After sitting with the trusty lap top for over an hour my hopping patience was now beginning to wear a bit thin to say the least. You've probablyguessed alrady that I was not having any luck trying to find a game. Over the last couple of days rainfall in our neck of the woods had caused loads of unwanted postponements with matches being called off more quickly than you could say Met Office Weather Warning!

It was now mid day and only one game (at Bedford SA FC) remained on my battered list of possible match day ‘hoppertunites. With the latest forecast for the rest of the afternoon not looking too good either I realised the chances of getting to a game were looking worryingly slim. Although I am not a religious person I definitely needed some divine inspiration right now!

My hopes now rested with Pete Francis the amiable and super-efficient press officer for the Bedfordshire County Football League. On days such as this he’s a real god send. Regularly updating the BCFL website Pete posts up to the minute match news and lists postponements providing valuable information for players, supporters and of course neutrals. With nine league fixtures already lost to the weather he confirmed that my chosen game was thankfully still on. He not only provided a contact number for me to get in touch with a club officer but also offered to ring me back if he heard anything to the contrary. What a lovely bloke and what a great service!

By 1pm the ageing Wraymobile was setting off from Racing HQ and heading west along the A14 and A428 towards the outskirts of Bedford for the eagerly awaited Premier Division county league match with Bedford Hatters. The club based in the small village of Cople is located some three or so miles to the south east of  Bedford and is easily reached by coming off the town by-pass (A421) immediately after passing The Eyrie home of Bedford Town FC (visible on your left) and then following a winding route for a couple of miles through Cardington en route to Cople itself.

According to the ever reliable and informative Wikipedia the name Cople is derived from the phrase Cock Pool, a place where chickens were kept, that was mentioned in the Domesday Book. The centre of the village is dominated by All Saints Church, originally built soon after 1087 by the de Beauchamp family and which later became part of Chicksands Priory. The list of vicars maintained by the church dates back to 1237. All Saints Church was rebuilt in the 15th century, some parts of it a little earlier, by the families who owned the local manors. The church was later extended in the first part of the 16th century.

The ground entrance located about 100 yards down Grange Road on your right hand side is not immediately easy to find being partly obscured by a tall hedge belonging to an adjacent property along the residential road. A narrow gravel driveway leads to a small car park with a modern pavilion found at the end. The legend Cople Sports and Social Club is proudly displayed on the facing wall of the main building which accommodates both of the changing rooms as well as a smart newly furbished bar lounge with Sky TV in situ. Many old framed team photos adorn the walls to add a bit of interest for the inquisitive visitor. Outside a smart seated patio area bordered by low white panelled fence is conveniently positioned (at an angle) making it easy to watch the action on the adjacent pitch.

The playing fields also play host to cricket in the summer months as evidenced by a couple of equipment storage buildings; mobile sight-screens and the frame supporting some practise nets all found at the far end behind the top goal. A cricket square protected by some sturdy plastic orange netting is positioned centrally (to the left of the pitch). Beyond is the local village hall which is used for community events and further to the left is the beautiful All Saints Church visible beyond housing on Gange Road. 

Open fields back onto the venue on two sides making it quite an exposed location particularly vulnerable in the winter months. The eagle-eyed hopper will notice two rather disproportionately large containers on the skyline away to the right. I was reliably informed that these tall sheds referred to as the Cardington Hangars (both measuring over 180 feet tall) were used to house airships, the biggest to be built in Britain since it was first opened by the Shorts Brothers Engineering Company in 1916.

Due to the economic depression of the post war years, the airship station was closed in 1921 after the construction of the R38 and the scrapping of the R37. However it was reopened in 1924 following the announcement of the Imperial Airship Service and the undertaking of the construction of, amongst others, the R101. Travellers may also be interested to know that Shed 2 was also used in more recent times as the set location for the  popular Batman films Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012)! 

The main pitch is marked closely to the pavilion meaning that space is at a premium particularly in the left hand corner and along the right touchline where there is little room between the perimeter rope (only used on this side) and the farmer's field beyond.  

Today Bedford SA (incidentally the A stands for Athletic and not Association as I first thought) welcomed mid table Bedford Hatters (a link no doubt to Conference Premier side Luton Town FC) to the Cople Playing Field for this important Premier Division fixture. For the hosts this has been a terrible season so far with only one win and a draw to show for their efforts. Sadly by fielding an ineligible player in one of their previous games they remain rooted with only one point at the bottom of the league. On paper then a straightforward away win looked the most likely outcome of the match.    

By the time kick off arrived the rain had thankfully stopped and, dare I say it, the sun was trying to make an appearance. As expected the match went according to the form book and despite having only ten players it was Hatters (dressed unsurprisingly in an orange strip) who looked the better side notching a comfortable 2-0 victory by scoring a goal towards the end of each half. SA who never gave up chasing the game now look resigned to Division 1 football come May.

For the record it was the visitors’ Simon Pixtey (40) who netted at the back post after meeting a low cross from the left with only five minutes left efore the break. The Hatters threw away the chance to double their lead when Ashley Deverall (82) missed a penalty after Paul Daniels had been brought down by Paul Nigro in the area. Minutes later it was the robust Daniels (89) who found enough space and time on the edge of the area to curl the ball beautifully beyond outstretched keeper Russell Abbey to make it 2-0. In the dying minutes Daniels (90+2) almost added a third but fluffed his shot when faced with an open goal.   

The game, played on a superb flat well grassed surface showed no signs of standing water (incredible isn't it considering the amount of rain) or subsequent damage, was attended by a dozen or so spectators including a rather large, tethered Japanese hunting dog. Where did he sit? Anywhere he liked! Hmm. Cold drinks and snacks were available from the pavilion throughout the afternoon.

Although the club doesn’t issue a matchday programme or publish its own website, information covering the league can be found on the superb Bedford County Football League dedicated site and the complementary FA Full-Time pages (see both links below). My thanks go to everyone at the club (particularly Bob Andrews who fielded my desperate check phone call earlier in the day) for making our short stay such an enjoyable one and of course to the ever resourceful Pete Francis for coming to the rescue (not for the first time might I add) on a day when the weather did its best to throw a spanner into the hopping works (yet again). Cheers mate you’re a star!! The joys of finding a game on a soggy day continues - have fun wherever you go!After !