EASTERN COUNTIES LEAGUE 'GROUNDHOPPER DAY'

Another weekend, another hop. There seems to be a innumerable amount of hops in this current season and whilst some don't particularly appeal to me, the Eastern Counties Hop certainly did.

This allowed me to tick off three step 5 grounds in a league I have barely scratched the surface of. All are based in Essex, which made it a cost effective, if hectic, way of getting three grounds done.

As you can imagine, lots to get through so I'll keep this brief. It was a 6am early start for the 275 mile journey to..................

12pm Eastern Counties Premier League

Broad Lane

WIVENHOE TOWN 1-3 Felixstowe & Walton United

Attendance: 137

Our travelling party arrived at Broad Lane about 15 minutes before kick off. As we anticipated the programmes had long sold out but no dramas as the club offered to do a reprint.

After a long journey I felt it necessary to take advantage of the clubs' offer of a burger and a pint for £4.

Plenty of familiar faces were milling about and it was great to have a catch up with a few of them.

The main stand at the ground appears unfinished as there are steel supports erect at either end of the seats.

As for the game, well it wasn't the greatest as Wivenhoe are struggling this season and Felixstowe didn't have to get out of second gear to clinch the points.

The Dragon's Luke Goldie-McSorley (66) cancelled out Jordan Matthews (37) opener but goals from Daniel Thrower (70) and Bradley Barber (90) ensured the win for the Seasiders.

3pm Eastern Counties Premier League
The Rush Green Bowl
FC CLACTON 1-4 Newmarket Town
Attendance: 197

Next on the agenda was trip to the seaside, though I never had time to see any of it!

Clacton's quirky Rush Green Bowl was my favourite ground of the day. A hotch potch of stands gave the ground a proper non-league feel. The ground was opened in 1987 after the sale of their Old Road ground.

The current incarnation of Clacton were founded in 2007 after the demise of Clacton Town

Unfortunately for the seasiders they were comprehensively outclassed by a lively Newmarket Town. The Jockey's could and should have scored more than the four goals they did. Jamie Thurlbourne (2 & 37) Deakan Napier (25) gave the visitors a 3-0 interval lead. Richard Chadwick (47) added the fourth before Aaron Condon (53) bagged a consolation.

6pm Eastern Counties Premier League
North Road
BRIGHTLINGSEA REGENT 2-1 Stanway Rovers
Attendance: 250

The final game of the day took place at Brightlingsea's North Road, the ground is tucked away in a residential area. The only football furniture was a pre-fab stand.

The club were very welcoming and made good on their promise of a free programme and half time cup of tea.

The game was a niggly affair which saw the visitors end the game with 9 men. Two strikes from Terry Rymer (21) and Liam Whittaker (25) gave the homesters the lead. substitute Peter Maina (53) halved the deficit but any hopes of a comeback were extinguished when two players saw red. Just a 'Brucey Bonus' an unused substitute also saw red for Stanway. Not a pleasant end to the day.

The journey back home ended at 3am when I put the key in the door, but there was a pit stop at the Alexandra Arms in Kettering, where 16 ales were on offer. As much as I would have liked to have tried many, I had to make do with a couple of halves.

Overall, the day felt more like the league had just staggered kick off's rather than a full blown groundhop. To me that gave the impression of 'normal' games with just a few extra bods in attendance. 

The clubs basically got on with it and all the boxes were ticked as far as I was concerned. The issues (excuse the pun) with programmes were sorted (or in the process of being sorted) and I hope the clubs found it worthwhile. I certainly did and I look forward to visiting Norfolk next March.

This is the leagues take on the day
http://thurlownunnleague.co.uk/essex-groundhopper-day-proves-popular/

TREARDDUR BAY UNITED (Lon Isallt)

FAW WELSH TROPHY 2ND ROUND, TREARDDUR BAY UNITED 1-1 LLANFAIRPWLL (After Extra Time, Trearddur Bay won 5-4 on penalties) ATTENDANCE: 54 (h/c)

This weekend my travels took me along the North Wales coast and onto the Isle of Angelsey for a Welsh Trophy cup tie. My destination was the village of Trearddur Bay (or Tywyn y Capel, to give it's Welsh name) on the west coast of Holy Island. 

It was about a 35 minute stroll from Holyhead railway station to the village (passing Holyhead Hotspur's New Oval football ground en route). I had built up a bit of a thirst by the time reached Trearddur Bay itself, so I had to head into the Trearddur Bay Inn (which is next to the ground) for some well earned liquid refreshment (It was a JW Lees house and the Mancunian Pale Ale went down a treat).

The beach at Trearddur Bay, where an ancient burial ground was excavated in 2003, is a popular tourist destination and just a stones throw away is the home ground of Trearddur Bay United Football Club.

Formed in 1989, Trearddur Bay are members of the Welsh Alliance Division Two, as are their opponents Llanfairpwll. 

This is the clubs' first season at this level, having been crowned champions of the Gwynedd League in 2012/13 after going through the season unbeaten in the league.

The Lon Isallt ground is basic and open, but the location is fantastic. I think it helped that today the village was bathed in some lovely late summer sunshine, so that allowed me to sit on the stone wall that runs along the touchline and feel the warmth on my back. I don't think it would be quite the same on a bleak winters afternoon!

No admission was charged but the club do produce a programme and the little lad selling them did a roaring trade as he went along all the people sitting on the wall. There is also a cafe at the ground but if a bacon butty wasn't your thing you could nip across to the beach a get yourself an ice cream. I went with the former especially after a couple of beers.

The game was a really good Welsh Trophy cup tie that went the full distance, the homesters going through by virtue of a penalty shoot out after two hours of play couldn't separate the teams.

It was a very even first half and neither goalkeeper had a meaningful save to make however The Beach Boys did go in leading at the break, thanks to a superb solo effort from Craig Moore. A Llanfairpwll corner was cleared and landed at the feet of Moore, well inside his own half, who ran with the ball all the way into the LlanfairPG box and fired the ball home (33m).

The visitors were level soon after the restart when the ball was headed back into the area and it landed at the feet of Richard Owen, with his back to goal, who turned and shot home from six yards out (48m).

Llanfairpwll were now in control of the game and Kelvin Frazier missed two glorious chances to give the visitors the lead. Trearddur Bay rode the storm and had a decent chance of their own, Barry Haigh firing over with goal at his mercy, but it wasn't to be and extra time beckoned.

The visitors made the running in the first period of extra time but once again could not make the breakthrough, their best effort coming from Brendan Hogan's 'Leighton Baines-esque' free kick which was tipped over by Gareth Owen.

The second period saw both teams reduced to ten men with Anthony Parry and Gavin Jennings receiving straight red cards after an altercation (I didn't get a good view of what actually happened but someone sitting nearby said it was an elbow, then retaliation) and with that the game petered out to the lottery of penalties.

After the regulation 5 penalties it was still square at 4-4, both teams having had a spot kick saved. The first of the sudden death penalties were both saved before Ian Williams stepped up to score for Trearddur Bay to make it 5-4. Llanfairpwll skipper Jack Williams had to score to keep his team alive but his spot kick was saved by Owen and it was The Beach Boys that went through to the next round.

The extra time meant I missed the bus back to Holyhead, so I had to walk back to catch my train but it was well worth worth it. All in all a fantastic afternoon down by the sea.

Trearddur's Gareth Owen saves Jack Williams' penalty to send his
team through to the next round

BRIMSCOMBE & THRUPP (Meadow Park)

FA VASE 2ND QUALIFYING ROUND, BRIMSCOMBE & THRUPP 3-0 SHRIVENHAM, ATTENDANCE: 63

I flouted my own FA Vase rule of not watching teams from the same league play each other by opting for an all Hellenic Premier clash as Brimscombe & Thrupp went face to face with Shrivenham. The reason was simply to go and admire the old stand at The Lilywhites' bucolic Meadow Park before it joins the ever growing list of bulldozed football stands. 

Many of my fellow ground hoppers had previously advised me to visit before it is replaced by a more "modern" stand. Planning permission has been approved by the parish council and the existing stand is due to be flattened by the end of October 2013, so I would advise anyone to heed the advice like I did and visit as soon as possible. As Muse sung, time is running out!

The soon to be demolished stand at Meadow Park

Brimscombe and Thrupp are two adjoining villages in the district of Stroud, Gloucestershire. Stroud is the nearest train station to the ground and this is where I alighted, allowing plenty of time to visit sample some local ales in the town's public houses. The best one I ventured into was the Crown and Sceptre, where 3 Uley Ales were on offer. 

In a neat link to our day out, the pub sponsors Brimscombe and a framed shirt was hanging on the wall. There was also stacks of other memorabilia on the wall such as film and music posters, but there was also Everton pictures around the bar as it turned out the landlord was a massive Evertonian. It was centred around this pub that I was on the receiving end of two welcome acts of kindness.

I dropped my train tickets in the taxi that took me to the pub and the taxi driver brought them back to me and then, when it was time to head to the match, the landlord gave us a lift. It restored my faith in human nature a wee bit.

The club as it is today were formed by a merger in the late 1970's, though Brimscombe FC have been around since 1886 and were founded members of the Gloucestershire Senior League in 1968.

Brimscombe & Thrupp continued their rise up the pyramid this year by clinching their 3rd promotion in four seasons, from the Gloucester Senior League to the Hellenic Division One West to the Hellenic Premier. Both sides are currently 13th and 14th in the current  table and they played out a 4-4 draw just 7 days ago. Was it too much to ask for more of the same?

The homesters ran out 3-0 winners but the scoreline didn't reflect the overall game as there was nothing between the sides, the big difference was The Lilywhites took their chances.

Adam Price gave Brimscombe the lead after 14 minutes, when he smashed home a shot from the edge of the box. Ben Prictor scored from a free kick to make it 2-0 after 30 minutes. Shrivenham had their moments but it was the hosts who went in leading at the break.

Both sides had chances after the interval but as the visitors chased the game it became more open. The tie was finally settled in the 78th minute when Ashley Caldwell headed home to book Brimscombe and Thrupp's place in the first round proper, where the will host Ashton and Backwell United on 19th October. An enjoyable afternoon at a most friendly and welcoming club.

RICHMOND RAITH ROVERS MAGS (Ellesmere Port Greyhound Stadium)

WEST CHESHIRE LEAGUE DIVISION TWO, RICHMOND RAITH ROVERS MAGS 1-2 HESWALL RESERVES, ATTENDANCE: 7 (h/c)

As I was on season ticket duty today, heading to Goodison Park for the late Saturday game, I searched t'interweb to see if there was anything around I could 'double' it up with. After much searching I found a 2pm kick off in the West Cheshire League which fitted the bill perfectly.

Having previously played at the Childwall Sports College, Richmond Raith Rovers Mags FC have signed a deal to play at the Greyhound Stadium in Ellesmere Port.

The Stadium was primarily used for Speedway and was the home of the Ellesmere Port Gunners from 1972 until their demise in 1982 (though the team was revived for one season in 1985).

The Speedway track was eventually replaced a Greyhound racing track and the stadium has recently been refurbished in a bid to return to the track to, as its owners say “its glory days”.

The football pitch in the middle of the stadium was used by Ellesmere Port Town in their North West Counties League days. Caernarfon Town also played there when they were exiled by the Welsh FA in the early 1990’s.

Ellesmere Port Town folded in 1994 (though they have been revived) but football has returned to The Greyhound Stadium once again, for this season. Speaking to other ground hoppers they are certain the pitch has been used in the meantime but are unable to recall who the actual teams were.

Richmond Raith Rovers Mags were formed in 1997, as an under-11's football team known as Richmond Rovers, originating from the local public house the 'Richmond Arms' on Breck Road, Liverpool.

The Raith part of the name didn't actually come into existence until the following season when, according to the club’s history page “the club were looking to take on board a new proper club badge and sent an innocuous letter to Scottish League club, Raith Rovers, requesting the usage of their "RR badge". The reply is now history and today’s club name 'Richmond Raith Rovers' was born in 1998” The club merged with Mags Junior FC in 2011/12.  

The game was ok; a youthful looking Richmond side played the better passing football in the first half but found themselves a goal down at the break, Owen Davies scoring for the visitors.


The homesters equalised through Abda Saleh soon after the restart but Heswall bossed proceedings in the second period and John Lloyd popped up with a winner with 20 minutes remaining.