The Aberystwyth Coasting

A signed shirt from Pele is one of the many items on display in the clubhouse

Hopperational details
Date & Venue
Friday 13 April 2012 at Park Avenue, Aberystwyth
Result
Aberystwyth Town 2 Airbus UK Broughton 0
Competition
Welsh Premier League
Hopping
The first half of a double-header in Wales for ground #461 on the lifetime list.  Glad to be here with enough daylight left to take some reasonable still pix.


This match in one sentence
A second-half penalty and a late second gave vital points to Aberystwyth Town in their bid to stay in the league while denting or at least delaying the Airbus place in the Europa League playoffs.


So what?
According to my unofficial calculations this result sends Newtown down.  Carmarthen will join them if they do not win both their remaining games, or if Aberystwyth win their last game against Newtown.  Airbus will still get the final playoff place if they beat Afan Lido in their last game next week, and may have a lesser task if Port Talbot have not won their game in hand in the meantime.


The drama unfolds
There was not a lot of great goalmouth action in the first half.  Both sides played positively but the midfields and defences largely cancelled each other out.  My scene-setter clip (and it’s a particularly nice view and a lived-in ground of charm) is from 18 minutes into the game.  The home side are in white-and-black.





The second very short clip was taken because of the momentary excitement caused by the potential of a set piece.  After this the game returned to the worthy-but-dullness of the first quarter.





Suddenly, with 41 minutes gone, there came the first gilt-edged chance of the night - in fact three of them in quick succession.  A double save from Airbus keeper Andy Mulliner and a block from a teammate kept the score goalless.  0-0 at half-time


Aberystwyth took the lead from the penalty spot after 54 minutes.  Danny Taylor got a yellow card for the trip on Andy Parkinson that the referee was well-placed to see.  Sean Thorton rolls in the penalty as shown here.  1-0





They should have gone two up soon after.  Josh MacAuley’s cross found Geoff Kellaway for an unmarked header, and his reaction confirmed that he should have scored.  Airbus defender Eddie Hope then showed great positional sense and composure to help snuff out a break.  Here’s a clip from this phase of the game.





I was expecting Airbus to have a real go as the game entered the latter stages, but they never really threatened until a last-minute goalmouth scramble.  Then this happened on the break.  The scorer is Kellaway.  Final score 2-0

A snippet from the programme
“It was great to see everyone smiling after the game (against Afan Lido) but alas Emyr James was unable to persuade the Ffostrasol Arms to stay open long enough to welcome the Boys in Black and Green on the way home - if  the bus stops there you know we have had a good day!”


What I learned today
Allow more time for this particular cross-country journey.  Thanks to mum & dad who were in effect coerced into groundhopping with me as we arrived in the town only a few minutes before kickoff!  They have now watched football with me in three countries (England, Wales and Iceland).


What Next?
Saturday - Colwyn Bay v Harrogate Town to get to one of my three remaining grounds-to-visit at Step 2.

Airbus in Terminal Penalty Shocker

Hopperational details

Friday 17 September 2010, Airbus UK Broughton 2  The New Saints 2 in the Welsh Premier League.

This match in one sentence

TNS dominated the territory and possession and this was the strangest and most one-sided 2-2 draw I have ever seen, with Airbus benefiting firstly from a rebound and then from a late controversial penalty. Airbus 'keeper Kristian Rogers calmly watches the late penalty equaliser

So what?

Bangor City will get the chance to extend their lead at the top of the league while these two teams remain level on points in second and third.

Who caught the eye on the pitch?

TNS left-winger Richie Partridge was involved in most of their best moves, taking up intelligent positions, getting in decent crosses, and cutting inside to score his team’s second goal with a gorgeous curling right-foot shot from the edge of the box.  He is the brother-in-law of Michael Owen, who apparently was there to watch the game and I never noticed. Richie Partridge (#27) and an acre of space

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

… filling Sir Alec Ferguson with helium and asking him whether he has read The News of the World this week.

A snippet from the programme

From the Airbus News page: “The loss of teenage wonder kid Jake Cassidy to Premier League Wolves was expected to be a considerable blow but so far this has yet to impact on performances or results.  If anything his whirlwind success has captured the imagination of people around the club and has certainly put it in the media spotlight.  For the future, Airbus will be seen as a club willing to give youngsters an opportunity to develop and showcase their potential – making the chance to join the Wingmakers an even more attractive proposition.”

What I learned today

The Airbus brand is 40 years old this year!  The Airfield Stadium is fitted with collapsible (and individually sponsored!) floodlights, due to its position adjacent to a runway.

Modus Hopper Random Talking Point

This is the first season of a restructured Welsh Premier League of 12 clubs.  Six clubs were relegated to the next level at the end of last season, including Rhyl Town for reasons of ground compliance rather than league position.  For the first time, the clubs will play each other home and away (22 fixtures) in the first phase of the season before dividing into upper and lower halves of six.  Teams will play home and away again against those in the same half, thus completing a 32-match regular season.  Play-offs will be held, after the Welsh Cup final, to determine the final Europa League place.  This will involve the 3rd to 7th (or 8th) place teams, so even the “lower half” have something to play for in the second phase of the season.  One WPL game is now shown live on TV each weekend on S4C, a source of live coverage that is easily overlooked by English fans seeking entertainment.  This was a very enjoyable game.