Martini May Be Shaken By Corny Headline and Defeat

A cavernous but covered stand for the vociferous few

A cavernous main stand - less atmosphere than Pluto today

Hopperational details

Saturday 2 October, Walton & Hersham 1 Faversham Town 2 in the FA Trophy Preliminary Round at Stompond Road.  I am here because of a Blue/6 combination on 2d6, so there.  Both clubs are in the step 4 Isthmian League (South).

This match in one sentence

So forgettable that I intend to forget it.

So what?

Faversham Town have a home tie against Kingstonian in the next round, Walton & Hersham’s new manager Chuck Martini is probably not a happy bunny, and I am thinking of taking up trainspotting instead of groundhopping in search of an adrenaline rush.  However, I’ll be OK once I see the fixture lists for the coming week, I promise.

Who caught the eye on the pitch?

I am struggling to nominate anyone, to be honest.  For the sake of completeness, Faversham’s Damian Abel hooked the winning goal and played with intelligence.  He is not the biggest or most powerful striker in the league but he made good runs and used the ball well.  He scored both goals in Town’s win in their previous game, and must be a key player for his team, who were in the step 5 Kent League last season.

This match had the same effect on my pulse rate as …

… a conversation about soil acidity and potassium balance with a begonia.

A snippet from the programme

I liked the “Blast from the Past” page, which gave details of the team’s previous matches on October 2nd in previous years.  Walton & Hersham have only won once on this date since 1948-9, an away league win at Hertford Town in 1984.  They lost a two-year unbeaten home league record to Tooting & Mitcham on this date in 1973, lost to a late goal in 2007, lost after leading 2-0 in 2004, lost after leading 1-0 in 1999 (and today!) and were knocked out of the FA Cup in 1948.  Not an auspicious date in the club calendar, then!

What I learned today

The Walton & Hersham clubhouse is red and white and prominently dedicated to Liverpool FC, dating from 1989, the year of the deaths at Hillsborough.

Modus Hopper Random Talking Point

Somebody's son crosses the ball Josh Webb (Walton & Hersham) has followed manager Chuck Martini from Godalming Town.  At 21, he is still listed as “son of former England midfielder Neil Webb”.  I am aware that Charlie Sheringham, son of Teddy, has played Step 2 football and is currently at Dartford.  Some thinking and googling has come up with these better-known examples – can anyone add to them? Clough (Brian / Nigel) Cruyff (Johann / Jordi) Dalglish (Kenny / Paul) Ferguson (Alec / Darren) Gudjohnsen (Arnor / Eidur – son coming on as an international sub for father!) Lampard (Frank / Frank Jr) Redknapp (Harry / Jamie) Summerbee (George / Mike / Nicky – three generations!) Wright-(Phillips) (Ian / Shaun) As an aside, I myself am distantly related on my mother’s side to George Timmins, who was in the WBA FA Cup winning side of 1887-8, and whose picture is hanging in the National Football Museum at Preston.  No-one on the planet has yet been impressed by this.

What Next?

Hopefully, an FA Trophy or Vase replay somewhere new on Tuesday evening!  The dice are polished and the birds are on standby…

Thanks to readers for the encouraging messages so far as the blog enters its second month.  I am taking one game at a time, the season is a marathon not a sprint, and I'll be giving at least 110%.