Diary of a newfound groundhopper

Littlehampton Town 2 Storrington FC 2, SCFL Division One, Saturday 26 th January 2019 Following two weeks of being unable to make my mind up regarding my Saturday match choice, things were back to normal this week. By Wednesday evening – with the assistance of my friend Mark, with whom I had previously attended the Worthing and East Preston matches this season – we had decided that the Littlehampton Sports Field would be the venue for my latest for my latest jaunt. The SCFL Division One between Littlehampton Town and Storrington being the match we had plumped for. Now, this was not due to be my only game this week. I had also been planning a midweek trip to Eastbourne for the Sussex Senior Cup match between Eastbourne Town and Brighton and Hove Albion. Unfortunately, my hopes of an extra game were dashed as one of the teams were unable to raise a side. Albeit, not the one you may think. In a rather bizarre development, Albion – who are said to have more than 50 ...

Billingshurst 2 Alfold 3, SCFL Division One, Saturday 19 th January 2019 I've become indecisive. I'm not sure how it happened, when it happened or why it's happened, but happened it most certainly has. I've simply lost the ability to make up my mind. Or have I? No, I have. Definitely. I think. Prior to the festive period then you could pretty much guarantee I'd know what weekend game I'd be going to by Wednesday at the latest (unless I was waiting for the outcome of a Twitter poll). Not anymore. This week, for the second consecutive Saturday, I woke up not knowing where I would be attending a match that afternoon. It’s not like I’m no longer studying the fixtures during the week. I am. It’s also not like I’m running out of different grounds to visit either. I’m not. There are still plenty of grounds local (or fairly local) to me that I could to visit. Yet I just can’t decide where to go. At various intervals this week there were t...

Three Bridges 1 VCD Athletic 2, Bostik League South East Division, Saturday 12 th January 2019 Having not been to a game for 12 days (my longest gap between matches so far this season) this Saturday’s round of matches couldn’t come round soon enough as far as I was concerned. I’d started pining for some much-needed non-league football action. After spending much of the week umming and ahing over where to resume my groundhopping travels, I eventually plumped for Three Bridges’ Jubilee Field for their Bostik League South East Division match against VCD Athletic. I had previously visited the ground once before… albeit not as a spectator. Or even as a player. In fact, Jubilee Field was the venue for the highlight of my coaching career to date. It was where I led my then Withdean Youth Under 14s to the final of the Mid Sussex Youth League’s Shield Competition. A final which we went on to win 1-0. Yes, I know coaching children is all about aiding their development rather...

Lewes 0 Burgess Hill 3, Bostik Premier League, Tuesday 1 st January 2019 I’m not a great believer in making New Year’s resolutions. I’m just no good at sticking them. Like, I'm sure, practically everybody else who makes them, ambitions that are entered into with the greatest of intentions at the start of January are already starting to waver by the end of the month before being completely forgotten about by February. They’re simply pointless.   I do, however, subscribe to the idea of starting the year as you mean to go on. Therefore, on the first day of 2019, there was no way that I wouldn’t be attending a football match somewhere. And following a quick scroll through the local fixtures I knew that there was only ever one place I would be heading this New Years’ Day – Lewes’s Dripping Pan for the Sussex derby between promotion-chasing Lewes and relegation-battling Burgess Hill in the Bostik Premier League.   Now at this point I should mention that this is...