Angels Need Acute Victory but Lose to Obtuse Sutton

Home support in the North Stand (First Half) ...

... and Away support in there for the Second Half

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 19 January 2011 at Longmead Stadium
Result	Tonbridge Angels 0 Sutton United 1
Competition	Isthmian Premier League (Step 3)
Hopping	On another day when plans were disrupted by weather, I was here because of early tweeting confirming that the game would be on.  Credit to the club, as the entire step 5 Kent Premier League was wiped out.
This match in one sentence
In front of a crowd of over 750, Sutton United got their proverbial noses in front early in the second half and held on for an important win over a potential championship rival.
So what?
After this first home defeat since September, Tonbridge stay 3rd although Lowestoft Town can overtake them by winning a game in hand – they were smacking Hendon 8-1 as we watched this game.  Sutton have at least a two-point cushion at the top – they have a current lead of eight over Bury Town but the Suffolk side have two games in hand.  Sutton United v Bury Town on 9th April might turn out to be a key fixture!
The drama unfolds
The first two clips are taken from my position in the North stand among the Tonbridge faithful.    The first half was pretty even, with plenty of goalmouth incident to keep the large crowd entertained.  There was a good atmosphere in the ground, with vocal support at both ends of the pitch. Sutton keeper Kevin Scriven made one notable double save to earn his eventual clean sheet.  Tonbridge beat his counterpart Lee Worgan twice.  On the first occasion, he was rounded but the pull-back from the byline drifted out with an unguarded net gaping.  On the second, Tonbridge’s top scorer Frannie Collin’s shot rebounded to safety off the post. The only other incident of note in the first 45 was the dismissal of visiting manager Paul Doswell from the field of play after the intervention of the referee’s assistant.  0-0 at half-time, which was fair enough from my position of neutrality.  Sutton were looking marginally stronger physically, I thought. The deciding goal came after 56 minutes.  A blocked shot pinged around in the area and eventually fell nicely for Leroy Griffiths to finish with a low shot.  0-1.  After that the game became more tepid for a while, until it perked up after substitutions for a frantic final ten.  The next two clips catch some Sutton attacks. For a few end-to-end minutes, scores of 1-1 and 0-2 looked equally likely and Kevin Scriven was again called upon to make a sharp save in the closing moments.  On balance he would be man-of-the-match for me because he did as much as anyone to decide the result.  Final score 0-1. Dark Arts of Defending #1 I'm not touching him, look ... What, ref?
Alternative activity of equal excitement for tourists in Tonbridge
Pretend to be from Le Puy-en-Velay, Tonbridge’s twin town in France, and go round to all local supermarkets in turn complaining loudly in a Frenglish accent about the price and quality of lentils in particular and systematic discrimination towards vegetarians in general.
A snippet from the programme
A very well-designed programme by the way, produced to a high quality.  “Kaptain Kinch” wrote about an unexpected defeat at bottom club Croydon Athletic last week. “(The performance) was better than we’d played in the last couple of games.  The chances we created in the second half were enough to win three or four games but their goalkeeper was in inspired form.  He just got behind everything and will probably look back and think (this) was the best performance of his career.  I don’t think I’ve played against a goalkeeper who’s played as well as he did.  But that’s not to make excuses.” For the record, the goalkeeper under discussion is Charlie Mitten. One can only assume the programme editor didn't do the signs.  He'd have noticed this catapostrophe!
What I learned today
Lots of discussion today about non-league clubs in the FA Cup, as the Manchester United v Crawley Town tie kicked off soon after the final whistle here.  Tonbridge Angels have been in the first round proper on five occasions, the last time being a 5-0 defeat by Charlton Athletic in 1972-3.  Sutton United got plenty of mentions today for their famous third-round win over Coventry City in 1988-9.  They lost 8-0 at Norwich in round 4, which was not mentioned at all as far as I know.  Finally, the aforementioned Kevin Scriven was between the sticks for Havant & Waterlooville in 2007-8 as they progressed with wins over Notts County and Swansea City to Anfield, leading twice in a 5-2 defeat by Liverpool.
Something random
This made me wonder tangentially whether the League Cup ought to be repositioned.  I believe that there are several options for making it a more interesting competition from a sporting perspective.  In all cases, I would get rid of the carrot of European competition and turn it into a competition that more clubs could win. Exclude the Premiership clubs who are engaged in European competition.  This would mean that ties could be scheduled in European weeks and help with the fixture calendar. Exclude the Premiership clubs altogether and make it a competition for the 72 football league clubs. Exclude the Premiership, but add the Conference (who are increasingly full-time clubs with FL experience anyway). Keep the Premiership and/or add the Conference but put some age restrictions in – Premiership sides must be U23, Championship U25, League One U27, League Two U29 – so that it becomes a stars-of-the-future tournament in the latter stages. I also suggest that ALL FA Cup ties, not just replays, should go to extra time.  I might even be persuaded to get rid of replays altogether.  I don’t have a problem with competitions evolving over time to meet new circumstances.  At some point in history, WBA (for example) stopped making the Birmingham Senior Cup a first-team priority.  Even non-league teams face these priority dilemmas – many of them are engaged in League Cups or County Cups of varying relevance alongside their league fixtures.
What Next?
I am writing this at 5am (long story), therefore … sleep!  (PS sorry about the angels/angles thing in the title - at least it's better than fallen angels ..  ;)

CUP Upset in Essex

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Wednesday 16 February 2011 at Catons Lane
Result	Saffron Walden Town 3 Cambridge University Press 0
Competition	Eastern Counties Division One (Step 6)
Hopping	Venue 373 on the lifetime list
This match in one sentence
A needless last-minute red card was the only blemish on an excellent evening for the hosts, who were 2-0 up and fairly comfortable after 50 minutes.
So what?
CUP still sit at the top of the table by four points but will be looking nervously now at teams with games in hand below them.  Even Saffron Walden, up to fifth, now have five games in hand to close a gap of eleven points.
The drama unfolds
The clips capture the atmosphere and some of the early sparring. After a fairly even first quarter, a direct free-kick found its way through the defensive wall and into the corner of the net.  1-0.  In a pretty even contest at this point, the main talking points were disciplinary.  Tackles were flying in from both sides and a CUP midfielder was booked for loud dissent (rather than the foul that preceded it).  Another CUP defender was, in my view, lucky to get away with just a yellow – his transgression looked like a cynical trip from where I was standing, admittedly further away than the referee.  As a neutral, I did not think that he favoured one side or the other, but I did wonder whether he was being too lenient.  1-0 at half-time. Saffron Walden got their second goal after 50 minutes and this was excellent timing.  2-0.  The rest of the game was end-to-end stuff, and either side could have scored.  As it was, the home side got a third with a few minutes to go.  There was time for one more needless slide tackle on the touchline near the benches.  Unfortunately, I was not close enough to give a reliable account of what happened.  After a melee, the ref consulted his assistant and waved the yellow card for a CUP player and the red one for a SWT defender.  I reckon the seeds of that incident had been planted earlier.  Final score 3-0.
Alternative activity of equal excitement for tourists in Saffron Walden
Get stuck in the town’s turf maze by convincing yourself you will be struck by lightning if you step off the path.  It is quite a distinctive feature of the town and a thing of beauty when seen from above – you could also try a right-hand-follow technique (as used by firefighters wearing breathing apparatus in smoke-filled environments) to see if it works in finding a way out.  Imagine the maze has a real wall and you follow it, never letting your right hand leave the surface.  In that way, you can always be sure to retrace your steps if you get lost or disoriented.  Some maze-solving robots (and perhaps superintelligent lab rats) use the same technique.
A snippet from the programme
This is an excellent programme for a step 6 club, but the programme editor is not happy … “There was an excellent result against Team Bury on Saturday when we ran out 4-1 winners.  However, it is very frustrating to see that, a year on from our meeting with the Ridgeons Football League about Bury Town/Team Bury, our opponents on Saturday fielded nine players who are registered on the Bury Town website as their first team players.  Who is kidding who here?  Team Bury are blatantly flouting the rules as they are so obviously a nursery side for Bury Town … it beggars belief really!  One day maybe the League will be strong enough to do something about it.”
What I learned today
The town gets its name from the growth of the saffron crocus, used at the time in real and quack healthcare, and for making dye.
What Next?
Not sure – watch this space!

We're Going to Wem-ber-lee, Que Sera Sera

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Tuesday 15 February 2011 at Vale Farm
Result	Wembley 0 Chertsey Town 1
Competition	Combined Counties Premier League (Step 5)
Hopping	Wembley currently groundshare with Hendon of the step 3 Isthmian Premier League
This match in one sentence
In a great advert for step 5 football, end-to-end attacking from both teams, with title-chasing Chertsey resorting to corner-flag shenanigans in the last few minutes to hold on for a win.
So what?
Chertsey Town go top of the league by a point, but Guildford City have three games in hand in second place.  Wembley are 17th due as much as anything to a poor away record; they have not yet won on the road in the league this season.
The drama unfolds
Wembley pressed forward from the start, with pace and presence up front from Kobi Osei and Paul Shelton.  The first two clips capture the general atmosphere and an early half-chance repelled by Craig Bradshaw in the Chertsey goal. Shelton and his opposite number 10 Dean Papali both went close, and both keepers were getting muddy.  This clip captures a sharp save by Wembley's Chuks Aminwe.  However, the best chances of the half arguably fell to Wembley’s Cedric Christophe.  An initially fortunate rebound off his knee allowed him to race clear one-on-one, but Bradshaw made an excellent save.  A few minutes later he saved superbly again from Christophe who had another clear shooting opportunity.  He knew these were golden chances.  "Schmeichel!!", said the Chertsey bench. Chertsey came close a couple of times before half-time, with Tom O'Regan finding his feet on the wing, and at that point you wondered whether Wembley had missed their chance for an upset.  0-0 at half-time, but it really could have been anything from 2-0 to 0-2.  Great stuff. The turning point came around 70 minutes.  Chertsey’s Marcus Moody showed good strength in the area and set the ball up for the besnooded Phil Page to finish neatly with a low shot.  I am ignoring the squiggly red line in edit mode under that word I just invented, as I think football writers may need it in the future.  0-1. The one on the left is definitely besnooded.  I expect this to be in the next edition of the OED. Credit to Wembley – they stormed straight back forward and a minute later a great shooting chance fell to the luckless Christophe.  He skied it, and was taken off soon after.  Chertsey took the ball into the corners for the last few minutes to secure their win, which I suppose shows a kind of respect which belies the league positions.  This was brilliant entertainment for the passing neutral – well done to both teams and indeed the ref Mr A Gray (no, not him).  Final score 0-1.
Alternative activity of equal excitement for tourists in Wembley
Quite a lot of the other big-occasion football in the Wembley area ends up being an anti-climax, but as a comparable spectator event from my list I’ll pick out Stevenage’s 3-2 last-minute 2006-7 FA Trophy win over Kidderminster Harriers in the first competitive match in the refurbished national stadium.
A snippet from the programme
Lots of reading material in this excellent programme, but my snippet of choice has to be from Brian Buck’s Traveller’s Tales.  His 93rd game of the season, at his lifetime match number 9,843 and his 2,968th “new ground” was Leyton Orient 5 Dagenham & Redbridge 2 in the Football League Alliance Youth Cup Group 5. “When it comes to training grounds Leyton Orient are nomadic to say the least and if you include Brisbane Road this was the ninth different venue I’ve seen them play youth matches at.” Mr Buck, I salute you.  Hope you get to the 10000/3000 milestones this season.
What I learned today
Ne'er cast a clout 'til May is out.  I had to go back to the car at half-time for my trademark woolly hat.
Something random
This ground has to be fit for step 3 football too, and one of the differences is the need for hard boundaries around the pitch, as opposed to a rail and hard-standing.  I am going to take a guess that the clubs were given or purchased a load of advertising boards from a big event like the London Marathon which have been cobbled together in places to do the job.  Vale Farm will not win any architectural awards like its expensive neighbour anytime soon, but fair play to the groundstaff who got this game on.  The pitch was not at all bad (as opposed to some of the areas immediately adjacent, which were a mudbath).  Hendon have a home game on Wednesday evening.  I hope their fans get a game as entertaining as this one.
What Next?
Can't promise, but thinking about a little hop to Essex on Wednesday evening.

Last-Eight Leiston Leave it Late

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 12 February 2011 at Victory Road
Result	Leiston 2 Long Buckby 1
Competition	FA Vase Round 5.  These two clubs play their league games at step 5 in the Eastern Counties Premier and United Counties Premier Leagues respectively
Hopping	Venue #371 and the 65th new one for the season
This match in one sentence
Leiston were one down at half-time but came back and then managed to land a late final blow in a hard-fought contest.
So what?
Leiston reach the last eight of this competition for the first time in their history and join Coalville Town, Dunston UTS, King’s Lynn Town, Poole Town, Rye United, Torpoint Athletic and the holders Whitley Bay in the proverbial hat for Monday’s draw.
The drama unfolds
Both sides tried hard to impose themselves on the game in an end-to-end start.  Long Buckby soon began to look physically stronger on a wet pitch.  They had already drawn one sharp save from Leiston’s keeper Jamie Stannard before Fazel Koriya crossed from the right and Ashley Robinson only narrowly missed making connection.  This proved to be a dress rehearsal, as Long Buckby lost the ball on the half-way line, Koriya advanced into the vacant left-back space and crossed low again.  This time Robinson couldn’t miss.  Leiston almost equalised immediately and may have begun to feel that it was not going to be their day.  0-1 at half-time. This first clip captures the end-to-end nature of the game just before the first goal. Leiston started the second half strongly – perhaps a Sizewell-powered nuclear hairdryer had been used by manager Mark Morsley?  Long Buckby began to tire and Leiston began to find space up front.  Nevertheless, their first goal had an element of good fortune.  A right-wing corner from Stuart Boardley ended up in the net when Stephanou tried to palm it away but only deflected it in.  To be honest, I had it down as an o.g. although it was announced that Danny Cunningham had got a touch.  I don’t think so, but 1-1 nevertheless with 20 minutes to go. Leiston’s luckless Michael Brothers then nearly broke the post in half with a shot across the keeper, and we looked at our watches and asked the assistant ref whether we were facing extra time (indeed we were).  At this point, Leiston were well on top and had several more half chances from corners and crosses, as these two clips show. Right on 90 minutes, another Boardley set-piece cross, this time from the left, was bundled in at the far post by home captain David Head.  Cue joyous celebration for a 2-1 scoreline. There was still time for Long Buckby to win a direct free-kick which Greg Ling smacked off the crossbar with Stannard nowhere near.  Fair play to Long Buckby for their contribution to a great day for the passing neutral.  Final score 2-1.
Alternative activity of equal excitement for tourists in Snape
Trust me on this one - go to a concert in the unusual and acoustically astonishing setting of the Snape Maltings Concert Hall, just a few miles away from Leiston and home of the Aldeburgh Music Festival.  I am not a fan of Benjamin Britten and/or Peter Pears myself, but I saw the National Youth Wind Ensemble perform Michael Torke’s “Rapture” here in 2003 with Colin Currie as the percussionist.  Great stuff, the equivalent of extra-time and a 20-19 penalty shootout.
A snippet from the programme
No, Leiston FC, I am giving you some stick for this.  Your so-called “Ladies Page” with two risqué jokes that I would not want as a parent to have to explain to a young child, and one of which is dependent on perceptions of average human penis length, is inappropriate and unfunny.  No place in a football programme in my opinion.
What I learned today
Leiston is the nearest town to the Sizewell B nuclear power station, a pressurised water reactor design that has been active since the mid 90s and is capable of producing around 3% of the nation’s energy needs.  These days, British Energy is part of the EDF group.  Sizewell A is the big ugly concrete thing that is now being decommissioned, and Sizewell B has a distinctive white golfball structure.  Consultations about a Sizewell C are under way. Sizewell A, B (just about visible) and a space for C If you want to read about the technical design of the reactor and read the monthly newsletters (e.g. no-one affected by work related accidents in December 2010 and the staff raised over £2300 for charity) then start with http://www.british-energy.co.uk/pagetemplate.php?pid=96 If you want to see how much the plant has allegedly cost and how much more could be gained from wind power along the east coast, start at http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/nuclear/sizewell-b-the-facts If you need to know about protestors in fish masks highlighting the threat of coastal erosion, try http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/education/sizewell_b_power_station_still_shut_down_1_793360 If, however, you can’t be bothered with energy politics and just want to vote on kitten cuteness there is always http://kittenwar.com/
Something random
Mr Holderness and a melée The referee for this match was Mr Barry Holderness from Essex and he had a decent game as far as I am concerned.  I noticed his pre-match tweet as @BCHREF saying how pleased he was to be appointed to this fixture, and a post-match tweet about how tired he was.  I think a tweeting ref may be a good thing in the interests of balance, so I trust you will all follow.
What Next?
Hopefully a local-ish hop on Tuesday evening.  For the record, I tried to get to Shepshed Dynamo last week but ended up stuck on the M1 northbound for an hour-and-a-half.  I decided not to blog about the Chicken Tikka at Teddington Services.

Thrillers in the Mist

London Colney Supersub Ricky Perks 

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Tuesday 1 February 2011 at Cotlandswick
Result	London Colney 2 Amersham Town 0
Competition	South Midlands League Division One (step 6)
Hopping	Venue #370, 30mins away from home for a midweek hop with hopes of seeing another former pupil, Ricky Perks, in action.
This match in one sentence
On a foggy evening, London Colney’s “supersub” Ricky Perks turned the game with an assist and a goal after an even and goalless first half.
This match summed up in the style of: a school assembly (well, one of mine, anyway)
What lessons can we take from this for life?  (Pause.)  The person who was left on the sidelines in the beginning in fact made the biggest contribution!  (Pause.)  Do we always make enough effort to find out what people around us have to offer?
So what?
London Colney are in the top half of the table and Amersham Town are in the lower reaches.
The drama unfolds
The first concern was whether the match would go ahead – it was getting foggier by the minute as I arrived at the ground.  It later turned out that there were several abandoned fixtures elsewhere in the area, so I was lucky to see a game.  Watching from the ends was fairly pointless (as the first clip shows) so I moved to the halfway line. The first half was pretty even and both teams tried to play good football on a very decent surface.  London Colney had a direct attacking style but the final ball was often lacking.  Amersham Town looked comfortable in defence most of the time and did not lack in confidence.  London Colney's #8 came closest with a shot that shaved the post.  His reaction gave away his feeling that he should have scored.  0-0 at half-time. The home side started the second half much stronger and had several near misses early on as they started to find space on the flanks.  The aforementioned #8 finally had the chance to bury the ball into an open net after a flowing move, but sadly he pinged it off the International Space Station passing overhead at a height of 220 miles.  Well, probably. Ricky Perks was introduced from the bench and lumbered out of the mist and into the penalty area for a corner.  He dropped a hint of what was to come by heading over unchallenged with his first touch.  With his second, he turned his defender, got to the byline and pulled the ball back for his teammate to complete an easy finish.  1-0. A couple of minutes later, he rose again to head the ball home and put his side in the comfort zone.  2-0.  A goal and an assist out of the first three touches – that is supersub territory.  He had one more near miss with a back-header that I managed to capture on video, but in the end London Colney held on comfortably enough.  Final score 2-0.
Alternative activity of equal excitement for tourists in London Colney
On this particular day, I reckon that this event gets top local billing.  There is a large M&S / Sainsbury’s shopping centre combination somewhere nearby as I recall, so I suppose the alternative would be to go shopping for pants and prawns, but it would only be as exciting if there was some kind of special offer on edible crustaceans.
A snippet from the programme
The programme contained the players’ names with fixtures and league tables for the first team and the reserves.  With no other “editorial” content, the best snippet I can give you is that one of the assistant referees was B Wright.  Must be a good name for a lino, that.
What I learned today
Ricky was a member of the Beaumont School side that reached the District Cup final and shared the trophy after a memorable goalless draw with Verulam School at St Albans FC.  He went on to play a few games as goalkeeper at Conference South level with St Albans before becoming first choice at Hitchin Town.  More recently he was with Slough Town in the Southern League Division 1 Central, but is now living the goalkeeper’s dream as a centre-forward for London Colney.  Former pupils usually seem to play well when I turn up, so managers take note.
What Next?
I am in the Midlands this weekend, but no decision yet, random or otherwise.  Watch this space!