Steve B the Groundhopper

8pm 12 May  2026 Cheshire League, Premier Division Crewe 1 Eagle Sports 1 (att 195) I was surprised when I read that Crewe FC had applied for a place in the National League System. But their new home ground - which they only moved into this year - is designed with promotion in mind. The Crewe FC Hub is still a work in progress, but is already better than at least one 'step six' venue I visited this season, so should tick the boxes necessary for a place in a higher league. But promotion isn't just a matter of pleasing the ground graders. To go up Crewe also need to finish in the top five of the Cheshire League. They went into this, their final fixture, knowing that a win would secure that. It was clear from the off that Warrington-based visitors Eagle Sports weren't going to make it easy for them. The away side had the better of the opening exchanges, and Crewe's 27th minute goal was against the run of play. The goal gave the home side more impetus, but despite chanc...

2.45pm 21 February  2026 Cheshire League, League Two Wigan Town 6 Sandbach Town 2 (att 10) When I last saw Wigan Town at home, in April 2024 , they were using the well-appointed ground of amateur rugby league club Ince Rose Bridge. At the start of this season they moved a short distance to the new Leisure United William Foster facility. It's typical of such venues, with a building housing changing rooms, toilets and a café alongside a pair of 3G pitches. Both have a spectator area running the length of one side, while 'pitch one' also has partial access at one end. Grounds like this often come in for criticism, but on an afternoon of constant heavy rain there's almost no chance this fixture, or the Wigan Amateur League fixture on the adjacent pitch, would have survived. My plan was to watch whichever match was on pitch one. Having previously visited what was then William Foster's Playing Fields in 2012 , the single grass pitch back them mostly overlapped what is now...

2pm 26 July  2025 Cheshire League, League Two Tytherington 0 Moore United 2 (att 30) Having covered a lot of miles in recent weeks, and with the only other new grounds hosting competitive football being in Scotland or South Wales, I opted for an easy afternoon to recomplete the Cheshire League. Newcomers Tytherington have stepped up from the Crewe and District League, and were hosting Warrington-based Moore United to kick off their campaign. Unfortunately for the home side they're still waiting for their first point. A penalty after 15 minutes, and a second goal soon after half time, gave Moore United a deserved and largely trouble-free win.  Tytherington put in a lot of effort but rarely threatened to score. It took a while to clarify the venue for this game. Tytherington, a suburb of Macclesfield, are based at Rugby Drive Playing Fields, and as far as I know played there least season. But first team games, for now are least, are instead at Priory Park, home to Macclesfield's...

6.30pm 14 August 2024 Cheshire League, League Two Halton Farnworth Hornets 5 Haydock 4 (att 47) For a second consecutive evening I returned to a venue to see a game on a different pitch. I was last at the Wilmere Lane Playing Fields in Widnes in 2000. My memory is of a bleak municipal sports field, but it's now the thriving home of amateur rugby league club Halton Farnworth Hornets. The main rugby ground has small a stand. Beyond that, and some distance from the pitch where I watched a game 24 years ago, are a pair of football pitches, home to the club's association football team. During the summer Avon Villa moved the short distance from their former ground and changed their name to Halton Farnworth Hornets. The first team pitch has dugouts and barriers along the far side, while the near side was roped off. A youth team game was on the adjacent pitch. The senior match was remarkable. Hornets struck first, against the run of play, but Haydock soon hit back, including scoring a ...

3pm 20 April  2024 Cheshire League, League Two Wigan Town 1 Hartford 2 (att 35) Other commitments morning and evening meant a 3pm kick off close to home was ideal, so it was the perfect opportunity to visit a club coming to the end of a debut season in the Cheshire League. It's fair to say it's been a tough baptism. Going into this game they were bottom with just three points from 25 matches, thanks to a solitary victory in March. But, with visitors Hartford being only a single place and five points clear of them, Wigan Town would have had hopes of adding to their points tally. I was hoping for a match that'd be competitive. Hartford started well, and with better finishing would have established an early lead to set themselves up for a comfortable win. But they failed to take their chances and it was the home side, against the run of play, who opened the scoring. They couldn't hold onto their lead though. It was 1-1 by half time, and Hartford got a decisive winning goal...

2pm 29 March  2024 Cheshire League, Premier Division Eagle Sports 1 Garswood United 1 (att 130) I had thought the nearest I'd get to watching live football on Good Friday would be on TV, but that was before I spotted an unusual change of venue for Cheshire League Eagle Sports. With their own pitch apparently undergoing some work they've been allowed to move at least one game to an alternative 'home' ground, giving me an unexpected bonus game. The 3G pitch at Great Sankey Neighbourhood Hub, usually used just for Warrington League football, is typical of its type. It's floodlit and has a spectator area along part of one touchline. It's no doubt fine for most of the fixtures it hosts, but with a three figure crowd for this game it was a bit of squeeze, and a fair few spectators had to settle for watching through the fence. Eagle and Garswood are clearly two good sides, but with a strong and very cold wind blowing across the pitch, and occasional rain, the game stru...