League Groundhop - Day Two
Mon 17th April 2017 | General | By Ian Templeman
Day two of the League's Groundhop weekend thankfully avoided the rain that struck all three games on Sunday, and those who attended all three games were treated to a total of 14 goals.
Six of those came in the opening game of the day, an 11 am kick off at Atherton Collieries, and the home side took a step closer to the title with a 5-1 win over AFC Darwen.
In front of a crowd of 478, a Jamie Edwards own goal at the back post gave Colls a great start after just three minutes, and they doubled their tally in the 20th minute when Jordan Cover added a second from the penalty spot after he had been tripped in the box.
Vincent Bailey added a third four minutes into the second half with a shot from the edge of the box, (49), and Jordan Cover scored Colls fourth when he volleyed in from Gareth Peet's left wing cross.
Cover completed his hat trick with another successfully converted penalty, but Darwen kept plugging away and were rewarded with a consolation goal ten minutes from time, with a neat move setting up Nicholas Hepple for a cool finish with ten minutes remaining.
Game two was at West Didsbury & Chorlton, and although the coach carrying the groundhoppers encountered some difficulty in negotiating the narrow streets leading up to the Recreation Ground, the problem was overcome and the visitors were soon in the ground to watch West win 3-1 against Congleton Town.
The game was watched by 332 spectators and was goalless until the 70th minute until Nia Bayunu broke the deadlock for West with a close range finish, but Callum Gardner pulled Congleton back on level terms with a fine volley from a right wing cross eight minutes from time.
But West weren't finished, and after Saul Henderson's glancing header from a corner kick put them ahead a minute from the end, a fine solo effort from Carlos Mendes Gomes wrapped up a 3-1 win.
From there, the final match of the Groundhop weekend took place two miles away, as Maine Road hosted Abbey Hey in a South Manchester derby clash.
The sun was out over Chorlton, and an extensive range of Maine Road merchandise including old first team jerseys and programmes were proving popular with many in the attendance of 259.
A neat piece of opportunism from Matthew Morgan gave Maine Road an 18th minute lead when he pounced on indecision in the Abbey Hey defence to pounce on a loose ball to open the scoring, and he added a second goal six minutes into the second half to put Road in the driving seat.
But Matthew Cook and Ashford Blake struck in the final quarter of the game to earn Abbey a point from a 2-2 draw.
Groundhop UK's Chris Benezai, who organised the event in conjunction with League officials and clubs, said he was very happy with the way that the weekend had gone.
'It's been very good for a first hop', he said. 'It always takes a while for a league to settle into a groundhop and it's been a very good start.
'The clubs have been very accommodating and helpful, there's been one or two little things we can iron out for the future, and the people who have travelled on the coach for all the games have loved it.
'The good thing is that there have been nice interesting grounds to see, and we have liked the way that the clubs have put themselves out.
'Some of the welcomes we have had have been of the highest calibre, and the match programmes have been very good too. The clubs have done us proud.
'We will be taking a look at doing another similar hop around this League in two years time, but we will also be having a look at next season, with maybe another smaller hop weekend at some point, just to keep our hand in'.
League Groundhop - Day Two
Mon 17th April 2017 | General
By Ian Templeman
Day two of the League's Groundhop weekend thankfully avoided the rain that struck all three games on Sunday, and those who attended all three games were treated to a total of 14 goals.
Six of those came in the opening game of the day, an 11 am kick off at Atherton Collieries, and the home side took a step closer to the title with a 5-1 win over AFC Darwen.
In front of a crowd of 478, a Jamie Edwards own goal at the back post gave Colls a great start after just three minutes, and they doubled their tally in the 20th minute when Jordan Cover added a second from the penalty spot after he had been tripped in the box.
Vincent Bailey added a third four minutes into the second half with a shot from the edge of the box, (49), and Jordan Cover scored Colls fourth when he volleyed in from Gareth Peet's left wing cross.
Cover completed his hat trick with another successfully converted penalty, but Darwen kept plugging away and were rewarded with a consolation goal ten minutes from time, with a neat move setting up Nicholas Hepple for a cool finish with ten minutes remaining.
Game two was at West Didsbury & Chorlton, and although the coach carrying the groundhoppers encountered some difficulty in negotiating the narrow streets leading up to the Recreation Ground, the problem was overcome and the visitors were soon in the ground to watch West win 3-1 against Congleton Town.
The game was watched by 332 spectators and was goalless until the 70th minute until Nia Bayunu broke the deadlock for West with a close range finish, but Callum Gardner pulled Congleton back on level terms with a fine volley from a right wing cross eight minutes from time.
But West weren't finished, and after Saul Henderson's glancing header from a corner kick put them ahead a minute from the end, a fine solo effort from Carlos Mendes Gomes wrapped up a 3-1 win.
From there, the final match of the Groundhop weekend took place two miles away, as Maine Road hosted Abbey Hey in a South Manchester derby clash.
The sun was out over Chorlton, and an extensive range of Maine Road merchandise including old first team jerseys and programmes were proving popular with many in the attendance of 259.
A neat piece of opportunism from Matthew Morgan gave Maine Road an 18th minute lead when he pounced on indecision in the Abbey Hey defence to pounce on a loose ball to open the scoring, and he added a second goal six minutes into the second half to put Road in the driving seat.
But Matthew Cook and Ashford Blake struck in the final quarter of the game to earn Abbey a point from a 2-2 draw.
Groundhop UK's Chris Benezai, who organised the event in conjunction with League officials and clubs, said he was very happy with the way that the weekend had gone.
'It's been very good for a first hop', he said. 'It always takes a while for a league to settle into a groundhop and it's been a very good start.
'The clubs have been very accommodating and helpful, there's been one or two little things we can iron out for the future, and the people who have travelled on the coach for all the games have loved it.
'The good thing is that there have been nice interesting grounds to see, and we have liked the way that the clubs have put themselves out.
'Some of the welcomes we have had have been of the highest calibre, and the match programmes have been very good too. The clubs have done us proud.
'We will be taking a look at doing another similar hop around this League in two years time, but we will also be having a look at next season, with maybe another smaller hop weekend at some point, just to keep our hand in'.
