Steve B the Groundhopper

7.45pm 8 September  2026 Midland Football League, Division One Anstey Town 1 FCV Grace Dieu 1 (att 47) Anstey Town are among the teams newly-promoted into National League System this season, having come up from the Leicestershire Senior League. They've had a tough start at the higher level, with some heavy defeats, so will probably be pleased to have won a hard-earned point against FCV Grace Dieu. Both goals were scored in the first half. The visitors, the senior side of the FCV International Football Academy, opened the scoring early on. At that stage it looked like being another difficult evening for Anstey Town, but they got back into the game and equalised shortly before half time. There were no more goals, although it was Grace Dieu who looked more likely to get one. When I last saw Anstey Town at home, more than 20 years ago, they played at a long-gone ground in the village of Thurcaston. They now play marginally closer to Anstey at Beaumont Park in Beaumont Leys. Regular rea...

2pm 5 September  2026 Scottish Amateur Cup, First Round Berwick Town 2 Gilmerton Athletic 7 (att 24) The Scottish Amateur Cup often produces intriguing ties, especially in the early rounds. Edinburgh-based Gilmerton are are newly-formed team, and the draw sent them south of the border for this first round game. The opening rounds are regionalised and, while Berwick is in Northumberland, the town's football clubs are mostly associated with Scotland. Berwick Town are in the Border Amateur League. They've had a tough start to the season, pointless from their six opening B Division matches including a 12-0 defeat last weekend. I expected Gilmerton to score a few goals. Gilmerton got two in the opening few minutes, but then a lack of communication between goalkeeper and defender allowed Berwick Town to get a goal back. The away side soon scored another, before again gifting the home side a goal. The opening half continued to provide goals, but sadly for Berwick there was no more gen...

10am 5 September  2026 North East Christian Fellowship League Newcastle Community Christians 1 North Shields Unity 1 (att 10) Previous experience has taught me that this league's website isn't always to be trusted for venue information, but with three of the morning's four games all scheduled to be at Walbottle Academy I knew this was a safe bet. That said, I thought I'd spend my morning watching reigning champions St Charles begin their title defence, as that game was listed for a 10.15 kick off, which I assumed would be 15 minutes before the other matches. But when I arrived this game was closest to getting underway. It kicked off at 10am, 15 minutes before St Charles, who played on an adjacent artificial pitch, and half an hour before the other game on grass. Newcastle Community Christians finished runners-up last season, and had to come from behind to claim a point against North Shields Unity. The visitors made the better start, and scored an early goal. It remained...

6.30pm 2 September  2026 Craven and District League, Division One Embsay 6 Sutton 2 (att 104) Apparently this was the first football match in the North Yorkshire village of Embsay for more than a dozen years, and the home side put on quite a show for the locals who turned out to watch. At least during the first half, when Embsay blew Sutton away with five unanswered goals. It was harsh on Sutton, as the most significant difference between the sides was the hosts' clinical finishing. With the contest effectively over, the second period was predicably quieter. Sutton pulled a goal back midway through the half, before Embsay scored a sixth. The visitors had the consolation of scoring again just before the end. Embsay's 'new' football pitch is, judging by Google Earth's historic images, in the same place as its predecessor. New houses have been built north and east of the playing area, and I assume the revamped pitch was included as part of the deal to enable the develo...

6.15pm 1 September  2026 Huddersfield and District League, Premier Division Cumberworth 5 Honley 2 (att 27) Cumberworth made it two wins from their two opening fixtures with an entertaining and ultimately comfortable win against 10 man Honley. The home side took an early lead, but the game swung firmly in their favour thanks to a pair of goals in quick succession after around half-an-hour. Any remaining chance for Honley evaporated when they had a player sent off just before half time. Cumberworth got a fourth goal five minutes into the second period, but then eased off and risked allowing their opponents back into the contest. Honley scored twice, although between the goals they were fortunate not to suffer a second dismissal. The home side recovered, and netted a fifth goal to finally kill off any Honley hopes of an unlikely comeback. Cumberworth's Crown Field ground,  my only unvisited venue in the top division of the Huddersfield League, is in the village of Birdsedge. Lik...

3pm 31 August  2026 Midland Football League, Division Three Solihull Youth Academy 1 AFC Balsall 1 (att 32) As we were travelling back to Manchester from the South East it made sense to target a game that was on the way, but venue changes in the Midland Football League meant this was, in effect, my plan C. I had low expectations of the ground Solihull Youth Academy have moved into this season. It's an artificial pitch at the New Irish Centre Birmingham in King's Heath, and spectators have to watch from outside the high fence that encloses the playing area. I was last at the venue 25 years ago, when it was the West Midlands Transport sports ground. Back then there were only grass football pitches, and I saw a game on the pitch closest to the entrance. The new artificial pitch doesn't overlap that, hence a need to return by my groundhopping rules. Having won all seven of their league games so far, I expected the home side to continue their perfect start against mid-table AFC ...