Steve B the Groundhopper

10.15am 18 January 2025 Manchester Saturday Morning League, Division Two Championship Withington Hope CF 1 AFC Stockport Hatters 6 (att 12) I needed to stay fairly close to home which meant options for a new ground in the morning were limited. But with three games scheduled at Manchester's Hough End, albeit one hosted by a reserve side, I was confident of at least a new pitch. Two previous visits had yielded a match one of the pair of recently-added 3Gs  and, back in 2019, a game on a grass pitch  that's now mostly covered by an extension to the car park. Both artificial pitches were busy with children's football, so all three adult games were on grass. I chose the Manchester Saturday Morning League fixture over South Manchester and Cheshire Christian League games because it kicked off 15 minutes earlier. The home side began the game well, and the visitors' early opening goal was against the run of play. That set the tone for a first half where the biggest difference be...

2.15pm 11 January 2025 Mid Lancashire League, Division One Astley 3 Cube 4 (att 30) I'd set myself the challenge of finding a game on a new ground close enough to home to allow me time to get back for Manchester City's FA Cup tie with Salford City at 5.45pm. With the cold weather ruling out any game on grass, and even local 3G pitches falling foul of the frost, I thought I'd have to limit my day's football to a revisit to the Etihad Stadium. But, to my surprise, this game survived. Astley play on a 3G at the West Way Sports Hub, just outside Chorley. Any snow and ice that had been on the pitch had been cleared, and on a very cold afternoon the surface was perfectly playable. The 2.15 kick off, 15 minutes later than advertised, was a little frustrating given my need to be back early, but at least I'd found a game that was on. Bolton-based Cube's players ambled onto the pitch just before kick off, looking like they'd have much preferred an afternoon off. Only ...

3pm 4 January 2025 West Cheshire League, Pyke Cup, First Round Runcorn Sports 2 South Liverpool reserves 1 aet (att 38) I was hoping for a longer journey but apocalyptic weather forecasts meant it seemed a safer bet to stay fairly local and to seek a game on an artificial pitch. Runcorn Sports was my only remaining first team ground to recomplete the top division of the West Cheshire League, and it also completed a trio of visits to see the host club on different grounds. It's almost three years since I saw them on a pitch at Helsby , also against South Liverpool's reserves. They won comfortably that afternoon but, based on the league table, a repeat looked unlikely. Sports are having a tough season. They're bottom of the league and recently disbanded their reserve team. The Pyke Cup, for sides in the West Cheshire League's top flight, was perhaps a welcome distraction. It's a distraction that will continue at least into the second round. A hard-fought and tight 90 ...

3pm 1 January 2025 Isthmian League, Premier Division Cray Wanderers 1 Dulwich Hamlet 0 (att 827) I had hoped to begin the year with a visit to Cambridge City's new stadium, but wet weather and a grass pitch made we wary of the potential for a late postponement. Instead I made a longer journey to the south of London, but with greater certainty of the match being on. That was thanks to the artificial pitch at Cray Wanderers' new ground, which opened at the start the season. Cambridge City played, but plenty of other games on grass were either postponed or abandoned. The rain at Cray's Flamingo Park was relentless, only easing as the game neared its conclusion. Given the tricky conditions it was a decent encounter. The home side won it with a well-taken goal seven minutes from the end. They'd come closest to scoring earlier, hitting the post, and looked just the better of evenly-matched teams. I saw Cray Wanderers at their previous Oxford Road ground in Sidcup in 1987. For...

1.45pm 28 December 2024 Suffolk and Ipswich League, Senior Division Halesworth Town 4 Debenham LC 1 (att 100) A relaxing couple of post-Christmas nights away on the Suffolk coast put fixtures that would normally by very awkward to get to from home within easier reach. I took the opportunity to visit Halesworth Town, partly because they have a chance of finishing as champions, although even with games in hand it'll be a challenge to overtake leaders Old Newton United, but also because the club has ambitions for promotion to 'step six'. Their ground can't be far of being ready for the step up, especially as these days rules around seats and floodlights are more relaxed, with clubs having a sensible grace period to put everything in place. The pitch is already enclosed and has dugouts, and there's hard standing behind the near goal and along one touchline. A covered standing area has been placed behind the goal nearest the welcoming clubhouse and, on the evidence of th...

2pm 21 December 2024 Northern Alliance, Premier Division Newcastle East End 2 AFC Burradon and New Fordley 3 (att 28) I'd been undecided where to go for a Saturday afternoon game, but my mind was made up with news that Stobswood Welfare's home fixture had been postponed. That left this game as the only new ground in the Northern Alliance top division, and with the relative safety of an artificial pitch. But when I arrived the referee was concluding a 'pitch' inspection due to concerns about the strength of the wind. Thankfully the match went ahead. The conditions were undoubtedly a significant factor, but I've seen games in much worse weather. And at least it stayed mostly dry. AFC Burradon and New Fordley are unbeaten league leaders. They kept that record intact, but were given a tough test by Newcastle East End. The home side went ahead in the first minute. Burradon and New Fordley hit the crossbar and the post before finally equalising, deservedly, before half ti...