Steve B the Groundhopper

2pm 23 November 2024 Lancashire Amateur League, Division Two Bolton Rangers 2 Breightmet United 3 (att 16) On a day when Storm Bert wiped out many fixtures this game, on the relative safety of an artificial surface, was always my first choice. With evening plans I had to be back home early, and these days most local options for new grounds are 3G pitches. Newly-formed Bolton Rangers were unable to secure a ground in the town, so have settled on playing a short drive away in Darwen. I don't know how old the pitch at Darwen Aldridge Community Academy is, but it's showing its age. The ground is floodlit, and on a gloomy afternoon the lights were on almost from the start. Wooden fencing behind the ubiquitous cage, on one side and at the far end, provided a welcome buffer from the worst of the weather. Bolton Rangers are playing their debut season in senior football, but Breightmet United have a long history, going back to 1880. I last saw them lose by double figures in the Manchest...

2pm 16 November 2024 York League, Premier Division Poppleton 2 Osbaldwick 5 (att 19) It's more than five years since I last watched a game in Poppleton , just outside York. Since then the local club has has dropped its United suffix and moved to a new ground. Both changes are the result of a merger with Poppleton Junior FC. Home is now a sports ground on Millfield Lane, which features a clubhouse, large car park and several pitches. This game was played on 'pitch one' which, as its title suggests, is closest to the clubhouse and car park. The near side was roped off, but other than that it's just a pitch. Poppleton couldn't have go off to a better start. They took the lead with their first attack, and scored again moments later. Osbaldwick were dangerous going forward though, and Poppleton's early advantage never looked like being enough to see them through the rest of the match. The visitors wasted several good chances before eventually getting a goal back befo...

10.30am 16 November 2024 Manchester Saturday Morning League, Division Two Championship Rochdale Road Rovers 6 North Manchester Athletic 2 (att 8) Rochdale Road Rovers are one of two Manchester Saturday Morning League teams based at Crossley Playing Fields in Chadderton. With both at home, and not wanting to travel far for my first game, it was a logical destination. That said, it was plan B. The league's Full Time website listed groundsharers Hare and Hounds as playing instead at nearby Clayton Playing Fields. I headed there first, but wasn't too surprised to find only junior matches. As I'd assumed, both Hare and Hounds and Rochdale Road Rovers were playing on the pitches at Crossleys. Hare and Hounds were using the same pitch I'd visited for a game last year , but Rochdale Road's game yielded a groundhopping 'tick'. The four or five pitches at Crossleys all feel quite separate from each other. They're on different levels and a footpath also splits the ...

3pm 9 November 2024 Eastern Counties League, Division One South May and Baker Eastbrook Community 1 Burnham Ramblers 2 (att 17) A prompt start and a short half time meant my first game was finished well before 2.45pm, so I even had time for a coffee before making my way to the main pitch at Parsloes Park. The facility is home to both May and Baker, who I last saw at a nearby rugby ground in 2018 , and Athletic Newham of the 'step five' Essex Senior League. While a ground like this will never win over the traditionalists, it's not bad for a newly-built 3G. Spectators can access three sides, with just the far end out of reach, and have a choice of four small covered areas, two of them with seats. Burnham had support among the small crowd, and they had reason to celebrate early on as their side took a fifth minute lead. May and Baker, higher in the league, tried to get back level but it was an opening half of few clear chances. After the break the visitors again started well, ...

1pm 9 November 2024 Essex Alliance League, Division Three Iona Wheels 4 Jays 0 (att 20) For non-football reasons I needed to be in the south-east, so it was a good opportunity to tick off one of the newer venues to stage matches in the national league system. But before the main event I was able to take in another game on a pitch right next door. A number of Essex Alliance League teams play home games on a pair of outer 3G pitches at Parsloes Park in Dagenham. There were four such matches, with the pitches used for fixtures at 1pm and 3pm, and 2pm and 4pm. Division three is the fifth and lowest tier of the league. Iona Wheels are unbeaten and top the table, and in the first half played football of a higher standard than I'd expected for the level. They took just three minutes to open the scoring against mid-table Jays, and another three minutes to make it 2-0. Two more goals followed before half time. After the break the home side eased up, and Jays provided stiffer resistance. It ...

7.10pm 8 November 2024 Chester and Wirral League, Championship Division Fender 3 Whitegate United 0 (att 25) When Bidston reappeared as an amateur football venue this season I thought I'd  already been, having seen a match there in 2018 . But in the years since an additional 3G pitch has been added. It's also had a rebrand, from the Wirral Tennis Centre to Bidston Sports and Activity Centre. The new pitch is beyond the older one, running parallel to Valley Road, and has adjacent car parking. It has a barriered spectator area along one side, although for this game its use was optional, and is typical of such venues. The bonus, from a groundhopping perspective, is that the couple of Chester and Wirral League teams who use the venue for home games are staging those fixtures on Friday nights. Visitors Whitegate have joined this league from Crewe and District League, and went into this game top of the table. They were the better side, and will spend the weekend wondering how they l...

1.30pm 3 November 2024 Club Academy Scotland, Advanced League Bonnyrigg Rose U18 0 Montrose U18 3 (att 76) The 'advanced league' is the third and lowest of the three tiers of youth team football for SPFL clubs. Unlike the 'elite' and 'performance' leagues, most matches are played on Sundays. Bonnyrigg Rose play their home games on a 3G pitch at Poltonhall. It's a facility that also includes grass pitches, and appears to be a base for the club's community arm. Spectators have to watch from behind the fence that encloses the pitch, but with grass banking rising steeply along the far side and far end it's easy to get a decent view. It wasn't great viewing for home supporters though. Montrose began on the front foot and the only surprise was that it took them until five minutes in the second before they took the lead. Bonnyrigg had occasional chances, but once they went behind they never looked like recovering. Montrose got a second with an hour play...

1.30pm 2 November 2024 SJFA, Inter-regional Cup, First Round Westdyke Community Club 1 Maud 6 (att 32) There's no denying that Westhill, near Aberdeen, is a long way to travel to tick off a ground that's little more than a typical 3G set-up. But being a groundhopping completist meant I had to see a Westdyke home game. The club are new to the Scottish Juniors this season, and so I needed to visit their Lawsondale home to recomplete the full set of SJFA North Region grounds. The inter-regional cup was traditionally for sides it the SJFA's North and Tayside regions. These days they're the only junior leagues still operating, with the latter called the Midlands League. The opening round is regionalised, and the visitors were fellow north side Maud, who play a division higher than Westdyke in the premier league. The gap between them showed over 90 minutes. Two goals in quick succession, about mid-way through the opening half, put Maud on the way to victory. After the break t...