Nottingham Forest 2-2 Watford (Women’s Super League 2) I’ve got an agreement with the wife. If I work Sundays, a proportion of the money I make goes to her and is (I’m told) put towards our weeks shopping. So with that in mind, and with the City Ground just a couple of miles away from my house, I see covering Nottingham Forest’s first home match of the season against Watford, as a bit of easy, extra shopping money for our household. I was here for the Forest women’s last matc

Swindon Supermarine 3-1 Winslow United (FA Cup First Qualifying Round Replay) I’ve always been fascinated by the name the Swindon Supermarine. The club originates from a merger between Swindon Athletic and Supermarine FC in 1992, before that the Marine founded their football arm in 1946 as Vickers Armstrong which was a social club associated with the Supermarine Aircraft company which made planes during the second world war, in 1983 the club decided to adopt the name Supermar

Boreham Wood 2-1 Carlisle United (National League) I’ve been looking to chalk off Meadow Park for a while now, not just because I’m yet to visit the home of Boreham Wood, but because their team under Luke Garrard has over the last couple of years became one of the most attractive football teams in the National League to watch. Abdul Abdulmalik was recently sold by the club to Swedish top tier team Djugardens for a non-league record £1.5m which surpasses the £1m Leicester City

Quorn 2-1 Shepshed Dynamo (FA Cup First Qualifying Round) It’s a Leicestershire derby in the FA Cup first qualifying round on a Friday night for some reason? I’ve checked both SKY & TNT but I don’t think this one’s been moved to be screened on live TV? Martin O’Neill once managed Shepshed Charterhouse who became Dynamo in 1994 thanks to some much needed financial help from another local club, Loughborough Dynamo who’s ground sits between Shepshed’s Dovecote Stadium (located o

Newark Town 2-4 Sherwood Colliery (United Counties Premier Division North) Following Tom Hayes MP’s letter to Andy Burnham I’ve been mumbling about the 3pm TV blackout on my socials and as an avid shouter of lower level and non-league football you might think I’m dead against it, but I’m all for it. Dated, it has been manipulated around for too long and fans are suffering having to watch games on Friday nights and Saturday mornings all because the TV companies can’t cash in a

Leek Town 1-2 Warrington Town (Northern Premier League) It’s been a while as I’ve been busy with county cricket recently but I’ve a few football games this week to get my teeth into and one of them is a long-awaited trip to Harrison Park in Leek, Staffordshire. A market town on the southern edge of the Peak District I’m not entirely sure a lot goes off in Leek? My last visit here was December 2015 when I was a coach at Loughborough Dynamo, we lost 3-1 to a team containing loc

Spalding United 0-0 Macclesfield (National League North) I’m back in the South Lincolnshire town of Spalding, after watching the Tulips in a promotion chasing playoff match here in May, I return to the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field for a National League North game. It’s my first watch of sixth tier competitive football this season. Two games into the new campaign and Spalding have won one and lost one so far, they started their step two era by beating Radcliffe 2-0 but los

Sunderland 2-1 Rennes (Friendly) I’m up early on a Saturday morning to travel north, and to a ground and city, which has long been on my bucket list, one that has far too long been avoided, so I’m keen to get this done. Sunderland is a good three and a bit hours’ drive from my house in the Midlands, and it’s always a place I’ve wanted to visit, and even though I’ve been to its noisy neighbour on many occasions (whose name shall for the good of this content, remain nameless),

Coventry City 2-0 Monaco (Friendly) I’m back in the big time. After Tuesday night’s non-league spectacular, I’ve been sent to Coventry, which AI tells me is to deliberately ostracize, ignore, or refuse to speak to someone. So, no chatting in the stands tonight. Originally a Roman founded fort, Coventry has seen Saxon nunnery’s and Tudor hospitals built upon its land, the town came through the English Civil War and Industrial Age to be bombed by the Germans in both world wars,

Alfreton Town 2-1 Gainsborough Trinity (Northern Premier League) Two teams I have seen a lot of in recent years are facing up against each other in the league for the first time since the 2017/18 season tonight. Gainsborough Trinity were relegated from the National League North finishing three points below Alfreton Town during that struggling sixth-tier campaign all of eight years ago. The Holy Blues winning 2-1 at the Northolme following an earlier season 4-1 thumping at Nor

Leeds United 2-0 RB Leipzig (Friendly) In 2024, soft drinks company Red Bull (who have their hands in one or two other things) purchased a minority stake in Leeds United to grow their ever-flapping sporting franchise wiiings. As well as having majority stakes in Red Bull Salzburg, New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Bragantino in Brazil, RB Omiya Ardija in Japan, FC Liefering in Austria, and minority stakes now in Leeds and Paris FC, one of the most successful franchises of the well

Ipswich Town 1-0 Le Havre (Friendly) So what do we know about Le Havre? A port city in Normandy on the north coast of northern France, it’s probably as close to Portsmouth as it is to Paris? One of the oldest French football clubs around, Les Ciel et Marine (The Sky & Navy) have been in Ligue 1 since 2023 and were three times national champions during their amateur years at the turn of the twentieth century. Current Head Coach is a former PSG and Middlesbrough midfielder in D

Huddersfield Town 1-1 Blackburn Rovers (Friendly) 21st April 1928 was the last time Blackburn Rovers won the FA Cup. It was the sixth time in the club’s history that they had won it too. In fact, nobody had ever won it more (Aston Villa also won six by then), and Rovers opponents that day? Huddersfield Town, who ended their season as runners up in both cup and the league, after three years previously winning a hat-trick of back to back to back titles (two under the great He

Grimsby Town 5-1 Lincoln City (Friendly) With 38 wins apiece, the two most successful sides in Lincolnshire, have won the counties senior cup at least fifteen times more than anyone else. That’s how you measure success in this county, whilst Scunthorpe and Boston United may have long battled for bronze (ahead of non league regulars Stamford, Gainsborough Trinity and Grantham Town who make up the rear), first and second in Lincs has often been between the Imps and the Mariners

Salford City 3-2 Dundee United (Friendly) It’s a bit of an unusual one today, seven years ago Salford City had never even played in the football league, these days (thanks to the Class of 92) they are probably better known globally than even their Scottish opponents Dundee United, who I remember watching for the first time play way back in 1987 against IFK Gothenburg in the UEFA Cup Final on my dad’s grainy portable colour TV. The Terrors lost that final over two legs but it

Alfreton Town 0-1 Rotherham United (Friendly) Spain are world champions, Argentina got what they deserved, and England made bronze, after arguably the game of the tournament v France on Saturday night. I was scratching around for some sport to watch on Monday after the World Cup ended the night before, I eventually I flicked my TV over from the World Matchplay Darts to watch the Premier League Years, the iconic “I would love it” 1995/96 season highlighted on the sad day of a

Barnet 2-2 Luton Town (Friendly) Regardless of what the majority of England fans will tell you, the World Cup is still not yet over, we are already three weeks into pre-season and whilst memories (bad) will slowly hopefully fade of England’s semi-final exit to Argentina on Wednesday night, one way of getting over them is turning attention to club football, and the new campaign ahead. I’m off to Barnet today. It’s a bit of a road trip south again and I’ve took this match as I

Hitchin Town 0-2 Dagenham & Redbridge (Friendly) I enjoyed my first visit to Top Field so much last summer, I’m back again tonight, as I head down the M1 to watch Southern League Hitchin face National League South Dagenham & Redbridge in a friendly. On Saturday, the Canaries played out a testimonial for Mr Town himself, Mark Burke, who not only played and managed the club, is now their secretary. He’s been involved for over 40 years in one way or another, having made over 700

Alfreton Town 0-0 Burton Albion (Friendly) The World Cup is in full flow; I’ve only just got back off my holidays in Italy and Croatia but already the 2026/27 pre-season has started. I missed the first week of games so the second Saturday of July I’m finally back to business, a long old season ahead, again, and I’m itching, ready, I can’t bloody wait for it. Today I’m back at Alfreton Town, a team now close to my heart, but then I’ve always had a soft spot since my mate ‘Robb