Tag Archives: Western League

Titan

03 Saturday Nov 2018

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Saturday 6th October 2018 ko 11.00

Western League Division One

LONGWELL GREEN SPORTS 2 (Brittain 2 Keary 36)

WELTON ROVERS 3 (Hunt 28 Seviour 54 77)

Att 213

Entry £5

Programme £1

When we started the Western Hop back in 2015 we actually passed Longwell Green Sports on our way between Bitton and Oldland Abbotonians. Whilst amusing myself with the knowledge that we’d succeeded in convincing a hopper that the latter club was so named because comedian Russ Abbott was a secret benefactor (He actually recorded it in his blog before rapidly deleting it!) we passed the ground and I wondered why we weren’t visiting there and then? Continue reading →

Bris (tol)

01 Thursday Nov 2018

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Friday 5th October 2018 ko 19.45

Western League Premier Division

BRISLINGTON 2 (Taylor 40 Biggins 71)

ODD DOWN (BATH) 3 (Lloyd6 79 82)

Att 262 

Entry £6

Programme £1

For as long as I visit grounds of the Western League I will always think of the late Mark Edmonds, That goes double for the Western Hop, the idea he had, that every year Chris Berezai and try our best to make the most of his legacy for the clubs he set out to help.  It puts us under a good kind of pressure, and that goes for everyone involved that remembers Mark. This year it was lovely to see his widow Sarah joining us all for this hop, mainly based in and around Bristol, and I hope she feels we did Mark’s idea justice.  Continue reading →

Six Ex

14 Wednesday Mar 2018

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Tuesday 6th March 2018 ko 19.45

Western League Division One

DEVIZES TOWN 4 (R Mitchell 25 28 Russell 27 Enderby 80)

BRISTOL TELEPHONES 1 (Britton 75p)

Att 65

Entry & Programme £5

Growing up I suspect I was older than my years. These days one thing I have in common with my younger self was a liking for country pubs, with log fires and wing-back chairs. There was one I used to frequent regularly, the Star (now the Talk House) at Stanton-St-John. I’d sit there, talk complete rubbish with friends and the whole experience was washed down with pint after pint of Devizes’ own Wadworth’s 6X. It seems to me the whole pub had been created in Devizes’ own image, a rural town, based around tradition, a stone castle, and the beer still delivered by horse-drawn dray. You can therefore imagine my surprise when I opened the door to the clubhouse at Nursteed Road, and saw a chap defending himself from being stabbed! Continue reading →

Melksham Without

15 Thursday Feb 2018

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Monday 12th February 2018 ko 19.30

Western League Premier Division

MELKSHAM TOWN 4 (Higdon 14p 42 Sibbick 28 47)

LONGWELL GREEN SPORTS 1 (Pruett 90)

Att 349

Entry £6

Programme £1

It was an evening of mistakes. Missing our turn-off from the M4 saw us arrived uncomfortably close to kick off, and on a day when parts of the country had seen snow, ice and heavy rain I’d consoled myself that since Melksham’s new ground featured a 3G pitch the game was more likely to be on. You can imagine my mixed emotions when I saw the grass pitch… Continue reading →

Initiative

03 Wednesday Jan 2018

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Friday 29th December 2017 ko 19.45

Western League Division One

KEYNSHAM TOWN 5 (Brown 19 90 Box 64 M Curnock 75 Harvey 82)

BISHOP SUTTON 2 (Hind 45 Downes 90)

Att 184

Entry/Programme/ Mince Pie £6

They say the lord helps those who help themselves (so why do thieves go to prison?) so all credit should go to Jules French at Keynsham Town and Martin McConachie at Hengrove Athletic for coming up with a cute little marketing ruse. They spotted that Bristol City‘s game against Wolverhampton Wanderers the next day was being televised with a 5.30pm kickoff so moved their kick-offs to the Friday and Saturday at 1.30 pm respectively. Continue reading →

Into The Light

16 Thursday Nov 2017

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Wednesday 18th October 2017 ko 19.45

Wiltshire Senior Cup- First Round

SHREWTON UNITED 0

CHIPPENHAM TOWN 7 (Ricketts 15 77 81 Richards 24 Smile 51 87 Bowman 54)

Att c115

Entry £5

When groundhoppers get deeper into the hobby they tend to realise that the number of floodlit grounds is far more finite than those without, so tend to go for unlit grounds on Saturdays and save the floodlit grounds for midweeks when the lights are in use. That throws up the unusual sub-set of grounds who have floodlights, but seldom use them. An extreme example of this is North Berkshire League club Uffington United who currently are the only club in their league to have lights, and have only used them twice, both times for games I’ve helped organise! Shrewton’s case is less extreme, as their lights are there as a legacy. Continue reading →

Qualities

08 Wednesday Nov 2017

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Sunday 8th October 2017 ko 14.15

Western League Division One

BISHOPS LYDEARD 2 (James Quick 39 Hebditch 45) James Quick missed pen 51

CHEDDAR AFC 4 (Coomes 9 Jones 67 Bennett 75)

Att 264

Entry & Programme £6

The Western hop’s final destination for 2017 was easily the most anticipated of the weekend. There was nothing too involved about the reason why, it was because Bishops Lydeard are new to the league joining last season, and that Cothelstone Road has seen massive improvements to allow the club that  promotion. That meant that a large strand of the groundhopping hobby would suddenly have the club on their radar for a visit and that was reflected with the second-highest attendance of the event, and easily the highest number of hoppers. The question was how would Lydeard cope with the large crowd?

Continue reading →

Order, In All Things

07 Tuesday Nov 2017

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Sunday 8th October 2017 ko 11.00

Western League Premier Division

SHEPTON MALLET 4 (Billing 20 47 89 Pollard 47)

BRISLINGTON 1 (Hunt 85)

Att 285

Entry £6

Programme £1

About 2 weeks before the Western Hop I’d been at a game and a hopper came up to me and told me how excited he was about the hop, but then commented.

“But why couldn’t you have put the Bishops Lydeard game on before the Shepton Mallet game?”

My response was to ask why would that be of any help? His response was telling,

“Because then I’d go home after the Lydeard game” he said. Never has the compromise that is the organised groundhop been put in clearer focus. Continue reading →

Origins

03 Friday Nov 2017

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Saturday 7th October 2017 ko 19.30

Western League Premier Division

HENGROVE ATHLETIC 3 (White 54 Hickery 69 Fillingham 90p)

HALLEN 3 (Mills 20  Mills 27 Cousins 71)

Att 239

Entry £6

Programme £1

We approached Norton Lane with a large dollop of anticipation. For my girlfriend Robyn this was the nearest ground to her family in Bristol and her nephews Jack, Kai and Che were at the ground waiting for us. For many heading there it was the chance to catch up with the tour-de-force that is Martin McConachie now at Hengrove, but who had masterminded Oldland Abbotonians’ superbly hosted hop game two years ago. I had another reason for wanting to re-visit though, much as though I was looking forward to seeing Martin, Jack, Kai and Che. Continue reading →

Reciprocity

02 Thursday Nov 2017

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Saturday 7th October 2017 ko 16.30

Western League Premier Division

ODD DOWN (BATH) AFC 2 (Simpson 32 White 87p) Gould sent off 34 (Dangerous Play)

BITTON 2 (Knighton 68 McClennan 78) Tooze sent off 57 (2nd Booking)

Att 211

Entry £6

Programme £1

About 3 years ago I was watching a game at VfR Mannheim, in the German 5th division. I called in at the club offices to pick up a teamsheet, they spotted the foreigner in their midst (was my German that appalling? (yes)) and I was whisked away to the boardroom and welcomed to their club. I left wondering if a non-league club in my country would show the same kindness if the situation arose? Continue reading →