Heed Hopper

✓983.Memorial Park

Thornton Hibs 3-2 Luncarty

East of Scotland League First Division

Saturday 9th May 2026

Thornton is a village in Fife, located between Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes, which stands between the River Ore and Lochty Burn.

Thornton Hibs formed in 1935, winning the Fife Cup in their debut season, followed by the Fife League East title in 1937–38. Hibs won the Fife Junior Football League in 1952–53, and won the league and cup double in 1958–59, then a third title in 1968–69 and also completed a hat-trick of Fife Cup’s in 1975.

The Scottish Junior Football Association restructured for the 2006–07 season, and Hibs found themselves in the 12-team East Region - Central Division, becoming champions in 2009-10, prior to this they won the East Fife title in 2003-04.

As far as the holy grail of the Scottish Junior Cup is concerned, the closest Hibs came was In 2008. They were knocked out by Cumnock in the semi-finals, losing 3-0 in extra time, after being reduced to ten men, losing their goalkeeper in the 89th minute when it was still 0-0. Their last honours in the Junior set up was the SJFA East North in 2014–15, before successfully applying to join the seniors in the East of Scotland Football League in 2020.

Memorial Park

Old Main Street,

Thornton,

KY1 4AL

Total Scottish grounds visited 130

Current East of Scotland grounds visited 29/47

The ground has a covered terrace enclosure behind the team benches. This neighbours the changing room block, which has an overhanging roof and a few steps, which leads to the refreshment kiosk. On the opposite side is a wooden stand with bench seats and standing room.

Thornton Hibs 3 Luncarty 2

East of Scotland First Division matchday 29

2nd v 16th

1430 ko

Att.150hc

Admission £8 Pin badge £3

Luncary didn't play like a team at the bottom of the league. They twice took the lead, but Hibs hit back twice with headers by Cunningham. The hosts clinched it at the end of added on time, when Drummond latched onto the end of a corner kick at the far post.

0-1 Fraser Smith 35’

1-1 Sean Cunningham 42’

1-2 Aaron Rae 68’

2-2 Sean Cunningham 80’

3-2 Stuart Drummond 90+2’

#Heedhopper

164 miles door-to-door

0912 train Newcastle - Edinburgh. Return on 2016 - 2154

On arrival in Edinburgh I had a look around the record shops and stopped for a coffee, before meeting James at Waverley to catch the 1219 into the Kingdom of Fife. The hour-long train journey worked up a thirst, so we had a couple of pints in the Station Hotel before the match, which is the only remaining pub in Thornton.

We called back after the game, then caught the 1700 back to the capital, going to two pubs I hadn't been to before - Teuchters and The Voyage of Buck. Finally, before going for the train home, I had a pint in Mathers, where we saw former Celtic and Scotland favourite Scott Brown amongst the clientele.

An enjoyable (but bitter cold) day out and I'll be back up north next week for my last trip of the season.

✓982.Stainton Park

Radcliffe 1-0 Macclesfield Town

National League North

Saturday 25th April 2026

Radcliffe Borough was formed in May 1949 at the Owd Tower Inn by Jack Pickford and a 17 strong committee and accepted into the South East Lancashire Football League. The club moved onto the Manchester League, before progressing to Lancashire Combination in 1963.

Lancashire Combination 1963 - 1971

Cheshire County League 1971 - 1982.

North West Counties League (founder members) 1982 - 1987

Second Division Champions: 1982–83 First Division Champions: 1984–85

Northern Premier League 1987 - 2024

Division One Champions: 1996–97 (Play-off winners: 2002–03 2018–19)

The club dropped Borough from their name in 2018.

Premier Division Champions: 2023–24

National League North 2024 - present

Neuven Stadium

Stainton Park

Radcliffe,

Manchester M26 3TQ

Boro originally leased a field off Ashworth Street for two years, before moving across Eton Hill Road to a pitch on Betley Street leased from the Earl of Wilton. The following year the club turned the pitch 180 degrees parallel with Bright Street.

In 1970, the site was selected for redevelopment, so after a 12-month spell playing their home fixtures outside the town at the Whitehouse Sports Ground in Crumpsall, the club were able to move to the current site at Red Bank on Pilkington Road. Radcliffe Borough named the new ground Stainton Park after Mr. Henry Stainton, a local builder and the Club's president.

The ground has been upgraded with a new pitch, floodlights and a sports clinic. The stands are basically all the same size, with a seated stand behind one goal and two stands behind the other, made up of a standing terrace and a diminutive seated stand. There's open terracing on the far side behind the team benches, and on the entrance side, the bottom half has cover.

Capacity 3,100

The first competitive fixture was Borough's home Lancashire Combination league fixture v Wigan Rovers on the 6th September 1969.

Record attendances - 2,338 - 28 August 2023 v FC United of Manchester (a 5-0.win) 2,473 - 17 September 2005 for a North West Counties League Division Two fixture between Castleton Gabriels and FC United of Manchester.

Radcliffe 1 Macclesfield Town 0

Rio Clegg 70’

National North matchday 46 (14th v 4th)

12.30ko

Att.1,502

Admission £15

Pin badge £3.50 Coffee £1.50

This was the final game at Stainton Park this season and I’m guessing it won’t go down as one of the best. The match was settled twenty minutes from time, when Rio Clegg scrambled the ball home.

#Heedhopper

150 miles door-to-door

0740 train from Newcastle via change at York, due at Manchester Victoria at 1021. Back home on the same route, departing at 1730, back to Toon for 2009.

I once made a vow to never travel to Manchester on the train again, but stupidly I forgot I had made this decisive decision, that’s the thing about getting older - you forget shit! To cut short a long story and leave out the boring facts, I arrived in Manchester 35 minutes later than scheduled and got back home 73 minutes late.

Apart from the travel chaos, I had a very enjoyable day. Thankfully, the tram network in Greater Manchester regularly runs, so it was a nice 25 minute ride up to Radcliffe and a twenty minute stroll to the ground in the blazing sunshine.

After the match, I visited four of the city's record shops and stumbled across a record fair at the Britannia Hotel. Obviously there were Good Beer Guide pubs in between, ticking off Fell Northern Quarter, The Old Monkey, North Westward Ho! and the Victoria Tap. So by and large an enjoyable afternoon, but from this day forward I must remember - DON’T BOOK TRAINS ACROSS THE PENNINES!

✓980.Peterlee Pavilion

Peterlee & Horden CWFC 4-2 Spennymoor Town Youth

Wearside League Third Division

Saturday 28th March 2026

Peterlee & Horden CWFC are newcomers to the Wearside League this season. The club is based at the Pavilion Community and Sports Facilities in the town. The facility has three full size grass pitches, a junior 4G cage and the cricket ground. The team plays on the main pitch, which is in front of the pavilion and is fully railed with some bench seating on the hill behind the goal.

Peterlee & Horden CWFC 4 Spennymoor Town Youth 2

Wearside League Third Division matchday 21/22

(9th v 7th)

12.30ko

Att.24hc

Following a first half of limited efforts on goal, the match sprang into life just after the hour mark with three goals in the space of seven minutes, with the hosts going on to win it.

0-1 Zack Blair 61’

1-1 Finley Devine 65’ pen

3-1 Layton Armstrong 68’, 73’

4-1 Ben Pine 82’

4-2 Zack Blair 88’

#Heedhopper

22 mile drive door-to-door

Current Wearside League grounds visited 44/45

✓979.Wingate Welfare Park

Shotton Colliery Res. 1-1 Billingham Synthonia Res

Wearside League Third Division

Saturday 7th March 2026

Wingate Grange Colliery was in operation between 1839 and 1962 with up to 1500 employees. In 1930 a welfare park was built to provide recreation facilities for the miners, their families and the wider community. The Parish Council bought the park from British Coal in 1994, facilities include a wooded area and pond, a bowling green, play equipment and two football pitches.

There’s been a number of clubs in Wingate throughout the years which have played at the welfare, but the current team in the former pit village - Wingate AFC, play Wearside League football at nearby Wellfield School. However, the ground is back in use, with Shotton Colliery FC having their reserve team playing there in the WL Third Division. The ground still has signs of where the stand was, with the old terrace and a remaining dugout.