Diary of a newfound groundhopper

Montpelier Villa 2 Angmering Village 0, Southern Combination Football League Division Two, Saturday 31 st August 2019 I’ve never been able to resist an invitation. Okay, so I may only very rarely get invited out these days… but that’s not the point. On the rare occasions that I do receive an offer to go somewhere – anywhere – I tend to do my utmost to attend. So, when in mid-July, I received a message on Twitter from Montpelier Villa manager – and regular opponent in my Sunday League playing days – Simon Whitney, inviting me to attend Villa’s match with Angmering Village on 31 st August as they were holding a special ‘Club Day’, I was only too happy to accept. Unfortunately, this would mean missing a game in the opening round of the FA Vase, but I wasn’t really too bothered. As mentioned in one of my blog posts last season , Montpelier Villa are one of the few clubs in Sussex with which I have something of a tenuous connection. Not only do I know quite a few of their first-tea...

Newhaven Town 1 Eastbourne Town 1, Southern Combination Football League Premier Division, Monday 26 th August 2019 Truth be told, I hadn’t expected to get to a game this Bank Holiday Weekend. A few months ago, my wife and I booked family tickets for the Victorious Festival in Portsmouth, which took place this weekend.   With the festival scheduled to finish on Sunday night, the initial plan had been to pack up and head home on Monday morning, meaning I had pretty much written off any chance of attending a match. Then, around Friday lunchtime, I  suddenly remembered something. I absolutely loath camping. Hate it. Not only that – I’m rubbish at it. The fact is whenever I camp something always goes wrong. Every. Single. Time! However, this year’s effort surpassed all previous attempts. Having arrived at the campsite late Friday morning, it swiftly transpired that wifey and I had, somehow, combined to forget to pack the tent (which, of course, is man-speak ...

Peacehaven and Telscombe 3 Langney Wanderers 3, Southern Combination Football League Premier Division, Tuesday 20 th August 2019 One of my biggest bugbears when attending live football matches are ‘supporters’ (and I use that term loosely) who leave the game early to ‘avoid the traffic’. It’s something that I used to see all the time when I took my Brighton-supporting eldest to the Amex Stadium on a fairly regular basis a few years ago. One game that particularly sticks in mind was a match against Leicester. The visitors were leading 1-0 with about five minutes left when a Leicester player was sent off. Suddenly, and somewhat inexplicably, a plethora of people sitting around us stood up and started shuffling unapologetically towards the exits, obviously eager to get a march on those foolish enough to actually stay around until the end of the game. I just don’t get it. Never have done. Never will do. There was still plenty of time for late drama, but these ‘fans’ clearl...

Bournemouth 1 Amesbury Town 0, Wessex Premier League, Saturday 17 th August 2019 A weekend away with the family means time to chill, reconnect and spend some much-needed quality family time together. But, more importantly than all that, it gives me the opportunity to attend a game at a ground I wouldn’t usually be able to get to on a ‘typical’ Saturday. With the family in tow, of course. I’m not an ogre! We’re in the New Forest this weekend, at the in-law’s holiday home. It’s the place that gave birth to my groundhopping career just over a year ago, when I snuck off to watch a football match rather than spend another night… erm… indulging in that quality family time I mentioned earlier. Upon arriving at our destination on Thursday, I’m not ashamed to admit that the first thing I did was check my Groundhopper App to see what games were being played within a 50km radius. My heart soared. Not only were there a plethora of options on offer on the Saturday, but there was als...

Leatherhead 2 Haringey Borough 3, BetVictor Isthmian Premier League, Tuesday 13 th August 2019 Having crossed the Sussex border to go and watch a match in Surrey only once during my entire maiden groundhopping campaign ( and even then,barely ), just over a week into my second non-league watching season I find myself heading up the M23 for my third visit to the county in seven days. In truth, there were a plethora of games for me to choose from, with a full Isthmian League schedule and a smattering of FA Cup replays being played throughout my regular hunting (hopping?) grounds of Sussex, Kent and, increasingly, Surrey. However, it was the match between Leatherhead and Haringey Borough in the newly (controversially) named BetVictor Isthmian Premier League (formerly the Bostik Premier League), which I ultimately settled upon. Leatherhead’s Fetcham Grove was a ground that I’d planned to visit last season, but never quite got round to doing so. With my Saturday morning co...