Winter
Winter when your warm breath smokes
In the bitter morning chill
Night brings frosts that creep and crisp.
Trees are stretching black and still
Etching patterns where the bright
Robin dares a whistling trill.
by Jo Peters (1937 – 2001)
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Saturday 1st February 2025
EFL League Two
Tranmere Rovers 1
Kristian Dennis 50,
Colchester United 3
Lyle Taylor 9 (pen), 33, Owura Edwards 63,
Referee: Scott Oldham. Attendance: 5,166
Admission: Hospitality (£84.00). Programme: incl. (£3.50)
Prenton Park is a fine looking stadium much changed since my first visit in September 1967, when Colchester were also the visitors – but lost that match by 4-2! Excellent hospitality with seats in the directors box right on the half-way line. Great to meet up with family and friends! Tranmere were not at the races today and Colchester barely had to move out of second gear to claim a straightforward victory. Two first half strikes, the first from the penalty spot and a further second half goal after the hosts had pulled one back shortly after the interval, garnered a richly deserved victory.
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Penalty scored by Lyle Taylor for Colchester United after nine minutes.
Very much an old fashioned ground and I can remember nothing from my first visit in 1967!
Sonny, Freddie and Kingsley in the dugout!
from left: Alan Eathorne, Gary Miller, Aman Singh and Mike McGeown
Chris Berezai and Phil Evans
From left : Mark Sumner, Francesca Parkin,Matt Knowles and Chris Berezai
Eddie with Man of the match, Saidou Khan
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Monday 3rd February 2025
National League South
Hemel Hempstead Town 3
Brandon Barzey 15, 82, Oliver Lynch 55,
Boreham Wood 4
Femi Ilesanmi 4, Kwesi Appiah 27, Tom Whelan 44, Matt Rush 88,
Referee: Ashley Clarke. Attendance: 681
Admission: OAP £10.00 (£15). Programme: £3.00
I didn’t realise that Hemel had installed a plastic pitch (a couple of seasons ago, said one of the stewards). My last visit was twenty years ago when they were a Southern League team. Tonight’s rumbustious affair was rightly decided in the visitors favour. They were the better side and presently occupy top spot in a very congested promotion race. They were however, made to work very hard for their victory. 1-3 down at the interval, the hosts staged a fighting comeback to draw level, only to see the visitors snatch victory in the 88th minute. Eight minutes of added time were played, but The Tudors couldn’t draw level again.
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Tuesday 4th February 2025
Southern League Premier Division Central
Banbury United 1
Harry Reilly 19,
Kettering Town 0
Referee: Daniel Lamport. Attendance: 602
Admission: OAP £10.00 (£14). Programme: on line
Kettering Town’s promotion ambitions were severely dented by a solid defensive display from The Puritans. The hosts scored a rare thunderblaster after only nineteen minutes and then fended off all Kettering’s attenpts to secure an equaliser. The attendance this evening was boosted by a large following of away supporters. Good match!
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Wednesday 5th February 2025
Eastern Counties League Division 1 North
Parson Drove 1
Gerson Dos Reis 31,
FC Peterborough 1
Vitor Vaz 74 (pen),
Referee: Ceredig Cattanach-Chell. Attendance: 45
Admission: OAP £3.00 (£5). Programme: ON LINE
On a bitterly cold evening deep in the Cambridgeshire fenlands, these two teams served up a tasty encounter. The visitors are vying for a play-off spot, whilst the hosts are languishing in lower mid-table. It was the hosts who took the lead after half an hour and they held onto it doggedly until FC Peterborough were awarded a soft penalty with fifteen minutes to go. A draw was probably a fair result, but the referee inexplicably played twelve minutes of added time at the end of the match!
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Thursday 6th February 2025
Leicestershire Midweek Floodlit Youth League
Southern Division
Lutterworth Town u18 1
George Coulthard 56 (pen),
GNG Oadby Town u18 2
Joe Walton 20, Jaiden Jones 67,
Referee: Toby Smith. Attendance: 17
Admission: F.O.C. Programme: NONE
A bitterly cold evening and a pretty flaccid encounter. The visitors were worthy winners. With John Main.
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Saturday 8th February 2025
Southern Combination Division 1
Seaford Town 2
Callum Connor 59 (pen), Marcus Richmond 78,
Godalming Town 0
Referee: Harvey Howe. Official Attendance: 106
Admission: OAP £3.00 (£6). Programme: £1.00
A sloping pitch from side to side, very soft underfoot and in a public park, with hard standing all round and good bar and refreshment facilities, made this a very pleasant visit. Seaford top the division with the visitors in the play-off places, this was a keenly contested encounter, tempestuous at times and after a goalless opening period, the hosts took control, scoring on the hour mark from the penalty spot and adding a second some twelve minutes from time. With John Main.
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It was a very “heavy” pitch as can be seen from this photograph, with the author striding towards the camera to the left of the picture (courtesy of John Main)
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