Steve B the Groundhopper

2pm 14 February  2026 West of Scotland League, Division One Whitletts Victoria 2 Vale of Clyde 3 (att 150) A trip to Ayr to tick off New voluntary Park, one of my two remaining West of Scotland League grounds. It's a newish venue built close to Whitletts Victoria's former home ground, Voluntary Park, which has since been demolished. I never got there, but in January 2013 I did see Whitletts at Dam Park , an athletics stadium they used for a few years. For a recently-built ground with an artificial surface, New Voluntary Park exceeded my expectations. Spectators can access three sides, with just the far touchline, where the dugouts are, out of bounds. There's a newly-installed seated stand, although they may need to stop spectators standing in front of it, a snack bar and lots of friendly volunteers. The club clearly enjoys plenty of support as well, including some enthusiastic young 'ultras' equipped with drums and megaphones. Whitletts Victoria went into this game ...

4pm 7 February  2026 Hampshire Premier League, Senior Division Bishops Waltham Dynamos 2 Liphook United 0 (att 24) Once the rain unsurprisingly wiped out my plan A game, and the very late finish to my match at Reading made reaching plan B in time for kick off off unlikely, I was onto plan C. Plan C was an artificial pitch at Mountbatten School in Romsey, booked by Bishops Waltham Dynamos once it was obvious their regular home ground wasn't going to be playable. The 4pm slot may have been unusual, but was a bonus for me as it meant I'd be there comfortably ahead of kick off. Romsey is a fair distance from Bishop's Waltham, but the venue wasn't that random as it was Dynamos' regular home ground last season. It's a standard 3G set up, with floodlights and a worn pitch that was more rubber crumb than fake grass. There's a spectator area one side, and a welcome surprise was a kiosk near the pitch selling hot and cold drinks, crisps, sweets and chocolate. Having s...

12noon 7 February  2026 Premier League Two Reading U21 3 Stoke City U21 0 (att 50) Reading's Bearwood Park training ground has been a challenge to tick off. Since it opened, about six years ago, regular under 18 matches there have been behind closed doors. I'd thought the same applied when it occasionally hosted under 21 games, but I spotted last month that tickets were apparently available when Reading played Leeds at Bearwood. Sure enough, when I phoned during the week, the Reading ticket office was happy to sell me a ticket for a fiver. You'd never know they were available from the club's website or social media though, with the fixture barely given a mention. I was told a maximum of 50 tickets are available for under 21 fixtures at Bearwood, and they come with rules designed to deter all but the most determined. There's no on-site parking, so you need to find a spot in the neighbouring village of Sindlesham and walk, and you have to time your arrival for 30 minu...

3pm 31 January  2026 Western League, Division One Avonmouth 2 Welton Rovers 1 (att 107) I'm still unsure whether I'll finally complete all the grounds in the FA's national league system this season, but I reduced the tally remaining to just four after a visit to Western League side Avonmouth. The club have had a rapid rise in recent years, moving up from local Bristol football, via just a single season in the Gloucestershire County League, to 'step six' of the non-league pyramid. This is their second season in the Western League, and a win against strugglers Welton Rovers keeps them in the battle for another promotion, into the premier division. It was a hard-fought win on a heavy pitch, and one that involved overturning a first half deficit. Welton looked better than expected for a team bottom of the table, although their opening goal, a penalty, was against the run of play. Another spot kick, just three minutes into the second half, levelled the score. Avonmouth...

10.30am 31 January  2026 West Midlands Christian League Brierley Hill AOG 0 Excel NIS 3 (att 10) With nine wins from nine league games, ahead of this, you'd think reigning champions Excel NIS would be a shoo-in in retain their title. But rivals Charlemont Star also have a 100 per cent record, having played twice more. Both sides kept their perfect records intact, although Excel made harder work of winning at Brierley Hill than should have been necessary. They almost took the lead in the opening moments, but a failure to take the chance set the tone for the first half when they often looked dangerous, but were unable to apply the finish. The home side were unlucky not to go in front themselves, when a shot that looked goal-bound came back off the inside of the post. The opening half ended goalless, but Excel quickly took control after the break. They scored six minutes after the restart, then added a second goal with an hour played. Excel's final goal was on 78 minutes. The host...