SATURDAY NOVEMBER 3
Boldmere St. Michaels 4 Studley 0
IT CAN not be over-emphasised how exciting a day like today is to Hoppers such as me: I am about to complete a League! Okay, it is ‘only' the Baker Joiner Midland Football Alliance, so it isn't the equivalent of a five-year odyssey to
single-handedly defeat the armies of Mordor, but 22 teams have been visited on this personal quest.
I arrive at The Trevor Brown Memorial Ground, passing the nearby church from which the club takes its name, and park in the ground. I am met by a steward who asks if I have been before.
On finding I am a Boldmere virgin, he runs through everything I need to know to make my visit a pleasant one. Excellent!
I hand him £5 and another £1 for the programme. This glossy, full-colour issue is very professionally produced.
In it, the secretary rightly has a rant about the amount of football on television.
The stadium is neat and tidy. The car park takes up one side with a shallow seated stand along the other side. The clubhouse, tea bar and changing rooms are situated behind one goal.
Crusty rolls are on sale in the clubhouse but the hot food bar doesn't open until the players are running out to kick off.
Team line-ups are displayed on a chalk board by the players' tunnel.
A decent crowd, including a fair few from Studley and a surprisingly high number of Hoppers, witness a scrappy first half. The first shot isn't until 25 minutes in, though St. Michaels are two ahead at the break.
As the whistle blows, a club official seeks out all of the Hoppers and invites them into the boardroom for refreshments.
The second half sees Boldmere ease their way to a comfortable win. The Studley captain caps a foul-mouthed, inept performance by threatening to “take out” one of his own substitutes. What an inspirational leader of men!
Boldmere seem a very friendly, well-run club. It is an enjoyable visit to round off this League.
? Sad Hopper can now be found on facebook – http://www.facebook.com/sad.hopper
