Stick a fork in I’m done with 2021/22

Here is a review of my itinerant football watching during the 2021/22 campaign.

Total Matches Attended: 303

New Grounds Visited: 189 

Total Goals Scored: 1,326 (Average of 4.39 goals per game, down on 4.79 last season, I saw seven 0-0 draws this season)

Biggest Win: Hashtag United Women 17 Southend United Ladies 0

Biggest Crowd: 87,112 (Italy v Argentina, Wembley Stadium) 

Grounds Abroad: 0

BEST GROUNDS VISITED IN THE UK IN 2021/22

1.Boston United – Jakemans Community Stadium

2.Linlithgow Rose – Prestonfield

3.Glenrothes – Warout Stadium

4.Malvern Town – Langland Stadium

5.Troon – Portland Park

BEST PROGRAMMES BOUGHT IN 2021/22

(Based on status, resources, effort and originality)

1.Portland United

2.Walthamstow

3.Hill of Beath Hawthorn

4.Hoddesdon Town

5.Newport IOW

BEST FOOD IN 2021/22

I normally only recognise the top 3 in this category but 2021/22 was a veritable culinary extravaganza!

1.Doner Kebab Pie – Bonnyrigg Rose

2.Gyros -Hereford Lads Club

3.Chicken Paella – St.Albans City

4.Chicken Curry Pie – Hill of Beath Hawthorn

5.Chilli Scotch Egg – Westfields

Postcards from Užice (Serbian Groundhop 5)

The fifth organised Groundhop in Serbia in conjunction with Aleks Peković, Bogdan Mitrović and Teodora Rebić of Groundhopping Serbia took place over the last weekend of October. This time the hop was mainly based in the south-west of the country among the stunning mountainous scenery of the Zlatibor and Moravica districts.

With 12 of the 22 attendees arriving late on the Thursday the fixture gods were kind to us and threw up a second tier Prva Liga fixture between the ethnic Hungarian club TSC Bačka Topola and the predominantly Muslim team from the southern city of Novi Pazar. Interestingly TSC are playing their home games this season at the ground of fourth tier club FK Senta of the PFL Subotica, some 25 miles east of Bačka Topola. This is because their old Gradski Stadion is due for demolition with a 3,800 capacity stadium UEFA compliant arena being built on the same footprint.

Stadion Senta does not have floodlights so we have a 14.30pm kick off with today’s opponents having endured a six hour trip north on a rickety looking municipal bus rather than a coach. Unsurprisingly the home side coasted to a very comfortable 6-0 win. Despite playing some distance from their hometown Bačka are well supported and include a group of ultras known as the Blue Betyars (Outlaws), who on the 56th minute unveil a tifo which says “Respect to the Heroes of ‘56”, referencing the Hungarian Uprising.

Friday October 26th 2018 – Prva Liga

TSC Bačka Topola 6 (Galić 12, Milićević 18,21, Siladi 41, Milisavljević 47, Bastajić 72)
FK Novi Pazar 0

Att:258 (played at FK Senta)

It was an early rise on the Saturday morning for an 8.45am kick off in the Belgrade suburb of Makiš. None of us recall attending and earlier kick off. It was an under 19 encounter between FK Lokomotiva and FK Zemun and proved to be an entertaining game in a quirky venue surrounded by old locomotives and train carriages.

Saturday October 27th 2018 – Belgrade Prva Liga Omladinska

FK Lokomotiva U18s 0
FK Zemun U18s 1 (Njamculović 42)

Att:59

We then began a lengthy drive south through the towns of Čačak and Užice, to the mountainous region of Zlatibor, named after Serbia’s tallest mountain whose highest peak, Tornik, measures 1,496 metres. The local team, FK Zlatibor, were in the Zlatibor District League as recently as 2014 but won the Srpska Liga Zapad last season to gain promotion to the second tier, Prva Liga, for the first time in their history. The club is not particularly well liked being dubbed as a “plastic” club being heavily financed through to their current level. The play in nearby Čajetina at the modest Stadion Švajcarija and we obtain our 200 dinar (£1.50) tickets at the entrance to the stand. Today’s encounter sees top placed FK Inđija visiting second place Zlatibor. It’s a tight encounter settled in favour of the hosts with a tidy finish from Dejan Vidić.

Saturday October 27th 2018 – Prva Liga

FK Zlatibor 1 (Vidić 8)
FK Inđija 0

Att:397 (at Stadion Švajvarija)

After a late breakfast at the Hotel Zlatibor, quite the worst hotel any of us could ever remember, we made the short drive to the Stadion Krčagovo, home of FK Jedinstvo Putevi. This morning’s entertainment would be a fourth level Zona Zapadno-Moravska match against near neighbours FK Polimlje Prijepolje. The stadium is very photogenic sat in the sprawling hillside suburbs of Užice and a stunning wooded valley which was playfully sporting its glorious autumnal colours. A poor, badly rutted pitch meant the game wasn’t the highest quality and it was the visitors that took their few chances to win the game 2-0.

Sunday October 28th 2018 – Zona Zapadno-Moravska

FK Jedinstvo Putevi 0
FK Polimlje 2 (Hamzić pen 51, Džanović 73)

Att:154 (at Stadion Krčagovo)

One member of the Groundhopping Serbia crew, Teodora, kindly left the game early to obtain a hearty warm, doughy snack of komplet lepinja, which is traditionally consumed alongside a drink of runny yoghurt. Our skilful bus driver, Aleksandr, then drove north west to the Mačva region via some truly stunning mountain scenery. We had a fairly tight timeline to make the start of the star attraction of the weekend, the visit of reigning Super Liga champions, Crvena Zvezda to the humble abode of FK Mačva Šabac. It was clearly a big deal in what is a very small provincial town, and we welcomed the police escort to the ground, I mean don’t you know who we are??!!

After picking up our pre-reserved tickets costing 500 dinar (£3.70) each, we faced big queues at the Stadion Šabac entrances. Our sector in the west stand had clearly been massively oversold with people standing due to lack of seats and also sitting on stairways. The free-for-all scramble for spare seats saw a lot of us housed in the sector adjacent to the Delije, Red Star’s world famous ultras. As always their support was noisy, pyro based and utterly relentless, sound tracking a perfunctory 2-0 win for the champions. The home side had a small band of ultras housed in a stand behind the goal. The Šaneri (“The Thieves”) tried to make themselves heard but were massively outnumbered by Red Star’s support.

Sunday October 28th 2018 – Super Liga

FK Mačva Šabac 0
FK Crvena Zvezda 2 (Pavkov 39, Jovančic 60)

Att:7,000 (at Stadion Šabac)

After the horrific night at the Stalag Zlatibor the welcoming bosom of the Hotel Slavija was looked on by all with a renewed affection. For most of the tour party it was their last night in Belgrade before departing for various flights home from Nikola Tesla airport. For the remaining handful of travellers there was the attraction of a midday kick off for the under 19 teams of FK BASK and Red Star. We had first visited the Stadion Careva Ćuprija on the inaugural Serbian Groundhop weekend. They have an excellent ground close to the hippodrome and it’s easily reached by tram.It was an interestingly tactical match with Red Star dominating possession but failing to create many chances. BASK equalised an early Red Star penalty midway through the second half before rising star Dejan Joveljić bagged a late winner.

Monday October 29th 2018 – Omladinska Liga U19s

FK BASK U19s 1 (Pavlovic 65)
FK Crvena Zvezda U19s 2 (Joveljić pen 5,87)

Att:116

With seven of the party on Wizz’s 7pm flight back to Luton there was time to shoehorn one more game into the groundhop with another under 19 match taking place on the 3G pitch next to OFK Beograd’s wonderfully crumbling Omladinski Stadion in the Karaburma district of the city. The main stadium is in an advanced state of decay and its 20,000 capacity is severely restricted these days. For the Romantičari (The Romantics) it’s a sorry state of affairs and light years away from their heyday of a Cup Winners Cup semi final defeat to Spurs in 1963 and glorious European wins against the likes of Napoli, Feyenoord, Juventus and Panathinaikos.

Today’s match sees OFK’s under 19’s take on youth product specialists FK Brodarac who have recent appearances in the UEFA Youth League to their credit. The match was a total contrast to the BASK – Red Star game the previous day, being fast and furious. Similarly to the main stadium the 3G pitch is in very poor condition with lots of holes and patches of low quality replacement surface. OFK’s youngsters look like they are going to win a hard fought contest before the referee awards Brodarac a late and very soft penalty to square the result at 2-2.

Monday October 29th 2018 – Omladinska Liga U19s

OFK Beograd U19s 2 (Pavlović pen 54, Mijailović 75)
FK Brodarac U19s 2 (Vukosavljević 70, Lukić pen 90)

Att:129

This particular groundhop was a logistical nightmare to arrange with kick offs not being finalised until the Tuesday before we departed on the Thursday! For news of any future events please follow @GroundhopSerbia on Twitter or join the Facebook group Serbian Football Weekends. For more pictures of this latest trip you can use the hashtag #SerbianGH5 across all forms of social media.

A much expanded version of this piece will feature in a future edition of Football Weekends magazine.

Postcards From Belgrade (Serbian Groundhop 4)

The fourth organised Serbian Groundhop took place across a balmy weekend in April with an ambitious but exciting looking eight game extravaganza in and around the Belgrade area.

One of the six Super Liga grounds in Belgrade that sparks a lot of interest and wonder is that of FK Voždovac but somehow they had always seemed to be away from home when we had selected a date for our weekends. Until 2011 the club played at the crumbling Bojan Majić Stadium when they received a most unusual offer. A developer offered to place a new stadium on top of their proposed six story shopping centre in the heart of the Voždovac district. Initially the plan was to have a stadium with two sides and no end stands, however, this was changed at a late stage to a four sided fully UEFA compliant stadium.

For us, as luck would have it, the proposed Arena Sport televising of the Vojvodina v Spartak game was switched at short notice to the relegation group battle between Voždovac and Napredak. This meant the assembled group had a Friday evening game a short taxi ride away from our base at Belgrade’s equivalent of Fawlty Towers, the very cheap and sometimes cheerful Hotel Slavija.

On arrival at the “Stadium Shopping Center” in Zaplanjska Street you can’t help but look up and see the roofs of the stands protruding outwards and up from a run of the mill shopping centre.

It was a pretty lifeless encounter won by the hosts with an early goal. With the lack of excitement on the pitch you tend to lose the sense of location except for the occasional glance to a corner, where netting is in place to stop the obvious threat of wayward balls, and you glimpse Belgrade suburbia from your lofty perch.

You also notice the poor construction of the stadium despite it ticking all the UEFA requirement boxes. The rake of the steps is vertiginous but the steps are very narrow with no handrails for descending. The vast majority of the seats in the main West Stand will be obscured by the media centre, VIP area or camera gantries. Tickets are purchased at a desk inside the shopping centre and there is also a small merchandise shop within a newsagents on the same level.

Friday April 20th 2018 – Serbian Super Liga

FK Voždovac 1 (Stuparević 7)
FK Napredak 0

Att:439 Entry 200 RSD (£1.50)

After some Friday evening free time in Belgrade, we reconvened at the Slavija ahead of a morning fixture at Brodarac to see their highly successful under 19 side. On the second Serbian Groundhop we saw Brodarac thrash their counterparts from Partizan on their way to winning the Serbian under 19 league. This meant Brodarac qualified for this season’s UEFA Youth League. They were drawn at home in the qualifying play-off against Manchester United. The match was moved to Voždovac and the home side put up a brave fight before going down 2-0. The Brodarac first team are currently in the fourth tier, Belgrade Zona Liga, so their youth and academy success is truly admirable. Brodarac translates as “winners”.

Their stadium lies under the Stari Savski Most one of the oldest bridges across the River Sava and initially is most notable for the large JAT advert on the roof of its indoor facility. JAT was Jugoslovenski Aerotransport, the old state owned airline long replaced by Air Serbia. As you look around the immediate vicinity of the stadium you become aware of the history around it. The ground is built on the site of the notorious Staro Sajmište World War II concentration camp. The under 19s are taking on their equivalents from Voždovac and again play an exciting and energetic attacking game and win far more easily than the 2-1 score suggested.

Saturday April 20th 2018 – Serbian Under 19 Liga

FK Brodarac U19s 2 (L.Jovanović 69, D.Jovanović 73)
FK Vojvodina U19s 1 (Mrdja 90)

Att:112

Our next port of call was completely diametrically opposed to the sobering location of our morning match. Ada Ciganliga is an island in the Sava that has been artificially turned in to a peninsular with a lake and beach (part of which is nudist if you’re into that sort of thing) where locals flock in their thousands to relax, sunbathe and play sport. It is also a area for artwork, light displays and nightlife. There is a toll to come onto the island payable in kiosks at the barrier on the approach road.

The island is also home to the Belgrade FA stadium which has two artificial pitches one boasting a large pitch length stand. These are used to stage numerous matches in the lower reaches of the Belgrade leagues and as the main stadium has lights as many as six or seven matches a day take place at the weekends.

FK Dedinje are a 2014 reformation of a pre-WWII Belgrade club that played close to the site of Red Star’s Marakana stadium. Dedinje do not have a home ground of their own so have shared at Grafičar and Brodarac before using Ada Ciganliga. The club are nicknamed the “Millioneri” due to its historic location in one of Belgrade’s most exclusive areas. Somewhat annoyingly their pre-match huddle ends with a group shout of “Who is Belgrade’s richest club….Dedinje”. After that initial bluster they turn in a poor performance in unrelenting heat and opponents FK 011 (named after the dial code for Belgrade) canter to a 2-0 win.

Saturday April 20th 2018 – Meduopštinska Liga (Grupa A)

FK Dedinje 0
FK 011 Beograd 2 (Andrić 62, Jovanović pen 90)

Att:58

We then travel outside the city to Obrenobac where the local regional league has 5pm kick offs on a Saturday afternoon. We arrive at FK Rojkovac only to find that their opponents, FK Ljubinić have failed to show up and have forfeited the game. Very kindly a local man offers to guide us to another ground in the next village of Rvati, just as well as its remote location down unmade paths would have been very difficult to locate. The locals are truly astonished when their unexpected foreign guests arrive a few minutes after kick off.

Stadion Rvati is a run down gem of a ground, similar to the village ground of FK Vrčín on the inaugural hop. The football is not of the highest standard but the hosts turn on the jet packs and coast to a memorable 8-3 victory. There is something to be said for visiting these of the beaten track, ramshackle old grounds to gain a true perception of football outside the glamour of Super Liga and the like.

Saturday April 20th 2018 – Opštinska Liga Obrenovac

OFK Rvati 8 (Joksić 17,51,73, Nedeljković 29, Vučićević 33,81, Jakovljević pen 65, Petrović 77)

FK Sloga Ratari 3 (Kozlica 42, pen 45, Jovičić 78)

Att:60

We feasted on traditional Serbian meat platters at a roadside restaurant called Mali Raj on Kralja Aleksandra in Obrenovac. Bellies full and thirst satiated we headed back to the city for something completely different. One time Aston Villa striker Savo Milošević is now Vice President of the Serbian Football Association, heading up their anti-corruption purge, he is also a part time actor and tonight is in a theatrical performance at Akademija 28. The audience appears to be almost entirely female and pleasingly Savo appears as promised after the show. After a somewhat turbulent post playing career including alcohol problems following his father being shot dead by his grandfather, he looks fit and well and seemingly still very much a heartthrob as he was during his playing days which saw him win 102 international caps. He seems happy to talk to English football fans about his time at Villa and comes across as an extremely nice guy.

Sunday’s itinerary began with an early morning kick off at FK Žarkovo located on the north side of Danube in Novi Beograd The club are flying high at the top of the Belgrade region third tier Srpske Liga. The ground has a new stand and restaurant in order to cope with Prva Liga football. Joining our party for this game was Nenad Mijaljević, well known in England for producing top notch programmes for non-league clubs like South Shields, Jarrow Roofing and Seaham Red Star. A huge Red Star fanatic he tells me he has recently taken up groundhopping and now “gets” why people do it. It’s a competitive game with opponents FK IMT extremely unlucky not to get at least a point from the match. It’s the runaway league leaders that come out on top in a 2-1 in front of a decent crowd.

Sunday April 22nd 2018 – Srpske Liga Beograd

FK Žarkovo 2 (Rajić 15, Garić pen 19)
FK IMT 1 (Šarić 25)

Att:240 Entry 200 RSD (£1.50)

We have a leisurely lunch at one of our usual haunts, Konoba, under the Pančevo bridge. We have a riverside table set aside and enjoy their signature fish stew followed by yet more meat! A surprisingly swollen Danube laps gently against the terrace.

At the risk of sounding like “Savo stalkers” we bump into him again at Prva Liga club FK Bežanija, he is there with his family watching his eldest son Nikola play and score twice for the home side against FK Budućnost. It’s a blisteringly hot afternoon and an enterprising nut seller augmented the usual “kikiriki and semenke” (peanuts and seeds) with skewers of strawberries.

The stadium in Bežanija is set in an old quarry and at one end steep quarry walls afford an amazing view of the city. Behind the opposite goal is the beautiful Crkva Svetog Đorđa (Church of St George). Some people say football is a religion, well the priest from the church joined the crowd for the last twenty minutes of this game but the home side needed no divine intervention as Milošević’s brace was enough to secure the points.

Sunday April 22nd 2018 – Serbian Prva Liga

FK Bežanija 2 (Milošević 6,29)
FK Budućnost Dobanovci 0

Att:233 Entry 200 RSD (£1.50)

The Sunday evening game was a revisit for most of us as Partizan took on cross city opposition in Čukarički. The Partizan stadium always seems to have an intimidating atmosphere even when sparsely attended. The ultra group Grobari has warring factions resulting in the three factions being segregated into different parts of the stadium. Heeding the advice of co-organiser Aleks we all opt for tickets in the “posh” west stand (Zapad) for the princely sum of 450 dinar (£3.30). Partizan unsurprisingly take the points when the impressive Zoran Tošić nets his second goal of the game towards the end.

Sunday April 22nd 2018 – Serbian Super LigaFK Partizan 2 (Tošić 18,81)
FK Čukarički 1 (Belaković 46)

Att: 2,500 Entry 450 RSD (£3.30)

Some of the party have opted to return to the UK (and Germany and Denmark!) on the Monday so its a smaller bunch that head back to the island paradise of Ada Ciganliga for an under 18 match between FK 011 and Voždovac.

Monday April 23rd 2018 – Serbian U18 League

FK 011 Beograd U18s 0
FK Voždovac U18s 2 (Nadj 21, Mijailović 37)

Att:23

We then head north out of Belgrade for the 4pm Prva match at FK Inđija. En route we stop at the Serbian FA headquarters in Stara Pazova. A centre of excellence like St.Georges Park, this UEFA funded facility has six pitches two of which have spectator accommodation.

The Gradski Stadion in Inđija is top notch with some old stands on one side and a newer big uncovered stand on the opposite a left over from the clubs’ brief Super Liga stint in 2010/11. The stadium is right next the railway with passenger and freight trains rattling past regularly. This harks back to the clubs origins as Železničar Inđija, with the prefix being attached to railroad workers. Also at this end a towering factory belches and crackles constantly. A decent crowd gathers for the match against Novi Pazar, but the visitors miss a penalty and don’t really trouble the hosts as they ease to a 2-0 win.

Monday April 23rd 2018 – Serbian Prva Liga

FK Inđija 2 (Kovačevic 22, Gajić 45)
FK Novi Pazar 0

Att:310 Entry 100 RSD (70p)

It’s a great coda to another sublime weekend in the company of Groundhopping Serbia (Aleks Peković, Bogdan Mitrović and Teodora Rebić) and we end the day enjoying some of the Hotel Moscow’s world renowned cake, Moskva šnit. It also dawns on us that our nine matches have cost us a little over £8 in entrance money! We hope to run a fifth Groundhop early in the new season taking in the delights of Southern Serbia this time and maybe also a game in the Srpske Republic enclave in Bosnia. To join us or just keep up to date with our plans please follow me and the lads on Twitter (@PeterRMiles and @GroundhopSerbia), or Facebook at Serbian Groundhop Weekends.

A much expanded version of this article will appear in a future edition of Football Weekends magazine.

Just Like Paradise (Football In Heaven 2017)

Well isn’t that just typical you wait ages for someone to organise a groundhop in Romania and then two come along within a few weeks of each other. This one was to be in the stunning Bucovina region in the north east of the country close to the borders of the Ukraine to the north and Moldova to the east. The event was publicised as “Football In Heaven”.

Organising this adventure into the Carpathian mountains and sharing with us his stunning home province was Emanuel Rosu, World Soccer’s Romanian correspondent (@Emishor on Twitter). Emi had combined with the regions Football Association president, Ciprian Anton, to open up the region to groundhoppers. Very kindly this extended to providing a minibus free of charge for the weekend and Emi, Ciprian and the bus were duly waiting to collect 11 hoppers at a slightly chilly Suceava airport, early on the Friday afternoon. We were also joined by local journalist Chidoveţ Dănuţ and film maker Daniel Vatamanu.

We arrived a little late at the Stadionul Vasilica Onofrei home of fifth tier Viitorul Adâncata, but when you have “El Presidente” of the local FA on board your bus the game waits for you and duly kicked off some 25 minutes late! Now ok this wasn’t much of a ground, a few benches to the right hand side and a cabbage patch of a pitch but we witnessed a decent 90 minutes which saw the hosts win 4-2 in an entertaining encounter with local rivals Voinţa Zvoriştea.

Now what happened after the game, as darkness enveloped the ground rapidly, is the sort of heart warming thing you find on these trips to remote and far flung places. Behind one goal was a raised covered platform and this was covered with trestle tables laden with food. A woman laboured over hot pots and pans to produce some delicious sarmale (pork, rice and cabbage parcels), platters of cold meats, bread and drink (including whiskey and brandy) are provided free of charge for everyone in attendance. It wasn’t a one off for the president and some strange foreign guests either, it’s done at every home game, such is the milk of human kindness at a small village club like Adâncata.

Friday October 27^th 2017 – Romania Liga V

AS Viitorul Adâncata 4 (Bilţ 15, Ujeniuc 19, Munteanu og 45, Atomei 49)

Voinţa Zvoriştea 2 (Munteanu 20, Bejinariu pen 90)

Att:107 (at Stadionul Vasilica Onofrei)

After a pretty decent breakfast at the Hotel Continental in Suceava, we ambled down to the Stadionul Areni home of second division Foresta Suceava Friday for an 11am kick off against UTA Arad . The visitors had endured a hellish nine hour 350 mile journey from western Romania to fulfil this fixture. Tickets costing 10 Romanian Lei (£1.90) were purchased from kiosks outside the ground. The ground is a typical 1960’s concrete and breeze block affair with more recent touches of an electronic scoreboard and some plastic seating being the only concessions to modernity. Someone however has taken the time and trouble to liberally paint the concrete in the clubs’ colours of yellow and green the result is a fine looking venue. Foresta have been battling hard with financial woes of late a desperately need a win. The hosts duly go in front of around 700 spectators before UTA fire a double quick salvo before halftime, the second a quite monumental header from the centre back. Foresta work hard in the second half and manage to find an equaliser and it looks like a share of the spoils until UTA, cruelly, score again with virtually the last kick of the match.

Saturday October 28^th 2017 – Romanian Liga II (11am kick off)

Foresta Suceava 2 (Renquin 29, Acolatse 84)
UTA Arad 3 (Hlistei 35, Ciucă 37, Păcurar 90)

Att:678 (at Stadionul Areni) Admission 10 Lei (£1.90)

The bus then whisks us up into the foothills of the Carpathians as we head for a fourth tier match between Victoria Vatra Moldoviței and Foresta’s reserve team. Well what can you say about this ground? Set in a hollow surrounded by tall forest where bear sightings are not uncommon. Behind one goal there are stunning mountain vistas. The pitch is noticeably wet and had standing water on the dressing room side. Of course this not being England, there is no doubt the game will take place and a small crowd gathers in the spectator accommodation. This consists of a long row of bench seating at the top of the bank the seating is just inside the crash barrier of the D17 highway. Cars whizz by and lorries trundle by some slowing down for a sneaky look at the game. It gives you a great vantage point for the game but this is a seriously dangerous place to be a spectator! If the location isn’t memorable enough about fifteen minutes into the game a pick up truck screeches into the small clearing on the other side of the road and a bearded man with leathery skin and welly boots leaps out and marches down the road banging an enormous drum. He certainly livens up what is a poor quality encounter which went the way of the hosts with a solitary goal in the second half.

Saturday October 28^th 2017 – Romanian Liga IV (4pm kick off)

Victoria Vatra Moldoviței 1 (Pelinar 59)
ACS Foresta Suceava II 0

Att:63

Overnighting in the mountain town of Vatra Dornei, we arrive at the ground of fifth division Vânătorul Dorna Candrenilor in rain and morning temperatures of -2 but the welcome is warm and a buffet of food and some scarily strong firewater fortify us for the trek to the stand. It’s an excellent stand for the level and was built two years ago. Vânătorul are top of the league and race into a two goal against Sporting Poieni Solca. There is a flurry of late goals and the result of 3-2 suggests it was closer than it actually was.

Sunday October 29^th 2017 – Liga V (11am kick off)

Vânătorul Dorna Candrenilor 3 (Clanetariu 18,30, Iosub 80)
Sporting Poieni Solca 2 (Hamcescu 70, Martolea 85)

Att:76 (at Stadionul Dorna Candrenilor)

Everyone races back to the bus to warm up and we head back down the mountains to Pojorâta. The local side, Bucovina Pojorita have suffered a couple of bankruptcies in recent seasons and are now in the fourth tier. The main stand sits at the foot of a contoured hill dotted with shepherd’s huts, heavy forestation sweeps up almost as high as the eye can trace. It really is like watching a football match on a “Lord of the Rings” film set. To heighten the state of frenzy of the hoppers further the club have also produced a programme albeit a modest four pager. The hosts win at a canter by two goals to nil.

Sunday October 29^th 2017 – Liga IV (3pm kick off)

ACS Bucovina Pojorita 2 (Tomco 23, Timpau 71)
ACS Şomuzul Preuteşti 0

Att:87 (at Stadionul Pojorita)

Our hosts were magnificent and as for the scenery, well sometimes words just fail to come out when you try to speak. There is already talk of a “Football In Heaven 2” next year, do yourself a favour and move heaven and earth to get yourself on it, you won’t regret it.

Some years ago an ageing long haired American rocker sang “This could be just like living in paradise” spending a few days in this astonishing place he could well have been talking about beautiful Bucovina! The second line of that chorus certainly hit home waiting in the departure lounge as David Lee Roth sings “and I don’t want to go home”.

A much expanded version of this article will appear in a future edition of “Football Weekends” magazine.

Touring Timişoara (Romanian Groundhop 3)

For the third Romanian Groundhop the fixture gods had been unkind in city of Timişoara itself so the ever resourceful Andrei Otineanu had to cast his net for suitable matches to the wider area of Timiş County. It would mean lower level matches but given our experiences in previous organised hops in Bucharest, there had to be some cracking grounds, right? A short list of about ten were identified and once kick off times and distance between grounds had been calculated a more than decent looking itinerary was established.

Saturday morning saw a reasonably early start for a slow winding trundle south west of Timişoara to the small town of Gătaia. Local fourth tier side CS Progresul Gătaia had an 11am kick off against AS Pobeda Dudeştii Vechi. We arrived in good time and after putting a voluntary donation in the wooden box at the entrance gate the band of hoppers were confronted with a decent size ground in a quite delightful state of dilapidation. On one side a sort of scaffold and wooden plank stand took a leap of faith to climb up into and take advantage of its vertiginous rake in a narrow confined area behind the dugouts. On the far side was a big covered stand painted in club colours but certainly had seen better days. An entertaining 1-1 draw was witnessed on a blisteringly warm morning.

Saturday September 23^rd 2017 – Romania IV Liga (Timis)

CS Progresul Gătaia 1 (Pelg 71)
AS Pobeda Dudeștii Vechi 1 (Kalapis 35)

Att:119 (at Stadionul Progresul)

I was really looking forward to the afternoon game as I knew the ground of CSM Şcolar Reşiţa was very decent. Upon arrival we were all opened jawed at the Stadionul Mircea Chivu. This is an incredible stadium at the foot of a steep and heavily wooded valley. The near side has a smart open seated stand but opposite is an incredible feat of engineering, the valley slope and trees have been cleared and a stepped plateau of concrete laid out. Hundreds of plastic seats have been bolted on to form a quite unique stand. Both ends of the stadium have uncovered terracing too. It’s a real beauty to behold and many in attendance now had a new entry in their own “Top Ten Best Grounds ever” lists. After the glory of the stadium the third division match felt almost incidental as the hosts, champions of Romania in 1930/31, easily dealt with scant resistance from visitors CS Gloria Lunca Teuz Cermei. Their 2-0 win was watched by around 430 people, again with free entry, this included a small band of enthusiastic ultras.

Saturday September 23^rd 2017 – Romania III Liga (Serie 4)

CSM Şcolar Reşiţa 2 (Costin 55,Beloescu 89)
CS Gloria Lunca Teuz Cermei 0

Att:430 (at Stadionul Mircea Chivu)

On the Sunday, Andrei and I played our trump card which we had held back from the rest of the party. In the whittling down the shortlist of matches it became clear that our only option for Sunday morning was watching the sixth tier game at the home of ASO Deta reserves! A quick Google of the ground found photos of a cracking ground however a cross check of the fixtures website found that disappointingly the reserves had their own basic ground in a village outside of Deta. Reluctant to pass up the opportunity of watching a game at their superb first team ground, I suggested Andrei should ring the club and ask if they would consider moving the match to the first team ground. After confirming that ten English people and two Germans were definitely coming and it wasn’t some sort of wind up, the club said they would be only too happy to move the game for us!

The Stadionul Arena Parc is set in a wooded park and is really delightful. The 1953 wooden stand looks far older and the club had already repaired the tiled roof after it had suffered some damage in storms that hit the region the previous weekend. It is clearly their pride and joy and built very much in the English style of grandstands. The little separate booths, like VIP seating, at the front of bench seating are truly magnificent. The hosts put on a great show by besting a hapless opposition, Vointa Ionel, by six goals to one. A smashing club, amazing ground and a morning to remember.

Sunday September 24^th 2017 – Romanian VI Liga (Timis,Serie 2)

ASO Deta II 6 (Mihalache 11, Toader 21, Ruyan 52, Minea 59, Radu 68,86)
Vointa Ionel 1 (Valcan 41)

Att:52 (at Stadionul Arena Parc)

The final port of call on our groundhopping extravaganza was at FC Unirea Tomnatic who hold the distinction of being the first village club to make the second tier of Romanian football. Those heady days are long behind them though as they had slumped down to the fifth tier before winning the division last season. The Stadionul Fenşi Petre more than lived up to standard of stadiums set in the weekend so far. An eye catching red and white pitch length stand replete with billowing flags stood regally on the far side. The dressing room side of the ground had two smaller covered stands as well. It really is a very pretty ground indeed.

Sunday September 24^th 2017 – Romanian IV Liga (Timiş)

FC Unirea Tomnatic 3 (Antemie 19, Hota 82, Vladuti 84)
AS Seceani 4 (Berar 57, Ramneantu 61, Plopeanu 74, Maranescu 80)

Att:125 (at Stadionul Fenşi Petre)

If you would like to join Andrei Otineanu on his next adventure promoting the weird and wonderful grounds of Romania, please connect with him across all forms of social media and his website RomanianGroundhopper.com and Facebook page.

An extended version of this article will appear in a future edition of “Football Weekends” magazine.

A Tale Of The Unexpected (Lowland League Groundhop 2016)

The second Scottish Lowland League groundhop got underway at Raydale Park home of phoenix club Gretna 2008. The old club spectacularly imploded when owner Brooks Mileson’s money stopped funding the clubs’ meteoric rise to the Scottish Premier League. While the “Boy’s Own” goalscoring exploits of Doctor Kenny Deuchar and his teammates are just a fading memory, the current club have manfully persisted in trying to maintain a football presence in the border town.

Raydale Park had been opened in 1946 and was only a modest ground when Gretna played in the English non-league pyramid. English businessman Brooks Mileson took over the club in 2002 after it had been elected into the Scottish Football League in place of Airdrie. Mileson had made a fortune from both construction and insurance and he pumped large sums of money into his new project. Raydale Park could not keep up with the teams’ progress and a plan to move to an “eco stadium” in neighbouring Gretna Green came to nothing. Gretna played their last season,2007/08, at Motherwell’s Fir Park before Mileson fell ill and the club went out of business.

Gretna 2008 rose from the ashes and initially played at Everholm before gaining security of tenure at Raydale when it was sold to the Raydale Community Partnership. The ground has not aged particularly well with the pitch length cover on the far side now roofless. The main feature is the stand behind the goal, a large modern cover build over temporary bleacher style seating. The main stand and dressing rooms remain on the near side.

Tonight’s game against near neighbours Dalbeattie Star is an attritional affair with two very evenly matched teams bludgeoning each other into submission, two fine displays of goalkeeping ensured the scorers were not troubled in this game.

Friday March 11th 2016 – Scottish Lowland League 

Gretna (2008) 0

Dalbeattie Star 0

Att: 366 (at Raydale Park)

The hop moved east for days two and three to the fine city of Edinburgh and its surrounding area.

Whitehill Welfare’s Ferguson Park got the day underway with Gala Fairydean Rovers providing the opposition. The hosts were formed in 1953 and went on to dominate the East of Scotland League with a record 16 championship wins, the club also being more than a match for Scottish League opposition in the Scottish Cup. The club is based in the small Midlothian village of Rosewell and were formed by staff of the Whitehill Colliery which was closed only eight years after the clubs formation.

The village originally had two clubs, junior outfit Rosewell Rosedale played on a field in the centre of town which was eventually swallowed up for housing. Both clubs needed a new home and Ferguson Park was opened having been named after the farmer who supplied the turf for the new ground. The Rosedale club folded in 1957 leaving Whitehill Welfare as the sole occupants. The ground has undergone extensive modernisation since the old pavilion was demolished in 1997 and is now a very well presented ground with a sizeable seated stand.

The game is a one sided affair with three very high quality goals from the hosts being punctuated by our very own “Rosewell Incident” when Gala’s captain, Jamie Gibson, reacted to a heavy challenge by punching the aggressor and earning himself a straight red card. Not a good day for the men from the “San Siro”.

Saturday March 12th 2016 – Scottish Lowland League

Whitehill Welfare 3 (Connolly 17, Muir 29, Devlin 76)

Gala Fairydean Rovers 0

Att: 324 (at Ferguson Park)

The hop then moved east to Prestonpans where things to a decidedly unexpected turn. Upon arrival at Pennypit Park visibly distraught club officials greeted us with the terrible news that the referee had called the game off due to a small area of “soft” turf near the halfway line that he deemed was unsafe. Despite appeals to reconsider the man was not for turning and months of planning and not inconsiderable financial outlay were cast asunder by one over zealous official.

After heartfelt commiserations were extended attention turned to an alternative fixture for the afternoon slot. Broxburn, Bonnyrigg Rose, Dalkeith Thistle, Linlithgow Rose and Civil Service Strollers were the choice of some but I opted for nearby Tranent of the East Region Juniors.

Forrester’s Park has a smart new pavilion and 3G facilities next to the old ground which has a large cover on one side of the venue. A healthy crowd gather and the pitch is immaculate, being barely three miles away from poor old Preston Athletic. Crucially, of course, Tranent is on higher ground than its coastal neighbour.

The hosts are top of the table and give their toothless opponents a real mauling, scoring some terrifically well worked goals. An enjoyable if somewhat unexpected digression.

Saturday March 12th 2016 – East Region (South)

Tranent Juniors 6 (Fisher 5, McMillan 10,23,37, Manion 72,90)

Easthouses Lily MW 0

Att:185 (at Forrester’s Park)

Back in the heart of the city for the 5pm kick off at Ainslie Park a massive modern sports complex and home to inaugural Lowland League champions The Spartans.

The pitch us state of the art 3G and is accompanied by a sizeable stand and impressive clubhouse with an elevated viewing veranda. The homogeny of it all coupled with some petty and over officious stewarding make this a slightly sterile experience. It is a certainly a far cry from the homely City Park which I visited in 1998 and had been Spartans home ground between 1976 and 2009. Strangely Spartans’ record gate at City Park came just three years before its demise when 3,346 watched a Scottish Cup tie against St.Mirren.

In 2008 with Ainslie Park still a year away from inauguration Spartans applied to take the place of the ill-fated Gretna in the Scottish Football League. Unsurprisingly given the ageing facilities at City Park, Spartans were overlooked in favour of electing Annan Athletic.

Similar to the Gretna match the previous night the hosts and visitors Stirling University pretty much cancelled each other out until Keith Murray scored a sucker punch winner on the stroke of full time.

Saturday March 12th 2016 – Scottish Lowland League

Spartans 1 (Murray 90)

Stirling University 0

Att:435 (at Ainslie Park)

The final match of a gruelling day came at the magnificently fading splendour of the Meadowbank Stadium. Built for the 1970 Commonwealth Games it is a concrete lovers paradise. Despite renovations in the mid and late 1990’s this beast of stadium (capacity 16,500 with 7,500 seats) looks like it has suffered from a lack of investment. The erstwhile home of Ferranti and Meadowbank Thistle has been earmarked for demolition or redevelopment since 2006, however the favoured Sighthill Stadium project ran into problems and the council are currently reconsidering options for this under occupied venue.

The current club are a 1986 reformation of a club original formed in 1928. The old club had a dismal spell in the Scottish Football League before the war after they had beaten Nithsdale Wanderers in a ballot to replace Clydebank in the Scottish League in 1931.

The club played at City Park but in 1955 were refused a new lease and went in immediate abeyance. Eleven years later a club called Postal United were formed and in 1986 they successfully applied to use the long lost name of Edinburgh City. The club has twice unsuccessfully applied for Scottish Football League status in 2002 and 2008 following the liquidation of Airdrieonians and Gretna. However, with a promotion route now available to the Scottish Football League, via a Highland and Lowland League play off process, the club must have a very good chance of returning Scottish League football to this ailing leviathan of a venue.

Saturday March 12th 2016 – Scottish Lowland League

Edinburgh City 1 (Paterson 67)

East Kilbride 1 (Hastings 24)

Att: 418 (at Meadowbank Stadium)

I was taken by Meadowbank’s fading star that I went back the following morning for some daylight shots.

Sunday bought just the one game in the delightful surroundings of Peffermill, the home since 1978 of Edinburgh University. The football club has been sectioned off from an impressive looking hockey venue and is now called East Peffermill. Behind the modern modular seating unit is the brooding south side of Arthur’s Seat while to the south were stunning views of the Pentland Hills on what was a pleasantly mild morning. The club are most welcoming and friendly and a perfect remedy to yesterday’s trials and tribulations.

The University formed its football section in 1878 and the club is steeped in history and success, being the most successful University side in Scotland. They played at Corstorphine, Craiglockhart and Canal Field before acquiring the land which became Peffermill Playing Field. Initially it was little more than a field with changing rooms but recent investment has given the club a most acceptable venue with a 3G training pitch as well.

The hosts race into an early two goal lead with great finishes from Nathan Evans and the impressive Jack Guthrie. A wonder strike from Selkirk’s Ross King then reduced the arrears before half time. The visitors have the hugely experienced former Hibs, Birmingham City, Lokomotiv Moscow and Tom Tomsk striker Garry O’Connor in their team and despite being a little on the heavy side, his endeavour bought a well deserved equaliser four minutes from time. The home side pressed for a winner and when the visiting goalkeeper dropped a routine cross at the feet of Ross Patterson the winger didn’t need to be asked twice to notch the winning goal.

Sunday March 13th 2016 – Scottish Lowland League

Edinburgh University 3 (Evans 7, Guthrie 14, Patterson 88)

Selkirk 2 (King 19, O’Connor 86)

Att: 294 (at East Peffermill)

 

Taking the Low Road

The Lowland League was formed for the 2013/14 season to give senior football at tier five for ambitious clubs in the south of Scotland. Spartans were the inaugural champions and this season the constitution was expanded to fourteen clubs with an end of season play-off against the Highland League champions. The winner of the play-off will then contest a further play-off against the bottom side in the Scottish League Division Two. This finally gives a route to Scottish League football for progressive senior clubs.

East Kilbride 1 Whitehill Welfare 0 (Attendance 491)

A relatively modern club East Kilbride were formed in May 2010 by the formal merger of Stewartfield and Jackton Boys Club. The club was the vision of two South Lanarkshire men, James Kean and Iain King, who had supported the town’s junior club, East Kilbride Thistle, for many years and had strived to see them turn senior. Having set up a plethora of youth teams for Thistle the two men finally gave up on Thistle and decided to form their own club. Ex Celtic player John Hartson was appointed honorary president and the new club sought to raise set up funds.

The club applied to the South of Scotland League for the 2013/14 and were elected in May 2013. Less than a month later the new club were drafted into the membership of the  new Lowland League. A successful first season saw East Kilbride win the South of Scotland Challenge Cup, defeating Dalbeattie Star 2-0 at Palmerston Park.

East Kilbride currently play at the K Park training facility, opened in 2011, which has a restricted capacity of 500. The facility is located within the Calderglen Country Park. The plan is to find a location suitable for a new stadium for the new town’s new club. The Junior club, Thistle, continue to play The Showpark in Maxwell Drive.

The small and ultra modern venue is rammed tonight and the low slung stand is standing room only. An evenly contested match sees East Kilbride secure the points with a goal twenty minutes from time.

 

Vale of Leithen 0 Preston Athletic 2 (Attendance 312)

The club from Innerleithen were formed in 1891 initially as Leithen Vale FC. Vale of Leithen joined the SFA in 1897 and have been members ever since save for a brief spell in the Juniors in the 1920’s.

The clubs first ground was at Caddon Park opposite a slaughterhouse. In1922 Vale moved to their present ground at Victoria Park, bringing the wooden pavilion and dressing rooms across town with them. The pavilion gave sterling service at its new home until destroyed by fire in 1974 which sadly saw the club lose its historic records. Victoria Park also originally had two stands, and the one that remains, with a more modern re-clad roof, sits in the middle of some extensive terracing.

The club’s impressive crest depicts St.Ronan patron saint of Innerleithen and a folkloric figure in the Borders. Vale spent many years in the East of Scotland League being champions on four occasions, most recently in 1986/87.

This morning’s encounter sees Vale hosting Preston Athletic who lie second from bottom in the table with just two wins all season. However, it is the visitors that dominate the game throughout and run out comfortable winners by two goals to nil.

Selkirk 1 Spartans 1 (Attendance: 281)

Formed in 1880, Selkirk are the oldest established football club in the Borders region. Despite their long and successful history they are invariably linked with a day in December 1984 when a Scottish Cup tie with Stirling Albion resulted in the biggest margin of victory in a British senior football match in the 20th century. Selkirk were five down at halftime at Annfield before their young keeper, Richard Taylor, conceded another fifteen in the second period. To compound the infamy the whole sorry match was recorded in full by the BBC for a documentary on the Scottish Cup. In truth the club were treading water at the time, they had dropped out of the East of Scotland League temporarily and had to field a makeshift side in the Scottish Cup in order to maintain their qualification for the competition.

Prior to that crushing day Selkirk had enjoyed better times including winning a hat-trick of East of Scotland League titles between 1975 and 1977 and even hosted the French national team in a warm up game for the 1966 World Cup.

In their formative years the Souters had a fairly nomadic existence playing at the Cricket Field, Angle Field, Linglie Field and Raeburn Meadow before acquiring the site that became Ettrick Park, their home between 1906 and 2000. Initially the facilities were poor, the original pavilion was described as windowless and bathing was provided by a bucket of water drawn from the nearby River Ettrick! A proper pavilion was opened in 1937 and the East of Scotland successes of the 1970’s bought further improvements to the venue.

In February 2000 Selkirk moved to Yarrow Park adjacent to the impressive Philiphaugh, home of Selkirk RFC. For many years the new venue was relatively undeveloped, the turnstiles, stand and terracing are as recently built as 2013.

Today’s game sees the visit of defending champions Spartans to Yarrow Park and a keenly contested encounter sees a share of spoils in a 1-1 draw. Selkirk are very welcoming and seemed to enjoy their afternoon as much as their guests.

 

Gala Fairydean Rovers 1 Stirling University 2 (Attendance 323)

Gala Fairydean Rovers are the result of a 2013 merger between Gala Fairydean (themselves formed in 1894) and Gala Rovers (a 1947 reformation of what was originally Fairydean’s reserve team). It was something of a surprise merger, the senior and amateur clubs were historically at loggerheads with each other. The combined club have now adopted the motto “Unitas est Fortitude” (Unity is Strength). Fairydean were eight times East of Scotland League champions and unsuccessfully applied for Scottish Football League membership on four occasions, two being since the turn of the current century.

Fairydean played at Eastlands Park and Mossilee before moving into the new Netherdale enclosure in 1929. The complex also houses a rugby stadium used by Gala RFC and previously by the professional, but ill fated, Border Reivers side.

The main stand at Netherdale’s football stadium is a remarkable structure, brutalist concrete abounds and 450 people can watch the match and admire the Eildon Hills from its elevated position. Opened in 1964 the stand was designed by renowned architect Peter Womersley and built by the Anglo-Dane, Sir Ove Arup. The magnificent edifice is now a Historic Scotland Category A listed structure. It was upgraded from B status in December 2013, Historic Scotland citing that the grandstand is “a significant work of late modernist architecture in Scotland”. It was only the second football stand in Scotland, after the Leitch stand at Ibrox, to be designated at architecturally important.

At one point the grandstand was fitted with seats bought from Newcastle United, but these have subsequently been replaced by wooden benches. Netherdale has had a 3G pitch since 2011 and the club has done well to recover from a club room fire in December 2014 which saw the club lose some valuable memorabilia. Three local teenagers were arrested for wilful fireraising.

The stadium is busy with activity in all corners and as the turnstiles click constantly its great to see some good organisation and everything in place to cater for the descending hoards. Gala fancy their chances against the visiting student team but are ultimately undone with virtually the last kick of the match.

 

Dalbeattie Star 2 Edinburgh City 1 (Attendance 400)

The original Dalbeattie Star were formed in 1905 although some records trace the name back to 1900. Within in two years Star had turned senior and gained membership of the SFA. At the time the club played at Colliston Park and became highly successful, winning the Southern Counties League five times in a row between 1929 and 1934. In January 1934 Celtic visited Colliston Park for a Scottish Cup tie and 2,376 watch Star beaten by six goals to nil. After five title wins unbelievably the club folded for a season in 1934/5 as Colliston Park was unavailable. They returned the next season using Maidenholm Park where another Scottish Cup tie, against St.Mirren, saw an all time record home gate set of 3,160 spectators. Star lost by a goal to nil. They subsequently returned to Colliston Park and it was in 1948 after being subjected to a surprise SFA inspection the club found themselves ejected from the league when “no goalposts were found in place”. With no league to play in and mounting debts, Dalbeattie Star folded, seemingly for good.

Fast forward to 1976 and a group of enthusiasts decided to revive the club and they quickly secured a tenancy at the Islecroft Stadium. The Stadium is  part of Colliston Park, the former home of the club, and had been opened in 1950. Fortunately the majestic wooden grandstand of Colliston Park had been re-erected at the new site, and although no records exist it is thought the stand dates from the 1930’s. The reformed club won the South of Scotland League and the Challenge Cup on five occasions before joining the Lowland League.

Islecroft Stadium has a capacity of 3,500 with the magnificent grandstand being able to seat 300 spectators. Dalbeattie Star secured a 99 year lease on Islecroft in 2008, and the venue remains one of the true gems of borders football.

In today’s game the hosts are really up for a contest in front of a big crowd and after forming a guard of honour for the newly crowned champions the hosts promptly scored two minutes into the game. City did equalise on the stroke of half time but a penalty thirteen minutes from time inflicted the Champions first League defeat of the campaign.

Threave Rovers 2 Edinburgh University 3 (Attendance 462)

Threave Rovers play in the town of Castle Douglas not the small Ayrshire burgh of Threave near Maybole. The area around Castle Douglas has Threave House and Threave Castle (built in the 14th century by Archibald the Grim!) but the choice of club name was decided when the club was formed in 1953 during a meeting convened in the Threave tearooms in Castle Douglas.

The club joined the South of Scotland League in 1959 and remained there until a decision was taken to join the tougher East of Scotland League in 1998. The stint was short-lived as traveling costs proved challenging and Threave soon returned to the South of Scotland League. Prior to their admission to the Lowland League Threave had won twelve South of Scotland championships including two title hat-tricks between 1992 and 1995 and then again between 2008 and 2011.

The club play at Meadow Park which has a licensed capacity of 1,763 with seating for 100 spectators. The ground looked majestic and everything is superbly organised for the big day, a real feel-good vibe enveloped the arena. Today’s game sees the hosts pitted against a young looking Edinburgh University team in what has been a tough season for Threave. What transpired was arguably the game of the weekend which was won by the students by the odd goal in five.

It was a fitting end to a great weekend of Lowland League football, a credit to this new League and all involved. As people streamed out of Meadow Park for lengthy journeys home, one burning question remained however… why has it taken so long to set up a hop in this historic and beautiful land?

 

Parc Life

Having heard varying reports on the standards on offer in the Ceredigion (or Cardiganshire for the unwitting) League, I decided to approach my first toe dip in this particular part of the wild west of Wales with a distinctly open mind.

Saturday March 8th 2014 (Kick Off: 10.15 am)

Aberporth 3 (Griffiths 68,Glover og 84,M.Smith pen 87)

Crannog 2 (Roberts 12, S.Jones 28)

Att: 166 (at the Civil Service Ground, Parcllyn)

First up was a trip to the coast at Aberporth where the local side play on Ministry of Defence land in Parcllyn, The pitch is basic, not even roped off whilst the players change in a small block on the far side. The pitch has done well to survive the twin threat of copious recent rainfall and the presence of a natural spring behind the far goal which leaves the area behind the goal perpetually waterlogged. Spectators are fed and watered in a neat clubhouse over the road. The club do a sterling job getting proceedings underway and both sides put on a decent match in spite of an undulating pitch and a ferocious crosswind. The visitors, Crannog, go two up in the first half through Rhydian Roberts and Steff Jones and are good value for their advantage. The Aberporth manager must have earned his corn at halftime as the hosts tear into their opposition aided by the prevailing wind. Liam Griffiths pulled a goal back but with six minutes left Crannog still looked odds on for the win. A farcical own goal saw the scores levelled, and three minutes from time the visiting keeper conceded a penalty which was gleefully converted by Matt Smith for an unlikely comeback.

Saturday March 8th 2014 (Kick Off: 1.15 pm)

Cardigan Town 6 (B.Davies 19,28,Thomas 53,Nash 74,86, K.Morgan 80)

New Quay 0

Att: 224 (at Parc y Reiffl, King George V Playing Field)

Onto Cardigan, one of the largest town’s in the area but equipped with one of the poorest facilities of the weekend. Part of the issue is the ground lies on common land and cannot be developed to any great degree. The club share facilities with their rugby playing neighbours whose ground boasts a decent sized stand. Off the field the club have everything well under control and the lamb cowl proved to be a big hit. On the field the visitors, last years Ceredigion League champions, New Quay, are mercilessly put to the sword by a rampant home team. Cardigan themselves were Division Two champions last season and look a really good attacking side, contending well with a bumpy pitch with tufts of untamed grass. The home team rattle in six unanswered goals of the highest order.

Saturday March 8th 2014 (Kick Off: 4 pm)

Cilgerran Rovers 1 (K.Phillips pen 68)

Llanon 0

Att: 226 (at Parc y Dre)

Cilgerran Rovers have a very basic ground, dressing rooms are housed in containers and there is very little in the way of spectator comfort. The club however have pulled out all the stops and the variety of food and fund raising activity provided is really top notch. Well organised and extremely friendly the club coffers took a well deserved boost from all quarters. On the field, for it is more a field than a pitch given it’s rutted and bumpy surface, the two sides bludgeon each other for ninety minutes. Skill comes someway distant to honest endeavour on the unpredictable surface. The match is decided on a very harsh penalty call in favour of the hosts, the spot kick deftly taken by Kyle Phillips.

Sunday March 9th 2014 (Kick Off: 10.15 am)

Bargod Rangers 3 (Skinner 2,35, D.Evans 77)

Maesglas 3 (James 16,38, Irvine 29)

Att: 238 (at Parc Puw)

Sunday morning begins with a scenic drive to Felindre Drefach to Parc Puw, home of the local side Bargod Rangers. Taking their name from the local river, Rangers have been members of the Ceredigion League since it’s inception in 1921. Their unbroken membership has seen eight title triumphs. The ground is a public park with a neat dressing room block in one corner. The gate to this facility is festooned with a memorial to the club’s recently deceased treasurer Glan Evans and his passing is marked with a minutes silence broken only by the chatter of birds. The two sides put on a rip roaring 3-3 draw which could easily have gone either way such was the evenly matched nature of the encounter. The weekend’s biggest crowd not only sees the best match but also sees the Bargod coffers suitably swelled, two things I am certain Glan Evans would have loved to witness.

Sunday March 9th 2014 (Kick Off: 1 pm)

Ffostrasol Wanderers 2 (A.Bowen 57, C.Griffiths 87)

Dewi Stars 2 (Andy Jones 45, Owens 90)

Att: 166 (at Troedrhiw Park)

Knowing my football grounds as I do, I knew the indomitable organisers, Chris and Laurence had saved the best ground till last, and what an absolute corker Troedrhiw Park is. An ornate wrought iron gate is a tasty prelude to a 1978 wood and breeze block stand with gravity defying wooden plank seating. The clubhouse has several delights, a small stand tacked onto the end and a homely kitchen with football décor a plenty including a mug rack made from an old table football game. On the field the sides are evenly matched, longish grass making both elevens toil hard in unexpected heat. Andrew Jones gives the visitors a deserved lead before Alun Bowen levelled just before the hour mark. As the game appeared to be heading for a draw Ffostrasol’s lively sub Carywn Williams steered a delightful shot into the Dewi net and celebrated by rushing to the stand and sliding on his knees to mark what appeared to be the winning goal. Dewi had other ideas, however, and with virtually the last kick of a memorable weekend, Steffan Owens tapped into an unguarded net for a share of the spoils.

So that was it, scenic, friendly and good fun. What it is not is football for the purist, if tiki-taka, a false nine and the Christmas tree formation is for you then please enjoy Sky Sports. If you prefer good, honest endeavour, the regular thwack of leather upper on shin pad, village football as it was and always will be, then this is for you. Why don’t you give it a try?

Geordie Sure

The second of the season’s Northern League groundhops in celebration of that great competitions 125th anniversary took place in a three mile square radius in a corner of the great gateway city of Newcastle. It was a four game feast of football for visitors from all corners of the land and indeed beyond these waters. Here is a review of what happened in another fantastic day with our friends in the north.

Northern League Division 2 (26/10/2013 10.30am)

Heaton Stannington (2) 3 (Wright pen 20,89,Smith 32)

Birtley Town (0) 0

Attendance: 412 (at Grounsell Park)

Heaton Stannington can date their formation to 1910 when two local sides in the Stannington Grove area merged, given the new club their suffix. They played in those days at Newton Park in High Heaton and competed in the Tyneside and Northern Amateur Leagues. The pre-War years were good to the Stan, in 1934 they moved into Grounsell Park, their present home. This seemed to catalyse the club as they won the Northumberland Amateur Cup in 1937 and were runners up in the Tyneside League. They gained election to the Northern League for the 1939/40 season becoming the club allied to the Northumberland FA to participate in the league since 1906. After just once season the club found their ground requisitioned by the Army to aid the war effort. They retained their place in the Northern League having been elected as non playing members for a season. By 1952 the lack of success saw the club resign and join the Northern Alliance.

Grounsell Park lies on a former quarry and was left to the club and a board of trustees in the will of Lord Armstrong. This would be the pre-cursor to a lengthy legal battle over the ground which effectively lasted from 1968 to 1983. A move to another holding company allowing the sale of alcohol at the ground let to the club saddled with huge rental debts. The rent continued to climb and eventually a developer applied to build a supermarket on the site. This was overcome but debts mounted ever higher. In an act of desperation the club decided to challenge the legality of the holding company’s ownership. Little Heaton Stannington had their day in court and won. Ownership was rewritten and a covenant drawn up prohibiting anyone to profit from the redevelopment of the ground. Lord Armstrong would have been rightly proud.

The Stan have dominated the Northern Alliance in recent seasons winning the title for the last two seasons and the magnificent League trophy resides in their clubhouse. One does wonder if its unprotected state is prudent considering Carlisle City managed to lose the Northern Alliance League Cup trophy for three days in 1976 when it was stolen during their celebrations in the Hedgefield County Hotel. Heaton were promoted to the Northern League for the current campaign on the proviso they installed floodlights by the end of September. Once again, however, Grounsell Park provides the Stan with a headache. Having been built over a quarry there is nowhere for foundations for pylons to go and if a grant is not forthcoming the club will not be able to proceed with illumination. This would be a great shame as they currently lead Division 2 and cantered through this encounter with Birtley Town, playing some very attractive football. The game will forever be overshadowed by an incident in the 64^th minute where a mindless act of violence saw a Stan played left with a suspected broken jaw. Suffice to say for a heinous and cowardly act I truly hope the assailant is banned from the game permanently. Let’s hope this go-ahead and friendly club can overcome their latest obstacle and get lit up very soon, for they certainly have form for overcoming adversity.

Northern League Division 2 (26/10/2013 13.15pm)

West Allotment Celtic (0) 0 North Shields (0) 0

Attendance: 429 (at Whitley Park)

Celtic were formed in 1928 again from a merger of two smaller clubs, West Allotment Primitive Methodists and West Allotment Juniors. The new club initially competed in the Tynemouth and District League. By 1938 Celtic were playing in the Northern Amateur League at ground known as the Farm Ground. It was so basic in fact, that the players would change in a disused cow shed. The club had a golden era in the 1950’s annexing the Northern Amateur League title four times in a row. The club left the soggy wasteland that was the Farm Ground for the Backworth Welfare ground in 1968 and the move seemed to galvanise the club after a period of decline.

The 1980’s and 90’s saw Celtic dominate the Northern Alliance a competition they had joined in 1983. After an incredible eight title wins between 1986 and 2004, they gained election to the Northern League. Off the field the club had been groundsharing at Whitley Bay’s Hillheads Park between 1995 and 2001, but then the progressive club gained the tenancy of Whitley Park, the Northumbrian FA Ground. The club now have a very smart facility which boasts a truly immaculate pitch. The raised banking affording a surprisingly clear view of the distant Penshaw Monument which features on the badge of Sunderland AFC.

Having won the Second Division of the Northern League in 2004/5 the Celts enjoyed five seasons in the top division before slipping back down. Visitors can’t have failed to be impressed by the set up which extended to a top rate glossy programme as well as “Three Miles West” a monthly club magazine covering all aspects of Celtic life.

On the field it’s a match that pitches the fourth placed hosts against North Shields who reside in third. There follows 90 minutes of competitive football which ultimately fails to yield a goal for either side. Happily for this well organised club they gain the biggest crowd of the day to Whitley Park.

Northern League Division 1 (26/10/2013 16.00pm)

Team Northumbria (2) 3 (Luke 8, Riley 22, Watling 55)

Whitley Bay (3) 4 (Chow 16, pen 26, 54, 66)

Attendance: 396 (at Coach Lane)

The hosts were formed as recently as 1999 as Northumbria University gaining immediate election to the Northern Alliance. By 2003 they had risen to the Premier Division and celebrated with a change of name to Team Northumbria. The team is made up entirely of students although sports scholarships are offered to attract talented athletes to the University. The club were promoted as Northern Alliance champions to the Northern League Division Two for the 2006/07 season. They won Division Two in 2011/12, and the quality of their team was underlined in the same season when they took Newcastle United reserves to a penalty shoot out in the Northumberland Senior Cup final.

The club play at the Coach Lane campus adjacent to Newcastle United’s academy ground. It is new and functional however the club fell short of the minimum capacity when their inspection for promotion to Division One of the Northern League. Despite the presence of several of the Football Association sanctioned Arena Seating modular stands, the provision of seats were a dozen short of the covered capacity needed. So delightfully the club built a very small stand with raised steps to accommodate exactly twelve people. It’s either a wonderful testament to the famed belligerence so often attributed to northern folk or a ridiculous folly to the absurdity of ground grading.

The match itself is the game of the day, the well supported visitors, Whitley Bay triumph by the odd goal in seven. The Bay are very much Northern League mainstays, and having tried the higher level of the Northern Premier League between 1989 and 2001 seem content with the more local competition the Northern League has to offer. Any club that has a fan with a blue and white china bell rung vigorously at the appropriate time ticks all the boxes for me.

Whitley Bay have won the FA Vase three times, their most recent final appearance seeing Paul Chow open the scoring after just 21 seconds. It is Chow that epitomises what the Northern League really stands for. Clearly more than capable of playing at a higher level he would rather service a local club playing against local opposition.

Some have said the Northern League is an insular competition, but people who know better would say it looks after its own. Why overstretch yourself when keen competition lies on your doorstep? Chow scores all four Whitley Bay goals today, a master class of centre forward play and clinical finishing undoes the plucky students. They show enough though to suggest they will compete well at this exalted level.

Northern League Division 2 (26/10/2013 19.00pm)

Newcastle Benfield (2) 2 (Stephenson 30, Brayson 32)

Morpeth Town (1) 1 (Chilton 35)

Attendance: 328 (at Sam Smith’s Sports Ground)

Another relatively modern club Benfield can trace their lineage back to 1988 when they were called Brunswick Village. Subsequent name changes have seen them compete as Heaton Corner House and then as Benfield Park. The club have played at Sam Smith’s Sports Ground since 1990 having moved from Walker Park. The club had a relatively unsuccessful spell during that decade but in 2000 the club amalgamated with North Shields St. Columba’s becoming Newcastle Benfield Saints. The name changing continued with a sponsorship deal between 2005 and 2007 saw the club play as Newcastle Benfield Bay Plastics. The club won the Northern Alliance in 2002/03 and were promoted to Division Two of the Northern League. They were runners up in their first season and have been First Division stalwarts ever since, winning the League and Cup double in 2008/09. They gained major headlines in 2012 when Norberto Solano briefly joined the club as coach.

The Sam Smith’s Sports Ground is the best ground of the day, two sizeable stands with copious seating face each other and there is also an impressive stretch of covered standing. The game against combative visitors Morpeth Town is high quality, all three goals strangely coming within five minutes of each other during a first half. It’s the visitors who probably have the best of the second half but the hosts rearguard remain steadfast and secure all three points in a decent encounter.

Mid Wales League Groundhop 2012 – Part 2

Tywyn/Bryncrug Fc – Bench seating for spectators, come on was there no thought for sightlines?

 

Some Bara Brith, oh go on then

 

Time for the team changes

Meanwhile Bella the Sharpay is less than impressed with Bow Street’s performance

 Tywyn/Bryncrug FC

 

Match poster for Aberdyfi 6 Bont 5 at Penhros Field, a remarkable game, the home side coming back from 0-4 down to win with the last kick of the game (Att:324)

 

Aberdyfi FC

 

Aberdyfi FC, spectator seating or giant dug outs?

 

Machynlleth’s nod to Archibald Leitch’s classic gable

 

Machynlleth 0 Kerry 4, at their homely Cae Glas ground (Att:347)

 

WelshpoolTown 3 LlansantffraidVillage 5 (Att:211) at Maes-y-Dre

 

I wonder what Wynn Owen would say of Town’s demise since he laid this stone in Dec 1953

 

When watching Welshpool it would be rude not to pop in to the adjacent ground of Waterloo Rovers

 

Dolgellau Atheltic 2 Carno 1 (Att:206). The big cover at Cae Marian providing solice from incessant rain

 

A man who…lives his life without shoes

 

Dyffryn Banw’s picturesque but basic Cae Morfa ground is still a step up from their previous field behind the school.

 

Dyffryn Banw 2 Builth Wells 3 (Att:181). Hardy souls that made it to the end! 11 games and a mammoth 69 goals witnessed.