Groundhopping24

In the last few months of fixtures I've attended, I've had three instances of floodlight failure delaying a fixture, having seen not a single one in the hundreds of fixtures attended in my 26 years.

When it comes to cup finals, you don't really expect one to take place in the arse end of Hemel Hempstead, situated in a ground that essentially doubles up as a car park. Then again, who wants the expected? In light of pandemic related disruption, a whole host of non-league clubs have effectively had their seasons cut short once again. The stress of starting two unfinished seasons loomed large for so many unfortunate clubs, eleven of whom decided to take matters into their own hands. Those in the Spartans South Midlands League opted to start a cup competition: the Gladwish SSML Spring Cup 2021. A group of six and a group of five contested the first round, with two winners from each group progressing to the semis. From there, things are pretty self-explanatory. Aylesbury Vale Dynamos were well beaten by London Lions 4-0, whereas Colney Heath saw off Shefford Town & Campton 2-0 to reach the final. The SSML Gladwish SSML Spring Cup may not have been top of anyone's list at the...

They say you always remember your first game. But they never say you always remember your first game back after the second or third wave of a pandemic. Nonetheless, that’s also very true, especially if it’s a ten goal thriller. The first game back after last time feels like a lifetime ago, but it was only September 2020 when I’d made that beautiful first step back into a stadium - a 4-2 win for hosts Cockfosters over Stanway Rovers in the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round. Before my trip to North London, I’d had to wait six months for another live game, following a 3-1 defeat for my beloved (and hapless) Stevenage in Crewe that I’d learned to appreciate more than I could have imagined at the time. It was to be the last time seeing friends for half a year. Fast forward to that night in Cockfosters, and it seems as if all is back to normal. Seventeen games later, I find myself at another game that feels like a swansong of sorts; Biggleswade United v Harpenden Town. A month of lockdown in No...

It's 11 August 2020. Stevenage are in limbo, stateless, leagueless. The nether zone between League Football and Non-League Football. Anxiously hanging around the departure zone, having picked up a few bargains from duty free (and loaned them out later on), Stevenage were going nowhere. Quite literally. The less said about the 2019-20 season, the better, so I won't say anything more about it, bar the fact some kind of divine intervention meant that Stevenage would be travelling to Bolton rather than Kings Lynn for the 2020-21 season. It seemed genuinely miraculous that a side with only three wins would end up staying in the league. The term 'sh*thousery' springs to mind. But to the detriment of Macclesfield Town, Stevenage remained  a Football League side a decade on from that promotion, and surely  wouldn't take their status for granted now. Despite a rocky 2020 portion of the season with only three wins recorded, Stevenage managed to stay up. The turn of the year g...

Despite planning to attend East Fife v BSC Glasgow in the Scottish Cup on Saturday, I decided to stay local due to an ongoing battle with an overdraft. I decided in my usual arbitrary manner, examining the nearby fixtures on Groundhopper and essentially selecting one at random. This week it would be a trip to Kilmarnock to watch Bonnyton Thistle host Newton Stewart. The day would start off well, with me having slipped at Glasgow Central on the way to get some lunch. Thankfully a grazed knee wouldn't stop me. Then as I headed back to the station, a climate march on the other side of the street made their presence known. Hecklers on my side were intent on shouting and swearing at those who dare stand up for something. I wanted to express solidarity with the marchers, but shyness stopped me from doing so. I walked past one of the chip shops en route to the station and the words 'Pick A Side' were screaming at me from the menu. It obviously meant something simple, but it se...

After last week's football-less horror show, I decided to return to the Indodrill Stadium; usual home of Alloa Athletic, but also hosts to Lowland League side BSC Glasgow. I'm sure I'm not alone in finding it odd that BSC Glasgow play their home games some 52km from Glasgow (well, 52km from where I live in Govanhill - thanks Groundhopper!). Nonetheless, they do, and Saturday's clash against Civil Service Strollers of Edinburgh allowed me the chance to return to the second Scottish football ground that I'd been to. Of the 37 grounds this side of the border that I've been to, it remains my absolute favourite. Don't get me wrong; some other grounds run it pretty close. In fact, I'll give a shout out to Civil Service Strollers, who themselves play at Christie Gillies Park. It's essentially a park in Muirhouse with bags of character. There's James McGrory Park in the East End of Glasgow - home of St Rochs. The ground boasts some poignant graffiti th...

By happy coincidence, I’ve discovered that you can’t actually spell Lincolnshire without ‘nil-nil’. This is, however, only a minor comfort when watching back the agonizing miss of Newcastle loanee Kelland Watts, who had the goal at his mercy. It's hard to watch. But if I had to, then so do you (see 1:21). Add to that the realization that you can’t spell Lincolnshire without ‘one-nil’ either and it’s frustrating. Well, frustrating for weird people like me that actually care about that kind of nonsense. My base of operations for this particular weekend is Stevenage, having made the wise (albeit unwitting) decision to book the weekend of the Scottish Cup Semis off work and head home. Given that I work near Hampden Park, this was a masterstroke. I’ll probably be working during the Old Firm final, but we’ll worry about that later. Matchday begins as it means to go on; a trip to Biggleswade to watch the Rugby World Cup Final. Naturally I miss the train by seconds. A compr...