Biggleswade United Flying Again

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Friday 28 December 2018 at Hutchinson Hollow
Result	Potton United 1 Biggleswade United 2
Competition	Spartan South Midlands Premier League (Step 5)
Hopstats	Ground 670 on the lifetime list and I am here because it is Friday night in the school holidays and I am up to date with everything!
Context
The B1040 Derby.  5th v 4th in the league although Biggleswade United have played more games.  Both drew 2-2 last time out, the visitors against league leaders Biggleswade FC in El Wadico.  Yes, really.  Potton are at this level having been moved across following promotion from the real UCL (the United Counties League) at the end of last season.  Meanwhile, can anyone name a town smaller than Biggleswade that has three teams at Step 5 and above?  Biggleswade Town are in Step 3.  (GY note: corrected from first publication.)
In one sentence
Too close for comfort for Bigglewade United.
So what?
It remains 5th and 4th respectively but Biggleswade United are closing down Hadley in 3rd place.
Match Report
I watched the game from the main stand in the company of Eddie McGeown of www.footballhopper.com and we traded a few tales from our shared worlds of schools and hopping.  There were quite a few hoppers in attendance.  On the pitch the visitors took the lead in the 13th minute when Tony Williams smashed in a loose ball in the area.  The match settled into an end-to-end contest with remarkably little moaning and whinging from the players – very refreshing after some of the antics I have seen of late.  This is not to say that it was a match without passion or cards.  Potton’s Jordan Wright was the most memorable caution on the half-hour – there was only one thing going to happen as he steamed towards the opposition’s flying winger.  It was a textbook clattering.  Both teams played direct attacking football and tried to use the width of the pitch.  Sadly it was usually that proverbial final ball that was lacking and the one-goal margin was preserved until the interval. The first chance of the second half fell to Potton.  A strong direct run and shot by Danny Webb needed a good block and then the same again from a rebound.  However, Biggleswade United got their second shortly afterwards.  Kane Farrell gets some kind of assist – his first-time shot was heading wide enough to hit a team-mate and rebound into the danger area.  He had another chance to cross the ball and eventually the ball was bundled over the line by Sam Holmes. Potton were not finished off by any means and forced several corners in quick succession.  Just after the hour, Webb scored from another one with an unchallenged header.  Great for the neutral – game on.  I was among several who thought for a moment Cody Spavins had scored a third for Biggleswade with a looping header.  Then the lack of celebration confirmed that it had gone just over.   That man Webb turned up at the other end, arriving from the acres of space that Biggleswade United had donated to ping a shot across the keeper and off the far post.  The rebound fell kindly for the visitors.  Potton got the ball flying across the area a few more times before the final whistle confirmed the away win.
Pix
Potton in blue.  Friendly club, excellent clubhouse and refreshments, good playing surface.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
New this season – a pre-match prediction based only on keeper top colours as a preliminary test of the data.  Proper statistical significance test to follow in due course. Today, as predicted, Orange loses to Green, but neither has a clean sheet.  No change (yet again) in league table positions. Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Away Win Was the prediction correct? Yes % of correct predictions so far 65% (17 from 26) Based on conventional 3pts for a win, 1pt for a draw, but also -1pt for a goal conceded (GC) and +5pts for a clean sheet (CS).  Colours ranked on a points per game (PPG) basis. For new readers the odd .5 was caused by a shocking half-and-half shirt and the .1 was due to a substitute goalkeeper in a different colour.  The Fire Cracker colour was confirmed with the help of the social media team at Dulux UK.  All of this arises from a comment attributed to Petr Cech that orange is the best colour for a goalkeeper because it changes the behaviour of other players around the box.  Table based on last 171 matches seen. P W D L GC CS Pts PPG Red 10.0 5.0 1.0 4.0 11.0 3.0 20.0 2.000 Blue 42.1 19.0 7.0 16.1 60.0 14.0 74.0 1.758 Grey 49.5 23.0 11.0 15.5 80.5 14.0 69.5 1.404 Green 88.0 45.0 11.0 32.0 148.0 22.0 108.0 1.227 Fire Cracker 3.0 1.0 0.0 2.0 6.0 1.0 2.0 0.667 Maroon 5.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 9.0 1.0 3.0 0.600 Purple 20.0 8.0 4.0 8.0 42.0 5.0 11.0 0.550 Orange 44.5 14.0 8.0 22.5 82.5 7.0 2.5 0.056 Radioactive Bile 21.0 9.0 0.0 12.0 45.0 3.0 -3.0 -0.143 Yellow 34.0 9.0 7.0 18.0 73.0 5.0 -14.0 -0.412 Pink 17.0 5.0 5.0 7.0 35.0 1.0 -10.0 -0.588 Black 6.0 2.0 3.0 1.0 15.0 0.0 -6.0 -1.000 White 1.9 0.0 0.0 1.9 4.0 0.0 -4.0 -2.105
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter!  Hopefully a Step 4 ground on Saturday (tomorrow as I write this).  Shortlist of four but choice will depend on weather, travel prospects and so on.  Maybe something last-minute of a random or randomish nature.

No Consolation for Citizens with The Money Problems

Second e-programme of the season

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Wednesday 26 December 2018 at The Simplyhealth City Ground
Result	Winchester City 0 Moneyfields 3
Competition	Southern League Division One South (Step 4)
Hopstats	669 on the lifetime list.  Not random, but chosen for the noon kickoff time which meant that my hours of travelling were reasonable.
Context
Mid-table Winchester host Moneyfields who are in the lowest play-off position at the time of writing.  Moneyfields will be out for revenge after Winchester won the reverse fixture back in August.
In one sentence
Two well-taken first half goals from the visitors put the home side’s missed chances into perspective.
So what?
Moneyfields hold on to their play-off position and Winchester remain mid-table.
Match Report
The home side made the early running, though Moneyfields’ keeper Steve Mowthorpe only had one real save to make, a tip-over from a sharp shot from a narrow angle.  Moneyfields then missed their first real chance, an unchallenged header from a free-kick.  Back at the other end, Mowthorpe narrowed the angle enough to thwart Oli Bailey who was through one-on-one after a rebound.  That was to prove a big miss in the light of subsequent developments.  Winchester then needed a goalline clearance to stop Moneyfields again.  With 20 minutes gone, it looked as if there would be goals in the game. Bailey needed treatment after being hit in the face by the ball, but shot back on like a greyhound without permission to earn a yellow card.  There was a fair amount of moaning at the officials going on from both sides.  Moneyfields’ Steve Hutchings questioned a throw-in call from the assistant – it is just me or were all footballers away when they did parallax errors in physics at school?  I digress. Bailey recovered well enough to force Mowthorpe into a good save, and then City’s Joe Hayward was played in by a clever backheel only to shoot just wide. Moneyfields showed their hosts how to finish as they took the lead on 34 minutes.  Joe Briggs curled a great shot across the keeper into the far corner after a set piece had been initially headed clear.  We had several niggles and yellow cards by this point too.  Then, in the 45th minute, Hutchings met another free-kick cross on the half-volley, back across the keeper into the other corner.  They even tried to claim a third in stoppage time but a goal-line clearance from a corner limited the first-half damage.  Nevertheless, it felt like job done. The third goal came just after the hour.  Hutchings, ever the irritant up top, went to ground.  The ref ignored the calls for a foul but the clearance rebounded somewhat kindly for Lloyd Rowlatt and the ball rolled over the line into the corner. After that, Winchester had plenty of possession and won several corners and freekicks.  The Moneyfields defence absorbed all the pressure and were not above the occasional old-school agricultural clearance.  A three-goal away win and a clean sheet has to go down as impressive and they are hard to beat. Winchester, with a crowd of 182 (GY note: corrected from first posting) today despite £5 admission for all, are holding their own well enough in the division and team spirit looked in good order despite the scoreline.  Today just goes to prove that oldest of pundits’ adages that you have to take your chances against the higher-placed teams.
Pix
Winchester in red-and-black.  This week's match pix are brought to you by the letter J.  J is for Jumping.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
New this season – a pre-match prediction based only on keeper top colours as a preliminary test of the data.  Proper statistical significance test to follow in due course.  The table is now based on my last 170 matches watched. Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Away Win Was the prediction correct? Yes % of correct predictions so far 64% (16 from 25) Based on conventional 3pts for a win, 1pt for a draw, but also -1pt for a goal conceded (GC) and +5pts for a clean sheet (CS).  Colours ranked on a points per game (PPG) basis. For new readers the odd .5 was caused by a shocking half-and-half shirt and the .1 was due to a substitute goalkeeper in a different colour.  The Fire Cracker colour was confirmed with the help of the social media team at Dulux UK.  All of this arises from a comment attributed to Petr Cech that orange is the best colour for a goalkeeper because it changes the behaviour of other players around the box P W D L GC CS Pts PPG Red 10.0 5.0 1.0 4.0 11.0 3.0 20.0 2.000 Blue 42.1 19.0 7.0 16.1 60.0 14.0 74.0 1.758 Grey 49.5 23.0 11.0 15.5 80.5 14.0 69.5 1.404 Green 87.0 44.0 11.0 32.0 147.0 22.0 106.0 1.218 Fire Cracker 3.0 1.0 0.0 2.0 6.0 1.0 2.0 0.667 Maroon 5.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 9.0 1.0 3.0 0.600 Purple 20.0 8.0 4.0 8.0 42.0 5.0 11.0 0.550 Orange 43.5 14.0 8.0 21.5 80.5 7.0 4.5 0.103 Radioactive Bile 21.0 9.0 0.0 12.0 45.0 3.0 -3.0 -0.143 Yellow 34.0 9.0 7.0 18.0 73.0 5.0 -14.0 -0.412 Pink 17.0 5.0 5.0 7.0 35.0 1.0 -10.0 -0.588 Black 6.0 2.0 3.0 1.0 15.0 0.0 -6.0 -1.000 White 1.9 0.0 0.0 1.9 4.0 0.0 -4.0 -2.105
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter!  34 more Step 4 grounds to go – hopefully another one to be ticked off on Saturday.