A Four-One Conclusion in Essex

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Tuesday 25 October 2011 at the Spicer McColl Stadium
Result	Witham Town 4 Woodbridge Town 1
Competition	FA Vase Round 1 replay.  Both teams play league football at step 5, in the Essex Senior League and the Eastern Counties Premier League respectively.  Witham had needed a very, very late leveller in extra time on Saturday to secure a replay.
Hopping	#432 on the lifetime list
This match in one sentence
The result was in doubt for an hour, but the home side imposed themselves in the second half for a clear victory.
So what?
Witham Town face Team Bury in the next round.
The drama unfolds
Witham (in the white-and-black) made a lively start to the game and this happened after 7 minutes.  John Bradley is the scorer.  1-0 The home side were neat in their buildup, playing the ball to feet with #9 Billy Hunt   prominent.  The visitors were more direct and dangerous in their own way.  Nevertheless there was an element of good fortune about the equaliser after 13 minutes.  Paul Berry’s curling freekick from the left missed everyone and ended up in the net.  The young midfielder went on to be Woodbridge’s most prominent player in the first half.  1-1 My second clip comes from around the half-hour mark, and the third captures a moment of controversy just before half-time.  Was it over the line?  Well, me and my little camera were the nearest thing to goalline technology on the day.  No goal, said the officials.  1-1 at half-time Witham took the lead again in the 53rd minute – a delightful header by Billy Hunt just about captured on film.  2-1 This of course forced Woodbridge to commit players forward, and they conceded a third goal to a right-wing break just after the hour mark.  A curling cross was headed unselfishly by #8 John Watson into the path of #7 Sam Taylor, and he finished neatly, shooting first time into the ground and over the keeper on the bounce.  3-1 Senior Woodbridge players were already showing dissatisfaction with each other and with the performance.  Witham threw on some subs up front who were eager to get in on the action, and the fourth arrived with just over 10 minutes left.  Excuse Rob Whitnell’s language, ladies and gentlemen, if you have the sound turned up.  Final Score 4-1 The clip ends with an upward pan to look at Jupiter, clearly visible at the moment with the naked eye.  Things are looking up, as they say. Thanks to the club websites for helping with player identification - though you don't always agree with each other!
Man-of-the-Match
Not the biggest forward that you will ever see at this level, but I enjoyed the movement and link-up play of Witham Town striker Billy Hunt.
A snippet from the programme
“During 2008, one of Town’s rising stars, top scorer Cody McDonald, moved-on to Maldon Town and then Dartford, before being bought by the then Championship side Norwich City.  This move to the Canaries makes Cody our highest profile ex-player.  (He is now with Coventry City.)  Off the field, former player Olly Murs became the TV Show X-Factor’s runner-up in December 2009.”
What I learned today
That I need to add this ground to the “trainspotter” list – it is directly adjacent to a main line (Chelmsford to Ipswich and beyond) and we had scores of diesel multiple units, inter-city expresses and freight trains to look at during the evening.
What Next?
Not sure – keeping an eye on an FA Cup weekend – but watch the @GrahamYapp Twitter feed for details.

An East Anglian Double-Header

The classic picture-postcard view of King's College

Hopperational details

Wednesday 24 November 2010 (3pm) at Grange Road, Cambridge University 47pts Steele-Bodger’s XV 27 pts.

This match in one sentence

CU Captain Jimmy Richards (in the fetching light blue outfit) receives the Varsity Match challenge from Nick Haydon of Oxford University.  To summarise: "See you at Twickers on 9th December". The university side received their traditional challenge from Oxford before kick-off, were behind 7-13 at half-time, but ran in six more tries in the second half for a comprehensive victory over their “scratch” opponents in this traditional fixture.

So what?

Cambridge have one more game, against London Scottish, before the Varsity Match at Twickenham on 9th December.

Who caught the eye on the pitch?

Two highly respected officials and a scrum The university side looked good enough with the ball in the first half, but worryingly fragile in defence as their line was broken as early as the second minute.  A flow of second-half replacements for both sides had a greater negative effect on the visitors’ fluency and the students sealed the win with four tries in a ten minute spell.  Only two penalties were kicked for goal in the very early stages - both sides ran the ball from their own 22 as often as possible.  Great stuff for the neutrals and the alumni in the crowd.

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

… climbing over the fence into the adjacent Cripps Court (where I lived as a student for four years back in the 70s) after a late night of intellectual beverages and discussion of croquet tactics.

A snippet from the programme

This game against an invited XV is traditionally “a fast flowing, high scoring match”.  The team have also been bonding in time away from rugby with “fruitful trips to the American Cemetery and the Zoo … as well as supporting the Women’s lacrosse team in action.”

What I learned today

The gulf between the behaviour and atmosphere of rugby union crowds and football (i.e. soccer) crowds is as big as ever.  To be honest, you could really only recommend rugby as a family experience with young impressionable children in tow.

What Next?

The A14 Eastbound …

Hopperational details part 2

Wednesday 24 November 2010 at Notcutts Park, Woodbridge Town 2 Leiston 2 in the step 5 Eastern Counties Premier League.

This match in one sentence

Leiston were reduced to 10 men in the first half but deserved a point from a highly entertaining and somewhat feisty local derby.

So what?

Woodbridge Town’s run of six league wins in a row comes to an end. That’s 19 points from 7 games to add to the 5 from their first 12, so they should continue to climb away from the relegation zone. Leiston climb a place to 3rd but have an amazing 7 games in hand over both teams above them, with an unbeaten league record to go with a great FA Cup run this season.

Who caught the eye on the pitch?

It’s worth telling the story of this game as it unfolded. This was a really excellent spectacle on a freezing evening. Woodbridge could not deal with Leiston’s physical presence at corners and Danny Smy headed the visitors ahead. Leiston’s Danny Cunningham received a straight red card for a tackle. I was at the other end so am not in a position to comment on the tackle itself.  What I can comment on is the verbal and physical dissent by this player.  Two team-mates ushered him away towards the dressing rooms and, after a defiant gesture to the ref, he walked deliberately and petulantly slowly off the field. Just before half-time, Liam Scopes equalised for Woodbridge. Visiting supporters behind the assistant directed a tirade of personal abuse at him, convinced that it should have been called offside.  I was almost but not quite in line – all I can say for sure is that it must have been very, very close. Woodbridge took a 2-1 lead in the second half as they began to make the extra man count, but Leiston responded well and pushed men forward. 35-yo Sam Banya was involved in clever link-up play for both Woodbridge goals.  He had great presence on the pitch and I trust that if volume controls are invented for humans, the management will put him forward.  19-yo Ryan Stafford had a confident game at left back for Woodbridge. Woodbridge centre-half Chris Pratt miscued a clearance which spun into the air for Leiston’s Michael Brothers to smash it home for 2-2, triggering a frantic final few minutes. Woodbridge keeper Glyn Dixon saved superbly from a one-on-one and Pratt balanced his evening with a crucial goalline clearance as the ten men of Leiston pressed for a win.  One point each and a happy ‘hopper.

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

… going to Sainsbury’s to buy a tin of Schrodinger’s Cat Food, only to find that it is simultaneously out of stock and on special offer as part of a Quantum Physics Weekend Special.

A snippet from the programme

Prophetic words in the opening notes: “Tonight’s match has all the credentials to be a cracking encounter with the two teams placed in first and second place in the form table.”

Modus Hopper Random Talking Point

This is the first time I have watched live games of rugby and football within a few hours of each other.  The debate about the FA “Respect” campaign, whether it is working to change players’ behaviour towards officials and each other, is missing a point.  The differences are fundamental, embedded and cultural and we need to include the spectators in the need for change. Earlier today I saw a referee with a smile on his face, a player sin-binned for 10 minutes without a murmur, and a crowd that appreciated the efforts of both teams.  This evening I saw overt dissent, foul and abusive language as the norm, and tribalism.  No-one can tell me that the rugby lacked passion.  I reckon it should be possible to be partisan and civilised simultaneously without sacrificing a determination and a will to win within the rules. Everyone now seems to accept that a certain amount of dissent is the expected norm from players and spectators, and it is still getting worse, not better.  I can say this with credibility because I have had the good fortune to be able to watch 184 games at 184 different venues in the last season and a half. I have no axes to grind, and this blog has never made fun of people doing their best in challenging circumstances. Most of my humour in here is affectionate.  However, I hate bad sportsmanship with a passion.  Leiston’s Danny Cunningham, even if it was a harsh red card, should get more of a suspension because of his reaction. I will always prefer “soccer”.  It’s a simpler game, the one I grew up with, learned to play (up to a point) and to referee (likewise).  I love the fact that giant-killings happen more often, and that the result of so many games is still in the balance after seventy minutes or so.  I love the fact that West Brom’s next match against Everton on Saturday  is essentially the same game as Woodbridge against Debenham Leisure Centre here at the same time.  I’m a groundhopper because I am celebrating that this is our NATIONAL game, that became, if you like, a gift to the world. If the authorities want to change the culture, they have to find some way of changing the rules so that teams lose out on the pitch if they are indisciplined.  Yes, of course this has to be alongside better development and accountability for officials too.  Rugby union has the immediate 10-metre advance – that works because gaining distance is an integral part of that game.  It is less applicable to the round ball game.  My ideas for how “soccer” could be tweaked are no better than anyone else’s, and I know it’s never easy to make changes, but the FA should be leading the way more effectively than at present.

What Next?

Too early to say – the weather forecast for these parts on Saturday is along the lines of, “Stay Inside! Don’t Go Anywhere! Eat Up Your Tinned Food and Cup-a-Soup”.