Portchy's Day at the PO Man's Derby

 

The e-programme is downloadable as a pdf file

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Monday 25th August 2025 at The OnSite Group Stadium, Wicor Recreation Ground
Result	AFC Portchester 4 Moneyfields 0
Competition	Isthmian League Division One South-Central (Step 4)
Hopstats	#804 on the lifetime list. Here because I am in the area for the Bank Holiday weekend.
Context
A local PO-postcode derby for the Bank Holiday Monday. AFC Portchester are up in Step 4 after promotion as champions from the Wessex League last season. They have three points from three league matches (one win). Moneyfields have a win and a draw, so four points. Two days ago Portchy lost at Bedfont Sports and Moneyfields shared the points in a 4-4 draw with Hayes & Yeading United.
Match Report
Before I forget, be warned that the car parking amount charged by the PayByPhone app was significantly more than the amount implied on the notice boards. If you go hopping here (well worth it) take plenty of change, and go early if you want to park near the ground. It's an interesting arena and the club made a lot of effort to look after a Bank Holiday crowd. You can imagine how the facilities have grown step-by-step as the club moved up through the pyramid. This was a game of two halves. The home team scored all four goals before the interval and the points were in the proverbial bag. The opening goal after five minutes was a gift from the visiting defence after the ball was lost in an attempt to play out from the back in the modern way.  Alfie Stanley rolled the ball into the unguarded net. The second came from number 11 after 11 minutes. Zak Willett found himself in lots of space, he cut back inside the approaching defender, and the pic below shows him shaping to place the ball in the far corner. The third was pinged in from 45 metres or so (you get proper physics units in this blog) by Stanley who picked up the ball in midfield and had spotted the keeper off his line. The fourth was arguably the best of the lot, thrashed from the left into the far corner by Ryan Wilkins. So, 4-0 at half-time. I moved to the stand on the opposite side in search of shade for the second half, with temperatures around 303K (that's the Kelvin scale of absolute temperature right there) which is more commonly known in this country as 30 degrees C. Maybe because of the temperature, maybe because the demolition job was already done, but the second half was anticlimactic. Moneyfields never gave up and were allowed plenty of possession, but they had only really created one decent chance before the 75-minute mark. Portchester didn't look too concerned once they had weathered the first ten minutes or so of the second half. For me at the final whistle, it was a race back to the Yappmobile for what turned out to be a tortuous return journey around the dreaded M25 western section. Good day though, decent entertainment for the passing neutral and plenty of other culture, history, scenery and interest in the general area. Recommended if not already ticked!
So What?
The clubs end the day in 6th and 18th place.
Pre-match Entertainment
A circuit of Portchester Castle, watching oystercatchers feeding on the mud flats, a stroll along part of the English coastal path (and, I suspect, disturbing a couple in flagrante behind a tree), looking across towards Portsmouth, and stopping for an ice-cream at the nearby Salt Café. Insert your own joke about Portchester's defence looking solid.
Pix
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats Update
The background to this, and the latest keeper top colour league table, is here on this dedicated page. Today Grey beats Blue, as predicted, and the clean sheet is enough to take Grey to the top of the Tops table. Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Home win Was the prediction correct? Yes % of correct predictions so far 48% (91 from 189)
What Next?
No idea, to be honest but most likely an FA Cup game at the weekend. Watch @ModusHRandom on Twitter/X.

Wimborne to be Wild after Late Farnham Equaliser

 

 

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Saturday 23rd August 2025 at The Memorial Ground
Result	Farnham Town 1 Wimborne Town 1
Competition	Southern League Premier Division South (Step 3)
Hopstats	Ground #803 on the lifetime list. I’m in the area this bank holiday weekend and this ground was on my priorities list.
Context
Farnham are new in Step 3 this season and have started well with two wins and a draw. Wimborne have one win, one draw and one defeat.
Match Report
It looked early on that we could expect goals today. A heavy touch from the Farnham keeper Zaki Qualah almost led to a chance for Wimborne to score from distance, and then the Wimborne keeper Cam Plain made one of the best saves I've seen for ages with a one-handed save. Farnham's Ben Purcell also needed to make a superb defensive intervention, so it was a bit of a surprise that we waited as long as 27 minutes for the opening goal. Wimborne took the lead as Max Bustamante poked in a rebound after his side had caused chaos with two corners in quick succession. Farnham missed their first chance to equalise with Bobby-Joe Taylor's skied penalty miss just before the interval after Jack Dean had been tripped. A decent game so far with plenty of goalmouth action, and I managed to suppress my need to straighten some wonky team pictures in the clubhouse during the break. The teams traded chances again in the second half. Plain saved well with his feet and then his team hit the post. Farnham, having made five changes, were still very much in the game. It took a goal-line clearance by Drew Ecott-Young on 77 minutes to protect the visiting lead. The hosts had two more chances in the closing minutes and Wimborne defenders were frequently getting their bodies in the way. The Farnham joy had to wait until several minutes of added time had passed. Brandon Mason, who had often been involved in foraging down the spaces on the left flank, was brought down on the byline. This time Great Evans did the honours from the spot and kept the Farnham unbeaten run going with the last meaningful kick of the game. Definitely a good hopping day out in the sunshine for this passing neutral.
So What?
The teams will complete their weekend double-headers on Monday as follows: Farnham travel to Dorchester and Wimborne host Weymouth.
Pre-match Entertainment
A stroll around the very attractive streets and alleyways of Farnham town centre, with lots of historical and architectural interest, then walking to the ground via the churchyard and along the edge of Bishop’s Meadow. If you are making a day of it, be prepared for car parking to cost as much as your match ticket!
Pix
Farnham in claret and blue.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats Update
The background to this, and the latest keeper top colour league table, is here on this dedicated page. Today Yellow played Green. Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Away Win Was the prediction correct? No % of correct predictions so far 48% (90 from 188)
What Next?
This tick leaves me with Everton (Premier League) and Worcester City (Southern League Premier Central) to restore my coverage of “everywhere in England down to Step 3”. In the meantime, as I am in Portsmouth for the weekend, I plan to make the short journey to AFC Portchester on Monday.

 

Carlton's Textbook Showing at Loughborough Students

 

Online-only programme accessed with a QR code from the bar area.

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	19 August 2025 at Loughborough University Stadium
Result	Loughborough Students 0 Carlton Town 3
Competition	Northern Premier League D1 Midlands (Step 4)
Hopstats	#802 on the lifetime list
Context
The kindest way to describe the Students’ start to the season is to say that they are undefeated at home – with one point from three games. Carlton have two league wins and a big FA Cup victory on their list already. The visitors will start as favourites.
Match Report
This is an extremely impressive facility, set within a large university campus. The site is also hosting two international tournaments for teams of men and women with cerebral palsy, so there was a lot going on in and around the central stadium. There is unlikely to be a main stand and playing surface better than this anywhere else at Step 4 in the country. I made the most of a rare opportunity to sit a few metres above ground level, whereas many of the Carlton faithful kept to their habit of installing themselves and their flags behind the home goalkeeper, including of course the half-time change-of-ends. Carlton showed their status as favourites early on with a pressing game to disrupt the students playing out from the back. They made the first few half-chances but the Students couldn’t take the best one of the game so far after 11 minutes. They soon went behind to an old-school corner, with the big number five Dean Freeman winning the ball in the air, and his textbook downward header found the back of the net with the help of a deflection. My photo seems to show a bit of streetwise shirt-pulling in the process. At half-time there was only one goal in it and the home side could not be discounted. There had been some lovely one- and two-touch approach play from both sides. The student defenders caught the eye, but probably because they had been the busiest players on the field. They always looked just a bit more anxious and stretched than their comfortable Carlton counterparts. Insert your own “degrees of freedom” joke here. I wrote a note to myself that “Carlton will need a second”, and went for a Mars Bar (also a second). That game-settling goal duly arrived after 66 minutes with a volley from striker Ashley Chambers, and then the third was an absolute screamer from wide on the left flank from Niall Davie. Great goal, ten minutes to go. To their credit, young heads did not drop and the Students almost got a consolation in the dying moments, but this was a fair result in an enjoyable game for this passing neutral. The day ended with a dreadful journey back south down the M1 “thanks” to a series of roadworks. Good job it wasn’t a school night.
So What?
The early league table has Carlton top, ahead of Corby on goal difference after three wins out of three games. Loughborough’s earlier point keeps them one place off the bottom.
Pix
Students in purple.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats Update
The background to this, and the latest keeper top colour league table, is here on this dedicated page. Today, Grey beats Orange (as predicted) and keeps a clean sheet. Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Away Win Was the prediction correct? Yes % of correct predictions so far 48% (90 from 187)
What Next?
No idea, to be honest, with other duties and commitments in the diary. I unfortunately can’t get to the West Lancs hop this coming weekend but I may be able to get to something down south. @ModusHRandom on Twitter/X for the reveals.

 

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.