Steve B the Groundhopper

2pm  25 September 2021 Yorkshire Amateur League, Supreme Division Route One Rovers 3 Farsley Celtic Juniors 6 (att 22) I was restricted in how far I could travel today, so I was lucky that a journey to the outskirts of Bradford was rewarded with such a terrific match. Farsley Celtic Juniors are one of the stronger teams in the Yorkshire Amateur League, and Route One Rovers belie their name by playing an attractive style of football. If anyone watching this was calculating possession statistics then they'd probably have Route One in the ascendancy at half time. They had more of the ball, but the visitors' finishing was clinical. They scored three well-taken first half goals without reply. Route One Rovers played enough good football to suggest they had a chance if they got the next goal, but it was Farsley who scored, going 4-0 up early in the second period. With the points seemingly beyond them Route One immediately hit back, and then got a second and not long later a third. Fa...

7.45pm  24 September 2021 Lancashire League, East Division Shawforth Villa U23 0 Clitheroe Wolves U21 18 (att 12) Just occasionally I question my sanity when it comes to watching football. The attraction of this fixture, beyond the chance to tick the 3G pitch at Burnley College, was that it was effectively a first team game. The Lancashire League, once the preserve of young professionals in the 'A' teams of the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool, has gone through several rebrands and is now an under 23 league. Neither Shawforth Villa nor Clitheroe Wolves have open-aged men's teams, so the home side's 'under 23s' and the visitors' 'under 21s' are both clubs' de facto first teams. Shawforth had lost their opening three matches, failing to score while conceding 46. One reason was clear when I saw them warming up. They were all under 23, but in the same way I'm under 70. Most could probably still play at under 18s level, several with years ...

2pm  19 September 2021 Witney and District League, Division One Kingham All Blacks 1 Chadlington 2 (att 177) And so the Witney and District League hop concluded with a Sunday afternoon game, in the competition's second tier, at Kingham Playing Field. Like other matches over the weekend it was entertaining without being thrilling. Chadlington scored early, and doubled their advantage not long after. The All Blacks - the name apparently inspired by a New Zealand rugby tour in the 1920s - kept plugging away but were hampered by wayward finishing. They did get a goal back eventually, but it was too late to seriously threaten the away side's lead. Kingham is a lovely Cotwsold village. In 2004 Country Life magazine named it as 'England's favourite village'. It must have fought off tough competition to win that accolade, and maybe having a village football ground helped. Calling it a football ground is generous, but it's enclosed with space for just a single pitch, and...

11am  19 September 2021 Witney and District League, Division Four Sherborne Harriers 3 Hatherop reserves 2 (att 136) Division four might be the bottom rung of the Witney and District League, and the away side were the reserves of a club with a first team in the lowly Swindon League, but this was still a tempting fixture. I can't be sure, but this might be the only game I've ever seen on land owned by the National Trust. The pitch is just off the A40, but well hidden behind trees and accessed via a pair of ceremonial gates. Google, and the National Trust website, will tell you that Sherborne Lodge has a 'grandstand'. It's not a facility for Harriers supporters though, but a 17th century lodge. The football club makes do with a 1940s wooden pavilion in a corner by the pitch. This is the lowest level of Saturday football, and on a bumpy pitch a flowing game was never likely. But the playing standard is an unreliable indicator of how entertaining a match might be, and t...

5pm  18 September 2021 Witney and District League, Premier Division Hanborough 2 Hailey 3 (att 161) The third game of a day can be a step too far, but luckily Hanborough and Hailey provided an entertaining contest that held my attention. It was a game with a dramatic finale, as Hailey scored late goals to come back from 2-0 down to win. On balance they deserved it, and might have won more routinely had they not missed an early penalty. With the spot kick saved it was Hanborough who scored the first half's only goal, after an example of the very definition of route one football. When they doubled their lead after the break it looked like game over, until Hailey's late fightback. Hanborough were in the Oxfordshire Senior League last season, and the pair of dugouts at the ground are a sign of a club that has played at a higher level. Essentially though, like many village grounds, it's a pleasant venue that stages football and cricket.

2.30pm  18 September 2021 Oxfordshire Senior League, Premier Division Charlton United 2 Launton Sports 1 (att 43) At half time I was fully expecting my second nil nil scoreline of the day. The standard of football may have been several levels higher than at the earlier match at Cassington, but chances were few and far between. Launton had looked the better side but it was Charlton who broke the deadlock, with a well taken goal just three minutes into the second half. Barely two minutes later the scores were level, when a Launton penalty was saved but the rebound was scored. With a point each seeming an inevitable outcome Charlton got a winner with just a few minutes left to play, maintaining their 100% record after three matches. The official hop had moved onto a Witney League game at Freeland, a ground I visited for a county league fixture in the middle of the last Witney League hop, so I picked Charlton as a 'step seven' ground that would allow time to get back to the hop...

11am  18 September 2021 Witney and District League, Division Two Cassington Rangers 0 Ducklington 0 (att 133) The Witney and District League usually flies below my groundhopping radar, but it can be hard to resist the lure of multiple matches with staggered kick off times. The deciding factor in tempting me to this year's Witney League hop was the addition of two games on Sunday, making it worth a weekend stay. Unfortunately the weekend's football didn't get off to a thrilling start, with my second goalless draw in a week. It wasn't a game without incident, and Cassington will consider this as a point gained as they soaked up relentless pressure yet somehow escaped with their goal intact. Ducklington created enough chances to win several matches, but were kept at bay by bad luck, bad finishing and some very good goalkeeping. Cassington's village playing field is home to cricket as well as football, and although it lacks facilities beyond a pavilion it's a pleasa...

7.30pm  15 September 2021 North Riding League, Premier Division Kader 1 BEADS 4 (att 31) For much of the first half it looked like a frustrating evening for BEADS. They peppered the Kader goal with efforts that were either well-saved or off-target, before finally going ahead a couple of minutes before the break. Two quick second half goals, one a penalty, put them firmly in control. Kader got one back but it ultimately it was a comfortable and deserved win for the visitors (whose name is an acronym for the Beechwood, Easterside and District Social Club). There aren't many floodlit grounds in the North Riding League, and Kader's is a typical 3G set up. It's better than many though, with a proper viewing for spectators on one side and dugouts opposite. The pitch is part of Outwood Academy Acklam, although Kader FC has its own facilities, including a clubhouse, and plenty of signage. I was last at the venue in 2003, when it was known as Hall Garth School and Whinney Banks FC p...