Steve B the Groundhopper

2pm 11 April  2026 Southern Combination League, Division Two Upper Beeding 4 Worthing Town 0 (att 46) Upper Beeding recently announced their first team would be leaving their ground in the village to share at nearby Steyning Town, a move that would allow them to be promoted. That put a visit the Upper Beeding Recreation Ground on my 'to do' list for this season. This game was listed for 3pm, but was then brought forward an hour so the club's reserves could play at home after the first team. Usual delays on the M25 meant getting to the Sussex village in time for the earlier start time was a challenge, but I eventually made it with just a few minutes to spare. Although it's a shame when a football club moves away from its base, there's no way the ground in Upper Beeding could ever be enclosed and equipped with the facilities required for higher levels of football. The pitch is railed off on three sides, where it is also bordered by a public footpath. The fourth side, ...

10am 11 April  2026 Arthurian League, Division Three Old Haberdashers 2 Old Chigwellians II 0 (att 8) Three weeks ago I tried to watch this fixture, but arrived at the venue to find it was off. It was later shown on the league website as a home walkover, so I was surprised to see it relisted. It made sense though, as Old Haberdashers needed nothing less than six points from their final two matches to climb out of the relegation places. They got halfway there with a deserved win against Old Chigwellians' second team, and now need another victory at bottom side Old Tonbridgians II next weekend. It won't be easy though, as their opponents can also still avoid the drop. Goals towards the end of each half, after 40 and 86 minutes, settled this game. The home side were mostly on top and should have won more comfortably. As it was, the outcome remained in the balance until their late second strike. Most Old Haberdashers games this season, if the league's Full Time website is accur...

6.30pm 8 April  2026 Craven and District League, Premier Division Burley Trojans 1 Silsden Whitestar reserves 2 (att 36) Three goals in five second half minutes decided a tight game in the top division of the Craven and District League. Until Silsden's opener, scored with just less than 20 minutes to go, I was expecting the match to end goalless. Having gone behind, Burley immediately equalised with the evening's best goal. But the visitors quickly regained their lead, after a corner that was controversially awarded and certainly not taken from anywhere close to the quadrant by the corner flag. Burley Trojans, higher in the league, looked just the better side over the 90 minutes, and deserved at least a draw. They play at Burley in Wharfedale Recreation Ground, where there is an open pitch with, unsurprisingly, no spectator facilities. On a warm evening it was a nice place to watch a game.

8.15pm 7 April  2026 Shropshire County League, Premier Division Wrockwardine Wood 3 Telford Town reserves 2 (att 40) Late season midweek groundhopping usually involves tense post-work journeys through rush hour traffic as I try to reach my chosen match in time for kick-off. But occasionally I can enjoy a more leisurely evening. As well as non-floodlit grounds staging early evening fixtures, April sometimes throws up games at floodlit venues that rarely, if ever, stage midweek games during the rest of the season. The 3G pitch at Telford College is one, and is currently home to Wrockwardine Wood. A prior booking meant this game had the unusually late, but useful for me, start time of 8.15pm. It's not an interesting venue, just a standard artificial pitch surrounded by the usual high fence. There's no specific area for spectators, but there is plenty of space inside the fence for those watching to stand pitch side. A decent crowd turned out to watch what was a local derby. We were...

3pm 6 April  2026 Hampshire Premier League, Senior Division Meon Milton 5 Andover Town 1 (att 39) As we were in the South East over the Easter weekend it was an easy journey down to Southsea to visit the home ground of Meon Milton, who play in what was Eastney Barracks. The barracks closed about 30 years ago, and these days the sports ground is the Cockleshell Community Sports Club. The main football pitch is some distance from the changing rooms, and is railed off with a pair of dugouts. There is some cover for spectators, to the front of an adjacent social club, although oddly the club itself has no connection to the football team. Outside the ground, the former officers' mess building looms over the pitch. Andover Town are bottom of the table, although with games in hand on teams above them they still have hope of avoiding relegation. To achieve that they'll have to improve on this performance. There was an even start to the game, but once Meon Milton opened the scoring it s...

4pm 4 April  2026 Essex Alliance League, Senior Division Dagenham United 1 Saint City 5 (att 16) Even in London traffic it was still a relatively comfortable journey from Fairlop Rovers to arrive at Dagenham's Robert Clack Sports Centre in time for a 4pm kick-off. The ground is a typical 3G pitch, with a spectator area that runs about three-quarters of the near side. A basic ground but more than adequate for the league and the level of support. Dagenham United are bottom of the table, and so a heavy home defeat was no surprise. A penalty put Saint City in front after just four minutes, and some excellent goals saw that lead became 4-0 inside the first half-an-hour. The home side scored the game's next goal, and they kept the deficit at 1-4 into the half time break. Early in the second period a Dagenham player worryingly went down off the ball. Eventually, after a lengthy stoppage, he was ok enough to leave the pitch. That set the tone for a disjointed 45 minutes of football tha...

1pm 4 April  2026 Essex Alliance League, Senior Division Fairlop Rovers 2 Haringey Borough reserves 0 (att 5) I don't know why this game was scheduled for 1pm but, with another nearby Essex Alliance League fixture having a similarly unusual kick-off time of 4pm, it allowed for a handy double. Fairlop Rovers have relocated during the season into the Levels Centre of Excellence, also, or formerly, known as the Broadfields Sports Ground. It's accessed directly from the North Circular Road. Since the move most home games have been postponed, and it was easy to see why.  Thankfully drier recent weather meant the pitch was playable, but the surface was very poor and didn't help either team. Unsurprisingly it was a scrappy encounter. Fairlop Rovers, needing points at the wrong end of the table, took an early lead, then doubled it just before half time. After that they were never really in danger. A late red card ended any slim hopes Haringey had of getting back into the match. I u...

11am 3 April  2026 St Piran League, Premier Division East St Mawgan 0 Kilkhampton 1 (att 40) As usual these days the Good Friday fixture list provided limited options for new grounds. I had just two possibles, both in the South West and both morning kick-offs. St Mawgan, close to Newquay, was the furthest of the pair, but news that the club has applied for promotion into step six football moved it up my groundhopping 'to do' list. This defeat was a blow to the club's promotion hopes, as they may need to finish above fellow applicants Torpoint Athletic reserves. It was a sluggish game in which neither side created many clear chances, perhaps not helped by both having also played league games on Wednesday evening. The best moment of quality, a free kick with 12 minutes left, produced the only goal. St Mawgan have been working hard to get their Trevarrian Park up to standard for possible promotion. It's fully enclosed, there's a seated stand, and hard standing extends ...