Steve B the Groundhopper

2pm  25 November 2017 Southern Combination League, Division Two Lancing United 4 Westfield 2 (att 15) Following a couple of enjoyable days staying further east along the south coast at Rye, I headed west for football. After dropping my other half in Brighton for the afternoon I made made my way to the Croshaw Ground in Lancing. It's a basic venue, even for step seven of the FA's non-League pyramid. The pitch is enclosed by a wooden fence, but sits in the middle of a public recreation ground. Home team players carry out the goal frames and dugouts before kick off, and put them back into storage after the final whistle. It may be an unusual addition to players' pre-match warm up routines, but it did struggling Lancing United no harm as they eventually overcame Westfield following a lively and entertaining 90 minutes. The home side had been in front twice, one in each half, but on both occasions Westfield had equalised. The goal that put Lancing United in front for ...

3pm  22 November 2017 BUCS Trophy, Last 32 University of Manchester 3 University of Warwick 1 aet (att 15) I last saw a game at Manchester University's Armitage Centre sports ground in pre-blog 2003. The grass pitch used by Old Mancunians that day is still there, but the university's men's first team use a more recently installed 3G. It's a typical artificial pitch that's floodlit and enclosed by a high fence, and part of a multi sports venue that's busy with student sport on a Wednesday afternoon. The Fallowfield ground was even busier in 1893, when it (or a site within a few yards of it) staged the 1893 FA Cup Final between Everton and Wolves. It wasn't exactly a cup final crowd for this tie in the main British Universities and Colleges Sport cup competition, but those of us standing along the touchline saw Manchester eventually progress after throwing away a lead in the 87th minute. They'd been ahead thanks to an early goal, and in a game b...

7.30pm  21 November 2017 Anglian Combination, Premier Division Beccles Town 2 Waveney 2 (att 75) I enjoy my occasional visits to games in the Anglian Combination, which has venues ranging in facilities from roped off pitches to proper grounds with floodlights and stands. Beccles is in the latter category, and College Meadow can't be far from the requirements for step six football if the club were to pursue promotion from the Anglian Combination. As well as lights, the pitch is mostly railed off and there's a stand with seats along on side of the pitch. I think the stand is a recent replacement for an aged predecessor, and the club deserve credit for mirroring the design of the old stand, rather than replacing it with an off-the-shelf prefab of the type seen at so many grounds. Waveney, whose ground I visited towards the end of last season , made the most of a defensive error to earn a point from this game. They deserved a draw, after starting well and taking a dese...

6pm  18 November 2017 FA Inter League Cup, Second Round at The Bowl Stadium, Douglas Isle of Man League 7 Liverpool County Premier League 4 aet (att 250) The Isle of Man has a good record in this competition, having won it twice, but it took 120 minutes of dramatic football before they were able to advance into the quarter-finals this time around. It looked as if the visitors from Merseyside had done enough when the tie entered the 89th minute and they led 4-3, but to the delight of the home supporters the Isle of Man netted in the final minute to set up extra time. It was a huge blow for the Liverpool County Premier League, but even though they'd been ahead for most of the match the home side always looked capable of coming out on top. Two early goals had given the visitors a lead, but the Isle of Man were dangerous going forward and it was no surprise when they pulled a goal back. What was a surprise was that Liverpool soon restored their two goal advantage, from the p...

2pm  18 November 2017 Isle of Man League, Division Two Foxdale 4 Ramsey Youth Centre and Old Boys 0 (att 35) Is there a better ground address in football than Billy Goat Park, Stoney Mountain Road in Higher Foxdale? The evocative-sounding venue was just one reason to tempt me to this game. The main one was that it was the day's outstanding fixture in the division, between two promotion contenders. Foxdale claimed all three points thanks to four goals in the final 20 minutes or so, having been second best for much of what had been a scrappy encounter until then. The home side's keeper had made some good saves to keep his team in the match, and then capped a fine performance by scoring from a free kick deep inside his own half. Only the second time I can recall seeing a goalkeeper score in such a fashion. That was Foxdale's third goal, in the closing minutes, and it was quickly followed by their fourth. Youthie, as the visitors are known, collapsed once they went...

2pm  11 November 2017 Northern Ireland Football League, Premier Intermediate League Tobermore United 3 Lisburn Distillery 0 (att 75) The most recent restructuring of Northern Irish football has seen the third tier renamed as the Premier Intermediate League, making it the country-wide top level of 'intermediate' football, below the two divisions of 'senior' teams. That Lisburn Distillery now find themselves at this level surprised me when I checked the fixtures for this trip. Distillery FC, as they were then called, was the first ground I visited in Northern Ireland, when I saw them surprise Linfield with a 1-0 win in 1992. Surprisingly I've not seen them since, but 25 years on and this time they were on the wrong end of an unexpected result at Tobermore. The visitors started well enough, dominating the opening exchanges, but they had no answer once Tobermore edged in front. Two goals in quick succession put the home team 2-0 ahead by half time, and a thir...

10.15am  11 November 2017 Ballymena Saturday Morning League, Division Two Cloughmills 0 Northend and District 6 (att 20) One of my occasional day trips to Northern Ireland, and as usual after an early arrival I passed some time before my main game by dipping into the Ballymena Saturday Morning League. The attraction of Cloughmills, other than being a new ground to visit, was that the club's active Twitter account had confirmed the game, and the venue in Rasharkin looked more interesting than multi-pitch playing fields in Ballymena. Drumbolcan Park in Rasharkin is  good facility, surprising as far as I can tell the village no longer has a team playing Saturday afternoon football. The single pitch, which looks quiet small, is enclosed by a wooden fence, and is next to a modern community building which includes the changing rooms. A pair of dugouts are looking a bit battered, but complete the picture of a 'proper' football ground. Northend and District were very m...