Steve B the Groundhopper

11am  29 July 2018 Leeds Sunday League New Armley 3 Bramley Town 3 (att 9) A quirk of the fixtures on the days I've headed into Yorkshire for matches in the Leeds Sunday League's summer season means Bramley Town have featured on all three occasions. Last time I saw them win 14-0, although the league website still insists they scored 15, and goal difference is likely to be the determining factor as they and Whitkirk go into next week's final league games level on points. The be fair the 'ghost goal' probably won't be crucial as Bramley are nine goals better, but Whitkirk's final game is against Crown and Anchor, the side who were thrashed by Bramley. New Armley provided a much stiffer test in this game at Fearnville Pitches in East Leeds. Bramley were ahead early on but New Armley soon got back into the game and were 2-1 up at half time. Their third goal, just after the break, looked to have settled things but Bramley battled back for a crucial poi

4.30pm  28 July 2018 Peterborough and District League, Premier Division Sutton Bridge United 5 Peterborough Polonia 3 (att 337) The third and final game of the day for me (the 'hop' continued with a fourth at Sleaford Town, a ground I'd already been to) was at Sutton Bridge, a village I've driven through dozens of times on my way to and from Norfolk. The club is based on a village sports field off Bridge Street, and the roped off pitch is typical of venues in the Peterborough and District League. Once again it was a top division game that provided good entertainment. Sutton Bridge United opened the scoring but Polonia, wearing a red and white kit as you'd expect, hit back to lead 2-1 at half time. The home side came back strongly in the second half, scoring two penalties in quick succession as they racked up the goals. The second spot kick resulted in a red card for the Polonia keeper, and both penalties came during a short spell when the heavens opened a

1.30pm  28 July 2018 Peterborough and District League, Premier Division Tydd 2 Moulton Harrox 3 (att 342) From Whaplode Drove I joined a convoy of groundhopper-laden cars snaking its way through the lanes on the short journey to Tydd St Giles, where last season's Tydd St Mary FC have relocated to. The move has meant a name change, with the club now known as Tydd FC, and work on the new venue is still continuing. Apparently the league gave them permission to stage this game, but future matches will be played elsewhere until work on the changing rooms is complete. Obviously I didn't see the state of the changing rooms, but what I did see was a decent village football ground that seems more than adequate for this level of the game. The single football pitch is screened off from the wider recreation ground, although whether that was a one-off to ensure everyone paid to get in for this match I'm not sure. Like Whaplode Drove before them (and Sutton Bridge United later

10.45am  28 July 2018 Peterborough and District League, Division Two Whaplode Drove 1 Rippingale and Folkingham 3 (att 227) After spending a fortnight travelling through the Canadian Rocky Mountains I re-started my domestic football season, by way of contrast, in the flatlands of south Lincolnshire. It's become a tradition for a handful of Peterborough and District League clubs to begin their season in late July, for no other other reason than to get a large crowd of groundhoppers and to get a welcome boost to their income. The first of three Peterborough League games was at third tier Whaplode Drove. The league's second division is lower than I'd usually travel such a distance for a one-off game, but it was a decent opener ahead of premier division games to come. Whaplode Drove were a little fortunate to lead 1-0 at half-time, but their luck ran out in the second half as visitors Rippingale and Folkingham overturned the deficit for a convincing 3-1 win. Whaplo

7pm  25 July 2018 Canadian Championship, Semi-Final, Second Leg Vancouver Whitecaps 2 Montreal Impact 0 (2-1 on aggregate) (att 19,267) Whitecaps are apparently named after the snow-topped mountains and the foam-crested waves that surround the city. Vancouver is lovely, and the BC Place Stadium is close to the centre, like a flying saucer that’s landed in downtown. Its central location reminded me of Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium. The impressive modern arena is home to Canadian Football team BC Lions as well as Vancouver Whitecaps. The upper tier of the stadium is closed for soccer games, but cleverly screened so you’re not looking at acres of empty seats, and leaving a capacity of around 22,000. I wasn’t sure what sort of crowd to expect for a Canadian Championship semi-final. I’d bought tickets in advance just in case of a sell out but as it turned out seats were available, albeit not that many. The Canadian Championship might be seen as a hindrance to MLS clubs, bu

2pm  14 July 2018 USA (& Canada), Premier Development League, Western Conference, Northwest Division Calgary Foothills 2 Seattle Sounders U23 0 (att 350) I booked the dates and worked out the itinerary for our Canadian road trip long before any fixtures were available. I got lucky with this, as it had been scheduled for Friday night, ahead of our arrival, before being changed to Saturday afternoon. The timing may have been convenient, but not the location. To find an available venue up to PDL standards Foothills have moved 30 miles south to the town of Okotoks. We weren't collecting our hire car until after the weekend, and there’s no public transport option. Fortunately though, the club has a deal with a Calgary pub, the Ship and Anchor, where if you buy a match ticket you get free return bus travel (in one of those iconic yellow north American school buses) and a free pint. We arrived early enough for brunch as well, and to admire the collection of club scarves

11am  8 July 2018 Leeds Sunday League Crown and Anchor 0 Bramley Town 14 (att 19) I don't usually watch Sunday league football, but I much prefer competitive matches to friendlies and the Leeds Sunday League now has a summer season making it an acceptable way to kick off my 2018/19 season. Not that this game was very competitive to be honest. Bramley went ahead in the opening minute, were 6-0 up by half time and added a further eight goals in the second period. They could easily have scored plenty more. As I type this the league's Full Time website insists the final score was 15-0. I've been wrong before, but on this occasion I reckon my tally is accurate. Eight teams are taking part in this year's Leeds Sunday League. Last month I visited Thorner , whose two teams play at their own ground in the village. The other clubs play on pitches allocated by the league, two at Fearnville and one at Bramley Park. This match was at the latter, played on pitch three at