Steve B the Groundhopper

10.30am 7  November  2026 Sheffield and District Fair Play League, Division Three Byron House 2 Sheffield Trinity 5 (att 6) As the league's Full Time website isn't always to be trusted it's a bonus to have clubs, like Sheffield Trinity, who reliably detail their upcoming fixtures via social media. Posts on Friday confirmed their game at Byron House, who play at Tapton School, a venue that I'm sure has been used by other sides in the past. It's an enclosed artificial pitch, but one that does feel a little different from the norm. Spectators can roam inside the fence, which isn't as high as at some such grounds, and there's also good elevated view available from the end nearest the car park. Given this was in the lowest of the Fair Play League's three divisions it was a good game to watch. Byron House, pointless from their opening five fixtures, went ahead early thanks to an emphatic finish. Trinity, going well in the league, were soon level and then in fr...

2.15pm 1  November  2026 Scottish Highland League, Under 18 North Fort William U18 1 Wick Academy U18 4 (att 28) Matches like this appeal only if they don't involve going out of my way. As we were heading home from Inverness anyway, and going via Fort William is the more scenic route, it was a good option. I'll also only watch such matches if the venue differs from a club's first team ground. Fort William's first team play at Claggan Park, while their youth and reserve sides are based at the town's Lochaber High School. It's a typical 3G pitch, with the playing area floodlit and enclosed by a high fence. Spectators are not permitted to stand inside the 'cage', although a couple of open gates do allow unrestricted views from the corners. Wick's youngsters, faced with an eight hour round trip to fulfil the fixture, are going well in the league and were ultimately comfortable victors. But it wasn't a straightforward afternoon for the visitors. They ...

1pm 31  October  2026 North Caledonian League Inverness Athletic 2 Dingwall 0 (att 114) Eighteen months ago I saw Inverness Athletic stage a  home game in North Kessock. That venue now hosts rivals Inverness Thistle, while Athletic have moved into a newly-built ground. The ICT Community Hub is, as its name suggests, a community facility connected to Inverness Caledonian Thistle. It's a large playing field, with space that was busy with children's football as well as the enclosed pitch used by Inverness Athletic. Spectators can stand along the far side of Athletic's pitch, with no access at either end or on the opposite side, where there's a pair of dugouts. Visitors Dingwall were only formed during the summer, and Inverness Athletic are also a relatively new club. Both are going well in the North Caledonian League, and they attracted a good crowd. We were treated to a high quality game between well-matched teams. Athletic started strongly and Dingwall did well to withs...

11am 25  October  2026 Leinster Senior League, Senior Division One Kilnamanagh 2 Templeogue United 4 (att 61) With the worst of the storm having passed, Dublin was drier, although still very windy, by Sunday morning. It did at least mean less chance of games being postponed. The conditions for Kilnamanagh and Templeogue United, playing in the Leinster Senior League's second tier, remained challenging, but the away side made light of them for an impressive win. The home team, playing with the strong wind behind them in the first half, struck first after about 15 minutes. It didn't take Templeogue long to equalise, and then the visitors scored twice in the five minutes before half time. Those goals, plus a fourth from a penalty early in the second half, put the outcome beyond doubt. Kilnamanagh kept things interesting by getting a goal back 15 minutes from the end, but couldn't score again. Kilnamanagh's Ned Kelly Park is adjacent to the M50 motorway. Spectators are, in e...

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...