Steve B the Groundhopper

6.30pm 22 April  2026 Yorkshire Amateur League, Division Two Dewsbury Rangers 0 Bradford Olympic 5 (att 25) Bradford Olympic have a hectic end to the season. Even after this win they still have another seven league fixtures to play, several more than any of their divisional rivals. Their incentive is that, as long as they drop no more than three points, they can reel in the teams above them and finish top. They kept on track for the title with a comfortable win at Dewsbury Rangers. It took them a while before they went in front, although it always looked a matter of when, not if, they would open the scoring. Olympic's lead was just 1-0 at half time, but with Rangers' defence breached the visitors enjoyed a more comfortable second half. The home side are also going well in the league, but despite plenty of effort they never looked likely to get anything out of this game, their penultimate match of the season. Dewsbury Rangers have their own ground on Wakefield Road, between Dews...

6.25pm 21 April  2026 Huddersfield and District League, Division Three Dalton Athletic 3 Honley reserves 5 (att 22) This time of year, when lower league teams play early evening midweek matches to catch up on their fixtures, is known as the 'silly season' among groundhoppers. It's an opportunity to watch even more random games than normal. The fourth tier of the Huddersfield and District League wouldn't ordinarily be on my radar for a match on a Saturday afternoon, but on a Tuesday evening in April it's a different matter. I only realised I needed to visit Dalton Athletic when I was looking for potential games to go to. They had been playing home games at the DRAM Centre , but have now moved a short distance to the Netherhall Learning Campus. It's as basic as a football ground can get. A large school playing field with several pitches. The goalposts were square, rusty and askew. The grass had been cut, but the cuttings littered the pitch, and the white lines wer...

6.30pm 20 April  2026 York League, Division One Rufforth United 3 Thorpe United 3 (att 17) A motorway closure meant it was touch and go whether I'd make it to Rufforth, just outside York, in time for kick off. Luckily I did, just, and was rewarded with a memorable game. Both teams had plenty to play for. Rufforth are battling for promotion while Thorpe went into the game bottom of the division, but with games in hand on the teams above them. A draw will have suited the visitors more than the hosts, but Thorpe will probably see this as two points dropped as they led 3-0 with just 25 minutes left to play. That said, they were hanging on at the end. They took the lead, against the run of play, after 11 minutes, and withstood plenty of Rufforth pressure to hold their advantage into half time. They then had the perfect start to the second period, doubling their lead just seconds into it. A few minutes later Rufforth lost the ball cheaply while trying to play out from the back and it was...

2.30pm 18 April  2026 Lancashire Amateur League, Colin Ackers Trophy, First Round Bolton Wyresdale 3 Old Blackburnians 1 (att 15) A day when I needed to stay relatively close to home was the ideal opportunity to recomplete the Lancashire Amateur League, by visiting Bolton Wyresdale's new home ground. They moved into their new base, on Radcliffe Moor Road, at the start of the season. Their old ground at Inverbeg Drive, which I visited in 2001, is being, or maybe already has been, developed for housing. The new venue offers much better facilities for the club. There are four football pitches, plenty of parking and a well-equipped clubhouse. The clubhouse overlooks the main pitch, which is railed off, from behind the goal. The Lancashire Amateur League tends to runs its cup competition towards the end of season. The Colin Ackers Trophy seems to be for first teams in the league's top two divisions (with a couple of puzzling omissions). The second tier, division one, is already comp...

6.30pm 15 April  2026 West Yorkshire League, Division One Horsforth St Margaret's 2 Rawdon Old Boys 1 (att 27) Four years ago when I watched this fixture both sides were in the West Yorkshire League's Premier Division. These days they're both in Division One, at least for now, and Horsforth have a new ground. Of course the new ground was the reason for my visit this time. In 2022 Horsforth St Margaret's were playing on a school 3G pitch, a temporary arrangement while their new home was being built. They moved in some time ago, and facilities at King George's Fields are excellent. It caters for football and cricket, although the pitches don't overlap, and a nice clubhouse is well-positioned for both. The main football pitch is enclosed with a plastic fence and there's a pair of dugouts, although for some reason only one was in use for this game. On the pitch it had the feel of an end-of-season affair. Horsforth are mid-table with little to play for, while Ra...

2pm 11 April  2026 Southern Combination League, Division Two Upper Beeding 4 Worthing Town 0 (att 46) Upper Beeding recently announced their first team would be leaving their ground in the village to share at nearby Steyning Town, a move that would allow them to be promoted. That put a visit the Upper Beeding Recreation Ground on my 'to do' list for this season. This game was listed for 3pm, but was then brought forward an hour so the club's reserves could play at home after the first team. Usual delays on the M25 meant getting to the Sussex village in time for the earlier start time was a challenge, but I eventually made it with just a few minutes to spare. Although it's a shame when a football club moves away from its base, there's no way the ground in Upper Beeding could ever be enclosed and equipped with the facilities required for higher levels of football. The pitch is railed off on three sides, where it is also bordered by a public footpath. The fourth side, ...