Steve B the Groundhopper

2pm  28 December 2019 Humber Premier League, Premier Division Driffield Junior 2 Reckitts 1 (att 80) On Friday evening I'd been unsure where to go for today's game. Eventually I settled on a destination, only for it to be called off on Saturday morning. Driffield Junior were the first club I was then able to contact and get a definite positive that their game was on, and so I headed east for their Humber Premier League clash with Hull-based Reckitts. A pre-match glance at the league table gave me low expectations for the fixture, and I wasn't expecting many goals. But after a tight and goalless first half the game improved greatly after the break. Reckitts started the second half brightly, although I thought the home side, promoted to this level after finishing as runners-up in division one last season, were a little unlucky to go behind. They weren't trailing for long though. Two goals in as many minutes turned the tide in their favour, and set them up for...

2pm  21 December 2019 West Cheshire League, Division One Rainhill Town 4 Upton AA 1 (att 16) Rainhill Town's first team games have been staged at various venues in recent years. This season they've moved into Prescot Soccer Centre, which has a single full size 3G ground, alongside mini pitches. The artificial surface meant there were no worries about whether the match would be on, handy on a day when I had little time to check games and plenty of fixtures fell to waterlogged grass surfaces. As usual for the top division of the West Cheshire League, this was a decent game between two good sides. The size of the defeat was harsh on Upton, but it might have turned out differently had they scored a second half penalty. The Chester-based visitors took an early lead, but two goals before half time, the first a penalty, turned things around and put Rainhill 2-1 up by the break. Upton were on top when they were awarded their penalty, but the spot kick hit the post. Not lon...

2.15pm  15 December 2019 Inter-Association Trophy/George Stephen Trophy at Craigie Community Sports Arena, Dundee Midlands AFA 2 Aberdeenshire AFA 0 (att 19) I had no idea this game was happening until I spotted it among the fixtures in the excellent Press and Journal on Saturday. The paper didn't give a venue or kick off time though, and the Aberdeenshire AFA website didn't mention the match at all. Luckily the Midlands AFA site was more forthcoming, and so I broke the long journey home from Inverness with a detour to Dundee. The caged 3G football ground at Craigie may be officially called an 'arena', but that is a bit of a push for what is a basic artificial pitch. There's no designated spectator area, but there was no problem standing pitchside for this game. The venue wasn't as random as it might appear. The ground is home to Morgan Academy Former Pupils, who play in the premier division of the Midlands Amateur League. This fixture was the openi...

3pm  14 December 2019 Highland League Huntly 2 Deveronvale 3 (att 240) I live in Manchester, which is a long way from Highland League territory. That's my excuse for taking more than 25 years to complete the league, but I finally managed it at Huntly's Christie Park ground. Huntly were away side for my first Highland League game, at Inverness Thistle in the spring of 1994. They were a strong side back then, and were champions that season, but recently their fortunes have been more modest. A mid-table battle against Deveronvale wasn't even my first choice for a game during a weekend in Inverness. I had targeted Bonar Bridge, in the North Caledonian League, but their home match was moved due to Dornoch due to an unfit pitch. It turned out to be a lively battle, albeit after a slow start. Deveronvale took a first half lead but moments later Huntly had levelled. The visitors looked the better side, but it was Huntly who went ahead in the second period. At 2-1 up in...

2pm  7 December 2019 West Riding Challenge Cup, Third Round Shelf United 0 Otley Town 3 (att 22) I saw a giant-killing in the last round of this cup, when Linthwaite beat Thorne Colliery , but West Yorkshire League Otley Town made no mistake against Halifax League Shelf United. The tie was closer than a 3-0 scoreline suggests though. The visiting keeper pulled off three excellent first half saves to stop the home side going ahead, and it was well into the second before Otley got the opening goal. A second made it safe, and the third goal came in the closing moments, not long after Otley had been reduced to 10 men after player got an unnecessary second booking for kicking the ball away. The better side won, and as a neutral it was a enjoyable game to watch. I last saw a Shelf United home game in April 2017 . Now, like then, they play at Lightcliffe Academy, but whereas back then they used a grass pitch on the school playing field, they now use the enclosed 3G pitch. It'...

10.15am  7 December 2019 Manchester Saturday Morning League, Division Two Hewlett 0 Fielden Park 1 (att 4) Hewlett FC have taken up residence at the Trinity Sports Centre, which must be a contender for the closest football ground to Manchester city centre. It's an enclosed 3G pitch that's barely a mile from St Peter's Square. It's hemmed by the sports centre and a school on one side and flats on the other. Behind one end builders were spending their Saturday morning working on high rise apartments, although one of them, in a hi-vis jacket, watched the whole 90 minutes from a lofty vantage point. I was one of trio of spectators (and one dog) who watched the game from inside the fence surrounding the pitch. We saw Fielden Park win their second game in succession, an upturn in form having begun their season with eight straight defeats. To be honest it wasn't the greatest of games. Clear chances were few and relatively far between. Fielden Park's winner w...

2pm  30 November 2019 Essex Olympian League, Premier Division Canning Town 0 Basildon Town 2 (att 16) Having been in London for work reasons at the end of the week I stayed on until Saturday to see family, and to watch some football in the capital. This game wasn't plan A, but my intended match was postponed with a waterlogged pitch as early as Friday. With other fixtures looking vulnerable to the weather it made sense to head for the relative guarantee of an artificial surface. Canning Town are based at the West Ham United Community Training Ground in Beckton. It's a single 3G pitch, with a spectator area running most of the length of one side. Nearby a two-storey building provides changing rooms as well as office space for the West Ham United Foundation. Way back in 1986 I watched Beckton United play on a basic and long-gone ground that would have been nearby. As far as I can tell, the site of their pitch is now covered by the flats in Albatross Close, the road tha...