Kent County League

Division 2 East

Saturday 22nd March 2025

Kick Off 14.45 Actual 14.43!

Baypoint 3 Littlebourne 3, attendance 20

25’ 1-0

28’ 1-1

42’ 2-1

60’ 3-1

71’ 3-2

87’ 3-3

@ Baypoint Sports Club

Ramsgate Road (A256)

Port Richborough

CT13 9QL

No Admission or Programme.

With the M25 closed in both directions for the entire weekend, between J10 and J11, I decided to head east into Kent in order to avoid the inevitable chaos that would occur in Surrey. Baypoint Sports Club is roughly halfway between Sandwich and Ramsgate. It’s basically a large field behind a very smart clubhouse, with today’s game played on the pitch to the right as you look from the building, running parallel with the River Stour. At least it was roped along one side, with the two ‘benches’ on the opposite touchline.

The match was a mid table clash, with 5th hosting 7th. Littlebourne still had a very slim chance of grabbing the second promotion place coming into this, in a fight with third placed Skippers (both have enough games in hand over second placed Len Valley to easily overtake them), with Bocca Juniors currently fifteen points clear at the top and 99.9% likely to win it. It was a decent game, despite the bobbly pitch. A corner from the right, which was finished with a shot on the turn, that went in off the near post, saw Baypoint take the lead midway through the first half, but Littlebourne equalised just three minutes later, when a ball was flicked on and smashed past the ‘keeper from 12 yards. Just before halftime Baypoint were back in front, when a diagonal ball in from the left was finished with a shot that beat the ‘keeper at the near post. When a one on one finish saw the hosts go 3-1 up on the hour mark it looked like the points were safe, but Littlebourne had other ideas. With nineteen minutes left they headed in from close range, before deservedly drawing level in the dying minutes, when a diagonal ball across the box was finished with a cushioned volley that looped over the ‘keeper into the far corner of the net.

Today’s visit just leaves Locomotive Canterbury to do in this division and Greenwich All Stars in Division 2 West for completion of the Kent County League for me now. It won’t be done this season though and hopefully there may even be an addition or two to add to these for next season.

Witney & District League

Division 2

Friday 21st March 2025

Kick Off 19.30 Actual 19.29!

Uffington United 6 Yarnton ‘B’ 1, attendance 28

10’ 0-1

13’ 1-1

34’ 2-1

54’ 3-1

69’ 4-1

81’ 5-1

90’ 6-1

@ Uffington Sports & Social Club

Fawler Road

Uffington

SN7 7SD

No Admission or Programme.

Apart from an organised ‘hop game here some years ago, I can’t remember a first team game having been played here under floodlights during the winter months. Most midweeks are staged during the lighter months, when the lights are not required, so it was the perfect opportunity to tick this one off tonight.

It is a cracking ground for this level of football. Entering off Fawler Road, the car park and clubhouse/changing rooms are behind the near goal end. The pitch runs lengthways away from here and is fully railed and has a large brick built dugout on the right hand side, divided for use of both teams, with a cricket pitch behind. Unfortunately, the floodlights aren’t great, but they were good enough to get the game played, which was the most important thing.

The match was 1st versus 3rd in the league table. Uffington led second in the table Deer Park Rangers by six points coming into this, but have played two games more. They’ve only lost once each and crucially play each other here in the final game of the season, with Uffington currently having a far better goal difference. It looks like the best Yarnton can realistically finish is the third place they now occupy, as they are four points adrift and will only have two games to play after tonight.

Yarnton took the lead after ten minutes, volleying into the bottom corner after a diagonal free kick into the box was flicked on, but their lead only lasted three minutes, when a corner from the right wasn’t cleared and was scrambled in from close range. Uffington edged in front just after the half hour mark, when another corner from the right was headed in powerfully from 6 yards. Three minutes into the second half it was 3-1, finishing with an angled shot into the far corner and there would be no way back for the visitors. A through ball that was fumbled by the ‘keeper, then followed in, made it 4-1 with just over twenty minutes left and after an angled shot that found the bottom corner, via the aid of a deflection saw goal number five arrive, before they made it 6-1 in the final minute, with an angled shot that went in off the far post.

There was no rain forecast, but it rained for almost the entire first half and for the early stages of the second, but the pitch was in good condition, so not a problem. Very empty M25 on the outbound journey, probably helped by the closure of Heathrow Airport and only had a slight delay on the same motorway on the way home, as they were starting to cone off the outside two lanes in readiness for yet another full weekend closure. If you can believe them, this will be the last such inconvenience, although as they’re way behind schedule (should have been completed by next month), nothing would surprise me.

East of Scotland League

Division 3

Sunday 16th March 2025

Kick Off 12.30 Actual 12.32

Linton Hotspur 2 Livingston United 0, attendance 372

4’ 1-0

49’ 2-0

@ New Moor Road

The Dean

Deanfoot Road

West Linton

EH46 7EJ

£5 Admission

£2 Programme available, but I won’t buy one on any event organised by Groundhop U.K.

Having stayed overnight to the west of Edinburgh, it was an easy 35-40 minute drive south, into the Scottish Borders, for today’s game in West Linton. This was actually the final game of this years Scottish Groundhop and the only game of the six that were scheduled that I’d be visiting. I’d already done four of the other venues anyway (I also needed West Calder United, having only been to their old ground, but as it was scheduled for the Saturday afternoon slot, it was of no interest to me, hence why I went to Kilwinning instead). Today saw the completion of this division for me and also clocked up ground number 250 visited in Scotland too.

Although Linton Hotspur were founded in the 1920’s, they disbanded in 1971, before returning in 2008, playing in the Border Amateur League, before gaining entry into the East of Scotland League in 2023. Their ‘New Moor Road’ ground (not in New Moor Road, or Moor Road for that matter) is actually in The Dean, off Deanfoot Road, on the right hand side when heading east out of the village. It’s developing into a very tidy ground. The clubhouse and changing rooms are behind the goal at the entrance end of the ground, with a small seated stand on the left hand touchline and a small area of cover opposite, although this is sandwiched between the dugouts, so the view from here is dreadful, whilst there is no access behind the far goal. The car park was already full when I arrived about 11.15, but there was ample parking along the roadside. As you’d expect, plenty of food/drink on offer, due to it being an official hop match and the club coped admirably with the large crowd.

The match was 2nd versus 4th in the league table and with only the top three going up, it was a game both teams would have wanted to win, in order to maintain their promotion push. There was little between them, but an early goal in each half was enough for Linton to take all three points. The opener came when a diagonal free kick into the box wasn’t cleared, resulting in an easy side footed finish from 10 yards, whilst the second came from a quick break down the right was finished with an angled shot that went in off the inside of the far post. The win keeps Linton in second place, eleven points adrift of league leaders Lochgelly Albert, but with two games in hand, whilst Livingston now drop to fifth.

I’d acquired two passengers for the journey home, which resulted in drop offs in Uxbridge and Redhill, but a totally trouble free drive back still saw me arrive home just before 21.40.

West of Scotland League

Division 1

Saturday 15th March 2025

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.01

Kilwinning Rangers 4 Kilbirnie Ladeside 1, attendance 385

26’ 1-0

30’ 2-0

56’ 3-0

85’ 4-0

90’ + 2, 4-1

@ Buffs Park

Kilwinning Community Sports Club

Pennyburn Road

Kilwinning

KA13 6LF

£8 Admission

No Programme.

The day started with a trip to the nearest tyre centre, following the discovery of the puncture I’d suffered at Ellesmere Port Town last night. Thankfully, the first garage I headed for was already open when I arrived just after 8 o’clock and half an hour later I was on the road and heading for Scotland, the damage having been repaired and no need to buy a brand new tyre. When I last saw Kilwinning Rangers play a home game, back in June 2001, they beat Hurlford United 4-0 in an Ayrshire Super Cup Semi Final, played at their former Abbey Park ground. That now lies derelict, awaiting to be built upon and they vacated that for their new Buffs Park home, here at Kilwinning Community Sports Club in 2019. I’d actually seen a game here previously too, as I’d done a Kilmarnock U19 game here in 2006, which was played on one of the outer pitches.

Buffs Park is impressive for a new build. It is floodlit and spectator access is on all four sides. There is cover on three of those, whilst a base is already laid between the dugouts on the clubhouse side of the ground that looks like becoming another covered area, perhaps with seats, as they are the only thing lacking here now. There is plenty of car parking and there’s even a club shop, selling a variety of souvenirs. The usual fayre was available at the tea bar, although annoyingly, it is out of sight of the pitch, so not really much use whilst the match is in progress, although there were plenty who didn’t seem too bothered about that!

Kilwinning are one of the big names in the West of Scotland League, having won the Scottish Junior F.A. Cup twice, as well as twice being runners up and came into this sitting top of the league table, five points clear of second placed Rutherglen Glencairn, so look a good bet to return back to the top division which they are more accustomed to. Kilbirnie were ninth and as it’s just nine miles north of Kilwinning, had a decent following here, many displaying their club colours and it was good to see a crowd edging towards 400 here.

It was closer than the scoreline suggests, with the main difference between the two teams being the deadly delivery of ‘long throw specialist’ Jack MacCalman, which Kilbirnie just couldn’t deal with and I expect that’s the case for most opposition teams who come up against it. Kilwinning opened the scoring from one of his throw ins after twenty six minutes, heading in from 10 yards and they doubled their lead four minutes later, when a ball over the top was finished with an unstoppable shot across the ‘keeper that flew into the far corner. Eleven minutes into the second half it was 3-0. This time, a throw in from right near the corner flag was headed in powerfully at the far post and their fourth goal came with five minutes left. This time the long throw came from right in front of the dugouts and was met with a header from six yards that found the far corner. At least Kilbirnie managed to pull one back in stoppage time, with a 25 yarder that swerved viciously in front of the ‘keeper, but Kilwinning were well deserved winners.

I might even be back at Kilwinning Community Sports Club for a third visit one day, as fellow West of Scotland club Eglinton play on the 3G pitch here, behind the right hand goal end of Buffs Park when looking out from the clubhouse.

West Cheshire League

Division 1

Friday 14th March 2025

Kick Off 20.00 Actual 20.05

Ellesmere Port Town 0 Chester Nomads 2, attendance 48

14’ 0-1

25’ 0-2

@ Vauxhall Motors Sports Club, 3G Pitch

Rivacre Road

Ellesmere Port

CH66 1NJ

No Admission or Programme.

As I was heading for a couple of games in Scotland over the weekend, this fitted in perfectly with breaking up the journey. I’d been here before, when I saw Vauxhall Motors lose 3-4 (AET) to Northwich Victoria in a Cheshire F.A. Senior Cup 2nd Round match back in November 1993. That game was played on the stadium itself, but there are two parallel 3G cages behind it, with this played on the nearer of the two. Both have spectator areas on the full length of one side, as well as a pair of dugouts each, but this one has the far superior floodlights. The clubhouse was open throughout and served hot food and drinks for the duration.

The match was 13th (out of 16) versus 6th in the league table and was a far closer contest than I’d been expecting from their league positions. Nomads took an early lead, when a cross from the right wasn’t cleared, resulting in a first time finish into the bottom corner from 12 yards. Midway through the half they doubled their lead, when a player cut in from wide on the right, before hitting an unstoppable shot onto the far top corner, that hit the stanchion at the back of the goal frame and bounced a fair way back out due to the power he’d hit it with. Ellesmere Port had the chances to get at least a draw, especially from their second half chances created, but failed to convert any of them. They did hit the outside of the post with one and managed to miss a penalty too, which was saved, but were unfortunate not to get on the scoresheet.

Unfortunately, on getting back to the car, I found that one of my tyres was completely flat. I’m past the days of changing it myself, so I called the A.A. instead. It meant getting back to my hotel almost ninety minutes later than expected, but also, more crucially, if I couldn’t get it repaired/replaced (the ‘spare’ is just a means of getting you to a garage, rather than having a proper tyre, like in the old days) in time, my plans for Saturday would certainly be curtailed…..

Anglian Combination League

Premier Division

Saturday 8th March 2025

Kick Off 14.15 Actual 14.18

Norwich C.E.Y.M.S. 3 Sprowston 1, attendance 32

22’ 0-1

61’ 1-1

79’ 2-1

84’ 3-1

@ Hilltops Sports Ground

Main Road (B1113)

Swardeston

NR14 8DU

No Admission or Programme.

With the full weekend closure of the M25 in both directions between J10 and J11, I was forced to head somewhere east to avoid the total chaos it would cause in that area and opted for a visit to East Anglia, where I could complete the top division of the Anglian Combination League at Norwich C.E.Y.M.S. I’d actually seen them play a home game here previously, back in August 2023, a midweek game, which due to them sharing a ground that also hosts cricket, meant it was actually played on the training pitch, away to the left, through a hedge. You walked past another football pitch, to the left of the cricket square, which is railed along one touchline and has a couple of concrete dugouts, which is where they used to play their first team games, but they now use the pitch to the right of the cricket square, that runs lengthways away from the clubhouse/changing room building, which was roped off and has a couple of concrete dugouts on the right hand side, with an absolutely pristine pitch. Due to one of the Lakeham Union R.U.F.C. teams playing on a pitch the other side of the clubhouse, there was food/drink available throughout the match, which may not be the case if just the football are at home.

The match was 5th versus 12th in the league table and the reverse fixture of last week’s game, which C.E.Y.M.S. had won 4-2. It looked like Sprowston might have turned things round this week though, as they took the lead midway through the first half, when a long ball over the top was clipped over the ‘keeper from the angle of the 18 yard box. C.E.Y.M.S. thought they’d levelled the scores just before halftime, but the goal was (wrongly) ruled out for offside. They did get an equaliser just after the hour mark though, when a cross from the right was headed in at the far post, hitting the underside of the crossbar before bouncing down over the line. They could have gone in front soon after, but a penalty was sent high over the crossbar, but they did go ahead with eleven minutes left, when a corner from the right was headed down into the bottom corner at the far post and with six minutes left they made the game safe, making it 3-1 by poking it past the ‘keeper from just outside the box after being played through on goal.

Below photo shows location of Training Pitch (red) used on my first visit and current 1st team pitch (green).

Essex Senior League

Tuesday 4th March 2025

Kick Off 19.45 Actual 19.46

Benfleet 0 Barking 5, attendance 112

2’ 0-1

24’ 0-2

28’ 0-3

45’ + 1, 0-4

53’ 0-5

@ Woodside Park

Manor Road

New Thundersley

SS7 4PA

£6 Admission

Programme available, didn’t bother buying.

I came to a game here at Woodside Park back in July 2021, when I saw Benfleet play a friendly on the second pitch. At that time, the first team were ground sharing at Canvey Island, but they’ve since brought the main pitch up to Step 5 standard. It is now fully enclosed and obviously floodlit. Spectator access is limited to three sides, with the dugouts on the far side being the out of bounds area. The entrance side, which houses the clubhouse and changing rooms, has a seated kit stand, flanked by two covered standing areas.

The pitch here suffers horrendously from poor/no drainage, despite having a side to side slope that normally helps with such problems. This was their first home game they’ve managed to play here since December 28th and only the third going back to the third week of October. I’ve already had two failed attempts to get here already this season, both times where the games were postponed following pitch inspections that were being conducted too late to still have a chance of making it for kick off, even if they had been passed as ‘on’, due to having to battle M25 roadworks around Clacket Lane Services, let alone the usual Dartford Crossing shenanigans. Anyway, on such a dry sunny day, this looked a good bet to finally go ahead. The club had replied on Twitter that this was indeed the case, although I was told by a fellow ‘hopper at the game that the Referee only actually gave it the green light just before 7 o’clock!

The match was 16th versus 4th in the league table. Barking were very impressive and went ahead after just two minutes, shooting low through a crowd of players, following the award of an indirect free kick just outside the six yard box. Benfleet had a chance to level the scores after 20 minutes, but the penalty kick was well saved by the ‘keeper, then four minutes later Barking scored their second, heading in a left wing cross at the near post. Four minutes later it was 0-3, when a ball in from the right was swept in from 10 yards.

Any chance that Benfleet might have had of getting back into it disappeared minutes later, when a foul inside the centre circle resulted in a straight red card for one of their defenders. The Barking player on the receiving end lay motionless, clearly badly injured. An ambulance was called and the players and officials left the pitch. Meanwhile, a stretcher appeared and the player was loaded and removed, before the ambulance had arrived. After a quick warm up, following a break of just over half an hour, the match resumed and the final eleven minutes of the half were played to a conclusion, with Barking making it 0-4 in added time, heading in at the far post, from a corner on the left. A truncated halftime saw the second half back underway at 21.08 and eight minutes later Barking added their fifth goal of the night, tapping in a cross from the right at the near post. They then took their foot off the pedal, content that the points were safe and the nearest they came to grabbing a sixth goal was a shot that hit the post late on.

I was very pleased to finally get this ground ticked off and the completion of Steps 1 to 6 edges a little closer. Just Truro City (Step 2), Jersey Bulls (Step 5) and Darlington Town (Step 6) to go now. I’m unlikely to manage it this season now though, as I prefer to do floodlit grounds for midweek matches, so expect that number to increase by the start of next season.

France

Ligue 1

Sunday 2nd March 2025

Kick Off 15.00 On Time!

Olympique Lyonnais 2 Stade Brestois ‘29 1, attendance 47,804

15’ 0-1 (pen)

24’ 1-1

81’ 2-1

@ Groupama Stadium (Parc Olympique Lyonnais)

10 Avenue Simone Veil

69150 Decines – Charpieu

€25 Admission + €1 Booking Fee, Print at Home Ticket

No Programme.

As we were staying in Lyon, getting to today’s game should have been more straightforward than it was. With work taking place on the most direct public transport route (had an e-mail from the club informing me of this!) from the city out to the stadium, to the east of the city, it meant an alternate route was required, taking the metro Line D to Grand Blanche and then tram T5 to Eurexpo, from where free shuttle busses ran to the stadium.

The Groupama Stadium, named Parc Olympique Lyonnais prior to the sponsorship deal, is the third largest stadium in France and was opened in January 2016, with an all seated capacity of 59,186 and hosted games in that year’s European Championships as well as the 2018 U.E.F.A. Europa League Final. It replaced their former Stade de Gerland home, which is still in use for rugby union, which I had visited back in December 2013 (1-1 versus Toulouse att. 29,152 in Ligue 1) on a 3 match train trip from my then home in Brussels, taking in F.C. Nantes on the Tuesday and Stade Rennais on the Wednesday, before rounding things off here on the Thursday, followed by a ridiculously early train back to Brussels the following morning, meaning I was back at our apartment before 10.30am!

Olympique Lyonnais only won their first Ligue 1 title in 2002, which triggered a remarkable run of seven consecutive titles, but they’ve yet to add to that since. They’ve also won the Coupe de France five times and have twice reached the semi-finals of the U.E.F.A. Champions League. Qualification for European football is a regular occurrence these days and they came into this sitting sixth in the league table, whilst Stade Brestois were three places below them, struggling to match their feat of last season, in which they qualified for the Champions League, but having made the play off round following the league stage, found themselves paired with fellow French side Paris Saint-Germain, who hammered them 10-0 on aggregate!

Brest got off to a perfect start today, scoring with a V.A.R. awarded penalty after fifteen minutes, although it only took Lyon nine minutes to draw level, when a through ball was dinked over the ‘keeper from the corner of the six yard box by Alexandre Lacazette (ex Arsenal). Brest thought they’d edged back in front in the final minute of the first half, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Both sides went for the win in the second half and following a build up of pressure, it finally went the way of the hosts with nine minutes left, when Lacazette scored his second goal of the game, touching in a cross from the right at the near post that found the far corner of the net. Unlike yesterday, where Nice appeared to have no supporters whatsoever at Saint-Etienne, at least there were 70 away supporters following Brest today, although they probably hadn’t travelled all the way from Normandy, some 430 miles to the west.

After the game, the organisation in queuing for the shuttle busses back to the tram connection was superbly run, and even better, our bus back to Eurexpo dropped us off with a wait of under five minutes for the next tram to depart (only three an hour according to the timetable) back towards the city.

France

Ligue 1

Saturday 1st March 2025

Kick Off 17.00 On Time!

Association Sportive Saint-Etienne 1 Olympique Gymnaste Club Nice 3, attendance 30,070

10’ 0-1

32’ 1-1

50’ 1-2

70’ 1-3

@ Stade Geoffroy-Guichard

14 Rue Paul et Pierre Guichard

42000 Saint-Etienne

€33 Admission + €1 Booking Fee, Print at Home Ticket.

No Programme.

A late decision, with flights and hotel not booked until Thursday evening, saw us on the 0820 EasyJet flight yesterday morning from London Gatwick to Lyon-Saint Exupery Airport, in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alps region of France, for a short break based in the city of Lyon. For today’s game it was a 55 minute train ride south-west from Lyon to Saint-Etienne Chateaucreux station, which cost €27.60 return, with a 25 minute walk to the stadium from there.

Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, named after the founder of the Casino retail group, who purchased the land it occupies, was built in 1930, opening the following year, undergoing a number of renovations over the intervening years and now has an all seated capacity of 41,965. It has hosted games in the European Championships (1984 and 2016) and World Cup (1998), as well as games in the 2024 Summer Olympics football tournament and 2023 Rugby Union World Cup.

Saint-Etienne have won 10 Ligue 1 titles and are six times Coupe de France winners, but their glory days were back in the 1960’s and 1970’s, a period that also saw them reach the 1976 European Cup Final, where they lost to Bayern Munchen. They are struggling to avoid relegation this season, coming into this third bottom in the league table, one above the automatic drop zone, whilst today’s visitors Nice are very much in the running for a Champions League place, sitting third in the table, just three points adrift of second placed Olympique Marseille, but both well adrift of leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

Nice were ahead after just ten minutes, when a cross from the right was met with a first time shot, that was initially saved by the ‘keeper, but followed in with a header that went in off the underside of the crossbar. The goal was greeted by near silence. The visitors section of the stadium was completely empty and there was no evidence of them having any support in the home areas either. Saint-Etienne equalised just after the half hour mark, when the ball was worked in from the right, before being pulled back across the six yard box and easily finished from eight yards out. The home fans were absolutely superb, creating one of the best atmospheres I’ve witnessed anywhere, even after going behind so early and their backing for the team was relentless, despite them not having too much to cheer, as Nice looked far more dangerous and were producing the better goal scoring chances. Nice were back in front five minutes into the second half, when a corner from the right was touched in at the near post. Twenty minutes from the end they added a third goal, when a ball across the 18 yard box was finished first time into the bottom corner and they also hit the crossbar late on following a quick breakaway, as they cruised to an easy win, with the hosts never really looking like getting back into it. Even worse for them, Le Havre won tonight, which saw them climb out of the bottom two, leaving Saint-Etienne in their place.

After the game it was an easy walk back to the station, in plenty of time to catch the 20.03 train back to Lyon.

Belgium

West Vlaanderen Provincial 2B

Sunday 23rd February 2025

Kick Off 15.00 Actual 15.04

S.V. Moorslede 0 S.K. Nieuwkerke 1, attendance 109

67’ 0-1

@ Grimmertinge

Iepersestraat 52

8890 Moorslede

€6 Admission

No Programme.

Getting home from Wales at 02.50 this morning wasn’t the greatest preparation for an early start for a day trip to Belgium today. With prices on Eurotunnel coming out at around £250, we were travelling by ferry instead, opting for the 0815 P&O crossing from Dover to Calais, coming up at the much more reasonable price of £68, with crossing time around an hour longer than on the train.

The ground here has a 3G pitch, with spectator access on three sides only, with the far goal end from the clubhouse being out of bounds. As well as cover on the halfway line, there is also a four step covered area in the corner behind the near goal end, positioned in such a way that it doubles up for use on pitch 2 too, which runs parallel.

Today’s match was 13th versus 14th (out of 16). It was end to end, with plenty of chances created, but surprisingly remained goalless at halftime. The best chances early in the second half saw Moorslede have a shot that clipped the crossbar and Nieuwkerke saw a downward header flicked onto the crossbar by the home ‘keeper, before the visitors nicked the winner midway through the half, finishing into the bottom corner after a ball was played back across the six yard box. Moorslede lost any chance of getting back into it when they had a man sent off with nine minutes left, following a second yellow card.

It was only 65 miles back to Calais, where we were booked on the 2010 crossing, but were pleased to be given a place on the earlier boat instead, being the last car to be loaded, meaning arriving back home at a much more reasonable time of 21.30, which was about an hour earlier than expected.