Capon the Super Hero as Only One Bed Has a Clean Sheet

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Saturday 14 September 2019 at McMullen Park
Result	Bedford 0 Bedfont & Feltham 4
Competition	FA Vase 2nd Round Qualifying
Hopstats	Ground 703 on the lifetime list. Not random because I needed to stay fairly local today. Also attracted by punning opportunities relating to team names - double bed etc. In the end I have shown restraint except in the post title as usual.
Context
In the previous round both teams had a home win and a clean sheet. Bedford beat Burton Park Wanderers 2-0 and Bedfont & Feltham beat Lutterworth Athletic 5-0. They both play at Step 6 in the respective Division Ones of the Spartan South Midlands and Combined Counties Leagues. The visitors have a slightly better points-per-game record so far at this early stage of the season.
In one sentence
A second Bedfont & Feltham goal very early in the second half meant that the rest of the game could be managed with relative comfort.
So what?
Bedfont & Feltham are in next week’s draw, Bedford aren’t. The mainstream media pay a fortune for this kind of analysis.
Match Report
The ground is right next to Bedford Town and I cannot think of any pitches belonging to different clubs that are actually closer together than these. There is a decent amount of covered seating and benching down one side of the pitch. The A421 hums past continuously on the far side. Today was hot and a dry bouncy pitch had a sprinkling of water before kickoff. The opening Bedfont & Feltham goal came from a break after eight minutes. Jae Kelly received the ball in his own half and ran powerfully down the left towards the Bedford goal. As he cut inside the last defender’s challenge, the ball fell nicely for him to finish with a great shot across into the far corner. It really was a goal-of-the-season contender. Kelly almost made a second for Michael Capon almost immediately, but the flag was up for offside. Near misses for Capon would be a theme of the afternoon, but (spoiler alert) the fact that he ends up with a hat-trick shows you how open this game was. Bedford had two good chances around the midpoint of the first half. Firstly, the visiting keeper Kavanagh Keadell made a good recovery save after he had been unable to control a bouncy shot. Then he watched as Bedford pinged the crossbar. In fact both keepers were kept quite busy during the rest of an entertaining end-to-end half. I made a note that Bedford were getting closer to an equaliser a few minutes before the interval. The game-changer came only four minutes after the restart. Capon beat his marker got his head to the ball to score a second from close range.  He was then unchallenged ten minutes later as he glanced another header home with a well-timed run at a set-piece. Game over in practice, though Bedford kept going gamely, to their credit. 0-2 0-3 With space at the back, Capon had several chances to complete his hat-trick. He rounded the keeper but could only catch up with the ball in time to find the side-netting. He was denied by a good flying save. Yet another chance went just wide. Finally, in the 89th minute his treble was completed with a powerful shot on the turn. Bedford might feel that the final margin of victory was harsh but the visitors’ finishing was much better on the day.
Pix
Bedford in black and white. All pix today taken from the same position near the half-way line because I have to avoid exposing my delicate pale skin to the destructive energies of the sun. Sorry about that!  Distraction. B&F's #7 kept rolling up his shorts to 1970s Hoddle/Waddle lengths. No idea why unless he thinks he can run faster. Or he is worried about tan lines. Or chafing. Michael Capon wants the ball again.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
New this season – a pre-match prediction based only on keeper top colours as a preliminary test of the data.  Proper statistical significance test to follow in due course. Today, Pink loses to Orange as predicted. No change yet again in the league table positions. Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Away Win Was the prediction correct? Yes % of correct predictions so far 53% (31 from 59) 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 half-and-half tops or 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 that orange is the best colour for a goalkeeper because it changes the behaviour of other players around the box. P W D L GC CS Pts PPG Red 11.5 6.5 1.0 4.0 11.0 4.5 32.0 2.783 Grey 53.5 25.0 12.0 16.5 84.5 16.0 82.5 1.542 Blue 49.1 22.0 8.0 19.1 78.0 14.0 66.0 1.344 Green 111.0 55.0 12.0 44.0 194.0 25.0 108.0 0.973 Fire Cracker 3.0 1.0 0.0 2.0 6.0 1.0 2.0 0.667 Purple 22.0 8.0 5.0 9.0 45.0 6.0 14.0 0.636 Maroon 5.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 9.0 1.0 3.0 0.600 Orange 61.5 22.0 13.0 26.5 106.5 12.0 32.5 0.528 Radioactive Bile 24.0 9.0 1.0 14.0 51.0 4.0 -3.0 -0.125 Black 6.5 2.5 3.0 1.0 15.0 0.5 -2.0 -0.308 Yellow 39.0 10.0 9.0 20.0 88.0 7.0 -14.0 -0.359 Pink 20.0 6.0 5.0 9.0 42.0 1.0 -14.0 -0.700 White 1.9 0.0 0.0 1.9 4.0 0.0 -4.0 -2.105
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter! At the time of writing, I have no idea where I will be next Saturday.

Cod Do Better

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Thursday 19 April 2018 at the John Clements Sportsfield
Result	Codicote 3 Bedford 1
Competition	Spartan South Midlands League Division 1 (Step 6)
Hopstats	Ground 641 on the lifetime list, and I am here because I have my in-tray under control and it’s an 8-minute journey from Yapp Acres.
Context
Codicote are having a rough season and sit just outside the relegation positions, albeit with games in hand.  Bedford have mid-table respectability but both have largish negative goal differences which suggests this won’t be a 0-0.  Codicote picked up a win recently against their prime relegation rivals and seem to be improving from the disasters of the first half of the season.
In one sentence
Codicote scored early in the second half to settle any nerves and they rode their luck at times to hold for a vital win.
So what?
Results elsewhere have been favourable this week and so Codicote have a three-point cushion AND two games in hand over the team below them.  Bedford look likely to finish the season in lower-mid table.
Match Report
Thanks to the club Twitter feed for identifying the scorers.  Codicote took the lead in the first minute or two with a belting, swirling shot from Ricky Brennan.  It looked at first as if the timewasting started immediately.  Bedford’s #10 was irritated by the home keeper enough to leave his foot in slightly longer than necessary as things started to get a bit tetchy.  By the end of the evening I had lost count of the number of yellow cards. Bedford responded and it wasn’t a surprise when the equaliser came on 38 minutes.  A good through ball beat the Codicote defensive line, #9 timed his run to perfection, kept his feet despite a little tug of the shirt, and scored.  However, any thoughts that Bedford might have broken the home spirit were instantly removed.  It took a good block by the visiting keeper to keep the scores level at half-time. All to play for, then, as the crescent Moon and Venus also became visible in the night sky.  Codicote scored the vital early goal to retake the lead, a composed finish by George Robinson, straight through the middle.  The same player added a third, and with only 56 minutes on the clock, plenty of time left.  At this point I noticed that I’d forgotten to adjust my camera settings for the game itself, so, deservedly coming soon to a “crap football photos” near you sometime soon, here’s one of the goals in all its blurry goodness…  I tend to find that most games have a hinge point where the result is decided, but it’s hard to pick one from this game.  At the midpoint of the second half, Codicote’s keeper made a vital block save.  A Bedford goal then could have changed things.  As a physics teacher I don’t throw the word momentum around but you know what I mean.  However, with just over 15 minutes to go, the home stopper was lucky to get away with a yellow as he tripped an incoming forward just outside the area.  I was at the other end so maybe the ball had been knocked past him but in a direction sufficiently away from the goal to allow the ref to decide that he hadn’t denied a clear goalscoring opportunity. The game was won, but there was time for Bedford’s keeper to make one of the best saves I have ever seen live at this level with a one-handed push onto the bar from #9’s header.  Then it was back to the Yappmobile for eight minutes of difficult driving along the Pothole Road in time for the news.
Ground Pix
This ground looked fabulous in the evening sunshine with all the trees at the car park end in magnificent flower, and we were then treated to a wonderful. sunset as the game got under way.  With red against orange, the colour scheme was spoiled only by the keeper tops (see below).  The pitch was in good nick, but Codicote are one of many teams forced to play Thursday night fixture catchup this season.  The team are back in their home village in recent seasons and this visit to my nearest Step 6 ground is overdue.  The new clubhouse is a superb facility.
Match Pix
I'll call this one, "Lino at Sunset" or something
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
Both turned up in Radioactive Bile and neither kept a clean sheet.  It's about time a major kit manufacturer contacted me about this stuff ;) Results so far: 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. For new readers the odd .5 was caused by a shocking half-and-half shirt and the .1 was due to a substitute goalkeeper 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 that orange is the best colour for a goalkeeper because it changes the behaviour of other players around the box. P W D L GC CS Pts PPG Blue 36.1 16.0 7.0 13.1 50.0 14.0 75.0 2.078 Red 10.0 5.0 1.0 4.0 11.0 3.0 20.0 2.000 Fire Cracker 2.0 1.0 0.0 1.0 4.0 1.0 4.0 2.000 Grey 44.5 20.0 10.0 14.5 72.5 12.0 57.5 1.292 Green 74.0 36.0 10.0 28.0 123.0 19.0 90.0 1.216 Purple 14.0 6.0 3.0 5.0 31.0 4.0 10.0 0.714 Maroon 5.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 9.0 1.0 3.0 0.600 Orange 30.5 9.0 7.0 14.5 49.5 6.0 14.5 0.475 Radioactive Bile 15.0 7.0 0.0 8.0 30.0 2.0 1.0 0.067 Yellow 31.0 8.0 7.0 16.0 65.0 5.0 -9.0 -0.290 Pink 15.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 30.0 1.0 -8.0 -0.533 Black 5.0 1.0 3.0 1.0 14.0 0.0 -8.0 -1.600 White 1.9 0.0 0.0 1.9 4.0 0.0 -4.0 -2.105
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!  Hopefully will be at Ashton United v Nantwich Town on Saturday to complete “The 232” (that’s everywhere from Premier League to Step 2 inclusive) for the first time.