Steve B the Groundhopper

3pm 4 January 2025 West Cheshire League, Pyke Cup, First Round Runcorn Sports 2 South Liverpool reserves 1 aet (att 38) I was hoping for a longer journey but apocalyptic weather forecasts meant it seemed a safer bet to stay fairly local and to seek a game on an artificial pitch. Runcorn Sports was my only remaining first team ground to recomplete the top division of the West Cheshire League, and it also completed a trio of visits to see the host club on different grounds. It's almost three years since I saw them on a pitch at Helsby , also against South Liverpool's reserves. They won comfortably that afternoon but, based on the league table, a repeat looked unlikely. Sports are having a tough season. They're bottom of the league and recently disbanded their reserve team. The Pyke Cup, for sides in the West Cheshire League's top flight, was perhaps a welcome distraction. It's a distraction that will continue at least into the second round. A hard-fought and tight 90 ...

3pm 1 January 2025 Isthmian League, Premier Division Cray Wanderers 1 Dulwich Hamlet 0 (att 827) I had hoped to begin the year with a visit to Cambridge City's new stadium, but wet weather and a grass pitch made we wary of the potential for a late postponement. Instead I made a longer journey to the south of London, but with greater certainty of the match being on. That was thanks to the artificial pitch at Cray Wanderers' new ground, which opened at the start the season. Cambridge City played, but plenty of other games on grass were either postponed or abandoned. The rain at Cray's Flamingo Park was relentless, only easing as the game neared its conclusion. Given the tricky conditions it was a decent encounter. The home side won it with a well-taken goal seven minutes from the end. They'd come closest to scoring earlier, hitting the post, and looked just the better of evenly-matched teams. I saw Cray Wanderers at their previous Oxford Road ground in Sidcup in 1987. For...

1.45pm 28 December 2024 Suffolk and Ipswich League, Senior Division Halesworth Town 4 Debenham LC 1 (att 100) A relaxing couple of post-Christmas nights away on the Suffolk coast put fixtures that would normally by very awkward to get to from home within easier reach. I took the opportunity to visit Halesworth Town, partly because they have a chance of finishing as champions, although even with games in hand it'll be a challenge to overtake leaders Old Newton United, but also because the club has ambitions for promotion to 'step six'. Their ground can't be far of being ready for the step up, especially as these days rules around seats and floodlights are more relaxed, with clubs having a sensible grace period to put everything in place. The pitch is already enclosed and has dugouts, and there's hard standing behind the near goal and along one touchline. A covered standing area has been placed behind the goal nearest the welcoming clubhouse and, on the evidence of th...

2pm 21 December 2024 Northern Alliance, Premier Division Newcastle East End 2 AFC Burradon and New Fordley 3 (att 28) I'd been undecided where to go for a Saturday afternoon game, but my mind was made up with news that Stobswood Welfare's home fixture had been postponed. That left this game as the only new ground in the Northern Alliance top division, and with the relative safety of an artificial pitch. But when I arrived the referee was concluding a 'pitch' inspection due to concerns about the strength of the wind. Thankfully the match went ahead. The conditions were undoubtedly a significant factor, but I've seen games in much worse weather. And at least it stayed mostly dry. AFC Burradon and New Fordley are unbeaten league leaders. They kept that record intact, but were given a tough test by Newcastle East End. The home side went ahead in the first minute. Burradon and New Fordley hit the crossbar and the post before finally equalising, deservedly, before half ti...

10.30am 21 December 2024 North East Christian Fellowship League, Andy Walker Trophy, Quarter Final Sunderland Samba 3 Bill Quay Community Church 0 (att 10) Having decided to stay overnight in the north-east after Friday's game at Newbiggin I thought I might struggle for a Saturday morning game, as most minor leagues had began a festive break. But luckily there was a single tie in one of the North East Christian Fellowship League's cup competitions. I wasn't sure if it'd also be a goundhopping 'tick'. Sunderland Samba play most games on a school pitch, but as I assume that was unavailable this match was at the Ford Quarry Hub in South Hylton. I'd previously visited in 2015, for a Sunderland West End game and before the site was transformed into a hub with a trio of 3G pitches. The main pitch is still used by West End, and has been rotated 90 degrees since my visit. Fortunately from my groundhopping perspective, this game was on the adjacent 'pitch two...

7.30pm 20 December 2024 Northern Alliance, Premier Division AFC Newbiggin 5 Cramlington United 4 (att 85) I occasionally question my sanity when groundhoppiing. Driving to Northumberland, and then standing in a freezing cold wind waiting for a Northern Alliance game to begin was one of those occasions. But I have a warm winter coat, I was staying in a hotel just a short drive away, and I was about to witness the most remarkable 90 minutes I've seen in a long time. I don't keep detailed enough records to know if I've ever previously seen a team come back from being 4-0 down to win, but I definitely have now. Newbiggin's defensive frailities were exposed early on by Cramlington, who scored three times in the opening 15 minutes. They'd added a fourth by the half-hour. If the home side had any consolation it was that the fourth goal came after they'd had a decent spell, and that they'd be playing with the wind more behind them in the second half. And by the time...