Steve B the Groundhopper

3.30pm 14 October 2023 Seconda Categoria Sicily, Group E Ragusa Boys 2 Pozzallo Due 1 (att 100)  Sunday remains the default day for Italian football but some fixtures, such as this eighth tier game, are played on Saturdays. Ragusa’s delightful and picturesque old town, Ragusa Ibla, pulls in the tourists. Some may occasionally find their way to the Stadio Aldo Campo, home to Serie D side Ragusa Calcio, but I doubt many make it to the Stadio Giovanni Biazzo. It’s a 3G pitch with about 150 uncovered seats on the one side that’s accessible to spectators. It’s the shared home of Ragusa Boys and Pro Ragusa, and presumably anyone else who hires it. Admission was free, which was a relief given the apparent complications of buying tickets at higher levels in Italy and the surprising number of amateur matches that are listed as ‘behind closed doors’. The crowd grew steadily during the first half. Late arrivals will have missed Ragusa Boys’ seventh minute goal. It was the only goal of a pedes...

3.30pm 11 October 2023 Coppa Italia Promozione (Sicily), Round of 32, Second Leg Città Di Avola 2020 1 Frigintini 0 (2-2 on aggregate, Avola won on away goals) (att 300)  Having chosen the coastal town of Avola as our base for a holiday in Sicily I got lucky that they had a home midweek cup tie during our stay. Although billed as the ‘Coppa Italia’, the competition seems to be for all the island’s clubs in the Promozione leagues. These sit two levels below Serie D, and there are four that cover Sicily. I’ve no idea whether winning the cup, or reaching the latter stages, allows acces to the main Coppa Italia, or if there’s any follow up competition for the various regional winners. I’m similarly baffled why a cup for teams who are, officially at least, amateur is played on midweek afternoons. Admission was free, and there were more than enough locals without work commitments to generate a decent atmosphere. Both sides went into the game unbeaten and towards the top of their league. ...

2pm 7 October 2023 Derbyshire FA, Divisional Cup North, First Round Pilsley Community 2 Bakewell Town 6 (att 50) There was to be no county cup upset at Pilsley as Bakewell Town cruised into the second round with a comfortable win. In fact there's only a single level between the teams, with Bakewell playing at 'step seven' in Central Midlands Alliance League Premier Division South, and Pilsley in one of four regionalised second tier division ones. Two early Bakewell goals set the tone for a first half that was dominated by the visitors. They added two more to double their lead before half time. Pilsley started the second period on the front foot, and remarkably scored twice in quick succession to briefly threaten the most unlikely of comebacks. But their efforts did little more than spark Bakewell back into life and not long later they'd restored their four goal advantage. With the tie won the game fizzled out towards the end but Pilsley, who have effectively stepped up ...

10.30am 7 October 2023 South Manchester and Cheshire Christian League, Col Smith Cup, Group E St Alban's 2 St Elizabeth's 0 (att 10) St Alban's are a new addition to the north west's Christian Saturday morning league. They've been placed in the middle of its three divisions as the players have apparently competed previously at a decent level under a different guise. On the evidence of this cup result, beating top division St Elizabeth's, it was a wise decision. It took two second half goals to settle the contest, which until the home side's opener had looked like a potential goalless draw. St Alban's are based in Bollington, just outside Macclesfield, and play at the local leisure centre. Pitch standards are fairly relaxed at this level, which is just as well as referees in more senior leagues might have questioned what looked like a sandpit encroaching onto the playing area. No one seemed bothered though, and to be fair it didn't affect the game in ...

2pm 30 September 2023 Lancashire Amateur League, Division Two Halshaw Moor 3 Radcliffe Town reserves 3 (att 25) This was one of the those very rare Saturdays where I had time to go home for lunch between my morning and afternoon games, even though it turned out this game was kicking off half-an-hour earlier that the league website suggested. Halshaw Moor are playing home games at Kearsley Academy, which is just across the border from Salford into Bolton. It's a typical 3G pitch, with a spectator area running about three-quarters of the length of one touchline. I picked this fixture primarily as I wanted to stay close to home, although it also allowed me to recomplete (as far as I'm aware) all the first team grounds in the Lancashire Amateur League. It proved a good choice though, despite the rain which began at kick off and grew steadily heavier as the match progressed. Two goals in quick succession early in the game gave Radcliffe the advantage, but it seemed unlikely they wou...

10.15am 30 September 2023 Manchester Saturday Morning League Fielden Park 3 Withington Hope CF 2 (att 7) Two new venues, or at least a pair previously unvisited by me, have appeared in the Manchester Saturday Morning League this season. This one, at Manchester College's Openshaw Campus, is a bit of a mystery when checking Google Maps. Not only is it so new that it doesn't appear, but there's no obvious place where it could fit. It's actually been built on the site of some now demolished buildings and a former car park, as part of a revamp and upgrade of the college. It's an enclosed and floodlit 3G pitch but, unlike most such grounds, spectators are well catered for. Six steep and wide steps of open terracing line half of one side of the pitch, providing an excellent view and the option to sit. There's also a pair of dugouts, making it an impressive facility. It's a new home for Fielden Park, who were playing at the much more basic Hough End when I visited t...

2.30pm 24 September 2023 West Wales Premier League Cwm Wanderers 1 Clydach 4 (att 280) I was still drying out by the time I'd travelled the few miles from Bryn Rovers to Cwm Wanderers. Fortunately, given the state of the pitch and despite some threatening clouds, it stayed dry for the day's second game. Cwm's ground, Parc Afon Twrch, does have a seated stand for spectators. It's a well equipped venue which also has a smart clubhouse, with picnic tables outside, near the entrance. Spectator access is mostly along the same side as the stand, but in a tightly enclosed ground there is also some space behind the far goal and along half of the opposite touchline. Clydach scored the first half's only goal, and there wasn't much between the sides before the visitors doubled their lead about midway through the second period. Five minutes later a deflected free kick kept Cwm in the game, but it proved a false dawn as two more Clydach goals, the second in stoppage time, se...