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March 2018

Posted in Uncategorized | April 6th, 2018

Everton supporters song from the 1960s

Bless ’em all

The long and the short and the tall

Bless wee Alex and Royston, too

Bless all the boys that are playing in Blue

Can you identify the two Everton players mentioned in the ditty?

Saturday 3rd March 2018
FA Premier League

Leicester City 1

Riyad Mahrez 90+7

AFC Bournemouth 1

Josh King 35 (pen)
Referee:- Lee Probert Attendance:- 31,384
Admission:- semi-hosp Programme:- included (£3.50)
There was very little football around today because of the snow and Graeme and I decided to take the easy option of a visit to The King Power Stadium with a modicum of pampering! The game was nothing to write home about and I don’t think that Leicester City and Claude Puel fit together very well. Wilfred Ndidi had an off day and the visitors were tenacious in their determination to upset the host’s rhythm. Bournemouth scored well into the first half and held that lead until the seventh minute of added time at the end of the second half. A free kick, well outside the penalty area was rifled in by Riyad Mahrez and the relief of the home fans at gaining this unlikely point, was palpable!

Monday 5th March 2018
Premier League 2 Division 1

Leicester City 4

Harvey Barnes 2, 48,

George Thomas 32,

Sam Hughes 84,

Liverpool 0
Referee:- Christopher O’Donnell Attendance:- 2,752
Admission:- OMGDS £1.00 (£3) Free Teamsheet
This match between second and top in the division went emphatically the way of the hosts who took over Liverpool’s long held first position. The match was held at The King Power Stadium and there was a healthy attendance for the top of the table clash. Leicester were dominant throughout and scored after only two minutes. Liverpool never really got going and the scoreline could have been worse for them! John Main was in raptures, young Freddie was underwhelmed. Graeme and I just enjoyed a very entertaining match!

Tuesday 6th March 2018

Sky-Bet EFL Championship

Burton Albion 0

Brentford 2

Kyle McFadzean (og) 59

Ollie Watkins 80

Referee:- Tony Harrington Attendance:- 3,464

Admission:- OMGDS £18.00 (£24) Programme:- £3.00

The Pirelli Stadium looked pretty full, but in reality it was a pitiful attendance for The Championship. It is amazing how Albion have survived two seasons at this level, competing with some big names like Aston Villa and Leeds United (to mention but two). The first half was dire with both sides seemingly intent on avoiding defeat. The second half was considerably better with The Bee’s half-time cuppa having been accompanied by stern words of encouragement. The visitors gradually assumed control of this match and a couple of goals was no more than they deserved. Burton were never really in the hunt, although they did test the visiting custodian on a couple of occasions! I went with my son, James and Jonny Crane, a lifelong Brentford fan.

It was all a far cry from my first visit to see Burton Albion in The (Multipart) Northern Premier League on 21st February 1987 at their old and quaint ground at Eton Park. Chorley were the visitors that day and they lost to a Gauden goal in the first half in front of a crowd of 729.

Wednesday 7th March 2018
Chromasport & Trophies Peterborough & District League
Premier Division

Warboys Town 0

Moulton Harrox 11 (eleven)

Marcus Parry 3, 20,

Billy King 30,

Matt Duncan (og) 39,

Danny Lambe-Hyner 44, 67, 86,

Louis Steadman 49, 75, 88, 89,
Referee:- Craig Hardy Attendance:- 45
Admission:- F.O.C. Programme:- NONE
The last time I visited Forge Way was on 9th December 2000, (Jewsons Eastern Counties League Premier Division: Warboys Town 1 Woodbridge Town 1 Attendance:- 46). Tonight’s attendance was almost exactly the same, but the team had dropped a couple of divisions in the meantime. However, they had acquired a lovely new club house with a bar and hall and a lounge. In the hall, an art group were busy with their paintings. Moulton Harrox used this game in hand to regain top spot in the Premier Division and they fully deserved the scoreline and maybe should have had more! Warboys Town are a top half side, but they were blown away like confetti by the panzer divisions of the visitors. It was a massacre! It was very good, however, to see a match totally bereft of cards of any colour!

Friday 9th March 2018

Cambridge University AFL Cuppers FINAL

Fitzwilliam College 6

Girton College 1

Referee:- Matt Haslett Attendance:- 176

Admission:- F.O.C. Programme:- F.O.C.

There was a good turn out on a filthy evening at Grange Road, the home of Cambridge University’s Rugby Union club for the final of the inter-football knock-out competition. The ground is pretty impressive, entry was free and there was a free programme, too! Fitzwilliam dominated this match scoring five times without reply in the first half. They were faster and more skilful than their opponents and really ought to have added more than one strike after the interval. Girton managed to get on the score sheet in the second minute of added time at the end of the match, but the trophy went deservedly to Fitzwilliam and their noisy band of followers were ecstatic!

Saturday 10th march 2018
Sky-Bet EFL Championship

Queens Park Rangers 1

Ebere Eze 62,

Sunderland 0
Referee:- Robert Jones Attendance:- 14,216
Admission:- OMGDS £23 (£34) Programme:- £3.50
I haven’t been to Loftus Road for nearly 30 years (26th December 1990 Barclays League Division 1 QPR 1 Liverpool 1 attendance:- 17,848) and I shan’t mind if I don’t go for another thirty years. The ground is hemmed in amongst local housing and the feeling of claustrophobia inside the stadium is heightened by the cramped seats which give you back ache (my seat also had a £1 reduction for restricted view!). The game was poor and hinged on the sending off of the visiting goalkeeper for handling the ball outside the area. The only strike came midway through the second half after a turgid opening session. If I had to watch that week in, week out……………I think I’d lose the will to live!

Tuesday 13th March 2018
Total Motion Midland League Premier Division

Loughborough University 2

Cam Gordon 29,

Matty Crookes 83,

Shepshed Dynamo 2

Shay Brennan 42,

Josh Barr-Rostron 79,
Referee:- Rueben Ricardo. Attendance:- 122
Admission:- OMGDS £2.00 (£5) Programme:- £1.50
These close rivals are probably less than five miles apart and the encounter was keenly contested. Free team sheets are now part of the service at the stadium. After a disastrous start to this season’s campaign, the students have pulled away from the foot of the table and look less threatened by fears of relegation. They were given a stern test by visitors, Dynamo, who came from a goal behind to lead by 2-1 with ten minutes to go. The plucky students pulled it back level on 83 minutes and a draw was probably a fair result.

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The Scottish Lowland ‘Hop’

The coach for the weekend left London at 9.30am on Friday morning with severe weather forecast for the weekend. I boarded at Birmingham International Railway Station at 11.15am and we proceeded up the M6 to Scotland and the outside temperature dropped like a stone and not only that, the wind began to howl and there was rain in the air. Indeed, when we reached Lockerbie, it was raining quite heavily, but by the time the match commenced, the rain had relented.

Friday 16th March 2018
South of Scotland Football League

Mid-Annandale 6

Liam Gibson 9,

Dean Smith 11, 35,

Dylan Neill 34, 59,

Andrew Thorn 47

Lochmaben 3

Denver Milligan 33,

Gavin Smith 38,

Darren How 87,
Referee:- Lloyd Wilson Attendance:- 235
Admission:- £3.00. Programme:- £2.00
The wind was howling like a bevy of banshees round the 3G fenced in pitch at The New King Edward ground in Lockerbie which hosts and visitors are currently sharing. It was bitterly cold, with no cover, but fortunately the rain held off. The hosts smote two goals in the first ten minutes and were 4-2 up at the interval. Two more were added in the second half and there should have been more. The visitors managed the last strike, three minutes from time. Dour and gloomy Lockerbie couldn’t have been better epitomised than by it’s bleak and foreboding church. Glad to get back on the bus!!!

Saturday 17th March 2018 k.o. 11.00am
East of Scotland League

Burntisland Shipyard 1

Thomas Graham 44,

Robert Kinnaird s/o 75

Jonathan Galloway – penalty saved 83mins,

Preston Athletic 2

Greg Binnie 37,

Jonathan Grotlin 61,
Referee:- David McAlinden Attendance:- 166
Admission:- £5.00. Programme:- £2.00
Brass monkeys just doesn’t do it justice! It was blisteringly cold with light blustery snow about. For all that, it was a good game at Burntisland’s tight, shipshape ground, sadly bereft of seats, but with one covered standing area. The sharp, icy wind blew from goal to goal and in the first half it favoured the visitors. At half-time it was 1-1, but a second half breakaway goal, a penalty for the home team saved, and a home defender dismissed, all combined to ensure that the visitors took the victory and the spoils!

Saturday 17th March 2018 k.o. 1.45pm
East of Scotland League

Kelty Hearts 11 (eleven)

Brian Ritchie 11,

Scott Dalziel 30, 51,

Neil McCabe 42,

Errol Douglas 45+1, 74, 85,

Stephen Husband 54, 77,

Stuart Cargill 56,

Shaun Greig 80,

Tweedmouth Rangers 1

Lewis McKenna 22,
Referee:- Jonathan Bell. Attendance:- 278
Admission:- £5.00. Programme:- £2.00
This was a stroll in the park for ambitious Kelty. They recently transferred from Scottish Junior football and are now a couple of promotions from the Scottish Football League! They have a lovely ground and a very friendly bunch of supporters and a canny financial genius behind their hoped for advancement! They are unbeaten this season, but lurking in the shadows are Lothian Thistle, also unbeaten, and the two play each other home and away towards the end of the season! Tasty!

Saturday 17th March 2018 k.o. 5.00pm
East of Scotland League

Herriot-Watt University 2

Michael Ward 11, 33,

Anton Dows s/o 77

Christopher Lane s/o 90+1
Leith Athletic 3

John Robertson 39,

Daniel Garvey 68,

Callum Mein 87,

Referee:- Michael Addy. Attendance:- 207
Admission:- £5.00. Programme:- £1.00
The Oriam Sports Arena at Herriot Watt University is a fully enclosed stadium which includes a full sized football pitch. There is a lovely and warm cafe area, but the temperature in the football arena is similar to the outside – in other words blisteringly cold. The students confidently and convincingly won the first half going in at 2-1. However they threw away the game recklessly in a second half which saw two of their number dismissed.

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Wednesday 21st March 2018
Chromasport & Trophies United Counties League Division 1

Oakham United 1

Cameron Brookes 48,

Burton Park Wanderers 1

Mark Forbes 87 (pen)
Referee:- Louisa Thorold Attendance:- 29
Admission:- £5.00 Programme:- NONE
A fourth visit to Sterling Meadows, but only the first since 2015 when 341 turned up for the ‘hop’ victory over Buckingham Town. Tonight’s support was considerably thinner! They still haven’t got draught beer in the bar, but there was live Conference football on the TV. It was a cold night at Oakham’s very rustic arena, but the match was played at high intensity and with the visitors appearing to be missing several key players, it looked a nailed on home win. Not a bit of it. It took the hosts forty-eight frustrating minutes to score and they were made to pay for missing other key opportunities when the visitors were awarded a penalty three minutes from the end. Woman referee, very competent.

Saturday 24th March 2018
Evo-Stik Northern Premier League Division 1 North

South Shields 4

Zehn Mohammed 14 (og),

Louis Storey 23,

Carl Finnegan 58,

Jamie Holmes 60,

Ramsbottom United 0
Referee:- Christopher Keightley Attendance:- 1,552
Admission:- OMGDS£6.00 (£8) Programme:- £2.00
Just for a change it was bright, sunny and mild for the long trip oop north! Didn’t think much of Mariners Park. There was one stand with around 150 seats and opposite were three Meccano covered areas, one of which had around 100 seats, but visibility was very poor, blocked by the huge plastic dug-outs. There was precious little terracing, but plenty of bar space for the substantial crowd. On the field, the match was fairly predictable. Ambitious Shields extracting a regulation victory whilst the visitors fought doggedly to stem the tide!

Tuesday 27th March 2018
Kershaws Cambridgeshire County League Premier Division

Chatteris Town 1

Anthony Brolia 4,

Gamlingay United 2

Harry Kennedy 24, 45+1
Referee:- Douglas Lawson Attendance:- 84
Admission:- £2.00 Programme:- NONE
Eighteen years since my last (and only) visit to West Street (21st October 2000 FA Vase 1st Round: Chatteris Town 0 Diss Town 2 Attendance:- 129). In those days, The Lilywhites were a thriving Eastern Counties League side. Today they inhabit the more rustic surrounds of The Cambs County League. The club house and changing rooms have been upgraded, but on the pitch, Chatteris are enduring an awful season and presently prop up the division. The visitors are only one place higher, so this was a real relegation six pointer! The hosts started with a bang, scoring in the 4th minute, but as the half wore on, it was United who began to dominate and two goals – the second on the stroke of half-time – gave them lead they were never to relinquish. Chatteris look doomed, but Gamlingaymay yet escape!

Wednesday 28th March 2018
Chromasport & Trophies United Counties League Division 1

Pinchbeck United 5

Oliver Maltby 12,

Aaron Eyett 18,

Josh Smith 38, 39,

Reif Bisset-Clarke 83 (pen),

Oakham United 0
Referee:- Chris Armond Attendance:- 72
Admission:- £3.00 Programme:- NONE
Pinchbeck are tenants at The Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field, the council owned home of Spalding United and there was nothing inside the stadium to connect it to the club! This is their first season in the UCL and they are presently running away with the First Division title. 5-0 was a fair reflection of the gulf between these two sides, but the hosts gently took their foot off the pedal in the second half, having secured a 4-0 half-time advantage.

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The Carlsberg South West Peninsular ‘Hop’

This was a hop organised by Phil Hiscox, secretary of the South West Peninsula League and which has been held periodically over several years (2009, 2010, 2011 and 2016 were the previous hop years).

Thursday 29th March 2018
South West Peninsula League Division 1 East

Newton Abbot Spurs 2

Oli Aplin 13,

Chris Metters 51,

Teignmouth 1

Sean Ayre 18,
Referee:- Shaun Edge. Attendance:- 318
Admission:- £4.00. Programme:- £1.00
There was a handsome crowd for this reasonably local derby on a rainswept evening in South Devon. The ground had precious little cover but at least the rain petered out as the match progressed. This was a contest of little finesse and lots of thud and blunder. The hosts triumphed in the end because they kept their heads, whilst the visitors had two second half dismissals.

Friday 30th March 2018
Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Division 1 East

Sidmouth Town 3

Ryan Davies 32,

Rob Knight 74,

Cameron Pow 83,

Budleigh Salterton 4

Andy Taylor 37,

Nathan Antat 48 (og),

Dan Boere 52,

Mike White 76,
Referee:- Ryan Edge. Attendance:- 336
Admission:- £4.00. Programme:- £1.50
This was a cracker of a match on a deteriorating pitch and in constant precipitation. A gulf separates third placed Budleigh Salterton from the hosts languishing in the lower reaches of the table, but at half time it was all square at 1-1. Two second half strikes seemed to have killed off the hosts, but they brought it back to 2-3 and then 3-4, but couldn’t quite conjure up an equaliser!

Friday 30th March 2018
Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Division 1 East

Honiton 0

Ilfracombe 1

Brodie Montague 58,
Referee:- Cameron Mann. Attendance:- 227
Admission:- £4.00. Programme:- £1.00
This fixture was played, not at Honiton, but at Exwick Villa who play on the 3G at Exeter College Sports Stadium. Honiton‘s pitch was deemed waterlogged. There was no cover and the lasting impression is of heavy and unremitting precipitation and cold which seriously blighted the enjoyment of the match. The game went to form with the visitors scoring the only goal midway through the second half. Glad to get back to the car!

Friday 30th March 2018
Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Division 1 East

Axminster Town 2

Jon Hereford 13,

Sam Dibling 22,

Crediton United 1

Steve Morish 32,
Referee:- Chris Ibbotson. Attendance:- 306
Admission £4.00. Programme:- £1.00
The rainswept theme continued and there was even sleet and snow on the way there! Axminster have taken possession of a new stadium since my last visit (10th April 2009 Carlsberg SWPL Division 1 East:- Axminster Town 4 Ottery St Mary 1 attendance:- 358) and there was plenty of cover and about 200 seats. The referee decided eventually that the match could go ahead despite a thoroughly rain sodden pitch. It was the right decision and the hosts took the opportunity to revenge an early season home FA Vase defeat to Crediton by taking all three points on the night.

Great place for the ducks

Would this match have been played had it not been on the ‘hop’? I doubt it!!!

Saturday 31st March 2018
Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Division 1 East

St Martins 4

Ben Watson 5, 90,

Stuart Davies 62,

James Richards 80,

Alphington 0
Referee:- Keith Mann. Attendance:- 383
Admission:- £4.00. Programme:- £1.00
These two close rivals occupy top and bottom spots in the league table. Minster Park has a high slope with some excellent viewing points, however, the game was nothing to write home about. The visitors kept their illustrious hosts down to a single strike for over an hour, but three goals in the last twenty minutes sealed their demise and gave the score a more realistic look!

Saturday 31st March 3.00pm
Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Division 1 East

Brixham 1

Scott Walker 57,

Galmpton & Roselands 0
Referee:-Harry Chambers. Attendance:- 369
Admission:- £4.00. Programme:- £1.00
On a very cramped ground, the crowd felt much larger than it really was! Every spare bit of space was accounted for. Neither side had acquitted themselves with distinction, this season and the hosts – 11th in the table – triumphed by the only goal over their 15th placed rivals. Perhaps a draw would have been a fairer result! After the match as we waited patiently for our transport, we heard that the coaches had been locked in the car park!!!

Saturday 31st March 2018 7.00pm
Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Division 1 West

Plymouth Marjon 2

Jay Johnson 59,

Morgan Parsonage 61,

Millbrook 3

Rik Shepherd 28,

Dan Chapman 67,

Tom Payne 75,
Referee:- Shaun Edge. Attendance:- 293
Admission:- £4.00. Programme:- £1.50
We seemed to be climbing forever to the top of Plymouth to The College of St Mark and St John. The match was played on a 3G surface inside a cage – but with access for spectators on three sides. In a fairly insipid opening session, Millbrook were clearly superior but managed only a single goal. Marjon looked better in the second period, but lost a player to a second bookable offence in the 53rd minute. This seemed to inspire them for two goals in as many minutes around the hour mark gifted them the lead. Millbrook stepped up a gear, made the extra man tell and deservedly wrested back the lead, the victory and the points.