Ground #415 - Mount Wise Stadium

Date: 8th November 2025
Location: Newquay, Cornwall
Ground: Mount Wise Stadium

My eighth new ground of 2025 was on Saturday 8th November at Mount Wise Stadium in Newquay, Cornwall. The game was Newquay vs. Wellington in Western League Premier Division.

Mount Wise Stadium is located in a residential area not far from Newquay town centre. It is up the hill less than a mile north of the beach and aquarium and is half a mile west of Newquay railway station. It is bordered by allotments to the south and west, a park to the east and housing to the north. The venue has been home to the club since 1922.

The entrance to the ground is on the southern flank. To the right of this is a covered stand with bench seating (some of these are picnic benches while some are fixed). To the left is shallow grass banking with hard standing in front. There is also an announcer cabin built on the grass bank close to the turnstiles. The northern side of the ground hosts the covered main stand which consists of 5 levels of wooden benching with dugouts either side of the structure.

This grass bank with concrete standing in front extends round behind the western goal. The eastern end has the primary facilities at Mount Wise. There is a food outlet in the south-east corner and a clubhouse building directly behind the goal which includes a wooden balcony area to the right of the goal that spectators can view from. You can also see the pitch from inside the clubhouse which is a very nice modern design.

Newquay had experienced the better start to the season and were sitting in 8th going into the game against 16th place Wellington. Both side were coming off the back of comfortable 3-goal victories and the competitive nature of the game was demonstrated with the first goal after just ninety seconds. It was the visitors who opened the scoring - a sliced shot from Oscar Albano was nudged in by Douglas Camilo. The hosts didn't take long to turn things around, scoring from the spot in the 12th minute with Jack Bray-Evans striking low to the keeper's right after Jack Haggerty had tripped Rhys Simmonds on the right side of the area. And two minutes later it was 2-1 as Bray-Evans drew the keeper and passed for Simmonds to knock home unchallenged. It was an end-to-end game at Mount Wise - from the restart Wellington's James de Selincourt saw his dipping shot from just outside the area palmed away. After this Newquay got on top and had several chances to score. Al Ahmed nicked the ball off a defender and squared for Bray-Evans who looped the ball out of the ground from a few yards out when he scored have scored. The same man then spurned another opportunity when clean through forcing a save from Jack McAndrews this time. Even when Bray-Evans turned provider to lay off for Aaron Dilley to tuck underneath the keeper Newquay were still denied a third via the offside flag. 

They were left to rue this six minutes after the break when Oscar Albano tapped in Alfie Slough's cross to level the scores. A series of free-kicks dictated the following passage of play. Wellington almost got their noses in front in the 56th minute when Sam Towler's effort hit the post. The visitors had to thank McAndrews a few minutes later for acrobatically denying a header from a free-kick that was heading in. He could do nothing in the 66th minute though when Cam Turner's low bobbling free-kick found its way to the bottom corner of the net. The hosts looked more likely to score after this - in the 88th minute Bray-Evans missed another sitter, blazing over from close range from Rhys Simmonds' cross from the left. However, in the first minute of stoppage time Bray-Evans was able to grab his second of the afternoon, making no mistake by shooting across the keeper into the opposite corner after being teed up by Jacob Grange. This finished off the scoring with Newquay emerging 4-2 victors from a thoroughly entertaining match-up. 

Result: Newquay 4-2 Wellington

Division: Western League Premier Division

Attendance: 530

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 #411 - Kassam Stadium

Date: 12th August 2025
Location: Oxford, Oxfordshire
Ground: Kassam Stadium

My fourth new ground of 2025 was on Tuesday 12th August at Kassam Stadium in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The game was Oxford United vs. Colchester United in the League Cup 1st Round.

The Kassam Stadium is located on the southern outskirts of the city. some 4.5 miles south of Oxford railway station. It sits close to the Oxford Science Park, with the ground largely surrounded by car parking with a few neighbours in the form of a hotel, a bowling alley and a few restaurants. The venue opened in 2001 with the club leaving it from the previous home of the Manor Ground where they had resided since 1925. 

The Kassam Stadium is well-known for its unusual three-sided layout with the planned 4th stand scrapped after construction cost overruns. The western end behind the goal has a TV screen with the boundary wall fairly close to the pitch to allow the land to be utilised for car parking. The East Stand behind the other goals shows what would have been replicated there. This 2,879 capacity structure is single-tier but the top half of the seating section slopes more steeply than the bottom half.

The main stand is on the southern side of the ground and is the only two-tier stand at the Kassam Stadium. The section between the two tiers of seating is taken up by hospitality boxes. Inside the building is a conference centre, a bar and club offices. There is a police control box at back towards the eastern end and a media section at the back towards western end. The dugouts and players tunnel is on this side and all of these additions mean the stand's capacity of 4,495 is only the second highest at the venue. The highest is the single-tier North Stand which can hold 5,026 supporters and is split between home and away fans.

The game was a League Cup 1st Round tie between Championship side Oxford United and League Two side Colchester United. Oxford started strongly and grabbed an early goal in the 9th minute when Tyler Goodrham let fly from 25 yards and found the top corner. The hosts sought to extend their lead in the 21st minute with Matt Phillips cutting inside from the left wing and curling a shot which had to be palmed round the post by Matt Macey. After the quarter of the game mark, Colchester started to have more say with shots from Arthur Read and JK Gordon saved by Jamie Cumming. The second half saw more long shots - Oxford's best was when Cameron Brannagan saw his effort palmed wide by Matt Macey in the 77th minute. The final minutes were spent camped in Oxford's half but shots from Ronnie Harvey and Tom Flanagan were blocked by Oxford's backline as they held on to reach Round 2.

Result: Oxford United 1-0 Colchester United

Competition: League Cup

Attendance: 3,453

Ground #409 - Stadionul Zimbru

Date: 25th March 2025
Location: Sectorul Botanica, Chișinău, Moldova
Ground: Stadionul Zimbru

My second new ground of 2025 was on Tuesday 25th March at Stadionul Zimbru in Sectorul Botanica, Chișinău, Moldova. The game was Moldova vs. Estonia in 2026 World Cup Qualifying.

Stadionul Zimbru sits near the southern tip of the city of Chișinău next to the main Dacia Boulevard road. It has three pitches within the sports complex and is surrounded by a mixture of residential and commercial residences. It is hemmed in by a large tower block on its southern side which overlooks the ground. The venue is 2 miles south of Chișinău-3 station but with the neighbouring Dacia Boulevard being the main road into the city centre it is well served by buses. The venue opened in 2006 and hosts the Moldovan national team and club side FC Zimbru Chișinău.

The stadium is a two-tier bowl on three sides with a 14-row upper deck and a 4-row lower deck. This is mostly uniform with the exception of the middle of the south stand which has a media section taking up the lower deck of this are and one row fewer on the top deck. This section of the ground also has hospitality boxes at the back of the lower deck. 

The southern stand is smaller than the others with the lower deck only having 4 rows of seating. There is a gap in the middle of the stand for the dugouts and player seating at the bottom and the TV gantry on the top level. This stand is the least used in the ground with less attended games utilising the main bowl. When in use for popular games it allows the attendance to reach 10,104.

This World Cup qualifying group match pitted the 151st ranked side in the world against the 123rd ranked side. Moldova had lost their opening match 5-0 to Norway a few days prior, with Estonia going down to a narrow 2-1 defeat to Israel. Moldova had a nightmare start as they were reduced to ten men with less than five minutes on the clock. Vlasiy Sinyavskiy got in behind the home defence and he raced towards goal the last defender Maxim Cojocaru brought him down and received a straight red. Estonia utilised their advantage to get ahead in the 18th minute. It came about when a Michael Schjønning-Larsen shot from 25 yards was deflected by a Moldovan defender towards goal. Andrei Cojunar saved but was only able to parry straight to Rasmus Peetson who tapped in from six yards out. The Moldovan keeper was then at fault for Estonia's second goal on the half-hour mark - a corner from the right was headed towards Cojunar by Rauno Sappinen and though Cojunar caught the ball he had positioned himself well behind the goal line with the ball crossing the line on its way to his hands. The hosts tried to get back into the game and created their best chance in the 36th minute as Ion Nicolaescu's mazy run finished with his curled shot being tipped round the post by Matvei Igonen. 

Moldova's man disadvantage was rectified three minutes into the second half as Estonia's Kevor Palumets received his second booking of the game. The second half was an end-to-end affair with Moldova initially doing well attacking the visiting goal. The Estonians almost went 3-0 up in the 58th minute with Rauno Sappinen clean through on the counter but Andrei Cojunar saved well. At the other end Moldova went close through a header at a corner and then in the 67th minute got on the scoresheet as Ion Nicolaescu picked up the ball after a deflection, strongly held off his man and turned to power home. Hopes of an equaliser didn't last long though with Estonia's Mattias Kait striking a low 20-yard shot past Cojunar to make it 3-1 a couple of minutes afterwards. Moldova did grab another late goal through a deft free-kick by Mihail Caimocov but that was the last of the action as Moldova's World Cup qualifying campaign was effectively consigned to failure within the space of a few days of starting.

Result: Moldova 2-3 Estonia

Competition: World Cup Qualifying

Attendance: 6,112

Ground #404 - New River Stadium

Date: 28th September 2024
Location: Tottenham, London
Ground: New River Stadium

My fourth new ground of 2024 was on Saturday 28th September at New River Stadium in Tottenham, London. The game was AS London vs. Burnham Ramblers in the Eastern Counties League Division One South.

The New River Stadium is located on White Hart Lane so shares its road with Haingey Borough's Coles Park and the more famous Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a mile and a half east. The stadium is part of a wider sports complex with additional full-size pitches, mini 3G cage pitches, tennis courts, a boxing centre and a community hub. Other than the rest of the complex the only other neighbour of note is a school directly south. The ground opened in 1973 and is three-quarters of a mile north-east of Wood Green station on the Piccadilly Line. 

The southern side of the venue has the grandstand which is accessed via the sports centre entrance. The sports centre sits underneath the grandstand although the dressing rooms are located in another building to the west of the pitch. This grandstand consists of 1,034 bucket seats so offers more than ample capacity for a club at this level.

The 3G pitch is used for various other sports, with an American Football team also residing at the ground. The venue has an eight-lane lane running track with the two dugouts in front of this at pitchside. There is a concrete terrace which runs from the western end, round the northern side of the ground and stops before the eastern curve. This eastern end has a grass bank for the northern half whilst the southern half is inaccessible due to hedges and a power station. The ground has a total capacity of 5,000.

The day started with AS London in 7th place in the table on a six-game unbeaten run. Having just avoided relegation last season the north London side had turned things around this season. Burnham by comparison had suffered back-to-back defeats and were sitting in 13th. Despite this the visitors begun brightly and in the 8th minute a free-kick into the box was shot straight at London keeper Martin Arnauchkov who saved from six yards out. That start ended up being the high point for the visitors as two minutes later they were a goal down. It came about through really nice link-up play on the edge of the box which culminated with a lovely backheel by Alie Bangura to  Francisco Figuereo who controlled well and lifted over the keeper from 12 yards. The hosts kept chipping away and before the break went close with shots from Nicholas Sanchez and Juan Araque. However, it was in the second half was when AS London really pulled clear. In the 50th minute the ball went sent up field for Alie Bangura and under pressure from defenders he did really well to make space for a shot underneath the keeper. On the hour mark London grabbed their third when Juan Araque saw the keeper off his line and lobbed him from 40 yards. Seven minutes later it was 4-0 with Alie Bangura causing trouble down the right and crossing the ball for an unmarked Lamin Bangura to stroke into an empty net. Burnham thought they had a consolation with five minutes left when a cross from the right was smashed in but the linesman had already flagged that the ball had gone out for a goal kick. Into added time Zac Argent missed a golden chance to get on the scoresheet for the hosts slicing wide from a couple of yards out. Mo Mahmoud wasn't about to make the same mistake a couple of minutes later with the London midfielder dancing through the Burnham defence and drilling the ball low past the keeper from the right side of the area to wrap up a convincing 5-0 win.

Result: AS London 5-0 Burnham Ramblers

Division: Eastern Counties League Division One South

Attendance: 40

Ground #393 - Ingfield Stadium

Date: 2nd September 2023
Ground: Ingfield Stadium
Location: Ossett, West Yorkshire

My eighteenth new ground of 2023 was on Saturday 2nd September at Ingfield Stadium in Ossett, West Yorkshire. The game was Ossett United vs. Marske United in F.A. Cup 1st Round Qualifying.

Ingfield Stadium is located near the centre of Ossett, directly opposite the town's bus station to the south. It is surrounded by housing on the other three sides. The ground is 3.5 miles west of the nearest railway station at Wakefield Westgate. Ossett United was formed as an amalgamation of Ossett Town and Ossett Albion in 2018 but the venue had been the home of Ossett Town since 1959. 

Many of the club facilities are on the eastern side of Ingfield Stadium. A clubhouse building faces towards the pitch (though you can only see half the pitch due to a dressing room building just to the northern side of the halfway line. In front of the clubhouse are picnic benches and then a three-level uncovered concrete viewing area. Towards the south-east corner are two-storey demountables with a little club shop and hospitality on the bottom floor and a supporters bar on the top floor. There is then an additional demountable serving as a food outlet in the corner itself. 

The dugouts are positioned on the western side and straddle the halfway line. Next to this towards the northern end is a covered concrete stand and beyond this a grass area with a strip of uncovered hard standing. There is more uncovered flat standing heading towards the southern end. The southern end itself has an all-seater stand taking up the middle half of this end - it has five rows of seating and has five supporting beams to hold up the roof. To the east of this is a little shack for announcers and an elevated disabled viewing area. The northern end is the most basic with it consisting of uncovered flat concrete standing except for a small covered metal terrace directly behind the goal.

The game was an F.A. Cup 1st Round Qualifying tie between Northern Premier League Division One East side Ossett United and Northern Premier League Premier Division side Marske United. Both had experienced similarly poor starts with both sitting 2nd bottom of their respective divisions with a single win from their first five games. The start of the game was a slow one with no early chances. The first item of note was a Marske attack after 20 minutes which resulted in Eddie Church's shot from the right side of the area being well saved and cleared after a scramble. Five minutes later Marske got their noses in front - Donald Chimalilo did well to ride several challenges before clipping a cross over Ossett keeper Joe Green. The initial header was blocked but it fell to Church who knocked in from a couple of yards out. The closest the hosts came in the opening 45 was just before the interval when Jimmy Burke headed well wide of the target from a free header resulting from a free-kick. The visitors started the second half on the front foot as in the first minute Adam Boyes headed just wide at the back post from close range. In the 53rd minute they were awarded a free-kick in a dangerous area and Josh MacDonald's excellent curling shot found the corner of the net to put his team 2-0 up. Eddie Church was inches wide of his second and Marske's third in the 74th minute as he saw a shot deflected wide but a couple of minutes later it was the away goalkeeper who was required. A free-kick was headed out as far as Zak Dearnley who smashed a shot at goal only for Nathan Harker to save theatrically. This proved important as five minutes later Marske had a third when Adam Boyes stroked past the Joe Green after a defence splitting ball. This put the tie to bed with the higher league opponents too strong for Ossett.

Result: Ossett United 0-3 Marske United

Competition: F.A. Cup

Attendance: 321

Ground #386 - Ibrox Stadium

Date: 7th May 2023

Location: Govan, Glasgow, Scotland

Ground: Ibrox Stadium

My eleventh new ground of 2023 was on Sunday 7th May at Ibrox Stadium in Govan, Glasgow, Scotland. The game was Rangers vs. Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership.

Ibrox Stadium is located in a mixed-use area with a variety of neighbours. The ground is bordered by an industrial estate to the north and west, houses to the east and a primary school and football centre with 3G pitch across the road to the south. The ground is a couple of hundred yards south of Ibrox station on the Glasgow Subway or just under a mile north of Dumbreck station on the national rail network. it has been home to the club since it opened in 1899.

Though the venue has been in use since 1899 Ibrox has changed much over the years with only the classic Main Stand exterior harking back to the earlier days of the ground. This red brick facade was built in 1928 and elevates the exterior of the stand. The stand itself is the only three-tier one at Ibrox, and includes the dressing rooms and player tunnel at the bottom of the stand and the main TV gantry  further up. On the north side of the ground is the Govan Stand - this is a two-tier structure with a larger upper deck. At the back of this is the main hospitality area - the Blue Sky Lounge and Club 72/Bar 72.

The remainder of the ground consists of similar two tier stands. The Broomloan Road Stand sits behind the western goal and includes a section for away whilst the Copland Road Stand is behind the eastern goal. There is additional quadrant seating in the lower deck for the north-west and north-east quadrants with the top deck utilised as building support with big screens attached. Directly behind the north-east quadrant is the Rangers store and in the south-east corner of the Ibrox site sits Edmiston House, a new two-storey building which houses a bar, cafe, additional retail space and the Rangers Museum in the near future.

Rangers knew that with Celtic kicking-off at Hearts 45 minutes earlier the title may be decided before the Rangers game was finished. Aberdeen were miles behind as best of the rest but had beaten Rangers in the league at Pittodrie a couple of weeks prior. The early going saw a couple of close efforts by Todd Cantwell but the best chances of the half fell the way of the hosts. In the 27th minute Bojan Miovski rode a challenge in the centre of the field that left Rangers exposed at the back. He overhit his squared ball for Duk and that meant Robbie McCrorie in the home goal closed down the angle and deflected the ball behind. Then a minute before the break it was Duk's turn to get clear of the defence but his chip over the advancing Rangers keeper landed on the roof of the net. The visitors offered little in the second half as Rangers established themselves on the game. Aberdeen had a lucky escape when Jonathan Hayes deflected onto his own crossbar while trying to clear but there was no reprieve in the 64th minute when the Glasgow side took the lead. It was a cracking goal too, with Todd Cantwell's excellent volley into the bottom corner directly from James Tavernier's corner. Hayes almost put the ball in his own net again shortly after when diverting a Rangers cross just wide of his own goal but after this the game petered out with Rangers wrapping up a 1-0 victory as Celtic celebrated the title with a 2-0 win at Hearts.

Result: Rangers 1-0 Aberdeen

Division: Scottish Premiership

Attendance: 46,961

Ground #383 - Dolphin Stadium

Date: 8th April 2023
Ground: Dolphin Stadium
Location: Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia

My eighth new ground of 2023 was on Saturday 8th April at Dolphin Stadium in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. The game was Brisbane Roar vs. Newcastle Jets in the Australian A-League.

Dolphin Stadium is located 20 miles north-east of the centre of Brisbane in the Moreton Bay area. Just over a mile from the beach the venue is part of a large sports complex containing football, rugby and softball pitches with the ground's only other neighbour being a supermarket to the east. The venue is just over a mile east of Kippa-Ring Station which opened in 2016 as the new terminus of Queensland Rail's Redcliffe Peninsula Line. Dolphin Stadium itself opened in 1979 as a rugby venue with the football team starting to play matches there in 2019. The club split their time between Dolphin Stadium and the much larger 52,000 seater Suncorp Stadium in the centre of Brisbane.

The ground was a very basic venue up until 2015 when work began to build a number of new stands. The largest of these, the Des Webb Stand, takes up the western side of the ground. The 4,000 seat stand has seating split into two levels with the roof covering the bulk of the seating in the back half. The two ends of the stand do however jut out beyond the roof so a fair amount of it is uncovered. The dugouts are positioned at the front of the stand and there are food and drink areas at either end of the stand with the north-west corner also having a small merchandise outlet and ticket office as well.

The East Stand opposite is a smaller uncovered stand with a club building at the back and the player's tunnel at the bottom. In a similar fashion to the West Stand the East has the seating split into upper and lower sections. This approach also applies to the North Stand behind the goal although in this one the upper deck is much larger than the lower. The southern end does not have a stand as it backs onto the Dolphins building. This building contains function areas and a sports bar and does have an upper level with three balconies which extend out towards the pitch giving a good view of play. It is an unusual set-up but caters for the hospitality crowd. This additional area tips the capacity up to the 10,000 mark which is sufficient for the kind of crowds the venue draws.

Brisbane came into the game at the foot of the 12-team league but with a very tightly packed table they were only six points off the top half and the play-offs. Newcastle were three points of the play-offs in 8th so keen to grab three points against a Roar side who had won their previous two at home. The first chance of the game came after just 35 seconds when a curling shot by Henry Hore went just wide for the hosts. The visitors had an effort themselves in the sixth minute with a curling shot from 15 yards ending up just over the bar. The Roar were on top though and were a whisker away in the 28th minute as a cross from Kai Trewin was headed over the roof of the net by Stefan Scepovic. Six minute later Trewin was involved again as he found Henry Hore on the edge of the box. Hore turned quickly and shot low into the bottom corner from 18 yards to put his side a goal to the good at the break. Into the second half and the hosts continued their dominance - a couple of minutes after the restart Scott Neville ran at goal and stung the palms of Newcastle keeper Michael Weier with a strong drive from the edge of the box. In the 62nd minute Jordan Courtney-Perkins dragged a shot wide from inside the six yard box but a few minutes later came a key moment in proceedings. Henry Hore went down in the box rather dramatically - though there didn't seem to be much in it VAR intervened and after a review a spot kick was given. Jay O'Shea dispatched the penalty low into the corner sending Weier the wrong way. The visitor's best chance of the half came with ten minutes to go when a 25-yard dipper from Dane Ingham landed on the roof of the net. But the Roar came back in the final minutes and had multiple opportunities in and around the 90th minute. The danger was coming down the left wing and after two missed chances Brisbane grabbed a third goal in the 93rd minute. It was a scrappy one with Carlo Armiento's cross into the six-yard box resulting in a collision between Brisbane's Stefan Scepovic, Newcastle keeper Weier and defender Matthew Jurman. Scepovic was the quickest to react as the ball spilled and he poked the ball across the line whilst on the floor to wrap up a comfortable victory for Brisbane. The three points moved them up four places in the congested table leapfrogging a disappointing Newcastle in the process.

Result: Brisbane Roar 3-0 Newcastle Jets

Division: Australian A-League

Attendance: 3,911

Ground #382 - Leicester Road Stadium

Date: 25th March 2023
Ground: Leicester Road Stadium
Location: Hinckley, Leicestershire

My seventh new ground of 2023 was on Saturday 25th March at Leicester Road Stadium in Hinckley, Leicestershire. The game was Hinkley Leicester Road vs. Boldmere St Michaels in Northern Premier League Division One Midlands.

Leicester Road Stadium is located to the east of Hinckley, outside the town itself. It is parts of a sports complex with Hinckley Rugby Club and Hinckley Cricket Club next door to the south. The ground has additional space for grass pitches to the north and has a cage 3G pitch bordering the western end. The eastern area has a large car park and access to the road from which the stadium gets its name. The venue is 2.5 miles north-east of Hinckley railway station. Leicester Road Stadium was opened in 2004 as the new home for Hinckley United. The club was dissolved in 2013 with phoenix club Hinckley Leicester Road purchasing the ground.

The main stand takes up the middle third of the southern side of the ground. This all-seater structure is the only one at the venue and has a capacity of 732. There is space for hospitality at the back of the stand whilst there are two sections carved out for the dugouts at the foot of the stand. The interior of the stand also includes a gym, sports massage and physiotherapy areas. To the east of this is a two-storey clubhouse building including a bar. This building has a food outlet facing towards the pitch and the area in front of this has space for uncovered standing with drinks tables dotted about. To the west of the main stand is another smaller two-storey building.

The eastern end has the largest structure at the venue with a 14 row covered terrace taking up most of this end. There are toilets contained underneath the terrace whilst the back of the stand doubles as the main entrance to the ground and an events space. There is another large covered terrace taking up almost all of the northern flank of the pitch with 11 rows of standing on offer. The most basic area is the western end which is a thin area of uncovered flat standing with a dressing room building behind and a digital scoreboard appended to the south-west corner of the building. This end is currently fenced off and not in use. The ground hosted National League North football for the first nine years of its existence so is very large for the attendances Hinckley LRFC currently achieve. However, the club have recently been advancing up the league ladder and have a venue fit for them to continue this progression.

The game saw Hinckley LRFC who were sat comfortably in lower mid-table in their first season at this level up against Boldmere St Michaels who were in 4th position inside the play-offs but on the hunt for a result to strengthen their position. The game started to form with the visitors scoring in the 21st minute - a ball over the top resulted in a footrace between an away attacker and the keeper but they arrived at the same time causing the ball to spill to the feet of Owen parry who knocked into the empty net. It was a quiet first half with Boldmere edging it spending a fair amount of time in and around the Hinckley box but generating little more than half chances. The second half saw a real turnaround with Hinckley on top. They equalised in the 58th minute - Dom Brennan received the ball on the right and fizzed the ball across as he reached the byline with Jordan Burrows poking in on the line. The turnaround was made in the 73rd minute when a corner to the back post was headed into the six-yard box by Danny Jenno and Andre Williams steered home. Boldmere attacked in the closing minutes but couldn't get on even terms. It was a deserved with for Hinckley after a battling second half display.

Result: Hinckley Leicester Road 2-1 Boldmere St Michaels

Division: Northern Premier League Division One Midlands

Attendance: 126

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