Three-Hop Deluxe - Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape (Mother Shipton Remix)

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Friday 14 April 2017 at a)  Wheatley Park, Garforth b)  Station View, Harrogate c)  Manse Lane, Knaresborough
Results	a) Garforth Town 0 Staveley Miners Welfare 0 b) Harrogate Railway Athletic 0 Pickering Town 5 c) Knaresborough Town 1 Pontefract Collieries 5
Competition	Northern Counties East League - Premier Division (Step 5) for a) and b) and First Division (Step 6) for c)
Hopping	Grounds 605-7 on the lifetime list
Pre-match preparation
Credit where credit is due.  My pre-match prep is as nothing compared to the months of organisation that have come together for this Hop.  My thanks go to Chris Berezai, Laurence Reade, anyone I am accidentally omitting, and all of the club and league secretaries, officers and volunteers who made all of this happen, from match to parking to programmes to refreshments.  Great stuff.
These matches in one sentence each
a) A stalemate between two hard-working and well-organised sides, with lots of effort but relatively few goalmouth chances. b) A one-sided game rendered thus by the first-half dismissal of a Harrogate defender. c) The game was settled by an amazing second-half burst of three goals in three minutes, including an audacious 40-yarder.
So what?
Garforth remain mid-table, Staveley remain 6th.  In the same division, Pickering have an even stronger hold now on the runners-up spot behind Cleethorpes Town.  Harrogate RA are not technically yet safe from relegation - it would require a lot of things to go against them, but that's what happened today.  Pontefract did enough today to go to the top of Division One on goal difference.  Knaresborough have dropped to 8th place.
The drama unfolds
The first game of the day was initially dominated by Staveley, usually working down the right flank and using long throws to good effect.  After the break, Garforth had their turn to dominate.  There was plenty of pace and end-to-end action.  The game was never tedious but the two sides largely cancelled out each other's attacking threats. The Harrogate RA pitch has a pronounced slope.  Pickering seemed untroubled by it as they asserted their superiority early on.  Home defender Mike Morris initially instinctively prevented a goal with a save, but it earned a penalty and a red card.  The visitors added two more with a header and a powerful shot before the interval.  In the second half, the one-way tode continued.  Pickering were somewhat wasteful and they added two more goals in a rather funereal atmosphere. Knaresborough took a first half lead and held it at the interval.  The equaliser was a good goal and came early in the second half.  Pontefract's second goal may have been intended as a cross, we may never know.  However, an amazing three-minute burst settled the game.  A slightly fortuitous goal came from a dangerous deep cross, but then Jack Greenough danced through the defence for a great goal just before Kane Reece smashed in a shot from around 40 yards for an outrageous fifth.
Ground Pix
Garforth's impressive and imposing main stand Harrogate RA's impressive and imposing clubhouse Knaresborough's impressive and imposing dugout
Match Pix
Garforth in yellow ... Harrogate RA in red... Knaresborough in red...
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
At Garforth, Green and Grey share the points and both have a clean sheet too.  It was a bad day for Yellow at Harrogate RA, and Grey had another win and clean sheet.  Finally, a win for Radioactive Bile at Knaresborough as Grey's day was spoiled.
What Next?
Watch @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!  Day 2 of the Hop will take me to Rossington Main, Armthorpe and Selby if I have the stamina!

Twelves of Herts Leaves Hadley Missing a Trick

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Thursday 13 April 2017 at Brickfield Lane
Result	Hadley 1 Tring Athletic 2
Competition	Spartan South Midlands Premier League (Step 5)
Hopping	Ground 604, local enough for an evening hop.  I tried to come here once before, when I was still relatively new to non-league.  Hadley’s first team were groundsharing at Potters Bar in those days, and I’d not realised until the only other cars in the car park contained members of the Women’s Institute heading for a gardening talk at the adjacent hall.  We’ve all done it (I hope).
Pre-match preparation
I saw Hadley ease their relegation fears two days ago with a win at Sun Sports.  Tring are sitting much higher in the table but arguably are playing for pride only.  The result matters to at least one team, which is as much as any neutral can hope for at this stage of the season.
This match in one sentence
Tring took the points with an effective defensive display whilst Hadley will count themselves somewhat unlucky not to get a draw.
So what?
Hadley are unlikely to catch Holmer Green above them so this result just uses up one of their games in hand over London Tigers below.  They have four of their last five games at home so don’t need to panic yet.
The drama unfolds
There was the prospect of pre-match drama when the programmes ran out well before kickoff.  Fortunately I was one of the smug early birds.  On the pitch, two officials warmed up but they turned down my offer of help, assuring me that there would be a full set of three.  Hadley started the game just as bright and busy as earlier in the week, but Tring are a big strong side and they largely cancelled each other out in the early stages.  Tring broke the deadlock with an attack down the right.  I was at the other end but it seems that a shot across the keeper went in off the post.  The scorer was Tommy Twelves.  0-1 after 19 min Hadley heads stayed up and a lively enjoyable game ensued.  They nearly gifted an own goal with a sliced spinning clearance across the six-yard box after a moment of defensive indecision.  They defended the corner and it immediately needed a timely tackle at the other end to prevent a leveller.  Hadley went close once more before the interval.  0-1 at half-time The second half was pacy end-to-end stuff, great for the passing neutral.  Hadley are quick, comfortable on the ball, and play with width.  Tring are solid, organised, good in the air and direct on the break.  Hadley had a huge amount of possession but could not find the final ball, as they say.  Tring’s keeper questioned a decision with an appeal to the ref’s grasp of the physical sciences.  “What’s he supposed to do? Evaporate?”  I reflected that quantum tunnelling would be more effective, but it only happens with sub-atomic particles not big ugly Step 5 defenders. Hadley came close a few times.  One superb tackle by Tring’s Number 6 on Ivan Machado was a hinge point.  Then came a 90th minute penalty appeal which the ref turned down.  I’m not really in a position to comment but the atmosphere turned very sour.  To add insult to injury, Chris Vardy then absolutely buried a left-foot shot to seal the win.  0-2 after 90+2 mins With one last attack, Hadley did earn a spot-kick when Justin Thompson was felled near the byeline.  Laste Dombaxe rolled it in after a stuttered run-up for his third goal of the week, but this was for consolation only.  1-2 after 90+4 mins and at FT
Ground Pix
I didn't notice immediately, but there's a windmill nearby ...
Match Pix
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
Green v Grey but no clean sheet for either side.  Updated table to come after my northern weekend.
What Next?
Off to Yorkshire early in the morning for Day 1 of the NCEL hop, no doubt alongside another couple of hundred obsessives.  Watch @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!

Time for Beds

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Wednesday 12 April 2017 at Shefford Sports & Social Club
Result	Shefford Town & Campton 0 Flitwick Town 3
Competition	Bedfordshire Senior League Premier Division (Step 7)
Hopping	Number 603 on the lifetime list. Here because of proximity and the fact that the result matters for the divisional outcome.
Pre-match preparation
Flitwick Town went to the top of their league at the weekend, and although there could be twists and turns to come, they are now in control of the title destination.  Shefford Town & Campton are respectably mid-table and are not likely to roll over meekly.  Game on.
This match in one sentence
In much the same pattern as my game at Sun Sports last night, Flitwick did their damage in the first half and added a slightly flattering third goal late on.
So what?
Flitwick may yet have to win all three of their remaining games to be sure.  AFC Kempston are in second place, with a six-point deficit but also two games in hand.  Shefford Town & Campton were defeated but not disgraced and should hold on for a mid-table finish.
The drama unfolds
I spent the first 15 minutes trying to work out who was who. A 2016 photo on the Shefford Twitter account has a team in blue-and-white, and the corner flags were blue-and-white.  However, some shouts between the players made me suspicious, especially as the blues were in the ascendancy early on and showing all the urgency of potential champions.  The other team lined up in a fluorescent greenish kit, surprisingly close to that worn by the opposing goalkeeper (see below).  As I was pondering, a fluorescent player made a good headed clearance from under the bar, only for Blue #5 to head in easily from the resulting corner kick.  1-0 or 0-1 to be confirmed The corner that led to the opening goal, couldn't resist a playful but respectful nod to well-known NL photographer Simon Langston ;) I deduced from some of the unparliamentary language that followed that Shefford were indeed in the dayglo and therefore very grumpy with each other.  So 0-1 it is.  Before too long, a second followed as Blue #9 finished a wave of attacks.  The first half finished without anything else of significance to report.  0-2 at half-time No chance for the keeper.  0-2. There was much effing do this and effing do that in the Shefford half-time huddle and they duly did.  In the deepening gloom (no floodlights here and a kickoff that had been closer to 6.30pm than 6.15pm) they worked hard to get back into the game.  If a cross-shot had gone in rather than hit the bar after 62 minutes, who knows what might have happened.  Another flicked looping chance went wide just after.  I’d already noted the similarity to last night’s game when the home keeper had to save a one-on-one, but the third goal finally arrived from the penalty spot after a pull.  Blue #10 will get the credit (I think).  I think the game finished a minute early but by then it was pretty dark anyway and no-one complained.  0-3 after 84 mins and at FT
Ground Pix
Match Pix
Shefford Town & Campton in dayglo green!
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
Tonight, a first win for Radioactive Bile, over Orange.  Here is the table after 100 tracked games.  I must look into a statistical significance test to see whether this is a valuable addition to human knowledge and worth an honorary doctorate from someone ;) See, that's not traditional goalkeeper green and it's not yellow either. 3pts for a win, 1pt for a draw, -1pt for a goal conceded (GC) and +5pts for a clean sheet (CS).  Shirts ordered by points per game (PPG).  Fractional games arose when sides subbed a keeper part-way through for a non-matching replacement or had one in a top that was really half-and-half. P W D L GC CS Pts PPG Red 8.0 4.0 0.0 4.0 8.0 3.0 19.0 2.38 Green 47.0 26.0 5.0 16.0 75.0 14.0 78.0 1.66 Blue 28.1 11.0 5.0 12.1 44.0 10.0 44.0 1.57 Maroon 4.0 2.0 1.0 1.0 6.0 1.0 6.0 1.50 Grey 34.5 16.0 7.0 11.5 58.5 8.0 36.5 1.06 Orange 19.5 6.0 4.0 9.5 28.5 5.0 18.5 0.95 Purple 10.0 5.0 2.0 3.0 22.0 2.0 5.0 0.50 Yellow 21.0 6.0 5.0 10.0 40.0 4.0 3.0 0.14 Radioactive Bile 10.0 3.0 0.0 7.0 23.0 1.0 -9.0 -0.90 Pink 11.0 2.0 4.0 5.0 25.0 1.0 -10.0 -0.91 Black 5.0 1.0 3.0 1.0 14.0 0.0 -8.0 -1.60 White 1.9 0.0 0.0 1.9 4.0 0.0 -4.0 -2.11
What Next?
Watch @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!  I will definitely be at the Northern Counties East hop games on Friday and Saturday, but Thursday night is like Schrödinger's Cat, in an as yet undetermined state.