Wootton Bassett Hound Hamworthy Out of the Cup

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Friday 24 August 2012 at The Gerard Buxton Sports Ground, Rylands Way
Result	Wootton Bassett Town 1 Hamworthy United 0
Competition	FA Cup Preliminary Round
Hopping	I am here for ground #469 on the lifetime list having had to resort to an online random number generator after the garden's wildlife turned up its collective nose at all five piles of strategically placed peanuts.  This is one of five ties at "new grounds" this evening and I had to choose somehow.  All this is documented for posterity in the previous post on this blog.  A bunch of magpies eventually pitched up at about 3pm and ate the lot, but by then the call had been made.
Pre-match preparation
The home side play at step 6 in the Hellenic League Division One West and are undefeated with three wins and a draw, and a 4-2 home FA Cup victory over Calne Town.  Mark Barnes has scored seven of their sixteen goals.  Their last win took them top of their league.  The visitors are from the step 5 Wessex Premier and had a good 2-1 away win at Bemerton Heath Harlequins of the same division in the previous round.  In their league they are also undefeated with a win and two draws.  All set up for a close encounter, it would seem.  On the hopping front, I must add Wootton Bassett Town to the list of teams hoping to move to a new ground soon.
This match in one sentence
A valiant win for the home side who managed to defend their early goal for a memorable win.
So what?
£1750 for club funds and a home tie against either Highworth Town or Shortwood United in the next round - they play on Sunday.
The drama unfolds
Wootton Bassett scored the crucial goal before I even filmed my scene-setter clip.  A punt from the right towards the edge of the area was more in hope than expectation.  Goalkeeper Shane Murphy lost the ball in a challenge from Mark Barnes, who then had an easy finish to score for the fifth game in a row. Eight minutes on the watch.  1-0 These two clips show the pattern that the game settled into - Hamworthy pressing for the equaliser but looking vulnerable on the break, but neither goalkeeper was really tested. Sam Pekun caught the eye up front for the visitors, but Hamworthy were starting to look rattled.  The next clip is from 38 minutes, shortly after there had been a yellow card for each side in quick succession as tackles started to fly in.  Hamworthy have a free-kick in a dangerous position. As you see, it could have been 1-1 or 2-0.  On balance, I think that Wootton Bassett would have been very happy to get to the interval with the lead intact.  This game may well have had a different outcome otherwise.  1-0 at half-time Both sides gave their all in the second half.  The home team started well and missed one pretty good chance.  Perhaps the manager had got the message through that attack is a good form of defence.  The game continued to be even and end-to-end although again the keepers were only called to make routine saves.  Hamworthy started to get significant territorial advantage as the time went on, and my final clip is a compilation of their efforts in the last few minutes of the game.  Heroic defending from the hosts, a lack of composure perhaps from the visitors.  Barnes might have had a second himself, though, as Murphy fumbled another one on the edge of the area.  Great stuff for the passing neutral.  The body language of the Hamworthy strike force in the last seconds sums it all up.  Final score 1-0
The programme
Something random
The title and patronage for the town of Royal Wootton Bassett was conferred fairly recently by HM the Queen, in 2011, in recognition of the town's response to a significant number of military formalities.  The local airbase RAF Lyneham was the point of return for the bodies of war casualties from abroad, and the people of the town frequently recognised these processions in a dignified manner that drew national attention.
Hopping for Moorfields Update
No Dutchmen, no farm animals, no keepers scoring, no bicycle kick goals, no somersault celebrations, no abandonment due to snow - but one goal, so a running total of seventeen from four games.  Estimated value of final pot is now over £500 - you can make a pledge at any time.  See previous posts for more detail - I'm looking for LOTS of people to give a small amount.  A penny-a-goal, for example, would be something between £2 and £3 at the end of the season.
What Next?
My delayed visit to Sleaford Town on Saturday afternoon for their FA Cup match against Rainworth Miners Welfare.  Undecided about Sunday.  Provisionally a triple of Horley Town, Crawley Down and Henley Town on Bank Holiday Monday, assuming those fixtures are not disrupted by FA Cup replays.

Let Nature Take Its Course

I was bored, OK? Just leave it.

On Friday evening (24 August) there are five FA Cup Preliminary Round ties that would get my Bank Holiday weekend off to a good start - there are others taking place, but these five are at grounds that I have not yet visited.

Let the forces of nature decide - here is the setup ...



... and here is an interim report.  Never work with children or animals.



Check back tomorrow for the
final dénouement!  It is now very dark outside and the hedgehogs may have taken matters into their own hands.

(Do they have hands?)

UPDATE

Nothing happening on the lawn so it's back to the abstract world of numbers.  Numbers, which behave exactly as they are supposed to do.  Unlike wildlife.


Game on!

It Worked for Workington

No spectators allowed in the stand on the far side at the moment

 

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 18 August 2012 at Borough Park
Result	Workington 4 Stalybridge Celtic 1
Competition	Conference North (Step 2)
Hopping	I am here for ground #468 on the lifetime list because on Thursday at Lord's, Graeme Smith of South Africa was caught by Matthew Prior off the bowling of James Anderson to make the score twenty-TWO for one.  If you follow me on Twitter, this will make sense!  Today, there are exactly 10 games at grounds on my "priority list" for 2012-13 and so the units digit (0-9) of a cricket score is as good a way as any of making the decision as to where to go.  The "priority list" is all the grounds down to and including all of step 3 that I have not yet visited.  Fall of the wicket at 20-1 would have sent me to Rotherham, 21-1 to Newport County, 29-1 to Stourbridge - you get the idea.  Is it truly random?  Well, that would depend whether there is more chance of a batsman being out in test cricket without any score, for example - in other words do more wickets fall with the score at 0 than any other total? The only way to answer this would be to make a statistical analysis of the fall-of-wicket totals from hundreds of games, and my life is quite sad enough thank you very much.  Workington it is then, with the opportunistic bonus of last night's game at Tividale en route.  After today I need Rotherham United to restore the 92, Newport County to restore the 116 and Truro City to complete everywhere down to step 2 for the first time.
Pre-match preparation
First league game of the season.  Workington have had a mixed pre-season and a long injury list and their programme has a fair degree of realism bordering on pessimism in the editorial.  Stalybridge Celtic, unusually at this level, are a full-time club.
This match in one sentence
A magnificent result for Workington, who grew in confidence after an early serious injury to the Stalybridge goalkeeper.
So what?
Too early to say.
The drama unfolds
There was a long early stoppage in the sunshine.  A collision between Workington's Phil McLuckie and Stalybridge 'keeper Andy Ralph looked innocuous from my position at the other end but it became clear that it was a bad injury for the latter.  Substitute Ashley Woodhouse came on and a few minutes later the terrace whisper that Ralph had a broken leg diffused to the corners.  The sub passed his first test by safely catching a direct free-kick. My opening clip shows the incident that led to Workington's first goal.  They (in red of course) had been exerting most of the pressure. Woodhouse picked up a ball that came his way from Jacob Bembo-Leta and the ref called it as a backpass.  From the indirect free-kick defender Mark Lees was judged to handle the ball in the process of being poleaxed.  Penalty kick, but no other punishment. Arnison scored.  1-0 Arnison sends Westwood the wrong way.  1-0 Within two minutes, Jonny Wright added a second, nipping in to get to the ball ahead of Westwood after a defensive mix-up.  2-0 Workington sportingly provided a goal on a plate immediately, and Mitchell Austin rolled the ball into the corner.  2-1 Just before the interval, Austin congratulated home goalie Aaran Taylor who just got his fingertips to a header.  Austin's run had been timed beautifully and who knows what would have happened in this game had Staybridge drawn level at that point.  2-1 at half-time Five minutes into the second half, and Bembo-Leta, who will have better days, clipped Wright as he ran towards the corner.  Another penalty for Arnison - here's what happened.  Another moment where the tide could have turned. The game remained even until midway through the second half.  There were chances in quick succession at both ends.  Arnison shot just wide, Westwood came for and failed to get to a cross but the header went over, Taylor had to be alert to tip a shot over the bar.  Crucially, Workington got the third.  Arnison seemed to take an age to line up his shot after he rounded Westwood, but the final effort couldn't be stopped by the defenders now back on the line.  3-1 Taylor made a superb if somewhat lucky one-handed save to protect the margin, and after 83 mins Workington substitute Stefan Scott gleefully volleyed in a perfect chipped cross for the goal of the day.  4-1 In stoppage time, Celtic's Greg Wilkinson sent a direct freekick over the bar and out of the ground.  It rather summed up their day.  Final score 4-1
The programme
Something random
Old-school floodlights.  Possibly the model for 1970s Subbuteo.  I know that some of you get very excited by this kind of thing.
Hopping for Moorfields Update
Another £7 or so is added to the current value of the end-of-season pot.  I am still looking for more pledges, please! @GrahamYapp or headyapp(at)hotmail.com
What Next?
There could well be some midweek action beforehand, but I am picking up the Sleaford Town FA Cup trail next Saturday for sure - I was originally due to see their game in the last round (as determined indirectly by Peter Ebdon failing to get out of his seat in a game of snooker in Australia, please do try to keep up).  They despatched Holwell Sports and now have a home tie against Rainworth Miners' Welfare. My PROVISIONAL Bank Holiday Monday hopping triple is Horley Town v Guernsey, Crawley Down v Dulwich Hamlet and Henley Town v Chalfont Wasps.  All subject to checking, fixture changes, kickoff times, viruses, the rotation of the earth and trading prices for ketchup futures. Please follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter for closer scrutiny of my expenses.

Livid in Tividale

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Friday 17 August 2012 at The Beeches
Result	Tividale 3 Westfields 4
Competition	Midland Football Alliance (Step 5)
Hopping	I am here for ground #467 on the lifetime list as a bonus geographical stepping stone on the way to Workington on Saturday.
Pre-match preparation
Tividale have 5 points from 3 games so far and drew their only other home league match with a late equaliser.  Westfields have 3 from 2 – a 3-2 home win and a 2-5 away defeat.  However, both teams had good FA Cup wins at the weekend and should be confident.
This match in one sentence
Westfields were good value for their 2-1 half-time lead but Tividale in turn deserved their late equaliser, before the visitors had the better of three very late goals.
So what?
Westfields may be the team to follow for fans of high-scoring matches - that's 25 (13 for and 12 against) in four games.  They are sixth in the fledgling league table with Tividale a place beneath.
The drama unfolds
I am still experiencing momentary disorientation after last week's labyrinthitis and the evening almost started badly with adding milk to my pie rather than my coffee, but some deep-rooted survival mechanism clicked into place in my brain stem and equilibrium was restored just in time.  I did not have long to wait before the first goal of the evening.  Westfield are in white. From this 4th-minute corner, the defensive header was missed and a moment later, Westfield's #5 and captain, Scott Jackson, hit the back of the net with his.  0-1 Tividale almost scored with their first attack but Jon Pugh made the first of several decent saves and blocks.  The first equaliser came very soon after, and Ashley Edwards celebrated with a double cartwheel.  1-1 Tim Beech, in the Tividale goal, was called upon to make a save with a Hollywood dive and catch as Westfields gained ascendancy.  Aiden Thomas was leading the line well and it needed a timely intervention from fullback Tyrone Falconer to deny him a good chance.  The visitors regained the lead after 26 minutes.  Will Loughman burst through from the right-back position, played a neat one-two and smacked the chipped return past Beech, who got a hand to it.  1-2 Beech was rather lucky not to gift Westfields another one almost immediately as he dithered at the edge of the area.  Here's a first-half clip, from 35 minutes into the game, showing another half-chance for Westfields and a yellow card for a tackle. Thomas played a magnificent through ball but the flag went up for offside, but Westfield could not extend their lead.  At this stage they seemed to have more invention, more options and more composure as the home side were reduced to "route one" for much of the time.  1-2 at half-time Sadly, it was too cloudy to watch the International Space Station pass over at half-time, and I stayed a reasonable distance from the Tividale changing rooms so as not to hear any rude words.  Tividale indeed came out stronger and were very unfortunate not to equalise very soon.  Pugh tipped a shot onto the base of the post and Kyle Brady was able to send a looping header goalwards from the rebound - Pugh just managed to get another touch and push it onto the same post. Westfields lost Jackson and Tividale continued to press, forcing another full length save from Pugh, albeit at a nice height for him.  Adam Hill also shot just over, before this happened. Kyle Brady is the man doing most of the celebrating although my clip is inconclusive.  2-2 This would have been a fair result, but both teams tried for the win, the next chance falling to Westfields' Richard Kear who sidefooted over.  My final clip is from 85 minutes, just before the final goal glut! After considerable Tividale pressure, Pugh made yet another save to his left but this time the ball fell to Adam Hill just on the edge of the area.  He took a moment to steady himself and finished really well.  3-2 Within a minute, the last one of the ninety on my watch, Westfield were level.  I cannot as yet identify the scorer (I was at the other end) but I have a 50% chance that it was Craig Jones, and I am still not really sure how the ball broke for him to have a straightforward finish.  3-3 Another unidentified scorer, but 50% chance it was Aiden Thomas, headed in a cross from the right, three minutes into stoppage time, and this time there would be no comeback.  Final score 3-4 Very entertaining for the passing neutral, good for my "Hopping for Moorfields" goal tally, and mighty frustrating for the locals.  As I left the ground, the home manager's words of wisdom about "the business end of the game" were ringing around the ground.  Thanks to @tividale_fc and the Westfields website for help in identifying scorers.
The programme
Something random
This particular Westfields is in Hereford, and one day I must pay a visit, especially if they keep up this goals-per-game average!
Hopping for Moorfields Update
This seven-goal thriller adds around a tenner to the value of the pledge pot, but there is still time to join in.  Please send any pledges through Twitter @GrahamYapp or by email to headyapp(at)hotmail.com.  11 goals in two games so far, but I still reckon that it will average out at about 240 goals in 60 or so games by the end of the season.  This means you can pledge a penny-a-goal for less than the cost of a premier league programme or Robin van-Persie's left bootlace.  (Do boots still have bootlaces?)  No Dutchmen met, no farm animals observed.  See earlier blogposts for some more explanation of why this matters.
What Next?
Workington v Stalybridge Celtic on Saturday afternoon, as determined by the Burnley Express.  Trust me.

Great Reception for Timo Boll

The ExCeL Arena is in the redeveloped Docklands area of London

Hopperational details
Date & Venues	Wednesday 8 August 2012 at the ExCeL Arena, London
Competition	The Olympic Games – London 2012 Men’s team table tennis, bronze medal match
Hopping	Fifth Olympic sport seen live, first time watching top level table tennis (even though I played the game at a moderate level in town and university leagues in my teens and is the only sport in which I have a trophy!)
Results	Germany 3 Hong Kong 1
This day in one sentence
A bronze medal decider followed by a trip into the city to sample some of the general London atmosphere.
So what?
Germany has the bronze medal in this event.
The drama unfolds
The best-of five format has two singles, a doubles and then two more singles.  Each match is also the best of five sets – each set is played to 11 points with a minmum two-point advantage. The opening singles brought out Germany’s Timo Boll and Hong Kong’s Chu Yan Leung.  Boll took an early grip on proceedings, was temporarily pegged back to 9-6 but saw through an 11-6 set win.  Solid in both attack and defence he won the second even more convincingly, 11-3. Here’s a clip – it shows Boll (in the black kit)  putting the first point on the board for an 11-7 set win.  As you can tell, I was embedded in the German support.  Impressive stuff.  Germany 1-0 Hong Kong Dmitri Ovtcharov played Peng Tang.  A closer contest, Tang opened up leads at 9-6 and 10-7, but a timeout seemed to work in favour of Ovtcharov who drew level to 10-10 and won his second set point.  13-11, as shown in this clip. The second set was even closer.  The German had two serves at 9-9 but he missed a smash at match point.  Tang turned it around and won the set 13-11 to make the match level. In the third set, Tang led in the early stages but a superb rally set up a set point for Ovtcharov, who had a simple smash to take the set 11-9. This clip shows the German securing the second team point in an 11-9 set victory.  Germany 2-0 Hong Kong For the doubles, Bastian Steger joined Ovtcharov and Tianyi Jiang joined Leung.  The Hong Kong pair wasted four set points before converting the fifth and a 12-10 set win.  A serving fault gave them the second set too, 11-8. This clip from the third set shows Hong Kong proceeding to a straightforward 11-4 set win, giving them the match 3-0 and a point on the board.  Germany 2-1 Hong Kong Jiang stayed at the table to face Timo Boll in the next singles matchup.  Jiang worked his way to two set points, and Boll’s serve clipped the net – he won the pont on his second serve.  A drive from his next serve clipped the net and missed the table, giving the set to Jiang 11-9 and completing the momentum switch in the match overall. Boll steadied himself and won the second set convincingly, 11-5.  He also held his nerve at the critical points near the end of the third, which he won 11-9 after he had trailed 5-7 and 6-8. Jiang took a grip, so it seemed, 7-3 but Boll got it back to 6-8 and then 7-8.  Here is the climax of the game, as Boll did the job and won the decisive set 11-9 to give Germany the match and the bronze medal.  He was the star man of the day and gave me a punning opportunity that I could not miss.  Final score Germany 3-1 Hong Kong After that, I took the cable car from Victoria Dock to North Greenwich and meandered my way back to London to sample the atmosphere, first at Canada Wharf and then along the South Bank from the Tower to Westminster.  Here are a few snaps from the day – the high-level ones are from the top of The Monument. Aerial view of "The North Greenwich Arena"   A Routemaster 'bus   The steps inside The Monument One of many Wenlocks (and Mandevilles) dotted around the city
What Next?
FA Cup groundhopping at Sleaford Town v Holwell Sports on Saturday. UPDATE: an out-of-the-blue attack of labyrinthitis (a viral inflammation of the inner ear) has put an indefinite hold on my travelling.  Will be anything from one to six weeks according to the www but hopefully at the shorter end for me as I have no other complications.  Watch this space, and cheer me up by sending me a Hopping for Moorfields pledge (see previous posts for details, esp. 3-2-1 Go!) - normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

Olympic Hoops

Hopperational details
Date & Venues	Tuesday 7 August 2012 at the Basketball Arena in the Olympic Park
Competition	The Olympic Games – London 2012 Women’s Basketball – quarter finals
Hopping	Fourth Olympic sport seen live, 11th venue on my courthopping list for basketball
Results	USA 91 Canada 48 Australia 75 China 60
This day in one sentence
More of the Olympics in the East End innit, but a blistered foot from yesterday meant that I could not set a new personal best for the stomp from West Ham station.
So what?
USA will meet Australia in the semi-final.
The drama unfolds
It was a nervy start and a low scoring first quarter, each team making unexpected mistakes like missing uncontested breakaway lay-ups.  Both sides were only making about 25% of their field goal attempts before USA seemed to settle first and they stretched out a 19-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.  The match was already over as a real contest, it would seem. The second quarter saw USA proceeding serenely, having upped their field goal percentage to around 40 but Canada marooned in the 20s.  Several times, the Canadians failed to get a shot away in the 24 seconds allowed.  The lead was up to 21 points (42-21) by half-time and would have been more but for an outrageous hook for 2 from Canada’s Shona Thorburn with microseconds left on the clock. Here is a brief clip of the half-term entertainment which at least woke the crowd up. Here is a clip from the restart – more of the same.  Canada are in red.  It was 66-31 at the end of the third quarter, with USA outscoring Canada 2 to 1 on almost all the relevant stats such as rebounds and assists.  Top scorer was Diana Taurasi with 15 and the USA could afford to leave her on the bench for the rest of the game. The final score was 91-48, a real thrashing for a quarter-final.  We enjoyed a showboat two from USA’s Maya Moore, and Kim Smith top scored for the losers with 13 points.  To be honest, I’d expected something closer as a sporting spectacle. We were all pleased when Australia and China started trading baskets in a much closer contest.  Here is an early clip to set the scene.  Australia are in yellow. China took the lead for the first time at 12-14 but were immediately pegged back to 14-14.  A Chinese attack led to a collision with a cameraman who then started to flinch visibiy every time the ball went to his end.  Aussie Suzy Batkovic launched a 6-0 tear with a piece of athleticism to keep the ball in play before one more score for each side left the score at 22-16 at the end of the first quarter. China played really well in the second quarter.  Australia called a timeout at 25-21 and another one after the game had been tied at 29-29 and 31-31.  Xiaoyun Song threw a three from chest level to give China a one point lead, Batkovic missed one, and there was one more field goal each before the interval.  35-36 at half-time.  Australia had converted about 1 in 3 of their goal attempts whereas China averaged nearer 1 in 2.  All to play for. This clip from early in the 3rd quarter finishes with a technical foul and Australia back in the lead by one point at 41-10. The Aussies hit foul trouble and free throws restored China’s lead and extended it to three points.  However, the game turned again with a six-point swing.  Liz Cambage made a great defensive block, they took two breakaway chances and then Cambage hooked in another two pointer.  China scored to keep the margin at three points, 55-52 at the end of the third.  It appeared that this game could go either way. Australia kept the lead during the early exchanges until suddenly the game slipped away from China in the blink of an eye.  Cambage got a three-point play by adding one from the free-throw line, Lauren Jackson scored a three, Batkovic and Jackson scored again and suddenly it was 71-58 with under four minutes to go.  That destructive burst denied us the chance of a tight finish, and Australia were able to run down the clock on their way to a 75-60 win. For the record, #2 son @yappattack had tweeted that I should look out for Australia’s “big three” who had impressed him in earlier games, and he was spot on.  Cambage, Jackson and Batkovic had 17, 12 and 10 points respectively and thus Zengyu Ma’s 15 and Lijie Miao’s 13 were on the losing side. There was time in the evening for a trip up to the viewing platform of The Orbit, Anish Kapoor’s curvy installation which allows some great views of the Olympic Park and London beyond.
What Next?
Olympic Table Tennis on Wednesday!  FA Cup groundhopping at Sleaford Town on Saturday.