Steve B the Groundhopper

7pm  28 June 2021 Catforth and District Summer League, Division Two Wrea Green 5 Wharles 3 (att 25) I expect this to be my final game of 2020/21, and ending my season with a Catforth Summer League game feels like another step back towards something approaching normality. Wrea Green are newcomers to the league, and are a little unusual in not having an existing side playing either Saturday or Sunday football in the regular season. I've driven past Wrea Green's village green in the past, but have never seen goalposts or any sign that it's been a football ground. The pitch is on edge of the green, overlapping the outfield of a cricket pitch, and well away from an attractive duck pond. Wrea Green went into this bottom of the league, and Wharles were top. The reverse fixture ended 8-0 to Wharles, so the home side's first half performance was a surprise. They dominated their visitors and accurate finishing gave them a 4-0 lead by half time. Wharles rallied after the break, ge...

6pm  26 June 2021 Skye and Lochalsh League Sleat and Strath 2 North West Skye 4 (att 60) The third and final game of a busy day in the north west Highlands was in Broadford, Skye's second town, or village, after Portree and our base for the night. Sleat and Strath moved to a new pitch in Broadford a few years ago, having previously played at a remote location in Kinloch which I visited back in 2004. Their new home is behind Broadford Village Hall, and is certainly more easily accessible for spectators, who turned out in high numbers for the visit of North West Skye, a club formed by a merger of Dunvegan and Struan. According to the pre-season preview (the league has a summer season) in the local paper, the West Highland Free Press, these two sides are among the favourites for the title. It was a high quality game, and the visitors' three points might be important come the end of the season. They opened the scoring against the run of play, then doubled their lead before being pe...

3pm  26 June 2021 Skye and Lochalsh League Kyleakin 7 Glenelg 1 (att 35) I watch football on Sky more often than on Skye, but live football is almost always better than on TV, and even one-sided matches are enjoyable in sunshine and a scenic setting. I'd expected a long drive from Mallaig to Kyleakin but, despite having previously appeared as full, I was able to get a late booking on the ferry over the sea to Skye from Mallaig. That allowed plenty of time to get to Kyleakin, a village close to the island side of the bridge from Kyle of Lochalsh. Glenelg also has a ferry link to the island. I don’t know if their players used it to get the match but, however they travelled, they returned home well beaten. The scale of their defeat was harsh though. Three of Kyleakin's goals were penalties, as was Glenelg's solitary goal which briefly levelled the score. The visitors played their part in an entertaining game. Kyleakin's pitch is tucked away behind the village community hal...

9.50am  26 June 2021 Skye and Lochalsh League Mallaig 4 Portree 3 (att 9) It's hard to resist the lure of a trip to the north west of Scotland at any time. Even more so when the trio of teams I needed to complete the Skye and Lochalsh League were all at home, with staggered kick offs making it possible to see all of them on the same day. The early start at Mallaig was down to a combination of an event taking place on the pitch later in the day, and ferry times that enabled visitors Portree to get over from, and back to, the Isle of Skye. The game was actually scheduled for 10am, but with players and referee all on the midday ferry back to Armadale it was no surprise that it got underway about 10 minutes early. The match started slowly. Perhaps both sides were feeling the effects of the very long lay off from competitive football. This was the opening day of Skye and Lochalsh League fixtures, and Covid meant no league at all in 2020. Mallaig, champions in 2019 after switching from t...

6.30pm  23 June 2021 Wensleydale League Richmond Buck Inn 0 Carperby Rovers 4 (att 24) Having gone more than 20 years between previous visits to grounds in the Wensleydale League this was my second game in the competition in less than a fortnight. The big match this week is the title decider at Leyburn Town, but I'm unable to get to that match so settled for watching two teams playing out their seasons with just pride at stake. The fixture might not have been attractive but the venue was. You might expect Richmond Buck Inn to play on a pitch in Richmond, but in fact they play a few miles north in Aldbrough St John. It's a picture postcard village, and the football pitch is part of a village green that also provides a home to the local cricket club. Set between imposing stone houses on one side, and the shallow Aldbrough Beck on the other, it's a lovely location. When I contacted the home side to check the game I was told they were struggling for players. They fielded a full...

1.30pm  19 June 2021 Westmorland FA Senior Cup Final at Vale of Lune RUFC Marsh United 1 Milnthorpe Corinthians 6 (att 416) It's been such a strange football season that it's perhaps fitting for the final of the Westmorland Senior Cup to be played at a rugby ground in neighbouring Lancashire. At least it meant a local game for Lancaster-based finalists Marsh United, who have presumably become eligible to enter the cup after switching from the North Lancashire League to the Westmorland League this season. They've done well to reach the final, but they didn't get close to preventing Milnthorpe Corinthians from regaining the trophy they also won last season. The game started quietly. Corinthians, who play in the higher ranked West Lancashire League, looked the better side but there were few chances. That all changed when Milnthorpe took a 35th minute lead, as within five minutes they scored twice more. Marsh pulled one back before half time, which kept the game interesting...

6.30pm  16 June 2021 Yorkshire Amateur League, Division Four Farnley Sports 5 Toller reserves 5 (att 29) Even the Yorkshire Amateur League is nearing the end of its 2020/21 season now, but games remain to be played and credit to clubs for continuing to fulfill them even when there's little at stake. You'd never have known there was nothing to play for in this fixture. Farnley Sports and Toller produced an amazing game in front of a good-sized crowd on a warm and sunny evening. Toller opened the scoring, but it was the home side that had the better of the first half, establishing a 3-1 lead by half time. The second half swung back towards the visitors, who got the scoreline back to 3-3. The sides then traded goals until it reached 5-5 with 10 minutes still to play. Surprisingly there were no more goals. A draw was a fair outcome over the 90 minutes. Farnley play at Old Farnley Recreation Ground. It's a public park with a single pitch that has an enclosed feel. It was good to...