Steve B the Groundhopper

11am 13 September  2025 West Wales Premier League Llangennech 2 Dafen Welfare 2 (att 224) Having stayed overnight in Swansea, getting to Llangennech, near Llanelli, in time for a morning kick off was a lot easier than making the trek down from Manchester would have been. The fixture was part of an official 'groundhop', organised by Groundhop UK and providing an opportunity to visit multiple games, and grounds, over the weekend. Llangennech was the only venue on their itinerary that I'd not been to previously so the timing, allowing me a choice of games in the afternoon, was perfect. A coachload of groundhoppers, plus others who travelled independently, boosted the crowd and, hopefully, provided a financial bonus for the hosts. We were treated to a very good game. The home side were ahead twice, but both times Dafen hit back to equalise. If anything the visitors looked the better side, despite being winless at the bottom of the league. Three of the four goals were in the ope...

3pm 26 April  2025 West Wales Premier League Calsonic Kansei Swiss Valley 12 Bryn Rovers 0 (att 65) There was little at stake as Calsonic Kansei Swiss Valley - or CKSV are they're usually known - and Bryn Rovers completed their seasons. Bryn were destined to finish bottom, while the home side were looking to claim eighth place in the 16-team division, which they did with ease. It was the final ground I needed to complete the West Wales Premier League, at least until promoted sides join next season. I expected a comfortable home win, but not by so many goals. It took CKSV 23 minutes to score their first, although it had taken several good saves by Bryn's keeper to keep them at bay until then. Once they had one goal the floodgates opened. Their lead was 5-0 by half time. Two goals in the opening five minutes of the second period signalled that the home side weren't intending to ease off. They ended with a dozen, despite more good saves by Bryn Rovers' busy goalkeeper. Wor...

3pm 1 February 2025 West Wales Intermediate Cup, Fourth Round St Joseph's (Swansea) 6 Pontlliw 1 (att 100) Having had to change my plans earlier in the day this game, with its 3pm kick off time, was my only option to ensure visits to two new grounds. St Joseph's are currently playing home games on a floodlit 3G pitch at Underhill Park, in the Mumbles area of Swansea. Traditionally it's the home of Mumbles Rangers but they're currently playing a couple of miles away at Swansea University. Like my Friday evening game at Rockspur, this is another venue where spectators have to watch the action from the behind fences that enclose the pitch. As the 3G has only recently been installed it's surprising that a spectator area wasn't included. St Joseph's are going well in the West Wales Premier League while Pontlliw top the Carmarthenshire League, one level lower. It was a decent effort by the visitors, but they were no match for their hosts. The home side scored th...

7.15pm 31 January 2025 West Wales Premier League Rockspur 5 West End 1 (att 72) Rockspur are in a title race with fellow Swansea side St Joseph’s, and gained an important three points thanks to a comfortable win against West End. Their winning margin would probably have been more if wasn't for a straight red card, for a bad challenge, with just over half-an-hour played. By then Rockspur already had a 3-0 lead. The sending off levelled things up, but only to an extent. Rockspur attacked less but had little difficulty keeping the visitors at bay despite their numerical disadvantage. In the second half their superiority was underlined by two more goals. West End at least got some consolation, late on, with the game's final goal. Rockspur have applied for promotion to the third tier of Welsh football, although I assume promotion would mean a move away from their current home ground, a 3G pitch at Penyrheol Leisure Centre in Gorseinon. Unusually for such grounds, spectators have to ...

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...