Steve B the Groundhopper

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 ...

3pm 29 August  2026 Southern Combination League, Division One Westfield 3 Mile Oak 1 (att 86) Of my unvisited teams newly promoted into the National League System - the top six levels of non-league football - Sussex-based Westfield was the biggest challenge for a journey from Manchester. So as we were in the South East for the weekend, and they had a home game, it made sense head south to the village which is just outside Hastings. Westfield's ground, the Knight and Davey Community Stadium, is fairly new and is almost across the road from the club's former home, which I visited in 2008. It's a two-sided venue, but one that ticks all the right boxes for this level of football. On the near side is a pavilion that houses changing rooms, toilets and a small bar area. There's some covered standing in front of the building and a seated stand to the right. At the right hand end of the ground, close to a mobile snack bar, there's an additional covered area. Dugouts are on t...

6.30pm 26 August  2026 Yorkshire Amateur League, Supreme Division FC Farsley 3 Leeds Medics and Dentists 2 (att 240) It's been a tumultuous couple of decades for football fans in Farsley. The original Farsley Celtic reached the heights of the National League before folding. Reformed, first as Farsley and then as Farsley Celtic, the successor club also rose through the leagues, getting as high as the National League North. They then imploded, in part due to a botched plans to install a 3G pitch. I don't know all the details, but without a usable home ground the second Farsley Celtic folded ahead of the start of last season. Supporters will be hoping the new FC Farsley is a case of third time lucky. They're starting at the bottom, or at least close to it, in the Yorkshire Amateur League. And with pitch problems not yet resolved home games are on what was the training pitch. It's enclosed, there are dugouts, and there was just about enough space for the large and enthusias...

6.30pm 25 August  2026 York League, Premier Division Hamilton Panthers 0 Dringhouses 1 (att 50) It's very early days of course but Dringhouses made it two wins from their opening two league games with a hard fought victory at local rivals Hamilton Panthers. There was was little between the two sides, and little sign of a goal, before the visitors broke the deadlock a few minutes into the second half. It was the only goal of the game, and Dringhouses just about deserved all three points. They were hanging on a bit at the end though, as Hamilton pressed for an equaliser, hitting both post and crossbar. Hamilton Panthers are based at Little Knavesmire, a large open green space close to York's racecourse. There is room for several football pitches and a cricket pitch. The pitch used for this game was a lengthy walk from the clubhouse, and was roped off along one side.

2.07pm 23 August  2026 Beckett League, Keith Sales Memorial Trophy, Division One Final Thornton Dale 3 Heslerton 2 (att 170) The Keith Sales Memorial Trophy is a sort of Community Shield-style curtain raiser to the Beckett League season. In fact there are two trophy finals, and both were at Thornton Dale. The division two final, Slingsby United v Heslerton development, kicked off at midday ahead of the division one game, in which the hosts played Heslerton's first team in what was, for me at least, the main event. I've no idea how the competing teams were chosen. Thornton Dale and Heslerton finished fourth and sixth in last season's nine team division, and as far as I can tell neither won a cup. It's also curious for a Saturday league to play these matches on a Sunday, although of course that suited me. Kick off was scheduled for either 2pm, 2.10pm or 'approx 2pm' depending where you looked. The game actually got underway at 2.07, and was a lively affair played ...

2pm 22 August  2026 Sheffield and Hallamshire County Senior League, Premier Division Swinton Athletic 1 Stocksbridge Park Steels reserves 5 (att 40) I'd wanted to visit Swinton Athletic's ground for a while, but despite being among my nearest unticked venues at this level I'd somehow not got around to it until now. It's definitely one of the hidden gems that exist below the national league system, and probably only needs floodlights and some hard standing for spectators to be ready for a place at 'step six'. It's fully enclosed, the pitch is railed off and there's a good-sized seated stand. Although the surrounds are grass, some of it is steeply banked which allows for a good elevated view. On the pitch, Swinton Athletic may still be some way off a step up, at least on the evidence of this game. Of course it's unfair to judge a team on one match, but Stocksbridge's young reserve team had a comfortable afternoon. Good finishing, and one unfortunat...