Quorn Mete Out a Bard-Bashing

 

Note to loyal readers : I am back on Twitter/X as @ModusHRandom this season, just for the blog. No politics, education, science or general life events this time. I remain of the view that Elon Musk is a deluded, self-interested and manipulative individual and that Twitter under his stewardship has become a toxic mess. However, so many lower-league clubs are still using it for their communications I will need it later in the season to check on pitch inspections and so on. Roughly one third of the 1500 followers on my original account were football-related, and if you care to follow again then you are more than welcome. The spirit of the blog remains unchanged for the new season.

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Saturday 16 August 2025 at the Stotto Stadium
Result	Quorn 5 Stratford Town 2
Competition	Southern League Premier League Central (Step 3)
Hopstats	First game of the season, 801 on the lifetime list and I am here for the chance to edge closer towards completing all current Step 3 grounds again.
Context
Quorn are new to Step 3 and have started the season well with a win and a draw. Stratford have lost both league games so far and have yet to score.
Match Report
I wasn’t close to the penalty decision that meant that my golden goal ticket went in the bin even earlier than usual. Zak Goodson got to a through ball first and poked it past the Stratford keeper, Jake Weaver, but away from the goal (I thought). However, it was clear that Weaver brought the striker down with significant contact, and Goodson converted the penalty himself. The Quorn lead was doubled in the 15th minute. The goal seemed to be a surprise. Initially credited in the stadium to Rodrigo Goncalves, it now seems to have been recorded as an own goal. This time Stratford hit straight back and it was a good finish by Ty Deacon. He latched on to a neat through ball, turned the onrushing defender, and buried it inside the post. The scores were level after 25 minutes. Left fullback Finlay Brennan arrived in the six-yard box at the right time to score into the top left corner as the ball came across. There were remonstrations within the Quorn side as the defence showed their frustration with their colleagues that they had lost the ball in a dangerous central area. It mattered not much in the end. Goodson got his second goal with a left-foot finish just after the half-hour mark and then it took some restorative heroics from home keeper Tom Allsopp to protect the lead. A colleague’s sliced clearance dropped from high into the area and his initial punch was ineffective, but he bravely rushed out to block the resulting shot. So, the score was 3-2 at the end of a very entertaining and open first half. During the interval I kept my Duolingo streak going and put my 50:50 ticket in the bin.  There were fewer chances in the second half, although it was still a very entertaining game, until Quorn added two more in the closing stages, both through substitute Cain Noble. His first was a good finish at the end of a well-worked break and the second was more of an opportunistic poach after some penalty-area pinball. Overall I felt that 5-2 was slightly harsh on Stratford, but Quorn definitely impressed with their one-touch approach play. An excellent start to the groundhopping season for this passing neutral. When you arrive as a hopper, a question that often comes to mind is whether the home club has enough people who care about it. From turnstiles to snack bar to clubhouse, it looks like a Yes for Quorn and they look very well set up to be competitive at Step 3.
So What?
I usually refuse on principle to comment on league tables so early in the season but the current one makes much better viewing for Quorn fans than Stratford fans.
Pix
Quorn in red.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats Update
The background to this, and the latest keeper top colour league table, is here on this dedicated page. Today two very different shades of green (home and away shown below) concede seven goals between them, but not enough mutual damage to displace Green from third place in the table, now based on my last 331 games.    Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Draw Was the prediction correct? No % of correct predictions so far 48% (89 from 186)
What Next?
Advance planning is tricky for me these days so expect last-minute decisions. Promotions have increased my number of unvisited Step 4 grounds to 37, and at Step 3 I now have Worcester City (again) and Farnham Town to visit to restore full coverage of that tier. At higher levels of course, there is Everton’s new stadium too, at some future date which is unlikely to be soon due to ticket availability. Thanks, as ever, for stumbling across this blog.

All's Well That Ends Well

CLOWN: I will show myself highly fed, and lowly taught ...
(All's Well That Ends Well, Act II)

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Thursday 17 April 2014 at the DCS Stadium
Result	Stratford Town 2 Tiverton Town 4
Competition	Southern League D1 South & West (Step 4)
Hopping	Ground 532 on the lifetime list and chosen because of the random effect of gravity on a tetrahedron.
Pre-match preparation
I'd picked out four games of interest for this evening’s entertainment, all of which had something important to play for, for at least one of the sides involved. Stratford Town are in mid-table in their first season after promotion from Step 5.  Tiverton Town are third, but not yet mathematically certain of a playoff place, and points are important in determining home advantage.  They have already played once this week, a home win on Tuesday.  The International Space Station is due to pass overhead at 9.03pm for a four-minute pass from the West and Mars, Jupiter and the Moon should also be visible if the skies are clear.  Post-match note: it was too cloudy for any of the skygazing.
This match in one sentence
Tiverton handed out a lesson in clinical finishing and have done well to win two midweek games in their pursuit of promotion.
So what?
Tiverton's position is strengthened and they could still take the overall title.  Stratford are 10th and safe.
The drama unfolds
This was a good game for the passing neutral.  Keenly contested at a decent tempo on a lovely playing surface.  This new stadium provides one of the best facilities at this level.  Stratford could have taken the lead with a shot on the turn from Tyrone Fagan and they will have to reflect on the number of missed chances over the course of the match.  Tiverton struck twice in quick succession to take control of the game.  Firstly, a neat one-two worked for full back James Richards to get clear in the area for a neat finish.  0-1 after 16mins Then Michael Nardiello buried a diving header from a right-wing cross, just after he had been denied by a fine defensive block.  Yes, the same Michael Nardiello, the youngster with Manchester United (and later, West Brom), whom we all tried to sign on loan for our lower league sides during the early years of Championship Manager.  By all accounts, he is hoping this spell at Tiverton will be a stepping stone back into the full-time game after a horrendous time with injury.  0-2 after 21 mins Tiverton were now in command.  Their link-up play around the box was far superior and they creeated a chance for Dan Smith whose shot curled just wide.  Their defence was also called into action, though, as Stratford occasionally threatened, often through Richard Gregory.  Time for the scene-setter clip, which has the bar rattled by Tiverton's impressive Josh Searle.  Stratford are in blue. The same player shot just wide from the right-hand side before the break.  0-2 at half-time Stratford started the second half brightly and were back in the game through leading scorer Gregory.  The ball sat up nicely for him and he buried it.  1-2 after 52 mins A superb block by Callum Burgess denied Nardiello again before Fagan shot over the bar from a good clear chance and this was probably the turning point.  It was not long before a Nardiello header, again from the right, was nestling in the net, and then a shot from Marcus Martin added a fourth,  Game over, and no chance of a "2-3 or not 2-3" blogpost title.  1-3 after 74 mins, 1-4 after 78 mins The game ebbed away with substitutions but there was time for a final consolation for the home side in stoppage time.  A deep cross from the left (by Fagan, I think) was headed nicely back across goal and Simeon Tulloch was there to head in from close range.  Stratford deserve credit for their part in this entertaining game.  As the King of France put it in Act V, "Praising what is lost, makes the remembrance dear."  (Look, readers, be fair, it was either this or that line about all the men being merely players...)  Final score 2-4
Ground Pix
Match Pix
Huddle Stats
No huddles tonight. 2013-14 Summary so far: P W D L GF GA Pts Pts per Game Huddlers 13 5 4 4 13 9 19 1.46 Non-Huddlers 26 11 3 12 40 44 36 1.38 Twin Huddlers 1 0 1 0 2 2 1 1.00
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
Tiverton came and won with a green goalkeeper.  Stratford's stopper was hard to classify but I am ignoring the black content and going for pink as the dominant colour. 2013-14 Summary so far: 3pts for a win, 1pt for a draw, -1pt for a goal conceded and +5pts for a clean sheet P W D L GA (-1 each) CS (5 each) Pts Pts per Game Grey 10 6 2 2 9 5 36 3.60 Red 2 1 0 1 2 1 6 3.00 Green 9 5 0 4 11 2 14 1.56 Yellow 4 1 1 2 8 1 1 0.25 Orange 3 1 1 1 6 0 -2 -0.67 Radioactive Bile 3 1 0 2 6 0 -3 -1.00 Pink 6 1 3 2 14 0 -8 -1.33 Blue 3 0 1 2 6 0 -5 -1.67
What Next?
Watch @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!