No Pies, So Nuneaton

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Wednesday 10 August 2016 at The Pingles Stadium
Result	Nuneaton Griff 3 Dudley Sports 3 after extra time Dudley Sports win 6-5 on penalties
Competition	FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round Replay
Hopping	Ground 588 on the lifetime list.  I am here because I happen to be in the Midlands and I have never been to this ground before.  Both sides play at Step 6 but in different leagues.  Griff are in the Midland Football League D1 and Dudley are in the West Midlands (Regional) Premier.
The best-prepared dugout ever seen at step 6
Pre-match preparation
The teams drew 1-1 at Dudley, sharing first-half goals.  I just about made it to the ground in time but found that the food on offer was restricted to crisps and chocolate but at least that gives me the pun for this particular blogpost title.  No hard feelings.
This match in one sentence
A hard-fought and uncompromising game at times, in which Nuneaton Griff from two down deservedly earned a period of extra time, failed to defend a lead and then suffered the agonies of a shootout defeat.
So what?
Dudley Sports will travel to Cradley Town in the next round.  See my previous blogpost if you need any pre-game analysis!
The drama unfolds
If you had arrived after 50 minutes you would have found Dudley in control.  They scored a goal early in each half to secure the proverbially dangerous 2-0 scoreline in their favour.  The first came after a freekick for handball in a central position.  The home keeper could only parry it out and it fell nicely for Tom Watkins who buried it.  0-1 after 6 mins The game settled into a pattern of neat approach play from Griff and a more direct style from Dudley.  I took the opportunity for a walk around the pitch perimeter and the occasional surreptitious check for Pokémon when no-one was looking.  The ground is also right next to a trainline too so plenty to keep the obsessives attentive.  0-1 at half-time Dudley got a quick second after the restart.  It was a good finish from Mark Gore who got on the end of a through ball and kept his composure to round the keeper and avoid the defender on the line with his shot.  0-2 after 47 mins First-half history kept on repeating itself as Dudley defended well despite growing Griff pressure.  Then the hosts bought a soft-looking penalty (imo and I was reasonably close) which led to a yellow rather than a red card for Luke Williams under the provisions of new rule 328B (or something).  John Russell despatched the spot kick and looked very pleased.  1-2 after 81 mins Nuneaton looked even more pleased in the last minute as sub Matt Brennan's (I think) close-range header crossed the line to send us into extra-time.  Cue whooping celebrations.  I wonder how many people had left by then.  2-2 after 90 mins Extra-time continued to be entertaining with both teams looking for the winning goal and the home side looking a bit stronger.  Tyson Knight smacked the crossbar from distance and then Dudley's Joe Sidaway saved well to keep the scores level.  Then Nuneaton completed the comeback by taking the lead just before the end of the first period of extra time.  Brennan again.  3-2 after 105 mins Adam Skeldon then sent us to penalties with a splendid direct freekick with just five minutes left.  Think Beckham v Greece but without the insane remuneration.  3-3 after 115 minutes and at the end of extra time The penalty shootout was as gripping as you would expect.  Griff went first, and the first seven penalties were all scored safe and sound.  The what-if moment arrived with the eighth as Nuneaton keeper Andy Needham got his hand to the shot but it still went in.  Two more successes took us to a perfect 5-5 before Nuneaton missed, leaving Dudley a sudden-death chance to win, which they duly took.  Not bad for the passing neutrals, but a heartbreaking end to a keenly-contested match.  Dudley Sports win 6-5 on pens
Ground Pix
It's one of those inside an athletics track with an adjacent leisure centre.  The programme is titled "Underneath the Arches", a reference to the nearby railway bridge.  The line runs parallel to the touchline so trainspottergroundhoppers can have an occasional fix of Diesel Multiple Units too. Four years old and still going strong!
Match Pix
Nuneaton Griff are in blue.
Dudley Sports' wonderful retro shirt-number font
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
Nuneaton's keeper defied the boundaries of sartorial sense and decency so this is another defeat for Radioactive Bile.  Grey takes the win, but not much positive points scoring this time what with so many goals being conceded.  Full table will appear from time to time.
What Next?
Watch @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!  I dare say I will turn up somewhere on Saturday, but there could be an as-yet-mysterious aerobic non-footy diversion on Friday night.

Cradley Rocked by Optimal Sub

One of the best Step 6 programmes you will find anywhere

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Tuesday 9 August 2016 at Beeches View Avenue
Result	Cradley Town 1 Coleshill Town 4
Competition	FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round Replay
Hopping	Ground 587 on the lifetime list.  I am here because I happen to be in the Midlands and I have never been to this ground before.  These teams play in the West Midlands Regional and the Midland Football Leagues at Step 6 and 5 respectively.
The Club Emblem
The club nickname is The Hammers, and the associated chains and anvil also refer to the great industrial metalworking traditions of the Black Country.
Pre-match preparation
The teams drew 2-2 last Saturday.  Coleshill went two up in the first half before Cradley got one back before the interval and then a second-half equaliser.
This match in one sentence
The scoreline is harsh on Cradley Town who competed well for most of the game but were beaten in the end by Coleshill's more clinical finishing.
So what?
Coleshill Town will play either Dudley Sports or Nuneaton Griff in the next round.  Maybe I should go and check them out.
The drama unfolds
I watched the match in the company of my brother Martyn and we reflected on the fact that our respective hobbies (Birdwatching: Twitch Level in his case) leave us vulnerable to obsessive elements.  He just missed something important after a long drive to East Anglia last weekend, a bit like my arrival at a just-postponed game in Sussex at the end of last season.  Meanwhile, the two teams squared up to each other with a decent tempo and the occasional hint of feistiness.  Later on I would express surprise that there were still 22 players on the field.  Cradley weathered the early Coleshill storm and their striker Liam Hickman gave me my first Step 6 stepover of the season before failing to find his strike partner.  Much like Raheem Sterling but without the insane remuneration.  It was all pretty even. The deadlock was broken by Simeon Colbourne (thanks to the club Twitter feed for the ID).  A scuffed Cradley clearance led to a one-on-one that was initially defended well but at the expense of a corner.  Coleshill had always looked to have the edge at set-pieces and the corner led to some pinging around in the six-yard box before the ball ended up in the net.  0-1 after 38 mins and at HT Cradley started the second half well and Paul Hathaway made a flying save to keep his side in front.  However, a deserved equaliser followed just aftrer the hour.  Sorry, the scorer remains unidentified at the time of writing.  1-1 after 62 mins Coleshill took the lead again following another set piece.  A towering header (note: headers that hit the bar must be described as towering, one of the new rules I think) hit the bar and came down on but not over the line.  Any need for controversy was removed as the initial clearance fell to sub number 17, on the teamsheet as Aaron O'Neil but on Coleshill tweets as "Pellet", and the defence could not keep the shot out.  1-2 after 72 mins The remaining two goals added an unfair bias to the final score as Cradley were forced to commit to attack, but they were both well-taken by the aforementioned multiple-monikered Number 17 for a hat-trick from the subs bench.  Harsh but effective.  1-3 after 83 mins, 1-4 after 90 mins and at FT
Ground Pix
Plenty for groundhoppers to enthuse about here.  A ground with some character - a bit of ramshackle building, a fence made from pallets, and a great view of the Clent Hills thrown in.  A well-stocked club shop, an excellent tea bar and one of the best Step 6 programmes you will find anywhere.
Match Pix
Cradley Town are in the red and black.
Celebration Time
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
Coleshill Town's keeper turned up in something allowable as "Green", but the Cradley Town keeper is neither yellow nor green so he has to go down as an unfortunate night for "Radioactive Bile".  Green continues to do well, second only to the much rarer Red.  The full table will appear in the blog from time to time.
What Next?
Watch @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!  Nuneaton Griff v Dudley Sports looks tempting.

Yapp's Ruff Guide to Barking

This beautifully and professional A4 size programme will mess up a lot of non-league filing systems!

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Tuesday 18 August 2015 at Mayesbrook Park
Result	Barking 3 Felixstowe & Walton 1 (aet, 1-1 at 90min)
Competition	FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
Hopping	Ground 575, and I am here because it is my nearest unvisited ground hosting an FA Cup replay.
Pre-match preparation
These two clubs are at Step 5.  Barking are in the Essex Senior League and Felixstowe & Walton are in the Eastern Counties Premier.  Saturday’s game was a 1-1 draw, with Barking having originally taken the lead.  I also did some skim-reading of a manual and will have a play around with some non-auto settings on the new(ish) camera!
This match in one sentence
A controversial 90th minute red card and goal did not in the end prove costly for Barking who coped well with having ten men in extra time.
So what?
A home tie with Haringey Borough awaits Barking in the next round.
The drama unfolds
The visitors had the better of the early exchanges without creating a gilt-edged chance.  Duane Wright came closest with two chances in quick succession.  Wale Odedoyun had been unluckily penalised for handball by a referee who gradually became the centre of attention as the evening went on.  The freekick eventually led to a scuffed shot and then there was a header just wide.  The sunset on the western horizon formed a great backdrop as Barking got back in the game and started to make better use of their size and pace up front.  Here is a scene-and-sun-setter clip with Barking in blue. Barking finished the first half on top except for one missed chance by Felixstowe’s Daniel Shy just before the whistle.  To be fair be probably expected an attacker in front of him to head the ball first.  0-0 at halftime I said a quick hello to @essexfootie filming in the stand and went to join a handful of F&W supporters behind the goal.  We saw Miles Powell shoot just over after Wright won a rare header to flick the ball on.  On the whole, however, the pace and power of Toby Adesina & Lindisipho Mtyanda looked more likely to score for Barking.  The opening goal was a straightforward header by Adesina from a right-wing corner.  1-0 after 66 mins It looked for a long time to be sufficient.  As the minutes ticked by, the referee showed a yellow card to Billy Rix for timewasting, and then bemused him by showing a red.  He correctly protested that he had not already been booked – the ref checked with his lino – oh, how we laughed.  Or not.  In stoppage time, however, the red card was produced again, also after checking with the assistant – a “straight” one for a lunging tackle by Mtyanda.  From the resulting freekick, the ball was cleared off the line but after pinging around a few times it was diverted into the roof of the net for the most dramatic of equalisers.  No idea of the scorer at the time of writing.  Extra time, then.  1-1 after 90 mins The visitors had the better of the next fifteen minutes.  Sub Armani Shaar shot over but there were no goals to report.  1-1 at half-time in extra time Barking keeper Jason Willis made a good double save to keep the scores level.  Felixstowe played a high defensive line to pin Barking back, but the ten men took the lead from a set piece.  Adesina lost his marker just long enough to plant this header past Danny Crump into the net.  If you saw my incorrect tweet at this point, many apologies.  Simple incompetence on my part.  2-1 after 117 mins Crump came up to join the attack for several corners as Felixstowe were forced forward but he was left in no-man’s land from a break and another Barking sub, Eden Nelson, scored an easy goal to win the tie.  Final score 3-1 This was a great game for the passing neutral.  Really the only thing F&W did wrong was not to have won the first game with home advantage. Commiserations to F&W.  As they say in the vernacular, "Go again!"
Ground Pix
Mayesbrook Park is a collection of huts and containers at the moment and will not win any beauty contests anytime soon.  However, we did have a very nice sunset…
Match Pix
Connor Field's (12) last-ditch header goes just wide ... Danny Crump (in yellow) is stranded upfield in Felixstowe's last attack
Something You Don’t Get in the Premier League
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
No clean sheets, but a win for GREY over YELLOW.  Full table to come at the end of the month.
What Next?
Watch @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!  Next "priority" ground for me is FC United of Manchester to restore "Everything Down to Step 2" but prep for the new term is also needed so I am likely to be making last minute decisions, and maybe some random ones among them.

Market Forces Eventually Win

Ely City are "The Robins" in red

Pay attention other clubs.  If you have signed any of these you may be at risk of expulsion from the Cup if they play - ask Mangotsfield United who were kicked out this week 

 

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Tuesday 20th September 2011 at The Unwin Ground, Ely
Result	Ely City 3 (Lawrence 5, Murray 17,29) Needham Market 4 (Thrower 4, Dalby og 26, De’ath 62, Chaplin 112) After extra time
Competition	FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round Replay.  The teams had drawn 1-1 in the first game.  Ely City play their league football at step 5 in the Eastern Counties Premier.  Needham Market moved up to the Isthmian D1 North (step 4) in 2009-10.
Hopping	The nearest FA Cup replay at an unvisited ground this evening.
This match in one sentence
A gripping game in incessant rain that could have gone either way.
So what?
Needham Market are at home to Nuneaton Town in the next round.
Something random
Ely Cathedral dominates the skyline around this area, giving me a chance to skip back to 2005 in my photo album. My senior team colleagues at Beaumont School, St Albans had bought me a flight experience as a leaving present – cue many jokes about one-way tickets and dodgy parachutes – but the reality was a trip from Duxford in a historic biplane - the Dragon Rapide. Ely from the air in 2005
The drama unfolds
The match started in pouring rain, with most spectators huddled in the sheltered areas opposite the dugouts.  The rain was a constant factor – it eased a little at the start of the second half, but for both teams to produce this spectacle is a noteworthy achievement.  Compelling from start to finish for both partisans and neutrals. After 4 minutes Needham Market were ahead.  The impressive Sam Newsom played in Danny Thrower, who steadied himself before firing in a good shot from just inside the area.  0-1 The lead lasted a minute.  Ely’s towering centre-back Ben Lawrence headed in from a high looping crossed free-kick.  1-1 Ely then went ahead after 17 minutes.  The ball was lost in the Needham midfield and Adam Murray seemed to have plenty of time to smash the ball into the net from a central position.  2-1 The fourth goal of the game was scored by an Ely defender, Adam Dalby, but unfortunately he poked it past his own keeper under pressure from Newsom.  2-2 Within three minutes, and still with less than half-an-hour gone, Ely had the lead again.  A long throw was only cleared back to the wing and this time the cross found Murray who headed in for his second of the evening.  3-2 After 35 minutes the Ely defence watched a Newsom shot bounce just wide and the visitors also created two good chances from rehearsed corner routines.  3-2 at half-time Here is a glimpse of the conditions in the first half! The rain eased slightly for a few minutes so I ventured to the far side of the ground.  As I walked behind the Ely City goal, keeper Lee Pacey kept his side in front with a fantastic fingertip over the bar.  The ref failed to notice the touch and gave a goal kick, so I was ideally placed for some banter with him about not taking the credit.  Needham Market had started the half brightly and were looking to exert their technical superiority.  However, it needed an error to give them parity as Pacey went from hero to villain as a swerving shot from Darcy De’ath eluded him.  3-3 This clip finishes with the illuminated tower of Ely Cathedral in the background. Both sides had chances to win in normal time.  They both had effective long throwers.  De’ath saved a certain goal.  Ely’s Luke Parkinson had a clear shooting chance and shot first time, but over.  Then De’ath was superb again in defence and extra time beckoned. Here are some clips that show some of Ely’s aerial threat. 3-3 at the end of 90 minutes Long throws and other set pieces continued to be the biggest threat in extra time, for Needham Market too.  This clip is from the first half of extra time. Needham Market’s Scott Chaplin (a sub, on the left) and Deakin Napier (on the right) started to find space.  With eight minutes left, these two combined.  Napier, not for the first time, rode and skipped a tackle near the halfway line and surged into space.  This time, his low cross met the inrushing Chaplin, who steered home his side’s fourth. 3-4 Ely gave it everything in the last few moments.  Look at this … A great moment for Andrew Plummer in the visitors’ goal.  Unbelievably, Ely hit the post too with the last move of the match.  Despite the prospect of a two-hour drive home in the wet, I made a point of staying with the home fans to applaud their team off the pitch.  Final score 3-4 after extra time
Man-of-the-Match
All of them.  (Special mention though for Needham Market striker Sam Newsom who looked classy and unselfish on the night.)
A snippet from the programme
Tonight’s Match Sponsor: Anonymous Supporter Well, whoever he or she is got good value for money!
What Next?
Something on Saturday – either an FA Vase tie or ticking off a step 2 ground up north, depending on the weather, or perhaps on something random.  Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter for any developments!