The Aarau of Time

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Friday 29 September 2017 at Brügglifeld, Aarau, Switzerland
Result	FC Aarau 2 Neuchatel Xamax 0
Competition	Challenge League (Swiss 2nd Tier)
Hopstats	Ground 619. A three-hour but easy drive from Geneva into a German-speaking part of the country.
Context
The Friday night televised game pitches the weakest attack (FCA) against the meanest defence (NEU) and the visitors will start as favourites.
In one sentence
Xamax might feel that it wasn’t their night but in truth they were outfought by a more tenacious home side.
So what?
Arrau stay 8th (of 10) but now have a points cushion.  Xamax also stay 2nd because the leaders FC Schaffhausen also lost the next day.
Match Report
I love a bit of retro-rock and prog at football and Arrau served up some magnificent mood music including Status Quo and the Alan Parsons Project.  My new favorite player, Gilles Yapi-Yapo, lined up wearing 37 for Aarau.  If I start playing Football Manager again I will build a team around him for sure. After a dodgy start in which the first Xamax corner of the night caused far-post chaos, Aarau started to defy their league position.  Most of their best work channelled through Ivan Audino down the left flank.  Xamax in turn moved the ball faster when they had the chance to break.  An Audino cross led to a disallowed goal and some premature celebration music.  It took 36 minutes before an attack reached the right byline giving Arrau’s top scorer Patrick Rossini the chance to score from the pull-back. At half-time, I imagined strong words being spoken in the Xamax dressing-room and expected them to come out stronger.  What do I know?  Within five minutes they were two-nil down.  A fabulous save by #99 Loïc Jacot deserved better than the rebound falling to Varol Tasar, who scored easily. Xamax, apart from one disallowed volley, were not in the game.  We had substitution music, injury music and then the phenomenon popularly known as “handbags”.  This was on the far side from me adjacent to the benches and I have no idea what happened.  I think someone was despatched from the benches to the stands.  It all kicked off again as a bottle was thrown (I think) from the benches on to the pitch as a winger was flying past.  All a bit unnecessary really.  Xamax clipped the bar as the ball bounced up from a downward header in stoppage time but I think they already knew they were a beaten side.
Ground Pix
Match Pix
Learn German Through Football
XX Siege, YY Unentschieden, ZZ Niedlerlangen – XX victories, YY draws, ZZ defeats Gegen - against Das Tor – goal Die Tore – goals Der Torwart – goalkeeper Die Würste sind noch nich angekommen – the sausages have not yet arrived (so the Würst is yet to come…)
Pre-Match Entertainment
I spent the day before at CERN, the site of the Large Hadron Collider.  I’m teaching A level Physics again this year and it was a good chance to keep up-to-date (insofar as I can grasp the mind-boggling concepts!) with cutting-edge science.  Any of my readers with a recall of school science will remember drawing an electron as a little dot on a circle.  Round here electrons are nine-dimensional superstrings, with a tenth dimension of time.  This is the kind of thing that can make groundhoppers more interesting ;) and I would recommend the Particles exhibition to anyone and everyone.  The Microcosm exhibition is also superb but focused on the detail of how the LHC works.  I loved it.  The photos are 1) the Particles exhibition 2) one of the original hydrogen cylinders that supplied the LHC 3) a mock-up of part of the LHC ring 4) all quiet for now in the Atlas Control room (one of the detectors looking at proton collisions).    In the morning before this game I spoke at the United Nations.  To a man on the door who showed me which queue to join for a guided tour.  This was exceptionally interesting, and again I would recommend it, to anyone who cares about humanity.  Get there early and be prepared to queue for 90 minutes.  Geneva itself is very easy (and cheap) to get around by public transport and there is plenty to do, some of it free and some of it not so cheap! My hire car was parked at the edge of the city and I took the train into the centre before getting around by bus and tram.  Four pictures selected from dozens that I took at the UN.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
Green beats Yellow, who deserves to lose for wearing ridiculous squad number 99.  Full up-to-date table in the next blogpost.
What Next?
A report from Saturday’s game in the Swiss 1.Liga at Meyrin FC.  Watch @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!  On Saturday, for Non-League Day, I have to stay local because of an evening commitment, so I will probably be somewhere in the Spartan South Midlands League area.

Sion are a - Team Saying Goodbye to Two Dropped Points

Available in both French and German

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Wednesday 27 September 2017 at Stade Tourbillon, Sion
Result	FC Sion 1 Lausanne Sport 1
Competition	Super League (Highest tier in Switzerland)
Hopping	The chance to get here for Ground 618 on my lifetime list arises because I got lucky at the last minute with a place for a tour of CERN tomorrow.  Since the Higgs Boson wasn’t even on the table when I did my degree, and I am teaching the particle physics bit of the A level course later this year, it seemed a great way to combine some fun stuff with some usefulness.  It’s my first time on Swiss soil (not counting a transit through Zurich airport in 2006).
Pre-match preparation and entertainment
A drive up down and around some bendy roads between Geneva and Sion.  Picture-postcard scenery, impossibly green and looking really good before the skiing starts.  As far as the game is concerned, an online print-at-home purchase for 53CHF (so not a cheap night out) was very straightforward with a bit of French.
This match in one sentence
Utter frustration for the home side and their supporters.
So what?
The teams stay 6th and 8th respectively but all other teams have yet to play in this round.
The drama unfolds
I found myself sitting with a group of Sion supporters known as the Old Dogs.  Seemed fair, maybe with an element of nominative determinism.  They enjoyed Sion’s early dominance both in terms of possession and chances created.  However, the element of wastefulness would prove costly by the end of the evening.  The supporters in the South Tribune kept up their songs all night. Sion’s efforts were summed up though by a 33rd minute incident.  Christian Zock Abep won the ball in midfield and did all the hard work to make ground before indecision led to evaporation.  The same player headed the ball down for Marco Schneuwly whose mishit shot was just one of many half-chances spurned.  Lausanne had one late volleyed chance on the break but there was very little for 30 or so visiting supporters to celebrate.  The half-time whistle went with the score still 0-0. Matheus Cunha opened the scoring for Sion with a screamer from the right hand side into the left corner of the net.  Out came the pyro along with an impotent message of disapproval over the PA.  This forced Lausanne to press forward more with Sion looking dangerous on the break too.  It was never dull, except for the Lausanne keeper’s blatant timewasting.  Lausanne caught Sion napping with a break of their own.  A scuffed clearance was kept in on the touchline.  The header from the resulting cross was superbly saved by Anton Mitryushkin, but the rebound fell nicely for Maxime Dominguez who absolutely leathered it for the equalising goal. It then got very nervy, and in truth neither side was good enough to win it.  Mitryushkin’s legs denied Lausanne a scruffy win and in the end the game petered out in a draw.  Entertaining enough for the passing neutral.
Ground Pix
The castle that lends its name to the stadium
Match Pix
Sion in white and Lausanne in some kind of revolting day-glo orange.
Learn French Through Football
mercredi le vingt-sept septembre – Wednesday 27th September Le marché des transferts – the transfer window (literally: market) On ne gagne pas une Coupe Suisse par hasard – you don’t win a Swiss Cup by chance Un premier contract professional – a first professional contract La pause international – the international break Une victoire – a victory/win L’entraineur – the trainer (coach)
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
This was a draw between red and blue, but no clean sheet for either.  Full table next time I am writing a post back at home.
What Next?
I have a tour of CERN tomorrow and then a lot depends on whether I can cope with a 2hr-each-way drive on Friday night.  I will pick up a lower league fixture in the Geneva area on Saturday whatever happens.

Fylde Under Par

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 23 September at Mill Farm
Result	AFC Fylde 1 Woking 2
Competition	National League (Step 1)
Hopstats	Ground 617, which restores my “116” (everywhere in the top five divisions in England.
Context
I last saw AFC Fylde three years ago in the level below, and I noted their organisation and ambition back then.  They are now in their first season at the top “non-league” level.  They find themselves in the lower reaches of the table after eleven games, with a fair number of draws from reportedly decent performances.  Woking are top-half and will be another stern test for the upwardly mobile Coasters.
In one sentence
Woking turned up after half-time and scored two goals in quick succession to take the points.
So what?
Fylde remain 20th, just above the drop-zone in a table which still has many, many games to go.  Woking climb to 6th and are one of several teams sitting at one point off the lead.
Match Report
Two well-organised sides of “big lads” largely cancelled each other out.  There was very little time-on-the-ball for anyone and a lot of playing channels and percentages.  Woking struggled to come to terms with Fylde’s aerial threat and Jordan Tunnicliffe headed them in front in the 18th minute with a straightforward header from a set piece.  Tony Pulis would have loved it.  Woking never made the home keeper do any serious work, and the away fans (somewhat noisier than the home ones it has to be said) were beginning to get irritated at their team’s lack of bite as half-time drew near.  Fylde would have been happy to reach the break one-nil up. The equaliser came after 53 minutes.  It was both spectacular and with an element of good fortune.  Shortly after a softly-conceded corner, the ball came out to Joe Ward.  His volley from distance took a deflection and then went in off the post.  Jamie Philpot’s header from a left-wing cross came just a minute later and the game was completely turned round. Woking will feel they coped well enough defensively as Fylde threw men forward.  There were a couple of half-chances from corners and other set pieces but in the end the visitors will be very happy to be going home with the points. AFC Fylde 1 Tunnicliffe 18 Woking 2  Ward 53, Philpot 54
Ground Pix
It is impressive.  Has managed to be a bit “different” whilst still being modern and functional.  Early signs are that the growth and development is being managed well and will be sustainable.  The area already has old-but-troubled Blackpool, newish-kids Fleetwood and venerable old Preston North End so there is lots of local football interest.  The club are already at the stage of the £3 full-colour glossy 52-page programme, seagull mascot and barcode-reader turnstiles.  The playing surface was excellent.  A bonus was a chance to say hello to @nonleaguedogs of the Fylde faithful across the segregation gate.  Great to meet you and thanks for the badge, which will be worn with pride.
Match Pix
AFC Fylde in all white. 1-0. Left-wing corner reaches Tunnicliffe (5) at the far post. See a pattern developing? Fylde a constant first-half threat from crosses and corners. Nathan Baxter (Woking GK) is kept very busy in the last 15 minutes
Pre-Match Entertainment
It was a Steam Day at the Ribble Steam Railway on the outskirts of Preston.  Would have been rude not to.  Steam locomotives are impressive things (says he as a theoretical chemist who avoided getting his hands wet if at all possible).  It was good to see some other characters with obsessive hobbies and get a fix of nostalgia.  My childhood coincided with the gradual decline of steam in favour of diesel and electric.  Recommended to all groundhoppers – it’s about fifteen minutes from Mill Farm by car. That's a Bagnall 0-6-0 from 1942, I tell you.  Number 2680 "Courageous" to be specific. Decent range of bottled beers for your short trip...
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
Green loses to Orange.  Red still leads, orange in 6th closes gap on green in 5th.  Full table update at the end of the month.
What Next?
Watch @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!  Next “landmark” hop will be a trip to Spennymoor Town, hopefully sometime in October, to restore the “160” (everything in the top six English tiers).