Steve B the Groundhopper

2.30pm  25 September 2016 Stroud and District Charity Cup, First Round Hardwicke 0 Stonehouse Town 3 (att 64) Newly-promoted Stonehouse have made a strong start in the Gloucestershire County League, and they had few problems seeing off fellow county leaguers Hardwicke in this local cup tie. The Stroud Charity Cup - actually several cups for teams at different levels - is a good source of Sunday matches, and it was an ideal opportunity for me to visit Green Lane in Hardwicke, just south of Gloucester. The ground is behind the village hall, and consists of a pitch enclosed by a plastic post and rail barrier, which is presumably removed during the close season, or even between matches. There's a pair of permanent dugouts on the far side, with houses beyond. The Royal British Legion club sponsors Hardwicke AFC, and its social club is behind the goal, providing a source of alcoholic refreshment for some spectators during the match. In truth it wasn't the most gripping 9...

3pm  24 September 2016 West Lancashire League, Division Two Swarthmoor Social 2 Hurst Green reserves 1 (att 16) To be honest this wasn't a fixture that filled me with anticipation. I was a little disappointed when the West Lancashire League's third tier was diluted by reserve sides, and neither Swarthmoor nor Hurst Green's second string had made great starts to the season. But a visit to Park Road fitted in well following the morning's game at Myerscough, and Swarthmoor was the final venue I needed to recomplete the full set of West Lancashire League grounds. Swarthmoor is a small village just beyond the outskirts of Ulverston, and the club's Park Road ground is a good one for this level. The pitch looks fantastic, and is enclosed by a rail, with dugouts and advertising boards. On the pitch it wasn't a bad game to watch, even if the quality was a little lacking at times. All the goals came in the first half, the home side went ahead a little against t...

11am  24 September 2016 EFL Youth Alliance, North West Blackpool U18 1 Bury U18 0 (att 60) My seemingly never-ending quest to watch a game at every professional youth team venue took me to Myerscough College, not far from Garstang in Lancashire. In two previous visits to the college I've watched Catforth Summer League football, but Blackpool's youngsters have moved in this season and play on a pitch that's in a different part of the campus to the ones I 'ticked' previously. Typically for a Youth Alliance venue, one side of the pitch was roped off as the designated area for spectators. A handful of scouts were restricted to a corner, away from others watching the game. I imagine the scouts saw plenty that interested them, as both sides played some good football and had some promising players. Had a I been a scout I'd have been taking notes on Bury's keeper, he had a fantastic game, making a series of excellent saves to keep the home side at bay unt...

5pm  17 September 2016 North Berkshire League, Charity Shield Group A Burghclere 2 Wallingford Town 2 (att 169) Burchclere were staging the day's final 'hop' match, with a cup tie against a Wallingford Town side who I'm more used to seeing at higher levels prior to their drop into local football. They were second best against Burghclere, falling 2-0 behind after conceding a goal in each half, but managed an unlikely comeback late on thanks to two goals in quick succession. The North Berkshire Charity Shield is organised on a group basis, so the drawn game meant a point each rather than extra time and/or penalties. Just as well, as the game finished quite late after being held up due to a nasty-looking injury to visitors' goalkeeper, who left the ground in an ambulance. Both Burghclere and Wallingford are in the top division of the North Berkshire League, and the standard of football was noticeable higher than at the morning's game at Blewbury. Burgh...

2pm  17 September 2016 Thames Valley Premier League, Premier Division Mortimer 1 Marlow United 6 (att 25) The afternoon's North Berkshire League hop match was at Compton FC, but I fancied something different and 2pm kick offs in the Thames Valley Premier League allowed me to see a game and still get back for the final hop match at 5pm. League leaders Marlow United went into this fixture with a 100 per cent record, and its continuation was never in doubt as they went scored early and raced into a 4-0 lead in the opening 25 minutes. The second half was tighter, two more goals for the visitors and one back for Mortimer, but it was easy for Marlow who looked a good side. The only blot on their afternoon was ending the game with 10 men after a late red card. Mortimer is a small village roughly south west of Reading. The ground, in West End Road, is perfect for this level of football, and has scope for improvements should the club want to climb the football pyramid. The pitc...

10.30am  17 September 2016 North Berkshire League, Division Four Blewbury 4 Drayton 0 (att 123) A 10.30am kick off and three-figure crowd for a game in the fourth level of the North Berkshire League, sure signs that it's the opening game on another organised 'hop'. In fact the opening game was a Friday night fixture under floodlights at Uffington, but having been there before I settled for an early morning drive from Manchester to an Oxfordshire village not far from Didcot. Blewbury play at a typical village sports ground, which the football pitch some distance from the pavilion, and roped off along the near side. The club were well organised to cater for the influx of spectators. They were well organised on the pitch as well, and had no problems seeing off Drayton thanks to to goals in each half. A good start to a busy day of football. Map of Blewbury FC

7.30pm  13 September 2016 Durham Challenge Cup, Preliminary Round Stockton Town 8 Annfield Plain 0 (att 70) Stockton Town are new entrants into the Northern League this season, and with their elevation they've moved into a new ground. It's got the same address as their old venue, but is an entirely separate all-weather pitch in a different part of a large complex that also includes Stockton's sixth form college. A 3G pitch doesn't usually make for an interesting football ground, but Stockton's base isn't bad. There's hard standing around all four sides of the pitch, a small but useful covered standing area, and a tea bar serving hot drinks and snacks. The old ground had grass surface, but in every other respect the new ground is a better place to watch football. They're not bad on the pitch either, easily seeing off an Annfield Plain side who were Wearside League rivals last season. Both teams played some neat passing football, making the most...

3pm  10 September 2016 Sussex Intermediate Cup, First Round Ferring 0 Newtown Villa 7 (att 20) A seven-goal home defeat against a team from a lower league is hardly a cause for celebration, but for Ferring FC it represented progress of a sort. Their five league matches this season have all been lost, conceding 78 goals in the process. Three times they've let in 18, and their best result was a 9-2 home defeat. Progress in the county cup, against a team from the West Sussex League, was never likely, but Ferring made a game of it, at least in the first half. Newtown Villa had to work hard for their 2-0 half time lead, but they ran riot after the break and could easily have inflicted another double-digit defeat on the hosts. The attraction of this fixture for me, apart from the likelihood of seeing a few goals, was to visit Ferring's Glebelands home while it's still hosting football at a reasonable level. The club play at 'step seven', in division two of the ...