Steve B the Groundhopper

2pm 28 September 2024 Yorkshire Amateur League Cup, First Round Gildersome Spurs Old Boys 2 Stanley United 2, 4-2 on penalties (att 17) I needed to stay fairly local, and settled on Gildersome as it was my sole remaining ground in the Yorkshire Amateur League's top division, and as they seem not to play midweek fixtures on the pitch. It's a 3G at Bruntcliffe Academy in Morley. Typical of its type, floodlit and with a spectator area running about three-quarters of the length of the near side. It's not far from the ground they used the last time I saw Gildersome play at home . Both sides are in the league's grandly-titled 'supreme division', and met last weekend in a league fixture which Stanley won 5-2. There was little danger of that score being repeated, especially once Gildersome scored twice in the opening 30 minutes. There wasn't much between the sides though, and when Stanley pulled a goal back early in the second half the tie was very much in the balan...

2pm 22 September 2024 West Wales Premier League Giants Grave 4 Cwm Wanderers 1 (att 204) This year's West Wales Premier League groundhop concluded with a pair of games on Sunday. I skipped the first, having already been to the ground now used by AFC Glais, and settled for a single game at Giants Grave. The club are based in Briton Ferry, and owe their unusual name to area's former shipbreaking industry. Their ground, Parc Newydd, is accessed via a driveway from a housing estate. It's enclosed with a pair of pitches, the main one being railed off with a pair of dugouts on the near side. There's a small refreshment hut, which also offers shelter for a few spectators. I'm unsure where the changing rooms are located, but players and officials have a walk to reach the pitch. Giants Grave were just the better side in the first half, and got their reward when they took the lead five minutes before the break. Cwm Wanderers equalised early in the second period, and the game ...

5.30pm 21 September 2024 West Wales Premier League Mumbles Rangers 7 Bryn Rovers 0 (att 160) A pre-match glance at the league table suggested this would be a comfortable home win, with Bryn pointless and bottom. To be fair they didn't look too bad early in the game, and play was fairly even until Mumbles went ahead midway through the first half. A second goal soon followed, and not long later it was 3-0. It could easily have got worse for Bryn before half time. A Mumbles penalty came back off the frame of the goal, although from where I was standing there was at least a suspicion it had first crossed the line. In the end it mattered little, as things did gets worse for Bryn in the second period. Mumbles played some neat football, scoring for more goals for an easy win. It's likely to be a tough season for Bryn Rovers. Mumbles Rangers do have their own ground, but in recent years have used the excellent facilities at Swansea University. They previously shared the main stadium pi...

2pm 21 September 2024 West Wales Premier League Penlan 0 Rockspur 1 (att 332) The day's second game was a local derby between two Swansea sides who have been dominant forces in local football. Rockspur are currently in the ascendency, and cemented their position after a hard-fought win in a game that was more than feisty. The visitors were looking the better side, but then had a player sent off for a bad challenge after about 30 minutes. That evened up the play, but just before half time the 10 men went ahead, scoring a goal that turned out to be the winner. They may have scored the only goal, but Rockspur didn't get the game's only red card. The second half became increasingly bad-tempered, and with 10 minutes left a Penlan player was dismissed to make it 10-a-side. By full time it was down to eight against nine. A second Rockspur sending off was followed by two stoppage time Penlan dismissals. I don't keep a count of such things, but I can't recall ever seeing ano...

11am 21 September 2024 West Wales Premier League Ynystawe Athletic 2 Dafen Welfare 2 (att 194) The first of three Saturday 'groundhop' games in the West Wales Premier League was at Ynystawe, just to the north of Swansea. In common with the previous evening's game at Seaside, the set up features a pitch that's a few hundred yards from the club's main facilities, which at Ynystawe are shared with cricket. The main football pitch is railed off and has dugouts. There's a colourful changing room building at the far end, although it wasn't used by the players in our game. It was used by Ynystawe's third team, who had a lunchtime kick off on the second pitch. It was a busy day for the host club, as their reserve side was also at home, on the main pitch after the first team fixture. It was a lively start to the day's football, as Ynystawe and Dafen shared four goals in an enjoyable match. The visitors went ahead early on, but their lead was cancelled out by ...

7pm 20 September 2024 West Wales Premier League Seaside 0 Garden Village 1 (att 209) This year's West Wales Premier League 'groundhop' has worked out fairly well for me, as I need five of the six venues. It got underway with a Friday evening game at Llanelli-based Seaside AFC. It's the second time the club has staged a hop game, but they've moved a short distance since they hosted a match I went to in 2017. The players still change at the old ground, then have a short walk to a new 3G facility at Penrhos. I assume that's a temporary arrangement, as new changing rooms look to be nearing completion next to the pitch. It's a typical 3G set up. The playing area is floodlit, enclosed by a high fence, and has a spectator area running along most of one side. It's perfectly adequate for most games, but a bit of a squeeze for a crowd topping 200. Both sides have made indifferent starts to the season, and Seaside were left ruing missed chances as they fell to an u...

3.15pm 14 September 2024 Surrey Premier County League AFC Cubo 1 Dial Square 3 (att 22) After my first game I had ample time to stop for a pint (well, two actually) during the short walk towards the University of Westminster's Quintin Hogg Memorial Ground for a 3.15pm kick off. The unusual time was because the facility, a recently-installed 3G called the River Pitches, stages back-to-back fixtures on a Saturday. As far as I can tell AFC Cubo regularly play in the 3.15pm slot. It's above average for such a ground, from a spectator point of view at least, with two sets of uncovered seats and some grass banking. The only flaw is that the dugouts are one the same side. My last visit to the Quintin Hogg ground was 32 years ago, when I watched Polytechnic FC play a Southern Amateur League across the road in the stadium. The impressive stand remains, and is a listed building, but neither it nor the former pitch are now in use. Back at the River Pitches AFC Cubo, apparently named after...