October Preview

The new edition of When Saturday Comes has an upbeat piece about Cambridge United, the U's having taken back ownership of the Abbey Stadium at a time when their on-field fortunes are looking rosier than for many years.

All under 18's tickets for Port Vale's visit on Saturday 22nd cost just £1, part of a wider push to engage with younger supporters with fans under 12 able to go behind the scenes on the day and try their hand at matchday roles such as commentating alongside the BBC Radio Cambridgeshire team.

Easter Road in Edinburgh hosts a couple of matches that might be of interest during the month.

On Wednesday 5th the Hibernian youngsters take on Molde FK of Norway in a UEFA Youth League tie for which tickets are on sale, priced at £5 adults and free for under 13's.

Then on the 21st it is Friday Night Football for the senior team as St Johnstone come to town. Tickets for the 7.30pm kick-off are priced at £10 adults, £5 concessions.

A new era dawns at Hucknall Town as their new RM Stadium nears completion and they prepare for a final game at Watnall Road. 

This is scheduled for Saturday 15th, against Aylestone Park in the United Counties League, and the club intend to make it free admission on the day as part of a big farewell (thanks to a poster on the Non League Matters forum for this).

And the following day there is an East Midlands derby at the City Ground as Nottingham Forest Women take on Derby County.

Tickets are priced at £5 for adults, £3 for concessions and students and £1 for under 18's.

The Lincs Page

A nice move from Lincoln City, following the postponement of their upcoming League One game with MK Dons due to international call-ups, to schedule a double-header of action at the LNER Stadium this coming Saturday (September 24th).

The Imps' Under-18's will take on Huddersfield Town before Lincoln City Women against Newcastle United in the FA WNL Cup.

Tickets are on sale now, costing £5 for adults and £1 for concessions.

Sincil Bank will of course feature in Pilgrims' Patch, a new book on the football grounds of Lincolnshire, published by Steven Penny of the @LincsFootie twitter page.

There's plenty of @AffordableFooty to discover in this … https://t.co/GK5qWgw04h

— LincsFootie (@LincsFootie) September 12, 2022

I Dream Of Jeanfield (And Other Scottish Cup Ties)

The Scottish Cup First Round takes places this coming weekend with 30 ties scheduled and some intriguing clashes as the Highland and Lowland League clubs enter the fray alongside those victorious in the Preliminary Round.

Brechin City currently top the Highland League as they look to return to the SPFL ranks following their relegation in 2021, the culmination of a dramatic fall through the leagues having been promoted to the second tier Championship in 2017.

The club have worked hard off the field to re-engage with their local community while their on-pitch aspirations for a good cup run will be tested at Perth's Jeanfield Swifts, of the East of Scotland League this Saturday in 12.30pm kick-off.

Admission at the Riverside Stadium is priced at £6 adults, £3 concessions and free for under 16's.

Musselburgh Athletic and Newtongrange Star meet at Olivebank on Saturday and the clubs have agreed on free admission for U16's for this one. Adults are £8, concessions £4.

A long trip for Inverness Clachnacuddin as they travel to Dunbar United for a 3pm kick-off on Saturday.

Tickets are priced at £7 for adults, £4 for concessions with under 12's free.

Welling There

The first international break of the new season is almost upon us, a season of course in which there will be an extended period of no top-flight football in England and Scotland during the World Cup.

Plenty of opportunities to come, then, to watch matches lower down the pyramid and Welling United are looking to pack Park View Road for their National League South home game against Havant & Waterlooville on Saturday 24th September.

Tickets are priced at £10 for adults if purchased before the day of the game, alongside the promotion already in place for September fixtures which sees all adult female, concession and under 18 tickets priced at £5. Accompanied under 11's are free.

Update Reduced prices too at Maidenhead United on Saturday 24th for their televised National League clash with Gateshead.

Kick-off at York Road is at 3pm and all adult tickets are a fiver with under 17's free. 

A View From Norfolk

Some footballing views from a week spent in Norfolk, home to my favourite ground of all, the Wellesley, home of Great Yarmouth Town FC and the oldest surviving football grandstand in the country.

The public nature of the ground, just one street away from the seafront, means you can stroll around at almost any time and I always take the opportunity when I can even though my visits haven't coincided with a game for some years.

Next home game in the Eastern Counties League for The Bloaters is on Saturday 17 September when they entertain Haverhill Borough.

I was staying further along the coast at Sheringham where the Shannocks enjoyed one of the biggest wins in their history at the weekend, an FA Cup triumph at Lowestoft Town which earned them a place in the 2nd Qualifying Round and a trip to Needham Market a week on Saturday.

Cabbell Park in Cromer was the venue for an Anglian Combination Division 5 game between Cromer Youth OB and Sprowston Reserves, the home side taking a first-half lead from an excellent free-kick before a seven goal blitz from Sprowston after the break.

The ground itself has seen better days but it is good to see a long tradition (the plaque on the left is on display at the RNLI Henry Blogg Museum) of senior football in the town being carried on, and, more importantly perhaps, Cromer Youth FC is home to a large number of junior teams.

Head west along the coast road and you get to Wells-next-the-Sea and, just across from the harbour, the Beach Road home of Wells Town FC, a very pleasant spot to catch some Anglian Combination action.

Finally, all roads in Norfolk lead to Norwich and the same is true of the football club. The Canary Yellow is in evidence every where you go and it is pleasing to see a network of local buses heading off from the local villages and towns every matchday.