Hoppers do it Anywhere
After being thwarted by a rash of postponements, Steve Sharman heads ‘down the hill’ to watch struggling Heybridge Swifts take on league leaders Felixstowe & Walton in a game with significant implications at both ends of the Isthmian North league table. January can be a bleak month. The home of Blue Monday (not the song),…
Belfast The city of many lives. Where strangers are met with open arms and bared teeth, where aeroplanes leave scars on the asphalt through sea-level mist. The mouth of the Irish Sea yawns wide as the double-decker bus dawdles from the airport to the city. A sheep carcass, stripped clean of wool and flesh, leaves…
As teams from the Football League join in this season’s FA Cup, Steve Sharman hopped on the supporters’ coach to follow the lowest-ranked team left in the competition – Maldon & Tiptree – to Vale Park, in the hope of seeing an upset against League One Port Vale in the first round. The romance of…
In his first post for Hopper’s Guide this season, Steve Sharman seeks some post-summer holiday recovery time at Woodside Road, home to the Blues of Bishop’s Stortford, as they take on Real Bedford in the FA Cup. It’s September, and it’s raining. The summer holidays are over, the kids are back at school, and it’s…
FA Vase Final: AFC Whyteleafe vs. Whitstable Town After ten games across nine rounds spanning multiple counties and teams from many different leagues, Steve Sharman’s journey through the 24/25 FA Vase reaches a thrilling conclusion. The final sees him travel to Wembley following Kent side Whitstable Town, who take on AFC Whyteleafe. All photographs are…
FA Vase Semi-Final: Hartpury University vs. Whitstable Town After a commanding first-leg performance, Whitstable Town head to Gloucestershire with a two-goal lead in their bid to secure a first-ever appearance at Wembley. Steve Sharman embarks on the longest trip of his FA Vase journey to see if Whitstable can keep hold of their first-leg lead,…
FA Vase Semi-Final (1st leg): Whitstable Town vs. Hartpury University In a two-legged FA Vase semi-final with games just eight days apart, Steve Sharman first heads down to the Kent coast to watch The Oystermen of Whitstable Town attempt to ‘conker’ The Acorns Hartpury University. All photographs are the sole property and copyright of Steve…
FA Vase Quarter-Final: Whitstable Town vs. Whitchurch Alport The FA Vase has reached the latter stages, and the quarter-final draw saw the side we are currently following, Whitstable Town, drawn at home to Whitchurch Alport. Before returning to the Kent coast, Steve Sharman spoke to Whitchurch Alport manager Adam Shillcock about the impending battle of…
FA Vase Round 5: Whitstable Town vs. Fleet Town Back on the FA Vase trail, Steve Sharman’s route to Wembley now follows Fleet Town, after the Hampshire side earned a hard-fought win at Crawley Down Gatwick in the fourth round. The Blues now travel to the Kent coast where fifth-round opponents Whitstable Town will no…
FA Vase Round 4: Crawley Down Gatwick vs. Fleet Town After a nerve-wracking penalty shootout victory against Tunbridge Wells, Southern Combination Football League side Crawley Down faced Fleet Town in the fourth round of the FA Vase. Distracted by a groundhopping trip to Italy, Steve Sharman enlists the help of Sussex football expert Trevor Knell…