Ground #417 - Giant Axe

Date: 5th September 2026
Location: Lancaster, Lancashire
Ground: Giant Axe

My second new ground of 2026 was on Saturday 5th September at Giant Axe in Lancaster, Lancashire. The game was Lancaster City vs. Tadcaster Albion in the F.A. Cup 1st Qualifying Round.

Giant Axe is three-quarters of a mile north-east of the city centre in a residential area. To the east the ground has an additional football pitch with the rail line beyond, while housing borders the other three sides. The venue is a third of a mile east of the railway station and has been home to the club since it was formed in 1911.

The entrance to the ground is in the south-west corner with a small club shop behind the turnstiles. The western side of the ground is the main side with the 513-seat main stand taking up the middle half of the western flank of the pitch. This stand has a number of supporting beams holding up the roof. On the southern side of the stand is a food outlet and uncovered standing while on the northern side of the stand there is the dressing rooms, clubhouse and Dolly's Diner.

The other side of the field is the most basic, with it consisting of uncovered flat standing. It does store the two dugouts and a raised music shop on top of a shipping container in the middle of this side. There is a covered terrace almost the whole of the length behind the goal and the northern end while the southern end has a 12-level uncovered concrete terrace which is a good place to watch the game from if the weather is kind. 

The game was an F.A. Cup 1st Qualifying Round tie between Northern Premier League side Lancaster City and Northern Counties East League Premier Division side Tadcaster Albion. Both sides were sitting in 15th in their respective leagues but with Lancaster two divisions above the visitors they were certainly favourites for the day. The first half was dominated by the hosts. In the 12th minute Steven Yawson fizzed a shot just over from 12 yards and a few minutes later Tadcaster cleared the ball of the line after a scramble from a corner. Halfway through the half, James Bailey's header was acrobatically saved but in the 25th minute the Tadcaster keeper Harry Stead could do nothing as his side conceded a penalty for a high boot on Lancaster's Jim Craig. Sam Bailey smashed the penalty into the roof of the net giving Stead no chance. It was almost 2-0 just before the interval when Stead palmed a Jim Craig header just wide. Tadcaster continued to ride their luck early in the second half when Jim Craig rounded Stead and squared for James Bailey only for his shot to be cleared off the line. Lancaster's inability to get a second goal came back to haunt them in the 74th minute - a long ball up field found Ollie Green who got past a defender and bundled the ball past the keeper with it slowly rolling into the net to equalise for Tadcaster. The final minutes saw the hosts try and grab a winner but Tadcaster dug in and held on for a draw. This meant a replay back at Ings Lane though Lancaster were able to win that one 2-0 to advance to the 2nd qualifying round. 

Result: Lancaster City 1-1 Tadcaster Albion

Competition: F.A. Cup

Attendance: 445

Ground #414 - Sixways Stadium

Date: 6th September 2025
Location: Worcester, Worcestershire
Ground: Sixways Stadium

My seventh new ground of 2025 was on Saturday 6th September at Sixways Stadium in Worcester, Worcestershire. The game was Worcester City vs. Kettering Town in Southern League Premier Division Central.

Sixways Stadium is located in the north-east tip of Worcester, off junction 6 of the M5 motorway (at a six-junction roundabout that gives the venue its name). The complex has a 1,000 space car park, physio centre, David Lloyd leisure centre and a number of industrial units on the south of the site. The venue opened in 1998 as the home for Worcester Warriors rugby union club and is a temporary home for Worcester City FC who have led a nomadic existence since 2013 when their St George's Lane ground was sold for housing development without a replacement.

The Cecil Duckworth Stand on the eastern flank is comfortably the biggest at the 12,000 capacity venue - it has a large single deck of seating with an upper deck of hospitality boxes all the way along with the balcony overhanging the seating deck below. This structure includes the reception, ticket office, club shop, a restaurant and match control box. 

The southern end has a similar set-up albeit smaller  - a seating deck with two levels of hospitality boxes for the upper deck. The west side of the ground has a stand in the middle for much of the pitch length. This side has the dressing rooms, training centre and offices and towards the northern end are more buildings housing a bar, food outlets and smaller hospitality suites. In front of these areas is uncovered standing. The northern end is currently undeveloped and consists of uncovered hard standing - temporary stands have been in place previously at this end. 

Worcester came into the game in 14th in the league. Their opponents Kettering were 3rd having won their first four games only to lose at home to Market Harborough last time out. A quarter of the way into the game a long ball up field resulted in an error by Kettering's Andi Thanoj which gave the ball to Felix Miles. The Worcester man rounded Shane Flynn as the Kettering defender slipped but Miles then chose to pass to Teddy Rowe who was a good few yards offside. Rowe's shot was saved by Jason Alexander but is was academic as the offside flag was already raised. In the final minute of the half Alexander was called into action again, this time to block a shot from Liam Lockett as he steamed into the area on the left hand-side. From the resulting corner the ball went to the back post where Spencer Hamilton lost his marker and slide the ball into the net. However, Worcester's lead was wiped out immediately - just 18 seconds after the restart Connor Stanley cut in from the left and his deflected shot looped over Harley Price and onto the head of Nile Ranger for him to nod in. The second half was nothing to write home about with the closest either side coming to another goal when Kettering's Eddy Oppong curled a 25-yard shot onto the roof of the net.

Result: Worcester City 1-1 Kettering Town

Division: Southern League Premier Division Central

Attendance: 1,112

Ground #388 - Stade de Luxembourg

Date: 17th June 2023
Location: Gasperich, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Ground: Stade de Luxembourg

My thirteenth new ground of 2023 was on Saturday 17th June at Stade de Luxembourg in Gasperich, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. The game was Luxembourg vs. Liechtenstein in the 2024 European Championship Qualifying.

Stade de Luxembourg is located on the southern outskirts of Luxembourg City close to the city limits. Opened in July 2021, it is part of a generation of an unused area so has little in the way of neighbours though buildings are being constructed. The ground sits directly south of the A6 road which has a technology and business park on its northern side. At present the stadium is catered for by buses which link in with a park & ride to the east of the stadium. However, an extension to the Luxembourg tram is under construction and once completed in 2024 will see the stadium act as its new southern terminus. 

With Luxembourg's former national stadium failing to comply with UEFA requirements due to its dated design, a decision was made to build a new €80m stadium in the south of the city. The venue may be modest in capacity but is impressive for its overall build. The exterior consists of 560 metal panels which light up to reflect the national colours of Luxembourg at night. It has an unusual floodlight design with these attached as extensions to the 52 cantilever roof supports. The interior is very smart and spacious, particularly at the back of the seating areas. The pitch sits lower than the seating with stairs up to seating. The spectator area consists of a single deck bowl with seating also reflecting the national colours with a mixture of red, white and blue apart from an executive seating section which is dark blue. With the spacious areas at the back of the stand fans have almost a free roam of the ground and are able to move around at will.

The ground has a capacity of 9,471. This is made up with 8,708 standard seats, 512 VIP seats, 27 VVIP seats, 174 press seats and 50 seats for disabled spectators. Whilst this is a small increase of the capacity of the old venue this appears to have been overly cautious with games regularly selling out. Regarding the different stands the South Stand could be considered the 'main' stand. Its exterior houses the ticket office and corporate entrances and will be site of the new tram terminus. Inside it has corporate boxes all the way along the back with a TV gantry above. There is executive seating in the middle of the seating deck with media desks either side and the dugouts at the bottom of the stand. The remainder of the ground is uniform with seating with other items of note the big screens in the north-west and south-east corners and the stadium control box in the south-west corner.

The game between Luxembourg and Liechtenstein was the third game in Group J for Euro 2024 Qualifying. Luxembourg's first two games had seen them hold Slovakia to a goalless draw away before losing 6-0 at home to Portugal last time out. Liechtenstein had suffered two heavy defeats, going down 4-0 in Portugal and 7-0 at home to Iceland. In this contest Luxembourg were on top in the early going but it was the visitors who went closest when Dennis Salanovic curled a free-kick into the sidenetting 25 minutes into proceedings. The hosts sprung to life as the game headed for half-time - first a great run by Yvandro Borges culminated in him shooting across goal and hitting the post. A couple of minutes later Borges was put into a similar position to the left of goal and this time curled into the bottom corner. His celebrations were short-lived though as his teammate Leandro Barriero had taken too long to lay the ball off to him and by the time he eventually did so Borges had strayed offside. Luxembourg began the second half strongly and in the 54th minute a corner found Marvin Martins who headed towards goal. Liechtenstein keeper Benjamin Buchel had to be alert to save and keep the game goalless. Five minutes after this Luxembourg made their break through and grabbed the first goal of the game. Gerson Rodrigues was fed the ball on the right of the area and with his shot squirming past the keeper and trickling towards goal teammate Daniel Sinani made sure by knocking in on the line before any Liechtenstein defenders could get back. The away side had nothing to offer after this and it was instead the hosts who doubled their lead in the 89th minute. It was Rodrigues again at the heart of the action with him running at the Liechtenstein defence and curling a well placed shot into the bottom corner from just outside the area. The win for Luxembourg coupled with an excellent away win in Bosnia a few days later left the country well in the hunt for a potential first appearance at the European Championships.

Result: Luxembourg 2-0 Liechtenstein

Competition: European Championship Qualifying

Attendance: 6,806

Ground #378 - Hull City Stadium

Date: 3rd March 2023
Ground: Hull City Stadium
Location: Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire

My third new ground of 2023 was on Friday 3rd March at the Hull City Stadium in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. The game was Hull City vs. West Bromwich Albion in the Footballl League Championship.

The Hull City Stadium, currently known as the MKM Stadium, is located in West Park which as the name suggests is to the west of the city centre. It was built in 2002 on the site of a cricket pitch and is surrounded by parkland. The stadium is a mile west of Hull railway station and became the home of the club in December 2002 after upgrading from Boothferry Park where they had played since 1946.

The Hull City Stadium is an asymmetrical bowl with a lower deck the whole way round which can hold around 20,000 spectators with an additional second tier of seating in the West Stand increasing the capacity to just over 25,000. The stadium has been designed so a second tier could be added to the East Stand to up this capacity to 30,000 if the club became established in the Premier League. The additional western deck means the roof slopes down from this stand to the remainder of the stadium.

With the West Stand being the 'main' stand at the ground this is where the club reception is situated. The only hospitality area at the venue is in between the upper and lower decks on this side. The west side also houses the Dugout Bar which offers private event space for up to 400 people. The ticket office and club shop reside on the eastern side of the ground and there is other office space dotted throughout. The northern and southern ends are more basic but do have large TV screens hanging from the roof for both. The large footprint available to the ground means it has spacious concourses and good legroom for fans.

The game saw two out-of-form sides competing with Hull sitting in 16th with no wins in four and West Brom sitting in 11th with one win in four. The visitors started the brighter of the two sides and created three good chances in the opening twenty minutes. First Jed Wallace's cross to Marc Albrighton resulted in a bobbled shot requiring a good save by Karl Darlow as the ball headed for the corner of the net. Shortly after this the two combined again with Albrighton bringing the ball down well on the left side of the box before laying off to Wallace to shoot straight at Darlow. 60 seconds later Darlow was needed once again saving a Daryl Kike header from Albrighton's cross. It was therefore against the run of play that Hull took the lead. A ball upfield was headed down by Benjamin Tetteh to Regan Slater. As Slater attempted to slide Tetteh back in West Brom's Okay Yokuslu stuck out a foot but could only divert the ball straight into the path of Tetteh on the left of goal. With a lot of work to do Tetteh turned and smashed the ball first time in the top corner of the net to see Hull lead 1-0 at the break. The second half started much as the first had with Darlow saving his side - the ball went down the right side of the field and Jayson Molumby's cross found Dike who shot low at goal from six yards. Darlow was again up to the task diving low and keeping the ball out. Hull went up the other end in the 56th minute and created a similar scenario to the goal with Benjamin Tetteh taking a fierce first-time shot with Josh Griffiths pushing over for a corner. From the resulting corner the Tigers scored their second of the game with Baggies defender Dara O'Shea heading backwards into his own net from Ozan Tufan's cross. The visitors continued to attack and came closest in the 64th minute when a John Swift cannoned back off the post. West Brom had a couple more speculative efforts but these were also saved by Darlow. The Hull keeper put in a man-of-the-match performance on the night and was a big reason why the Tigers secured all three points.

Result: Hull City 2-0 West Bromwich Albion

Division: Football League Championship

Attendance: 17,021

Ground #342 - Moor Lane

Date: 22nd February 2020
Ground: Moor Lane
Location: Salford, Greater Manchester

My second new ground of 2020 was on Saturday 22nd February at Moor Lane in Salford, Greater Manchester. The game was Salford City vs. Colchester United in Football League Two.

Moor Lane is in a broadly residential area 2.5 miles north of Manchester city centre. The stadium is directly opposite Kersal Moor Nature Reserve to the north while backing onto housing to the west and south and a primary school to the east. The ground is 2 miles south-east of the nearest railway station at Clifton but only a half a mile further to the south is the better served Manchester Victoria station. The venue has been home to Salford City since 1978.

Moor Lane has been completely revamped to accommodate Salford's rapid rise through the football pyramid since its takeover. The original stadium had a capacity of just 1,600 which while adequate for 8th tier levels was not sufficient for the ambition of the new owners so during 2017 the ground was completely rebuilt to Football League standards. The revised capacity is 5,108 with 2,246 seats - the site is tightly packed in so there is little room for further expansion should the club's rise up the leagues continue so as a result a new home would be required in those circumstances.

The fully enclosed venue has all four stands at the same height though the North Stand could probably be considered the main stand. This all-seater stand has six rows of seating with hospitality boxes along the back of the middle half of the stand and has the club reception and other facilities. The eastern section of the stand is given over to away supporters who wish to sit rather than stand. The South Stand also has six rows of seating for its length but nothing at the back of the stand save a TV gantry in the middle. The two ends are both 12 level metal terraces with the western end given over to the nosiest home support and the eastern end to away supporters. The latter is easily able to be split into sections depending on the level of away support.

Colchester went into the game in need of a win after back-to-back defeats had seen them slip out of the play-off places. Salford meanwhile were safe in mid-table with a slim chance of getting to the post-season should they have a spectacular end to the season. The terrible weather conditions meant a classic was never on the cards though the hosts started brightly with James Wilson going close with a 20-yard effort in the 3rd minute. Salford had a series of half chances until Colchester took the lead in the 27th minute. Kwame Poku received the ball just inside his own half and set off on a run - he beat two defenders before curling a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the area for an excellent opening goal of the game. Barely two minutes later history almost repeated itself as Poku curled a shot from almost the same area of the pitch inches wide of the goal and Colchester were very much in the ascendancy. Salford went close to restoring parity in the 39th minute when Craig Conway's lofted free-kick was headed on by Jack Baldwin to find James Wilson six yards out in plenty of space. Wilson shot towards goal but Dean Gerken stuck out a leg and kept the score at 1-0. This was a key moment as two minutes later the visitors extended their lead. Cohen Bramall did well down the left and then slipped the ball inside to Callum Harriott. The attacker took a speculative effort from 25 yards which bounced awkwardly in front of the keeper and ended up nestled in the far corner. Just when the U's were expecting to go into the break with a healthy lead they were pegged back as Salford scored themselves. A good ball down the right hand side got Michael O'Connor to the byline and he squared for Ashley Hunter who knocked into the net from six yards out. After the restart the home side went close as Scott Wiseman got in down the right and pulled back for Brandon Thomas-Asante at the back post. Fortunately for the away side Omar Sowunmi was there to nip in ahead and deny what would have been a certain equaliser. The second half was a poor spectacle and after the next close action was in the 82nd minute when Darron Gibson's bobbled shot from distance went the wrong side of the post for him. The final minutes were played out in torrential rain and high wind with the ball getting stuck on the sodden pitch. Eleven minutes of injury time were played and in the penultimate one of these Salford missed a glorious chance to grab a point as Thomas-Asante headed over Wiseman's cross from close range. The final whistle went shortly after as Colchester secured their first away win since Boxing Day.

Result: Salford City 1-2 Colchester United
Division: Football League Two
Attendance: 2,589

Ground #332 - bet365 Stadium

Date: 1st October 2019
Ground: bet365 Stadium
Location: Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire

My forty-seventh new ground of 2019 was on Tuesday 1st October at the bet365 Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. The match was Stoke City vs. Huddersfield Town in the Football League Championship.

The bet365 Stadium is located in a business park in the south of the city, adjacent to the A50 road which runs to the north. The east of the ground borders a road with a hotel, restaurant and car dealership beyond. The southern edge runs up to more car dealership while the western side has a large car park with the West Coast Mainline line after this. The railway line leads up to the nearest station, Stoke-on-Trent station, two miles to the north. The venue was opened for the club as the Britannia Stadium in 1997, replacing their old home at the Victoria Ground where they had played from 1878.

The West Stand towers over the stadium as the only two-tier structure at the venue. The 7,357 seater stand has a larger lower deck of seating with hospitality boxes all along the back and this set-up is repeated at the back of the smaller upper seating deck. These upper tier boxes are split by a TV gantry which has a separate media section in front of it carved out of the main seating area. This stand also has the club reception leading out to a large car park. Attached to this stand in the south-west corner is the administrative part of the club with the shop and ticket office.

The South Stand was originally a stand-alone structure like the West Stand but in 2017 the open space between it and the East Stand was filled in meaning the South, East and North sides now form a continuous single-tier bowl. The North and South Stands have identical capacities of 6,006 with the southern end being the designated one for away supporters who spread out from the south-west corner. Including the south-east and north-east quadrants the East Stand can hold 10,720 supporters pushing the venue's total capacity just over the 30,000 mark.

This was a battle of the two basement sides in The Championship with Stoke and Huddersfield both winless after nine games apiece. The game was evidence of why the sides were at the bottom of the table and was a dismal spectacle. Huddersfield's best opportunity of the first half came after just five minutes when Karlan Grant crossed from the left and with all the time in the world to tee himself up Elias Kachunga fluffed his side and scuffed well wide from ten yards. Stoke for their part can point at a chance a couple of minutes before the interval when Cameron Carter-Vickers whipped cross in found Joe Allen in acres of space ten yards from the net. His free header however failed to get near the goal. The second half was a marginal improvement but still a very poor game. Stoke huffed and puffed against a Huddersfield side who were happy to sit back and play out a goalless affair. The home side's shooting though was absolutely dreadful and not a single one of their 18 efforts were on target. This ended up costing them anything from the game as in the 82nd minute Huddersfield set-off on a counter attack which really got going when Juninho Bacuna played an excellent ball to Adama Diakhaby down the right wing. Diakhaby squared the ball for Bacuna who had continued his run from his own half and the Brazilian smashed the ball home to score the only goal of the game. The home fans hoping for this to at least spur Stoke into action to try and salvage a result were disappointed as it in fact had the opposite effect. The home side limped through the final minutes of the game in a lackadaisical fashion and were rewarded with their eighth defeat in ten games, exactly what they deserved from their evening's performance.

Result: Stoke City 0-1 Huddersfield Town
Division: Football League Championship
Attendance: 20,372

Ground #314 - Gillford Park

Date: 25th April 2019
Ground: Gillford Park
Location: Carlisle, Cumbria

My twenty-ninth new ground of 2019 was on Thursday 25th April at Gillford Park in Carlisle, Cumbria. The match was Carlisle City vs. Cleator Moor Celtic in the North West Counties League Division One North.

Gillford Park lies in the south of the city sandwiched between the River Petterill to the east and the West Coast Main Line with trains passing by on the London to Glasgow route. A second full-size pitch borders the northern wing of the ground with trees beyond this while their neighbours to the south are the British Railways Staff Association Club. 2 miles south-east of Carlisle railway station the venue has only been home to the club since 2015 when they took over the lease from Celtic Nation FC who had played there between 2004-2015.

The southern flank has a stand by the halfway line which is raised above ground level. It consists of an eight level concrete terrace with eight rows of seating bolted onto three-quarters of it. The remaining quarter is supposed to be out of use with a 'No Standing' sign in place at the back of the structure, not that anyone was paying attention to it. The stand has a seating capacity of 336 and the low roof ensures it is well shielded from the elements albeit with not the best views at the venue. In front of this stand are the two dugouts and either side of it is uncovered hard standing.

The northern side of Gillford Park has an uncovered hard standing section towards the eastern end but a long stand makes up the rest. This stand is a four level concrete terrace with a flat concrete area in front. The stand is entirely covered with multiple beams holding up the roof in front of the viewing area. The western end has a 191 seat stand with the players tunnel splitting the seating. At the top of the stand are the committee rooms and with the high roof sloping upwards the seating deck is covered but with no view restrictions from roof beams. The stand is bookmarked by uncovered hard standing and there is a food outlet in the south-west corner. The eastern end is the only end with no stand - it is the most space restricted zone of Gillford Park so just has uncovered hard standing for the width of the pitch.

With the league season concluding two days later this match-up was being squeezed in at the last opportunity to get the season finished. However with the sides sitting in 6th and 11th respectively there were very little at stake. The game nearly saw an early goal as James Earl got in behind the defence on the right-hand side, paused for a moment waiting for an offside flag that never came, before restarting his run on goal. This gave visiting keeper Craig Devine time to close him down and save his effort when it was eventually made. Four minutes later the home side wasted another terrific opening when two Cleator defenders collided opening the way for Jordan Palmer who shot straight at Devine. Cleator were not without their own opportunities - in the 13th minute a long throw was missed by keeper Stephen Townsley resulting in the ball bouncing along the goal line and out of play. More chances went begging as the half progressed, in the 23rd minute Carlisle's Robert McCartney beat the offside trap and with all the time in the world to knock past the keeper managed to chip it wide to the exasperation of his teammates. Ten minutes before the interval a home free-kick from Sam Atkinson was also heading for the roof of the net until Craig Devine stepped up and tipped over the bar. The home side will have been wondering how it was goalless at half-time and after the break the game continued in a similar fashion with Carlisle knocking on the door but poor finishing letting them down. The breakthrough finally came in the 68th minute with a move from one end of the pitch to the other culminating in Robert McCartney getting in behind the defence again and this time he made no mistake in tucking the ball into the bottom corner past Devine who raced out to meet him. McCartney could then consider himself unlucky not to grab a 2nd in the 73rd minute when he brilliantly controlled a long ball on his chest and volleyed inches over the bar. Within 60 seconds though Carlisle were two-up - a cross to the far side of the area found Jordan Palmer who nodded the ball down and David Reynard smashed the ball into top corner from close range. As the game ticked over into injury time a third goal arrived when Aaron Bradbury picked up the ball outside area, rode a challenge and took a fairly tame shot at goal. Unfortunately Devine misjudged it with the ball squirmed past him into bottom corner. A minute later the home side were a whisker away from adding a fourth to their total - a long ball found Robert McCartney who cut inside and shot across goal only to see his effort come back off the post.

Result: Carlisle City 3-0 Cleator Moor Celtic
Division: North West Counties League Division One North
Attendance: 110

Ground #298 - Scours Lane

Date: 18th March 2019
Ground: Scours Lane
Location: Reading, Berkshire

My thirteenth new ground of 2019 was on Monday 18th March at Scours Lane in Reading, Berkshire. The match was Reading City vs. Flackwell Heath in the Hellenic League Premier Division.

Scours Lane is in the north-west outskirts of Reading on the banks of the River Thames. The football ground is on the western edge of a sports complex with a cricket pitch, mini football pitches, basketball courts and the Ibis Health Club due east. The river is a stone's throw to the north and there is an industrial park to the west. To the south is the ground car park which is accessed by going under a bridge which supports the Great Western main line running from London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads. Unsurprisingly it is near a couple of stations with Tilehurst one mile west and Reading West 1.5 miles to the east. The club formed as Highmoor Ibis in 2001 and played at the ground until 2011 when they departed to it not fulfilling Hellenic League requirements. After five years of groundsharing the club moved back in 2016 once upgrade work had been completed before renaming themselves as Reading City in 2018.

There is a sole all-seater stand at the venue which is a 112 seat structure just to the north of the halfway line on the eastern side of Scours Lane. The remainder of this side is uncovered hard standing though there is a very large grass area behind this. The south-east corner has a temporary looking clubhouse building which nonetheless has a smart interior. There is a food outlet facing outwards onto a patio area with tables and seats.

The western side has an expanse of flat concrete standing for its length barring a covered section just to the south of the halfway line. This is set a long way back from the pitch and has a slightly elevated platform for spectators. The two dugouts can also be founded on the western flank. The southern end continues in a similar vein with a concrete foundation for the whole end. The area set back from the pitch has a covered stand for most of it length with a two-level platform as well as two rows of seating towards the western side which adds another 50 seats to the venue's total. The south-west corner then has a building for the player and officials dressing rooms. The northern end is the most basic with a strip of uncovered hard standing backing onto with a large grass area behind.

The two sides were towards the bottom of the Hellenic League Premier Division with Reading in particular in need of a few more points to secure safety. It was a cagey start to the match with little for either keeper to do. In the 25th minute a free-kick into the box caused confusion in the home defence as the ball fell to Dan Bailey. Though his initial shot was saved the ball bounced around the crowded area before coming back to Bailey who slid in from a few yards out to give the visitors the lead. Flackwell played some good football after this with several dangerous crosses into the area. Five minutes before the break Mo Ceesay danced into the area and his strong low shot was saved well at the near post to prevent the away side going up two goals up at the interval. Reading's best play of the match came in the 57th minute when a great cross from the right found Lorenzo Medford at the back post but his point blank header was saved Aaron Watkins who had positioned himself well. The second half was a poor spectacle with the next action of note coming when the away side were reduced to ten men with a quarter of an hour to play. Subsitute Tyrese Corbin-Chandler received a straight red for a wild tackle and there were no complaints from Flackwell Heath. Even after their red it was the visitors who looked the more likely to score with Mo Ceesay going close late on. Reading's keeper saved them on that occasions but with his teammates drawing a blank at the other end it was another defeat for City and a nervous final few weeks of the season.

Result: Reading City 0-1 Flackwell Heath
Division: Hellenic League Premier Division
Attendance: 140

Ground #270 - Borough Briggs

Date: 15th August 2018
Ground: Borough Briggs
Location: Elgin, Moray, Scotland

My eighteenth new ground of 2018 was on Wednesday 15th August at Borough Briggs in Elgin, Moray, Scotland. The match was Elgin City vs. Arbroath in the Scottish Challenge Cup 1st Round.

Borough Briggs is in the northern part of Elgin close to the River Lossie which meanders through the city. The ground can count amongst its neighbours a leisure centre and childcare centre to the west, an industrial and retail park to the south and open fields to the north and east. The venue is one mile north of the city's railway station and has been home to the club since 1921.

The entrance to the ground is on the southern side with the turnstiles next to the main stand. This structure runs for around half the length of the southern side and has a seating capacity of 478. The stand has a low roof but no supporting pillars apart from at the two sides. The dressing rooms are located within and the player tunnel emerges in the middle of the stand. This stand also has the club reception, shop and offices. The two dugouts are positioned either side of the stand and beyond this is uncovered concrete terracing though there is a small covered plexiglass section for disabled fans towards the eastern end. Close by to this is a food outlet in the south-east corner.

A covered concrete terrace runs the entire length of the pitch on the northern side. This has 11 rows of terracing with the back two levels a larger size to allow more flat standing. There are a huge number of supporting beams holding up the old looking roof but the stand does retain sound well. Unusually the four floodlights on this side go through the roof into the terrace so is in amongst the standing areas. The eastern and western ends of the ground both have flat concrete sections directly behind the goal with a concrete terrace built into a grass bank behind. At the back of this the grass banking takes over up to the perimeter of the site.

The game was a Scottish Challenge Cup 1st Round tie between League Two side Elgin City and League One side Arbroath. It was the visitors who edged the first half and had two clear cut chances during the first 45 minutes. The first of these came in the 21st minute when Kane Hester lifted the ball over the Elgin keeper Thomas McHale only to see Darryl McHardy clear off the line. In the 34th minute Abroath had another opportunity when the Elgin goalie was dispossessed while attempting some skilful play in his own area. The ball was pulled back and the resulting shot bounced off the crossbar and away to safety. The League One side took the lead in the 57th minute when a corner to the back post was headed into the top of the net by Thomas O'Brien. Within 60 seconds it should have been 2-0 when Kane Hester laid the ball off for Michael McKenna who blazed over from just inside the area. The last half-hour saw a more competitive showing from Elgin - with a quarter of an hour to play they should have pulled level when a cross into the area found an unmarked Chris McLeish who headed straight at the Abroath shotstopper. In the 83rd minute the late perseverence paid off when Jordan Lowdon lofted a free-kick into the area. Once again a key player was left unmarked but this time Darryl McHardy made no mistake and nodded past Darren Hill from six yards out. At the conclusion of 90 minutes the game went straight to penalties. The two sides were evenly matched after the first seven rounds of penalties but on the eighth round of spot kicks Elgin's Matthew Cooper's penalty was saved by Darren Hill ensuring a 7-6 spot-kick victory for Abroath.

Result: Elgin City 1-1 Arbroath (Arbroath win 7-6 on penalties)
Competition: Scottish Challenge Cup
Attendance: 401

Ground #264 - Sincil Bank

Date: 21st April 2018
Ground: Sincil Bank
Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire

My twelfth new ground of 2018 was on Saturday 21st April at Sincil Bank in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The match was Lincoln City vs. Colchester United in Football League Two.

Sincil Bank is in the east of Lincoln less than a mile south of the city centre. The site is on the edge of a large residential area close to the South Commons park. The ground gets its name as it is on the banks of the Sincil Dyke which runs along its western perimeter. It is bordered by a sports college to the south and a three-quarter size cage pitch to the east. To the north there is a car park and then the aforementioned housing. The venue is just over half a mile south of the city's railway station and has been the club's home since 1895.

The eastern side has the St Andrews Stand sitting by the half-way line. Despite only being built in 1987 this stand looks a lot older than it is - the budget for the stand was slashed during construction which left it smaller than its wooden predecessor. The stand has a couple of supporting beams in front of the seating in order to hold up the roof. The interior holds the reception, club shop, ticket office and boardroom. The area to the north of the St Andrews Stand is unused though an additional family stand was added to the south of the St Andrews Stand in 1994. With it only able to hold a couple of hundred fans the stand looks tiny compared the rest of the ground. There are also club buildings in this area with the dressing rooms, treatment centre and a police control box.

The West Stand runs the length of the field and dominates the stadium. The single-tier stand with its cantilever roof was built in 1995 to replace an old terrace and with a capacity of 5,700 it accounts for over half the stadium's total capacity. The southern end of the stand contains the noisiest home supporters.  The stand behind the southern goal was opened in 1992 replacing the Railway End terrace and is the smallest structure in the venue. With only half a dozen rows of seating the stand has 17 hospitality boxes which run the whole way along the back of the stand. There are a couple of supporting beams towards the middle which reside in front of the seating area. Behind the stand there is an outside bar area for home fans. The Stacey West Stand is behind the northern goal and was opened in 1990. 12 rows of seating were added on top of the original concrete terracing in 1999 completing the stadium's conversion to an all-seater venue. The stand has three supporting beams which can restrict views and is now assigned to away fans. However, if home support is sufficiently high the stand can be segregated with home supporters allocated the western half and away fans allocated the eastern half. This is the arrangement for my visit.

Colchester had to win to keep their faint play-off hopes alive and started the game the better of the two sides. Chances though were at a premium throughout the half with the closest either side went being on the half-hour mark when Matt Green's 25 yard effort was pushed wide by Colchester keeper Sam Walker. After a dull goalless first half the second half was a more entertaining affair. Lincoln took the lead from the penalty spot in the 55th minute after Ollie Palmer was felled when he was about to shoot. Elliott Whitehouse tucked the penalty into the bottom corner with Walker diving the wrong way. The lead was short-lived though as the U's equalised in the 60th minute. A fortunate deflection saw the ball break to Courtney Senior on the left-wing, he then played a nice 1-2 with Mikael Mandron as he ghosted into the area to slot home from six yards out. The away side should have taken the lead in the 73rd minute when Sammie Szmodics had plenty of time to pick his spot from the left side of the area - his effort was saved by Ryan Allsop with the rebound being blazed well over by Mikael Mandron when he had an open goal to aim for. The hosts nearly went back in front in the 82nd minute when a spectacular 25 yard shot across goal by Ollie Palmer hit the underside of the bar and bounced to safety. A minute after this the task got harder for Lincoln as they were reduced to ten men when Michael Bostwick pulled back Mikael Mandron as he raced in on goal. With both sides needing a win Lincoln and Colchester threw players forward as the game entered an end-to-end finish. There was a dramatic end in the 94th minute as Alex Woodyard's hanging cross from the left saw Colchester keeper Sam Walker come to claim the ball. He missed his punch with Luke Waterfall stealing in to head into the top corner to secure three points for Lincoln as they took a big step closer to booking their play-off place.

Result: Lincoln City 2-1 Colchester United
Division: Football League Two
Attendance: 9,211

Ground #259 - Treyew Road

Date: 30th March 2018
Ground: Treyew Road
Location: Truro, Cornwall

My seventh new ground of 2018 was on Friday 30th March at Treyew Road in Truro, Cornwall. The match was Truro City vs. Hemel Hempstead Town in National League South.

Treyew Road is located on the southern outskirts of the city on the edge of the A390. The road runs along the eastern side of the ground with fields to the west and beyond the car park at the southern end. The northern end has a small section of unused land before a road which splits the site from the Cornwall Council office complex. The venue is half a mile south of Truro railway station. It was the home of Truro City until July 2018 when they vacated the site to allow for a supermarket to be built. However, due to delays in site development the club returned in January 2019.

The entrance to the ground is at the southern end - upon going through the turnstiles there is a media centre and a Cornish pasty outlet to the right and to the left a clubhouse with a patio in front of this where you can watch the game from. The dressing rooms are also located in this building. In front of the patio there is uncovered standing with concrete standing towards the front and grass standing towards the back.

The only permanent stands are on the western side - on this area there are three separate structures which take up most of the length of the field. The stand towards the southern end is a covered flat standing area, the one in the middle is the main all-seater section and there is an extra small all-seater stand beyond this which was added later on. There is a small section of uncovered standing at the northern and southern sections with a food outlet and club shop towards the south-west corner. The club have had a rise up the leagues in recent years and this can be seen on the opposite side of Treyew Road where two temporary stands reside. The stand on the northern side of the half-way line is covered with the roof held up by a large number of supporting beams while the stand on the southern side of the half-way line is uncovered. There is another temporary stand directly behind the northern goal - this one is much smaller and was about the width of the goal. The rest of this end is uncovered standing.

This was an important game with both sides in a very tight race for the National League South play-offs. The visitors had a great start when they netted within a quarter of an hour. A deflected pass ended up at the feet of Karl Oliyde on the left side of the box and his cross looped over Truro keeper Tom McHale allowing David Moyo to bundle the ball in on the line. This lead was short-lived though as the hosts equalised in the 20th minute when a ball into the box from the left was brought down by Cody Cooke for Tom Owen-Evans to direct into the bottom corner from 12 yards. A couple of minutes later Owen-Evans almost grabbed a second as a pass from Niall Thompson found him a couple of yards from goal. Owen-Evans was on the stretch though and his shot didn't have enough power to sneak in as Hemel cleared their lines. The away side retook the lead in the 37th minute when a smartly worked free-kick saw Jordan Parkes lob the ball straight to David Moyo who nodded over McHale from the edge of the six-yard area. It looked like Hemel would take this lead into the break but in the final minute of the first-half Truro made it 2-2 with a lovely goal. Owen-Evans picked up the ball 30 yards from goal, played a nice one-two with Jordan Copp before outpacing a couple of defenders and squaring for Copp to stroke past Laurie Walker in the away goal. Hemel edged ahead for the third time in the 65th minute when a well-timed ball from James Kaloczi put Karl Oliyde in on goal. Though his initial shot was saved by McHale the ball bounced back to him and with the Truro shotstopper on the floor Oliyde bundled in the rebound. After this Hemel sat back meaning it was one-way traffic for the remainder of the match. The visitors had rebuffed all the corners and free-kicks in the second half but in the 94th minute they succumbed to a late, late equaliser. Niall Thompson played a good ball in from the wing and though Walker saved Andrew Neal's close range effort Tyler Harvey reacted quickest to the lose ball and smashed home to grab a point for Truro.

Result: Truro City 3-3 Hemel Hempstead Town
Division: National League South
Attendance: 527

Ground #166 - Cardiff City Stadium

Date: 2nd January 2015
Ground: Cardiff City Stadium
Location: Cardiff, Wales

My first new ground of 2015 was on Friday 2nd January at the Cardiff City Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. The match was Cardiff City vs. Colchester United in the F.A. Cup 3rd Round.

The Cardiff City Stadium sits in the Capital Retail Park not far from the centre of the city. It is less than half a mile from Ninian Park railway station though there are several other stations, including Cardiff Central, within walking distance. The venue was opened in 2009 when the club moved from nearby Ninian Park which had been their home since 1910.

When built the stadium was a single-tier bowl on three sides with only the Grandstand on the south-west side of the venue split into two tiers. The Grandstand's two tiers are separated by a row of executive boxes while there are also additional corporate facilities at the back of the upper tier. The two corners of The Grandstand house the club offices though there is a thin layer of seats in front of this to ensure the seats extend the whole way round the ground.

In summer 2014 the Ninian Stand had an extra two tiers added to it thereby increasing the stadium capacity from around 28,000 to 33,316. The expansion consists of a larger upper tier and a smaller middle tier with some further corporate sections at the back of this. For the time being the stands behind the two goals remain single tier though there are plans in place to expand these as well should Cardiff become established in the top tier.

The match was one between two out-of-form sides and there was little to choose between them in the opening half-hour with both looking poor. In the 34th minute Cardiff grabbed the opener in fortuitous circumstances as Joe Ralls' 25-yard effort deflected off two Colchester defenders and looped over Sam Walker in the away goal. Just before the break Gavin Massey came close to pulling Colchester level but a good close range save from Simon Moore kept him out. The home side established a hold on the game in the opening passage of the second half and went 2-0 up in the 53rd minute. A corner was not well dealt with and while the ball was still up in the air Kadeem Harris reacted quickly and scored into the bottom corner with a bicycle kick. On the hour mark Cardiff went 3-0 with another goal from a corner after the run of Kenwyne Jones was not tracked at all allowing him to nod into the far corner of the net. Just when it looked like Colchester could be on the end of a hammering they got a goal back from Freddie Sears who ran at the Bluebirds defence before performing a 1-2 with Sanchez Watt and smashing the ball past Simon Moore. For the final quarter of an hour the visitors were the better side and almost made it an exciting finish when Dion Sembie-Ferris had an effort cleared off the line. This was the last meaningful action of the game as Cardiff advanced to the next round in front of the smallest ever crowd at the stadium.

Result: Cardiff City 3-1 Colchester United
Competition: F.A. Cup
Attendance: 4,194

Ground #132 - Twerton Park

Date: 21st September 2013
Ground: Twerton Park
Location: Bath, Somerset

My twenty-first new ground of 2013 was on Saturday 21st September at Twerton Park in Bath, Somerset. The match was Bath City vs. Dover Athletic in Conference South.

Twerton Park is located in the Twerton area of Bath, around 2 miles west of the city centre. The nearest railway station is Oldfield Park which is 0.75 miles away. The venue is surrounded by housing and shops on all sides and has been home to Bath City since 1932. Twerton Park has also hosted league football with Bristol Rovers occupying the stadium between 1986-1996.

The ground has two all-seater stands on the north side of the pitch - the Main Stand is the larger of the two stands and holds the club shop, bar and other facilities. Directly in front of the stand is a section of uncovered terracing. The smaller Family Stand is positioned towards the western goal and was built while Bristol Rovers were based at Twerton Park. Both of these stands have supporting pillars and have a combined capacity of just over 1,000.

The rest of the ground is terracing with the Popular Side the only part of this which is covered. This stand runs along the south side of the ground and houses the bulk of the home support. There is a tea bar and gantry contained within the Popular Stand. The uncovered terracing behind the goals consists of the Bristol End at the western part of the ground and the Bath End at the eastern part of the ground. The latter is quite constricted as adjacent housing causes it to narrow towards the main entrance. The fairly substantial terracing on the south and west of the ground means the overall capacity of the venue is 8,840.

Dover came into this match off the back of three straight defeats but it was the visitors who dominated the opening 30 minutes against a very poor Bath side. The home side put up almost no resistance as Dover peppered their goal with shots and only a good performance by goalkeeper Jason Mellor prevented the visitors running up a big score. Bath's passing was dreadful and whenever they got the ball they gave it straight back to Dover inviting them to have another effort at goal. Finally the pressure paid off in the 24th minute when Bath failed to deal with the second phase of attack from a corner. Tom Murphy crossed into the box and Nathan Elder produced a looping header which sunk into the bottom corner. The hosts started to get out of their own half a bit in the remainder of the first period but would have been very pleased to only go in 1-0 down at the break. Bath were much improved in the second half and their effort was almost rewarded in a scramble from a corner which was eventually cleared. The home side continued to push forward but in the 85th minute Dover went up the other end of the pitch and Ricky Modeste's cross into the area was met by the head of Tom Murphy who nodded the ball home from close range to wrap up a 2-0 win for the visiting side.

Result: Bath City 0-2 Dover Athletic
Division: Conference South
Attendance: 551