Steve B the Groundhopper

3pm  29 January 2022 Western League, Division One Wincanton Town 2 Portishead Town 0 (att 81) I'm always tempted to save floodlit grounds for midweek rather than go on Saturday afternoons. But it's a long way to Wincanton and, more importantly, it's a very long drive home afterwards. So rather than getting back in the early hours of a morning, and risking little sleep before a day at work, I visited the Wincanton Sports Ground on a Saturday. The ground, on Moor Lane, is just beyond the edge of the town. It dates from the 1990s so I think of it as still being new, but that probably says more about my age. It's a nice ground, with a good-sized stand and hard standing around three sides. Supporters are enthusiastic and club officials all friendly, making it a very enjoyable afternoon. Unfortunately the game won't linger long in the memory, although Wincanton Town won't mind after bagging all three points. Two early goals were enough to settle the outcome. Portishea...

11am  29 January 2022 EFL Youth Alliance, South West Swindon Town U18 1 Oxford United U18 1 (att 26) The last time I watched Swindon's youth team at home they played at a sports centre in Chippenham . They've now moved to another sports centre, slightly closer to Swindon but still some miles away. The Beversbrook Sports and Community Facility is on the edge of Calne, and is such a hive of activity on a Saturday morning that parking spaces are at a premium. Beversbrook's Facebook page helpfully posts the weekend's pitch allocations, so I knew that Swindon and Oxford's under 18 teams would be on 'pitch one', closest to the pavilion and car park. Some Swindon youth team games have been on the adjacent 3G pitch. Part of the car park side of the pitch was roped off, and there are a pair of dugouts on the opposite touchline. Trying to play decent football on such a windy morning was always going to be a challenge, even for young professional players who are genera...

7.45pm  25 January 2022 National League, North York City 0 Bradford (Park Avenue) 3 (att 2,759) A lot has happened to York City since I watched then lose at home to Fulham in division three in March 1988. Most notably they've dropped down to the sixth tier of English football. They've moved to a new ground as well of course, the reason for me to return on a freezing cold Tuesday night.  Bootham Crescent was among my favourite venues when I first visited the 92 Football League grounds. The LNER Community Stadium has its good points, but like all new builds it suffers by comparison with a characterful predecessor. It's a decent size, with four all-seater stands, and the pitch looked immaculate. But you have to look hard for signs that it's home to York City FC, and from the outside the stadium is almost hidden behind a retail park. High ticket prices and expensive parking might deter irregular visitors, but the crowd for the visit of Bradford (Park Avenue) was a little hi...

7pm  24 January 2022 Premier League Two, Division Two Aston Villa U23 4 Reading U23 1 (att 500) Aston Villa's Bodymoor Heath training ground has expanded since my 2013 visit , and now includes a show pitch among new facilities built some distance from the original site. As I understand it, the existing training ground and academy pitches will disappear to make way for HS2. The club has used the inevitable upheaval as an opportunity to upgrade facilities. The main pitch has a stand with around 500 seats. Friendly stewards make spectators feel welcome, and the availability of refreshments, teamsheets and a public address system meant this was a more relaxed visit than some matches at training grounds. It was a lively game as well. Aston Villa took an early lead but it didn't take Reading long to equalise. The home side looked dangerous with every attack, and the visitors were lucky to trail by just 2-1 at half time. The second half began more evenly, but when Villa got a third go...

2pm  22 January 2022 Manchester League, Division Two Bolton Borough 3 Hindley Juniors 2 (att 28) I couldn't travel far today, but I got lucky as I saw two good sides provide an entertaining game that was a better standard than I'd normally expect from the third tier of the Manchester League. Bolton Borough are a new team, and seem to be the result of a joint venture between Bolton Wanderers and the University of Bolton. Their home ground is an artificial pitch at Wanderers' Eddie Davies Academy. The caged pitch runs parallel to the grass pitch where I watched Bolton Wanderers v Everton in an academy game nine years ago. There's a spectator area the full length of one side, and unlike some such venues there's no annoying small-sided goals or sections of high fencing to obscure the view. There's even a redundant dugout repurposed as a very small stand. Bolton opened the scoring in a game that was end-to-end throughout. Hindley levelled before half time, and then ...

10.30am  22 January 2022 South Manchester and Cheshire Christian League, Division One Vinelife 6 Kay Street Baptist 1 (att 6) A preview on Kay Street Baptist's informative website  suggested they were hit by injuries ahead of this fixture, and it showed as they were comprehensively beaten by a side just one place and one point above them in the table. It took a while for Vinelife to break the deadlock, but once they went ahead they quickly doubled their lead, then added a third goal just before half time. The home side made it 4-0 before Kay Street pulled one back, but the visitors' consolation counted for little as they let in two more before the end. The size of the defeat was harsh, and both teams contributed to a good game. Vinelife play on a 3G pitch at Manchester Health Academy in Wythenshawe. The venue has eluded me when I've tried to visit previously, most recently when an accident blocked the M60 motorway when I was en route. There's a spectator area running th...

2pm  15 January 2022 Central Midlands League, Premier Division North Dearne and District 0 Glapwell 3 (att 56) Trying to complete the Central Midlands League is a little like painting the Forth Bridge. Every time you get close to finishing the task new clubs and grounds appear. Dearne and District was my 90th 'tick' in the league. While many of those have come and gone over the years, Dearne look to have a solid base and seem to be a club on the up. Their enclosed Kingsmark ground has been developed into a good facility, with a small stand, dugouts and railed off pitch. Portable buildings at the car park end provide changing rooms, toilets and a small clubhouse. The club runs many teams in addition to the first team and uses other nearby facilities including the Welfare Ground, where I saw Dearne CMW play in pre-blog 2009. Glapwell left Kingsmark with all three points thanks to to first half goals and a second after the break. They might have added a fourth but a penalty was sa...