Steve B the Groundhopper

1.30pm  28 October 2017 Westmorland Senior Cup, Second Round Langwathby United 2 Ambleside United 7 (att 2) It was always likely to be a tough task for Langwathby to pull off a county cup shock against Ambleside, who play two divisions higher in the Westmorland League, and despite a spirited effort they were well beaten. Sadly the lure of a senior cup tie didn't tempt any locals to watch. At kick off I was the sole spectator, and even though someone connected with Ambleside soon arrived to double the attendance I can't recall ever been being part of such a small 'crowd' for a Saturday afternoon game. In fact Langwathby United, struggling in Westmorland League Division Three, could only muster 11 players, no substitutes and no one to run the line. Ambleside at least had a coach and a sub, which was handy as they lost a player to an early injury. The visitors were 4-0 ahead by half time, and should have scored more than the three they got after the break. Despi...

7.30pm  26 October 2017 Liverpool Senior Cup, First Round St Helens Town 1 Litherland REMYCA 2 (att 114) St Helens Town have endured a frustratingly long exile from their home town, which finally ended at the start of the season when they took up residence in their new Ruskin Drive ground. I'd heard poor reports of the facilities before my visit, but while it's not a ground that will set pulses racing it's nowhere near as bad as some people have suggested. It does have an artificial pitch, which doesn't bother me as much as it does some, but the seated stand is a good size and there's access around three sides, with just the far touchline, where the dugouts are situated, out of bounds. Most importantly for the club though it's back in St Helens. It's also home to Cheshire League side Pilkington FC, and it was the Pilkington's sports ground before it was redeveloped into its present state. The pitch I once saw Pilkington play on is now covere...

7.45pm  24 October 2017 FA Vase, First Round Replay Leicester Nirvana 4 AFC Wulfrunians 1 (att 57) A draw in their FA Vase tie at the weekend set up a midweek replay in Leicester and gave me a chance to tick off one of two newish venues I need to recomplete the United Counties League. I'm still surprised to see Leicestershire clubs in this league as traditionally, and for most of the time I've been watching games in it, it's heartland has been further south in and around Northamptonshire. The way they've started this season suggests Leicester Nirvana may be passing through on their way up the pyramid. They're top of the table, and after a slow start had little problem seeing off AFC Wulfrunians at the second attempt. The home side went ahead late in the first half, and had good fortune to net a second in stoppage time at the end of the half. The goalscorer looked clearly offside from where I was standing, and I'm baffled how neither the referee nor hi...

2.30pm  21 October 2017 Wearside League Coxhoe Athletic 1 Sunderland West End 8 (att 50) Coxhoe may have been on the wrong end of a thrashing at the hands of Sunderland West End, but a visit to their Beechfield Park home epitomised why I enjoy visiting non-League football grounds so much. It's a lovely venue, with only the lack of floodlights preventing it staging football at a higher level. The pitch, which looks well cared for, is surrounded by a collection of small stands and bits of cover, as well as one or two benches. There's a decent snack bar for pre-match and half time refreshments, and the club and its friendly officials seem to get a good level of support from locals. It's a ground I've wanted to visit for a while, and I was pleased when the Coxhoe Athletic name was restored to the Wearside League after a brief period when, to keep football going in Coxhoe, they took the identity of Spennymoor's reserve side. They're still a young team th...

10.30am  21 October 2017 Yorkshire Christian League, Division One Mowbray Community Church 2 Relentless FC Bradford 1 (att 10) I had planned to head south, but with weather forecasters warning of the impact of Storm Brian I decided north and east were better directions to avoid the possibility of postponements or, at the very least, unpleasant conditions for watching football. First up was my first taste of the Yorkshire Christian League, having been tempted by enjoyable games in other Christian leagues which stage matches on Saturday mornings. Ordinarily I'd have started with a top division game, but second tier Mowbray's North Yorkshire location fitted well with my plans for the afternoon, and I was intrigued by the team being based in a small rural village rather than a playing field in Leeds, Bradford or York. A 20-year-old plaque in the changing rooms at Darley Playing Fields refers to a Darley AFC, who have presumably since folded. Their erstwhile pitch, in Nid...

2.30pm  15 October 2017 East of Scotland FA, Alex Jack Cup Final at Preston Athletic FC Leith Athletic 0 Tynecastle 3 (att 220) Back in May I watched as these two sides contested the East of Scotland League Cup Final . On that day Tynecastle took a first half lead but were unable to withstand a second half recovery by Leith Athletic. I thought I might be in for a repeat as Tynecastle once again went into the half time break with a one goal advantage after a lively first half. But this time Leith were unable to stage a comeback. Whether the memory of May's defeat was a factor I don't know, but Tynecastle's desire and determination to protect their lead was greater than anything Leith could muster to get back into the game. An own goal doubled the advantage, and a late third goal put the outcome beyond any doubt, meaning Tynecastle were able to lift the Alex Jack Cup, a competition open to the handful of East of Scotland League clubs who aren't eligible for the...

3pm  14 October 2017 Central Midlands League, South Division Aslockton and Orston 2 Linby Colliery Welfare 3 (att 46) I had completed the full set of Central Midlands League grounds last season, but Aslockton and Orston were one of three new clubs to join for 2017/18 whose grounds I'd not been to. The club are based at Orston Recreation Ground, a very rural venue that's just outside the village of Orston. It's been used by clubs with various names in recent years, and Aslockton and Orston is a renamed version of Aslockton Cranmers who played here last season. The new name apparently recognises the support the club has had from the village in which they're (almost) based, and I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people watching the game. The crowd also included support for Linby, a couple of whose fans who enthusiastically wielded old-fashioned rattles when their team scored. Their side had to come from behind to win an entertaining game. Linby started ...