Back in the Game at East Grinstead

It’s good to be back after an enforced gap – I hope readers will tolerate a somewhat more pragmatic approach to blogposts for a while as I restore reasonable work-life balance.  I had to take a break from travelling and writing due to the increasing demands of my newish teaching & management job but things are now getting back under control.

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Thursday 26 December 2013 at The GAC Stadium
Result	East Grinstead Town 1 Lingfield 0
Competition	Sussex League Division One (Step 5)
Hopping	Number 527 on the lifetime list, after a big gap since number 526, for work-related reasons.  This high noon shootout between local rivals is the first half of a Boxing Day double hop, and I am here because the club’s Twitter feed confirmed “game on” in plenty of time for me to travel from Hertfordshire.
Pre-match preparation
Not much, as most of the time has been spent trying to find a workable “double hop”, with most games in Sussex called off yesterday or this morning.  5th plays 7th in the league and the first league meeting of the teams this season.
This match in one sentence
A deserved win for the home side because of the sheer number of chances created, but they could have been made to pay for their profligacy in front of goal.
So what?
East Grinstead gain one place and Lingfield drop two, but there were very few games played today in this division.
The drama unfolds
On a heavy pitch but in bright midday sunshine, Lingfield’s keeper Rob O’Hara was soon called upon to make his first decent save of the afternoon, and I took a scene-setter clip after about 15 minutes.  East Grinstead are "The Wasps" so you can work the colours out for yourselves. Lingfield’s Richard Wetton was unlucky not to score with a great shot from 25m that hit the bar and bounced down for the home keeper, Mark Fox.  The home side wasted another chance when Rob O’Hara was stranded out of position but finally took the lead just after the half-hour.  Persistence from George Hiller-Jones on the left paid off and Sam Schaaf glanced the cross into the far corner.  1-0 after 34 mins Hiller-Jones was involved again just before half-time when he hit the woodwork after the ball had rebounded rather fortuitously to him in an acre of space.  1-0 at half-time Players began to tire in the second half as a combination of the seasonal surface and surfeits had their inevitable effect.  East Grinstead wasted a lot of chances, and on this occasion were even given a free-kick after they had seemingly wasted the advantage played by the officials. They almost paid the price with 12 minutes left but Fox recovered to make a save at an attacker’s feet on the edge of the area.  The play was now very scrappy and yet the home side still had the best chances and missed another good one in the 89th minute.  Hiller-Jones’ day was spoiled by his petulance after a collision – when asked by the ref whether he wanted the trainer, his reply (and I quote) of, “No, I want you to do your f*****g job” earned him a deserved yellow card.  I was two metres away and the ref was correct – it was not a foul.  This was understandably not a great game but the home side will be very happy with a result that keeps them above their near-neighbours and in touch with the divisional leaders.  Final Score 1-0
Ground Pix
The first "Scooby Doo Trees" of the season for me!
Match Pix
Huddle Stats
Lingfield huddled and lost – East Grinstead didn’t huddle and won. 2013-14 Summary so far: P W D L GF GA Pts Pts per Game Non-Huddlers 18 8 3 7 27 25 27 1.50 Huddlers 11 3 4 4 6 9 13 1.18 Twin Huddlers 1 0 1 0 2 2 1 1.00
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
East Grinstead’s keeper wore grey and Lingfield’s wore green so the result was in keeping with the seasonal pattern so far. 2013-14 Summary so far: 3pts for a win, 1pt for a draw, -1pt for a goal conceded and +5pts for a clean sheet P W D L GA (-1 each) CS (5 each) Pts Pts per Game Grey 8 5 2 1 6 4 31 3.88 Yellow 3 1 1 1 4 1 5 1.67 Green 6 2 0 4 8 1 3 0.50 Blue 2 0 1 1 2 0 -1 -0.50 Orange 3 1 1 1 6 0 -2 -0.67 Pink 5 1 3 1 10 0 -4 -0.80 Radioactive Bile 3 1 0 2 6 0 -3 -1.00
What Next?
A short trip northish to Chipstead for a 3pm kickoff against Leatherhead and a shocking end to #MarsBarWatch2013.