Liverpool 1 - 1 Chelsea (Premier League), Saturday 9 May 2026
A decent first 20 minutes by a lively Liverpool followed by a drab and directionless performance. No urgency or ideas to score, even as the clock ticked down - this lethargy from some players is the reason for the boos at the end. Something is wrong with this side, perhaps a lack of identity and purpose. This may well be our last game at Anfield for some time and it was a disappointing note to end on in the bright Spring sunshine.
SJR Worksop 2 - 1 Harworth Colliery (Central Midlands Premier North), Friday 24 April 2026
A decent match at a ground I have driven past many times (and within a 5 minute walk of Worksop Town's ground). A strange Spring evening started in hot sunshine and ended in chilly conditions as the sun set (thank god they kept the light on at Asda as the glow from that helped a bit!).
SJR Worksop turned this one around against a tough Harworth Colls. The strangeness of the evening continued as half the spectators and cars leaving ended up locked in!
Leeds United Women Development 1 - 2 Stoke City Women Development (Women's National League Reserve North), Sunday 19 April 2026
A revisit to Nostell's Crofton Community Centre, albeit on a different pitch. I hadn't realised there was a cup final in progress on the main pitch. On the "top field" I saw a decent match between 2 young women's sides.
Stoke deservedly won, thanks to a brilliant inswinging free kick in the second half. The highlight was an authoritative and friendly referee who explained his decisions clearly and acted as an on-field coach.
Pontefract 2 - 2 Emley (Northern Premier 1 East), Friday 17 April 2026
My first match at Ponty - although I did visit back in 2009. They now have a 4G pitch. This local derby was buzzing as both teams tried to secure play-off places. I also worked out how to get more miles out of our electric car so a good night all round!
Youdan 3 - 2 Sheffield Medics (S&H League Division 2), Monday 13 April 2026
I came to this half-expecting a poor end of season match, but it proved good quality and very entertaining. Both sides played with the ball on the floor and seemed like they wanted to play proper football. A couple of odd defensive errors in the first half were eclipsed by a brilliant second half finish. Note to self - toilets open but no cafe...bring a Thermos flask next time!
Bromley 2 - 1 Shrewsbury (League Two), Tuesday 7 April 2026
A trip down memory lane given my family connections to Bromley. This is the other side of the town to the area I know well, but I have been here once before. The ground looked very different to 2005 and the club have clearly invested in the infrastructure, including some hi-tech turnstiles using QR codes.
Bromley are edging towards League Two promotion, possibly the title. They showed a lot of resilience against a tough Shrewsbury side in this one.
Another of the 92 ticked off tonight (although I suspect my list will be longer than that when I get to the end, what with new grounds and teams).
Liverpool 1 - 1 Spurs (Premier League), Sunday 15 March 2026
This was always going to be a bit of a comedown from my half marathon extertions earlier in the day, but this was compounded by a poor Liverpool performance. They had enough to put away Spurs in the first half but lacked a cutting edge.
The away side grew more confident and the only surprise was that it took them until the last minute to score. A ponderous and directionless second half for Liverpool. Their season may be coming to an abrupt anti-climax already after such an efficient league title last year. This was actually our first Liverpool game of the season, but by this showing we have not missed much. The highlight today was picking up the latest Red All Over The Land to browse through at a later date.
Colliers Wood U18 6 - 1 AFC Wisla Krakow (Combined Counties U18), Thursday 5 March 2026
A low-key start to my 2026 matches saw a dominant performance by Colliers Wood. The ground was on the outskirts of Wimbledon, nr Raynes Park. The highlight of the evening was one of the best portions of fish and chips I've ever had - a reason to visit this corner of the capital again.
This league and its equivalents are good bets for those hard to find Thursday evening matches so I'm glad I found this one (only £5 entry too!). Much more favourable than the Spurs-Palace match the other side of London, which would have set me back c£120.
Stapenhill 0 - 3 Heather St Johns (Midland Football League), Friday 26 December 2025
Beautiful and crisp Boxing Day conditions for football...except the match was awful! There was a red card for each side and Stapenhill could not capitalise when they had a man advantage.
Some rough aerial challenges and lots of Route 1 football made this a scrappy watch. Still, my first match since Luton and another new ground ticked off. My third visit to Burton in the space of a few months too!
Wisbech 2 - 3 Newark (United Counties Premier), Saturday 25 October 2025
After 15 years I have finally made it to Wisbech's "new" ground. I have fond memories of an Easter cycle ride to the old Fenland Park in 2007 so this was well overdue. I combined this visit with a parkrun and a meet-up with the family.
The ground is reasonable but seems a bit tired in places (see advertising hoardings). The clubhouse was nicely laid out. I liked the idiosynchratic set of seats at the end of one of the terraces.
Wisbech had a recent stint at Step 4, and this is partly what reminded me to visit. But they are now back in the UCL, a league whose footprint has shifted significantly in recent seasons. I had not realised that Wisbech have made the 1st and 2nd rounds of the FA Cup, albeit over 30 years ago now. For a while they were rivals with King's Lynn, but have fallen some way behind. I heard that in the past there was an idea to merge the two clubs, although this never came to fruition.
This was a feisty match, with 2 red cards and 3 penalties. Wisbech couldn't quite find an equaliser late on and on balance Newark just about edged it. I enjoyed the changing Autumnal colours and beautiful skies over the Fens on the way back, on the day before the clocks went back.
Gold Coast United Women 0 - 1 Brisbane City (NPL Queensland Division), Sunday 17 August 2025
My first match outside the UK since 2016, and my second in Australia. A 16-mile round trip from Gold Coast to Coplicks Family Sports Park - a multipurpose site encompassing AFL, soccer...and baseball.
This was a reasonable tussle, with the second half a lot faster and more aggressive than the first. It was settled by a clever flicked header from Brisbane. Gold Coast had some opportunities but were not incisive or decisive enough in front of goal.
My main lesson in finding this fixture - and exploring other potential ones - is that there are now many opportunities to see "soccer" in Aus. The game below A-League feels like it has developed a lot since I last took in a match here. Soccerway is a helpful tool for scoping out international fixtures. My second lesson is that Gold Coast (like Australia) is huge - my legs will feel this for a few days!
Doncaster City 2 - 0 Louth (NCEFL Cup), Wednesday 30 July 2025
A comfortable win for the superior Doncaster, in a match at Armthorpe's ground. Close to the M18, this is a possible evening match next season. Beautiful skies and sunset going into the second half. There's an article to be written about matches I've been to in July - a memorable handful down the years. Nice to get to a game before our long holiday.
