Wulfs Bite Country Rangers in the West Midlands

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 30 March 2013 at the Castlecroft Stadium
Result	AFC Wulfrunians 4 Black Country Rangers 3
Competition	West Midlands Regional League Premier Division (Step 6).
Hopping	Ground 510 on the lifetime list and I am here because I have been in West Bromwich for lunch at the ancestral home!  My first game for a month as it happens.
Pre-match preparation
Frankly, not much beyond “Is the game on?”  I know that both teams have been among the league leaders in recent seasons and today is 2nd v 5th.  Also, as both teams have scored over a hundred league goals each this season, this match might help get my Hopping for Moorfields total back on track after I have missed several weekends for either weather or work reasons.
This match in one sentence
Not as exciting as it might appear from the scoreline – Rangers, by now down to nine men, got two goals in stoppage time to limit the damage to their goal difference.
So what?
No change in league positions (leaders Lye Town also won today and lead by one point) but the gap between fourth and fifth is getting significant.  Lye have already beaten Wulfrunians home and away so the title will come down to how the teams get on against lower-ranked opponents in the remaining fixtures.  Wulfrunians have the better GD.
The drama unfolds
Both sides started with attacking intent and both got into good positions in the early moments, but the first decent shots came after 8 minutes or so.  Wulfs’ Kyle Brady gave a sign of things to come with a left-foot shot just wide, and then home ‘keeper Matt Martin came out to block a Jason Chilton effort with his legs.  A superb through ball then found Brady again, and this time the other ‘keeper, Jamie Wood, needed the lower limbs to block a shot.  All good stuff on a surface which was much better than I had expected to see.  Here is my scene-setter clip from 15 minutes into the game.  AFC Wulfrunians are in the red. Five minutes later, the home side took the lead.  Brady pulled away again to the left of the front line, and a good diagonal ball sent him through on goal.  His left-footer across the keeper was good enough to find the far corner.  1-0 after 20 minutes Alex Hammond of BCR earned a yellow card for a shirt-pull that was to prove significant later on, especially as his team-mate Leigh Pardoe earned a red card for an out-of-control tackle with studs showing just before the break.  Half-time spectator chat suggested that the ref had upgraded a yellow to a red for something said.  1-0 at half-time Nathan Rose-Laing got a second for the home side against the ten Rangers.  Wood got a hand to his flick, but could not keep it out.  2-0 after 52 minutes Four minutes later, however, Andrew Price scored to keep the visitors in the game and the result in doubt.  2-1 after 56 minutes However, Hammond’s second yellow card, for a late tackle, made it an 11 v 9 game and Mike Robertson got a goal on the hour mark with a shot that Wood could only partially stop.  3-1 after 60 minutes Mike Robertson gets on the scoresheet Mid-way through the half, Brady got his second to open up a three goal margin and seal the win.  4-1 after 66 minutes However, either complacency set in, or they got careless, who knows.  The Rangers got a goal from Aaron Lloyd in the last minute and got another through Shane Parkes in stoppage time.  There was not enough time after the last one for anyone to get really jumpy.  Final score 4-3
The programme
A black-and-white programme as the fixture had been in doubt all week, but the club also gave away complimentary copies of a previous programme.  Nice touch.
Something random
The rose symbol on the wall of the main stand at Castlecroft is the sign of the ownership of the ground by the Rugby Football Union.  This venue is a former Wolverhampton Wanderers training ground that was more recently occupied by England’s “schoolboy” rugby sides.  The main stand is way ahead of anything else I have encountered in Step 6.
Hopping for Moorfields Update
Seven goals, so we are now up to 170 for the season.
Mars Bar Watch 2013
No purchases today, as I am working through one of my many chocolatey leaving presents from last Thursday.  (Regular readers of my tweetage will know that I am now between jobs, and I am shortly heading back into the wild and wacky world of secondary school science teaching.  This partly explains the reduction in my blog output this month.  Bear with me as I find a new position of equilibrium!  Which is in itself an A-level chemistry reference.)  Rumour has it that Asda has been selling a 4-pack of standard 58g bars for a loss-leading £1.  I will have to investigate.  Please tweet me if you can confirm.
What Next?
Hopefully crossing paths with a group of European friends as they head for Stamford v Kings Lynn tomorrow.

Storm Rumble as Thunder Crumble

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Monday 11 March 2013 at the Surrey Sports Park
Result	Surrey Storm 62 Manchester Thunder 44
Competition	Superleague – the top tier of netball in England
Hopping	Second netball venue, which is the same as that used for basketball by the Surrey Heat.  However, not the first venue in which I have seen two different sports – that honour went to the Madejski Stadium, Reading (football and rugby union).
Pre-match preparation
The games between these two sides last season were epics, hence my choice. Both teams have a 3-1 record – Storm lost by a point at Yorkshire Jets in their last outing, which was something of a surprise.  Thunder have a certain Tracey of the Neville sporting dynasty as director of netball.
This match in one sentence
Thunder edged the first few minutes before the teams ended all square at the interval, but then Storm blew their opponents off the court with a third quarter demolition and a stunning 18-point margin of victory.
So what?
Storm overtake Thunder in the table and join Team Bath (the only team to defeat Thunder so far) with a 4-1 record.
The drama unfolds
First signs were not great for Storm. They found themselves 2-6 and 4-9 down to some clinical Thunder play, and contributed to their situation with a number of unforced errors.  They clawed their way back to a two-point deficit at the end of the first quarter, with GA Ash Neal catching the eye as GS Rachel Dunn saw less of the ball than usual.  11-13 at the end of the 1st quarter Here’s a scene-setter clip from early in the second, as Storm start to perform and they get back to 16-16.  You will detect from these clips that I am with one of Storm’s best and noisiest young supporters!  Top work, Ed.  Storm are in blue. For my second-time visit to a top netball game, I made more of an effort to watch the tactics and the movement.  Here are 100 seconds in the life of a netball Centre, Storm’s Becky Trippick. The crowd reaction tells you that the teams are trading scores and we finish level at the half-way mark.  23-23 at the end of the 2nd quarter With TV cameras present (this goes out on Thursday), the match was shaping up into the close encounter that everyone expected.  For about another 5 minutes.  Dunn was now firing on all cylinders and Neal continued to impress.  Here are two minutes of GS Dunn, but of course Neal is featured too. It’s 32-30 and Storm have edged into the lead … and then suddenly it was 37-31 and 41-31 as they stepped up a gear and Thunder could not respond. Dunn was now scoring for fun with a near-flawless conversion rate now.  Thunder reorganised, and used a timeout, but they were rattled and down by 11 at the next break.  44-33 at the end of the 3rd quarter Other than a brief period of scrappy play in the fourth, Storm never looked like losing their grip.  I took a couple of clips of Ash Neal at work, though Dunn is scoring heavily at these points too.  For my untutored eyes, Ash Neal was player of the match overall.  The local experts gave that honour to WD Natalie Seaton. It finished 62-44.  That is an 18-point margin in a match that was expected to be close.  Whatever the Storm coaching staff said at half-time should be put on motivational posters with pictures of kittens or something.  Facebook loves that stuff.  Final score 62-44 Ashleigh Neal, Storm's GA, in the blue
The programme
Mars Bar Watch 2013
At BP Wisley North on the A3, a standard 58g bar cost 85p.  I should be outraged really, but I am in such a good mood because of this £1 off cheese voucher picked up at the game.  Awesome.
What Next?
No idea really.  Regular followers on Twitter will know that I am shortly changing jobs and heading back into the secondary school sector with a new challenge, back in the classroom full-time after Easter.  The next few weeks will be very busy and hopping decisions are likely to be last-minute.  Follow @GrahamYapp and be among the first to know, and maybe even help make the decisions.  I shall watch some more netball sometime – athletes performing with both pace and skill in a game in which there is respect for officials, and the ideals of sportsmanship are embedded into the way it all works.  No wonder the school parties are here in force. #letsgostorm is what I say.

It's Zanone Problem for Scholars at Thamesmead

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 23 February 2013 at Bayliss Avenue
Result	Thamesmead Town 3 Potters Bar Town 2
Competition	Isthmian League Division One North (Step 4)
Hopping	Last minute decision to be here after my step 3 target game at Ashton United was called off – ground 509 on the lifetime list
Pre-match preparation
Quick look at the table – this is third v eighth.  Then load the postcode into the SatNav … that was my first mistake. When I was sent down the M11 southbound I didn’t think too much of it at first.  It was only when I turned into a queue (from which there was no easy escape) that I realised that the Woolwich Ferry had been chosen as the way over the Thames.  Bad, bad move.  My leisurely journey became a final sprint and I made it with only five minutes to spare.  Fortunately, there were plenty of programmes left. "In four hundred yards, turn left into the river..." - 14:05 indeed - I made it at 14:55 !!
This match in one sentence
A keenly-contested in-your-face match between two strong and well-organised sides, as Thamesmead came back twice from losing positions.
So what?
Thamesmead remain third and look a good bet for a playoff place.  Potters Bar slip one place to ninth.
The drama unfolds
Let’s be clear about one thing – it was cold, but I’m glad the Woolwich Ferry turned up just in time – this was a very good game for the passing neutral. A Thamesmead set-piece caused a bit of defensive panic in the opening moments, and then their keeper Rob Budd had to palm away a stinging shot at his near post.  Potters Bar then took hold of the game.  Here is my scene-setter clip – the home side wear green. As I struggled to make notes with hands that were turning blue and splitting at the pointy bits, Thamesmead had two chances of their own in quick succession.  It was becoming a good contest – quite physical though I wouldn’t say brutal or malicious – nevertheless the officials came in for regular questioning. The opening goal was scored by Potters Bar and came from a hotly disputed freekick.  The outswinging cross from the left was met with a glancing header.  Budd made a superb reflex one-handed save low to his left, pushing it unfortunately towards Lewis Tozer whose own reflex clearance was sliced into the roof of his own net.  0-1 after 16 minutes Chris Doyle, in a forward position from left back, nearly added a second as he got past his marker and shot from a narrow angle.  I was just at the right place to capture Budd’s diving save.   Thamesmead drew level before too long.  Stuart Zanone shot low into the right-hand corner.  1-1 after 25 minutes Here is a clip from the half-hour mark, It was now a very even game.  Potters Bar should have scored after 44 minutes as Gary Wharton found a yard of space to meet a right wing cross but he put it just wide.  Then they did score in stoppage time.  Thamesmead felt that Daniel Ailey was offside (I wasn’t in line so can’t comment) but the lino didn’t and he took the chance well.  1-2 at half-time Thamesmead started the second half strongly and Chris Edwards timed a run from midfield to meet a right-wing cross from Enoch Adjei but he headed over.  Then the equaliser came with a thunderous shot from Zanone from about 25 yards.  2-2 after 55 minutes Zanone's second - the ball is the blurry thing Here is what proved to be the winning goal.  It’s Edwards arriving from midfield again, and it’s a well-taken strike.  3-2 after 63 minutes I have kept five more short clips, and my notebook suggests that it was surprising that there were no more goals.  (I had a couple more but the players’ language is not suitable for a family-friendly website!)  There were several set pieces for each side as tempers began to fray, and Potters Bar had their chances to draw level.  One header in particular (in clip 6) should have hit the target.  Thamesmead had to work hard for this win, and it is a very good result for them as part of an impressive home record this season.  Final score 3-2
The programme
Something random
For me, groundhopping is more about the game and the context than the location, which is good because it is very hard to romanticise at the moment about the beauty of Bayliss Avenue.  Vandalism has been a problem.  Thamesmead is a club whose spirit must be in good shape despite crowds around the 50 mark, but the ground is a work in progress (a polite way of saying “building site”) and with the main stand not in use the spectators gravitated to the dugout side.  There was more noise on the pitch than off it.  I’m not sure what has happened to the project, which seems to be stalled or running very late.  Work has been in progress since 2009, it would seem.  The game itself deserved better than a crowd of 50 – but this level of support is not uncommon in this division. Meanwhile, this is from the current Wikipedia page on the club: “The clubs mascot is Tommy The Thamesmead Toad. Tommy is a 6-foot-tall (1.8 m) green toad, dressed in the Thamesmead Town kit. Tommy can be seen at home matches, warming up with the players, celebrating every time Thamesmead Town score a goal with a slick dance move and regularly berating assistant referees offside decisions.” I am sorry to report that Tommy was nowhere to be seen today, and I fear that he has joined the golden toad (Bufo periglenes) on the list of extinct amphibians.  Readers can add for themselves the two apostrophes needed in the above paragraph.
Hopping for Moorfields Update
Five goals (good ones at that) take us up to 159 from 48 games at an average of 3.31 goals per game.  Nothing else of note to report.
Mars Bar Watch 2013
All perfectly normal – a standard 58g bar for the national average (mode) price of 60p.
What Next?
I expect to have warmed up by next Saturday, and I hope (weather permitting) it will be an FA Vase Sixth Round tie for my afternoon’s entertainment.  If work commitments allow I will also take in Hitchin Town v Chesham on Monday evening.

Canaries and Robins Are Shot Down

Hopperational details
Dates & Venues	Monday 18 February at Top Field & Wednesday 20 February at The AlderSmith Stadium
Results	Hitchin Town 0 Leamington 1 Frome Town 0 St Albans City 3
Competition	Southern League Premier Division (Step 3)
Hopping	Half-term week so a chance for some midweek action.  Have been to (and blogged from) Top Field many times, but this is a first trip to Frome which becomes ground 508 on the lifetime list and leaves me with 9 more to complete every current stadium from Premier League to “non-league” step 3.  I hate the term “non-league” and will only use it in ironic quote marks.
Pre-match preparation
Monday: Hitchin are low in the table but in good form and John Frendo has successive hat-tricks to his name. Leamington are league leaders. Wednesday: Frome had two players sent off on Saturday and are in lower-mid table.  St Albans are under caretaker management and still aspire to the playoffs. Other than this, a nice sunset over Wiltshire on the A303 as I headed way out west.
These matches in one sentence each
A smash-and-grab road win for Leamington who withstood plenty of worthy Hitchin pressure and nicked a stoppage-time goal. A comedy third made the scoreline at Frome rather unflattering for the hosts, but the St Albans win had already been secured with two splendid goals.
So what?
Leamington cement their place at the top of the division.  Frome and Hitchin still have some work to do to ensure Southern Premier status for another season, but should be confident.  The St Albans promotion dream is still alive.
The dramas unfold
Hitchin started brightly and had plenty of possession, causing the Leamington keeper to work.  They had several half-chances and they played with confidence that belied the league table gap.  Leamington, however, are top for a reason and they coped with it pretty well, and on the half-hour cut Hitchin open down the left.  The ball flashed low and at speed across the goal but no-one got a touch.  No goals, but a thoroughly entertaining and competitive game so far.  0-0 at half-time It was more of the same in the second half.  The first clip, from 65 minutes, starts with the Moon and Jupiter high in the clear night sky as the temperature dropped.  I took two more (77 mins & 86 mins) as Hitchin continued to threaten.  Hitchin are in yellow. The smash-and-grab goal came in stoppage time – a real sickener for Hitchin but credit must go to a resilent and streetwise Leamington team.  Ricky Johnson was the scorer.  Final score 0-1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Wednesday, I watched the game in the affable and knowledgeable company of Twitter friend @Yasser11 and, although at risk of hypothermia on a bitter night, we put the world to rights while the teams set about the game.  Right on schedule just before kickoff, the International Space Station appeared from the west and disappeared from view as it arrived in the same section of the sky as Jupiter and the Moon (still there!).  Sadly, I have to report user incompetence as my video clip is unusable.  Never mind, Yasser was there, and he witnessed it and tweeted it. Frome dominated the early stages.  My scene setter clip (Frome are in red) is from fifteen minutes into the game.  A new stand is under construction but we were happy to stand where the seats will be fitted in due course. As so often seems to happen when one team is in control, the other team scores.  The ball dropped nicely for right-back Chris Seeby on the edge of the box and he cracked a belting left-footer into the corner.  0-1 after 32 minutes St Albans almost gifted Frome an equaliser when the ball was initially given away by Joe Bruce, but the defender did enough to hold up Ricky Hulbert so defensive reinforcement could arrive and the chance evaporated.  St Albans were also incensed by a handball incident – Josh Brigham appeared to trip and stumble into the ball but it was handball nonetheless and it cut out a through ball that would have given Chris Henry a one-on-one.  0-1 at half-time The second goal came early in the second half and ensured that St Albans could be comfortable.  It was an excellent finish with a rising right-foot shot from the edge of the area by Henry.  0-2 after 50 minutes My second-half clip is after 75 minutes. Either because Frome were getting desperate or St Albans were getting sloppy, or maybe both, the home side had two good chances in the last few minutes.  A header (Brigham I think) went wide from a great and unchallenged position and then Nick Jupp made a super low one-handed save to protect his clean sheet.  We could have had a very interesting end to the game if either or both had gone in.  Instead what happened is that James Comley pinched the ball from between defender and keeper and had the Freedom of Frome and enough time to write his autobiography and make a speech before walking the ball into the net.  That was a bit harsh, but I know of no-one in Hertfordshire who cares.  Final score 0-3 I trust that Yasser’s body temperature has returned to normal and that his train was on time – nice to meet you at last, and hope you get to some more Wild West grounds in the next few months.
The Frome Town programme
Something random
A quick and self-indulgent hello to any former students or colleagues from St Albans who might stumble across this.  (For other readers: I was headteacher of Beaumont School from 1994-2004.)  Here’s a quick update on what I have been doing in recent years.  I worked for the county council as a secondary school adviser (and even took the exam to nominally qualify as an Ofsted inspector!) for three years but missed the cut-and-thrust of school life and got the job as head of Bushey Hall School in 2007.  I knew that the school was in difficulty, and “Special Measures” duly arrived, but I had two successful years before stepping aside so that the school could convert (as had always been planned) to academy status and the sponsors could make a new appointment.  My groundhopping really took off at that point, I discovered Twitter and a few months later I started this eclectic blog which was never meant to be totally serious.  I came out of retirement to take a part-time admin position at a small village primary school in 2011, and was in the right place at the right time to do some magnificent groundhopping in the Faroe Islands which still attracts a lot of interest from readers.  I would love some more sponsors for Hopping for Moorfields (see below) which will cost you less than the price of a St Albans pint by the end of the season.
Hopping for Moorfields Update
47 games have given us 154 goals at an average of just over three a game, so those penny-a-goal pledges will be worth about £2.50 come June.  We have had two instances of visible farm animals, 10 three-goal games, 1 eight-goal game and three goalless draws.  Sadly, no scoring keepers, bicycle kick goals or snow abandonments.  It looks like the final total will be over £500 but my target remains £1000. Email me on headyapp (at) hotmail (dot) com or contact me through Twitter if you want to jump on board.
Mars Bar Watch 2013
The Hitchin Town club shop sells them for 70p, but the second most expensive (so far) standard 58g Mars Bar in the country came into my possession on the way home in WH Smith at M3 Fleet Services Eastbound.  85p.  Shocker.
What Next?
I hope to get to another one of my Step 3 priority grounds on Saturday.  Watch @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details.