Steve B the Groundhopper

2pm  31 May 2014 Central Scottish Amateur League, Premier Division Drumchapel Amateurs 1 Campsie Minerva 0 (att 32) abandoned after 64 minutes I've thoroughly enjoyed the football I've seen recently in the Scottish amateur leagues, and I enjoyed the first 64 minutes of this game, before a thin-skinned referee suddenly decided he'd had enough of being barracked for some questionable decisions and brought the encounter to a premature halt. I've had the misfortune to see a few games abandoned over the years, but never before have I seen a referee simply decide he'd had enough, blow for time and head off to the changing rooms, leaving players and spectators stunned. After a few moments the players shook hands, the goals were dismantled and everyone trooped off the pitch. I don't know whether the referee still got his match fee, and I'd be interested to know what, if any, discussions he had with the teams afterwards. I had an earlier-than-expected start ...

6.45pm  26 May 2014 Central Scottish Amateur League, Premier Division Campsie Minerva 3 Colville Park 2 (att 37) Following Saturday's game at Lochgilphead, and Sunday's cancellation at Tarbert, we broke the long journey home from Campbeltown with a detour to Lennoxtown, north of Glasgow in the shadow of the imposing Campsie Fells. The fells also lend their name to the local football team, while providing a spectacular backdrop to their High Park ground. The ground itself is little more than a public park, with a couple of pitches, both on the small side, car parking and a modern changing block. By all accounts the Central Scottish Amateur League is among the strongest amateur competitions in Scotland, and I was impressed by the standard of football, that was at least as good as many Scottish Junior games I've seen. Campsie took an early lead, but Colville Park didn't take long to equalise. The visitors looked the better side, and it was no surprise when they ...

2pm  24 May 2014 Scottish Amateur League, Premier Two Division Lochgilphead Red Star 4 Goldenhill 3 (att 36) English football might be winding down for the summer but there's plenty left to watch in Scotland, although with new grounds in the Scottish Juniors few and far between at the moment I turned my attention to amateur football. I think this was the first time I've spent a Saturday afternoon watching a "winter" amateur league game in Scotland, but if future games are half as enjoyable as this then I'll be seeing plenty more. There wasn't a huge amount at stake, with Goldenhill already promoted, but Red Star needed a result to give themselves a chance of promotion should vacancies occur in the league's higher divisions. They earned their three points the hard way. The visitors showed no ill effects from the long minibus journey to Lochgilphead, scoring twice in the opening minutes. Amazingly, Red Star then scored twice to make the score 2-2 ...

7pm  21 May 2014 Catforth and District Summer League, Division One Plungington 5 Goosnargh 5 (att 13) Not my first 5-5 draw but it's not a scoreline that happens often, and two sides sharing 10 goals can't fail to be entertaining. Although it was decent enough, the first half didn't really hint at the excitement to come. Goosnargh, urged on by almost all the spectators, started well but failed to take their chances. Plungington came back into the game with some neat passing football, and scored twice to lead at half time. The home side lost their keeper to a nasty injury, resulting in a trip to hospital for him and a lengthy stoppage for the game, before the break. The stand-in keeper wasn't to blame, but it took just the first 15 minutes of the second half for Goosnargh to turn the game on its head, scoring three times to go in front. Their lead lasted just a minute or so, before Plungington equalised, and not long afterwards the home side were back in front...

2pm  18 May 2014 SJFA North Region, Division One East Cup Final at Ellon United FC Buchanhaven Hearts 1 Sunnybank 1, 3-4 on penalties (att 250) The small Aberdeenshire town of Ellon is handily placed between Aberdeen, where Sunnybank are from, and Peterhead, home to Buchanhaven Hearts, so it was a logical venue for this cup final, and gave me a great opportunity to tick off an extra ground during a weekend in Scotland's north east. Beyond its location, The Meadows doesn't offer much as a venue for a prestige cup final. It's basically just a railed off pitch inside a mesh fence, with one end, overlooked by the car park, out of bounds to spectators. The clubhouse, which looks as it if serves the whole sports ground, is outside the boundary of the football ground itself. But what happens on the pitch is more important than what facilities surround the pitch, and after a slow start this cup final provided a very exciting afternoon. The sides had finished their league s...

2pm  17 May 2014 SJFA North Region, Division One East Parkvale 3 Fraserburgh United 1 (att 55) The only thing at stake here was who would finish 6th and 7th in the 10-team division, but as always in the Scottish Juniors the game had a proper competitive edge despite its end-of-season tag. The visitors started well, and thought they'd scored an early goal, only for a a linesman's flag to declare it offside. They did take the lead though, with a fantastic volley that was the first half's only goal. The game turned completely in the second half, as Parkvale exploited the visitors' fragile defence to run out, in the end, comfortable winners of a very entertaining game. Parkvale are an Aberdeen club, with their social club in the city centre, but they play a few miles out of town at Findon Park, itself on the outskirts of the village of Portlethen. The ground is surrounded by fields, and it must be a struggle to attract crowds in such a location. Like many North...

7pm  13 May 2014 Catforth and District Summer League, Division Two FC Clayton Brook 3 Goosnargh reserves 2 (att 30) I usually wait a little longer before dipping into the local summer leagues, but with at least four new venues in this year's Catforth League line up, and each team having only five home league fixtures, I decided to make an early start. The Catforth League used to be an unofficial competition, so long-established that the Lancashire FA agreed not to notice that games were being played during a period when FA rules meant they should have been outlawed. But these days it's become official, in some ways a shame as the village sides who used to compete have been replaced by winter teams using it to keep players fit during the close season. During the winter Clayton Brook are in division four of the Mid Lancashire League, while Goosnargh runs sides in the higher divisions of the same league. There wasn't much quality in this fixture, but it was entertai...

2.30pm  10 May 2014 SJFA East Region, North Division Coupar Angus 0 Kennoway Star Hearts 5 (att 37) Kennoway Star Hearts have just missed out on promotion in their first season as the junior club, while Coupar Angus remain on track to complete their league season without picking up a single point. An easy away win was always likely, Kennoway scored 17 in their home game against Coupar Angus, but the visitors had to wait 30 minutes before taking the lead at Foxhall Park, and that was first half's only goal. The visitors were better in the second half, adding more goals including a stoppage time penalty that was literally the game's final kick. But Coupar Angus competed well, and helped make it an entertaining 90 minutes. I liked Foxhall Park, although it's probably seen better days. From the entrance and car park all the facilities are on the near side, where a collection of ageing buildings house changing rooms, toilets, committee room and snack bar. I guess th...