Witton Albion (31-08-2013)

Witton Albion 1 - 0 King's Lynn (Evostik Premier Division, 31st August 2013)

Total: £23.80
Train ticket (Manchester to Northwich): £10.30
Entrance: £9.50
Programme: £2
Tea (x2): £2

Today brought my first King’s Lynn away of the season at Witton Albion, and (based on my records) my first King’s Lynn away in Step 3 since Kendal Town in 2009. It was just less than 4 years, but that felt like an age away now.  Witton play in Northwich in Cheshire, and I reached the town by two trains from Sheffield, changing at Stockport. The trains were surprisingly quiet; perhaps as this was the last weekend of school holidays, this was the calm before the storm.  It felt good to have a couple of grounds under my belt in August already, and I was pleased to be on my way to a King’s Lynn game so early.

Witton Albion are the less famous club in Northwich, and are often overshadowed by their neighbours Northwich Victoria. In recent years, the latter have built a new stadium, before falling into financial difficulties, and in fact currently play their home games at Stafford Rangers. Looking back at Mike Blackstone’s book The Brown Sauce is Off (on North-West non-league grounds), I note that in 2003-04, Northwich Victoria were ground-sharing at Witton’s Wincham Park (where I was today). I wanted to see the stadium that Northwich Vic had built, and what remained of it now they no longer played there. This is a groundhopper’s dream, as both grounds are located within a short walk from Northwich rail station (across Wade Brook), and are less than quarter of a mile apart. 

The Northwich Victoria ‘stadium’ has fallen into a decrepit state, and I can only assume that this is because it is slowly being demolished. The floodlights were clearly visible from some distance away, but the ground itself looked like a building site. Nothing remained of any of the buildings or any of the stands, and the terraces had been partially flattened. There were sections of the old perimeter wall, and it was just possible to make out the pitch. The only remnants of anything to do with Northwich Victoria were a couple of weathered plastic signs on the ‘Ground regulations’. This was a sad sight, and it made me feel for the fans of this beleaguered club. It was one thing to see a club go out of business, and quite another to see a stadium demolished.

It was therefore a great relief to find a neat ground at Wincham Park a short walk away. The only major quirk of this ground appears to be that you cannot access the social club before or during the game, so have to go there first. Hardly the worst problem in the world, and I was happy to have a tea instead of a beer before the match anyway.  The ground had three sides of partially-covered terracing (6 levels of narrow terracing on each side), and a stand on one side with 5 rows of seats. The set-up and colours reminded me vaguely of Hyde United’s Ewen Fields, though that was set in the middle of terraced housing rather than an industrial estate. The pitch looked in mint condition, and was almost bright green in the sunshine. The players were warming up on nearby pitches, which may explain why the ground was in such good condition. 

King’s Lynn started most brightly, dominating possession in midfield and looking most likely to score. Witton had some physical players, and we did struggle at times to contain them, but we still looked like our skill could tell. It was particularly pleasing to see the ball played on the floor rather than hoofed into the air. The clearest chances came when Dan Jacob was twice put clean through, but was foiled by the Witton keeper on both occasions. Witton had one or two opportunities towards the end of the half, perhaps a warning that they were still dangerous on the counter-attack.

As the second half wore on, the away side looked a bit tired, and like they had run out of ideas. For all the possession they had in midfield, there were few clear-cut shots at goal, and it looked like the Witton defence had us well-contained. The most notable chance came when Danny Gay tipped over a looping left-footed shot from the Witton midfield.

On came Shaun Tuck for the home side and judging by the cheers from the Witton fans, I wondered if he was some kind of local hero. A quick Google revealed he had been jailed for a series of anti-Muslim Tweets, and had recently been making the headlines for the wrong reasons in non-league circles. He was a quick and wiry striker, and on 87 minutes made the most of a loose ball to make it 1-0 to Witton.

This was disappointing as we had done well all afternoon, but had just lacked a cutting edge up front to convert the possession into goals. I cannot fault the players for effort, but there was a real lack of width, pace and physical presence up front. Too often we lacked the aerial power to make the most of set pieces, and Witton knew exactly what to expect from us. All in all, a solid performance from King’s Lynn, which nonetheless produced a disappointing result.  Wincham Park was a nice place to start my away season. Maybe I’ll be back here some day when Northwich Victoria return to the town?!

England (14-08-2013)

England 3 – 2 Scotland, International Friendly (14^th August 2013)

Coach travel: £34

Ticket: £32-50
Tea (£1, £2): £3
Taxi (Sheffield centre-home): £15 (approx)
Total: £84-50

Officially, this game perhaps shouldn’t make it onto this blog. I’ve been to Wembley Stadium a few times before, so this wasn’t a new ground, and of course purists may argue this isn’t really ground-hopping. However, I’ve decided to include it for posterity, and as it juxtaposes neatly with non-league games, in terms of cost, atmosphere and attendance.

I’d taken a few days off work before we flew off to sunnier climes for our holidays, and made the coach trip down to London on the National Express service. Setting off at just before 2pm, the coach arrived at about 5.30pm. I’ve used this service a couple of previous times, and have found it a convenient and inexpensive route to Wembley – at £34 for a return it represented good value for money. England had not played Scotland since 1999 in a Euro 2000 play-off when a Scholes double had won the game at Hampden, while a Hutchison strike at Wembley was not enough to stop England progressing. Back then, Scotland had only recently played in the World Cup, and on June 10^th 1998, had put on a plucky performance against Brazil, only to lose on an unfortunate own-goal. This was one of the games that first piqued my interest in football.

Wembley is a complete contrast to the grounds I usually visit, and maybe that’s why I like it. I love the atmosphere at England games there, and particularly enjoy how close you feel to the pitch. By all accounts, the old Wembley (which I never visited) had a pitch which was too far from the spectators. It’s definitely enjoyable to go to more major games like this, perhaps because it isn’t very often. Maybe that’s why many England fans also follow non-league teams – along with the lower costs of weekly matches, they have the enjoyment of going to a bigger game in a bigger stadium once in a while.

Although some England games can disappoint for atmosphere and results, this one was an entertaining and open game. Scotland opened the scoring early on to put the cat among the pigeons, with Joe Hart making a mistake with James Morrison’s long-range effort. I was intrigued by the Scottish tactics in the lead-up to the goal, when four players had stood within a yard of each other on the edge of the box in response to a corner. If it was meant to cause confusion as the players dispersed it certainly worked. England were behind for about 20 minutes, before Theo Walcott slid in a superb angled shot to make it 1-1. Walcott has come on leaps and bounds over the last couple of years, and is really delivering on the big-stage now.

We made it to half-time at parity, and then fell behind again when Kenny Miller took advantage of a poor defence to make it 2-1. Within 4 minutes, we were back on level terms again, this time Danny Welbeck heading in from a Gerrard free kick. Scotland were certainly giving us a game tonight! They were strong in midfield, and were doing everything to stop us getting the ball into their half, as well as making some neat passes of their own. Rooney went off on 67 minutes for Rickie Lambert, and made way for a comic-book finish to the game. With what must have been his first touch in international football, Lambert headed perfectly past the Scottish keeper on 70 minutes, putting us into the lead for the first time that evening. Quite a meteoric rise from a beetroot factory! Scotland bravely continued, but England’s superior quality finally told in the final quarter of the match, as we held on for the 3-2 win. This was a great game to start the new ‘international season’, and a good one to catch before our early-season break to Morocco.

Clipstone MW (10-08-2013)

Clipstone Miners Welfare 2 - 1 Hall Road Rangers (NCEL Division 1)

Total: £10.70
Entrance: £4
Programme: £1
Tea: 70p
Petrol (52 mile-round trip divided by 2): £5

After the unexpected off-the-pitch drama at last week's NWCL encounter at Atherton, I switched my attentions to the right side of the Pennines. Clipstone sits just East of Mansfield, not far from Rainworth MW. This would take over 3 hours by public transport from our house in Sheffield, so I opted for the car to travel the 26 miles, which worked out at about 40 minutes each way. Clipstone are relative newcomers to the NCEL - this is their second season in the league so I was keen to see the ground. Hall Road Rangers - in contrast - were near-veterans of the league, though I hadn't yet managed to visit their ground in Hull.

As we entered the ground, I managed to confuse the man at the turnstile (more a shed with a hatch to be honest!). I asked for two adult entrances, and a programme. It caused a great commotion when I handed over a £10 note for the £9! Perhaps they were used to the normal patrons giving exact change? On a serious note, I know it must be a hard job to man a turnstile every week; there is a lot of voluntary behind-the-scenes work that goes on which is often taken for granted (even by groundhoppers like myself).

The game started in bright sunshine, and was played at a good pace. There was variation to the play from both sides, with ball played side to side on the floor, in the air, and dribbled through the middle. Clipstone looked stronger, and took the lead when their number 7 hit a fantastic left-foot shot into the top corner. They were certainly holding their own against the 'veterans' from Hull.

As I looked round the sparsely populated ground at half time, I spotted a kid with a Liverpool shirt on - with 'Saurez' on the back. This was either a new player with remarkable similarities to the Uruguayan, or an unfortunate spelling mistake. I also noticed a suited man who had a black clipboard with a white football pitch marked out on it - I cast envious glances in direction throughout the second half!

The second half started a little more slowly, but again Clipstone looked strong and capable. They doubled their lead when their number 8 rolled the ball in off the post with a neat shot. More chances were spurned, and as one shot flew wide of the post and where we were sitting, I put out a strong hand to save Mrs Groundhopper from a painful injury. Its a nice idea to see yourself as a potential goalkeeper from the safety of the sidelines when the ball comes towards you! Hall Road Rangers still showed a lot of fight and made it 2-1 with a converted penalty at the far end, setting up a slightly nervous finish. In reality the home side never looked flustered or bothered, and were good value for their 2-1 win on the opening day of the season. So now I'd been to season openers in the NWCL and the NCEL on consecutive weekends - two entertaining matches, with plenty of off-field diversions. And, driving back from Clipstone, we made it back home by 6pm - in the light, and in time for tea!

Atherton Collieries (03-08-2013)

Atherton Collieries 4 - 2 Irlam (NWCL) 3rd August 2013

Train ticket from Manchester: £4.10
Entrance: £5
Programme £1
Teas (x2): £2
Raffle: £1
i Newspaper: 30p
Total: £13.40

So finally the competitive season had begun, and I'd opted for Atherton (which sits just west of Manchester, near to Leigh and Wigan) to kick it off. This was the home of two NWCL teams - Atherton Collieries and Atherton Laburnum Rovers - who apparently shared a fierce rivalry, and it was not far from what used to be Leigh RMI (or Leigh Genesis). Atherton Collieries was also the ground where the immortal phrase - 'the brown sauce is off' - was coined, forming the title for Mike Blackstone's seminal book on North-West grounds in the 2003-04 season. So this felt like a good place to start the season!

Atherton is fairly accessible by rail, and the station is a convenient distance from both grounds. I was just about able to get a snap of the empty Atherton LR ground before looping back round towards the Collieries ground. On the way to the ground I passed a locksmith training centre, a sofa hypermarket, and a shop window with two lizards sitting on a branch - this was certainly beyond my expectations of what might be in the town! The ground itself was pretty much what I expected, with an uncovered walkway behind both goals, and a smattering of seats on either side. There can only have been a score of spectators as I entered the turnstiles, though the number did increase as we approached kick off.

The match was entertaining, rough and aggressive, and probably typical of this league. On 8 minutes, a back pass from Atherton's number 8 fell short, and Irlam's Iniesta lookalike rounded the keeper and slotted home to give the home side the lead. The game continued at a fast pace, with plenty of 'over-zealous' tackles flying in. Atherton equalised on 36 minutes, when an excellent free-kick by their number 11 flew into the net.

Shortly after, Irlam's wiry number 10 reacted badly to a late tackle, putting his studs down the player's leg - I wouldn't call it a stamp, but it was uncalled for. An Atherton 'fan' made his views known about the offending Irlam player, using what is best described as industrial language. At this point, the player's father shouted angrily from the back of the stand, but the 'fan' took no notice, and continued his tirade against anything and everyone. As the game continued, both stood next to each other muttering all sorts of unrepeatables, before the Atherton 'fan' decided it would be a good idea to attack the player's father (apparently for having the gaul to defend his son). They stood grappling with each other for a couple of minutes, and it took several calls before they separated. I'd not seen this kind of behaviour at such low-key games like this before! There was still a game going on here - Atherton's number 6 made it 2-1 with a well-taken penalty.

The second half was as frenetic as the first Atherton were really testing the Irlam defence now, with number 11 hitting a stinging short just wide, and number 10 hitting the post. They made it 3-1 on 67 minutes with a headed goal before Irlam's number 5 gave the away side hope at 3-2. Atherton then scored a second penalty, this time taken by number 7, to reassert their 2-goal cushion. Shortly after, Atherton's number 7 was taken down inside the box to give penalty number 3 to the home side! This time it resulted in a red card. Maybe the home striker was feeling sorry for poor Irlam, as he hit the ball straight down the middle only to see it bounce off the keeper's toes. Unbelievably, I then heard a distinct call from the sidelines of 'keep your discipline to the end'. This had been an exciting and competitive match, but it was certainly not a disciplined one. Maybe the new season had filled both teams with enthusiasm to tackle anything which moved, and to maybe be 'better late than never'.

About this blog

The purpose of this blog is to record and document my experiences in ground-hopping across the UK, and occasionally beyond. This is purely recreational, and for entertainment purposes only, though it will hopefully serve as a permanent archive of my exploits when I'm unable to blog, travel or afford ground hopping any more.

A bit about me. I grew up in East Anglia, and fell for the nonleague game when watching Kings Lynn in the then Dr Martens league in 98-99. I became a regular at home games, and the occasional away, until I went to Liverpool for my degree in 2004. Then my ground hopping really took off, as I aimed to visit all teams on Merseyside - Marine, Prescot, Formby, Warrington et al. For a variety of reasons (family, work and study) I now live in Sheffield, and juggle my football matches between Kings Lynn away games, Liverpool matches, England internationals and non-league groundhops (which form the bulk of this blog). Although I started ground hopping in 2004 (at an inaugural conference north game between Harrogate and Runcorn Linnets), I have only recently started to blog, roughly halfway through the 2012-13 season. I'm hoping that 2013-14 will be my first full season as a ground hopper blogger. Each blog will describe a visit to a ground, a match report and my personal experiences of the day. Enough of the preamble - enjoy the blog!