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.