Leighton Fall at the Newmarket Hurdle

 

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Saturday 26 September 2026 at The NYO Stadium
Result	Newmarket Town 2 Leighton Town 1
Competition	FA Trophy 3rd Qualifying Round
Hopstats	Ground number 822 on my lifetime list. I am here non-randomly as it is my closest unvisited Step 4 ground and I’d needed to do some get-ahead lesson planning for the day job before leaving Chateau Yapp!
Context
Newmarket Town (The Jockeys) play at Step 4 in the Isthmian League Division One North. They arrive at this fixture following earlier wins at Haringey Borough (on penalties) and 5-2 at home to Gorleston in the previous two rounds. Leighton Town are now in Step 3 Southern Premier Central following their promotion at the end of last season. They enter the FA Trophy at this stage.
Match Report
The Jockeys turned the game around in the second half and rode their luck in the final few minutes for a memorable win. Leighton had already had one nervy moment early on when their keeper Carlos Simeon slipped on the artificial surface, but they took the lead in the 11th minute. Tyler Winters scored with a close range header after a free kick. Although the home side improved after that, the next clear chance also fell to the visitors. Kyal Williams executed a sharp turn and shot just wide. Both teams fluffed chances and half chances before the interval. If two half chances equal one chance in the xG calculations, then the teams were comparable. I wrote in my notes that the game was not over but it would be if Newmarket don’t become more clinical in their finishing. The home side did indeed make a flying start to the second half. The first time the ball hit the back of the net, scored from a rebound off Simeon, the assistant’s flag signalled offside. However, within a minute the ball was crossed in, headed on to the bar, and the rebound poked in by Elliott Reeves to bring the scores level. I found out later that this was his debut for the club. Just before the hour, a neat one-two created a good chance for Leighton, but Newmarket countered and a good pass from Ben Nolan released Reeves who coolly produced a sidefoot finish for his second. The Leighton keeper Simeon fell awkwardly after an aerial challenge and there was a lengthy stoppage before to general spectator bemusement he rejected both stretcher and crutches and opted to carry on. He showed discomfort from booted clearances thereafter but got no sympathy from the home supporters. With a nominal 83 minutes on the clock but lots of time to be added, Newmarket lived dangerously by presenting substitute Sydney Ibie with a shooting chance. They somewhat curiously left themselves very exposed particularly down their left flank, but Leighton did not exploit the space. The closing minutes included lots of action in the home penalty area as Leighton sent crosses in with increasing desperation. Home keeper James Young needed to make a good save, the clock showing 94 minutes now. It went on to complete its cycle and stop at 0.00, but Young made two more good catches under pressure. Ibie and home sub Emmanuel Osei-Owusu needed to be separated from pushing and shoving each other as a diversion, but Newmarket held on for the win.
So What?
Cliché time : Newmarket are in the hat for the next round and Leighton are not etc etc as per usual.
Pix
Newmarket in yellow and blue. The only advice that I would give to other hoppers is that some areas of the club car park are currently very pitted, with temporary repairs in place. Be careful when parking and leaving, especially if dark. Comfortable main stand, friendly volunteers, good 3G surface for “game on” hops in the winter months. Best pre-match music of the season, was almost sorry when it was time for kickoff. I watched from the back of the main stand.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats Update
The background to this, and the latest keeper top colour league table, is here on this dedicated page. Today, Green beat Orange as expected. Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Home Win Was the prediction correct? Yes % of correct predictions so far 48% (112 from 231)
What Next?
Big game in the WSL (Sunday 27th) – Chelsea Women v Arsenal Women.

Slick City Open Up Newmarket's Defences Twice

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Saturday 1 March 2025 at FWD-IP Community Stadium
Result	Cambridge City 2 Newmarket Town 0
Competition	Isthmian League D1 North (Step 4)
Hopstats	Ground 795 on my lifetime list. Here for pragmatic reasons – I needed a relatively short journey after having been overnight at a conference in Hertfordshire. Since the last blogpost I also managed a midweek trip to Wembley to watch England Women 1 Spain Women 0 in the Nations League, and what a splendid evening’s entertainment that was.
Context
Upper mid-table plays lower mid-table. May just about qualify as a “local derby”. The home side are known at this level as “Jamie Cureton’s Cambridge City” in the same way that we have recently had “Frank Lampard’s Coventry City” and “Wayne Rooney’s P45”.
Match Report
City’s new ground is still a work-in-progress but it’s a good one for this level. The pre-match food was among the best I’ve ever had at Step 4 but as these pics show this is a place where the words carbohydrate and low are unlikely to appear in the same sentence. My choice was a Twix Blondie.   On the pitch, these two teams of “big lads” faced up to each other on a good surface. Cambridge took control with two first half goals. They had already won several corners and forced one good save from the visiting keeper before Samrai Gebrai rolled the ball into the net after Newmarket had lost possession in their own half. Jack Thompson added the second from close range after a very neat build-up. Newmarket did their best to get back in the game and should have scored at least once, but promising approach play often broke down at the last. Cambridge held firm at the back and in the end took the points comfortably enough.
So What?
City could still conceivably make a play-off spot if a team above them falters, and Town looked good enough not to be drawn into a serious relegation scrap.
Pre-match Entertainment
What happens at staff conference stays at staff conference. However, at Wembley a couple of days earlier, I found myself in the level 2 tier where the food outlets include M&S and there are artistic representations of lions.
Pix
Cambridge City in White.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats Update
The background to this, and the latest keeper top colour league table, is here on this dedicated page. Today, Red (as expected) beats Blue and keeps a clean sheet. This is enough to restore Red to the top of the table. Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Home Win Was the prediction correct? Yes (87 from 175) % of correct predictions so far 49%
What Next?
Despite the best efforts of the nation’s transport infrastructure to prevent it, I will try to get to Saracens RUFC in north London at the weekend to see the Oxford v Cambridge rugby union games (women and men).