Frimley Not So Green, Take a Point at Villa

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Tuesday 6 August 2013 at Rectory Meadow
Result	Hanworth Villa 3 Frimley Green 3
Competition	Combined Counties Premier League (Step 5)
Hopping	Ground 514, not random but the nearest “unvisited” ground with a game for me this evening as I was in the dentist’s chair until 5.00pm!
Pre-match preparation
Both clubs lost their opening fixtures on Saturday.  Hanworth were missing the manager, the assistant (both on holiday) and several players for various reasons, so by all accounts put out an inexperienced side in their defeat by South Park.  Frimley Green were promoted as champions of the League’s Division One last season and lost at home to Croydon in their first game.  I saw Hanworth during their epic FA Cup run of 2011-12 http://modushopperrandom.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/totton-up-prize-money.html but this is the first time I have seen Frimley Green.
This match in one sentence
Credit to Frimley Green for taking the lead initially and then coming back from a 3-1 deficit to earn a point with two late goals in a crazy ending to the game.
So what?
Both sides are off the mark for the season, and it’s still too early to make any sensible predictions.
The drama unfolds
Hanworth started positively but Frimley Green were not overawed and by the time the visitors took the lead it did not feel like a surprise.  As I saw it, a header from a corner was deflected and it probably goes down as an unlucky own goal for Adam Turner, though Frimley have credited it to Bobby Hogg.  0-1 after 18 minutes Centre-back Dan Griffiths was on hand to protect the lead after keeper Matthew Watson came outside the box but his clearance rebounded off an attacker towards the goal.  I took my scene-setter clip after about half-an-hour at which point Hanworth were waking up and realising they were in a game.  Hanworth are in red-and-white. I made a note that I thought the home side would go on to win the game.  Nevertheless Frimley Green had the two next best chances, only for Hanworth to then hit the bar with a shot from Andrew Juett and then equalise moments before half-time with a dominant header from Lee Higgs.  1-1 at half-time Hanworth created a good chance right after the restart but then so did Frimley.  The goal to give the lead to the home side was a proverbial screamer.  I reckon Levi King’s curling and dipping volley was from thirty of your pre-decimal proper yards and a great, great goal.  2-1 after 55 minutes The game should have been settled by the third goal.  Good work by Juett ultimately led to a tap-in for King’s second of the night, looking suspiciously offside from my viewing angle.  To be fair, the lino was better placed.  3-1 after 64 minutes Where did it all go wrong? Well, Frimley made some substitutions and “had a go” as they say.  They scored two in two minutes to take a share of the points.  Louis Hibbert and Martin Girling combined well and the latter’s shot beat the keeper and a retreating defender could not keep it out.  Both club websites seem to have this down as an own goal.  3-2 after 85 minutes I tweeted the news of that goal just in time to see Frimley slice through the centre of Hanworth’s defences and score through Matt Griffiths.  3-3 after 86 minutes There was still time for a second yellow for a Hanworth player with two minutes to go (I think it was Juett, apologies if I am mistaken) which meant Frimley Green were able to exert some more closing pressure in a bad-tempered ending to the game.  Final score 3-3
Ground Pix
This ground is under a Heathrow flight path and so close to a main road at one end that the screening trees are right up against the pitch boundary.  Can’t shed any more light on the Marilyn Monroe connections except that she was also spotted here back in December:  http://laurencereade.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/marilyn/
Match Pix
Something random
For what it’s worth, I draw the attention of the occupants of the covered standing to their own ground rule 2(b) as set out in the programme.  It would not be a part of the ground for a parent or grandparent to take a young supporter unless they are prepared for some vocabulary challenges later.  I watch a lot of football in a lot of places and this was one of the worst for loud foul and abusive language.  I couldn’t use my second half clip on here unless I’d set it to music.  The sexist jokes in the programme aren’t funny either.  It’s my opinion and I’m sticking with it.  No apologies.
Huddle Stats
New this season on MHR – let’s find out whether the pre-match huddle makes a difference. Neither team huddled.  This makes me realise a possible flaw in my methodology – we will only learn something if one team huddles and the other doesn’t.  Never mind, it will give science a start until CERN have found all their missing particles. 2013-14 Summary so far: P W D L GF GA Pts PPG Non-Huddlers 3 1 2 0 4 3 5 1.67 Huddlers 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0.00
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
Also new for this season. I vaguely remember Petr Cech having a theory that orange was the best colour for goalkeeping tops.  Let’s find out whether there is any substance to it. 2013-14 Summary so far: (Note - early error now discovered and corrected on later posts - sorry!)
Hopping for Moorfields Update
Just waiting for a few sponsors to return from their summer holiday but I hope very soon to be sending a big cheque to Moorfields Eye Charity which, when some Gift Aid is applied, will be worth over £800 to them.  It’s not too late to make a small contribution – remember the original idea of this is that LOTS of people would give small amounts – and this recent post tells you how to go about it.  Thanks in advance, and thanks too to all the sponsors who have already paid up.
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter for announcements!  I may head for Barnet in the Conference in order to recomplete my 116 (92+24).  Very tempted by the FA Cup tie at Worksop Parramore (work commitments allowing) on Friday week.

I hope you’ll enjoy the 2013-14 format for the MHR blog.  I have tried to freshen it up without losing its essential tongue-in-cheekiness, and to reflect the fact that I am now out of semi-retirement and back in the classroom full-time.  In particular, the video clips were receiving very few hits so I have scaled back on these apart from an essential scene-setter.  You may also have to put up with a rant on educational issues from time to time.  Thanks as ever for your support and interest.  This season I will catch up on a few new venues (e.g. Barnet) and complete my lists down to all of step 3 at least, as well as paying plenty of attention again to the early rounds of the FA Cup and the FA Vase.

Totton Up the Prize Money

This is a smart new stadium with Step 2 ambitions!

Buss arrives on time

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 29 October 2011 at The Testwood Stadium
Result	AFC Totton 3 Hanworth Villa 2
Competition	FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round.  Totton are 2nd in the Southern Premier league (step 3) and Hanworth Villa are from the Combined Counties league (step 5) and this is their first season in the competition.
Hopping	Ground #433 on the lifetime list.  See below for why I am here!
This match in one sentence
Totton controlled the second half and the game was more straightforward for them than the scoreline suggests, but both clubs have set progression records for the FA Cup.
So what?
Totton reach the First Round Proper for the first time in the club’s history (it is their 125th anniversary season) and have been rewarded with a home tie against Bradford Park Avenue of the step 3 Northern Premier League.
Something random
If you follow my Twitter feed, you'll know that I am here because of a result in the Namibian Premier League last night.  If Orlando Pirates had beaten SK Windhoek I would have been at Stourbridge v Rushall Olympic, and a draw would have taken me to Witton Albion v Barrow.  As it turned out, a 52nd minute penalty by Martin Kambungu brought me here as SK Windhoek won 1-0.  It’s quasi-random.  Interestingly (and by complete coincidence of course), all three ties had five goals!
The drama unfolds
Totton had a couple of half-chances in the early minutes before the game settled into an even and largey uneventful contest.  It had kicked off five minutes early to the annoyance of those still queueing outside, but frankly they did not miss much in the first 20 minutes.  It was 25 minutes before Hanworth’s Lawrence Shennan rode two tackles and sent their first real chance narrowly wide. With Aidan Lewis solid in midfield and Jonathan Davies threatening on the left (and occasionally the other) flank, Totton showed more confidence and patience in their build up, but the Hanworth defence and cover were good enough to deal with whatever was thrown at them. Levi King glanced a header wide for Hanworth, their keeper Terry Buss dealt with a high speculative hooked ball dropping almost vertically into the box, and then Shaun Preddie shot wide.  The Hanworth fans’ singing and chanting, with the odd obscenity thrown in, was greeted almost with an embarrassed silence from the home fans.  However, all was fairly pedestrian until the last five mad minutes of the half.  Here are a couple of first half-clips – Hanworth are in purple and attacking towards the camera. First, Totton took the lead after 41 minutes as Davies turned up on the right near the byline and flashed a stepover or two before shooting in from a narrow angle.  1-0 Almost immediately, there were questions asked within the home defence as Hanworth equalised within a minute.  Keeper Grant Porter got a hand to King’s shot but it crept in.  Sheehan gets the credit for the assist.  1-1 Totton hit back in turn just before the interval.  Nathan Campbell got a crucial goal from a Davies cross to give his side the lead once more.  2-1 at half-time Totton largely controlled the second half but there were few chances in the first 20 minutes or so.  Davies continued to look the biggest threat and after 77 minutes Buss was again needed to make a good save.  The fact that the score stayed at 2-1 for so long was more to do with Totton wastefulness than Hanworth threat.  Here are a couple of second-half clips. The third goal did not come until 81 minutes – I have caught the finish on video but too late and in the wrong position to resolve the offside question.  The visiting supporters were enraged.  The scorer is Nathaniel Sherborne.  3-1 Hanworth nearly pulled one back soon after from a freekick.  Their fans stayed till the end, and there were two wild and tired shots before Duane Antonio smacked one in to make the final few seconds a bit more interesting.  3-2 Villa acknowledge their 250 travelling fans As Totton ran the ball into the corners to run down the clock, a wild lunge by Ricky Farnden earned him a second yellow card and the home team safely sealed their passage into the First Round Proper.  Let it be recorded that this was a very creditable performance from the step 5 visitors who can leave with heads held high.  Final Score 3-2
Man-of-the-Match
Jonathan Davies (Totton)
A snippet from the programme
I don't think the boys in blue are fully committed to their pre-match huddle A bit of re-wording required, I think.  From the ground rules: “Anyone using racist or offensive language or behaviour will be ejected from the ground and reported to the appropriate authorities.  This may include the police.”
What I learned today
Here are the record-breaking FA Cup runs for both teams: Extra Preliminary Round: Hanworth Villa 4 Shrivenham 2 (Shrivenham are from the step 5 Hellenic League) Preliminary Round: Bedfont Sports 1 Hanworth Villa 1 Hanworth Villa 2 Bedfont Sports 0 (Bedfont Sports are in the step 6 Comb Cos Div One) First Qualifying Round: AFC Totton 2 Fleet Town 0  (Fleet are from step 4, Southern D1 Central) Hanworth Villa 1 Wembley 0 (Wembley are also from the Comb Cos Premier) Second Qualifying Round: AFC Totton 2 Clevedon Town 1 (Clevedon from step 4, Southern D1 S&W) Hanworth Villa 1 Aveley 0 (Aveley are from the step 3 Isthmian Premier) Third Qualifying Round: AFC Totton 4 Weymouth 2 (Weymouth are also from the Southern Premier) Slough Town 2 Hanworth Villa 2 Hanworth Villa 3 Slough Town 1 (Slough are from step 4, Southern D1 Central) Totton therefore take over the “Wembley to Wembley” trail for this season.  Their tie against Bradford PA will be their fifth home tie in a row.  All other things being deemed equal, the chances of that happening were 1 divided by (2 to the power 5), or to put it another way, half of a half of a half of a half of a half.  This is one in thirty-two.  I know how much readers love these little arithmetical interjections.  And yet I still keep interjecting them.
What Next?
Probably a Tuesday night hop – watch the @GrahamYapp Twitter feed for any announcement.