Trial of the Winslow Boys

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 7 October (Non League Day) 2017 at Winslow Sports Club
Result	Winslow United 2 Bedford 1
Competition	Spartan South Midlands League Division One (Step 6)
Hopstats	Ground 621. I have to be local(ish) today because of an evening reunion event from my early days of teaching at Fearnhill School in Letchworth.  (Hello to any former pupils stumbling across this, and yes I am still going …)
Context
5th against 13th in a 20-team division, but that hides the fact that the reverse fixture already happened in late September and Winslow delivered an 8-0 thumping to today’s visitors.  There have never been fewer than four goals in a game so far this season, so I am packing a pencil sharpener.  Will it be revenge or damage limitation?
In one sentence
An attritional battle became interesting for the last 20 minutes as Bedford threatened to snatch a draw.
So what?
Winslow United rise to 3rd and Bedford drop a place to 14th.
Match Report
I made very few notes for the first half-hour, somewhat distracted and delighted by adjacent croquet and overhead red kites.  Meanwhile, defences were on top as a midfield battle unfolded.  Neither keeper really had that much to do other than routine catches and clearances.  Both teams struggled to control the bouncing ball and there was a lot of safety-first.  Probably with expectations of another win after the reverse result, Winslow had a bit more of the play and the pressure, but didn’t create much until the relief of an opening goal after 35 minutes.  Sean Coles rounded the keeper Jack Mudge to break the deadlock. The second goal, however, was a peach.  A run down the left flank, a flick and a volley by Mitchell Collins.  Right on the whistle for the end of the first half too, a great time to score and cause the stereotypical ripping up of interval team talks. In the second half, Winslow missed a lobbed chance when one-on-one, and were to do so again later.  The game was interrupted by foul after foul and the level of dissent and gamesmanship steadily increased, as did the yellow card count.  Then with about 20 mins to go, a good turn and shot by substitute Aaron Jarvis pulled one back for Bedford.  Winslow responded by forcing a good save from Mudge, and then opposite number Aaron White did the same before Bedford hit the woodwork with the rebound.  So close, and if only… In the end, Winslow were able to hold on to the points, but they’d been made to work hard by the visitors.  In truth there was not a lot between the sides today.
Ground Pix
No longer rare in these parts. The distinctive V-shaped forked tail of the Red Kite, coming soon to a bird table near you.
Match Pix
Something You Don’t Get in the Premier League
Croquet, ladies and gentlemen.  Maybe this is the future, I haven’t played since reaching the quarter-finals of the Cambridge University Open Pairs Championship in 1979.  Honest.  The main rule then was that the matches had to finish by mutual agreement at 5.55pm in time for the bar to open at six.   Croquet to the left adjacent to the football match in progress. Risk assessments, anyone? Croquet is a brilliant game, trust me.  We need more of it.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
A full table was printed in the previous blogpost.  Today, in the 120th tracked game, Green beats Pink to stay 5th, with the latter dropping one place to 10th, below Radioactive Bile. 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, and it deserves to be last, trust me.  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 9.0 4.0 1.0 4.0 9.0 3.0 19.0 2.111 Maroon 4.0 2.0 1.0 1.0 6.0 1.0 6.0 1.500 Blue 30.1 12.0 6.0 12.1 47.0 10.0 45.0 1.495 Grey 40.5 20.0 8.0 12.5 66.5 11.0 56.5 1.395 Green 62.0 30.0 7.0 25.0 108.0 16.0 69.0 1.113 Orange 24.5 9.0 4.0 11.5 38.5 5.0 17.5 0.714 Purple 11.0 5.0 2.0 4.0 25.0 2.0 2.0 0.182 Yellow 25.0 7.0 6.0 12.0 48.0 5.0 4.0 0.160 Pink 14.0 4.0 4.0 6.0 29.0 1.0 -8.0 -0.571 Radioactive Bile 12.0 5.0 0.0 7.0 26.0 1.0 -6.0 -0.500 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 Fire Cracker 1.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 4.0 0.0 -4.0 -4.000
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!  A trip to Spennymoor Town to re-complete The 160 (Everywhere Down to Step 2) is high on my priority list, but there is still plenty of Cup, Vase and Trophy football to be played at unvisited grounds.

Gresley Pass Deeping Test

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	NON-LEAGUE DAY Saturday 3 September 2016 at The Haydon Whitham Stadium, Outgang Road
Result	Deeping Rangers 2 Gresley 6
Competition	FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round.
Hopping	Ground 594 and I am here randomly because of a computer-simulated spin of an American roulette wheel which gave number 16.  See previous post for fuzzy-but-genuine proof.
Pre-match preparation
This is Step 5 v Step 4.  Deeping’s league form sees them in mid-table in the United Counties Premier Division. In the cup, they won 4-1 away at Ely City then beat Wroxham 2-1 at home.  Wroxham are Step 4 within the Isthmian leagues but have made a terrible start to the season.  Gresley will be a tougher proposition – they are undefeated and just outside early playoff positions in the Northern Premier League Division One South. They entered the cup in the last round and had a comfortable win over Loughborough University.
This match in one sentence
Gresley never looked like losing but Deeping never gave up.
So what?
Gresley are in the proverbial hat for the next round and Deeping concentrate on the (United Counties) league.
The drama unfolds
Gresley started brightly and Deeping never really had a chance to settle.  The opening goal had a slight deflection but it wasn’t a big surprise.  Reece Morris takes the credit for a low shot that tucked just inside the post.  0-1 after 7 mins The first Deeping chance came midway through the half but Scott Coupland headed straight at the keeper.  Maybe that was the hinge point of the game because Gresley’s Courtney Meade (below) had the freedom of Market Deeping as he headed a second goal almost immediately.  0-2 after 23 mins Again, Deeping heads stayed up but they were fighting a losing battle and Meade rounded the keeper for a third, his second, on the break.  Deeping held on to half-time with no further damage done.  0-3 after 27 mins and at half-time Deeping started the second half well but any thoughts of a comeback were snuffed out by Meade’s hat-trick.  He had time to create space for an easy finish to a Gresley break.  The availability of wide man Morris as an outball, Vardy-style, was a feature of the Gresley setup and as time went on he frequently drew two defenders for his forays into the penalty area.  0-4 after 55 mins The match meandered towards the inevitable result before a late goal flurry kept the crowd interested.  A own goal put Gresley five up.  Then Gresley's Jordan Wakeling earned a yellow card for a tackle deemed dangerous by the referee.  He got the ball but the studs were clearly showing.  David Burton-Jones scored (pic below) from the direct freekick for a consolation goal.  He is one of the candidates for the own goal, by the way.  I’m not sure. Wakeling then got a second yellow, and thus a red, for handball.  Burton-Jones scored (pic below) from the penalty spot.  2-5 after 88 minutes Pearson Mwanyongo scored the final goal of the day in stoppage time after a break down the right flank.  Job Done.  Final score 2-6 I heard an unusual referee’s whistle as I was walking towards the exit.  There was some argument going on with Gresley staff and an open bottle-throwing display of frustration from one of them.  I have no idea what it was about.  The ref and the assistants waited a few more moments before leaving the pitch.
Ground Pix
Match Pix
Something You Don’t Get in the Premier League
Change from £4 for a hot pasty, soup and Mars Bar.  At current exchange rates this sum would get you part-ownership of a West Ham hot dog.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
No clean sheets but a win for Yellow over Green.  Full table again at the end of the month.  Red leads.
What Next?
Watch @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!