froncysyllte or Trevor, and walk the towpath over the bridge for a quite wonderful view of the valley and the ground.  Continue reading →

Out Of The Shadows

28 Wednesday Sep 2016

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Monday 29th August ko 17.00

South Wales Alliance- Division One

CADOXTON BARRY 5 (Morgan 5 79 Weekley 8 Oaten 15 Dawson 32)

COGAN CORONATION 3 (Walsh 33og Fitzgerald 45 Jones 75)

Att 301

Entry £3

Programme £1

As is usually the case with these mega-hops it felt like the end of an era as the coaches pulled into the ground at Parc Bryn-y-Don. But once again tired legs headed for the pitch and clubhouse, but in this case there was the chequered history of the club to consider. Continue reading →

Penultimate

22 Thursday Sep 2016

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Monday 29th August 2016 ko 14.55

South Wales Alliance Premier Division

GRANGE ALBION 3 (Beattie 26 Cotterill 28 Daly 43)

CARDIFF CORINTHIANS 0

Att 225

Entry £3

Programme £1

I remember my first encounter with Coronation Park. I’d parked up to visit Cardiff City’s Ninian Park, spotted the little ground with the name picked out in the brickwork and wondered what league Grange Albion played in. By the time I parked in roughly the same place in Sloper Road a few years’ later, beyond the Bus Garage to tick off Cardiff City Stadium I knew they played in the South Wales Senior League. As I alighted Coach 2 it felt like the aligning of the groundhopping planets! As if to accentuate the feeling, the tips of the Millenium Stadium’s cantilevering are visible too. Continue reading →

The Pub Team That Isn’t

20 Wednesday Jul 2016

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Saturday 16th July 2016 ko 13.00

Pre-season friendly

NEW INN AFC 7 (13 17 32 41p 47 48 77)

SEVERN TUNNEL NPC 3 (65 75 90)

Att 35

Entry FREE

No Programme

The feeder leagues to the Welsh League are manna from heaven for the groundhopper. There’s a multiplicity of villages steeped in history (mainly in coal mining and steel production) and in the case of the league these two clubs play in, the Gwent County League, programme production is mandatory.

Mind you if the printed word is a deal-breaker for you I’d phone ahead before travelling, print runs do tend to be low, often in single figures. It’s seen as a chore by the majority of the clubs, little more than a means of avoiding a fine from the league! Continue reading →

Uncertainty

31 Tuesday May 2016

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Saturday 21st May 2016 ko 14.30

Welsh League Division 2

TATA STEEL P

CHEPSTOW TOWN P

Thursday 26th May 2016 ko 18.45

TATA STEEL 1 (M Lewis 59)

CHEPSTOW TOWN 1 (Murphy 68)

Att 17

Entry £4

Programme £1

Unless you live outside the UK and South Wales in particular you can’t help but have noticed the problems that have befallen Port Talbot. The town is dominated by steel production, so the decision by the steelworks owners Tata to sell the loss-making plant has the potential to be devastating for the area. At the moment the owners, unions, politicians and potential buyers are trying to find a way forward. Until a conclusion is reached the area collectively holds its breath. Continue reading →

Glenafod

30 Monday May 2016

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Saturday 21st May 2016 ko 14.30

Welsh League Division One

GOYTRE UNITED 2 (Harris 6 Ryan 14)

ABERBARGOED BUDS 3 (Maisey 8 Hughes 46 Meacham 54p) Harding sent off (2nd booking) 90

Att c100

Entry £5

Programme £1

This turned into something of a mad dash! The original plan was to watch Margam-based Tata Steel but a deluge over the Neath/Swansea/Port Talbot area saw my game correctly waterlogged off, so using a little local knowledge I ducked under the M4 and made for Goytre. For the avoidance of doubt this is the Goytre that’s near Port Talbot, not the Goytre who play in Penperlleni, south of Abergavenny. It really doesn’t help that Goytre and Goytre United are in the same division! Mind you I remember when you could watch the local derby that really isn’t! Click here! Continue reading →

The Unusual J

24 Sunday Apr 2016

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Saturday 16th April 2016 ko 17.00

Carmarthenshire League Division 2

JOHNSTOWN 1 (J Evans 49)

DREFACH 3 (J Jones 40og Baker 79 S Jones 82)

Att 137

Entry £3

Programme £1

We headed back to a rather chilly Carmarthen for our final game of the day, and again there was a quirk, the name of the club! Perhaps if there’s an etymologist reading this they can tell me why so few place names begin with a “J?” There’s Jarrow, but offhand I can’t think of any well-known others, and I know there was at least one hopper at this game that this was his first “J” club. But there was far more to like about Johnstown than just a letter. Continue reading →