Steve B the Groundhopper

1pm 14 June  2026 Alder Hey Charity Tournament, Group B at Walton Hall Park AFC Ainsdale 0 BRNESC Calcio 7 (att 15) When Walton Hall Park was turned into what was initially called the Liverpool Soccer Centre, there were two near-identical enclosed grounds. One was the Liverpool FA's ground, subsequently developed into a stadium used by Everton's women's team. Next door was the Liverpool Schools FA ground. Other than inevitable signs of wear and tear, it's barely changed in the years since. The pitch is railed off and floodlit, with dugouts on one side and a covered terrace opposite. I was always going to watch whichever of the three Alder Hey Tournament's 1pm kick offs were on that ground, and it turned out to be another Saturday v Sunday clash. AFC Ainsdale play in the Mid Lancashire League while BRNESC Calcio are, like Pristine in the day's earlier game, in the Liverpool Business Houses League. Sunday football is strong in Liverpool, and this was a one-sided e...

11am 14 June  2026 Alder Hey Charity Tournament, Group A at Walton Hall Park North Hill 2 Pristine 1 (att 25) For reasons that are hard to fathom, and increasingly outdated, the Football Association officially doesn't allow matches to be played in the month of June. There are loopholes though, and a tournament is one of them. That's not to suggest the Alder Hey Charity Tournament is any sort of ruse to get around FA rules. It's a bona fide competition featuring a dozen Saturday and Sunday sides, split into two groups of six. All the matches are on Sundays at Walton Hall Park in Liverpool, with three at 11am and another three at 1pm. From the morning options I chose this game as it was the first of the two matches, that were on grounds I'd not previously been to, to get underway. It was on one of a pair of open grass pitches at the complex. It pitted Saturday side North Hill, who spent the 2025/26 season in the Liverpool Football League, against Pristine of the Sunday Li...

11am 7 June  2026 Eccles Sunday League, Margaret Piggott Memorial Cup, Quarter-Final Egerton Arms 2 Ordsall 3 (att 22) The Eccles Sunday League gets onto my groundhopping 'to do' list by virtue of having a summer season.  Even so, this was pitch-hopping rather than groundhopping. There are several pitches at the Brookhouse Playing Fields in Eccles, with numbers seven and eight the pair currently used for Eccles Sunday League fixtures. Last summer I watched a game on 'pitch eight', and with both in use this morning I headed along to add 'pitch seven' to my list. For the record, I also saw a game on 'pitch five' back in 1997. With Egerton Arms struggling and Ordsall top of the 12-team league, I expected the visitors to progress to the cup semi-finals with ease. They did get through, but it was a close game. Early on Orsdall were the better side and were ahead after about 15 minutes. A few minutes before half time a goalkeeping error allowed them to double ...

2pm 6 June  2026 East Riding County League, Championship Division Langtoft 4 Seamer Sports 7 (att 59) It's not often I watch the same team two weeks running, but Seamer's defeat at Leven last weekend meant their final fixture, away to Langtoft, became the title decider. Had Seamer won last week then it's doubtful this game would have been played, but as it was they still needed three points to overtake leaders AFC North to win the East Riding County League's second tier. Early on it looked as if they'd suffer similar frustration. Langtoft started well and were in no mood to allow Seamer an easy afternoon. The home led twice during an even first half, with the visitors twice levelling. Their second equaliser was a penalty that looked soft to me, although before half time they were denied what looked a more obvious spot kick, and this time the tripped player was booked for an alleged dive. It took until the 66th minute before Seamer finally went in front. Their lead ...

2pm 30 May  2026 East Riding County League, Championship Division Leven Members Club 2 Seamer Sports 1 (att 33) The East Riding County League had a handful of fixtures scheduled for today, but as the weekend approached most were awarded as walkovers. As far as I'm aware, this was the only game that was actually played. It was a fixture with meaning though, as Seamer Sports needed three points to climb above league leaders AFC North and win the division. It looked as if they'd get them easily when they took the lead in the opening 20 seconds. They could, and probably should, have scored more in a dominant first few minutes. They did have one effort ruled out for offside. But Leven came into the game and, urged on by their vocal manager, were determined not to allow Seamer a stroll towards three points. They deservedly equalised just before half time. A sublime finish at the start of the second half put the home side in front. Seamer grew increasingly frustrated at their inabilit...

2pm 24 May  2026 Scottish Welfare FA, Donald McNair Cup, Second Round Mormond Thistle 2 RAF Lossiemouth 3 (att 29) at Kessock Park, Fraserburgh I made a late decision to head to the north east of Scotland for the weekend, prompted in part by the chance to see this game, which I'd assumed would be played at Mormond's regular home ground in the village of Strichen. But the pitch there was unavailable, and by the time I spotted that this cup tie had been moved to a caged 3G pitch in Fraserburgh I was already committed to the journey. It was no great hardship though, especially as Kessock Park is a ground that had eluded me previously despite being a regular back-up venue for various local clubs in need of a pitch. It's a typical 3G, although the one negative is that spectators have to watch from outside the high fence that encloses the playing area. The Donald McNair Cup is Scottish Welfare FA's national cup, with the early rounds regionalised into north and south sections...