A Record Attendance at the Kent Coast Derby!

[@saltaireorangebicyclechopp8555]

Love the handbags at the end, l like to see some emotion and reckon most do too.

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

It’s funny how it escalates really quickly and before you know it you have a 22 man brawl 🥊

[@MrKippo]

Wicked Video Matt! I remember watching your Margate v Invicta video and wishing you could come and this was the perfect game for it. I'm fuming I missed the game and at the result. Only wish I could've been there, hoping theres more derbies to be had next season and that we can quiet the cocky Dover players.

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

Thanks Mr Kippo for your comments, it was a great occasion ⚽️👍🏻

[@davidwilliamgay4821]

Great video Matt. Looked liked handbags at the end, but luckily it calmed down. Good to see Dover again on the up, after so many years in the doldrums. Long way back though, and the crowds even in 5th tier werent that good. No team liked playing away there, especially midweek. Really like the idea, that more and more are distancing themselves from Banknote Printing Leagues, and supporting and helping their local clubs. Also, you generally get to meet and chat someone you know, as you did at the game

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

Thanks Berlin Dave, Dover have turned a corner and stopped their slide, my early predictions of a Gills and Chatham double promotion now look rather silly 🤪

[@RaymondChristie-i7i]

Great videos matt you do a great 6

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

👍🏻⚽️

[@elmoswansea1947]

Great video, great crowd, great derby, great handbags! A bit of banter on here lol, proper football and well done everyone changing ends with what looked like min fuss! Pity the goal was at the other end again Matt😂

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

Yes I am good at guessing the wrong end 70% of the time, cheers Elmo 👍🏻⚽️

[@the_footballtourist]

Great to bump into you again Matt! Shame you didn’t spend any time in the covered terrace I thought the atmosphere was a lot better in there

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

Always good to see you Tom, it is always interesting seeing the same game from a different angle 👍🏻⚽️

[@clivearnold3887]

Biggest attendance for Invicta . The old club Folkestone Town had a much higher record attendance. Great video

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

Yes the other highest attendance for the old club was back in the 60’s, I think it was in the 8,000 region 👍🏻⚽️

[@RogerKing-eo9hp]

Of course both Folkestone and Dover are "reincarnations". I still remember being at Cheriton Road (which hasn't changed all that much) on 26/11/1966 with over 4,000 others to watch an enthralling FA Cup tie which finished Folkestone Town (Southern League Premier Division) - 2 ..Swansea Town (FL 3rd tier) - 2. If I wasn't 6 foot I wouldn't have seen much!

[@GillinghamBlues]

Fantastic video - love it. Thank you.

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

Top man, thank you 👍🏻⚽️

[@stephenanakie3500]

Quality vid as always, personally, was glad Dover won, only cos used to live there, not too far from their ground

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

Thanks Stephen, you must have lived on or near a hill because Dover are full of them 👍🏻⚽️

[@stephenanakie3500]

@ it is all hills, they say down there that it is a well inside the cliffs, used to hate when it snowed, cos was too icy to safely walk down into town & the steepness of most of the hills, would have been impossible to stop sliding short of a main & very busy road

[@Davidov1967]

I really enjoy this kind of content Matt. It would be great to see you come to Hornchurch FC in the National league south..... Keep up the great work .

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

Thanks David but I already have been to Hornchurch last season when you beat Chatham and got promoted 👍🏻 you won’t like me after seeing that video as I criticised that ground 👎 thanks for your comments 👍🏻⚽️

[@Davidov1967]

@mattthegroundhopper9242 lol. I agree it's not a great ground. I'll have to check that video out. Yes I feel Hornchurch are not widely liked after trying to buy glory but instead getting demoted for financial irregularities 🤣. Unfortunately the London Borough of Havering and Essex as a whole doesn't seem to be very pro football. Have you checked out Farnham Town in the Isthmian south central they went on a 58 unbeaten run until recently.

[@jeremypowell8039]

Looked like a real good atmosphere and decent game. The handbags at the end was abit embarrassing tho 😂 Great watch and look forward to the next one !

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

Thanks Jeremy 👍🏻⚽️

[@anthonylangford7797]

I'm going to Folkestone Invicta tomorrow on my tour. Looking foward to it. Was at Hastings United midweek

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

Lovely bit of non league ground hopping, decent terracing at Folkestone, enjoy 👍🏻⚽️

[@brucemay5409]

A good game and attendance then Matt and a decent video again!😊 The scrappy bit at the end is unacceptable at any level in my opinion.And a guest appearance of Football Tourist was a bonus!Keep the good work up mate..

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

Thanks Bruce, yes Tom is a nice lad and he puts in some serious miles for his videos, he is also very knowledgeable about football at all levels 👍🏻⚽️

[@nigelbaines7966]

Yes, derby games did in the main used to be based around holiday periods, but if you're guaranteed a bigger crowd then it might as well be anytime and still leave the holiday period open for a larger than normal crowd. I'm pretty sure that was the thinking when fixture list organisers started to move derby games.

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

I think that is a valid point because not everyone is available during the Christmas period 👍🏻⚽️

[@Battismore-Blue]

Good vlog again , your right about Champions League we`ll end up with a `European Super League ` one way or another , the Premier League is as dull , VAR is another nail in it and can`t wait to see Man City`s ` punishment ` either

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

Non league attendances are on the rise and have been for a few seasons now, some fans are ditching their former premier league clubs to support a lower league club 👍🏻⚽️

[@theminecraftflake343]

Just want to say, the only reason for Dover celebrating infront of the Folkestone fans is because they did the same to us at the reverse fixture, so to everyone complaining, they were well in their rights

[@nancyelliott3122]

The corresponding match at The Crabble ended in front of the Invicta fans, who celebrated there. They didn't run to the opposition fans and taunt them, as Dover did this time. That's the difference!

[@loading9110]

Your defenders and keeper werent up that end though. Pay backs a bitch. Thanks for the 3 points. Mind the Gap. ​@@nancyelliott3122

[@theminecraftflake343]

@nancyelliott3122 when folkestone scored in the 2nd minute dan Smith shushed the fans and the other players followed

[@adolforodolfo6929]

@@theminecraftflake343 So what if he did? What we didn't do was celebrate in front of you lot at the River End at the end of the game; sure we celebrated, but only with our own fans. As Jake Leberl said in his after match interview, you need to be better than that. To be fair, the atmosphere between the fans was pretty good, noisy, sure, but never hostile and showed, like at Crabble, that we can play each other with big crowds and no segregation needed.

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

Fair enough but two wrongs don’t make a right 🤷‍♂️

[@anthonylangford7797]

Smaller crowd today (966) v Cray Wanderers. First time at FIFC. 1-0, not a classic but really enjoyed my visit. Very friendly fans and great ground with fantastic bar.

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

Still a decent crowd though for the level, just love all the terracing, very old skool 👍🏻⚽️

[@anthonylangford7797]

​@@mattthegroundhopper9242Went to Eastbourne United last night in the combined counties premier. The Oval arena recently reopened after a few months having a facelift and new 3G pitch installed. Very nice smart little ground now. Great place to watch a 3-2 match as a neutral. Saturday going to Withdean stadium in Brighton to watch AFC Varndeanians and week after higher up the pyramid to watch Tonbridge Angels.

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

@@anthonylangford7797 you’ll like Tonbridge, good day out, is there much of a stadium now at the Withdean? 👍🏻⚽️

[@anthonylangford7797]

@mattthegroundhopper9242 Watched AFC V highlights on KZbin and looks like there are seats right round the stadium though the running track is still there. Be interesting watching a match in a big ground with so little spectators. Mind you I've watched Queens Park at Hampden Park with around 500 fans a few times!

[@brianrichardson5871]

Well played Dover , Hess old team and alot of Gills youngsters get experience with them. As you said it's great to see non-league football getting supported, enjoyed the blog from Perth down under.

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

Thanks Aussie Brian 🇦🇺 the cold dark days are now upon us, not that you care ☀️🌞🕶️

[@RaymondChristie-i7i]

Hi matt did you ever go down to torquay plainmoor for a match if so did you do a video

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

Hello Ray, no not yet had the opportunity, the closest I have been in that neck of the woods was Exeter 👍🏻⚽️

[@TedFN13-qh8yh]

Did you try the food outlets?

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

Yes, i had a hot dog 🌭 it was ok 👌 👍🏻

[@AvrilLancaster]

Dude in grey jacket. What was he doing on the pitch at the end? I guess Coke and Mars was a bit difficult in a crowd like that.

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

I always find it hilarious when one fan trys to fight a whole team 😅👍🏻⚽️

[@AvrilLancaster]

@mattthegroundhopper9242 He should stay off the pitch. Ballerz will clash but once the game is over we are all friends working towards the same goals.

[@keithcrossland1242]

When you go to a game as a neutral can you please identify which team is which please. I assume Dover are in white

[@momeara7482]

Dover Athletic FC are 'the Whites'.

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

Thanks Keith, I thought the colours on the badge on the thumbnail would give it away 🤷‍♂️

[@mattlipsis5016]

Presumably means some poor sod has got a trek down there over Xmas or vice versa

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

Fair enough, I didn’t think of it that way 😂👍🏻

[@loading9110]

Dover fan here. We didnt trash the advertising board. It collpased because they're made of cheap plastic and snapped when the lads celebrated. And our lads celebrated in front of them because back in August the Folkestone players did the same to us. Only difference is, they thought they won the leauge 2 games in and we did 4 points clear at the top.

[@markkitson5079]

Yeah ok mate. I watched with my own eyes as your lot smashed up the advertising board. One of you was using a hack saw for Christ sake.

[@loading9110]

​@@markkitson5079 Hard to smuggle a hacksaw in when you have a metal detector on the gate.

[@markkitson5079]

@@loading9110 It was modified. Probably hardened plastic of some kind.

[@loading9110]

Out of interest were you in the Dover end and got pictures etc. Because both clubs would be interested. It breaking by accident is just that. But weapons have no place in any stadium. ​@@markkitson5079

[@jskeggs_]

@@markkitson5079 Tinpot ground with poor fences means it falls down. Nobody trashed anything 🤣mind the gap

[@MattGFC1977]

I went to Dorking v Maidstone United as I knew that game would be a sell out and I wouldn't see shi* at 5ft 6in

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

I found the Dorking fans very quiet when I went, how did you find them?

[@MattGFC1977]

@@mattthegroundhopper9242 All right did you try the vending machine

[@davidongley5587]

Don’t think Bromley is a Kent club

[@momeara7482]

It is.

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

I keep flip flopping on the subject, I used to believe they were but I am slowly being convinced they are now not 🤷‍♂️

[@TheRedPolyhedral]

@@mattthegroundhopper9242 Bromley is a London borough. It's in London.

[@leroygunnerman6340]

@@TheRedPolyhedralit’s classed as Bromleykent

[@mattlipsis5016]

The debate goes on...

[@martinsmusic2223]

Matt, first video of yours I've watched. Most of it consists of you talking close to the camera. Showing any football seems irrelevant to you, otherwise I'd have subscribed.

[@mattthegroundhopper9242]

Thanks Martin for your comment, the video is not a football highlights video but more about my ground hopping experience, although there was plenty of football and crowd coverage in this video 👍🏻⚽️