Moneyfields Three-Two Tight to Mention

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Saturday 31 October 2020 at Moneyfields Sports Ground
Result	Moneyfields 3 Kidlington 2
Competition	FA Trophy 3rd Qualifying Round
Hopstats	Ground 718 on the lifetime list, and I am here pragmatically because very few of my seasonal target grounds are in the lowest tier of Covid-19 designations.
Context
Both teams entered the competition in the last round, and both arrive at this fixture via 2-1 home wins. Moneyfields beat Basingstoke Town and Kidlington defeated Didcot Town. These sides are both in Step 4 Southern League divisions, but geographically separated with the hosts in Division One South and the visitors from Division One Central.
In One Sentence
Moneyfields came from behind to win with two very late goals after a red card for a key Kidlington defender.
So What?
Time for the usual sentence to go here, the one about Moneyfields in the hat for the next round and Kidlington concentrating on the league.
Pre-match Entertainment
After a horrendous drive down south in monsoon conditions, a pint down the road at The Jolly Taxpayer, putting the world to rights with a couple of strangers I met off the internet. You know who you are, and it was great to catch up with you!
Match Report
Thankfully the weather conditions improved as forecast and this turned out to be a compelling, competitive game with a dramatic twist at the end. It started out oddly enough with one of the assistant referees slipping on the muddy touchline and getting a match-ending injury. It didn’t look good. The call went over the PA for a replacement, and one was found fairly quickly. I think my FA Class 3 badge has lapsed now so I didn’t even think about it. I’m also sixty-two, with the mobility of a supertanker and a sensitivity to abuse concerning my sexuality and parentage, so not a good match for modern lino duty. Both teams had tried to stay warm during the ten-minute delay but Moneyfields were caught cold from the restart. Callum Harvey hooked in acrobatically at the far post to give Kidlington the lead. We saw a couple of great saves from the Kidlington keeper Christian Lawrence but on the second occasion Kieran Roberts was able to fire in an equaliser to send the sides in level at half-time. Good contest at this point, not much either way and defences on top though both sides looking to dictate. Half-time: Moneyfields 1 Kidlington 1 The end-to-end action continued as Lawrence saved well from a one-on-one (with a hint of offside) just before Kidlington took the lead through Jacob Davidge, with just over twenty minutes to go. Moneyfields had to respond quickly and so nearly equalised with a slick move down the right, but the attacking player sliding in at the far post could not make enough contact as the ball skidded across the box. Then came the turning point of the game. A red card was given to Kidlington’s Tom Franklin and it was a tad too long before he started the walk. The gentleman scribbling furiously on the clipboard nearby at this point may well have been a referee’s assessor. I can’t confirm whether it was straight red or second yellow, but it changed the game. The absence of Franklin’s aerial defensive qualities was arguably a factor in the denouement. Kidlington held firm until there were only two minutes left on the clock. Lawrence half-stopped a shot but Roberts was in the right spot to poke in the equaliser. With a penalty shootout now looking likely (as I had mischievously suggested at 3pm on Twitter from the keepertopcolourstats) there was to be one final plot twist. A stoppage time corner for Moneyfields was initially repelled but the second cross found its way to the far post where Steve Hutchings headed in. A really good game, and in good company, to end this phase of football-watching for the season. Great effort from both sides in tricky conditions and a club that is well worth a visit for any groundhoppers.
Pix
All taken from one vantage point this week. Moneyfields in yellow shirts, Kidlington in some kind of luminous green. The pitch invaders had no effect on the play. Keep your football-is-not-for-gulls jokes to yourself please ;) Black-headed gull in winter plumage in the holding midfield position (Reliable source: Martyn Y)
CV19 Comment
Lots of sensible procedures in place – track and trace details collected, one way systems in the bar, table service, helpful tweets before the game with download details for the relevant apps. Two conclusions to be made once again, as they have been at every match I’ve been to this year. The clubs have done everything asked of them but a significant number of people, especially the under-30s, are largely paying no attention. Secondly, for me personally this is a safer activity than going to work at school, but only because this district is in the lowest tier of CV prevalence. The same behaviour in a Tier 3 district would almost certainly have been a spreading event, and the reaction to scientists Whitty and Vallance on social media as I write (on Saturday evening) shows over and over again that the general public aren’t accepting what they are being shown through the numbers. Sadly, I won’t be around to see what historians make of all this. I doubt whether it will be complimentary.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats Update
Usually accompanied by a pre-match prediction on Twitter just before kickoff. Working towards being able to compute a respectable statistical significance test by the end of the season. The full keeper top performance table from my last 219 matches is here, on this separate page. Custodian with floodlight, rooftops and diesel multiple-unit (2020) This week Black beats Orange, but no clean sheets and no change in the league table positions. Again slightly surprised to see a top that clashes with the referee's kit. Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Away Win (on Penalties) Was the prediction correct? No % of correct predictions so far 49% (36 from 74) 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, and is leaning towards the latter.
What Next?
As you will understand, not much. The spreadsheet shows fourteen grounds on my “everywhere down to and including Step 4” priority list, but there is no sensible way to plan, and for some grounds such as Brentford I would be way down the ticket priority list when attendance is allowed again. Thank you for reading the blog this season. I will pick up the threads again as soon as Covid-19 arrangements allow. In the meantime, stamp collecting beckons.

The Joy of Three

Mr Sudoku (see below) lurking at the back right of the stand

 

The slope downwards from L to R at Fleet Town

Kidlington's ground at Yarnton Road

Hopperational details
Date & Venues	Bank Holiday Monday 29 August 2011 a)    Bottom Meadow, Sandhurst (1130) b)    Calthorpe Park, Fleet (1500) c)    Yarnton Road, Kidlington (1945)
Results & Competitions	Sandhurst 2 (Unknown 22, Jeffrey 37) Ash United 0 Combined Counties Premier League (step 5) Fleet Town 0 Chertsey Town 3 (Bennett 28, Ferguson 80, McGarry 90+5pen) Southern League Division One Central (step 4) Kidlington 1 (Haysham 4) Oxford City Nomads 1 (Curtin 90) Hellenic Premier League (step 5)
Hopping	Bank Holiday trebles are usually determined by geographical proximity to the game with the evening kickoff time.  This is my fourth, and the grounds will be #413, 414 & 415 on the lifetime list.
These matches in one sentence each
Sandhurst scored first after the even early sparring and went on to complete a routine and deserved victory. Chertsey’s greater sharpness in and around the box got them a good away win, and Fleet face a possible ‘keeper crisis after a late red-card incident means that their top two are injured and suspended respectively. Kidlington rescued a point with a late, late equaliser from a game that the visitors had dominated.
So what?
Both Sandhurst and Ash have a win and a defeat from their two games on Bank Holiday weekend – Sandhurst are a club in transition (see below) and this was a good day. Newly-promoted Chertsey Town sit 11th in the table and leapfrog over several teams, including Fleet, after two wins this weekend.  Fleet have no points and no goals (and no goalkeepers?) to show after their two games. Oxford City Nomads drop from first to third in the Hellenic League after weekend results, and Kidlington sit in upper-mid-table.
Alternative approaches to Bank Holiday Monday
Sit in an armchair with an unlimited supply of Stella Artois in supermarket loss-leader twelve-pack listening to traffic updates on the radio while periodically announcing that, “It’s mad out there today”. Go to B&Q or Homebase with a list that is missing at least one critical item of equipment or materials for that DIY task that you have been putting off for the last year.  For best effect, discover the omission ten minutes before closing time. Go into the garden and replace all the recently-living things that you paid good money for last week with some still-living-but-not-at-all-well things that the local garden centre is offloading on special offer this week. Make a chart showing the number of hours left before your children go back into school and cheer yourself up by colouring in those that are occupied by sleep, work, going to the lavatory and hiding in your room/shed/den.  Extra style points are available for those using Excel and conditional formatting.
The drama unfolds
The first 15 minutes at Sandhurst was pretty even.  Sandhurst almost opened the scoring after 17, but this effort was headed off the line. Ash responded immediately with a lovely 5-player move, but it was Sandhurst who got the goal after 22 minutes.  Good work initially by Vinnie Bond ended up with confusion and blocked shots in the Ash penalty area, but the ball broke eventually to someone I didn’t identify in the melée who poked it over the line.  1-0 The second goal followed before half-time.  A good pass from Ross Hogston found Sam Jeffrey on the right, and he cut inside to unleash a powerful left foot shot into the net.  Sandhurst held that lead comfortably till the break.  2-0 at half-time This spectator had turned to the sudoku page even before half-time Ash United started the second half with intent and nearly had a goal back after 53 minutes.  This effort trickled agonisingly wide with the keeper beaten.  Toby Jannaway was one of several Sandhurst players who could have got on the scoresheet today: Ash centre-back Alan Hanning was one of those getting a yellow card after a second poor tackle on Vinnie Bond, who to his credit picked himself up and got on with it several times after such events.  He was unlucky not to get a third goal after good work again by Jeffrey.  Sandhurst made a substitution and changed to 4-2-3-1 (the first time, I think, that I have heard that formation announced from the bench at step 5).  Although Ash broke forward every now and then, Sandhurst pretty much controlled the rest of the game as typified by this next clip.  Final score 2-0 Here are scene-setter clips from the second game, with Fleet in blue and Chertsey in white.  The second one seems to be a world-record attempt at packing the 6-yard box at a corner. Fleet were to end up on the end of a heavy home defeat, but things could have been different had they scored after 12 minutes.  A mix-up between defender David Stevens and keeper Mark Shipperley (perhaps as the ball slowed down on the upslope) almost let in Luke King.  However, Chertsey took the lead in the 28th minute.  A superb long diagonal ball was well controlled by Dan Bennett on the edge of the area.  He rounded the keeper, stayed on his feet and showed enough composure to finish as his shot could only be deflected into the roof of the net by a desperate defender.  0-1 Chertsey almost added a second soon after, with Bennett prominent in all the best attacking moves, but there was no more scoring before the interval.  0-1 at half-time Chertsey Town's Andy Crossley picked up a foot injury in the first half The next clip is from the second-half as Fleet searched for an equaliser. The visitors’ task of holding the lead got easier when Johnny Dyer was sent off on the hour, but to be fair there were chances for both sides before Chertsey added two late goals.  Troy Ferguson popped up from midfield after 80 minutes to seal the win.  0-2 There was time for one last twist to add to the gloom over the hosts.  Keeper Dave Smalley (playing in place of the recently-injured Andy Bayliss) brought down an attacker and received the red-card as we entered the fifth minute of stoppage time.  Bayliss, presumably not fully fit, came off the bench but Tommy McGarry put the spotkick away as shown below and the game ended immediately after the restart.  Final score 0-3 This Kidlington allotment holder favours the big-man-at-the-back approach when defending an aerial threat The next clip is a scene-setter from the first half of Kidlington v Oxford City Nomads.  The hosts had opened the scoring after only four minutes with a fine shot by Pablo Haysham.  0-1 The Nomads dominated the half and were unable to add a second despite a string of corners and freekicks.  0-1 at half-time As the game went on, discussions took place with fellow hoppers about the chances of an unjust Kidlington equaliser.  Nomads continued to dominate possession and create chances, but Kidlington had their moments too, including this appeal for a penalty. It looked as if Nomads had done enough, but Ryan Curtin stepped up with a deflected freekick right at the death.  Nomads’ keeper Paul Davis was heading in the opposite direction as the ball crossed the line, and his teammates seemed less than happy with him.  Quite what he could have done differently, I don’t know.  Final score 1-1 Thanks to OCN’s website for the identification of scorers.
Men-of-the-Matches
Sam Jeffrey (Sandhurst Town, pictured right, in the foreground) with honourable mentions to teammates Vinnie Bond (in the background) and captain Liam Eagles. Dan Bennett of Chertsey Town (on the ball, below) for being a constant threat to the opposition. Ryan Curtin of Kidlington just for that last-moment game-changer of a freekick.
The programmes
What I learned today
Sandhurst Town are seeking a new manager. The board refused to break a structure to pay two individual players, who are thus said to have made themselves unavailable for last weekend’s FA Cup tie (so as not to be cup-tied for later rounds with a new club).  The manager, Dean Thomas, also chose to leave and an interim management team is in place.  Chairman Tony Dean made an assertive defence of the club’s stance in his programme notes. Andy Leader, last seen by this blogger in January (click the Andover tag on the right to jump to the page) is now assistant manager at Fleet Town.  For the record, he was very calm and quiet today.  Also, Calthorpe Park has a pronounced slope.  Fleet it may be, but Flat it is not. Finally, at least one other ‘hopper had chosen the same games for today’s treble – good to meet you, Lee, and I am sure we will cross paths again!
What Next?
Mustn’t forget that it is an FA Cup weekend coming up!  Watch the @GrahamYapp Twitter feed for details … perhaps even for a short hop tonight.

The Road to the Hellenic League is Paved with Goodish Tensions

Programme Cover

Hopperational details

Friday 10 September 2010, Witney United 1 Kidlington 2 in the Hellenic Premier League (Step 5) at the Marriott’s Stadium (which was more interestingly known recently as the Polythene UK Stadium, apparently).

This match in one sentence

Kidlington held on to a deserved lead despite a late Witney fightback leading to a controversial penalty and a feisty finish.

So what?

Witney United have excellent facilities for a Step 5 club but they are unlikely to see Step 4 anytime soon unless results improve.  They were thumped 8-2 by Shortwood United in their previous league game.  Kidlington, on the other hand, start the week in 2nd position in the league.

Who caught the eye on the pitch?

Jack Quainton (Kidlington) had the speed to catch up with a through ball and the composure to finish for the game’s opening goal.  It set the tone for the match and the result was not in doubt until the final frantic few minutes.

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

… not having finished a Super Fiendish sudoku after twenty minutes whilst at the same time listening to a Carlos Santana guitar solo.

A snippet from the programme

The excellent programme was dedicated in memory of Callum MacKinnon.  Callum (18) had only recently left Witney for Cirencester Town after three promising seasons of youth and reserve football.  He was killed in a car accident earlier in the week.  The crowd delivered a dignified minute of applause before the game in recognition of this very sad and tragic event.

What I learned today

The name of Witney derives from the Saxon word witan that meant council to the King. The town has been famous for woollen blankets since the Middle Ages, which means that the opening section of their programme is entitled Blanket Coverage.  I like that. I like that a lot.

Modus Hopper Random Talking Point

About six Kidlington players ran towards the referee as he awarded the late penalty, in effect forcing him backwards.  It looked to me like at least one made physical contact (though to be fair I can’t be sure).  The ‘keeper was then booked for gamesmanship before the spotkick was tucked away superbly.  Respect, anyone?