Steve B the Groundhopper

7.30pm 24  October  2026 Carlow and District League, Premier Division Parkville United 3 St Fiacc’s 2 (att 50) Local leagues in the Republic of Ireland often feature floodlit fixtures on Saturday evenings, but such was the force of Storm Boelo that I had little hope for a second game as I drove south from Belfast. By my reckoning I only had two options on new grounds that were within range, and one of the those, in Athlone, was confirmed as postponed when I phoned to check. But a call to Parkville United, based in Tullow in County Carlow, resulted in better news. The grass pitch was apparently playable, and unless the match referee thought differently the game would be on. When I arrived the playing surface was indeed surprisingly good given the day's weather. I was rewarded with a great game, especially the first half in which all five goals were scored. A free kick put Parkville ahead in the opening minutes, but St Fiacc's were soon level, and then not long later they scored...

1.30pm 24 October  2026 Irish FA Cup, Third Round Rosario Youth Club 0 Oxford Sunnyside 2 (att 63) Booking a football trip involving a flight is always something of a lottery, and a weekend when the British Isles were battered by two disruptive storms wasn't the ideal time to head to Ireland. My initial plan for the Saturday was a couple of games in the Republic of Ireland's new third tier National League. One of those, at TU Dublin, was off by Friday evening, and I had doubts about the other. Surprisingly, despite it being a grass pitch, the other game, at Carlow-based CK United, did go ahead. But had it fallen to the weather I'd have been left stranded, so I took the safer option of driving north to Belfast. Rosario had been on my 'to do' list for this season anyway. Having taken the one vacancy in Northern Ireland's new-look third tier, the National Conference League, I needed to visit in order to complete the league. An Irish Cup visit of fellow Conference L...

7.45pm 20 October  2026 Northern Counties East League, Division One Immingham Town 2 Athersley Recreation 2 (att 136) This was a big night for football in Immingham. It was the first floodlit game to be played in the town since the original Immingham Town FC went out of business in the mid 1990s. The end of the club coincided with the demise of their Woodlands ground as a football venue. It was a ground I'd not managed to visit, but sometimes in groundhopping patience pays off, and 30 years on it's in use once again. The new incarnation of Immingham Town have been playing senior football, in the Lincolnshire League, for around a decade, firstly at Immingham Sports Complex  and then at Blossom Way . It's taken time to return their spiritual home to use, and they only moved in this season, coinciding with promotion to 'step six' of the National League System. That has meant, amongst other things I'm sure, ensuring the ground is enclosed, floodlit and provides faci...

3pm 17 October  2026 Central Midlands Alliance League, Premier Division North Evo Soccer 1 AFC Bentley 1 (att 32) Evo Soccer FC is the Sheffield arm of an international football academy. They play at Leisure United Graves, a ground I was already very familiar with ahead of this visit. It used be called St George's Park Graves. Three years ago, almost to the day, I saw Beerhouse play a Fair Play League game on pitch two , and back in 2018 I watched Chesterfield's youth team on the venue's grass pitch . Evo use pitch one, which is artificial and the only one with dugouts. As my only remaining ground in the Central Midlands Alliance League's two parallel regionalised premier divisions, I was keen to visit to complete the set. Spectators are accommodated along the far side, which backs onto pitch two. It is possible to watch from elsewhere, but only through the fence that encloses the playing area. Both sides have made mixed starts to the season. Evo are newly-promoted, and...

12 noon 17 October  2026 Sheffield and Hallamshire County Senior League, Division Two Treeton Terriers 5 AFC Dronfield reserves 0 (att 25) This season Treeton Terriers have switched from Saturday morning football, in Sheffield's Fair Play League, to playing afternoons in the County Senior League. As a compromise, and useful from my groundhopping perspective, all their home games are scheduled to begin at midday. I don't know if the early start was a surprise to some at AFC Dronfield, but they only reached a full complement of players a few minutes ahead of kick off, and missed out on a proper warm up. The lack of preparation showed early on as Treeton, going well in the league, were dominant from the off. They came close to scoring more than once before taking the lead. By half time they were 4-0 ahead. After the break Dronfield were more resilient, although with the game already won there was less of a cutting edge to Treeton's play. The home side added just one more goal,...

3pm 10 October 2026 Lancashire and Cheshire Amateur League, Premier Division AFC Stockport 4 Cheat Daze 2 (att 19) Despite the late start at Waterhead, a lack of stoppage time and a very quick half-time break meant that game was over with just enough time for me to drive the three miles or so to AFC Stockport. If the club actually played in Stockport I'd have had no chance, but this season AFC Stockport's first team are playing on a new artificial pitch at Laurus Ryecroft High School in Droylsden. I was just walking up to the pitch as the referee blew his whistle to get the captains together for the coin toss. It's fortunate I wasn't late, as the home side scored from a corner after just a couple of minutes. Cheat Daze - a Manchester-based chain of dessert bars who sponsor the club formerly known as East Manchester Galaxy - have talented players and looked capable of an equaliser. But after 20 minutes or so the home side scored against the run of play to double their le...