Stroud & District League

Division 1

Saturday 20th December 2025

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 13.59

Stroud United 1 Minchinhampton 4, attendance 49

30’ 1-0

45’ + 2, 1-1

55’ 1-2 (pen)

80’ 1-3

85’ 1-4

@ Stratford Court Playing Fields

Stratford Road

Beeches Green

Stroud

GL5 4AQ

No Admission or Programme.

Pre-Christmas shenanigans in Stroud should have seen me at Gloucestershire Northern Senior League Division 2 club Painswick, but by ten o’clock that was showing on F.A. Full Time as postponed. The only other club I hadn’t visited in that league, Winchcombe Town, were also at home this afternoon, but they play on a 3G cage with no spectator area. With it being a nice sunny morning, with plenty of blue sky, it seemed a waste to settle for an artificial pitch, so I looked for a local game on grass, but with enough time to get to Winchcombe if need be. I opted for Stroud United, one step lower and to my surprise, the only club in the top division of the Stroud & District League I’d yet to see a game at, although it’s not that difficult with only seven of the twelve teams being non-reserves.

I arrived at Stratford Court Playing Fields just after one o’clock and was pleased to see the corner flags in and the goal nets being put up. There’s no car parking here, but it’s free to park across the road at Stratford Park, as long as you don’t exceed the 12 hour time limit! It’s a basic venue. There’s a wooden changing room/clubhouse building, serving a variety of canned alcohol and soft drinks, which has a covered overhang, but not needed today. The pitch runs widthways in front of here, roped from one corner to the halfway line.

The match was 11th (out of 12) versus 4th and attracted a far bigger crowd than I was expecting, with almost half appearing to be with the visitors. Just to add spice to the fixture, the Minchinhampton manager was making a return to his former club, as were a number of his players. It was real end to end stuff, with both teams going at it with 100% commitment and a great advert for this level of football. Stroud took the lead after half an hour, when a diagonal ball in from the left was chested down and finished from the edge of the box and although the ‘keeper got a hand to it, he couldn’t keep it out. Minchinhampton levelled two minutes into stoppage time, when a throw in was laid off in the corner of the 18 yard box for a curled shot into the far corner.

The visitors had a headed goal disallowed for a foul nine minutes into the second half, before going in front a minute later from the penalty spot. The home No.5 was scuffing up the penalty spot, whilst a number of his team mates surrounded the referee arguing the decision, but it made no difference, with the penalty emphatically fired into the corner. Minchinhampton totally dominated from here, but didn’t get the all important third goal until ten minutes from the end, heading in a corner at the far post and five minutes later they added a fourth, when a header back towards the ‘keeper fell short and was lobbed in from just inside the box.

The win sees Minchinhampton move up to second in the league table, two points adrift of leaders Abbeymead Rovers and a point ahead of Tuffley Rovers Reserves and Old Richians, who both have games in hand on the top two.

So, that’s it until after Christmas. The home linesman certainly got into the festive spirit, dressed in full Santa outfit, just minus the white beard.

Essex Olympian League

Division 2

Saturday 13th December 2025

Kick Off 14.00 On Time!

Rawreth Lane 2 Galleywood 2, attendance 15

7’ 1-0

61’ 1-1 (pen)

75’ 1-2

85’ 2-2

@ Ford Sports & Social Club (Basildon), North Pitches

Gardiners Close

Basildon

SS14 3AN

No Admission or Programme.

With this being my 4,000th ground I’ve seen a game on in England, I wanted to avoid doing a 3G cage if at all possible and was pleased to see a text message to the home club being replied to with the news that the game was going ahead okay. I’d read somewhere recently that the Ford Sports & Social Club in Basildon was/is closed and under threat of housing development. That is partly true. As you turn off Gardiners Lane South, into Gardiners Close, the social club is on your left, where there are also two pitches. This is the bit that is now fenced off and inaccessible, whilst on the other side of the road are another four or five pitches, where there’s a good sized car park and separate brick built changing room building, which backs on to a bowling green. Today’s game was on the middle of three pitches at the far end of the complex (Basildon Post Office Ground is the other side of the hedge) and was roped off on all four sides.

The match was 2nd versus 9th (out of 11) and was in the balance right up to the final whistle. Rawreth Lane took a seventh minute lead, when a corner was only partially cleared and played back into the box where it was met with a glancing header that went in off the post. Galleywood’s best chance of the first half saw the ‘keeper tip the ball onto the crossbar as he backpedaled as a looping shot went over his head. The visitors drew level with a penalty just after the hour mark and edged in front with fifteen minutes left with a long range effort. With five minutes left the hosts grabbed a deserved equaliser, when a long throw in was headed clear of the box, but returned with a first time shot into the bottom corner.

My trip to Essex was hindered by a problem at the M25/M26 intersection, which meant diverting cross country from J6, meaning it took 1 hour 10 minutes to drive the 32 miles to Dartford Crossing. No problems on the return and back home for 16.30.

National League U19 Alliance

League Cup 3rd Round

Wednesday10th December 2025

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.03

Enfield Town U19 1 Folkestone Invicta U19 2, attendance 7

12’ 1-0

34’ 1-1

86’ 1-2

@ Enfield Playing Fields, 3G Pitch

Donkey Lane

Enfield

EN1 3PL

No Admission or Programme.

F.A. Full Time was (still is) showing this game as being played at Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, which hosts Enfield Town’s first team games, which I’d visited in 2011. Although the players used the changing rooms there, the game was actually on the 3G pitch on Enfield Playing Fields, about 300 yards away, on the right hand side when heading south from the M25 at J25, running parallel with the A10. It’s a standard cage set up, with spectator access along three quarters of one side.

An easy tap in saw Enfield break the deadlock after twelve minutes, with Folkestone levelling the scores eleven minutes before halftime, with a low shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. Folkestone had the better chances in the second half, hitting the crossbar and having another effort cleared off the line, before grabbing a late winner, avoiding a possible penalty shoot out, when a cross from the left was side footed in at the far post.

I ignored the quick route on the M25, going via Dartford Crossing, by opting to go westbound instead, which was only eight minutes longer, but avoided the toll. Came back the same way, which took 40 minutes longer, not helped by enforced 40 mph and 50 mph speed limits all the way from J25 to J10.

League 2

Tuesday 9th December 2025

Kick Off 19.45 On Time!

Bromley 3 Crawley Town 1, attendance 3,554

9’ 0-1

43’ 1-1

49’ 2-1

69’ 3-1

@ Copperjax Community Stadium

Hayes Lane

Bromley

BR2 9EG

£27 Admission (£2 increase on day of match)

£5 Programme available, didn’t bother buying.

I’d been to see Bromley here at Hayes Lane (pre sponsor names) twice before. First up was for a 1-1 draw versus Slough Town in an Isthmian League Premier Division match in April 1995 (att. 514) with a re-visit on New Years Day 2010 when they lost 0-1 to Welling United in a National League South match (att. 1,093). Since then they’ve gained promotion into the Football League and tonight was a perfect opportunity to see them as part of ‘The 92’.

The ground has certainly developed over the intervening years and now has a capacity of over 6,000 following the opening of a new full length covered terrace opposite their main seated stand. The visitors are accommodated in the end section of the new terrace and a small covered section behind the adjoining goal end, with 558 making the relatively short journey up from West Sussex. I opted to stand on the new structure, which gave a decent view, but has yet to be fully kitted out behind the scenes, so temporary/portable refreshment huts and toilets are currently in use. I did have some food here, which although very tasty, was an absolutely eye watering price, especially when you’ve already paid £27 to get in. It’s certainly not cheap to attend games in the bottom division of the league these days. There’s no car parking available here, so at least that’s not another expense incurred, but there’s ample free parking in the surrounding roads anyway. I arrived about 18.30 and parked just two minutes walk away, on Hayes Lane itself.

The match was 4th versus 19th (out of 24) in the league table, with Bromley unbeaten in their last twelve home games coming into this, with eight of those being wins and they’re the only team in the division yet to lose a home game this season, so it was a bit of a surprise when Crawley went ahead after nine minutes, when a diagonal ball in from the left was met with a diving header from Ryan Loft that sent the ball low into the far corner of the net. The equaliser for Bromley came two minutes before halftime, when a corner from the right was headed in from a couple of yards by Omar Sowunmi. Four minutes into the second half Bromley edged in front, when a shot from just outside the box by Idris Odutayo took a deflection on its way into the corner. They made it 3-1 with twenty one minutes left, when Crawley lost possession when trying to play out from the back and the ball was squared across the six yard box for top scorer Michael Cheek to roll the ball into the empty net. Crawley never looked like getting back into it from here and Bromley easily held on to take a vital three points in their promotion push.

Unlike the outward journey, which took just over an hour to cover the 18 mile journey, cross country via some very rural lanes, considering it is inside the M25, the drive home was much quieter and I was back home for 22.30. It leaves me with Everton’s brand new Hill Dickinson Stadium and Newport County and Salford City, both as re-visits, to tidy up the 92 now.

Mid Sussex League

Division 2 North

Saturday 6th December 2025

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.01

Ansty 1 Old Oxted Town 2, attendance 17

13’ 1-0

15’ 1-1

38’ 1-2

@ St. Paul’s Catholic College, 3G Pitch

Jane Murray Way

Abbotsford

Burgess Hill

RH15 8GA

No Admission or Programme.

It was a day when the option of going a game on grass was very risky. I’d intended heading for East Anglia, with my preferred game being at Mutford & Wrentham, but with the pitch inspection not taking place until 11.00, it would be too late for me to then get there for the 13.30 kick off. News came through about 11.10 that it was going ahead, but by then I’d resigned myself to staying more local and played it safe with the 3G option.

Ansty play at St. Paul’s Catholic College, on the north-west edge of Burgess Hill. It’s a cage set up, with no designated spectator area, but no problem watching from inside the fence, with all spectators and both ‘benches’ using just the near side. Rather annoyingly, there were a couple of overhead wires, which hold the dividing curtains for the small sized pitches, which the ball hit at least half a dozen times during the game. There are no other facilities here, although toilets may have been available inside the changing room building, which was on the far side of some concrete tennis courts that backed onto the cage.

The match was 9th (out of 11) versus 1st, with Old Oxted Town leading second in the table Wakehams Green by five points, as well as having a game in hand, having won eight of their nine games played so far. Ansty had just one win and one draw from their seven games played, with the reverse fixture having been won 1-0 by Old Oxted, when they met at the start of last month.

It was a tight game today too. Old Oxted had an early chance cleared off the line, after a fumble by the home ‘keeper, but it was Ansty who opened the scoring after thirteen minutes, breaking quickly from defence before finishing with an angled shot into the far corner. Within two minutes, a close range finish saw the visitors draw level, which was the 25,000th goal that’s been scored at matches I’ve attended. Seven minutes before halftime they edged in front, when a corner from the left was headed back across the six yard box and met with another header from six yards that gave the ‘keeper no chance. They just couldn’t find the killer third goal and had Ansty not hit the post early in the second half, as well as having a goal ruled out for a foul on the ‘keeper from an in swinging corner, then we might have had a different outcome, but it would have been harsh on the visitors, as they were the better team for the majority of the match.

Apart from a couple of very brief (1-2 minutes) spells when it threatened to rain, it remained dry for a change. It did go gloomy towards the end of the game, with the floodlights coming on as we entered the last 15 minutes and with everyone having stayed out on the pitch at halftime, we were done and dusted for 15.43. Just three more grounds required in this league now, with one of those shared by a team from the West Sussex League.

Brighton, Worthing & District League

Saturday 29th November 2025

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.02

St. Marys 4 Boys Brigade Old Boys 4, attendance 13

11’ 0-1 (pen)

21’ 1-1

45’ + 1, 1-2 (pen)

47’ 1-3

67’ 2-3 (pen)

81’ 2-4

87’ 3-4

90’ 4-4

@ Durrington Recreation Ground

Cuckfield Crescent/Rogate Road

Salvington

BN13 2ED

No Admission or Programme.

Last Saturday I failed in my attempt to see a St. Marys home game, having turned up at Pond Lane Recreation Ground, which is their home venue according to the F.A. Fulltime website, but it was totally deserted, so I headed elsewhere and a result subsequently appeared later that evening. I’d noticed on the BBOB Instagram page yesterday that this game was listed as being played at Durrington Recreation Ground (still down as Pond Lane Recreation Ground on Full Time) and I managed to confirm this with the very helpful away team manager around noon and that the game was definitely going ahead, following yet another Friday evening of heavy rain.

The ground here at Durrington Recreation Ground is very basic. The only access is on foot, via a pathway off either Rogate Road or Cuckfield Crescent. I opted for the latter, where you enter next to the brick built changing rooms. The pitch runs lengthways away from here, with a second pitch at the far end, which runs the opposite way. I was told by a home official that St. Marys play all their home games here, as do table toppers T.M.G. who Full Time also wrongly show as using Pond Lane.

The match was 8th versus 6th (out of 9) in a league that must be living on borrowed time and will surely be absorbed into the Mid Sussex League before too much longer. It had become noticeably drier as I headed down the A24 and blue sky started appearing once I was south of Horsham. There were plenty of games off in Sussex today, but the pitch here was fine, apart from a puddle in the near goalmouth, scooped away using a bucket as the nets were being put up. The Referee only arrived about fifteen minutes before kick off, so no time to carry out any type of inspection, but thankfully no problems.

Neither team could be questioned for their efforts and despite not being the highest of quality, it was certainly entertaining. An early penalty put the visitors ahead and despite losing their captain to injury after nineteen minutes, St. Marys drew level a couple of minutes later. They then found themselves playing with ten men for the last ten minutes of the half, when one of their players went off injured (he obviously wasn’t ‘really’ injured though, as he took over as linesman for the second half) and he wasn’t replaced until the start of the second half. Very odd, especially as they went behind to a second penalty in stoppage time while still a man short.

Two minutes into the second half BBOB made it 1-3, with a low angled shot into the far corner, but wasted numerous chances to kill the game off. Another penalty saw the hosts pull it back to 2-3 with twenty three minutes left and ten minutes later they had a goal ruled out for offside. Nine minutes from the end the visitors added a fourth, finishing one on one after beating the offside trap and the three points looked safe. A chance out of nothing was fired high into the roof of the net as St.Marys made it 3-4 with three minutes left, before a ball over the top was smashed past the ‘keeper, hitting the inside angle of post and bar on it’s way in, to make it 4-4 right on ninety minutes and the full time whistle went immediately after the game restarted.

So, that’s the Brighton, Worthing & District League wrapped up for this season. By my reckoning, there’s just six more required (could be 7 depending on who/if anyone uses a grass pitch at Eastbourne Sports Park where I’ve already done the 3G pitch) to complete the Sussex pyramid now.

Brighton, Worthing & District League

Saturday 22nd November 2025

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 13.58

Lancing Athletic 6 Rottingdean Village 0, attendance 8

10’ 1-0

15’ 2-0

32’ 3-0

54’ 4-0

58’ 5-0

83’ 6-0

@ The Sir Robert Woodard Academy, 3G Pitch

Upper Boundstone Lane

Sompting

BN15 9QZ

No Admission or Programme.

What seems like an endless task, in my attempt to see a game on all the first team venues in the Sussex football pyramid, once more led me to the south coast. This wasn’t my intended game today. I’d turned up at Pond Lane Recreation Ground, in Durrington, the home of St. Marys, the only other ground I needed in the same league, only to find the pitch freshly marked out, but the place totally deserted (the Referee at my second game said he’d heard the home team have been struggling for players recently). It meant a five mile drive east for my backup game, where third in the league table Lancing Athletic were hosting bottom of the table Rottingdean Village, former members of the Sussex County/Southern Combination League’s.

The ground here at The Sir Robert Woodard Academy is just a 3G caged pitch, which despite having no designated spectator area, there was no problem watching from inside the fence, with quite a bit of room between here and the touchline. Lancing had the wind at their backs for the first half and made the most of it, racing into a 2-0 lead in the first quarter of an hour, the opener coming after a corner wasn’t cleared from the box and the second a long punt forward that saw the bounce totally misjudged by the ‘keeper and it cleared his fingertips as he stretched desperately to atone for his error. The third goal was curled into the far corner just after the half hour mark and it remained 3-0 at halftime.

The rain arrived right on the halftime whistle, so it was a surprise that both teams stayed out on the pitch, but at least it meant we were back underway by 14.50. Rottingdean only had the bare eleven players at kick off, with one substitute arriving late in the first half and a second one after we’d played an hour, by which time it was 5-0 to the hosts, with a long range shot followed in after a fumble by the ‘keeper making it four and a deflected effort adding to the tally just minutes later. Rottingdean had a man sent off with fifteen minutes left, picking up a second yellow card, before another deflection saw Lancing make it 6-0 with seven minutes left.

The rain got worse as the game wore on and it was pretty gloomy by the end of the match, where despite there being floodlights, they remained unused. Plenty of spray and standing water on the journey back up the M23/A23. Luckily for me, the last remaining ground I’ve yet to visit in this league, also hosts the matches of second in the league table T.M.G. so I’ll look to do them at home, rather than trust St. Marys again, especially as a result of 0-3 has now appeared on F.A. Fulltime for today’s game! It was obviously played elsewhere.

Taunton & District League

Rowbarton Charity Cup 2nd Round

Monday 17th November 2025

Kick Off 19.30 Actual 19.33

Dulverton Town 3 Bridgwater Sports 5, attendance 34

5’ 1-0

16’ 2-0

32’ 2-1

40’ 3-1

42’ 3-2

43’ 3-3

90’ + 1, 3-4 (pen)

90’ + 3, 3-5

@ Bridgwater & Taunton College Sports Zone, 3G Pitch

College Way

off Bath Road

Bridgwater

TA6 4PZ

No Admission or Programme.

The Taunton & District League is an odd one as far as my ground hopping visits go, as I’ve only ever done games for midweek cup matches. The reason for this is that a lot of their cups are staged on neutral 3G venues. I’d done three such venues previously…Bridgwater College Academy (3.10.18), Richard Huish College (4.10.23) and 1610 Castle Sports Centre (15.12.23) and they’ve now added Bridgwater & Taunton College into the mix. The ground is next to that of Western League club Bridgwater United, running end on. It’s a typical cage set up, but has spectator access along the entrance side, where there’s also a pair of wooden dugouts, as well as behind each goal, stretching from the near corner to the far edge of the 18 yard box, whilst the far side backs onto the railway line and is out of bounds.

The match was 3rd in Division 2 versus 2nd in Division 1. It was Dulverton that got off to the better start, going ahead with a shot into the bottom corner after five minutes, before doubling their lead eleven minutes later, with a shot that went in via the post. Just after the half hour mark Bridgwater Sports had a goal ruled out for offside, but did pull one back a minute later, hooking in at the far post following a corner on the right. Five minutes before halftime Dulverton restored their two goal lead, heading in a diagonal cross at the far post. Two minutes later it was 3-2, when Bridgwater netted the rebound from a penalty that was saved and within a minute they were level, when a cross from the right was smashed past the ‘keeper from just inside the box. The all action first half certainly didn’t match the second. There was hardly a decent chance created by either side and it looked all set to be heading for a penalty shoot out, when a minute into stoppage time Bridgwater were awarded a penalty, for a trip on the edge of the box. It was duly scored and a couple of minutes later they broke down the right and crossed into the box, where the ball was controlled and hit low into the bottom corner with what was the last kick of the match.

It was a trouble free journey down to Somerset, via M3 and A303 and the only roadworks encountered were on the M25 coming home, between J10 and J9, where there were lane closures.

Kent County League

Division 2 West

Saturday 15th November 2025

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 13.59

The Charcoal 3 Rotherhithe 2, attendance 26

41’ 1-0

42’ 1-1

48’ 2-1

86’ 2-2

90’ + 4, 3-2

@ The Oaks

Starbuck Close

off Green Lane

New Eltham

London

SE9 2TD

No Admission or Programme.

I chose this game, as I had an easily reachable back up game on 3G, although I’d confirmed with the home club manager that the game was going ahead as scheduled, so not really needed. The Oaks has three pitches, all of which staged games this afternoon. Behind the clubhouse, to the right of the car park, is a railed pitch that was formerly home to Eltham Town. My game was on a pitch to the left, running parallel to the car park. It’s fully railed, with a small area of cover (The Lenny Piper Stand) on the near side, where hard standing ran from here to the near corner. A pair of dugouts are on the far side, backing onto a pitch running lengthways away from here, which was hosting a veterans match.

Today’s game was 2nd versus 8th (out of 11) in the league table, with The Charcoal unbeaten in their opening seven matches (5W 2D), having been promoted from the Bromley & South London League, having finished second to Old Roan in the Premier Division of that league last season, whilst Rotherhithe came up from the same division, despite only having finished in fourth place.

It was an excellent game, on a pitch that looked none the worse for the rain we’ve suffered in the last couple of days. It was end to end right from the off and it was a bit of a surprise that it took until four minutes before halftime for the opening goal to arrive, which went the way of the hosts, finishing left footed into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. Within a minute the visitors levelled the scores, when a long ball over the top was touched past the on rushing ‘keeper and finished from a tight angle, low into the far corner, just eluding a defender on the line who couldn’t keep it out. Three minutes into the second half The Charcoal went back in front, cutting in from the right and beating the ‘keeper at his near post. Rotherhithe replied with a 25 yarder that smacked against the post, followed seconds later by another effort from the same player, this time hitting the crossbar, with the ‘keeper getting nowhere near either of them. With four minutes left Rotherhithe grabbed a deserved equaliser, following in from close range, after a fumble by the ‘keeper. It looked like ending in a draw, but four minutes into stoppage time The Charcoal broke down the right and crossed to the far post for an easy tap in to take all three points.

A lot of leagues struggle for match officials these days, but no problem here. There were three appointments for this, which I believe is the norm in this league, despite it only being Step 9 on the football pyramid. Thankfully, there was nothing worse than a very brief threat of rain during the second half, which soon petered out, but it was pretty gloomy when the game finished at 15.45.

Belgium

Brabant Provincial 1 A.C.F.F.

Sunday 9th November 2025

Kick Off 15.00 Actual 15.03

F.C. Moreda Uccle 0 R. Racing Club Etterbeek 7, attendance 57

30’ 0-1

48’ 0-2

50’ 0-3

56’ 0-4

70’ 0-5 (pen)

73’ 0-6

84’ 0-7

@ Complexe Sportif André Deridder

Rue des Griottes 26

1180 Uccle

€8 Admission

No Programme.

It was an 04.30 alarm this morning, heading down to Dover to get the 08.15 P&O ferry across to Calais. We had been expecting the new finger print checks to now be underway at Border Control, but it is delayed still further, at least as far as car passengers go, so we could have had an extra half hour in bed….oh well. The boat left on schedule, leaving ample time to make the 130 mile drive to Uccle, just south west of Brussels.

The ground here is pretty basic. It’s a caged 3G pitch with spectator access along one side, with a pair of dugouts opposite. There’s a small bit of cover, consisting of three steps of concrete, with the back two rows having wooden planks for seating. The clubhouse is to the right as you enter the complex and actually did have bar snacks too, rather than just crisps that are more the norm. The changing rooms were in the basement of this building.

The match was 15th (out of 16) versus 3rd in the league table. It was a pretty uneventful first half, which Etterbeek dominated, but were caught offside at least half a dozen times, breaking down the majority of their chances. They’d had a ninth minute effort chalked off for offside, but did make the breakthrough on the half hour mark, when a diagonal free kick from the right was met with a stooping header at the near post. Within five minutes of the second half starting, they’d increased their lead to 0-3 and with the points safe, it was a case of just how many more they’d score. It turned out to be another four, one of which was a penalty. They also hit a post too, but they’d declared at 0-7, when the final goal of the game arrived with six minutes left, finishing a through ball with a dink over the ‘keeper from the edge of the box.

We had plenty of time to kill after the game, so went for a meal in Gistel on our way back to Calais. Our 22.25 ferry left four minutes early, arriving back in Dover around eleven o’clock, with a ten minute wait to then disembark. I was dropped off in Barming, to collect my car and was home for 00.30, exactly twenty hours after my alarm had gone off this morning.