Game 7

Barton Town Old Boys V Pontefract Collieries
FA Vase round 1
Euronics ground Marsh lane
22/10/11
att:80

Despite suffering the worst bout of man flu I decided that as I had a Saturday off and there were 7 non league games alone within an hour and a half travel, it had to be a football day.  In the end I decided to work out which game was closest and thus I ended up on the south side of the humber at Barton. It was a gorgeous sunny day and pretty warm out of the shade.  Entrance to the Euronics ground was a very reasonable £5 and a programme only a further £1.

The Ground at Barton is a small one but probably one of the tidiest and best kept ive seen. You enter the ground at the bottom right of the pitch.  Behind the goal nearest to you is a wall with a small grass area.  As you follow the ground there is a small seated stand that covers about half the touch-line.  Behind the other goal are 2 small terrace type stands either side of the goal.  As you come back to the near side you come to the clubhouse with the usual bar and kitchen.  On the side of the clubhouse is a banner advertising the Barton branch of the Hull City supporters club.  Hull City are at home today on the otherside of the bridge and I fear (rightly) this will keep todays crowd down.

The game itself was pretty awful and the vast majority of us were praying quite early on that it didn't go to extra-time.  Pontefract had slightly the better of the 1st half however the 2nd saw Barton hit the woodwork a couple of times.  In the end Barton ran out 1-0 winners in what was possibly the worst game ive been to in a very long time.

Very Sad

On the 6/10/11 I was dropping the missus off at work in Scarborough, on the way home decided to take a quick look at the old McCain stadium.  What I saw was sad, very sad.

Rumour was a local builder was able to ready the stadium for league football for a lot less than it would cost for the proposed new stadium at weaponess ( not anymore obviously).  Many fans believe the new stadium will never happen and its all talk.  I have my doubts and honestly don't see Scarborough coming home for some time.

Game 6

Pickering Town V Scarborough Athletic
Northern Counties East League premier Division
Mill Lane Recreation Ground
4/10/11
Att: 564

On the way to the ground

The last time I went to see Scarborough away was back in the late 90's in league 2 (old division 4) at Peterborough's London Road ground.  A friend of mine was a big Scarborough fan and it was his brother who introduced me to the reincarnated Scarborough Athletic 2 years ago.  At the time they where playing in the NCEL 1 and their home games played at Queensgate stadium home of Bridlington Town fc. Only about 75 Boro fans turned up at Peterborough, however over 400 made the short trip tonight to Pickering.  For myself it is a 28 mile journey and the satnav puts us right outside the ground.  I decide to park down a side street as I am expecting a large away following in the club car park.  Entrance is a bargain £5 for adults and the matchday programme a very reasonable £1.30.



The walk to the ground

Upon entering the ground the first thing you notice is one of the craziest slopes I have ever seen on a Football pitch.  The turnstiles bring you out behind the goal which is half terraced stand and half clubhouse.  Along the side there is a small seated stand in the middle with small standing areas either side.  Behind the other goal is a small seated stand in the middle.  The far side has a 6ft fence running the length of the pitch, on the other side is the cricket pitch.

clubhouse to the left

The clubhouse had a large bar area including club shop/pool table.  To the back there is another function room with a kitchen.  I have to say for food Pickering was the best value I have seen up to now on my travels.  £1 for a burger or hotdog represented really good value.  There were also sausage rolls, pork pies and bacon butties available.  After having a bite to eat we decide to take position at the far corner of the ground as the teams take to the field.


slope and clubhouse

 As the 2 sides take to the field it becomes obvious exactly how heavily the away fans out number the home fans.  Pickering's largest crowd of the season so far has been beaten by over 400.  The 1st half gets underway and Scarborough dominate the possession with Pickering looking quite dangerous on the counter attack.  On 20 minutes Scarborough were awarded a free kick 30 yards out.  Ryan Blott scored direct from the free  kick firing low and hard to the keepers right.  The 1st half finished with Scarborough 1-0 up.

The second half began in the same fashion as the 1st with Scarborough continuing to dominate.  On 67 minutes Curtis Bernard scored a great 2nd goal which even this early on put the game beyond Pickering.  The 80th minute saw Ryan Blott score his second of the game and Billy Law added a fourth in the 90th to leave the score 4-0 to the away side.

Matchday programme



Having been to several Scarborough games in the last few years, my faith in Football has been restored.  The club is run by fans who give up time in their lives to ensure the people of Scarborough have a team to follow and who knows maybe one day they will finally get "back to the Boro".

Game 5

Game 5
Goole AFC V Shepshed Dynamo
Evo-stick-Division 1 South
Victoria Pleasure Ground
17/09/11
Att: 118

After 2 weeks away on holiday I was desperate to get to a game this weekend.  Up to the point when I left the door I still had 2 options within 45mins travelling distance. The other option was Pickering Town V Staveley Miners Welfare in the FA cup 1st qualifying round.  The trip to Goole won out on the basis that it was 1 mile less.  So the missus and I took the 31mile trip up the A614 to Victoria Pleasure Ground.  Apart from the many tractors the journey was pretty uneventful and the satnav dropped me off right outside the turnstiles.  The £7 entry seemed reasonable enough and we were met by the usual Golden goal and raffle ticket sellers.  The Matchday programme was a reasonable £1.50 and was more readable article then adverts (for a change).

The turnstiles,club shop and Tea hut

On entering the ground you are faced with quite a large stand down the left which also has 200 seats.  This stand also houses the changing rooms.  I decide to walk round to the far side to get photos all round. As you walk past the large stand you come across some small uncovered bits of terrace.  As you get round to the far side you can see the cranes of the port behind the main stand.  On reaching the far side you are met with a small covered terraced stand with one small bench to the rear.  There is an athletics track round the pitch and no stands behind either goal (just a white wall).

The main stand

Having walked the perimeter it is time to go to the Tea hut.  Having read the blog "wheres the tea hut" I was a little anxious of what was going to be offered up.  I have to say it was slightly worse than I expected despite the early optimism when I saw Bacon butties were on offer only to be told they'd run out of bacon.  We both went for the Hot Dog, which upon receipt resembled a warm puppy ( sorry).  At £2 each I cant say it was good value at all and while I am more than happy to give money to clubs at this level I want a little bit of value.  A can of Coke and a packet of crisps brought the total to £5.60 and it was served by a guy who looked like he'd stuck his hand in a cement mixer and then continued to serve after wrapping it in toilet roll.  After spending £4.20 at Selby for Pie and peas a Cheeseburger and a can of Coke I feel that this particular Tea hut is very overpriced for the quality offered.

We decided to sit on the bench at the back of the far side terrace for the 1st half with sun shining and black clouds hovering at the same time.  I have to confess that until reading the matchday programme I didn't even know where Shepshed was in the country. It turns out they are from Leicestershire and have a small following of Black and White striped shirted fans.  They hang up their flags in the main stand and ready themselves for action.  The teams come out to Eye of the Tiger and the teams are ready for battle (literally).  The Shephed (or shitshed as Lisa later christens them) fans are quite a noisy bunch and to begin with its quite amusing.  Their repertoire consists of a lot of songs from other clubs just putting Shepshed in place of the other teams name.

The banners are out and then move at half-time for
reasons we cant figure out.

The reason I love ground hopping is because you come to a game as a neutral not worrying about the result and you get to see a new ground.  I have to say that I couldn't stay neutral in this game and it was the Shepshed supporters who pushed me to willing Goole to win and heavily.  I believe that Shepshed were on the receiving end of a somewhat controversial decision for Gooles opening goal.  The referee gave a drop ball decision whilst Shepshed were in possession.  The drop ball was not contested by Shepshed as they expected Goole to give the ball back.  They didn't and striker Aaron Martin was put through on goal and he put the home side 1-0 up on 36 minutes.  This lead to a mass brawl between both sets of players and the referee being accused of bias and his parentage being called into question.  Iam no prude and Lisa has heard much worse but their behaviour just got worse.  The swearing continued at the ref and linesmen and no cards were shown so the away fans cries of the ref being a cheat were a bit out of order as half the team should've gone before half-time.  So much for the Respect campaign.

The game underway.

Another thing I love about non league football is the fact that fans can change ends at half-time with their team.  For reasons I will never fathom the Shepshed fans changed SIDES at half-time. As we didn't want to sit and listen to their bile and nonsense we also swapped to the opposite side.  The start to the 2nd half was delayed slightly as there was a problem with one of the goal nets. Cue more abuse from the away fans ( by the way it wasn't the lighthearted stuff I have been used to at this level).  One woman even shouted that Goole should be fined.  What an idiot.  This is grass roots football not the Champions league and quite frankly Shepshed were awful.  Bad referee or not this team will be lucky to stay up at the end of the season and their current position in the table is warranted from what I saw today.  The fans blaming the referee is shocking including todays game Shepshed have conceded 19 goals in the league ( 8 games ) is this all down to the refs? On the evidence I saw the answer is no and their number 5 ( Simon Hore ) should've seen red in the second half for 3 awful tackles. 

Adding fuel to the Shepshed fire the next 2 goals for Goole came from free kicks (both were definite free kicks) one was a 35yarder that the keeper was slow to respond to.  A late goal for Shepshed was a mere consolation and while I am not sure Goole deserved to win 3-1, Shepshed did deserve to lose by that score (huh?)  The game was very entertaining and certainly was value for money and from a neutral point of view the referee was quite lenient and could have sent several players off.  Shepshed were poor by any standard and their fans blew apart my romantic idea of non league football.  Calling for another club to be fined? Whats that about? How much should a Club whose matchday revenue probably hits the grand heights of £1k be fined for a minor goal net problem? Absolute rubbish, this level of football is about small community teams who give pleasure to the 100 or so fans who turn out weekly.  Shepshed fans for me now are up there with Man United fans, I didn't like the way they acted or tried to confront the referee and Iam glad to see the backs of them.  Rant over, where to next?

Matchday Magazine

Game 4

Game 4

Selby Town V Liversedge

FA Cup extra preliminary round

Rigid group stadium

att: 107

A sunny day in Selby and the magic of the FA cup what more could a guy ask for?  Even the missus decided to tag along for this one after a morning at work.  The satnav drops me off right outside the entrance to the ground and ample parking is available.  £5 each to get in and a programme for £1.50 (sold at a seperate turnstile to the one you go in) will prove to be great value at full time.  To add to my excitement my new camera arrived at 12:50 (just in time for this hop). 

Matchday programme

On entering the ground looking to the right there is a stand running the width of the pitch. The stand is mostly wooden with Selby Town FC spelt out across the back.  A large net spans the roof to ensure the local conservatories are left in one piece.

Opposite the entrance on the far side are the players dressing rooms housed in a large white brick building and the dugouts are also situated here.  As you follow the pitch round to the next goal there is a small terraced stand with a banner that reads Selby town, Barmy army ( I can only presume these were on holiday).

Selby Towns Barmy army at kick off

Then on the near side to the left of the entrance is the clubhouse in which we go in search of some food.  On entering the clubhouse to the left is a small kitchen serving chip butties and steak pie and peas.  One of each came to £3.60 which wasn't bad at all and no I didn't eat both. All the staff up to this point were very friendly. We went back outside in anticipation of my first taste of cup action this season.

Liversedge pile on the pressure 1st half

The game kicked off and within 5 minutes it was clear the away team would have the better of the day.  Selby clearly were lacking in confidence having conceded 11 goals in their opening 2 Ncel games.  Liversedge made all the early chances and left the home side resorting to hoofing the ball up field.  Liversedge took the lead through a Dave Boardman headed goal and this failed to rally the home side.  The next goal came courtesy of his strike partner Alex Hallam a fierce drive from the right across the face of Jody Barford in the Selby goal.  Still nothing in terms of urgency from the home team.  Not long before half time the away side were awarded a penalty which was coolly dispatched by Hallam to put them 3-0 up. Game over?

Alex Hallam makes it 3-0 from the spot

The second half started and suddenly Selby realised they were here to play a game of football.  Unfortunately they were hit on the break and Chris Hawney scored a 4th for the away side.  Liversedge well and truly took their foot off the gas and the home side had all the possession without really making any impact on the game.  The home side eventually managed a consolation goal and hit the cross bar late on with a free kick.  With limited quality going forward Selby really struggled to make an impact on the game. 1-4 final score, at £1 a goal which as I said was good value.  Getting out the ground was easy enough and Liverpool won at Arsenal so all in all a good day.  Where to next?

Game 3

Game 3
North Ferriby United V Chorley
Evostik League premier division
13/8/2011
The Rapid Solicitors stadium
Att 293

With the Humber bridge in sight I pull up just about as close as you can get to the ground.  North Ferriby is a small village on the outskirts of Hull. For this game dad has decided to come along and I think his expectations for the quality of Football might be a little high. £9 entrance fee and a programme for £2 represent good value.  The staff on the gates an inside the ground are all very friendly and make everyone feel welcome.  We go left in to the ground heading to the clubhouse, on entering you come across a small club shop which I couldn't resist a new addition to the scarf collection ( £7.50).  After a quick drink I am anxious to get out and have a look around.  On the opposite side of the ground is a small stand running the length of the touchline. At either end the stand has terraced areas with seats in the middle.  The main train line in to Hull is at the back of this stand.

Just as the game is about to kick off a large number of Chorley fans exit the clubhouse making the crowd look about 50/50.  Their number includes one guy who enjoys singing indecipherable songs at high decibles (no one joins in) and another with a megaphone.  Didnt expect to see Italian style "ultras" in the evostick and I wasnt surprised, as apart from the odd mumbled Rugby reference it was a pretty sad effort.  The young kids in Man U shirts behind the other goal made more noise talking among themselves.

Clubhouse and dressing rooms

Half time saw Chorley leading 1-0 and probably should have been more despite Ferriby missing an early sitter, Chorley had the better of the game.  The second half was more of the same and saw Chorley extend their lead through a dubious penalty. I say it was dubious because thats how the home fans around me saw it.  The second goal woke the home team up and saw them have their best period of the game.  Another dubious penalty saw the home team get a consolation goal and finish with a 2-1 defeat in their season opener.  Dad as expected wasnt overly impressed with the quality of the Football.  Not sure he gets the whole pyramid system. The drive home is full of opening day match reports on Talksport, love it the Football season is back.

Game 2

Game 2
26/7/2011
Winterton Rangers V Grimsby Town
Pre Season Friendly
Att 400+ approx.

Having spent the day in Hull celebrating the nephews 10th birthday I managed to talk the missus in to making a trip to a game.  With a choice of 3 games in easy travelling distance I settled on a trip across the Humber to Winterton.  The club website mentioned barbecued burgers would be available and this helped the choice.  To my surprise the future in-laws decided they would like to tag along ( i think with the intention of mocking my new hobby).  Wintertons ground (West street) sits right next to the school and I imagine parking is usually straight forward however there was a large number of away fans making the short journey.  £5 entry again I thought was excellent value especially as Grimsby were playing League football last season.  Upon entering the ground you are immediately stood in front of a very smart clubhouse (used for weddings and other functions also).  There are small stands on both sides of the ground, to the left a small covered and seated stand. The right side has a small terraced stand. A 12 page programme was available for a £1 and at least gave me the opportunity to work out who was who.  The burger was superb by the way.

As the game kicked off we decided to make our way to the far end ( the one Grimsby would be attacking)  as I expected more action would take place here.  Before we had reached the half way line Grimsby had hit Winterton on the break an opened the scoring.  After a lot of pressure from the away side Winterton hit Grimsby on the break and the chipped finish wouldn't have looked out of place in the Premier league.  With about 5 minutes to go Serge Makofo picked up the ball on the left hand goal line and seemed to take on the entire Winterton defence before putting Grimsby 2-1 up. 

Clubhouse

The second half saw the usual pre season deluge of substitutions which ensured  no flow to the game.  Grimsby scored a late third from a corner and as their fans heavily out numbered the home crowd the majority went home happy with a 3-1 scoreline.  The in laws had to admit to enjoying the evening and said they would curb the mocking as long as I didn't get an anorak and a note pad ( iam promising nothing).

The 1st official hop.

Game 1
Tadcaster Albion V Wakefield FC
Pre season Friendly
Att: 60 + 1 dog (head + tail count).

Having previously visited stadiums such as Anfield, the Nou camp and Celtic park I decided to start my life as an official ground hopper at 2inspire park (home of Tadcaster Albion). A nice sunny evening on the outskirts of York also brought the attention of a large number of flying insects. The Satnav decided that the middle of Tadcaster would do and after 10 minutes of driving around in circles I began to fear I would miss the 7.30 kick off.  However having read a blog earlier on in the day I headed through the John smith brewery site and found the ground in the corner well hidden.  Parking was straight forward as the excitement of the visit of Wakefield seemed to be limited to well just me. £5 for entrance was very reasonable however no programme was available as has been mentioned by other bloggers the the staff around the place werent overly cheery.  I take a right where you come across the clubhouse which is almost like a big executive box which some fans dont leave for the duration. Behind the goal to my left were two small seated stands one of which looked to be a temporary one used for the recent game with York City. I wasn't sure food would be available so I visited a famous american fast food chain on my way to the ground however burgers were available in the clubhouse.  As you would expect from a ground nestled in the corner of the John Smiths brewery site the local tipple was available. 

Clubhouse/executive box?

The game got underway 15 minutes late with a first half that saw one Wakefield player carried off with a suspected broken foot and an open goal miss from a Tadcaster striker.  0-0 at half time not the start I had imagined to my ground hopping adventure.  The second half was more of the same only this time it was one of Tadcasters players to be carried off.  I was able to spend a few minutes chatting to the young Wakefield player who had been carried off.  It was during this conversation that I learned the entire wage budget for Wakefield was £750 a week ( anyone know a premier league player who would get out of bed for that?).  A late goal for Tadcaster gave the Ncel side a 1-0 win, not quite the outcome I imagined on the drive here but the hopping has begun.