West Lancs Hop Sunday

Sunday 24th August 2025

All three grounds have a pitch side perimeter fence, dugouts and good social facilities. Admission was £3 at each game, plus a pin badge for the same price. Programmes were also available priced at £2.

964.Croston Sports Club

Croston Sports 0-0 Lytham Town

West Lancashire FL Division One

11am ko

Croston is a village near Chorley in Lancashire on the River Yarrow. The population of the civil parish is just under 3,000. The village football club is based at Croston Sports Village community hub, which has facilities covering a wide range of sports teams including cricket, bowls, tennis, snooker, cycling and golf.

The football club was formed in the late 1950s when Croston Celtic and Croston Rangers joined forces. The club played in the Preston & District League before a successful application to join the West Lancs in 2004. 

Croston Sports 0 Lytham Town 0

Att.371

This was a good nil-niler. The visitors had the best of the first half, missing several chances including hitting the woodwork a couple of times. The home team could have clinched it, but were denied by some terrific saves from Joan Bould.

965.Centenary Sports Ground

Hesketh Bank 6 Turton 2

West Lancashire FL Division One

2pm ko

Hesketh Bank is a village in between Southport and Preston, with a population of just over 3,000. There’s been a village football club as far back as the late 19th century. The present club was formed in 1922, mainly playing in the  Southport & District League. They joined the West Lancashire League in 1987, then in 1995 a new unified club was formed out of an amalgamation of the senior club and the Hesketh Bank Boys club who had been around since 1972.

Hesketh Bank 6 Turton 2 Att.401

The Amber and Blacks raced into a three goal lead with only a quarter of the game gone. They bagged six by the end but it could have been a lot more.

1-0(Aiden Johnson 6’) 2-0(Kevin Edgar 16’) 3-0(Robbie Morris 23’) 4-0(Edgar 45+1’) 4-1(Danyil Prudnikov 54’) 5-1(Peter Atkinson-Jones 57’) 6-1(Dan Birkby 87’) 6-2(Ethan Mason 89’)

966.Richmond Park

Burscough Richmond 2 Lostock St Gerards 1

West Lancashire FL Premier Division

5pm ko

Burscough is a town in between Preston and Liverpool with a population of almost 10,000. 

Burscough Richmond FC were formed in 1975, originally as a Sunday team before switching to the Preston and District Saturday League in 1985.

The club almost folded due to financial difficulties in 1990, then the current committee took over to lead the club to dominate the Preston League for the majority of the next 20 years.

The club were accepted into the West Lancashire League Division Two in 2011, winning promotion in their debut season, before reaching its Premier Division in 2017.

Burscough Richmond 2 Lostock St Gerards 1

Att.407

Richmond battled back in the second half to clinch all three points with Avis firing home a late winner. 

0-1(Joshua Sarda 35’) 1-1(Zach Carberry 78’) 2-1(Harry Avis 89’)

#Heedhopper

I would have loved to have done the Saturday leg of this Groundhop, but I couldn't get the time off work(thankfully this won't be an obstacle for much longer) Thanks to Katie & Lee for agreeing to do the Sunday leg instead and getting three West Lancs League grounds ticked off.

Around the Alliance 31

962. Lynemouth Welfare

Lynemouth 2-3 Wideopen FC Reserves

Northern Football Alliance Division Three

Wednesday 20th August 2025

Northern Alliance newcomers Lynemouth FC  have stepped up from the North Northumberland League after winning the title and lifting the NCFL Presidents Cup.

Lynemouth is a former mining village 3 miles northeast of Ashington, close to the village of Ellington. Lynemouth Colliery was in operation between 1927 and 1994, which closed due to an underground fire, before it was demolished in 2005.

Lynemouth Community Hub is at the car park entrance, with the football pitch at the back over the far end There’s also a bowling green, skate park and kids playground within the site.

Lynemouth 2 Wideopen FC Reserves 3

Att.40hc

A very entertaining second half, which could have gone either way once Ryan Lashley made it 2-2 with a superb free-kick. However, it was the visitors who clinched it when #16 finished off a breakaway move.

1-0(Connor Willis 18’) 1-1 (Hayden James Thompson 21’) 1-2(Thompson 59’) 2-2(Ryan Lashley 78’) 2-3(James Connell 84’)

963.Gallagher Park

Bedlington United 4-5 Hadrian FC

Northern Football Alliance Division Three

Saturday 23rd August 2025

I saw Bedlington United at Blyth Sporting Club, and now they’ve relocated into the town to Gallagher Park. The ground is found at the bottom end of the park, where there is the pavilion, two football pitches, a bmx track and a children's play area. 

Bedlington United use the pitch opposite the pavilion which is roped off at the sides.

Bedlington United 4 Hadrian FC 5

Att.33hc

A cracking game where as soon as one team took the lead, the other side quickly equalised. The vital leveller came ten minutes from time, when a shot was handled on the line by the United centre-half (great save by the way) and Dylan Barclay slotted home the resulting penalty to make it four-each. Moments later Barclay completed his hat-trick which turned out to be the winning goal.

0-1(Baran Kaan Tugrul 8’) 1-1(Flyn Williamson 24’) 1-2(Dylan Barclay 33’) 2-2(Andrew Dodd 34’) 3-2(Williamson 50’) 3-3(Taylor Kerr 64’) 4-3(Scott Bainbridge 72’) RED - 80’ #5(Bedlington) 4-4(Barclay 81pen) 4-5(Barclay 82’)

✓ 961 K-Park

East Kilbride 1-3 Spartans

Scottish League Two

Saturday 2nd August 2025

East Kilbride is the largest town in South Lanarkshire, which lies on high ground on the south side of the Cathkin Braes, about 8 miles southeast of Glasgow. East Kilbride grew from a small village with less than one thousand inhabitants to Scotland's first new town in May 1947, which now has a population of almost 75,000 amongst its subdivided residential precincts.

The town takes its name from St Bride, an Irish saint who founded a monastery for nuns and monks in Kildare, Ireland in the 6th century. Dál Riatan monks introduced her order to Scotland

East Kilbride FC formed in 2010, launched  by two former Old Firm players, John Hartson and John Brown, with the aim of bringing senior football to one of Scotland's largest towns. The new club came about with the merger of Jackton Boys Club and Stewartfield FC, with  local clubs EK Diamonds and EK Wanderers, later incorporated into the structure. The original East Kilbride club was founded in 1871, playing in early rounds of the Scottish Cup before folding by the end of the 19th century.

Scottish Amateur Football League 2010 - 2013

Division 2 Champions: 2011–12

Division 1 Champions: 2012–13

Lowland League (Founder members) 2013 - 2025

Champions (4): 2016–17, 2018–19, 2023–24, 2024–25

EK won promotion to the Scottish 42 by beating Highland League winners Boroa Rangers in the two-legged play-off semi-final (4-1H 3-3A) then defeating League 2 bottom placed club Bonnyrigg Rose in the final. (3-1H 0-0A)

Ross Commercial Finance Stadium

K-Park

Calderglen Country Park, 

East Kilbride, 

G75 0QZ

K-Park was opened in May 2011 by the East Kilbride Community Trust (EKCT), with former Rangers and Scotland striker Ally McCoist (who is from the town) officially opening the first phase of the new facility on 25 September 2011.

Only half the ground is in use. There’s a seating stand running down one side, with the changing rooms in the corner. The team benches are opposite and there’s a covered terrace behind the goal, which is allocated to away supporters. 

East Kilbride 1 Spartans 3

Scottish League Two Matchday 1

3pm ko

Att.TBC

Spon:

Admission £15

Cumberland sausage subs (x2) and a can of Irn Bru £14

(What a rip-off - there wasn’t even any onions)

Mark Stowe capitalised on a slack back pass, then hit a superb strike into the top corner of the net to set Spartans up to an opening day away win. An entertaining game with both sides creating chances throughout the ninety minutes.

  8’ 0-1 Cammy Russell

16’ 1-1 Keir Foster

29’ 1-2 Mark Stowe

38’ 1-3 Mark Stowe

89’ RED CARD Cammy Russell (Spartans)

#Heedhopper

152 miles door-to-door

0849 train Newcastle to Edinburgh (return on 1903)

Total Scottish football grounds visited 129

Re-completed Scottish 42

My pal James picked me up at 1.15 for the road trip via the M8 to East Kilbride. Beforehand I had a couple of pints in The Chanter and Ryrie’s Bar, avoiding the city centre which was crammed for the start of the Fringe Festival.  

The traffic was kind on the return route, so I was back in Edinburgh by six, which allowed plenty of time for a drink in the Sandy Bells before the train home.