Steve B the Groundhopper

5.30pm 8 November  2025 Kent County League, Premier Division Aylesford 3 Hawkinge Town 2 (att 91) The late game in the Kent County League's inaugural 'groundhop' obviously had to be a floodlit venue, and so Aylesford's ground fitted the bill. The club is based at Aylesford Recreation ground, where a lengthy walk from the car park and clubhouse leads to an enclosed 3G pitch. It's a standard set up, with a spectator area running about three-quarters of one side.  One feature rarely seen at such venues was a welcome tea hut inside the fence. From a groundhopping perspective three games, and three new grounds, in a day is hard to resist. But by the third game it can feel a little like hard work, especially on a chilly evening. Luckily Aylesford and Hawkinge, both going well in the league, provided a thoroughly entertaining 90 minutes. It was a  feisty and occasionally bad-tempered match, and a good watch for the neutral. Hawkinge opened the scoring but Aylesford equalis...

2pm 8 November 2025 Kent County League, Premier Division Kings Hill 4 Canterbury City 2 (att 176) The  Kent County League has taken the innovative step of creating its own 'groundhop' this season. This was due to be the day's second game, but an earlier match, to be hosted by Snodland Town's reserve side, was postponed to make way for a first team FA Vase tie. Still, the prospect of this game, plus a later kick off at another nearby ground, was sufficient to tempt me. Whether enough groundhoppers attended to continue the experiment beyond this season remains to be seen. The 'official' crowd at this game looked on the generous side. It was a lively game though. Canterbury City voluntarily dropped to this level at the end of last season, and after years of groundsharing have hopes of re-establishing themselves at a ground back in Canterbury. On the pitch they've been struggling, but their supporters had plenty to cheer in the first half at Kings Hill. While th...

10.20am 8 November  2025 Arthurian League, Division Three Old Sennockians 5 Kings College School Old Boys II 1 (att 8) I usually try to arrive at matches around 30 minutes ahead of a scheduled kick off time as, particularly at lower levels where spectators aren't a concern, it's not unusual for the action to get underway early. This game was listed as a 10.45 kick off, but as I walked from the car park to the pitch the action was already underway. It seemed I'd missed about two minutes, and also a very early home goal. Sennockians dominated the opening minutes and it looked like just a matter of time before they extended their lead. But they failed to take their chances and Kings College recovered from their bad start and grew into the game. The score remained 1-0 at half time, and the away side equalised early in the second period. That sparked Sennockians back into live and they quickly regained the lead. Kings College only had 11 players, and with no substitutes they wil...

10.30am 7 November  2025 Army FA, Massey Trophy, Division One Royal Engineers 2 Royal Corps of Signals 2 (att 16) Royal Engineers reached four of the first seven FA Cup Finals, winning the trophy just once in 1875. These days their quests for silverware are more modest, but they went into this fixture leading the Army FA's Massey Trophy competition. There are two divisions of six teams, with most fixtures played on Friday mornings. Some venues are inside secure military sites with no public access, but the Sappers ground in Chatham is open to civilian spectators. It's a good ground, with a large seated stand at one end, at a slight angle to the pitch. The playing area is enclosed and floodlit, there's an attractive pavilion and, between a pair of dugouts, a smaller, uncovered, stand. The home side should have had the perfect start after being awarded a penalty in the opening minutes. But the spot kick was poor and easily saved. The Royal Signals went close when a goal-bound...