Salford City - Industry, Integrity and Different Gravy

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 2 April 2016 at Moor Lane
Result	Salford City 5 Grantham Town 0
Competition	Northern Premier League (Step 3)
Hopping	Ground 583, my first match of 2016 (work reasons) and chosen for convenience from my hoppriority list of ten unvisited Step 3 grounds because I am in the area for other reasons.
Pre-match preparation
I have been paying just enough attention in recent months to notice that Salford are having a good season, and had a decent FA Cup run with TV exposure too.  They are now in a good position to make the playoffs.  One of the co-owners, a certain Gary Neville, may be at a loose end this weekend after leaving Valencia.  This game might not be as easy as the league table suggests as 3rd play 14th.  Salford have won five and drawn one of their last seven league games, and have not conceded a goal in four.  Grantham are unbeaten in their last eight, and have five odd-goal wins and three draws.  I am expecting a competitive, close encounter rather than a one-sided goalfest.
This match in one sentence
A one-sided goalfest.
So what?
The title remains a mathematical possibility but that will probably go to either Blyth or Darlington, depending on the latter’s games in hand.  Salford’s playoff place is in their own hands now with four games to go as they sit 3rd. Grantham look to be safe in mid-table, remaining 14th today,
The drama unfolds
14 mins: a cross from the right-wing was only partly cleared and the ball fell nicely for James Poole who finished beautifully from the 18-yard line.  1-0 27 mins: the hosts doubled their lead with an even better goal from Danny Webber, who curled a right-footer beyond the reach of the Grantham keeper Jake Turner.  2-0 37 mins: the first real chance of note for Grantham Town but Jay Lynch made the block save at his near post – a goal there might just have changed the game.  2-0 at half-time 51 mins: a good tip-over-the-bar save from Turner as Salford continued to threaten. 67 mins: Turner makes two saves in quick succession but eventually pressure led to a brave headed goal by Jordan Hulme.  3-0 79 mins: Grantham were not coping with Salford’s one-touch play in an around the box and another teasing right-wing cross was headed home by Hulme.  4-0 87 mins:  Salford were in no mood for scoring scruffy goals and sub Evan Gumbs fires a grasscutter from distance into the corner.  5-0 This was a very impressive performance from Salford.  Hulme was denied his hat-trick first by Turner then by the post in stoppage time.  Grantham’s day was worsened by a late injury to Lee Shaw which looked like it ended in a visit to hospital.  Final score 5-0
Ground Pix
Forget everything that we thought we knew about Northern Powerhouse economics.  With a price structure like this we should all be selling the Bolivian zinc and investing in the Northern Gravy futures market.
Match Pix
Something You Don’t Get in the Premier League
I can only assume that this is traditional solid Northern careers advice for any youngsters tempted by a move to that London town:
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
Blue beats purple and has a clean sheet too.  Updated points table at some unspecified point in the future!
What Next?
Watch @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!  I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed my first game of 2016.  One day I will restore some work-life balance and pick up the random groundhopping trail again.

The Lincs Effect

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 5 September 2015 at South Kesteven Sports Stadium
Result	Grantham Town 0 Marine 0
Competition	Northern Premier League (Step 3)
Hopping	Ground 578 on the lifetime list as I tick off one of this season’s main targets on the way to completing “everywhere down to Step 3”.  I am here, randomishly (see previous post) because Google had more search results (286,000) for “Grantham Town v Marine” than for the fixtures at Bideford, Merthyr, Ramsbottom or Whitby.
Pre-match preparation
Grantham are still searching for their first win of the season and they lie 23rd of 24 in the relatively early league table.  Their website has a somewhat grumpy (and justifiably so if the allegations are true) news item concerning top scorer Lee Ndlovu’s commitment-breaker decision to switch to Ilkeston.  It should be said that no rules have been broken. Marine’s only victory has been away from home but they sit in lower-mid-table with four more points but from one more game.  You know, this one has 0-0 or 1-1 draw written all over it!  (Note: I honestly did write that before I left Chateau Yapp on Saturday morning.)
This match in one sentence
An entertaining but breeze-affected scoreless draw.
So what?
The Gingerbreads are still searching for that first win and remain 23rd in the table.  Marine drop one place to 15th.  I have ten more Step 3 grounds left to complete the level, six in this league, three down south (more south-west really for me) and one more down south but in the Isthmian league.
The drama unfolds
I watched the first half above the halfway line from the terraces under the upper case welcome from the local council. At the first direct free kick in the opening moments, Marine’s Andy Owens overtly challenged the ref about the distance to the defensive wall by pacing it out.  The player was correct.  Then the assistant flagged for a Marine offside when the ball had inadvertently been played backward by a defender rather than forward by an attacker.  This set the tone for the bench view of the officials all afternoon. The first quarter of the game was worthy but dull as risk-free defending frequently sent the ball in the air and the breeze made control tricky.  Midway through the first half there was a lucky escape for Marine as a defender’s clearance sliced off the underside of the bar and down on to the line.  Grantham appealed but nothing was given.  The assistant was reasonably placed, and certainly better placed than me, so let’s hope that was right.  By now we had two very shouty, berating dugouts.  The home side won the obscenity count and the “cheat” word was audible even from where I was standing.  If you bring young children here, sit on the other side or put cotton wool in their ears. Though still goalless, the match continued to be entertaining and end-to-end.  A good move led to a Grantham corner but that led to a three-on-one Marine breakaway and a shot tipped round the post.  Grantham’s Lee Beeson then curled a long shot, also tipped away.  Marine’s Carl Peers then hit the crossbar before a follow-up shot hit the post and then the follow-up to the follow-up was well-saved by Jake Turner.  Ten seconds of madness but enough to make Marine feel that they had edged the first half. 0-0 at half-time The second half followed much the same pattern, and this time I was seated in the main stand.  It remained an end-to-end game with solid defending.  Marine adapted better to the conditions and their through balls held up in the breeze to give the home defenders problems.  Grantham’s through balls were often overhit and they returned possession to Marine too often.  Both keepers were busy without needing to be spectacular.  Peers missed the target from a good position and then Liam Willis missed the ball altogether from an even better one.  If drawn matches were decided on missed chances than Marine were now definitely in front.  They made another one as Lewis Codling created a shooting chance for sub Lloyd Ellams, sent just wide. Grantham finally had the ball in the back of a net after 89 minutes.  Unfortunately, it was the net that would surround a discus-thrower at an athletics event.  Overall, I enjoyed the game and my visit to South Kesteven.  Marine will be hard to beat this season.  Grantham look to have decent team spirit and resilience but they’ll need a cutting edge.  Final score 0-0
Ground Pix
There are two very good stands at this ground and facilities are excellent.  You get a great but rather distant view of the action across the track.
Match Pix
Grantham are in black-and-white.
Something You Don’t Get in the Premier League
Hurdles - English football stadia tend to be track-free, unlike other parts of the world Note the classic non-league one-man-and-his-dog spectator combo
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
Clean sheets and a draw for both blue and pink. The story so far after 73 games: 3pts for a win, 1pt for a draw, -1pt for a goal conceded and +5pts for a clean sheet.  Ranked by points per game (PPG). P W D L GC CS Pts PPG Red 6.0 3.0 0.0 3.0 6.0 2.0 13.0 2.17 Green 37.0 18.0 5.0 14.0 56.0 12.0 63.0 1.70 Purple 7.0 4.0 2.0 1.0 13.0 2.0 11.0 1.57 Maroon 4.0 2.0 1.0 1.0 6.0 1.0 6.0 1.50 Blue 19.0 7.0 5.0 7.0 29.0 6.0 27.0 1.42 Grey 29.5 13.0 7.0 9.5 43.5 7.0 37.5 1.27 Orange 9.5 2.0 3.0 4.5 12.5 3.0 11.5 1.21 Yellow 15.0 3.0 5.0 7.0 28.0 3.0 1.0 0.07 Black 3.0 1.0 2.0 0.0 7.0 0.0 -2.0 -0.67 Radioactive Bile 6.0 2.0 0.0 4.0 12.0 0.0 -6.0 -1.00 Pink 10.0 1.0 4.0 5.0 23.0 1.0 -11.0 -1.10
What Next?
FA Cup weekend next weekend!  An Isle of Dogs Dinner means that Phoenix Sports v Lewes is the only feasible tie for me, so it isn’t random but I am very happy with that!  Keep an eye on my friends at therealfacup too.  The other event this week is this blog’s 5th birthday, so there will be a few nostalgic and misty-eyed nods to the past.  Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!