Steve B the Groundhopper

6.50pm 19 May 2022 Midlands Regional Alliance, Division One Willington 11 Burton United 1 (att 16) This game had a light-hearted end-of-season feel to it, although Willington will have enjoyed their evening much more than Burton United. It could have been worse for the visitors though. They conceded three goals in the first four minutes, and a fourth by the 10th minute, After a start like that they might have been relieved to trail by just 6-0 at half time. Burton's consolation goal came at 7-0 down, and Willington could easily had added more than the 11 they finished with. I last saw a Willington home game in 2009, when they played in the village. These days they play a short distance away in Hatton. There's a car park, social club and a playing field with two football pitches. This game was played on the furthest away of the pair.

6.45pm 17 May 2022 Westmorland League, Division Three Milnthorpe Town 3 Ullswater United 5 (att 12) Ullswater needed three points to confirm their promotion and to retain pole position in the race for the title. They got them but they made hard work of it, especially in the first half. Milnthorpe Town are coming to the end of their first season in the Westmorland League. They had little to play for against Ullswater, but that didn't show as they scored twice before their opponents got going. Ullswater pulled a goal back before half time but it took until the second period before they properly hit their stride. Once they did so a 2-1 deficit soon became a 4-2 lead. Milnthorpe kept the game interesting by pulling a goal back, before a fifth for the away side confirmed their win and their promotion. Milnthorpe play a few miles north of the town in the village of Heversham. The facility belongs to a local school and is a large playing field with a car park and a modern pavilion.

6.30pm 16 May 2022 Wakefield and District League, Premier Division Ambience 7 Royston Ring o'Bells 1 (att 70) Ambience went into this needing a win to finish as champions. A single point would almost certainly be enough unless rivals Fryston, playing at the same time, scored an unlikely number of goals. Any Ambience nerves were calmed by a fifth minute goal, and any potential jeopardy was effectively ended when they extended their lead to 3-0 as early as the tenth minute. There were no more goals until the second half, when two in quick succession 10 minutes after the restart made it 5-0. Royston pulled one back but it was just a consolation, as Ambience scored two more before the end. The final score was harsh on Royston, who put up a decent effort and kept battling to the end. Apparently Ambience is a social club in Pontefract, where they'll no doubt be celebrating their footballers winning the Wakefield League. The football club plays on tree-lined park pitch in nearby Ferry

10.30am 14 May 2022 Merseyside Christian League Bridge Chapel 12 St Vincent de Paul 2 (att 11) This was just my second experience of Merseyside's Saturday morning league, having already been to most of the venues used by its single division of 13 teams. Bridge Chapel play at Liverpool University's Wyncote Sports Ground. It's a ground I've twice seen games at before, but neither of those were on the 3G pitch used for this fixture. The caged pitch is adjacent to an artificial hockey pitch, which covers the former grass pitch where I saw Liverpool University against Sheffield Hallam in 2004. I returned for another university match in 2010, seeing Liverpool take on Chester on 'pitch one'. The 3G is typical of such set-ups. It's floodlit and there's a spectator area running the full length of one side. It's hard to judge the quality of a league, or of teams, from a single match, especially when it's as one-sided as this, but Bridge Chapel made the mos

7.15pm 11 May 2022 Yorkshire Amateur League, Premier Division St Bedes 3 Phoenix 11 (att 25) This game had an end-of-season feel about, but it's hard not to be entertained watching 14 goals, and it wasn't quite as one-sided as the outcome might suggest. St Bedes took an early lead, which with hindsight might have been a mistake against a Phoenix side that will finish third in the table. It spurred the visitors into action and they soon hit back, and not long later went in front. They then cut through the home side's defence at will, extending their lead to 6-1, before St Bedes scored twice to make it 6-3, all before half time. The second period was quieter, but after a goalless start to the half Phoenix eventually found their scoring boots again to add five more unanswered goals. St Bedes had chances, but weren't as sharp in front of goal. St Bedes play on a caged artificial pitch at Southfield Grange School in Bradford. There's a pair of dugouts on one side, and pl

6.30pm 10 May 2022 Liverpool Old Boys Amateur League, Division Two Liverpool Ramblers 1 Woodstreet 2 (att 6) In a time when amateur teams come and go rapidly it's worth noting that Liverpool Ramblers have been around since 1882. They took part in the FA Cup in the 1890s, yet remarkably this is (I think) their first season in a league. For most of their existence they've just played friendly matches, including some annual fixtures in rivalries going back many years. They have their own ground, in Crosby, which also sets them apart from many of Merseyside's amateur clubs. There's a car park, clubhouse and a single pitch. This match was technically a Woodstreet home fixture, but reversing it was probably simpler than hiring a pitch for a late season midweek match. There was nothing much at stake, with both sides already set for lower mid-table finishes. Woodstreet scored the only goal of the first half, then doubled their lead after the break. Ramblers pulled a goal back t