New Grounds for Pessimism

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 4 April 2015 at the Zeeco Stadium, Borderville
Result	Stamford 0 Ashton United 2
Competition	Northern Premier League (Step 3)
Hopping	Ground 557, here because it is my closest unvisited Step 3 venue.  I have seen Stamford twice at their previous home.  This new place is impressive in a new-and-well-designed kinda way, but groundhoppers will tend to tick it off and move on.
Pre-match preparation
Stamford are struggling and have not won a league game yet at their new home.  They have picked up points from draws and the odd away win but recently slipped into the relegation zone.  After their big move to Borderville, someone’s spreadsheet is about to get messed up if they go down.  Ashton United sit in a hotly contested playoff place and have a mathematical but slim chance of automatic promotion and the divisional title.
This match in one sentence
A generally uninspiring game was settled by a penalty and a neat finish in the second half.
So what?
Ashton United open a small gap over local rivals Curzon Ashton who were losing at home at the same time.  Stamford remain in the relegation spot, a point behind Frickley.  Their fate may well be undecided until their final fixture – they play three mid-table sides and also have to go to FC United, the champions-elect of the division.
The drama unfolds
Me to a player whose wayward shot pinged off the back of the stand and broke the spectacles of a gentleman nearby: “Are you one of the subs?”  Him: “No.”  Me: “Well, you should be.”  That was the most noteworthy item of the first half, to be honest, apart from a Poll-like moment from the ref.  I’d noted down an audacious attempt by Ashton to lob the keeper straight from the kick-off, and not much else for the first 30 minutes when I took this clip.  Stamford are in red. Just after I stopped filming, the ref consulted a lino and gave the player a yellow instead to take him up to two yellows and a red, a new world record.  He stayed on, and I suppose the right decision was made in the end, always a good thing, but not great for confidence in the officials I would guess.  The game continued to be physical and feisty and long-before half-time I was thinking about tea and Mars Bars in the plural.  0-0 at half-time I caught up with the WBA score during the interval and sighed a lot (they were losing 0-3 to QPR at the time).  The deadlock in this game was broken from the penalty spot.  Chris Baguley is the scorer.  0-1 after 56 mins I took a clip of Stamford pressure (I’d moved to the other end of the ground) just after the hour. Then Ashton should have doubled their lead as Martin Pilkington beat the home keeper to a long ball but rolled a shot wide of the post.  He made amends a minute later by putting a chance on a plate for Dale Johnson after a good run.  0-2 after 69 mins Stamford never gave up, and both sides had half-chances, but really the result never seemed in doubt.  The home supporters had an air of weary resignation.  Final score 0-2
Ground Pix
Match Pix
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
Green loses to Yellow, who picks up a clean sheet. The story 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 GC CS Pts PPG Purple 5.0 3.0 1.0 1.0 9.0 2.0 11.0 2.20 Green 23.0 11.0 2.0 10.0 29.0 7.0 41.0 1.78 Grey 23.5 10.0 7.0 6.5 31.5 7.0 40.5 1.72 Maroon 4.0 2.0 1.0 1.0 6.0 1.0 6.0 1.50 Red 4.0 2.0 0.0 2.0 5.0 1.0 6.0 1.50 Blue 10.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 16.0 3.0 11.0 1.10 Orange 7.5 2.0 2.0 3.5 10.5 2.0 7.5 1.00 Yellow 11.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 19.0 3.0 9.0 0.82 Radioactive Bile 6.0 2.0 0.0 4.0 12.0 0.0 -6.0 -1.00 Pink 7.0 1.0 3.0 3.0 16.0 0.0 -10.0 -1.43 Black 1.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 3.0 0.0 -2.0 -2.00
What Next?
No idea to be honest, follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!

The Daniels Done Good

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 1 April 2013 at Wothorpe Road, Stamford
Result	Stamford 4 Kings Lynn Town 1
Competition	Northern Premier League Division One South (Step 4)
Hopping	I was last here on 7/11/09 for a 4-0 win over Grantham.  My second visit is because of the chance for @CynInHerts and I to cross paths again with a group of friends from the continent.  We therefore watched the game in the company of @doingthe116, @DutchAddick, @HansRedMagic and @1904.  These guys have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the game and have been frequent visitors to these shores.
Pre-match preparation
2nd plays 4th.  Kings Lynn tailed away at the end of last season to finish second in the United Counties Premier, but still managed to grasp a promotion place with the way things turned out across the country.  They are chasing a second successive promotion and won 7-0 last time out.  Stamford have also announced their ambition by signing six players recently, and they are buoyed by the news that a new stadium is now definitely on the way.  Good choice of fixture by our European visitors.
This match in one sentence
After an excellent first half, Stamford were two up though Kings Lynn had looked equally strong, but the visitors’ second-half comeback plans were thwarted by a quick third goal and so they endured a long lingering defeat.
So what?
Coalville Town were held to a home draw by Gresley so this is a chance missed by Kings Lynn.  Coalville have a game in hand and lead by two points.  However, both Stamford and Kings Lynn look good for a playoff place and may yet have to meet again this season.
The drama unfolds
This was a good game straight from the kickoff, with two good sides trying to establish dominance.  There was both skill and strength on display.  If anything, Kings Lynn looked slightly more dangerous, though their keeper Daniel Gay had needed to scramble to push away a curling cross-cum-shot from Tom Byrne, one of Stamford’s new faces. It still felt slightly against the run of play when Liam Richardson poked a shot into the roof of the net to give Stamford the lead.  1-0 after 20 minutes This provoked Kings Lynn.  A loose crossfield ball from the Stamford defence allowed Daniel Jacob to link with Shane Tolley, but the latter’s shot curled just wide.  On the half-hour, Tolley played a neat flick to Steve Spriggs who also shot wide.  The approach play looked promising. My scene-setter clip comes from the 35-minute mark.  Stamford are in red. The second clip followed almost immediately and captures Andy Hall getting a second goal for the home side on the break.  2-0 after 42 minutes and at half-time The 2-0 scoreline seemed harsh on Kings Lynn but their fans remained optimistic in their half-time chat, especially as they would be playing down the slope.  They started the second half on the front foot and forced Matt Finlay to make a diving catch, but Stamford’s third goal, arriving shortly afterwards, was not in their script.  Jordan Hempenstall was the scorer.  3-0 after 50 minutes Kings Lynn left themselves short on numbers at the back as they tried to get back in the game, and Stamford soon had two more excellent chances.  One shot went just wide though it would have been called for offside if a teammate at the far post had made contact, and Ricky Miller rather scuffed a shot having created his shooting chance.  However, Miller’s goal came soon afterwards – the ball fell to him in lots of space after a freekick and he shot on the turn.  4-0 after 82 minutes Stamford’s Tom Batchelor picked up a needless second yellow (and thus a red) for a late tackle, and then in the final moments Kings Lynn got a consolation goal when they worked an indirect freekick routine after a passback infringement.  Russell Dunkley lashed the shot home.  Final score 4-1
The programme
Something random
@CynInHerts received a message alerting her to the beauties of Stamford Station, so we had to check this out.  The message was correct – it is a very pleasant old-school station which has pretty much everything except a bunch of Railway Children and Ted Ray.
Hopping for Moorfields Update
Five goals, two Dutchmen and two Belgians to add to the various tallies.  End-of-season total should be over £500.
Mars Bar Watch 2013
A standard 58g bar for a standard 60p.  Uncontroversial.
What Next?
No idea whatsoever!  I may look for some local evening hops as a reward if I have some good work days this week.  Regular readers will know that I am between jobs and have a lot to do before the new school term starts on 15 April.