Thursday 5th May 2016 19.45
Midland League Premier
Alvechurch 2 Bardon Hill 1 HT: 0-0 Att: 71 Ent: £5 Prog: £1 Coffee: £0.50
Bellis 59, nadat 90+2 : Culver 63
from Lye Meadow
Tag: Midland league
Highgate United
Tuesday 12th April 2016 19.45
Midland League Premier
Highgate United 1 Rocester 2 HT: 0-1 Att: 56 Ent: £6 Prog: £1.50 Coffee: £1
Brown 85 : Brockley 41, Shaw 58
from The Coppice
Continue reading “Highgate United”
Heather St Johns
Monday (BHM) 28th March 2016 15.00
Midland League One
Heather St John’s 2 Hinckley AFC 3 HT: 1-1 Att: 197 Ent: £5 Prog: £1.50 Coffee £1
Nesbitt 20, 89 : Seal 41, Paddick 61, Agar 84
from St Johns Park
Heather in Leicestershire is pronounced Hee-ther not Heth-uh.
Pilkington XXX
Tuesday 22nd March 2016 19.45
Midland League One
Pilkington XXX 3 Hinckley AFC 2 HT: 2-0 Att: 58 Ent: £4 Prog: £1 Coffee £0.50
D Douse 24, Behan 34, Stirzaker 52 : Agar 79, Williams 79
from Triplex Sports Association Ground
Coventry Copsewood
Tuesday 20th March 2018 19.45
Midland League One
Coventry Copsewood 1 Littleton 4 HT: 0-3 Att: 20 Ent: £5 Prog £1 Coffee £1
Atkins 87 : Bunn 13, Hylton 20, 50, Carter 43
from Allard Way
This was the first of three new grounds in eight days, with all home teams beginning with the letters Co. New grounds are hard to come by these days; the commodity becoming scarcer each season, but occasionally you get these clusters. It’s a bit like prime number pairs becoming increasingly uncommon the higher you count; but you will keep encountering prime pairs along the way, nonetheless. Continue reading “Coventry Copsewood”
Bromsgrove Sporting
Saturday 16th January 2016 3pm
Midland League Division One (step six)
Bromsgrove Sporting 3 Leicester Road 0 ht: 2-0 att: 412 Ent: £6 Prog £1.50 Coffee £1
Hewitt 3, 35 Brain 79
from Victoria Ground
Bromsgrove Sporting play at Bromsgrove Rovers’ old ground, the Victoria Ground. I knew that Rovers had played at a higher level in the pyramid but hadn’t realised they were such a non league giant, playing conference football and finishing as runners-up in 1992-93, behind Wycombe Wanderers. The Victoria Ground is of a size concomitant to its previous owner’s stature in the pyramid – it is a grand old stadium, dating back to 1910. Continue reading “Bromsgrove Sporting”
Coleshill Town
Thursday 23rd April 2015 19.45
Midland League Premier
Coleshill Town 2 Walsall Wood 1 HT: 1-1 Att: 93 Ent: £5 Prog £1.50 Coffee £1
Milligan 29, Cutting 58 : Corey 20
from Pack Meadow
Bolehall Swifts
Monday 3rd November 2014 7.45pm
Walsall Senior Cup from Rene Road
Bolehall Swifts (ML Div 1) 6 Continental Star (ML Prem) 2 ht: 3-0 att: 30
Goals approx mins: Sturridge-Parker 2, 35, 44, Boal 58, 88, Lapworth 70; Green 48, O’connor 80
from Rene Road
I was really up for a new ground this week, but it was slim pickings, as it generally is now, with only a handful of new grounds left for me under 50 miles. Bolehall was the only sensible option, as my fifth nearest uncharted ground. It was a Monday night game and, worryingly, a Walsall Senior Cup game. I’m not normally a fan of minor cups but my desire for a new venue overcame my fear of lacklustre squad football, perhaps going to extra time.
Driving down the A51 from Stone after work, I was really living the dream. Or more likely, I thought, heading at 60mph towards a monumental naked lunch moment, in Tamworth. Where I would be bathed in lucidity in the town centre, suddenly realising that I had driven for over an hour to see a Walsall Cup tie between two teams who I had no connection with whatsoever.
As it was, it was a brilliant night; my decision fully vindicated. If I was insane I was blissfully unaware of it, and still am. An amazing pint of The Hoard by Backyard Brewhouse was had beforehand in the Bole Bridge Wetherspoons in Tamworth town centre, before the short hop to the East of Tamworth and Rene Road, in the region of Bolehall.
Bolehall Swifts were founded in 1953 and their Rene Road ground was purchased from a local farmer in 1959 for £350 (The club initially played behind the Jolly Sailor pub, using an old double decker bus as changing rooms). The new Rene Road ground was opened in August 1961 with a friendly against Tamworth WMC. A seated stand known as the “Welcome to Bolehall Swifts Stand” was built behind one goal, with the “Founded 1953 stand” on one side of the pitch.
An odd feature of the ground and sure sign of the ground’s heritage is the stand to the side of the pitch, which were formerly pig pens. As unusual stands go this takes some beating.
Despite its unique lineage the pig pens don’t make the most practical football stand.
Talking of pigs Tamworth is famous for its porcine escapees of 1998. Butch and Sundance escaped from a lorry in Wiltshire and went on the run for a week.
Despite my reservations regarding the competition it was a great game with Bolehall runnning out 6-2 winners.
Leicester Road
Saturday 8th April 2017 3.00pm
Midlands League Division One
Leicester Road 11 Southam United 0 ht: 5-0 att: 60 hc Entrance £5 Programme £1.50 Coffee £1
Stenson 7,12,25,38 (pen), Holt 43, Bennett 68, McGlinchey 72,79,80, Sandhu 82,83
from Leicester Road Stadium
This game set a few personal records. It was my first home double figures ever – my previous best was 8, seen several times. It was also the second highest goals in one game I’d seen. Second to Johnstown Youth 0 Llanwchyllin 13, last season. I did choose Leicester Road as a venue mostly for the fact that a cricket score was likely. Southam United have had a retched season, conceding 176 goals before today and within the last week losing 0-10 at home to Leicester Road’s championship and proximity rivals AFC Hinckley.
Loughborough University
Tuesday 1st December 2015 7.45pm
Evostik Division One South
Loughborough University 2 Heanor Town 2 ht: 1-1 att: 114
Ent: £FREE Prog £FREE Coffee £1
Webb 45, 82 : Debrouwer 39, 90
from Loughborough University Stadium (pictures here)
After three grounds at the higher end of the pyramid it was nice to sink back under the comfort blanket of step five and the highest placed university team in the whole of non league. Mind you, for a step five club they have a new ground that would be the envy of any in the pyramid. A few years ago a brand new facility was built for the University with a large 300 seater stand and smart seven step terrace spanning the other three sides. Continue reading “Loughborough University”
The Groundhog 