Visiting Villa park for the second time this season I was cheered by everyone’s good mood and expectation.

The 4-1 defeat of Wolverhampton Wanderers 3 days earlier had raised expectation of regaining promotion to the Premiership through automatic promotion rather than by the nail biting lottery of the play offs.

Villa Park looked as immaculate as ever and a crowd of over 30000 had turned up to see them play Lower Table Queens Park Rangers in this rearranged game.

From the start Villa looked lethargic and seemed to have no shape or purpose. QPR won just about every header in attack and defence and it was no surprise that they took the lead through Ryan Manning after 12 minutes when he ought fought John Terry to head home a net uncontested cross.

Villa did little to respond and when they did high crosses into the box were dealt with easily. It was no surprise that QPR’s left back Jake Bidwell, who had provided the cross for the first goal, scored with a well placed shot to the right hand corner of Sam Johnstone’s goal. His shot was made easy by the poor headed clearance by the Villa defence.

Surely Villa would come back in the second half playing into the Holte End. The introduction of Kienen Davis and Scott Hogan did have an initial impact but with everything going through Jack Grealish who was receiving the ball further and further within their defensive half it was not surprising that substitute Luke Freeman who had only been on the field for a few minutes made it 3-0 with just 98minutes from time.

Birkir Bjarnason’s late introduction on 81 minutes for the very ineffective Connor Hourihane did spark some more direction and James Chester’s 88th minute goal and 4 minutes of added time gave unjustified hope but Villa’s 61% domination of play did not reflect QPR’s domination of the score, chances and commitment.

Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce told BBC WM:

“We’ve choked tonight. We’ve made a mess of it. Now we need to put it right at Bolton on Saturday evening.

“From experience, I always feared it might be ‘After the Lord Mayor’s Show’ following the weekend. I toyed and toyed with changing it, making five or six changes, and in hindsight, I should have done.

“We never got started. Mentally, we weren’t at it. We didn’t get anywhere near the heights of Saturday. But that’s what this league is all about, any team can beat you.”

Quotes from Steve Bruce from BBC WM printed on the BBC sport Website.

With other results going against Villa it looks highly unlikely that they will go up automatically. To be any football fan has its ups and downs but the last 6 years with Villa have been a roller coaster that has had more downs than ups.

Some fans left early but most left the ground still hopeful that the team can regroup and win their last 9 remaining games.

While many would have considered Manchester United v Liverpool or Aston Villa v Wolverhampton Wanderers as their match of the day with chasing teams gaining the upper hand, a worthy alternative was Hereford FC v Kings Lynn.

Hereford FC are rising from the December 2014 demise of Hereford United. The newly formed club, keeping the Bull mascot, the club colours and the Edgar Street ground have started to bounce back and hope to eventually regain Football League status.

What is impressive is the fan base they have kept and grown. With over 1500 season tickets they have deserved their success having won the Midland Football League in 2015/16, the Southern League South and West League in 2016/17 and now sit top of the Southern League Premier Division. In between all of this was a trip to Wembley for an FA Vase Final.

Hereford 0 Kings Lynn 2 – March 10th 2018

Hereford started the game 10 points clear at the top of the league against their nearest rivals Kings Lynn who had played one game more. A win would have left them out of sight in the league with only Slough with games in hand any threat to their ultimate promotion.

Hereford however never got into their stride and although hitting the bar once in each half never looked like taking control. The very wet pitch made keeping control of the ball difficult and gusting winds made for some high balls straying from their intended destination.

At half time the 0-0 scoreline looked the most likely final outcome to the game but some head tennis in the Hereford goal mouth lead to Ryan Fryatt beating Hereford’s goalkeeper Martin Horsell on 58 minutes. With the home side trying to push forward Toby Hillard received a through ball which he ran onto to slot home for 2-0. Hereford never looked like coming back from this and the game petered out for Kings Lynn to inflict the double over the league leaders.

Hereford need to regroup to continue their rise up the leagues and the 3424 who attended was a bigger crowd than at 8 Football League games some three and four leagues above this level. I’m sure that Hereford will get their reward this season. Everyone at the ground was so friendly when buying a ticket a few hours earlier and two Kings Lynn fans decided to chat to me all of the match. This was Non League football at its best although I believe the conditions did not give me the end to end football I had hoped for. Great day out.

The EFL trophy has been known by many names and in its 34th year is now named  ‘The Checkatrade Trophy. Checkatrade.com is the internet location where you can search through nearly 30000 recommended, vetted and monitored trades and service providers to find the right one for you.

It has for the last two seasons included not only teams from Leagues One and Two of the English Football League but also an additional 16 invited sides from Premier League and EFL Championship clubs with Category One Academies.

One of the Semi-Finals was Lincoln City v Chelsea under 21’s and making my way to the ground I was feeling I was on my way to watch a game of little importance in a Mickey Mouse Cup. Two hours later my views had changed and maybe a trip to the final beckons.

Lincoln City’s Ground has not moved to a new concrete structure on the outskirts of town but remains true to its fans nestled amongst an area of terraced housing south of the city centre. There on one street corner very close to the ground is not Arkwright’s shop but a local chippy doing brisk business before the match. It is aptly called ‘Back of the Net’, 17 Scorer St, Lincoln LN5 7XE.

The match was competitive and immediately you could tell that Lincolns’ players and fans wanted to get to Wembley.  The stadium was full and the nearly 9500 kept singing and chanting constantly. Lincoln harried every ball and made good use of the wings and their aerial supremacy in the box. Chelsea seemed more hesitant and found it hard to deal with the constant pressure and were unable string many passes together. Matt Rhead was a constant niggle to the Chelsea defence through his football skill, challenges and constant chat. The teams went in 0-0 at half time.

Chelsea started brighter in the second half but Lincoln came back at them and deserved their lead through Luke Waterfall on 72 minutes after a corner. The lead didn’t last long and within 6 minutes some classy play on the left moved the ball to Daishawa Readan who finished clinically from ten yards out curling the ball to the goalkeepers left. Lincoln had the best chances to win the game in the remaining minutes but Chelsea held out and it was down to penalties.

Chelsea were in front in the shootout after Lincoln left-back Sam Habergham saw his penalty come back off the underside of the bar but it was ruled not to have crossed the line.

Chelsea’s Ethan Ampadu hit the post and Jacob Maddox saw his penalty saved by Ryan Allsop to allow Lincoln to come from 1-0 down to progress 4-2. It was Lee Frecklington who stepped up to take his penalty with the crowd chanting ‘he’s one of our own’. Lee has spent all of his career at Lincoln and it was fitting for him to score the winning penalty and put them through 4-2 to their first Wembley appearance in their 133 years on 8th April where they will meet either Shrewsbury or Yeovil.

My man of the match was Ryan Allsopp Lincoln’s goalkeeper who not only saved the penalties but also had a very solid game. His kicking length and accuracy from hand and dead ball situations was outstanding. For Chelsea Ethan Amapadu was the only Chelsea defender who matched Lincolns commitment and aggression. The only downer on the crowds outstanding performance was when they sang ‘Where’s your caravan’ to Ethan (Ethan has very long hair) in response to him being their pantomime villain of the night. Even good humoured racism is not acceptable.

At the end the crowd enthusiastically ran onto the pitch and the singing went on for a further 15 minutes.

Thank you Lincoln.

Thank you Checkatrade Trophy

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A weekend away in Norfolk and Suffolk gave me the opportunity to see Norwich v Sheffield United (20th Jan 2018) and visit a ground I had seen but never been to a match there.

This is a friendly club whose facilities are good, very clean and offer quick friendly service. The walk from the city to the ground via The Riverside shopping complex was busy with a mix of fans and what appeared a low key police presence.

The week previous I had read an article about football programs where fans were lamenting that their collections were not wanted by anyone. I mused whether the program was going to go digital like other parts of the game. The printed fanzine seems to have been mainly replaced by the blog and now the podcast, my ticket was printed at home and all I needed was the bar code to get in ( I could have used my phone for the bar code) and just paying on the gate is not possible. I have now registered on line with 4 Championship a 1 Premiership club as a fan to get tickets inflating their fan base and proving that there is no strict control over who sits where. I suppose they know who is sitting in each seat so they can get back to you if there is any trouble in your area of the ground.

I watched one of the program sellers outside the ground for a while and noticed he wasn’t making that many sales and those he did were to an older audience.

The program was a revelation to me, 108 pages of articles and stats on all of their teams and reviews of the Sheffield United team and previous encounters as well as articles about previous teams, managers and players. There was an article by a fan and a review of Norwich’s community involvement plus much more. Certainly more than I expected but in a few years this I’m sure will be replaced by the Norwich City Program App.

One of the first football songs to be sung at a football ground was reputably at Norwich ‘On the Ball City’, which is still sung today. It is said that as early as 1902 while the fans were waiting for the half time scores, then displayed against letters corresponding to each game as printed in the program, they sang the song to amuse themselves. Now scores are updated instantly on your phone.

Before the game I found this book in a second hand bookshop:

Nothing as exciting in 2018.

The game was exciting but Norwich always seemed to be second best. United’s inter-passing was crisper and created more opportunities. Norwich could have been reacting to their midweek FA Cup extravaganza at Chelsea. Maybe it was just that Sheffield’s league position showed why they are currently superior.

James Wilson recently signed loanee from Manchester United put the Blades 1 nil up after only 6 minutes and they continued to dominate play in the first half.

Norwich started the second half more brightly and against the run of play Clayton Donaldson made it 2-0 in the 68th minute. Norwich continued to push forward and were rewarded only 2 minutes later through a headed goal by Ferreira Mendonca Pinto.

Although Norwich searched for an equaliser they created few chances and the game petered out giving the Blades their first win since Boxing Day. Next up for them a home game against Aston Villa and a real test of their promotion hopes.

A trip into Sheffield was met with fog but the lights inside Hallam FC’s ground in Crosspool seemed to lift the dreary conditions outside. This ground in a very leafy suburb on Sandygate Road and is officially the oldest football game in the world and home to the second oldest Football Club in the world.

The game to watch was Hallam FC v FC Bolsover in the North East Counties League Division 1 bringing together one very historic club with one very new club.

Hallam’s history is well documented whereas it is only FC Bolsover’s second season having gained promotion in their first from the Central Midland League North. Bolsover’s  home ground position is a complete contrast to Hallam’s historic past, they started their first season on a 3 G pitch at Shirebrook’s academy school pitch before moving in with Shirebrook Town. Shirebrook are still their landlords but Bolsover are working hard to eventually locate in Bolsover itself.

Although FC Bolsover were set up by Cliff Thomas he is now Chair of Shirebrook and his son Benjamin is now Chair of FC Bolsover.

Concession entrance was again £2.50 and a program was available. A different twist here to Desborough, the official on the gate said that they print them at the ground and if they are about to run out then they print more. An easy £1.50 and a very practical solution and a 12 page program that gave me lots of information and statistics.

The clubhouse named the 1860 suite was very smart, clean and friendly. it was pretty quiet 30 minutes before kick off but soon filled up. A coffee in a china cup with a biscuit in a soft chair was good value at £1.30.

I had been to Hallam once before on May Day 2010 to see as the 150th anniversary celebrations of the World’s Oldest Derby played on the World’s Oldest Ground. On that sunny day you could see everything including the open fourth side to the ground which hosts the cricket pitch in the summer. Now I was greeted with this:

The fog seemed to get worse and the teams did not come out until just before kick off with everyone wandering if the game would go ahead.

Straight away Hallam took control playing down the prominent slope but Bolsover came into the game although at times it was hard to see much of the play. Not long before halftime Ord collected a rebounded ball and jinked past the keeper to score. 1-0 to Hallam at halftime seemed fair but Bolsover were still in the game and would be kicking down hill in the second half. My thoughts here were contradicted by a supporter who said that Hallam like kicking up hill!

Half time bought a visit to the drinks/food kiosk for a warm and a Proper Pasty. Proper Pasty is a Sheffield company with wholesale and retail units in South Yorkshire along with a fleet of sandwich vans that sell snack food and drinks but they are famous for their pasties that are made in Cornwall and shipped chilled before being baked locally. If you are at a football ground in Sheffield and you have a pastie or a pie you have to have it with Hendersons Relish. This amazing condiment is part of the DNA of Sheffield folk and has been since 1885.

Back to the football which was keenly contested but the local supporter was right and Hallam’s uphill skills were paying off. Constant pressure lead to a Mark West Penalty on 62 minutes and 6 minutes later Ord’s second made it 3-0 and seemingly game over.

Bolsover didn’t give up and Ainsley Finey scored the best goal of the night with a solo run from half way and a curled 20 yard shot out of reach of the goalkeeper Dave Darwent. The comeback wasn’t to be as Hallam’s superior stamina and the introduction of new signing Reece Twell saw him score another penalty with 15 minutes to go. The question was would Hallam score more or would the thickening fog win out and it would all have to be played again.

Just on full time Tom Roebuck made it 5-1 and not long after the ref blew for time. The officials have to be commended for their handling of the match in very difficult conditions. The referee rightly let the players be more verbal than usual as I’m sure that this was sometimes a better way to communicate than visually. He was firm and when the Bolsover bench wanted to be the referee he came over and strongly explained that he was in charge.

Finally what of FO9? A driver at work had once been delivering a vehicle and returned on a very foggy day to ask what are the FO9 sings on the motorway!

A great night despite the fog and a game that entertained the hardy 114.

20 years ago I lived in Desborough (Northamptonshire) for just over 5 years but never went to see Desborough Town FC play. Well yesterday I put that right going to watch Desborough Town play Stourport Swifts in the last 32 of the FA Vase.

Desborough nicknamed Ar Town were formed in 1896 and play at Waterworks Field close to the centre of town and the ground is distinguished not only by the water tower but their four gigantic floodlights. There can’t be many of this size left in the country and they were always a welcome sign of coming home particularly driving along the old A6 now by-passed. Desborough have spent their lives in the United Counties League or previous incarnations.

Stourport Swifts FC history goes back to an 1882 start and have reached as high as the Southern League in their journey and currently play their football in the Midland Football league. Their nickname is quite obviously the Swifts.

On a very grey day I arrived 15 minutes before kick-off paying only £2.50 for a concession ticket. The man in front of me bought the last program, one of only 85 printed for the day, for a crowd of 290.

I bought a raffle ticket instead and missed the tin of biscuits by one number, you guessed it the man in front of me bought that too. It must have been his lucky day. I think he was a Stourport fan as I walked in with their fans who had just come out of the club house having come over in the one fans coach.

A minute’s silence was held before kick-off to remember Robert Bindley, a lifelong supporter and committee member who had passed away on Tuesday.

Stourport were the more physical side whereas Desborough passed the ball around with greater skill. It was Stourport who took the lead with a crisp finish from their stand out player Dan Sweeney. Sam Beasley turned a ball into his own net which brought things back all square and it remained 1-1 at half time.

Virtually all of the fans headed for the club house and the staff managed to serve everyone at the bar, hot drinks or hot food counters. A coffee for a pound and a pie for two pounds was definitely not taking advantage of anyone. I couldn’t understand though why you had to queue for your coffee and then your pie when they were in the same area?

Back to the football and almost immediately Stourport were ahead again when Dan Sweeney again showed his class with a 25 yard bender over the goalkeeper’s head from a tight angle into the top left hand corner. Dan a product of Kidderminster Harriers youth set up joined Stourport last summer but surely should be playing at a higher level.

Like the first half within 10 minutes Desborough were level again this time through John Dean and for a long period dominated the game and looked the most likely to score. But in the last 10 minutes before the end of 90 minutes they seemed to run out of legs and looked tired.

In the gloom of the first half of extra time a penalty was awarded after a melee in the Desborough goalmouth and Stouport captain Sam Beasley made amends for his earlier error placing his spot kick to the right of the Desborough goalkeeper.

Nick MacPherson made it 4-2 in the second half of extra time with a breakaway goal when Desborough had been pushing hard for an equaliser. It was all over and the game petered out and Stourport marched on to the next round.

It was a great afternoon out, a very friendly crowd, good food, a game where everyone gave their all with a quality that bellied this level of football. A complete contrast to the FA cup where teams show disdain for such a great competition, Aston Villa previous 7 times winners of the Trophy  made 10 changes to their normal side and crashed out to Peterborough, how far this great club has fallen.

Good luck in the rest of the competition Stourport.

Images of the Ground, Water Tower, the amazing Floodlights and some action.

For fairness below is the match report from Stourports website on the game. https://www.stourportswiftsfc.co.uk

Sweeney double puts Swifts in Round 5

Desborough Town 2 Stourport Swifts 4 (AET 90 mins 2-2) FA Vase R4  Att: 290

Two goals from Dan Sweeney gave Stourport Swifts a place in the last 16 of the Buildbase FA Vase.

Sweeney scored to give Stourport the lead after six minutes when Aaron Lloyd flicked on Myles Newman’s pass, and he turned defender Aidan Bradshaw to drive low past keeper Chris Jones from 15 yards.

Desborough quickly responded, and Dom Richards saved well to keep out a low shot from Andrew Hall, but five minutes later could do nothing to prevent skipper Sam Beasley turning a low cross from the right past his own keeper and level the score.

Alex Perry missed the best chance to put Swifts back in front when he blazed wide from 8 yards out after a fine cross from Sweeney picked him out.

In the first attack of the second half Swifts were ahead again when Sweeney broke clear of the Desborough defence on the right and curled a spectacular 25 yarder past Jones from the narrowest of angles. The lead once again only lasted 10 minutes, and Desborough were level when top scorer John Dean was on hand at the far post to fire low past Richards from close range after Swifts failed to clear.

Desborough then produced their best spell of the match to give the Swifts creaking defence some heavy pressure, but Matt Fulloway and Harry Higginson were outstanding, while Richards twice saved well from Dan White and Dean once again.

With five minutes of normal time remaining, Sweeney looked likely to win it, but shot wide from 8 yards out after turning Leo Adam in the box.

Eight minutes into extra time Swifts broke the deadlock when Matt Fulloway was brought down from behind after a free kick from the right, and skipper Beasley blasted his spot kick high past Jones to restore their lead.

As Desborough pushed hard to get back on terms in the second half of extra time, Ashley Parsons-Smith picked out Nick MacPherson on  the left, who cooly cut inside two defenders to slot past Jones from 10 yards and give Swifts a place in the last 16.

SWIFTS: Richards, Caines, Fulloway, Higginson, Beasley, Sweeney, Perry, Priest, Newman, Lloyd, MacPherson. SUBS USED: Parsons-Smith, Joe Hanson, Bailey