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Sunday, 15 March 2026

The Changing of the Seasons

 A crowd of spectators watches a soccer game from behind a concrete barrier, with their long shadows cast across the foreground from the sun's position. Players can be seen in the distance on the green field. A small stand is visible along the left side with a roof overhead. 

A beautiful spring day at Sandygate, home of Hallam FC, on Saturday as Bridlington Town were the visitors for a Northern Premier League (East) fixture.

The hosts took a first-half lead with a well-taken shot from just outside the area before Brid levelled after the break with a rocket. That left home goalkeeper Hugo Warhurst no chance but he preserved a point with a fabulous save shortly after.

Saturday afternoons at Sandygate have a nice feeling and it has been good to see the club grow so much over the years while still retaining that familiarity and hum of conversation.

Hallam have done well in leveraging their history, playing at the world's oldest ground, and their erstwhile rivals Sheffield FC have been much in the news, locally, nationally and even wider (I saw one piece on Reuters when searching online), over the past week after appointing Jon McClure, lead singer of Reverend and the Makers, as chairman.

The long-term aim remains to bring the world's oldest club back to Sheffield from their current home in Dronfield, just over the border into Derbyshire, but the work has started already in terms of engaging locally and getting more people through the turnstiles.

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