That River Crouch Blogpost

 

No programme pic to start with this time - that will often be the case from now on, I suspect. 

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Tuesday 1 September 2020 at Lower Road
Result	Hullbridge Sports 0 Hadley 2
Competition	FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
Hopstats	Ground #707 on the lifetime list
Context
Step 4 Isthmian League Division One North hosts Step 5 Essex Senior League in the first competitive game of the new season for either side. Too many other variables to make any sensible comment. Generally, I will be avoiding the indoor spaces and taking myself to the quieter areas of the grounds this season, so don’t expect any embedding-in-the-Ultras posts from me anytime soon! I’m also more likely to stay in one position, so there will be less variation in the photos. It will all depend on how other people are behaving.
In One Sentence
Hadley deserved the win but it was somewhat gift-wrapped by defensive stumbles and a missed Hullbridge penalty.
So What?
Hadley get a boost to the coffers from the competition prize fund and a day at The Seasiders on Saturday 12 September, with a trip to FC Clacton in the Preliminary Round. Hullbridge, as they say, will concentrate on the league.
Pre-match Entertainment
A stroll along the southern bank of the River Crouch to Brandy Hole, site of 19th century smuggling. This area of salt marsh is not the prettiest site in the world but it is ecologically very important for many species of birds and fish. The beetle is probably Gastrophysa viridula, the green dock beetle, liked by farmers but not gardners for their eating habits, apparently. (Note for new readers: science and mathematics are never far away from this blog.)   All together now ... If you were the only gull in the world, and I was the only buoy ...
Match Report
There was plenty of bluster and effort in the first twenty minutes, but not so much to report in the way of clear chances or goalmouth incident. A bit of niggle crept in, and this blurry challenge earned a harsh yellow card for the Hadley defender.  We came closer to a goal just before half-time. Solomon Ofori drilled a low shot just wide to the left for Hadley, and for Hullbridge Dan Walker took a fraction too long to get a shot away and the ball was nicked off his toes at the last moment. Hullbridge finished the half with a succession of corners and would have been frustrated not to be one up at half time. Half-time: Hullbridge 0 Hadley 0 The opening goal (53’) was gifted through a defensive misunderstanding. Ofori pounced and gave Hadley the lead, triggering a pile-on celebration by the corner flag in which social distancing would be conveniently measured in nanometres. The second came just two minutes later from Sam Edwards’ direct free-kick. This had arisen from a foul resulting from some more defensive hesitation. I think it is fair to say that Hullbridge were stunned but by no means yet defeated at this point. They created the chance to get back in the game when a trip led to a penalty kick around half-way through the second half. Kieran Bishop’s low shot was well saved by Luke Ward. Hadley opted to defend their position and coped well enough as the clock ticked down. Chances were few in number, but a third goal could have gone either way as Hullbridge were forced to get numbers forward and leave spaces at the back. Credit to the visitors – they competed well against their higher-ranked opponents and in the end were good value for the win.
Pix
Hullbridge in the blue-and-white stripes.
Opinion
This was my first game of the season and I want to congratulate the Hullbridge club on its management of the event. It felt organised and safe, right from the publication and prompt communications around pre-match ticket purchasing, stewarding on arrival and through to the very helpful bar staff who went the extra mile to reunite me with my mobile phone, dropped somewhere on my way out. Thanks too to whoever handed it in. Although it is clear that groups of family and friends are generally making their own decisions about social distancing, especially in the younger age ranges, people were considerate to others. All the sensible arrangements for queueing, temperature checks and test-and-trace details were in place. I will not be able to say the same in my next blogpost, so all credit to the hosts.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats Update
Usually accompanied by a pre-match prediction on Twitter just before kickoff. I am working towards being able to complete a respectable statistical significance test by the end of the season. The latest full up-to-date keeper top performance table is here, on this separate page. It is updated at the very least every time there is a change in league table position of the colours. Today, Lewis Greene in Purple (whatever happened to nominative determinism?) faces Luke Ward in Green. Green (not Greene) takes the win and a clean sheet. Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Away Win Was the prediction correct? Yes % of correct predictions so far 52% (33 from 63) Based on conventional 3pts for a win, 1pt for a draw, but also -1pt for a goal conceded (GC) and +5pts for a clean sheet (CS).  Colours ranked on a points per game (PPG) basis. The odd decimal places were caused either by undeniable half-and-half tops or lower league sub keepers in a different colour.  The Fire Cracker colour was confirmed with the help of the social media team at Dulux UK.  All of this arises from a comment attributed to Petr Cech (and supported by anonymous scientists of some description) that orange is the best colour for a goalkeeper because it changes the behaviour of other players around the box. It is supposedly because of an innate primeval human reaction to the colour and the colour “spreads” more in the vision of a striker at the key moment of decision. Genius or garbage? The evidence is gathering here.
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter! A trip to Park View v Hashtag United follows the next night, and I have 53 possibilities for a competitive Step 5 league game on Saturday.