Hopperational details
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Date & Venue
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Saturday 3
August 2013 at the Alton (Bass) Sports Ground
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Result
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Alton Town 0
Epsom & Ewell 1 (Panayi 51)
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Competition
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Combined
Counties Premier League (Step 5)
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Hopping
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I am here
for ground #513 on my lifetime list because I let four county cricket teams
make the decision for me. See http://modushopperrandom.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/a-spin-off-for-groundhoppers.html
for details. I am in Hampshire because
Michael Carberry scored 94 against Glamorgan.
It’s random(ish) and it kept twelve people entertained during Friday.
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Pre-match preparation
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Alton Town
have been geographically shifted from the Wessex League and this is their
first-ever game in the Combined Counties League today. Recently, there has been a scare for them
as their landlords (the Molson-Coors brewery) gave them notice to quit their
ground, but - perhaps helped by a significant local response to a petition –
today’s match programme explains that there are now developing plans for a
new ground and 3G pitch nearby.
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This match in one sentence
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The
visitors dominated proceedings by and large but almost paid for their
wastefulness up front.
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So what?
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That is the
first game of the new league season for both teams, so much too early for any
sensible predictions.
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The drama unfolds
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Quite how
we got to half-time with a 0-0 scoreline I am not sure – Epsom & Ewell
bossed the game from the opening minutes and created over a dozen
half-chances as opposed to one solitary but decent chance for the hosts. Alton defenders Rikki Long and Luke
Axton-Hall both made goal-saving clearances from the 6-yard line, and Jamie
Phillips was quietly relieved that his header went over his own crossbar as
the visitors pressed again. They hit
the post for the first time with a direct freekick on 34 minutes before I
took this scene-setting clip. Alton are in white. 0-0 at half-time
Epsom &
Ewell started the second half where they had left off and soon pinged the
woodwork again. However, Anthony
Panayi soon scored what proved to be the only goal to cue a delightfully
over-the-top mass writhing orgy of a goal celebration. I can’t tell you much more about the goal
as I was involved in a complex relationship with a bottle of tomato ketchup
at that precise moment in time. 0-1 after 51 minutes
Substitutions
were made and Epsom’s goalkeeper Kieran Campbell earned his match fee with
two blocks in quick succession as Alton began to play with more threat. The teams exchanged chances in an
end-to-end finale that saw the home goalpost hit once more after a
full-length save by Cathel McLean. In
the end, a fair result on the balance of play. Final
score 0-1
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Ground
Pix
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Match
Pix
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Something
random – Meet Michael
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When, at a
non-league ground, you meet a man with a bell carrying Sylvester and
Tweety-Pie, you simply have to ask for a photo with a view to www
publication. Michael, I salute you,
and I gather this is not the first time you have been mentioned in
despatches. He is an Alton Town
supporter of fifty years’ standing.
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Huddle Stats
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New this season on MHR – let’s find
out whether the pre-match huddle makes a difference.
Alton Town
huddled, Epsom & Ewell didn’t. Alton
Town lost.
Huddling is
a BAD thing on this occasion.
2013-14
So Far:
Non-Huddlers - P1 W1 D0 L0 GF 1 GA 0 Pts 3 PPG 3.00
Huddlers - P1 W0 D0 L1 GF 0 GA 1 Pts 0 PPG 0.00
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Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
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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. I will arbitrarily give 5pts for a clean sheet and -1 (minus 1) for each goal conceded.
Alton’s
keeper had a yellow top and conceded one goal.
E&E’s
keeper had a grey top and kept a clean sheet.
2013-14 So Far:
Grey Tops P1 GC 0 CS 1 Pts 5 PPG 5.00
Yellow Tops P1 GC1 CS 0 Pts -1 PPG -1.00
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Hopping for Moorfields Update
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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.
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What Next?
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Follow
@GrahamYapp on Twitter for announcements!
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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.
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