Friendly

Saturday 28th June 2025

Kick Off 15.00 Actual 14.58!

Filton Athletic 1 Bitton 4, attendance 70

9’ 1-0

20’ 1-1

48’ 1-2

81’ 1-3 (pen)

85’ 1-4

@ Elm Park Leisure Centre (BBS Park North)

Elm Park

Filton

BS34 7PS

No Admission or Programme.

Another trip west along the M4 today, this time to Filton, just north of Bristol and a chance to see Filton Athletic return to their own ground, having ground shared whilst it was brought up to standard. It’s now fully railed, and has a pair of dugouts with the pitch separated from the rest of the park by a hard pathway that runs along the left hand touchline, when approaching from the car park. It now meets the standards to host Gloucestershire County League football (Step 7).

I’d had confirmation from both clubs via Twitter that the game would be going ahead okay and arrived just over an hour before kick off, with ample parking available. Players were beginning to make their way the fifty yards or so from the changing rooms to the pitch to start their warm ups. There is a cafe inside the leisure centre doing snacks and the toilets inside here were available to spectators too.

Filton got off to a quick start, hooking a shot into the bottom corner after just nine minutes. Eleven minutes later Bitton, who play in Western League Division 1 (Step 6), were level, when a cross from the right was met with a stooping header at the near post, which went in off the far post. Mass changes for the visitors at halftime didn’t affect them too much, as they made it 1-2 three minutes into the second half, when a cross was headed back across the face of goal and re-diverted with another header that clipped the inside of the far post on it’s way in. They also hit the post just after the hour mark, before making it 1-3 from the penalty spot with nine minutes left. They added a fourth goal four minutes later, when a high ball over the top was brilliantly brought under control and finished with a low shot into the far corner.

Friendly

Thursday 26th June 2025

Kick Off 18.30 Actual 18.38

Canton 2 Newport Saints 2, attendance 35

29’ 1-0 (pen)

36’ 1-1

77’ 1-2

85’ 2-2

@ Fitzalan High School, 3G Pitch

Leckwith Road

Cardiff

CF11 8AP

No Admission or Programme.

Another slog down the M4 for a friendly between Step 3 Canton (Ardal South East) and Step 4 Newport Saints (Gwent Premier League Premier Division) played at the neutral venue of Fitzalan High School. It’s a caged pitch, adjacent to the Cardiff International Sports Complex and although the school is in Leckwith Road, access to the pitch was via a flight of steps from the car park of Canton rugby club, in Lawrenny Road, which was open for refreshments and toilets and where I bagged the last parking space, having arrived about half an hour before kick off. Spectator access is restricted to one side of the pitch, where there are a couple of seated kit stands (dreadful view from both!), but the standing area between the two offered the best vantage point, helped by the dugouts being on the far side.

Canton took the lead just before the half hour mark, with a penalty awarded for a handball, but Newport Saints were gifted an equaliser seven minutes later, when the Canton ‘keeper played a clearance straight to a Saints forward who rolled the ball into the empty net. Saints made it 1-2 with thirteen minutes left, curling a free kick around the wall from the edge of the D, with Canton deservedly drawing level with five minutes left, when a cross from the right was finished with a downward header at the far post.

The usual roadworks hold ups on the return home, this time coming off the M4 at J14 (one junction before the hold ups were beginning), heading down to the M3 at Basingstoke, before the M25 was again shut in both directions between J10 and J9, meaning not arriving home until 23.45, despite it having been an early kick off.

Friendly

Tuesday 24th June 2025

Kick Off 19.30 Actual 19.28!

Panteg 1 Croesyceilliog 3, attendance 52

15’ 0-1

86’ 0-2

89’ 0-3

90’ 1-3

@ West Monmouth School, 3G Pitch

Blaendare Road

Cwm Fields

Pontypool

NP4 5YG

No Admission or Programme.

First midweek game of the new season and another trip along the M4 into Wales, where Gwent Premier League Division 1 (Tier 5) were hosting Ardal League South East (Tier 3) at the neutral venue of West Monmouth School, on the 3G pitch, for what was my 450th ground I’ve seen a game on in Wales. It’s the usual cage set up, with spectator viewing behind the nearest goal to the car park. Along one side is a raised grass bank, next to the higher level of the car park, which gave a decent enough view over the fence, with almost the entire crowd choosing to watch the game from here.

Croesyceilliog took an early lead, with an angled shot into the far corner and also saw a 30 yard lob come back off the crossbar. They had the chance to double their lead just before the half hour mark, but a penalty kick was well saved by the ‘keeper. Panteg thought they’d equalised with ten minutes left, when a free kick from inside their own half reached the opposite penalty area, bouncing high over the stranded ‘keeper, but it was disallowed. I heard someone on the pitch say it was because the free kick was awarded as in-direct and had made its way in without receiving another touch as it sailed in. A quick break down the left was finished from a tight angle to double the lead for the visitors with four minutes left and they added a third three minutes later, when a ball over the top was curled wide of the ‘keeper from the edge of the box. Panteg got a consolation goal with seconds left, smashing the ball past the ‘keeper from 8 yards after a ball over the top had beaten the defence.

It had been a reasonable journey down to Wales, but closures on the M4 at J13-J12 and then on the M25 from J10-J9 meant the return took exactly three hours.

Friendly

Saturday 21st June 2025

Kick Off 14.30 Actual 14.38

Cardiff Draconians 1 Lliswerry 4, attendance 30

30’ 0-1

35’ 0-2

49’ 0-3

74’ 1-3

82’ 1-4

@ Cardiff West Community High School, 3G Pitch

Penally Road

Cardiff

CF5 5XP

No Admission or Programme.

I was pleased to receive an early reply on Twitter this morning from Cardiff Draconians, confirming both the kick off time and venue for this game, as many clubs never bother having the decency to reply. The game was being played at the neutral venue of Cardiff West Community High School, which as the name suggests, is in the western edge of the city. It’s a standard cage set up, with a spectator viewing area along one side, which also housed a small kit stand, which had seven steps and there was a pair of perspex dugouts on the far side.

The match was between two newly promoted teams. Cardiff Draconians will play at Tier 2 this season, in Cymru South, whilst Lliswerry will be in Tier 3, in Ardal South East. Both teams had six or seven substitutes, who I think all played at some point, which was hardly surprising given how hot it was. It was absolutely brutal, in the high twenties and resulted in a couple of drinks breaks in each half. It was after the first of these that Lliswerry broke the deadlock, with a quick break down the right that was side footed in at the far post and they doubled their lead five minutes later, intercepting a misplaced header back to the ‘keeper and finishing with a lob from the edge of the box.

Draconians hit the crossbar early in the second half and somehow put the rebound over the top and a minute later it was 0-3, when a cross from the right was finished low under the ‘keeper. Draconians had a shot come back off the far post, before making it 1-3 a few minutes later, when a diagonal ball across the box was put in at the far post. The comeback was short lived though and Lliswerry made it 1-4 with eight minutes left, when a ball inside the fullback was cut back onto the right foot and finished low inside the near post.

Derbyshire Summer League

Monday 2nd June 2025

Smithfield Uttoxeter 4 Red Lion 2, attendance 30

2’ 0-1

38’ 1-1

57’ 2-1

79’ 2-2

80’ 3-2

83’ 4-2

@ Oldfields Hall Middle School

Stone Road

Uttoxeter

ST14 7PJ

No Admission or Programme.

For the second successive season, this league has come up with a new ground for me to visit. It’s just an open pitch at Oldfields Hall Middle School in Uttoxeter. Parking was available inside the school grounds, with the pitch at the rear of the buildings, with a raised grass bank along the near side offering a decent view.

As is the norm for this league, the pitch was in poor condition. Also, there was the all too frequent late arrival of players. Red Lion only had nine players when we got underway a couple of minutes earlier than scheduled, but it didn’t do them any harm, as they were in front after just two minutes, latching on to a through ball that the ‘keeper failed to clear and going on to roll the ball into the empty net. Fifteen minutes in, a tenth player arrived for the visitors and eight minutes later they were at full strength, as their eleventh and final player turned up. Amazingly, they had kept their lead during this time, but seven minutes before halftime Smithfield drew level, scrambling the ball in after an initial block just inside the area. Red Lion looked to have gone in front again in stoppage time, when a shot hit the underside of the crossbar and clearly crossed the line, but the ‘home’ linesman said it hadn’t, so it wasn’t given.

The second half saw Smithfield hit the crossbar early on, before going 2-1 up just before the hour mark, easily finishing a pull back across the box from close range. A deflected shot from the edge of the box saw Red Lion level it up at 2-2 with eleven minutes left, but trailed again within a minute and another close range effort saw Smithfield round off the scoring to make it 4-2 with seven minutes left.

The journey north was fine once I’d cleared the M25 queue from J11-J17 and the return was totally trouble free, despite three sections of roadworks on the M1 starting to be coned off, which I got through without coming to a standstill.