The Football tourist

Sunday 1st May: WSL: Walton Hall Park: Everton vs Tottenham Hotspur

I finished off April by sampling a match of huge significance on the final day of the League One season. So for the start of May I took my foot off the gas and put it through the rear window as I visited Walton for my final Women’s match of the WSL season.

Everton were playing host to Tottenham in their final home game of the season and, unlike their Male equivalents, neither team has anything left to play for this season. Everton are well clear of Birmingham City in the singular relegation spot and who will be replaced in the WSL next season by Everton’s Merseyside rivals, Liverpool. Whilst for their part, Spurs were much too far adrift of the top 3 to make any late charge for a place in next season’s Champion’s League. The Women’s Champions League accepting only 3 English teams, as opposed to the 4 for the Men.

With so little resting on the result of this one and with neither team having a record of turning in scintillating attacking football, I was not expecting much for this game. Having cycled to the stadium, to avoid any of the delays that plagued my travel to Hillsborough the day before, it seemed that nature herself was not expecting much from this one either.

Having taken stock of a ground that I have no visited more times than I can count this season, I found an empty seat by the halfway line and settled in ready for kick-off. Before things got underway though I checked the starting 11’s for each team and had my concerns, of a beach game, confirmed. Everton had left both of their main creative midfield powerhouses out of the team they would begin the match with. Claire Emslie was on the bench whilst their normal captain, Izzy Christiansen, was left out of the matchday squad altogether. I hope she enjoyed her evening off by cheering her teammates on from the stands, but cannot say for certain whether or not she did.

Chris Robert’s team payed the price for leaving these two midfield talismans out of their starting 11 almost immediately. Spurs started the match on the front foot and having intercepted a weak pass in midfield they advanced to the edge of the box. Unfortunately for the sprinkling of away fans that had made the long trip north the shot that came in was straight down the throat of Courtney Brosnan between the sticks for the hosts.

Spurs broke the deadlock within just 5 minutes of kick-off with a silky smooth team move. Rachel Williams slipped a ball down the right-hand channel for an offside-trap beating Evelina Summanen to run on-to. Under tight supervision from the Everton defence she slipped the ball inside and past Brosnan to Asmita Ale, who had the simple task of sorting her feet out to deflect the ball goalward and then watch it nestle in the back of the unguarded net.

With the situation of both teams in mind I thought that would be the end of the scoring, but the visitors came close to doubling their lead just 2 minutes after establishing it. First Williams got behind the home defence and slid a ball across the 6 yard box that should have been turned home by Ale or Rosella Ayane, but neither could sort their feet out in time to apply the finishing touch. Then when the ball broke to Maeva Clemaron on the edge of box she unleashed a powerful shot that skimmed the top of the bar as it made it’s way behind for a goal kick.

Scoring the opener had dropped the initiative into the lap of Spurs on a silver platter. They began to boss possession and attempt to create some clear-cut chances to add to their lead. The closest they came to creating such chances soon after that Clemaron chance came through Ashleigh Neville who whipped on in from the right where it was grabbed off the toes of Ayane in the centre as she shaped to turn it home. Brosnan need not have bothered with this excellent effort though as no sooner did she have the ball in her hands than the assistant on the near-side raised her flag for offside.

This period of Spurs possessional dominance was brought to an end see after this offside though when Molly Bartrip over hit a back pass to her keeper, Becky Spencer, and gave the cheapest corner to Everton that they could hope to receive. The corner was chucked into the mixer and Everton kept the pressure up with recycle after recycle, as Spurs scrambled to lump the ball clear, until Toni Duggan flashed a header wide of the left hand post off a cross from the right flank.

Clemaron took it upon herself to try and reassert Spurs dominance on the match as she carried the ball into the hosts half before setting the ball forward into the path of Jiali Tang on the right as she was clattered by a recovering Toffee’s midfielder. The ref waved play on as Tang advanced down the wing, but her cross was blocked behind for a corner that was headed far wide of the back post as Spurs wasted an excellent chance to increase their lead.

The hosts were only able to hold their visitors at bay up to this point of the match, but they finally created a half chance of their own as the match passed the 25 minute mark. Lucy Graham and Poppy Pattinson combined on the right before Pattinson hung a cross up to the far post, from where it was headed back across goal to miss the left hand post by inches and out for a goal kick.

The threat posed by the hosts was diminished further in the first half hour of the match as they struggled to find ways to get Toni Duggan involved in their attacking play. Any team that fails to include their main striker in their attacks is going to struggle to score and so Everton were proving things to be here.

Pattinson tried to single-handedly force her team into the equation of the match as the match trudged toward the half-hour mark. Scything through the Spurs team she leaves 4 of her opposition tied up in knots as she drives her way into the box but her finish needs work as she toe-pokes it towards Spencer’s near post, where the keeper is able to shovel it behind for a corner that was wasted by the hosts.

Frustration from their lack of ability to break through the solid Spurs defence boiled through the Everton ranks as Ayane broke through the midfield. The Spur’s player was the victim of a cynical tackle that left her needed the first physio treatment of the match. She was cleared to carry on and was soon back in the thick of the action but this new physical approach from the hosts unsettled their visitors, who began to make a plethora of mistakes.

Spencer set the mistakes in motion by struggling to get the ball under control from a fizzed back pass and barely managed to smuggle the ball clear with Simone Magill charging through to close her down. Then Neville got in on the act by failing to trap a ball into her from the wing. She went to trap it but connected only with thin air and the ball punished her for this mistake by bouncing off the turf in-front of her and cannoning into her face. Thankfully she was able to continue without requiring physio attention, but this was not the last of the Spurs mistakes as two of the visitors went for the same ball and both missed it. Lucky for the visiting fans there was no home player on hand to take advantage of either of these mistakes.

Everton were cutting out many of the Spurs’ attacks at this point of the match by utilising the offside trap to great effect. They were not creating much of their own though, despite Pattinson finding acres of space a lot on the wings as her teammates failed to find her anywhere near often enough.

Summanen got the first free-kick of the match as she ran straight into Gabi George on the edge of the box on the right-hand side. The free-kick was floated to the back post before Graham beat the lurking Spurs attackers to the ball to head it behind for a corner, that was predictably wasted by the visitors.

Spurs were back on top now as the half entered it’s final 10 minutes, with Neville smashing a half-volley behind off a defenders head before Tang volleyed over the bar on the turn when the corner dropped to her on the edge of the box. Then, as the half entered it’s final 5, Ayane powering down the left wing before fizzing the ball across for Neville in the centre. She was tracked well by Pattinson though and could only pull her shot wide of the post as another half chance going begging.

Everton created the first of the chances in the dying minutes of the half but they fell apart as quickly as they were made. Magill chucked a throw in behind the Spurs defence for Pattinson to run onto, after being asked to do so, only for Pattinson not to make the run. Then Grace Clinton whipped in a free kick from the left, after Magill was fouled, that soared over the waiting players in the area and out for a goal-kick.

Having survived these half-hearted attempts to level by their hosts, Spurs wrapped the half up by wasting one final chance of their own as Ayane rifled a shot in from the left that was aimed straight into Brosnan’s waiting arms. As the teams ambled off down the tunnel for half time, with the visitors a goal to the good, I went to grab a cheeseburger and a drink hoping against all logic that the second half would produce some threatening chances and enthralling goal-mouth action.

In an effort to increase the visitors chance of providing both of these things Rehanne Skinner dipped into her options on the bench and replaced Kerys Harrop and Jiali Tang with the fresh attacking legs of Jessica Naz and So-hyun Cho. She then sent her team out early for the second half in an attempt to unnerve the hosts.

These changes failed to make an immediate impact on the match as Cho faded into the background of a match that had turned supremely cagey. Naz’s most memorable contribution to the first 15 minutes of the half was also her first, when she pulled down Graham for a clear Everton freekick on halfway.

The match trudged it’s way all the way to the hour mark with both teams being restricted to a little prodding and probing of their opposition’s defence with much intricate overplaying of the ball that failed to break through. Defence’s were utterly dominant during this exhausting 15 minutes of sleeping pill football. Play became so turgid going forward that the desperation to create anything of note led to Summanen taking her chances with a thunderbolt from 35 yards. Although it was a lovely surprise to see something a little more ambitious on the pitch it was also not that well hit and drifted acres wide of the left hand post.

Roberts, in the Toffee’s dugout, had reached his limit with the uninspired play being forced into his retinas by the 65th minute and was finally pushed into action to make his first substitution of the match. He removed Anna Anvegard from the field and sending Kenza Dali on in her place to try and kick her teammates into gear so they could take something out of the match. I was hoping that it would be the creative spark of Claire Emslie that would be brought on as the match was so torturous at this point and badly in need of that spark.

Instead it fell to Spur’s Ayane to spark things back into life by surging down the right channel and finally collapsing the wall of defensive dominance that had been chocking the life out of the second half so far. Her shot was flashed across the face of goal but Brosnan was equal too it, punching clear to set Everton on the break. The hosts worked the ball upfield and finally managed to get Duggan involved in the match. She flashed her own ball straight across the edge of the 6 yard box and, with no clearing touch from Spencer, all it needed was a outstretched foot to direct it home. Sadly for the home fans and their hopes of an equaliser no such touch was provided.

Ayane was found again a few minutes later and this time with the freedom of the 18 yard box to relax and smash the ball home. She went for power and her constantly rising shot was palmed over the bar by Brosnan and the spark that had been provided was quenched once more.

Everton got their first prolonged period of possession for the half as the match hit 70 minutes. All they could manage from their 10 minutes of possessional dominance though was a wasted freekick, when Naz caught Pattinson with a crunching tackle on the far side of the pitch. This despite Roberts attempts to help them make the most of their period on top, by replacing Simone Magill with Danielle Turner and bringing on their creative talisman, Claire Emslie. In sending Emslie into the fray for the final 17 minutes he chose to remove Toni Duggan from the action. Taking off your main striker off as you introduce your assist maker was a strange call, but it almost worked.

First though Skinner made a final change to the visitors team for the final 10 minutes taking off Rachel Williams for Kyah Simon as both teams seemed willing to watch the clock tick down to full time. This led to another 5 minutes of uninspired play to add to a largely uninspiring 2nd half of football. The clouds above the stadium had been threatening to break all second half and this 5 minutes pushed them over the edge and they unleashed their deluge, which I really didn’t need from my seat in the front row.

This short, sharp shower seemed to finally wake the players up as from here the second half burst into life. The equaliser for Everton came hit me from the blindside like a Tyson Fury left hook. They had created precious little all match till this point but a cross into the centre was turned home in the centre by the recently introduced Turner and it appeared we had a grandstand finish on our hands with both teams searching for a winner.

Less than 60 seconds the search was over as Josie Green, brought on seconds before Turner’s equaliser, turned in a cross from the right to re-establish Spurs one goal advantage. So it was now back to the status-quo of the later part of the second half, with Everton on the attack and Spur’s doing everything they could to waste time and see things out for the win.

Unlike the cagey play that characterised the early part of the half the play now was end to end, cavalier game play for the purist. Where was this awesome action earlier on in the match?

Everton were attacking with pace every chance they got now in a desperate attempt to restore parity and nab a point out of a match they had trailed in for so long. Dali had the majority of their chances in these final few minutes of the regulation 90. First firing a rifled shot both high and wide from 30 yards, then taking charge of the situation when both Leonie Majer and Hannah Bennison refused to shoot from 20 yards.

Her 20 yard shot took a massive deflection off the back of Cho’s head and out for a corner on the left and it was from this corner that Everton found their 2nd equaliser of the match. The corner was fired in from the left and when it came straight back out to the wing it was floated back in to the back post. It was here that Megan Finnigan rose majestically above her marker to head the ball back across Spencer’s diving body and into the back of the net.

Both teams had chances to win it in the 4 minutes of added time but Everton had the best of them. Majer slipped a ball across the box aiming to find Turner, who was in space at the back post, but popped it just millimetres too far ahead of Turner and it drifted away from danger. Then Graham fired one in from 30 yards straight down Spencer’s throat. Spurs had the final chance of the match with a freekick from the edge of the box that was sent curling toward the top right postage stamp before Brosnan had it on her toes and made it all the way across the goal to catch the ball and secure Everton’s hard earned point when the final whistle blew as her punt downfield was still in the air.

For a match that had been so supremely uninspiring for so long the final 5 minutes were of such an incredible high standard that I didn’t want it to be end. Despite my wishes though the match did end and with the honours even, so we all sat through 85 minutes of awful football for a brilliant 5 minutes that meant nothing.

It was still a lovely ending to the match though and I was grateful to have that to hold onto as I headed to another match on the May Bank Holiday. This one was in League 2 at the poshest ground I have ever been too as Salford looked to take their playoff push to the final day of the season, in a must-win match against Mansfield Town.

30th April 2022: League 1: Hillsborough: Sheffield Wednesday vs Portsmouth

To finish April off in style I headed to Sheffield to see if Wednesday could seal the deal as they aimed to qualify for the playoffs. They started the day in 4th place with a 2 point lead over Plymouth and Wycombe in 6th and 7th and with their destiny in their own hands.

Knowing that a win would secure their place in the playoffs I was confident that the Owls would get what they needed. Particularly needing to have both Wycombe and Plymouth winning even if they lose. A win for Wycombe away at Burton seemed likely but with Plymouth hosting a MK Dons team needing a win to secure automatic promotion I was as confident as the home fans around me that the Owls would secure their playoff spot. Particularly considering that their opponents, Portsmouth, were marooned in 9th and with nothing to play for in this match except pride.

The final day of the League 1 season saw all the games kick off at 12:30pm and with there being very few trains from Liverpool to Sheffield I knew that if my direct train, taking 1h45mins and arriving at 11:35pm, was delayed then I would be rushing to make the 25minute tram to make it. As such it should not be difficult to imagine the despair that flooded over me when the train tannoy announced that ‘this train is delayed due to signal problems in the Manchester area’ and it nearly drowned me when the same tannoy stated that there would be further announcements when information was available about when we would be underway.

The full delay ran to 45 minutes and as we did not make up any of this delay on route the tram was definitely out as a way to make the kick-off. Due to this delay I went online to find the team sheets as I knew my chances of getting to the stadium early enough to grab a programme were tiny. As such I had to rely on screenshots of the teams online to keep track of substitutes, cards and goal scorers.

If you do get to Sheffield in time to catch the tram it’s the yellow line from Fitzalan Square all the way to the Leppings Lane stop that is just 3 minutes walk from the stadium; However, my only option to make the start was to get a taxi and in this I was helped by a trio of home fans on the same train as me needing to utilise the same option.

They were gracious enough to allow me to join them in their taxi to the match and then refused to accept my contribution to the £8.70 cost of the transport. Thanks to these awesomely generous home fans I was settling into my seat having missed just 10 minutes of the match.

They were crucial minutes to miss though as they included the high point of the afternoon for the fans on the top tier of the Leppings Lane stand as it was during this time that they saw Pompey take the lead through George Hirst. This may have left them feeling that their long journey north from Hampshire had been worth it to see their team win, but by the time I made it to my seat the atmosphere inside the stadium told me that was not how the rest of their lunchtime was going to go.

Going behind had clearly sparked the home team into life as I was greeted by a rocking party atmosphere as I took my seat inside Hillsborough.

The hosts were stamping their authority on the game in midfield and this fed the atmosphere that I was grateful to have as it took my mind off the associations that I have of Hillsborough as a Liverpool fan.

I will touch on those feelings at the end of this blog, but for now it’s back to the action on the pitch as I had barely been in the ground a minute before Wednesday had a glorious chance to equalise gifted to them on a bronze platter.

Bazunu, between the sticks for Pompey, was sold short by a back pass by Robertson in the left back position and had to be fleet footed to thump the ball clear before Berahino could nab the ball off him with a rocket slide tackle. That would have been an embarrassing way for the visitors to concede the equaliser. It would not be long till the hosts were level but at least it did not come with a dollop of embarrassment when it did arrive.

I had time to get my bearings before the equaliser though, which included locating the away fans in the top tier of the Leppings Lane stand far away to my right and the screen to their left, on the far side of the stadium to myself.

Whilst I acquired those bearings the hosts built up the pressure that would lead to their equaliser. Crosses from both sides were skied over the players waiting in the box as the hosts tried to make their pressure tell before Berahino won a corner in the 15th minute. The corner was flicked on at the near post and just needed a decent contact to turn it home from the 6 yard box.

The finishing touch was not to come this time, but two minutes later it did. The cross was whipped into the 6 yard box from the left flank where Lee Gregory met it with a deft little touch to guide it into the net for the equaliser.

The atmosphere was already plenty boisterous in the home stands but even so my ears were not ready for the onslaught of euphoria that followed that equaliser. It was as if an invisible force had reached into the souls of each home fan and turned them into devices to destroy the moon with sound waves. It was such a buzz to be part of that atmosphere, an atmosphere that would only improve as the match went on.

The Owls grabbed the match by the scruff of the neck following that goal and looked like adding to their tally every time they advanced into the Portsmouth half. The visitors mustered very little resistance to their hosts dominance of the ball as they looked to weather the storm and threaten on the break.

In this atmosphere of dominance it took just 4 minutes from the Owls equaliser before they fashioned a chance to take the lead. Byers picked up the ball in midfield and scythed his way up to the edge of the box. He chose to feed the ball right toward Berahino, where a defender was blocking the way and able to clear, when the slide left into the path of an unmarked Gregory would have borne more fruit for the hosts.

No matter though as the hosts were creating another chance as soon as the 23rd minute and this time they were trying to set up Gregory. Hunt was fed in behind down the right and he stood his cross up for Gregory to head home at the far post. Unfortunately for the home fans Hunt had got a smidgen too much height on the cross, the ball bounced off the top of Gregory’s head and harmlessly away to the left touchline.

With these disappointments fuelling him Gregory took it upon himself to try and fire the hosts into the lead their dominant play deserved. He let fly with a thunderbolt of a volley from 20yards out, just left of centre, that looked to be skimming the right post on it’s way to bulging the net until Bazunu strained his every sinew to pinch the ball out of the air and keep the scores level.

Gregory came back again 2 minutes later but this time his efforts to turn provider with a cut back from the by-line was once again prevented from reaching it’s target by Bazunu, this time using his legs to block the ball. Then rising to his feet in time to see the next cross from the right fizz across his 6yard box where there was no-one there to turn it home.

The torment being dished out to the visitors by Gregory got to the point by the 29th minute that Pompey could only stop him was to wrestle him to the ground on the edge of the box. This was missed by the ref however and the match went on interrupted.

As Gregory was now being marked so tightly by the visitors his teammates stepped up to provide the attacking impetus. Berahino took off down the left wing in the 31st minute before laying the ball back into the feet of Bannan 15 yards from goal in the centre of the box. He drove a powerful body towards top bins, but once again Bazunu came to his teammates rescue with a spring-heeled leap to tip the ball over the bar.

Bazunu had been keeping Pompey in the match by sheer force of will up to this point so it was only fitting that it was a mistake by him that led directly to the corner from which Wednesday took the lead. He tried to let a heavy pass down the right channel run behind for a goal kick, but was unable to shield it from Gregory on a mission. The Owl’s man got to the ball first and it was his crosses that were eventually blocked behind for the corner.

The corner from the right was blasted towards the back post where it was met by Berahino who flicked it across Bazunu until it rested in the back of the net. Cue another exponential increase in the party atmosphere in the stands.

Wednesday were not satisfied with a flimsy one goal lead though as they turned up their attack speed and the numbers getting forward for each one as they began to run riot in search of their 3rd before half-time.

They almost had it in the 39rd minute as some mazy footwork by Luongo saw him tie 4 of his opponents in knots before threading a ball through the remains of the Pompey defence for Bannan to meet in the right channel. His inviting ball through the corridor of uncertainty just needed a tap home, but it never came and the hosts were made to wait a little longer to double their.

A little longer turned out to be all of a minute as Byers cross from the right wing was turned home by Storey in the box and the home fans took it up another notch as they were now sure that the party was never going to be called off now. The only thing that was uncertain now was just how many Wednesday would get as the Pompey player’s head had dropped to their feet as they looked to survive till half-time without suffering further damage.

The hosts were attacking with speed and purpose as well as closing the ball down with verve and conviction any time it slipped into Pompey’s hands. This approach almost paid dividends in the dying seconds of the 3 added minutes at the end of the half. A free kick was fed down the left wing from the halfway line and when the ball across the box popped out to Bannan on the edge of the area he swivelled on the spot before unleashing a rifle of a volley towards goal. The aiming on the volley was off by inches though as it skimmed the top of the crossbar on it’s way behind.

Bazunu only had time to hoof the goal kick upfield before the ref blew for half-time, giving the visitors a temporary respite from the torture and the hosts a chance to get catch their breath before going again in the second half. Seriously in need of some sustenance I headed out onto the concourse to join the food queues. I chose badly though as my queue moved with the speed of a cooking snail traversing the Sahara whilst the queue next to me flew along with the speed of a 747 cruising over the Atlantic.

Being decidedly second best throughout the vast majority of the first half appeared to have hurt the Pompey players as they came roaring out the blocks in the second half as they attempted to establish a foothold to help them get something out of the match. They got hold of the ball and didn’t let go for 5 minutes as they probed the resolute Wednesday back line. The chance for the visitors came from a freekick slipped to the near post from the left touchline, which was flicked on into the centre and then landed on the roof of the net above a melee of people waiting to turn it in below.

With Pompey showing signs of life in the half Bannan took it upon himself to push the momentum back Wednesday’s way with a gut busting sprint from halfway to close Bazunu down as he thumped a back pass clear just in time. The effort shown by this sprint was enough to re-energise the home fans, spark the party atmosphere again and raise the Wednesday players to go again.

This encouragement in their back pockets it took just 2 minutes for the home team to create the chance that should have made it 4-1. Johnson drove his way to the by-line and pulled it back past a stranded Bazunu to Bannan, who had found space at the penalty spot. It looked like a simple stroke home for the live-wire midfield man but his side-footed finish bounced away from goal off the legs of Bazunu, whose Speedy Gonzalez reflexes saw him recover in time to preserve the score at just 3-1 to the Owls.

Bannan created another chance for his team as the game ticked over the hour mark as he floated a ball to the back post. He was aiming for Berahino, but the big striker lost his footing before he could connect with it and increase the Owls advantage.

The early impetus for Pompey this half had well and truly evaporated by this point of the match and this led to Danny Cowley making an early dip into his bench options in the 64th minute. He removed Jacobs from the action and brought O’Brien on in an attempt to change the game. Straight away it led to a chance for the visitors as Carter sprayed the ball crossfield to Curtis, who slides his cross back to the edge of the 6 yard box. Unfortunately for the visitors chance of getting back into the match the finish to this excellent build-up was a weak toe-poke that ended up hugely wide of the post.

Within a minute of this Pompey chance the hosts came agonisingly close to they had been threatening for a while now. A sumptuous 60 yard ball out of defence set Gregory running free in behind an AWOL Pompey defence. Bazunu rushed out of his area to close down the angle so Gregory chipped the ball over him and whilst it looked to be dipping in it ended up resting on the roof of the goal. It would’ve been an awesome way to score a 4th for the hosts and cap their comeback, but alas it was not to be.

As the game entered the final 20 minutes I took note of how clean the match had been to this point, evidenced by the lack of any cards being brandished by the ref so far. This may have cursed it a little as not 30 seconds had passed from me noting this to Gregory gaining a Yellow next to his name for cynically cutting out a Pompey break 25 yards from goal.

It was a needless tackle and a clumsy freekick to give away, but it only led to a corner on the right that was fizzed to the back post. A Pompey man rose highest there to direct it towards the postage stamp at the near post. It looked to be going in for a few seconds till Peacock-Farrell appeared from nowhere to tip it onto the bar before the rebound was chipped over the bar at the near post.

The fact that Pompey had managed to create their first chance in a while pushed Darren Moore into finally making a change of his own as the match ambled into it’s final 15 minutes. Berahino was given the rest with one eye on keeping him fresh for the playoffs as Windass was given a run-out. The match itself had lost all edge at this point with it looking like both teams were happy to allow the score to finish as it was.

The spark was back 5 minutes later though, with just 10 minutes left for either team to add to their tally. Pompey fed the ball through to Hirst in the right channel only for his 1st time shot to be tipped over the bar by Peacock-Farrell at his near post. Wednesday broke from the corner but this was brought to a premature end when Bannan found himself laying poleaxed on the turf. He was able to continue after a little physio treatment but, with playoffs on the brain Moore was taking no chances.

Bannan had been such an integral part of Wednesday’s midfield build-up play in this one and the team captain, that it was only right he should be protected for the playoff semi-finals. Paterson came on in his place and made a huge impact in his first 2 minutes in the action. First he managed to pick up the fastest yellow I have seen at a match. Then he made up for it a minute later by rocketing a volley in from 25 yards that was only kept out by yet another awesome fingertip save from Bazunu, who had such an awesome match that he did not deserve to be on the losing side of.

Unfortunately for Bazunu the hosts weren’t letting his say be the deciding factor as they finally added their 4th goal from a corner 4 minutes from time. The corner was flung into the mixer where Byers found the space to turn it home. Byers had been another creative force for Wednesday as they controlled the match and it was brilliant to see his efforts rewarded with a goal. Not to mention the roar of the crowd as the party reached it’s insane crescendo was awesome to experience.

With his team now 4-1 to the good Moore shuffled his pack once again to save another key Man for the playoffs. This time it was Gregory given the rest as Dele-Bashiru was sent on to see out the few minutes that now remained. Cowley responded to this change by replacing Thompson with Mingi, for all the difference it would make at this point.

Frustration in the Pompey ranks boiled over in the penultimate minute of the 90 as Morrell and Byers squared up to each other far to my left and picked up a yellow each for their troubles. Carter and Windass also received a talking too for their part in proceedings but both escaped without cards, luckily for Windass given the previous yellow on his name.

This was the last action of note in the match before the ref blew the whistle and brought the party in the home stands to a climax of earth bending noise. The 33,394 fans in attendance were extremely well behaved at full-time, with only a couple of people ignoring the repeated pleas to stay off the pitch.

The players stayed on the pitch and were joined by their families on the slowest lap of honour I have ever experienced as the home players lapped up the crescendo of adulation pouring down on them from the stands. They sped up a fair bit as they passed the Leppings Lane end, which had been speedily evacuated by the visiting fans as soon as the final whistle blew.

Good luck to Sheffield Wednesday as they take their promotion fight into the playoffs this weekend, but before I leave this blog I must come back to my feelings at visiting Hillsborough.

I had travelled to the match determined to enjoy the football and prove to myself that the stadium is more than just a disaster zone. During the match I had achieved this goal but as I left I walked past the Leppings Lane entrance and my mind was cast back to all the stories that I have heard about 14th April 1989. I was on the verge of tears, but still managed to stop for a moments reflection in honour of the 97 who lost their lives that day before heading for the tram back into town.

To know that I can walk away from matches safe and well is something that I take for granted, but those who lost their lives on that fateful day will never be forgotten.

Justice for the 97.

Saturday 23 April 2022: Brentford Community Stadium: EPL: Brentford vs Tottenham Hotspur

So for St. George’s day weekend and with no luck in getting a ticket to the Merseyside Derby, I went back to London instead and returned to church. I went back to Brentford and wow was it nice to be back watching my team in their home stadium. There is just something indescribably awesome about seeing the team you support play at home. It’s a feeling that every football supporter has felt, but to explain it to someone who has never felt it would take a linguist of Keats, Tennyson or Austen. I am not them, so all I can say is that just remembering that feeling is making me punch the air days later.

The main reason I was able to justify the travel and expense of a day trip to London was the knowledge that what I was going to see was the first time Christian Eriksen was up against Tottenham Hotspur since leaving for Inter Milan. He would also be facing his Inter manager Antonio Conte. With all this emotional weight hanging over the match for Eriksen I was nervous to see how he and his new team, the Bees would hold up for the match.

There was less emotional weight hanging over Eriksen’s first match against his ex-employers than there could have been though. Brentford visited White Hart Lane on 2nd December, just over a month before signing Eriksen, so at least he would not have his memories of playing at that ground hanging over him as well. The Bees lost that match 2-0 to a Canos own goal and a Son Heung-Min finish, so I was hoping that the addition of Eriksen would cause a change in the outcome this time round.

He has certainly had a galvanising effect on Brentford’s form since he came in. They were having a dreadful time and had only won a single league game across December and January, a 2-1 comeback win against Steven Gerrard’s Villa at home. At that point they were looking tentatively over their shoulder at the rapidly advancing relegation zone, but since Eriksen has started playing full games for the team they have turned things around.

The Bees started the day in an incredible 12th place with a feasible chance of ending the season with a top half finish. They are also in some seriously impressive form having won 5 of their last 6 matches since the start of March, including that jaw-dropping demolition of Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. If you had told Bees fans at the beginning of the season that they would have a yawning chasm of 11 points separating them from the drop zone with 5 games to go they would have bitten your arm off. So for that to actually be where they find themselves, almost guaranteed another season in the top and with just a 2 point gap to 9th place, is insane.

Spurs, their opponents for today’s match, find themselves clawing for results to get them over the line in the fight for 4th. That’s the place they started the day in but a win at home for their North London rivals in the early kick off, 3-1 against Man U, saw them drop into 5th by the time this match got underway. They were only in 5th on goal difference though, so a big win here or even a draw would see them back in the top 4 by the end of the day.

The biggest problem holding Spurs back from already having 4th under lock and key is an alarming lack of consistency in both performances and results. To call their league results since the start of March a mixed bag would be kind in the extreme as it includes both huge 5-0, 5-1 and 4-0 wins, against Everton (H), Newcastle (H) and Aston Villa (A) respectively, as well as Brighton beating them 1-0 at the Amex and a 3-2 loss to Man U (A) that saw them equalise twice before losing to a Ronaldo hat-trick completed in the 81st minute. The result of this match rests on the question of which Spurs team turns up today.

Fans of Spurs could really do with it being the huge wins kind as their next 3 fixtures see them hosting Leicester City, before heading to Anfield then finishing off with the North London derby on home turf. With those matches all looking difficult to take maximum points from Antonio Conte will be looking at this match against a newly promoted team as an easy 3 points to shore up their tilt at the top 4. Sure they have Burnley (A) and Norwich (H) as their final 2 matches but without a result today they may well be out of the top 4 picture before they get to those.

Before travelling to this match I did a quick check on the injuries effecting each team and found that those lists are long for everyone here. The hosts are without: Ethan Pinnock, Zanka, Sergi Canos, Frank Onyeka, Kristoffer Ajer and Christian Norgaard for this match through injury. Whilst the list for the visitors isn’t as long it did include Matt Docherty, Oliver Skipp and Japhet Tanganga. Slightly better news for the visitors was to come though as both Steven Bergwijn and Lucas Moura were fit enough for the bench for this one as they continue their personal returns from injury.

Travelling to the match proved to be far easier said than done however .Having taken an early train to London I decided to take the time to visit Westminster Abbey before heading to the stadium for the 5:30pm kick off. Even so I gave myself 2 and a half hours to travel from St. James’ Park down to South Ealing and get the bus from there to the ground. This turned out to be an excellent call as I nearly required all of it to make kick off.

What I thought would be a simple District train to Hammersmith, where I would change for the Piccadilly to South Ealing, turned into a nightmare when it was announced that the District line was delayed in my direction. I lost track of the trains that went the other way before the Danish bees fans I had been talking too decided to rage quit the tube and grab a taxi to the ground. They offered me a seat in the taxi and I really should have taken it.

Instead I grabbed a District line train towards Westminster, where it was announced that the District line going the direction I originally needed had been suspended due to a faulty train. I hope they got that announcement at St. James’ Park too. From Westminster I took the Jubilee line one stop north to Green Park before joining the Pic from there and surfing it all the way to South Ealing. Thankfully the bus from that station was running with maximum efficiency and I got to the ground with 15 minutes still to go before kick off.

Whilst on the bus ride I couldn’t resist checking the team sheets for the match on my phone and saw to my delight that there had been no last minute problems for Eriksen and he would indeed be lining up for the Bees against his ex-employers. The rest of the home team was as follows: David Raya; Rico Henry, Pontus Jansson (c), Mads Bech, Mads Roerslev; Mathias Jensen, Vitaly Janelt; Saman Ghoddos, Bryan Mbeumo, Ivan Toney.

Lining up against them for Spurs were: Hugo Lloris (c), Ben Davies, Rodrigo Bentancur, Eric Dier, Cristian Romero, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Emerson Royal, Ryan Sessegnon, Dejan Kulusevski, Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane.

This was all easy to note down on my programme, bought on my was from bus to turnstile, due to the awesome design of it’s back cover. Each players name has boxes next to it for: Starting, Substitute, Yellow Card, Red Card and Goal. This is insanely useful for my purposes and for anyone else looking to create a tangible memento of their experience, I only wish other teams did such a great job on their programmes.

The only problem I had was that the tradition of players that aren’t on the programme being included in the matchday squad returned. This time it was 2 of the Spurs substitutes who had been omitted from the list and for fans of Cluedo they share their surnames with two of the playable female characters in that game, White and Scarlett. Neither Harvey White (20, midfielder) nor Dane Scarlett (18, forward) had made their debut for Spurs yet so I’m sure both would be hoping to get off the bench today. Only time would tell if they managed to or not though.

By the evidence of their teammates warm-up Dane Scarlett in particular had a strong case that his talents may be needed. I don’t recall any of the Spurs strikers managed to score during their shooting practice at the end of the warm-up with them either missing the target by miles of seeing their shots catapult back towards them off the posts. Perhaps this was just their way of getting all the bad luck out before kick off though.

As the teams were announced on the stadium tannoy with 5 minutes to go before the match got underway it was an awesome touch of class to hear a deafening round of applause from all corners of the ground as Eriksen’s name was announced. He may be playing against them today but Spurs’ fans clearly still have a lot of respect for him and really want him to re-join their club for next season. As a Bees fan though all I can say is that there is not one Bees supporter who wants to see you leave Mr. Eriksen, so please don’t.

I finished my hot dog before kick off, bought from a kiosk other than ‘The Griffin’ as Brentford finally sort out their food options, and settled in for the match. One that was started under clouds of tense silence in the home stands and a party of the away fans singing chants for Eriksen that they had perfected during his time with their club. I just hoped that the action on the pitch would force a switch in the stand dynamics as the hosts got thing underway.

_{The view of the ground from my seat, you can just make out the Spurs’ fans away to my left}

With the vocal backing of the away contingent in the stands it was perhaps unsurprising that Spurs were on the attack from kick-off. Son Heung-Min was fed a ball down the right channel in just the second minute, but Rico Henry was paying attention to the threat and managed to get across to block Son’s route to goal. It looked like the first battle of the day was only seconds away, till the linesman’s flag intervened and robbed us of this tantalising spectacle.

This was just the first attack in an opening half that was played at 1,000mph. Whilst this was a joy for the purist inside me to witness it did cause some issues with making notes of everything I was seeing, as every time I looked down to make notes I risked missing some insane action on the pitch. A minor complaint about a match that was a joy to watch, exhibition football for the purist, a lovely personal reward after the awful spectacles I have sat through at other recent matches.

The Bees took that Son chance as motivation to grab the match by the scruff of the neck and push forward. First Jansson nabbed the ball high in the midfield and plays a slide rule through the Spurs defence intended for Mbeumo to turn home. Unfortunately the ball ran to the right side of Mbeumo where a Spurs defender was able to reach it and clear. If the ball had been to Mbeumo’s left he would have been clean through on goal, but alas this was not to be. Just a minute later the ball was back at Mbeumo’s feet on the edge of the box, having fallen to him when a teammate was fouled whilst cutting in from the right touchline, he let fly and missed the right hand post by miles and so the first 5 minutes of the match came to an end.

This was not the end of the Bees early pressure on their visitors goal though as they secured back to back corners in the 6th minute. Both of these were taken by the man of the moment, Eriksen, and the applause that went up from the away end as he took the corners from directly beneath their stand nearly crushed my ear drums. As for the corners themselves, they were both easily cleared upfield by Spurs, though the second clearance came after the ball appeared to strike a defender’s hand. The ref waved away all protests for a penalty though and in truth it would’ve been a harsh one to give as the ball was volleyed towards him at pace from just a yard away, giving him no chance to get his hands out of the way.

In the 8th minute Janelt sprayed a beautiful 40 yard crossfield ball up to Rico on the Bees right, but Rico lost the ball as he attempted to advance into the box. Having lost the ball the Bees right-back then raced back to cut out a ball through to Kane in the right hand channel. This incredible defensive effort from Rico was to typify the defences of both teams for the rest of the match.

The first chance for Spurs to show this mentality came in the 10th minute when Hugo Lloris managed an Ederson, losing control of the ball yards from his own goal he recovered just in time to slice the ball clear and away from a charging Mbeumo. This near miss for Spurs put me in mind of Zack Steffen’s mistake that gifted Liverpool a goal in the FA Cup semi-final and I’m certain that Lloris is glad not to add his name to the list of goalkeeping howlers through the years.

Spurs threatened again in the 12th minute when they end up earning a corner on the right, but Son sends it high over the heads of everyone in the box where it was poked out for a throw to Spurs on the left. This throw was worked into a crossing position only for the resultant cross to be blocked behind by Mads Bech for a corner to the visitors from the other side. In an attempt to correct for the high corner from the other side a few minutes earlier Spurs tried a driven corner low into the box, but it fails to beat the first man and is easily cleared upfield.

It took until the 16th minute for the Bees to get their first corner of the match and it came through a mistake from the visitor’s Romero. He failed to keep a goalkick in play on the right and from the throw Ghoddos was able to whip in the cross that was headed behind for the corner. From this corner Toney powers a header towards goal from the penalty spot that looks to be breaking the deadlock until Lloris springs from nowhere to get his hand to it and push it out from under the bar. No doubting that it was an incredible save from Lloris, but he hurt himself in the process of making it and there was a short break in play whilst he was tended too by the physios before he was able to continue.

Brentford secured another corner in the 19th minute and for this one they broke out a training ground routine. This meant taking the corner short though and made it easy for Spurs to set themselves up for the eventual cross and clear the ball without breaking a sweat. As such the Bees tried upping the tempo when they attacked again in the 21st minute. A quick throw by Toney unleashed Rico into space on the left but, unable to whip a cross into the box, his return ball to Toney was cut out and turned behind for another Bees corner.

For this one Bees reverted to type and chucked a ball straight into the mixer. It found Toney unmarked at the back post but his volley across the 6 yard box was unable to find the tap home that it required and Spurs were able to shepard the ball behind for another corner for the hosts. This one was floated to the edge of the box, but without the normal pace on it Dier was able to get to it and connect decisively to send the ball sailing away to half way.

The 25th minute arrived and this was the cue Eriksen needed to create his first incredible skill of the match. He fired a ball through the Spurs lines on the right to set Toney running free but his slide back to Mbuemo was cut out by the Spurs defence and chalk up another corner for Brentford. This one was punched off the top of Mbuemo’s head by Lloris and set the visitors on the attack.

This was an attack that resulted in the first free-kick of the match when Kulusevki lost his footing 20 yards from goal. The ref reckoned he saw a push by Jensen and since his call is the only one that counts everyone else just had to go with it. Justice was served when the free kick was set ballooning over the bar and the gap was one you can fit the shard into, but at least it was a nugget of success for the visitors and gave their fans something to hold onto during an extended period of Bees pressure.

At the half-hour mark the hosts had another chance to break the deadlock when Rico ripped the ball free in midfield. He fed Eriksen whose brilliant ball over the top landed to Mbeumo’s right when, once again, his left hand side was where the opportunity to guide it home was.

Spurs almost punished their hosts for messing this one up just 3 minutes later, in the 33rd minute, when Son drove through the middle before sliding the ball left for a cross to be fired across the box. That cross evades everyone in the 6 yard box and runs out for a Bees throw on the far side but it served as a reminder to everyone in the stadium that Spurs were determined to make a match of this one.

Further proof of this was provided by Kane in the 39th minute as he tried to chip Raya from the far right corner of the box. The ball sailed harmlessly into Raya’s arms after he scrambled to recover his position in time.

Eriksen was just as determined to turn the game in the Bees favour however and he had two gilt-edged chances to do so in back to back minutes in mid-thirties. In the 35th minute he sprayed a gorgeous ball down the right channel from halfway line that dropped on the open left-side of Mbeumo. This time though Mbeumo was unable to sort his feet out and get the shot away on goal before a defender can hack it clear. Only as clear as a throw half way into their own half though and Eriksen sends the ball straight back into the area. He sprays it down the left channel this time but got a little too much on his pass and a Toney on his heels was unable to make up the ground for a simple tap-in.

The flow of the game had been helped immensely upto this point of the match by the man in the middle letting everything go, but this immense clemency came to an end in the 43rd minute. Rico Henry and Emerson Royal engaged in a 50/50 as Royal charged forward with the ball at his feet. The ref gave Royal the benefit of the doubt and Spurs had the first freekick in a long time. It came to nothing and a minute later Brentford had one of their own when Mbeumo was bought in the centre circle, but this also came to nothing. Even for these offences the ref refused to reach into his pocket.

We were only provided with a single minute of added time at the end of this pulsating half and I headed to the concourse for half-time wishing that there had been even more to enjoy. I spent half-time talking to my uncle and cousins, seated in their normal spot further down the stand and my uncle was not wrong when he told me that “this is the best I’ve seen the Bees play”. Guilt washed over me like a tidal wave though when I realised that he had got me the ticket to watch the Bees rip Chelsea apart and been unable to find one for himself too.

There were no changes at half-time from either team and after a quick discussion with a steward about the book I had with me, Stanley Matthews autobiography, the second half got underway. From kick-off Spurs went straight on the attack as Ryan Sessegnon surged down the right wing before putting his cross on a plate for a teammate rushing into the box. Volleying the ball when approaching at speed proved to be more difficult than expected though and the ball sailed harmlessly wide of the mark.

Dejan Kulusevski looked to clear in the box with just Raya to beat in the 48th minute before a supremely late flag from the linesman pulled things back. This was the start of a hectic 6 minutes where the match cranked up to 2,000mph and I couldn’t dare to look down to take notes. As such most of what I noted down in this period is garbled nonsense that I can’t decipher. What I did make sense of though was that a Spurs freekick from halfway made it’s way to Kane in the box, but his shot was deflected over the bar. The corner was cleared but Spurs came roaring back only for their cross to be cleared at the back post by Mbeumo.

This resulted in a Spurs corner on the right that was played short before being whipped into the box by Royal. It was headed straight back where it came from only for another cross to come whizzing in. This one was headed behind for a Spurs corner that was thumped clear by the Bees defence to finally break the siege for 60 seconds of much needed respite.

That respite expired in the 65th minute as Spurs came again as they looked to break through the resolute Bees defence and force the ball home. Kane, Kulusevki and Rodrigo Bentancur all flashed in volleys in quick succession but they were all blocked and then cleared out for the next man to take his crack at it. The last of these clearances broke instead to Son on the right wing but again his cross was too high, though this time it went out for a goal kick instead of a corner.

Brentford had their first attack in a long time in the 57th minute as Mbeumo collected the ball from a corner and drove into the box. His shot caused pinball in the area but there was no-one in red and white that could turn it home and it was eventually cleared. The hosts were buoyed by this as they attempted a training ground routine from a stonewall freekick as the match reached the hour mark. This came to nought but having the confidence to try such things reflected the confidence now flowing through the hosts as they regained the upper hand in the match.

The ref had still not dipped into his pocket for a card all match and he continued this streak in the 62nd minute as Toney was felled 25 yards from goal. Eriksen and Mbeumo stood over the ball, but it was Eriksen who struck it… straight into the wall and had to watch it bounce downfield to set Spurs on the attack. Sessegnon advanced down the right and then goes to cross the ball only to slap it over the bar

Play then surged the other way as Janelt let rip from 20 yards out only to see his shot deflected inches wide of the left post. The corner landed on the head of Jansson just 10 yards out and he directed the ball goalward, but saw it headed off the line by a well placed Spurs defender. The follow up from point blank range was strong armed round the post by Lloris, who then set the visitors on a break that was stopped by a Jansson foul that earnt him the first card of the match.

There was no let-up in the action on the pitch as the match entered it’s final 20 minutes. Son cut inside from the left and whipped a shot straight down the goalkeepers throat, which resulted in a clash of heads between Toney and a Spurs man that left the Bees player down for a while receiving treatment. Both were able to continue after treatment, but whilst they were being treated the fans had our first chance to draw breath in the half. The spectacle of attacking football that both teams were treating us too was awesome and the more games that I see like this the happier a Man I’ll be.

Sessegnon had been rather subdued in recent minutes as he came up against Ghoddos again and again, never managing to gain the upper hand. This was enough to convince Antonio Conte to make his first substitution of the match he sent on Davinson Sanchez in place of Sessegnon to pose a new challenge on the Spurs left and hopefully find a way through the deadlock.

For Brentford there was another such one-sided match up as Jensen was clearly struggling and able to be beaten with alarming regularity by Ben Davies as the match progressed through it’s seventies. Thomas Frank responded to this not just by replacing Jensen with Josh DaSilva, but also took the opportunity to change the Bees formation to 4-2-4 by replacing Ghoddos with with Yoane Wissa. This second substitution was made necessary the minute before it happened and the change in formation that it resulting in led to some very strange things occurring. The strangest of which was that Mbeumo dropped into the right back position when Spurs had the ball. This seemed crazy to me, but with complete faith in Mr. Frank’s reasoning behind this I was looking forward to seeing it work.

These changes from both teams and the late time that had been reached in the match led to an even more open contest breaking out. The 84th minute saw an Eriksen free kick bounce of the back on an oblivious Toney’s head and set Spurs on the break only for it to break down and Brentford to break themselves. What we were missing though, the only thing missing from the match, was the breakthrough goal that would win it for whichever team secured it.

This elusive winner appeared to have arrived in the penultimate minute as Raya set Brentford on the attack, having pouched a Son free kick from the right. Rico was sprinting free on the right and looking to curl in a cross when he was brought down for a free kick to the bees on the edge of the area. Eriksen whipped it in and it was headed down into towards the bottom right corner of the net from 8 yards out. Watching on from the far end I thought it was in, as did everyone around me, but as I looked to the ref to signal the goal and started to celebrate I noticed that Spurs were breaking downfield and my joy turned to ashes in my mouth. I still haven’t the feintest clue who kept it out or how, the only thing I know is that it was not a goal and the match remained at 0-0.

Kane had one final chance to win it for the visitors in the 3 minutes added to the end of the 90, but his scissor volley on the turn flew agonisingly wide of the right hand post, having flashed it’s way across Raya’s body. It would have been a goal worthy of winning a glorious encounter that, in truth, neither team deserved to lose. When the ref blew his whistle for full time I was in shock that such an incredible match had somehow managed to end goalless, but somehow it had.

This match was the most entertaining match I have been too since Stamford bridge and certainly the best match that I have been too which failed to provide either side with a goal. I was so engrossed in what I was witnessing on the pitch that it wasn’t till I was making my way out of the stadium that I noticed that my seat had been furnished with arm rests to either side of it the whole time.

I stayed long enough after the final whistle to watch the Bees player make their lap of honour and receive the rapturous appreciation of the home fans for the effort they had put in across the 90 minutes. The team tends to head round the four sides of the ground as one cohesive group, but today that was not the case. Eriksen was being so adoringly cheered by the away end that he was compelled to head across to them. Whilst over with the Spurs fans Eriksen signed an old replica Spurs shirt with his name on that one of the fans had brought with them to the match.

The Spurs supporters were incredibly gracious in their support of Eriksen at every opportunity they had and it was awesome to see such class acts from them all. Speaking as a Bees fan though, I hope Eriksen remains their ex and with Brentford for many seasons to come. You’re amazing Christian and we want you to stay with Brentford.

As the end of the season approaches in the lower leagues of English football my next 2 blogs will come from matches in Leagues 1 and 2 respectively. League 1 brings it’s season to a close with the 12:30 kick off’s on Saturday and I’m heading to one of the few which carriers significance for the promotion picture. Find out which one it is in my next blog.

Monday 18th April 2022: Easter Monday: Ewood Park: EFL Championship: Blackburn Rovers vs Stoke City

Having missed going to a Good Friday game due to other commitments I wanted to make sure I chose well for my Easter Monday match. I considered taking the direct train up to Bloomfield Road in Blackpool to see the seasiders take on Birmingham City and if I had I would’ve seen 7 goals as the hosts sauntered to a 6-1 win. I also looked at going to Salford City to see how their push for the League 2 playoffs went as they hosted Barrow AFC and there again I would’ve seen a great game. The hosts took the lead then went 2-1 down with 7 minutes to play only to score an 89th minute goal to equalise again and save a point for themselves.

Shrewsbury Town hosting Doncaster Rovers was another match that entered my considerations, but the travel to that one pushed it to the bottom of my list of possibilities. If the travel had been easier I would have gone to it and witnessed a thrilling 3-3 draw as the hosts threw away a 3-0 half-time lead to concede a 94th minute equaliser as the 3 points slipped through their fingers. The final unused option on my list was heading to Rochdale to watch their match against Hartlepool United which would have provided me with an awesome comeback for the hosts as they secured a 94th minute winner to send the home fans ecstatic with 3 points they never expected to get.

I didn’t go to any of those matches though as I chose instead to head out into the Lancashire Valleys to visit ex-Premier League champions Blackburn Rovers at their Ewood Park home as they took on Stoke City. This was a bad call in hindsight but the reason I went this way was that, having seen how Sheffield United’s play-off push is going last week, I wanted to see what Blackburn were doing to keep the pressure on those above them as they attempt to sneak into the play-offs.

Rovers started the day in 8th place 2 points outside of the fabled play-offs but their goal difference of 9 was enough to see them move up to 7th before kick-off, due to Middlesbrough’s 2-0 loss at home to Huddersfield in the day’s early game. Such results can have a huge effect on the play-off picture with just 5 points covering the field from 6th to 12th place at the start of the day.

Given the close nature of the play-off race it is incredible that Rovers remain in it with the way their recent form has been heading. They had not won for a month coming into this match, with that last win coming in a 3-1 demolishing of Derby County on 15th March. Their form showed no signs of turning round recently either as they have surrendered the lead in all 3 of their games so far in April.

They have only lost 1 of those 3 though, but that was their Good Friday match away at Peterborough United where they took the lead in the 77th minute only to throw away the win by conceding 2 goals in the final 10 minutes. The extenuating circumstances for that result though were that they had to play the whole of the second half as Edun was sent off for them in the 41st minute of that one and thus was not available for Tony Mowbray to include in his match squad for this one.

Stoke City for their part have nothing left to play for this season. They’re safely marooned in 15th place with another Championship season confirmed for them unless they win every one of their remaining matches and the teams above them all have their form drop off a cliff. They are 14 points clear of the relegation zone before kick-off with a maximum of 12 points available to the teams below them, whilst they have a 10 point deficit to the play-offs.

The Stoke players can put their feet up for the rest of the season if they so choose safe in the knowledge that they will be playing in the Championship once again next season. This mindset seemed to be in force in their match on Good Friday as they had slipped to a 1-0 loss to Bristol City. They had beaten West Brom 3-1 in their last away game though, so perhaps they weren’t all in their flip-flops yet.

My ticket was open to be used any time during the day and with it being Easter Monday I decided to take an earlier train than originally planned to ensure that I had wriggle room to make the kick-off if I ran into any unexpected delays. No such delays were encountered and I even arrived in Blackburn earlier than expected as when I joined the throng of people abandoning the train at Preston I found thatt I had more options to complete the journey than was originally advertised.

I was expecting to have to take the same slow train from Preston to Colne that had previously got me to Burnley, but this time I also had the choice of a quick train to York if I chose to spice up my journey. As this York train was 15 minutes quicker and left 12 minutes earlier I decided to take it and take my chances with even more time to kill pre kick-off in Blackburn. There were a smattering of other fans on my final train to Blackburn, but nowhere near the thousands I had expected to be descending on the village for the match.

Stepping out of the station I realised that I had not used the WiFi at Preston station well at all as I had no clue which way I needed to go to get to Ewood Park. After stumbling around the village for a while I managed to get my phone’s data working and work out a Google Maps route to the stadium. For those who want to get from station to stadium without getting lost it’s left out of the exit and then basically straight on till morning. Veer right at the fork of the huge roundabout, then right at the traffic lights, ignore the huge blue and white arched bridge that appears out of nowhere on your right, then hook a left once you have crossed the Leeds-Liverpool canal twice over and reached the Empire Theatre.

By the time I hooked this left I started to be joined by other fans and it was nice to see life did exist around here. The whole of Blackburn felt sleepy and I cannot fathom how they found the support from the sunny hills to propel them to winning the EPL back in the 1994/95 season. Even around the stadium itself that relaxed atmosphere persisted. The shop was both airy and welcoming, but completely of keyrings so I left without buying anything. Not before talking to the server behind the till who told me that “all programmes are now digital”, WHAT?

Seriously Blackburn, not to provide programmes to your fans as a physical memento of their match experience is a ridiculous call. Every other football team across the country provides physical programmes for their fans and with very good reason. It connects the fans to their experience of the match and gives them a physical reminder of the team that prompts them to buy more tickets to see them play again.

Also from a personal point of view I use them to make notes on the biggest moments of the match, not to mention ensuring that I have the correct starting 11 and substitute bench for both teams. Thus the lack of a programme was exceedingly frustrating. The only other match at which I have had to manage without a programme was during Brentford’s Stamford Bridge demolition job and that was down to the outside sanctions rather than any active decision by the host team.

Exiting the shop you are thrown straight into the fan zone area outside the ground, where some foreshadowing of what was to come reared its ugly head. The screen in this area was showing the end of the early kick-off between Middlesbrough and Huddersfield but the quality of this screen was abysmal and I could barely make out the players, let alone the team names or the score. Whilst trying to work them out the tannoy sparked into life and announced both team’s matchday squads at 1,000mph such that even with a programme I would have struggled to get even a single player noted down correctly.

Having escaped this area with the match still in motion and having stopped at the statue of Jack Walker ‘Rovers greatest fan’, I snuck down the side of the stadium which back into a babbling brook. This stand is called the riverside stand but there is no way that the waterway is anywhere near big enough to be considered a river. The river was the only sign of life on this side of the stadium though and as I emerged round to the Darwen stand end of the stadium the signs of life improved slightly, but only in terms of the police and ambulance people waiting to direct the fans that were yet to arrive. The plethora of car parks on this side of the stadium could accommodate the capacity of the stadium 5 times over but as things stood as I passed through the area it was so quiet you could hear a mouse whistle.

The Jack Walker stand side of the stadium was no busier than any of the others but there was at least a war memorial on this side. I stopped there to pay my respects to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country before heading inside to see if I could detect signs of life inside the stadium.

Getting inside the stadium was the only place where the onslaught of new technology helps as, now I’m used to how they work, E-tickets are a useful replacement for their paper equivalents. Much easier to keep track of and harder to lose, but where they don’t help in the slightest is when you need to be a size minus 2 to fit through the turnstiles. Squeezing through was not easy and for the instant reward to be a brick wall that you have to turn sharp left to avoid smashing into was extremely unexpected. Once you make it round the wall though the concourse was roomy and empty to the point that you could drive an articulated lorry down it without a problem.

I bought a hotdog and drink for the ridiculous price of £7.10, not as money-grabbing as Chelsea but still awful for something so simple. That secured however I then poured myself down the steps and then as far left as possible to take my seat in the second row just four spaces from the dugouts. At this point I noticed that many of the fans around me had printed team-sheets which they told me they had been given from the dugouts, but when I asked for one the dugouts told me they had no idea what I was talking about. As such I am grateful to the fan in-front of me who allowed me to have his.

The away fans were hidden away high above the goal away to my right in the top tier of the Darwen Stand, just to the left of the single stadium screen. They were making loads of noise before kick-off though which was in direct contrast to the morgue atmosphere in the home stands. There was a banner screen between the tiers of the Darwen Stand that transformed into a match clock and score indicator 10 minutes before kick-off.

The stadium screen came in useful when the tannoy sparked into life to announce the teams. Each team’s squad was emblazoned on the screen in list form as the announcer ticked through it at a normal speed this time. Announcing the teams was useless for the fans though as those with team sheets already had the match squads on hand and for those without these magic sheets they had nowhere to put this information.

Stoke were in moss green tops and black shorts, whilst the hosts were in their traditional half-white, half-blue strip. The managers for their part emerged after their teams had taken the field but took polarly opposed approaches to their dugout role. The visitors Michael O’Neill headed straight up to the edge of his technical area, whilst Tony Mowbray made sure to shake every hand he could find in the Stoke dugout before reclining on the wall that separated the Blackburn area of it from the tunnel.

Perhaps this difference in the manager’s approaches bled over onto the pitch as within 4 minutes the visitors had take the lead. Stoke rolled a ball through the centre of the hosts defence and then saw the ball rolled past the charging Thomas Kaminski before Jacob Brown stroked it home into the empty net. A simple goal to put the visitors 1-0 up and leave everyone in the home stands in a state of shock and apart from the party in the away end you could hear a pin drop anywhere else in the stadium. There was no announcement on the tannoy of the goal scorer, but the squad lists on the screen gave away the scorer with a little football appearing in place of the squad number next to Brown’s name.

Blackburn responded to going behind by stringing together a set of attacks that ensured they wouldn’t concede again, but neither did they look like forcing their visitors to concede either and the reason for this was as Mowbray said himself “tell him to put it into the box”. The hosts seemed completely allergic to threatening the visitors goal and the main culprit of this was their number 10, Tyrhys Dolan. He seemed to be the only host’s player able to keep the ball but he over complicated everything he tried to do with it allowing Stoke to recover their shape and nick the ball back. Only to do nothing interesting with it themselves. Having secured the lead they appeared content to simply spend the rest of the match soaking up anything that Rovers threw at them.

Not that they had much to soak up as their hosts alternated between passing the ball straight back to Stoke whenever they attempted to advance over the halfway line and sliding incisive passes through the visitors defence without anyone running onto it to secure the equalising tap-in. An excellent example of the second type of Blackburn play came in the 19th minute when Sam Gallagher took it upon himself to advance the hosts cause and after bursting through the centre of the pitch he tucked a slide-rule pass into the box. Unfortunately none of his teammates were in the same postcode as him and as such this brilliant build-up play went without the finish it deserved.

As play reached the halfway point of the half Blackburn finally managed a decent passage of play in the Stoke half and from this they gained a free-kick on the right-hand touchline. Josh Maya gave away the freekick when he snapped away the ankles of the advancing Blackburn player, then compounded this mistake by failing to retreat 10 yards from the spot of the freekick and picking up the first yellow card of the match.

It took until the half hour mark for the next yellow card to be issued and this one went to the host’s Scott Wharton who came steaming into a tackle in the centre circle. 4 minutes later Jan Paul Van Hecke picked up the host’s second yellow card of the match for what looked like a very weak challenge on a Stoke player who was looking to take a run at the host’s defence. There didn’t appear to be much contact at all and Van Hecke may have been given the card for his remonstrations with the ref for giving the call this way.

Perhaps that call played on the ref’s mind and stopped him collecting a second yellow just 4 minutes later, as he pulled down a Stoke player as they looked to turn and then complained to the ref for giving a freekick against him for the foul. Only the extreme clemency exhibited by the referee kept him on the pitch till half-time, when he was correctly removed from the action by Mowbray who sent on Joe Rothwell in his place for the second half.

In the final 5 minutes of the half Blackburn finally gave the home fans a crumb of encouragement as they headed in for the break. First a lofted ball over the top had to be snatched off the head of Dolan by Jack Bonham in the Stoke net, if Dolan was taller that ball would have caused the visitors real problems. Dolan turned provider in the 43rd minute as he fizzed a ball into Ben Brereton Diaz on the edge of the box. Brereton Diaz attempted to pass the ball straight to the feet of a defender, but luckily for the hosts the defender wasn’t paying attention and the ball landed back at their man’s feet. With this second chance he advanced into the box before cannoning the ball directly into Bonham’s grateful arms at the near post.

This was the closest either team had come to scoring since Stoke’s opener and as such the booing by the home fans was utterly deserved as the home team trudged down the tunnel to face the wrath of Mowbray at half-time. The hosts had barely managed to string together 2 passes in the final third all half and only Brereton Diaz’s chance had credibly threaten the opponent’s goal all half. Booing was the least the home team should have expected to endure at half-time.

I tried to find some joy at half-time by checking the concourse screens to console myself with the knowledge that I wasn’t missing anything incredible at any of the other matches I had considered going too. This did not work for me though as I was confronted with the fact that Blackpool had raced into a 3-0 lead in the first half at Bloomfield Road. Devastated is not a strong enough description of how I felt on discovering this news, but getting to Bloomfield Road before the second half there kicked off was not an option so I just had to stick it out at Ewood Park and hope against all the evidence that the second half would see a vast improvement in the spectacle on the field.

The only saving grace for me and those suffering through things with me was that at least things couldn’t get much worse in the second 45 that what we had witnessed in the first 45. This did not seem much to cling onto as the teams emerged for the second half, with the hosts out far in advance of their visitors, given the rumours swirling around me that Bradley Dack injured himself at halftime.

So the Blackburn bench was depleted but that didn’t stop them coming out on the front foot and attempting to force themselves level. They failed to create any chances of note though before their momentum was torpedoed by Maya going down holding his head in the 47th minute. He was up and ready to play again after 30 seconds of physio treatment but it was a long enough break to kill the hosts momentum.

By the 49th minute the cagey nature of the game meant that the fans were clinging at straws to find anything to get excited about. Imagine our joy then when Kaminski skied a clearance onto the roof of the Riverside Stand. Waiting with baited breath for the ball to drop down the slope and into the arms of a fan in the front row (great catch dude) was the most exciting action we’d seen for ages, there were ooo’s echoing round the stadium as we waited for the drop.

The action on the pitch turned incredibly cagey at this point and chances became at even more of a premium at this point of the match. Lewis Travis tried a volley from 30 yards out to equalise for the host but sent it high and wide, then Gallagher tried to do it himself. Single handily weaving his way through the visitors defence before having the ball knocked off his toes as he shaped to shoot.

Gallagher won a freekick on the left in the 56th minute when Tommy Smith pulled him to the floor as he turned to run in behind. Smith picked up a yellow card for this but the freekick was headed straight back the way it came in and clear of the halfway line. I doubt that was what the Blackburn player intended but that’s the way it went off his head.

These 3 incidents in as many minutes finally sparked the home fans into life creating a proper football atmosphere for the first time all day. The hosts finally produced something for the fans to buy into and the fans responded by doing their part to inspire the players to more. It did no good though as the next action of note didn’t occur until the 67th minute and it was a substitution to boot.

Mowbray took another stab at shuffling his pack to help them back into the game. Replacing Bradley Johnson with John Buckley in a heartfelt attempt to force his Rover’s team back into contention to take something from this match. This change almost bore fruit immediately when Buckley won a freekick that was taken quickly and worked brilliantly into the box but it was rolled towards goal like a slug ambling uphill and the hosts were able to hoof it clear. The ref decided to make all of this irrelevant though as he ordered the hosts to re-take the freekick. This one was easily cleared by the Stoke defence.

I noticed at this point that the substitutes were displayed on the screen with their number on the left of their name and on the right a little ‘(s)’ appeared next to their name so that anyone who had stepped out for a moment can easily spot who the newbie on the pitch is. That’s a lovely touch by Blackburn and it would help if other clubs would do similarly, on this singular point only.

Back on the pitch and Rovers really should have drawn themselves level in the 70th minute. A floated cross from the left was headed goalward by Gallagher from 15 yards out which looked to be sailing in till Bonham leapt up to tip it out to the left. The volley from there was always rising and though it eventually ballooned itself way over the bar this passage of play still represented the hosts best period of the match.

In an attempt to turn this threat into goals Mowbray committed to his final substitution of the match with 15 minutes still to play. He bought on Ryan Hedges in the place of the tireless but ineffective Dolan. O’Neill responded to this with a first change of his own in the 79th minute but the man he brought off was not the one every fan in the stadium was expecting.

Smith had gone down 2 minutes earlier and was still in the process of being tended too by the physios when the board went up but Romaine Sawyers was the man that was removed from the fray. He was replaced by Jaden Philogene-Bidace as the match ticked into it’s final 10 minutes to held Stoke see this one out for the 3 points.

They tried to do one better than that in the 81st minute as they came close to doubling their lead. Swinging a cross through the corridor of uncertainty that found Maya free at the back post for what seemed to be a simple tap in, but he was unable to turn it home. Luckily for him though the hosts wasted a golden chance on the break despite Bonham dropping the ball to allow them a second chance at the cherry. The cross back into the box was straight into his waiting arms at the near post though, so chalk that up as another wasted chance for the hosts.

Gallagher tried to take matters into his own hands one last time in the 84th minute, careering down the left wing before cannoning his curling shot off the bar and away. This was the final time Gallagher would try a personal attack on the Stoke goal. Perhaps finally coming so close broke his will to try again. The hosts took this as motivation to mount a concerted push on the visitors goal but it was too little too late, they would create one more chance though.

Before I get to that chance Stoke had a couple more noteworthy moments in the match that I ought to touch on first. The first of these happened in the aftermath of that Gallagher chance as O’Neill made his second and final substitution. This appeared to be more of a chance to waste some time more than anything tactical though as Josh Maya made his way off the pitch as though he was wading through Golden Syrup in the height of a Saharan summer’s day. When he eventually made it to the touchline Stephen Fletcher sprinted on in his place, maybe he missed the time-wasting memo.

Then in the 89th minute Stoke had a credible penalty shout turned down by the ref. Philogene-Bidace cannoned the ball off the hands of a Rover’s defender from a couple of yards away and whilst the defender’s limbs were in an unnatural position the speed of the ball and the point blank range that it hit him from gave him no chance to get them out of the way. It certainly goes under the ‘seen them given’ category of penalty shouts but it would absolutely have been soft.

Blackburn were given 4 minutes of added time to find the equaliser their second half improvement deserved and they came so close to doing so through a cross from the left. The cross was stretched for at the back post and directed towards goal, but once again Bonham was on hand to palm the ball clear. It dropped to a Rovers player at the near post but their snatched shot rippled the net of the side netting rather than the parts of the net that counted. That was THE chance for Rovers to equalise and also the last action of the match as the ref blew the final whistle as Bonham lumped his goal kick upfield.

I almost wrote on my team sheet that the match had ended 0-0 as it had been so long since the goal was scored and there had been little else to cheer all match, but thankfully I noticed the ‘G’ in my notes and realised that someone must have scored. Despite this realisation I was still mightily unimpressed when I checked the concourse screens on my way out and saw that the crowd at Bloomfield Road had been treated to a tidal wave of goals, as Blackpool won that match 6-1.

Shrewsbury had thrown away a 3-0 half-time lead to draw 3-3 with their visitors, Doncaster Rovers, at the final whistle. That match even had a grandstand finish and a 94th minute equaliser for Doncaster. Salford City’s match at home to Barrow would also have been a better call as it ended 2-2 and each team scored in the final 10 minutes. Barrow thought they had won it in the 83rd minute only for Salford to equalise in the 89th minute to secure a point having lead 1-0 at half time.

Even heading across to Rochdale would have provided a better match than the one I suffered through. Rochdale went behind early before sparking a comeback with an equaliser in the 61st minute and sending their fans home ecstatic with a 94th minute winner. At least my journey home was only 2 hours on the train and 2 changes though. A couple down the row from me had travelled all the way from Chile for this one in support of Ben Brereton Diaz and I feel extremely sorry for them that they had such a wasted journey. I hope they find more interesting things to do with the rest of their holiday before heading back home.

For my part I’m back off to London this weekend in search of a decent football match, after suffering back to back dour spectacles in recent weeks. Hopefully Brentford can continue their recent excellent form as I return to see how Christian Eriksen fares against his old team, Tottenham Hotspur, on St. George’s Day.

Saturday 9th April: Bramall Lane: EFL Championship: Sheffield United vs AFC Bournemouth

After being treated to such an unexpectedly brilliant game last week it was only fair that this time out I would expect so much and instead end up suffering through one of the worst games of football it has ever been my misfortune to bear witness too.

I thought that by picking a match between 2 of the top 6 in the championship, who both have aspirations to be playing Premier League football next season and who both have so much to play for as they enter the final 6 games of the season, that I would get treated to an exhibition of just how good Championship football can be. What I got instead was 2 teams who contrived to play out one of the least entertaining spectacles of drossball that has ever darkened a football pitch.

The hosts of this dreadful match were Sheffield United who sat in 6th at kick-off and had a 2 point gap to Middlesbrough below them in 7th and were looking to bounce straight back up to the Premier League at the first time of asking. They came into this one in indifferent for though with 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses in their last 5, though they came into this off the back of beating QPR 1-0 at this very ground in midweek.

To keep their place in the play-offs United will be relying on their home form as they have not lost a league game at Bramall Lane since a 1-0 reversal by Blackpool all the way back on 30th November. A record like that is crucial if hopes of play-off football are to be fulfilled, particularly given the game in hand that Middlesbrough have on them.

AFC Bournemouth made their way up from the Hampshire coast for this one far more assured of their return to the top flight after 2 seasons away. They sat second at kick-of with a 6 point buffer and 2 games in hand over a 3rd placed Huddersfield team that was not in action till Monday 11th. Their haul of 72 points from 38 games so far is excellent, but any hopes of winning the league are long gone by this point as runaway leaders Fulham have a gargantuan cushion of 11 points over them and that should prove decisive with so few games left.

Those travelling Cherrie’s fans who made the long journey up to Yorkshire for this 12:45 kick-off could be bullish about their team’s chances though as they had won 3 of their last 5 matches before this one. Plus they were bound to be looking to respond after a 2-0 loss to West Bromwich Albion in midweek.

I can only imagine how early they must have had to wake-up to complete the journey in time for kick-off as even my relatively short journey across the Pennines required a 9am start. The train only takes 1hour and 40minutes but as it’s the direct train all the way to Norwich, the same one that got me to the Nottingham Forest game a few weeks back, there are only a couple per day and you have to ensure you make it as the alternative options are limited. So as thousands of people were pouring into the city for both the Grand National at Aintree and the visit of Man United to Goodison Park I was on a train going the other way out to God’s County, Yorkshire.

When you step out of Sheffield station the stadium is an easy 15 minute walk, the first step of which is to head up the steps in front of you and past all the water features that flank your route. Then follow the road round to the right at the fork until you clear the one way system at which point you can either head straight down over the main road or turn right and cross at the next set of lights down. The first option brings you straight onto the Kop Stand side of the stadium but as I was unaware of this I went right and then took the next left to find myself on the Bramall Lane side of the stadium.

Bramall Lane is not an attractive stadium from the outside. It is just a blank white building, with a few tiny flecks of red in a couple of places and hotels on each corner of the side that backs onto Bramall Lane itself. Once you turn the corner onto Cherry Street the view does start to improve. On the far side of a huge car park you see the stadium again and on this side it actually does look like a football stadium. I headed into the car park to have a butchers at the twin statues standing like sentinels dead in the centre. The first of these was for a man called Joe Shaw who had made 714 appearances for the Blades between 1945 and 1966, auspicious years for the whole nation. Whilst the second was for Derek Dooley MBE who served as club chairman between 1974 and 2006. I had never heard of either of them before myself, but they are clearly important in the history of the hosts.

Past theses I found the club shop from where I only needed to buy my traditional keyring, having picked up the £3.50 programme on my way down the Bramall Lane side of the ground. Finding the keyring was far easier said than done however, as they were hidden right up against the tills. Having found them then returned to the back of the queue and got back to the till to pay for them I decided it was high time for me to get into the ground and find my seat, despite there being half an hour to kick-odd at this point. Oh and just so you’re aware, the programme sellers are cash only whilst the shop is card only just to make things delightfully difficult for you.

I was in the Kop stand and the way I lapped the stadium it was the last one I came too. The turnstiles on my ticket were at the far end of the stand, but having made it all the way down there and making it easily through the slim turnstiles I then had to head all the way back along the floating walking to the far end again to find my gangway down to my seat. To prepare for that long walk the turnstiles open straight onto 5 sets of staircases for you to clamber your way up, but at the top there are at least food kiosks when you can buy recharge materials. Fully recharges I located my gangway and galloped down the steep stairs to my seat in the front row, just left of the goal and with a huge screen away at the far end.

That screen was a complete waste of time though as it was plastered with adverts the whole match and I had to track the match time on a tiny banner dot-matrix screen between the tiers at the way end. The fact that it was the away end only became clear after kick-off as I was too busy trying to ensure I had the teams taken down right. They were announced at top speed as the teams emerged for kick-off and I only missed 2 of the Cherrie’s starting 11. I was able to grab the numbers off their backs after the match got underway and luckily for me they were both on the programme squad lists. Zamora in the starting line-up wasn’t on the programme, but thankfully I caught this early and was able to jot his name down without missing any of the match.

Bournemouth were playing in forest green tops and within 2 minutes they were on the back foot. The hosts were on the attack through Ben Davies on the right when Adam Smith came in late on him near the corner flag and cleared Davies out. This resulted in the first freekick of the half, but not the card that the home fans all expected. Nevermind though as the Blades were attacking on the left and then slid a ball through the corridor of uncertainty that was begging to be turned home, but captain John Egan couldn’t get the necessary touch.

This was the only clear cut chance of a first 20 minutes that was robbed of any flow by the ref blowing up every few seconds for even the slightest infringement, severely damaging the match as a spectacle. That spectacle was damaged even more for the home fans by the perception that the ref was seriously favouring the visitors. Such a perception was not helped by some of the incredibly soft calls that were going in the visitors favour.

As the match pushed past the 20minute mark there was finally some more goalmouth action for the home fans to witness. This time they flicked a cross over from the left that was almost turned past his own keeper by a defender. An own goal would have been a fitting way for the deadlock to be broken, but instead it rolled past the post for a corner that would be wasted.

It took another 3 minutes for the blades to be back on the attack as Mark Travers in the host’s goal sprayed a 60yard ball forward to set them free on the left. The resultant cross was awful and easily turned behind for a corner. United wasted the corner with a volley that flashed all the way across goal and behind for another corner. This was easily cleared too and resulted in the first yellow card of the match when one of the host’s players picked one up for cutting out the visitor’s break.

The ref decided to intervene for the visitors in the 28th minute when he gave them a freekick as their keeper grabbed the ball off a blades’ striker as he shaped to shoot. How that worked out as a freekick I have no idea and nor did anyone around me, but the visitors broke from it which resulted in their first chance of the match as Ryan Christie messed up an attempted chip of Travers, who barely had to move to catch the ball.

That experience for the hosts seemed to make them scared of trying at all as they decided not to whip in a simple cross from the right in the next minute and chose instead to overplay the ball till the defence could readjust and clear it. My next door neighbour in the stands turned to her son and said the line that would sum up the match from now until half time ‘They’re just to scared to have shot’ (sic). It really did feel this way as the host’s limped their way to half time.

This petrified play allowed the visitors to finally get the ball upfield in the 33rd minute. Christie tried an ambitious volley from 20yards out and given the pattern of play so far it seemed fitting to see the ball balloon way over the top of the bar. It seemed neither team had packed their shooting boots for this one. Dembele joined the awful shots party for the visitors in the 37th minute by screwing a shot wide of the left hand post from the edge of the box.

By this point of the half both teams were trying to simply walk the ball all the way through the opposition and roll it into the back of the net. Christie tried this when free through the centre and when he refused to shoot from 8 yards out the combination of Travers and Uremovic helped salvage the situation for the hosts and keep the scores at 0-0. If he had just had the confidence to shoot he would have fired the Cherries into the lead.

It got even worse for those visiting fans who had made the long journey north as Bournemouth refused to even swing a freekick into the box in the 44th minute. To make such a long journey to watch your team not even be willing to try must have been galling for those fans after all the effort they had made to make it to the match. It was no better for the home fans a minute later when the host’s John Fleck made a driving run through the centre then laid it on a plate for Morgan Gibbs-White to slide home with only the keeper to beat. He refused to shoot though and instead insisted on playing it back inside to Fleck. A hesitation which allowed the visitors to recover and snuff out the danger.

This was the last action of a half that ended goalless and left me and all the fans around me just hoping for a few decent shots after the restart. A goal would obviously be a plus as this point, but to score first you must shoot so we all agreed that this would be a good place to start. Some of the other fans around me also felt that a new ref would be an excellent boost to the hosts chances of getting anything out of the match, especially after a couple of questionable calls in the 30’s. First by giving Fleck a yellow card for a perfectly times tackle and then by not showing a cad to the visitors Dominic Solanke for kicking Travers in the head whilst challenging for the ball a few minutes later. To say that the home fans felt the ref was extremely biased in his decision making would be to undersell their feelings immensely.

At half time the hail started bucketing down and I decided to move several rows back in a vain effort to find some cover from this sudden April shower. Whilst I was attempting to pull of this doomed move there exploded around me a spontaneous round of applause for one of the home fans who was celebrating both his 99th birthday and 75th wedding anniversary at this match. Just a shame the action on the pitch was not giving him much to enjoy. Both managers seemed satisfied with what they were seeing though as neither decided to make any changes at half-time.

The first chance of the second half came in only the third minute, but not in the conventional way of a team attacking the goal they’re shooting towards. The hosts decided to switch it up and whip a tempting cross across their own 6 yard box that was begging for a simple tap-in to be applied. In keeping with the game so far though the cherries were unable to find the touch needed to give themselves the lead.

Just after 2pm in the afternoon and with the match clock heading into minute 52 the Yorkshire weather had deteriorated so far that the floodlights kicked into gear. Illuminating the pitch in light, but any hope that the new pitch lighting would improve the spectacle on the pitch was short lived though. The ref torpedoed the hope within a minute of the floodlights turning on by missing the ball going out of play for a throw to the hosts on the left touchline. He allowed play to go on and at the end of that phase of play the Cherries wasted the corner they managed to create. Then 2 minutes later the ref made the same mistake on the other side of the pitch.

Perhaps this angered the clouds that had gathered over head as they then unleashed a biblical hailstorm onto the pitch. I was not covered from this in the front row, but nor could I move far enough back to get completely out of the way either. Dealing with the rain was not helping the players improve their play either or the ref to make decent decisions. First he gave the Cherries a freekick for what appeared to be a simple slip on the now extremely slick pitch surface, then failed to give the hosts a freekick when Oli McBurnie was wrestled to the floor on halfway.

This was the start of the start of a period of play where the ref made so many abysmal decisions in a row that they became so ubiquitous to the experience that I stopped making notes of them. These dreadful decisions by the ref took any last vestige of enjoyment or momentum out of the match for either team or set of supporters.

The play on the pitch only started to improve a little in the 69th minute, but not much. A simple slide rule pass through the visiting defence was mis-kicked by Cherries captain Lloyd Kelly allowing Gibbs-White to rush onto it. All he had to do was chip the ball over Travers in the Cherries’ goal but his attempt to do so was too weak and the keeper barely had to do anything to catch and save the ball.

This was a blessed break from the awful decisions from the ref but he was back on form in the 70th minute when he punished an expertly timed tackle by the host’s defence with a yellow card that was never deserved. He had yet to give any yellow cards to the visitors, but this changed in the 74th minute when Billing came in like a heat seeking missile on one of the hosts in the centre circle. The ref had to react to this one and he finally dished out a yellow to a visiting player, with Billing now having to be on his best behaviour for the final 15 minutes of the match.

Between these two cards the managers of each team finally made a move each to try and alter the trajectory of a match that was so clearly ending 0-0 at this point. One goal was all it would need to win this one and the hosts tried to get that deciding goal by removing John Fleck from the action and bringing on Ben Osborn in his place. The visitors responded by taking off Siriki Dembele and replacing him with Jaidon Anthony.

A corner for the visitors that was easily cleared upfield that was then wasted on the break by the hosts, with an awful cross from the left that failed to beat the first man, provided the proof to Paul Heckingbottom in the Blade’s dugout that his previous substitution had not been enough, prompting a second change for the hosts. Conor Hourihane was bought on to replace Sander Berge as the hosts looked for the breakthrough that would win the match.

The visitors were lucky to finish the match with a full compliment of players on the pitch as Billing really wasn’t on his best behaviour in the 84th minute. He came clattering into a United midfielder on the touchline right next to the dugouts and cleared out the man. The ref decided against a card this time, but why he did so when a similar challenge 10 minutes earlier had earned him his first yellow card.

United had a huge shout for a penalty in the 86th minute when Gibbs-White had his legs swiped from under him in the box, but the ref waved away their appeals. This was the last questionable decision the ref would make in the match, but to be fair there were only 3 minutes of normal time left. There was one sour point in the match though and this one fell to the visitors.

Jordan Zemura pulled up with a hamstring injury as he chased a ball to the corner to clear it and after a long delay as he was tended too by the physios he had to be helped to limp off the pitch. Thankfully the stretcher which had been brought round for him was not needed, but it was still awful to witness a player having to leave the pitch due to injury. Robbie Brady came on in his place and he would pick up a yellow card in the four minutes of extra time that the 4th official decided to subject us all too.

In that added time United still managed to mess up one last chance and this one took skill to miss. The first truly gorgeous ball of the match was played into the back post from the right. All it needed was the simplest of headers home by Ben Davies to score the goal that would clinch them the match. Instead of simply guiding it into the open net though Davies tried instead to pit it on a plate for Filip Uremovic. With the whole goal to aim at he headed the ball straight back where it came from and then wide of the post by a gap you could fit the Humber Bridge into. It took some serious skill to miss such an open goal, but it was a fitting end to the match to see such a feat managed.

That was the last action of a match before the ref put us all out of our misery and brought the most incredibly dour game of football I have ever witnessed too an end. If either of these teams do manage to secure promotion to the Premier League for next season they will have to improve massively on the dreadful displays that they dished up today or they’ll come straight back down to the Championship. They even stand a chance of beating Derby’s record low haul of 11points from a Premier League season if they continue to play at the level they did in this match.

If I hadn’t done my research before the match I would’ve assumed that what I had just been forced to witness was a relegation battle between two teams fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table. If I was not an obsessive football fan, that can drive others mad by discussing the ins and outs of match tactics and the importance of many of the best matches of history, I’m not sure I would have even been able to mark out this match as a Championship one. The quality on display would have been too low even for most League 2 matches.

Next up I’m off into the Lancashire valleys on Easter Monday to visit Ewood Park and see how Blackburn Rovers, another Championship Play-off hopeful, perform against their visitors Stoker City. I just hope it’s a better spectacle than this match was.

2nd April 2022: EPL: Stamford Bridge: Chelsea vs Brentford

So straight off the bat I just have to say that I cannot believe how lucky I was to witness this incredible match and that’s not just because of the insanely awesome way the result turned out. I was lucky even to have a ticket as this match went on sale just as the sanctions against Abramovich, and by extension Chelsea, were enacted into law.

I had even bought myself a ticket to Derby County’s home match against Preston North End bought and paid for as a back up if I couldn’t buy a ticket to this match. Return train tickets to Derby had even been bought, by the time Chelsea’s special license was amended to allow them to sell tickets once more. Once Chelsea were cleared to sell tickets again I only able to secure myself a ticket to the match thanks to my uncle, who is a Brentford Season Ticket holder, who was able to secure one for me. I am never-endingly grateful to him for this as it was one hell of a match.

On the way to the match I had no real hopes for the match to be anywhere near as brilliant as it turned out. Chelsea came into this one sitting in splendid isolation in 3rd place in the table, with a 10point yawning chasm to the nearest of the top 2 above them but also a huge 7point lead over Arsenal in 4th and had a game in hand over them all. A haul of 59 points from 28 games so far this season is what leaves Chelsea in this spot and assured of Champions League football next season, barring a disastrous collapse in the final 11 games of the season. Even such a collapse may not see them drop out of the top 4 though with a healthy goal difference of 38 in their back pocket too.

No collapse was on the horizon either way as the hosts had not lost a league match since a narrow 1-0 loss away at the Etihad on 15th January. They had also not only lost a single home match all season and that was against Manchester City back on 25th September when they were still acquainting themselves with the new season and Tuchel was starting his first full season in charge of the team. He has done an excellent job at Chelsea with them only having lost 3 times all season at kick-off and having won the reverse fixture at the Brentford Community Stadium back on 16th October.

The Bees for their part were not in great form coming into this match, with a mid-season drop-off in form as other teams worked out how to counter their threats, Toney developed an allergy to the penalty area and both he and Mbuemo had injury problems taking them out of the team for periods of time. Since Eriksen has started getting minutes in the side though they have been rejuvenated.

Securing back-to-back wins first away against Norwich and then at home to Burnley, with Eriksen in the team, have helped subdue the relegation fears that were starting to creep into their supporter base. A loss away to Leicester City in their final match before the International break hit them with a dose of reality, but the previous two wins had pulled them up to 15th place and with an 8point cushion over the drop zone. Their minus 14 goal difference was also better than the teams below them too, despite it’s negative nature.

Eriksen had been truly incredible since joining the club in January helping to cure Toney’s penalty area allergy and providing much needed quality from set-pieces. He also provides the quality in midfield to spread 40 yard balls all over the pitch and the ability to provide assists from all over the pitch. His connection and chemistry with Toney will be vital for Brentford to secure the last few results they need during the run-in to maintain their Premier League status for another season.

Getting to the match is simple enough as all you have to do is get the tube to Fulham Broadway station on the District line. You head out of the special football exit at the back end of the platform, it’s like the secret exits they have at stations near the Notting Hill Carnival, then turn left and follow the road around the corner. The first 2 gates are for home fans, with the third gate being the away fans entrance to the stadium area, it’s a 5 minute walk to the away gate.

Changing at Earl’s court to get the Wimbledon train down to Fulham Broadway took longer than it normally should though as the train was delayed as we were ‘waiting for a relieving driver’. As I waited for the train to move I pointed a couple, one of who was wearing a Cambridge Rowing club jacket, towards the correct platform to get them to Hammersmith. I then spent the rest of the time chatting with other Bees’ fans on their way to the match and there was one thing on which we all agreed. Brentford’s chances of getting a positive result out of this match were not good at all though, as one of the blokes pointed out, ‘you never know’. A good point there.

One I reached my entry gate at the stadium I came across a protest against the proposed purchase of Chelsea by the Rickett’s family. I am vaguely aware of the reasons for this protest but I am absolutely not qualified to go into detail on the subject, so if you wish to find out more you are welcome to do research of your own into the matter. For my part I simply walked past them and up to the security stewards. They checked my plastic bag to ensure my books were safe to take inside and fitted within the A4 size limit.

My bag passed, as will most handbags, but for those which don’t pass the size test there are rudimentary bag drop facilities by the entry gates. Nothing on the scale of the bag drop facilities at the Etihad and Old Trafford though. I bypassed these and was proceeding to weave my way between the 2 hotels on one side of the road and the bar and restaurant for the prawn sandwich brigade on the other when the away coaches turned up requiring use of the road.

Once the coaches had passed me, I found my way round a lap of the stadium as I normally do. I did try the doors to the shop but they were securely locked to comply with the sanctions and this also meant there were no programs on sale around the ground either, which was to prove a nuisance later on once the match was underway. What there was around the stadium was a wall down the shed end that was plastered with banners of important players from throughout the club’s history, both before and after the money came in.

Continuing around the stadium you come across the millennium reception area, above the entrance to which there was a statue to Peter Osgood. I didn’t recognise the name, but after further research in the course of writing this blog it turns out he was an excellent striker who played for the blues from 1964 to 1974 and even managed 4 caps for England during this time. Above this statue is a vertical banner detailing every trophy that Chelsea have won throughout their history.

Moving further round the stadium silence descended on the area, as I slowed to a stroll. I found the museum and tour start point around the back of the stadium, by the Matthew Harding Stand, from which protruded a floating bridge connecting it to the stadium. Round the corner from this and on the home stretch back to the away turnstiles the stadium runs up parallel to a railway. You can’t actually walk alongside it though as it’s a cordoned off area for press and player entry to the stadium. For fans you have to head up the stairs and through a covered tunnel back to the Shed end.

Once back at the Shed end I made my way round the makeshift barrier of stewards, past another round of bag checks and then a security pat-down airport style before heading through the turnstiles. It’s only up 2 storeys worth of stairs before you reach the concourse of the upper shed tier and I four one was very glad that this was less than I had to deal with on my visit to St. James’ Park earlier in the season.

What I was not glad of though was the prices of the food when I got to the kiosks, it was £8.10 for a hot dog and a cold drink! As the bloke buying drinks next to me asked ‘Does it come in 24carat gold bottles?’ Needless to say I didn’t go back for more at half-time.

I was up on the concourse with an hour till kick-off, so I watched the end of Liverpool’s victory over Watford at Anfield that sent them top of the table for a few hours before heading to my seat. Whilst watching the match on the screen I was able to take down the starting 11’s and subs bench for both teams when they appeared on the bottom of the screen. Without a programme to tick off the teams on I had to write out the names in my phone and being careful to ensure I spelt their names right made it so much more time-consuming than normal. I was pleased to see that Eriksen was starting for the Bees as this was my first chance to see him in action and I was insanely excited to see him in action.

The teams were also announced later on the stadium tannoy one-by-one and shown on the screen simultaneously, but by that point I was settled in and just waiting for kick-off. That screen was far away at the other end of the ground perched on the roof behind the opposite goal and the top of it was still lower than the roof of the stand down the edge of the pitch. In point of fact, Stamford Bridge looks hilarious from the inside as not a single stand is the same height as the one next to it. The stands behind the goal are both shrunken versions of the ones down the side of the pitch.

I had found my place in the stands by this point and there was still easily half an hour till kick-off. I say my place and not my seat because as it turns out the Shed upper tier is all safe-standing, the home fans too. I know this because my allocated space was just 3 across from the divider to the home fans’ area and I could see them sitting on the seats provided whilst the safe-standing barriers went unused throughout the 90 minutes.

This was my second time in 2 matches that I was placed in a safe-standing area and whilst I used the seat to rest up during the build-up to the match and at half-time, I was spared the frustration of the barrier impeding my view of the 6 yard box during the match itself by standing the whole time. Having now experienced this way of doing things at 2 separate stadium I can state categorically that it works as a system and personally I prefer it the purely seat-focused model.

There was a pleasing sign from the host that they are trying to do their bit to grow the following for the women’s game in the capital as they announced 25 minutes before kick-off that their women’s team were hosting Reading at Kingsmeadow the next day. You could either pick up tickets for that match online or at the turnstiles on the day of the match, so I did. I went to the stadium the next day and watched that whole match, but after what I was about to witness in this game at Stamford Bridge it felt that the match at Kingsmeadow was played at full throttle, with both teams in reverse. For that reason I will not be blogging that match but I will return to Kingsmeadow at some point in the future to find a game I will blog.

Back to the men’s match today and I was enjoying hearing London Calling by the Clash over the tannoy as it’s an awesome tune, such a shame to hear it cut short with Park Life by replacing it. It’s not that I dislike Park Life but one things for certain, as a Londoner living up north I will take any chance I have to hear a song about London and it felt particularly apt to hear it at a match being played in London too. Hearing it cut short was annoying and didn’t feel for a good sign for the Bees chances in the match to come. Brentford were shooting towards the away fans in the second half though, so that would give them a chance of scraping a result if they were still in with a chance at that point.

That was were my head was as the game got underway, but within 2 minutes the Bees had already secured a freekick 20yards from the Chelsea goal as they shocked everyone in the stadium by putting the pressure on their illustrious hosts from the first whistle. The freekick was sent in on the curl by Eriksen, it was struck so exquisitely that I was amazed to see it skimming over the top of the bar instead of nestling in the back of the net. To see the Bees taking the game to the hosts so early on was brilliant to see from my spot at the other end of the stadium, but I would be happy not to see the ball up close for the rest of the half.

No such luck though as Mason Mount broke out on the right in the 5th minute, but before he could get a cross into the box Rico Henry got across and was able to block it behind for a corner. Joyously though Brentford were able to break upfield from the corner and Mbuemo was able to get a cross in from the left. He was aiming for Toney at the back post, but it was overhit and this destroyed the momentum of the attack.

Timo Werner was able to advance on the left for the hosts in the 7th minute but his ball into the box was hilariously close to Raya, who caught it with supreme ease. Werner slipped as he slapped the ball into Raya’s arm and he felt that he had been caught so he went down before appealing to the ref for a penalty. Thankfully the ref was on the ball here and waved away the claims. From this point Bees were able to set-up an attack of their own. Eriksen sprayed a gorgeous 30 yard ball out to Roerslev on the right and to see that quality on the visitors side was lovely. Unfortunately the resultant cross was behind Mbuemo in the centre and though it ran through to Toney his shot from 10 yards out was palmed behind by Edouard Mendy in the Chelsea goal.

Brentford solidified their dominance of possession as the first 10minutes of the game ticked over into the teens and they were now making the most of it too. They created presentable chances in both the 11th and 12th minutes. First Rico stood a ball up for an unmarked Toney at the back post, but he put his header inches over the bar. Then, after Roerslev was taken out on the right touchline the freekick into the box was tapped across the box by Toney before being deflected behind for a corner. The corner was taken short and when Eriksen whipped the ball into the area it was theatrically punched clear by Mendy before it could be turned home.

It took until the 17th minute for the hosts to manage a prolonged period of possession in the Brentford half but they made nothing from it and it was brought to a premature end by the host’s Marcus Alonso, who hooked it out from under a teammates foot and for a Bees throw-in. There was a break in play for everyone to catch their breath in the 19th minute as Ajer went down holding his ankle. Whilst he shrugged this off without physio aide, the delay was mainly to allow him to re-tie his laces. The delay was then extended as Mendy was down on halfway. I have no idea why he was on the halfway line, let alone why he was down on the turf and I was even more mystified by this incident as he was able to continue moments later without a physio ever going within 10 yards of him.

Having recently worked out how to keep hold for the ball Chelsea finally created their first notable chance in the 21st minute. First Werner tried to run straight through Christian Noorgaard in the visiting defence and when he went down screaming for a penalty no-one took any notice. His teammates went on with the match and eventually worked the ball out to Mason Mount 18yards out, but he smashed it high and wide of the left post. Not the result he would have been looking for, but it was at least a note of positivity for the home fans to hold onto.

That was the end of the Chelsea positivity for now though as Raya unleashed a 60yard ball out to Rico on the left and he played it off to Noorgaard inside him. Unfortunately there was no shot for the visitors here though as when he was fouled the freekick from Eriksen was easily cleared by the home defence.

The 26th minute began a period of the match that I have dubbed the whistle festival. The referee in his infinite wisdom began gives free kicks for even the slightest contact all over the pitch during this 5minute period. Starting with a freekick to Chelsea on halfway when a brilliantly timed sliding tackle from Ethan Pinnock nabbed the ball back for the Bees. He got all of the ball and none of the player, but when the Chelsea man slipped as he turned round in an attempt to get back on the cover the ref blew up for a freekick. This game him a taste for it as he proceeded to destroy any flow the game had from then until he got bored of this power-hungry nonsense at the match drifted past the half hour mark.

Chelsea almost took an utterly undeserved lead in the 32nd minute as Toney switched off whilst helping out the defence and Ruben Loftus-Cheek took full advantage of this to amble past him to the edge of the box. Thankfully his shot was one of the weakest I have ever seen and Raya was able to catch it without breaking a sweat but it provided a timely reminder to the visitors that, despite their dominance of the match so far, the hosts were not going away.

Having dominated the match to this point and only being unable to take the lead due to a lack of finesse on the finishing touches, Brentford seemed to feel that a goal would inevitably arrive soon and proceeded to switch off. Mbuemo and Toney were particularly guilty of this as they stopped making runs up front or closing down the Chelsea defenders as the visitors got sloppy in the final 10 minutes of the half.

During this time period Chelsea created a couple of chances of note, as well as putting a few corners straight into the first man and letting the Bees clear them unmolested. The first of these chances came from centre-back Antonio Rudiger who let one rip from 25 yards out. He shanked it 3 goals wide of the left hand post but it at least showed the home fans that he cared. It was not enough to get the home fans interested in cheering their team on though.

The home fans didn’t even offer any encouragement to their team when they actually managed their first shot on target with 5minutes of the half left. Loftus-Cheek gut inside on the right and flashed a shot towards goal with the visiting defence all at sea. Raya was paying attention though and threw himself at it just in time to get fingertips too it and send it over the bar.

This was the first time that either team had shown enough quality this half to threaten the opposition goal. Brentford had been on top for most of the half but were lacking that final spot of quality needed to take the lead and going into half time I couldn’t help but fear that the hosts would make them pay for their profligacy. Checking the screens on the concourse helped me relax though as I saw that my back up game at Pride Park was goalless too, so at least I wasn’t missing anything there.

The quality in front of goal could only improve in the second half though as not only would Tuchel get into his players at half time to improve, but I hoped Thomas Frank would be doing the same with Mbuemo and Toney to tighten up their finishing. Tuchel’s team talk seemed to be the easier to give of the two as the hosts were first out for the second half. The home fans weren’t too pleased to see them though as you could have heard a pin drop from 5 miles away at this point, that was until the visitors emerged though and the away stand erupted into an ear-splitting cacophony of noise. Whatever the content of the team talks though, neither manager felt the need to shuffle their personnel at half-time and we will see how this works out for them both as the second half gets underway.

Tuchel’s team talk did the trick as Chelsea started the half at 500mph and they got their reward for this new approach when they took an unexpected lead in the 47th minute. Rudiger had learnt from his sighter shot at the end of the first half and he made his shot from 25yards count this time round. He rifled as straight as a die off his foot and it beat the despairing dive of Raya to nestle in the top left corner of the net. It was an effort of such beauty to give the hosts the lead, but even this was not enough to stir more than a smattering of applause from the home fans. What it did do was give me a sinking feeling as Chelsea had started this half so well and now had a goal to show for it that I was worried Brentford had passed their peak in the match and would now go on to lose, despite dominating the first half.

I need not have worried at all because it took just 4 minutes for the Bees to level things up. The first thing I knew of the goal was the cheers all around me as I was busy making a note of a simple sweep home a minute earlier that Mbuemo saw blocked from the penalty spot. I worked out quite quickly that it was Vitaly Janelt who scored the equaliser as the fans all around me broke out into his chant ‘He comes from Germany and now he is a Bee, Vitaly woah, Vitaly woah!’ and I was so happy that the Bees were level mintues after conceding what I thought would be Chelsea’s winner that I became one of those chanting the loudest.

Vitaly’s equaliser sparked the home fans into life too as the shock of losing their lead so quickly after taking it shocked many of them out of their previous slumber. The stadium now finally had a proper match atmosphere. That atmosphere in the home fans was deflated rather quickly though as the Bees capitalised on the momentum of their equaliser to take the lead just 2 minutes later. This second goal for the visitors came from a Chelsea corner that was easily cleared out of the box and set the Bees on the break. The ball was fired upfield to Mbuemo on the left and with the choice of Toney or Erkisen to choose from in the box he decided to be a gentleman. Instead of going for goal himself he rolled it to his right instead and put it on a plate for Eriksen to slap home in acres of space a mere 6 yards from goal. Eriksen needed no second invitation and with the freedom of London he smashed it straight into the centre of the net.

That goal was Eriksen’s first goal in domestic football since his return to action after his brush with death last summer. I felt honoured and extremely privileged to witness this goal and I’m in no doubt that it will be the first of many in the remaining 7 games of the season. What Eriksen will do when his contract with Brentford ends this summer is anyone’s guess but, whilst I personally hope that Brentford find a way to keep hold of him for next season, it is obvious that there will be many clubs competing for his signature. He has elevated the play of every Bees player since he came in and will be a huge factor if they manage to stay up after their mid-season slump.

Back to the match and with Eriksen putting the Bees 2-1 up just 6 minutes after they went behind the atmosphere in the away end was beyond words. The chants were constant now and all were gloriously ecstatic. A favourite one of mine that made an appearance at this point was ‘We’re just a bus stop in Hounslow, bus stop in Hounslow’. That moniker for the Bees was originally a jibe thrown at us by local rivals QPR, but when we beat them convincing in a derby match in the before time pre-pandemic the home stands broke out in choruses of the chant to show that the truly dreadful QPR side couldn’t even beat a bus stop that day. From there it just stuck as a chant for Bees fans to break out into when taking the lead of game and I was stupidly deliriously happy to be able to sing it here.

Edouard Mendy was actually down on the turf requiring physio attention in the aftermath of the Bees second goal. Whilst he was able to continue after treatment he may have wished not to be able to do so as the match ticked past the hour mark. This was the time that Brentford chose to score their third goal of the match!!

You read that right, 13 minutes after going 1-0 down Brentford took a 3-1 lead in the match. Vitaly was played in down the left channel and with just the keeper to beat he chipped the ball over Mendy’s splits dive and his reaching arms. The ball nestled in the back of the goal yards from me and the atmosphere around me ramped up another 50levels. It was incredible to see Vitaly complete his first brace for the club but to see the turnaround from going behind to leading by 2 left me and everyone around me in shock. There were more that a few of us doubting our sanity and whether what we were witnessing was real of if we were all just in some fantasy dreamland?

In the aftermath of Brentford’s second goal Tuchel made his first substitution of the match, with Reece James replacing Marcus Alonso, and in the aftermath of Brentford getting a 2 goal cushion Tuchel made further chances. This time it was a double change for the hosts as Timo Werner and N’golo Kante were hooked off by Tuchel and Mateo Kovacic joined Romelu Lukaku in coming on to try and save the day for the hosts.

Chelsea had actually got the ball in the net for the second time in the match a minute before that double substitution. They bundled the ball home at the back post off a searching cross from the right but it was ruled off for either offside or handball, I didn’t see which, and Brentford maintained their 2 goal cushion. The buoyant visitors has also yet to make any changes of their own and having just taken unchallenged control of the game with 3 goals in 10 minutes, why should they?

Brentford made the most of their control of the match to set out on the attack once more in the 67th minute. Eriksen sprayed a 50 yard pass upfield for Toney to run onto, but the striker was unable to connect properly with this glorious pass. He was only able to hook it out for a throw-in next to the corner flag. Chelsea were able to nick 12 yards on the throw-in though, so they won’t have minded having it over a free-kick. The ref decided that this was a fair move from the hosts, perhaps feeling sorry for them after seeing them have their lead ripped out of their hands in such spectacular fashion.

The hosts were trying everything to score now and Rudiger even tried to execute a carbon copy of his opener, but this time he was only able to dtop it straight into Raya’s lap. The other thing that Chelsea were trying to thwart Brentford’s attacks was throwing in as many meaty challenges in midfield to break up play and give themselves a moment’s respite from the onslaught. The most egregious of these challenges came in the 69th minute when Rudiger steamed in to clear out Mbuemo in the centre circle, but even for this the ref refused to reach into his pocket. He had yet to show a single card to anyone all match as though they were poisonous and with the type of tackles that were now flying in this was a mystifying stance for the ref to have taken.

With Chelsea now getting so desperate you could sense it in the air from the far side of the English Channel the game opened up with both teams able to create opportunities. The 74th minute saw the hosts try to whip in a shot from 19yards out on the left but it slipped inches wide of the right post. From the goal-kick Brentford broke forward at speed through Mbuemo on the left, but this promising break came to nothing when Mbuemo tried to feed it through to Vitaly at the near post instead of floating it over to Eriksen at the back post. It would have been the simplest of tap-ins for Eriksen’s brace and Brentford’s fourth goal but such was Brentford’s control of the match at this point that Mbuemo took the harder path to the goal. which would have allowed Vitaly to complete his first hat-trick for the club.

That the move wasn’t finished off for the hat-trick is unfortunate, but it did nothing to dampen the party that had now erupted in the away end. The party atmosphere did not extend to the home end however, which was now in funeral mode. Toney came close to adding to the dichotomy in the atmosphere in the 76th minute as he directed a header goalward from Eriksen’s corner on the right. Instead of nestling in the back of the net though the ball bounced off the back on Mount’s oblivious head and away from goal.

Bees were truly on top now though and they were able to create another chance just a minute later. This time a corner from the right forced a game of pinball in the area. The eventual shot from 15 yards out deflected away for a corner off the body of a prone Ziyech. He was back on his feet for the resultant corner, which was easily cleared away by his teammates.

As the match entered the final 10 minutes the result was no longer in any doubt. Brentford were on their way to a historic win over their hosts, who for their part were on their way to only their second home loss all season. What was in doubt however was just how emphatic the win would be for the Bees as both sides went in search of more goals.

Chelsea were the first team to create a presentable chance in the final 10 minutes as they flicked a cross into the box from deep on the left. It got helped across the box by an unmarked Mount in the centre, when it seemed so simple for him to turn it into the net and set up a grandstand end to the game. Instead the finish was indicative of the rest of Chelsea’s match, sloppy and haphazard. Loftus-Cheek then added his own effort to the host’s haphazard back catalogue, by whipping a cross harmlessly over the pitch and out near the left corner flag for a goal kick. This triggered a trickle of early exits in the home stands. It was only a trickle for now, but it would not stay that way for long.

Brentford took the opportunity to make 2 substitutions, with Thomas Frank first deciding to give Vitaly a deserved rest and a chance to soak in a raucous standing ovation from the away end. He was replaced by Mathias Jensen, playing with Eriksen for the first time in a long time. Jensen was the man who replaced Eriksen for Denmark last summer after the incident, so to see them now playing alongside each other on the day that Eriksen opened his Bees account felt extra poignant.

The second substitution for Brentford saw Mbuemo replaced with Yoane Wissa to provide fresh legs up front for the final 5minutes. This worked out brilliantly for the visitors as Wissa scored their fourth of the match with his first touch. A cross was floated into the box from the left that looked at first like it would be a simple clearance for the hosts. However, one of their centre backs ricocheted it off the back of his partner and when the ball dropped to the feet of Wissa he needed no second invitation to slide it home under the dive of Mendy. Cue euphoria and cries of ‘we want 5!’ and ‘We’re just a bus stop in Hounslow’ in the away end and the earlier trickle of exits turning into a tidal wave in the home stands.

Brentford had taken what could have been a crushing blow of going behind in the second minute of the half and turned it into motivation to crush and humiliate Chelsea on their home turf. It is without a doubt the greatest performance of Brentford’s season and certainly the most incredible I have felt in a long time. I was so far away in dreamland after seeing Wissa slot away the Bees fourth that I didn’t even realise that Rico walking off the pitch was because he was being substituted and I certainly had no clue that Sergi Canos was the man replacing him. I only found this out after the match.

I was so in shock with the score and the incredible way that Brentford had turned the match around that I have no recollection of anything that happened on the pitch between Wissa’s goal and the tannoy announcing that there would be 4 minutes of added time at the end of the 90. The shock and jubilation that I was feeling was mirrored in the faces of my fellow Bees supporters around me.

Brentford came millimetres away from scoring their 5th of the match in added time. First a chip into the box by Roerslev from the left flew agonisingly high over the head of Toney at the back post and then the resultant corner was headed onto the roof of the net by Ajer. These were the final chances of the match for the rampant, swarming Bees before the ref blew for the final whistle and put Chelsea out of their misery.

Not only were Brentford incredible all match, but Chelsea were truly abysmal too and the home stands were completely deserted within seconds of the final whistle. The was no such mass exodus in the away end as we were all in shocked ecstasy and unable to leave the party. I even took the chance to break out into a little jig of happiness and then joined the rest of the stand in a ear-splitting standing ovation for the players as they came down to the Shed End to celebrate with us all.

At this point all I was aware of were the chants of my fellow fans and the fact that I hadn’t felt this high in my life. The chants were many and varied, but a few highlights include ‘4-1 in your own backyard’, ‘We’re just too good for you’, ‘ Champions of Europe, you’re having a laugh’, ‘We’re just a bus stop in Hounslow’ and for the brace man ‘He comes from Germany and now he is a Bee, Vitaly Woah oh ooh’. There did not seem to be a consensus chant for Eriksen as the chant that had filled the Goodison concourse at half-time of that FA Cup tie seems not to have caught on.

The rest of the chants continued on as us visiting fans poured out of the stadium and onto the trains at Fulham Broadway. I have never felt an atmosphere like it at the end of the football match, it just blinded me to anything going on around me to the point that I didn’t realise I had left the books I’d brought with me to the match under my seat in the away ends. An hour later I sat down for dinner in the Victoria area and only they did I realise that my books were missing, that’s how delirious the match had made me. I’ll tell you one thing four nothing though, the match was definitely worth travelling back down from the north for.

My next blog will not be nearly as joyous as this one was as I am heading to a match where I have no personal connection to either of the teams involved. The teams in question are Sheffield United and AFC Bournemouth and the stadium is Bramall Lane, see you next week for that one

Right so today is April Fools day, but this is not a joke. FIFA have decided to keep the World Cup in Qatar and it will take place in November for the first time ever too. The exact dates are 21st November 2022- 18th December 2022.

I wish that was a joke, but it is fact instead and today the draw for the group stage took place with some interesting results that could lead to some brilliant games and a few old grudges being played out on the biggest stage of all. I say could because the draw has taken place, for the first time ever, before all of the 32 qualified teams are known. There are still 3 places to be filled in the World Cup roster and 8 teams who are still in the running to fill them. This has been factored into the draw and I come back to who they are and why their qualification has been delayed later on, but for now here are the groups.

Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal the Netherlands
Group B: ENGLAND, Iran, USA, Wales or Scotland or Ukraine
Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
Group D: France, Peru or Australia or UAE, Denmark, Tunisia
Group E: Spain, Costa Rica or New Zealand, Germany, Japan
Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea.

I will come back to Group A later because you read Group B right and I want to get straight on to talking about the possibility of England playing either Wales or Scotland for the first time ever at the World Cup.

England are not definite to have a derby against either of their Celtic neighbours just yet because those neighbours still have to win playoff matches in June to get to the World Cup first. That UEFA play-off path has been delayed from it’s original March finish date because of the current situation in Ukraine. Wales are already in the play-off final, as they attempt to reach their first World Cup since 1958, whilst Scotland have to win a semi-final against Ukraine to face Wales in that final in Cardiff, as they attempt to reach their first World Cup since 1998.

Whoever wins that play-off final will reach the World Cup and face England in their final group game. The prospect of a derby against either with both teams needed a result to qualify is mouth-watering, but particularly so in the case of Scotland qualifying as they have a deep-rooted hatred of England. Their meeting in the group stages at last summer’s Euro 2020 ended in a disappointing 0-0 draw and both teams would head into that match wanting to make up for that result against their local rivals. This possible showdown will take place on 29th November if it goes ahead.

The chances of such a match having anything riding on it for England is a true worst-case scenario though as they should already have amassed enough point from their first 2 games against Iran and the USA respectively. Neither team constitutes a true test for Southgate’s Men at their best and failure to collect all 3 points against either would signal a return to the dark days of 2010 and 2014 for a team that had reached at least the Semi-finals in each of their last 2 International tournaments.

The Iran-USA match will be hotly contested by 2 teams with no love for each other after decades of political tension between their governments over Iran’s nuclear programme. With it being the best chance for either team to collect a win I expect it to be a fiery match with many agricultural tackles flying in from both sides that will be settled by a single goal. The UEFA playoff qualifier for their part should sneak through the group in 2nd place behind a rampant England. If Wales make it into this group they even have the tools to win it if they can produce a shock against England. that is well within their capabilities with Aaron Ramsey, Gareth Bale and Harry Wilson (seriously underrated) in their squad.

The 2 teams that advance from Group B will face the 2 teams that advance from Group A and this will provide England’s first big test of the tournament. Group A includes the hosts Qatar, who will be group whipping boys at their first ever World Cup, Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands.

If Qatar are going to win a match at their first World Cup it is most likely to come against an Ecuador team that did a brilliant job of nabbing one of the 4 automatic Conmebol qualification spots. They will not make it out of the group though as the final 2 teams in the group are AFCON champions Senegal and constant World Cup threats the Netherlands.
Which of those 2 will win the group will be decided by their opening day clash on November 21st, whoever gets the better of their opponents in that match will go on to win the group and face the runners up of England’s group in the round of 16. The runners up will await England in that first knockout round.

Group C is Argentina’s for the taking as they fight off competition from both Mexico and Poland for the top spot. Saudi Arabia are the nailed-on whipping boys for this group as they failed to advance from a group including Russia, Uruguay and a Salah-less Egypt last time out, so the idea that they will advance against tougher competition this time is obvious nonsense. Poland and Mexico are likely to be fighting it out for 2nd place in the group and, like Group B before them, these rivals will face off for the upper hand in this battle on their first matchday (22nd November.

It will take a collapse of biblical proportions for Argentina to fail to advance from Group C and it is the same story for France in Group D. The French will once again face off against Denmark in this group stage and having beaten them to first place in the group stage last time out in 2018 they will be confident of doing so again. That previous meeting happened in that World Cup’s Group C and their group this time round will be almost a carbon copy of that one. The group was previously completed by both Peru and Australia, but this time only one will qualify as they are likely to face off in a Covid-delayed intercontinental play-off final in June if Australia win their Asian play-off against the UAE days earlier.

Peru beat Australia in their final group stage game last time out, but they both finished behind their group opponents in the last World Cup and with Denmark having improved massively since then I don’t see either making it out of the group once they qualify. I wouldn’t expect the UAE to beat France and Denmark to the qualification should they win their play-offs. Whoever wins that play-off can be expected to beat Tunisia in their match as the Africans have not performed well in their previous World Cup appearances, failing to make it out of a group with semi-finalists Belgium and England last time out.

Group E will be a nightmare group for whoever wins the OFC-Conmebol intercontinental playoff final. Neither New Zealand or Costa Rica will relish coming up against Spain, Germany and Japan if they qualify but they both have experience of getting results against more illustrious opponents in the group stage of a World Cup. Both of them did brilliantly in previous groups of death, with Costa Rica winning a group containing Uruguay, Italy and England in 2014 and New Zealand going unbeaten in 2010 despite coming up against both the experienced Paraguay and then Holders Italy.

I still expect neither to advance to the knockout round though as Germany are nailed-on to advance and Spain will battle with Japan for the second spot. If I had to make a bet on who will join Germany in advancing from the group I would go for Spain, but never underestimating their ability to choke at World Cup’s it is not beyond the realm of possibility for Japan to qualify either. Spain failed to make it out of their group in 2014 and with Germany’s failure to advance last time out in 2018 Japan will fancy their chances of springing a surprise in this one.

Group F features Canada appearing at their first World Cup since 1986 as they topped Concacaf qualification. They face last edition’s semi-finalists in Belgium and beaten finalists Croatia, which will make it hard for them to advance but in Morocco they have a team in their group that they should be able to collect a World Cup win against. For Morocco and Tunisia to make it to the World Cup from CAF qualification whilst Egypt and Nigeria both miss out is unfortunate as it greatly reduces the chances of us seeing the first ever African team in a World Cup semi-final.

I would not be surprised to see Canada join Belgium in advancing from this group, but it all depends on how they adapt to the heat and how much Croatia have improved from a disappointing showing at Euro 2020 last summer. They would be most likely to face Germany in the round of 16 though so that is probably as far as they will go even at their peak performance.

Group G is one of the more difficult ones to call from the draw as it includes the excellent Brazil, Switzerland, Serbia and Cameroon. Switzerland are excellent defensively and now have some decent options going forward too, whilst Serbia can call on the services of Aleksandar Mitrović to fire in the goals for them. Brazil’s World Cup pedigree is well known, whilst Cameroon have a history of getting results when they need them (most notably on a run to the 1990 quarter-finals). If I had to pick 2 to advance it would be Brazil and Switzerland because they have been most adept as managing it before, but counting out either Serbia or Cameroon at this point would be a mistake.

In Group H we are treated to the silky skills of Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes for Portugal, the wild cards who made a deep run when hosting in 2002 in South Korea, and a rematch of the 2010 Quarter-final between Ghana and Uruguay. We all know that Ghana were the better team on that day, but they weren’t the ones who won the match so they will head into the rematch on 2nd December with a score to settle. We could be treated to another grandstand finish if they both head into that final game of the group with something to play for.

Portugal would be the obvious choice to advance as group winners, but they stumbled in UEFA qualifying and only made it to the World Cup thanks to a play-off victory against North Macedonia so perhaps they are not the force they once were. Add to that the struggles they had in the group stage last time out, they only beat Morocco and were held to draws by Spain and Iran, and the other teams in the group may go into games against them fancying their chances of getting a result. I would still back them to advance and South Korea would be my pick to join them as both Ghana and Uruguay have headed downhill since that excellent match in 2010.

England’s route to the final becomes a lot harder after the group stage, with AFCON champions Senegal, holders France and Belgium, who beat us twice at the last World Cup, all probable opponents on the run to the final in Doha on 18th December. Put nothing past Southgate’s team though as they now have experience of what it takes to make a deep run in these tournaments. The main thing working against them as they look to win the title for the first time since 1966 will be the heat that is expected to reach highs of 30degrees centigrade. The air-conditioning systems in the stadium may alleviate the pain of this a little, but the heat will still favour the South-American teams who have more experience of playing in such temperatures and for this reason Brazil are my favourites to lift the trophy.

The heat should also improve the African teams chances of going far in the tournament and make Senegal a real threat to everyone they play. They are AFCON champions and had to defeat the excellent Egyptian team in that final as well as in the final games to secure qualification to the World Cup. In both of those matches they gained valuable experience in 3 areas that will be key to advancing at the World Cup.

First they learnt how to get a result against a team that takes the game to them and asks question of them on the defence as well as the offense. Secondly they learnt how to grind out results in extremely pressurised knock-out situations, which they will need to do to a make a deep run at the World Cup. Lastly but by no means least, as I’m sure all England fans can attest, they gained vital experience of winning penalty shoot-outs. This last skill was one that evaded England for so long and I’m sure Senegal will be happy to avoid that particular humiliation.

The Taranga Lions represent Africa’s best chance of finally securing a long overdue World Cup semi-final representative and I would love to see it, provided it doesn’t come at England’s expense of course. Despite the controversies surround the World Cup being hosting in Qatar I am looking forward to watching it and with the chances of England finally breaking their losing streak, a potential England-Wales/Scotland derby, Canada making a return after 36 years away and Senegal representing Africa’s best chance of a Semi-finalist at long last, I hope you’re looking forward to it too.

Normal blogging service will be resumed next-week as I bring you the tale of my experiences watching Brentford take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge tomorrow.

Sunday 27th March 2022: WSL: Old Trafford: Manchester United vs Everton

It was Mother’s day for this match and so I thought it only to head to Manchester to witness history being made in Women’s football as Manchester United’s Women’s team played in front of fans at Old Trafford for the first time ever. They had played at ‘the theatre of dreams’ back in 2021 but that match against West Ham United was played behind closed doors due to the worldwide situation.

Well now, you didn’t seriously think I’d go to a Men’s match at Old Trafford did you, I’ve been a Liverpool fan since the age of 5 after all so supporting the enemy in their home stadium is one thing I’ll never do. I have no such deep-rooted allegiances in the Women’s game though so this match was the perfect opportunity for me to visit the stadium and experience what it feels like to watch a match here, without making the childhood version of me disgusted by the Man I’ve become.

I was if anything way too overprepared for this match as the hosts sent out an email 48 hours before kick-off. In this email is everything you need to know for a trip to the stadium, plus loads you don’t. It tells you what the pre-match entertainment is going to be and how to get to the stadium, neither of which I payed the slightest bit of attention too. Lets you know that the stadium itself is run on a cashless basis and when the club shop is open; how much the matchday programme will be and that it is only available from kiosks inside the stadium.

For those driving to the stadium for the match there was a link on the email to book a parking space, as well as a link to download your e-ticket to your phone as they had done away with paper tickets for this one. The most important message for me of this long and winding email was the revelation that Old Trafford is a bag free stadium, but they do provide bag drops for those you bring with you on the journey. I have never had an email this detailed before a match before so, much as I hate to say it, cheers Man U.

With the kick-off at 12:30pm I still had to be up at 8:30, despite how prepared I now was, to get to the stadium on time to ensure I got in before the match started. The crowds expected at the match meant that I was being extra careful to build wriggle room into my schedule. This turned out to be a great call on my part as on arrival at Manchester Piccadilly station a quick look at google maps told me that my original plan to simply hop on a tram to the Old Trafford stop would not work. That stop is for the cricket ground and not the football stadium, which is a 15 minute walk from it. The closest stop to the stadium is Wharfside, but for that one you have to change at either Pomona or Cornbrook stop.

I changed at Pomona and when I arrived at Wharfside I was glad I had chosen to choose that stop. Wharfside is set beautifully beside the Manchester Ship canal as it fans out into the distance. You can see the stadium as you disembark the tram and to get to it all you need to do is walk out the stop in the direction of travel, then turn left onto Sir Alex Ferguson Way and the stadium looms large in-front of you. Missing that is on you.

The last step before you reach the stadium is to cross the busy road in-front of you, which is easily done when you wait for the lights. When I reached the stadium the stewards directed me to the bag drop where I left my bag for the bargain price of £5. Handbags seemed to fit within the A4 size limit that the hosts have set for bags they will allow inside.

Despite turning up to the ground early I knew I would miss the arrival of the player’s coaches, so I spent a little extra time enjoying a lap of the stadium and enjoying all the things on offer as I lapped it. The bag drop was in the car park opposite the Sir Matt Busby stand and between the two was a large paved area that hosted many media teams following the historic event of the day, as well as a life-size version of the throne that 6 of the team we were all about to see in action were leaning against in a gigantic banner on the side of the stand under which a bronze stature of Mr. Busby hovered.

This gigantic banner was complimented by smaller A3 banners on the rails of the car park wall opposite, with each player given her own banner along the length of the wall. Children were having their pictures taken on the throne as their parents admired the triple statue next to it. The statue in question was dedicated to the so called ‘United trilogy’ of Denis Law, George Best and Bobby Charlton from the first glory period in the club’s history.

I turned my back on them and headed inside the shop or ‘megastore’ to explore what it had to offer, once I had passed the airport security guarding the entrance. That was only a small taste of how over-the-top the shop was. They had hair curlers and straighteners for sale as well as their own branded coffee blend!!

I confined myself to just my traditional keyring, which has been shoved in a desk draw and will never see the light of day again, and got out of there. I popped across to the individual banners to take a picture of Lucy Staniforth’s one as she is my favourite player in the host’s squad. It turned out that she was not actually included in the matchday squad when the teams were read out later on, but I like the way she plays nonetheless.

This accomplished I decided to take the long way round to the away turnstile in the Bobby Charlton Stand. The first stand you come to when heading in this anti-clockwise direction around the stadium is the Sir Alex Ferguson (SAF) stand, in-front of which there were rows of food vans and I took this chance to buy lunch. Whilst in the queue I turned round to take a view of the stand and spotted a hovering statue of the stand’s namesake hovering above me, just as Busby’s had on his stand.

As I continued my walk around this stand I came across artificial pitches to my right that were being used by youngsters to practice their penalty technique. Escaping the hive of activity on this side of the stadium I emerged on the Stretford End of the ground and into a sea of eerie silence, that was only punctuated by the beep of mobile tickets being scanned on distant turnstiles.

I then moved past the coach park and took a stroll down the ‘Munich Tunnel’. I call it this because you head into a covered area and to your left there are a set of frames outlining the Munich Train Crash Disaster of February 6th 1958, when the Busby Babes’ plane crashed on take-off at it attempted to take off from Munich in bad weather. I do not pretend to be an expert on the disaster and I wholeheartedly recommend you doing your own research into it to understand it better.

My walk down this tunnel started in the rebuilding stage after the disaster and moved through the disaster itself to the build up and context of the disaster and ends at a memorial flame to those who lost their lives on that day. It was the first time in my life that I have ever felt bad for Man United and it definitively helps you connect with the human stories around the disaster that you may never have heard before.

Today promised to be a much happier day for the home fans though as they came into the match fully expecting to win. They were 3rd in the WSL table on goal difference before kick-off, with 32 points from their 17 games so far this season, 2 wins in their last 3 games and an chance to boost their already impressive goal difference of 19 against a team struggling to score let alone win. That team is Everton and the have lost their last 3 games without scoring. The first of those losses was detailed in my last blog, but since then they have managed back-to-back 4-0 losses against Man City at the Academy stadium and I was fully expecting them to continue their losing streak today. They had at least managed to maintain the same manager from the last time I saw them in action though, so that might work in their favour.

I scanned my ticket and headed inside, up the single set of stairs to my left, picked up a drink from the single food kiosk and then up the stairs behind me and into the stand. The away stand is the only part of the stadium that is single tier and the part of it that my ticket was in was the area in which they are holding a safe standing trial. It worked fine for me throughout the match, but there were many empty seats in the area so how it will work at full capacity I don’t know. The whole of the top tiers on the other 3 stands were completely empty as the hosts had focused on filling out the lower tiers and in this they had done an excellent job. It’s an impressive stadium, but no Anfield or Wembley in my book.

The away fans had the benefit of the shaded side of the stadium, whilst the home fans opposite were bathed in sunlight. This was made even better when the teams emerged from the far left corner on my side of the ground and the visitors came all the way down to my end to warm-up. I had to head back down to the concourse at one point of the warm-up as I had forgotten to buy a programme for the match and when I returned with it the visiting players were dragging each other around for 6-8 yard each. They were sprinting at full power with a teammate hanging like lead to a resistance band lopped round their waists. What the point of this exercise is I have no idea, but at this point anything that might help them perform better is welcome.

Just as this weird warm-up was coming to an end the tannoy sparked into life and rushed through the starting 11’s at such breakneck speed that I missed the names of 2 of the visiting team. He didn’t even bother with the substitutes and I only found these out when they were displayed on the miniature screens squashed into the banner between the tiers behind each goal. These were the only screens in the whole stadium and they also had to show the score and the match clock which, unlike every other match clock across the country, counts down how long is left in the half instead of how much of it has elapsed. It meant that I had to do maths on the fly to work out which minute things happened in throughout the match and this was extremely unhelpful when I’m making sure I don’t miss anything.

I picked up the final 2 Everton starters when the teams emerged for kick-off and the tannoy re-announced the teams at the same ridiculous speed. I was listening extra intently this time though and managed to pick up both Megan Finnigan and Poppy Pattinson’s names from the team sheet and ensure I had both full teams noted down just in time for kick-off.

This was a very lucky turn of events for me as the match kicked-off at 100mph and within 4 minutes the deadlock had already been broken. Though, in a shock to everyone inside the stadium it was not the hosts who had taken the lead. Everton whipped the ball down the right to Clare Emslie, who advanced into the wide open spaces in-front of her. She cut into the box and bore down on goal, with only Mary Earps to beat between the sticks she rifled the ball across Earps’ body and off the left post before watching it settle in the back of the net.

I was grinning from ear-to-ear when I saw Emslie slot this chance away to put Everton 1-0 up against their illustrious hopes but it had the opposite effect on the rest of the stadium, which fell into a shocked silence. The home team players may have dreamt of playing in-front of a packed Old Trafford, but I doubt they imagined their dreams going so badly early-on. To be losing to an Everton team that had been struggling to score in recent matches was not what any of them would’ve wanted from this day as their dream was beginning to transform into a nightmare.

Going behind so early on in the match seemed to jerk the home team awake and it spurred Alessia Russo into trying to turn the match around all by herself. She first tried to bamboozle Megan Finnigan whilst attempting to create space for a shot from the right. Then when that didn’t work she pounced on a mistake by George in the Everton defence to pick up the ball and shoot goalward. Unfortunately she was caught so by surprise by the mistake that she was unable to compose herself and snatched at the shot to such an extent that it rolled through to Sandy MacIver in the Everton Goal.

Russo had the bit between her teeth now and was causing problems all over the pitch now as she tried her hardest to drag her team back into the match. The rest of her team was not being over helpful to her in achieving that target though as Maria Thorisdottir picked up the first yellow card of the match by needlessly blocking off Emslie as she attempts to connect with a searching ball over the top. The resulting free-kick was easily collected by Earps just beyond the back post until she hurt herself that is and required treatment from the physios. The host’s substitute keeper went straight into her warm-up, as the rest of the team took the chance to take on some hydration, only to have to cut it short when it became clear that Earps would be able to continue.

In the 19th minute Emslie tried again for the visitors as she let rip from 20yards out, forcing Earps to spring down to her right to pouch the ball that looked like it was dribbling wide anyway. Then Russo took her turn at propelling her team forward as a corner from the right landed at her feet 10yards from goal. Her first shot from this distance hit Nathalie Bjorn who then smashed her clearance into the back of George from which the ball rebounded to Russo once again. This time her shot was pushed away by MacIver who got down smartly to her right to keep it out.

Everton were hanging onto their lead by their fingernails at this point as Leah Galton came rushing through the centre before laying the ball off to the left. The teasing cross through the corridor of uncertainty evaded everyone in the middle though and George was able to tap it behind for a corner. The corner in the 25th minute was punted out of the 6yard mixer before being deliciously chipped back into the path of Martha Thomas, but she was only able to toe-poke her shot into the stomach of MacIver and the ball bounced harmlessly away.

Seeing her teammates fail in their attempts to bring the hosts level in the match Russo once again went about creating a chance again herself as the game tipped over the half-hour mark. She broke into the box with George and Christiansen on her heels and it was their synchronised slides that blocked Russo’s first shot, before she tried to tap the ball past them and then clambered all over Christiansen in an attempt to reach the ball. Russo called for a penalty, but the ref was never going to give the decision that way and instead it was Everton who came away with a freekick.

United had been on top in the midfield battle since conceding so early on and having created so many chances so far they finally got the equaliser that their play deserved in the 35th minute. Ona Batlle was released in acres of space down the right for the first time all match and she placed the ball on a sixpence 6yards out where Russo was waiting to steer it home with a brilliant header over the head of MacIver, who had been too late in rushing off the line to punch clear. Having hung onto their lead for more than half an hour they had finally conceded and now they just had to survive to half-time.

They almost shot themselves in the foot 2 minutes later as Bjorn barged into Hannah Blundell deep into her own half attacking on the right. The free kick was curled into the box and it took all her skill for MacIver to punch it clear with Russo lurking behind her waiting for to complete her brace of headers. The score remained equal for now though as Duggan dithered away the momentum of the break allowing the hosts to reorganise and snuff out the threat.

In the 42nd minute both teams created their final chances of the half. First Ona Batlle waltzed past Poppy Pattinson on the right, but her cross was hoofed clear and some excellent interplay by the visitors saw the ball reach Kenza Dali on the edge of the box. She aimed her shop for top bins and only missed by millimetres. This bought an excellent half of women’s football to an end still all square.

The visitors played the best half of football I have seen from them in all season (four visits) and the credit for getting them playing like a proper team has to go to their current interim manager Chris Roberts, who has stamped his claim for the full-time job. The defence had been excellent all half, with Danielle Turner, Nathalie Bjorn, Gabi George and Poppy Pattinson all deserving praise for their brilliant work this half. Izzy Christiansen and Claire Emslie were causing trouble for the host’s defence when they broke out of the dogged defence they were having to put up all half.

Manchester United’s U21 Women’s team paraded their academy cup trophy on the pitch at half time, but as they had forgotten to turn up the captain’s microphone for the interview I decided to go and get a drink instead. Roberts took the chance to make the first half-time substitution that I have seen at a football match for a while. He obviously had not been as impressed with his team’s performance as I had been in the first half as he replaced Nathalie Bjorn with Lucy Graham for the second half.

United were shooting towards the Stretford end in the second half and it took them less than a minute to create their first chance in front of those fans. Galton advanced easily through midfield before slotting a ball down the channel to Russo but her inviting cross was punched clear by MacIver in the centre. Everton seemed to be attempting to dig-in and settle for the draw for the whole of the second half, which felt risky in the extreme though and was essentially a way of asking to be beaten.

The hosts broke down the right in the 50th and whipped a cross into the centre for Russo to turn home and finally clinch her brace. It didn’t work out that way though as she managed to scoop it over the bar from 8yards out whilst completely unmarked. Where her marker was I have no idea, but of all the players to leave unsupervised in your own box Russo was the worse one for Everton to choose. The incredible Russo proved this point once more 2 minutes later when she was set free onto a ball down the left channel, but this time Turner was on the ball enough to scramble across and she timed her tackle perfectly to block the ball behind for a corner.

That corner was wasted by the hosts but they were back on the attack in the next minute and this time Batlle was able to skin Pattinson on the right. She cut inside before laying off the ball to Thomas in support who turned and was caught by Graham, who was the first Everton player all match to mis-time a defensive tackle. It took seconds for the ref to give the penalty and Graham was lucky to escape without a card to her name. Katie Zelem’s penalty was hit without any power at all and if she hadn’t managed to send MacIver the wrong way it would have been one of the simplest saves of the match. As it was though she slotted it to the keeper’s right as MacIver dived the wrong way and the Red Devil’s took the lead in-front of fans at Old Trafford for the first time in their history, in the 55th minute of the match.

Graham attempted to make amends for this gratuitous mistake 3 minutes later when she nabbed the ball on the edge of the box and fed Duggan outside her. Instead of shooting though she tapped it inside to George who could only hack it miles over the bar. Why the team’s main striker decided to give the final shot to a centre back I’m not sure but, as anyone could have predicted, it did not work.

In the 61st minute Russo once again came close to her brace as a curved ball in from the right fell to her 8 yards from the target. She shaped to shoot and just at the crucial moment Turner nipped in to steal the ball off her toes and behind for a corner. United had the ball in the net from the resultant corner, but Ella Toone was adjudged to have drifted offside as she followed up the rebound from Galton’s stinging effort that MacIver had palmed into her path.

Everton were unable to take advantage of this humongous let off though as United were now determined to add to their margin of victory and were attacking with pace at every opportunity they had. They were looking likely to score every time they ventured forward now. This torture for the visitors was only broken up when Duggan went down needing treatment before being able to carry on after a few minutes.

A few minutes later though she was unable to continue and had to be replaced by Simone Magill for the final 22 minutes of the match. Then Everton made another change 2 minutes later with Kenza Dali being replaced by Hannah Bennison. United responded in the 72nd minute as Kirsty Hanson replaced Martha Thomas to finish off the match.

Bennison slipped a 30 yard ball upto Emslie on the left who then wiggled inside Blundell before sending her curved shot just wide of the far post. This set the last 15 minutes of the match into action and it was the high point of Everton’s attacking play until the match poured out into injury time. First though they would try and throw away the game twice with simple errors in the next 2 minutes. Magill sold Pattinson down the river with a weak back pass that allowed United to break on them and they were only able to prevent the hosts scoring a third goal thanks to a mis-control by Toone that allowed Turner to nip the ball off her toes. Then another weak back pass, this time from Bennison, allowed Russo to nip in but her shot was straight down MacIver’s throat and she barely had to move a muscle to make the save.

Earps went down holding her right foot with 10minutes of the match to go and, whilst her teammates once again used this opportunity to re-hydrate themselves, MacIver took the chance to lay on her back in the goal-mouth and do some stretching during this break in play. Before play got underway again the hosts made a substitution with Jackie Groenen trudging off the pitch, at the speed of a snail moving through golden syrup, to be replaced by Jade Moore.

Russo would finally secure the second goal she had deserved for almost 50minutes of play now when she headed home a corner from point blank range, after it was whipped into the 6 yard box. The corner had been conceded by Everton as Pattinson timed an excellent tackle to block a cross from the United left, but the corner was awfully defending with Russo once again able to find space for a free header and this time she made them pay.

The excellent all-round display from Alessia Russo would be justly rewarded with the Player of the Match award when she was withdrawn from the action 2 minutes from time by her manager, Marc Skinner. This late substitution prevented her from completing her hat-trick, but allowed her to soak in a richly deserved standing ovation from all corners of the stadium. She was the difference between the teams today and will be a key figure in Man U’s push to finish in the top 3 and secure a Champion’s League spot for next season.

Back to matters on the pitch and Kirsty Hanson had burst into the box in the 87th minute searching for a fourth goal for the host. Her efforts were cut short by some excellent combined defensive work by George and Pattinson to wrestle the ball away from her. Hanson went down looking for a penalty but to the ref’s credit she wasted no time in waving away these protests. It was a great piece of defensive work from the Ladies in blue and further illustrated just how far they had come in the short break since their midweek 4-0 loss to the blue side of Manchester.

There were only 2 notable chances in the 5 minutes of injury time that were tacked on to the end of the regulation 90 in this one. First the visitors were sent free on the right by Pattinson, but her flicked cut-back to the penalty spot could only be chest passed into Earp’s waiting arms by Aurora Galli, who looked as though she was not expecting the ball to come to her. Then, with the added minutes slipping away, Galton went for the sensation in front of her home fans as she attempted to chip MacIver from 40yards out. The keeper was off her line when the shot began it’s journey towards goal, but was able to recover well enough to get finger-tips too it and help it over the bar.

This was the last chance of an incredible match that ended 3-1 to Man U in-front of their delighted home fans. As an away fan I left the match full of hope for the rest of the season after witnessing a much more cohesive team performance from Everton than I had seen from them so far this season. Though they will not be finishing high up the WSL table when the season ends in a few short weeks time; They showed the green roots of recovery here that will stand them in great stead for next season when they will be fighting for citywide dominance against the red half of Merseyside, how are strutting to promotion from the Women’s Championship.

I will look to get to one of those matches next season if I am still based in the city, but for my next blog I return once more to the nation’s capital city. London is my destination now I am completely caught up on my blog backlog. I am returning to the city of my birth to take in 2 matches in 2 days, as I first visit Stamford Bridge to see how Brentford fair in that derby match. Then I headed to the far south of the city to pop-into Kingsmeadow and see how the Women’s team play on their home turf against Reading. See you for those blogs soon.

Wednesday 16th March: Walton Hall Park: WSL: Everton vs Chelsea

Supporting the blue side of Merseyside is always something I swore I would never do and in the men’s game I’ll stick to that. However, for this match I was firmly on the side of Everton women as they hosted Chelsea ladies in the WSL. Chelsea are challenging for the title against my first women’s team, Arsenal, and I also know one of the players on the Everton team so I could hardly cheer against her.

Getting to the ground was easy as I just had to get the 19 bus from Queen Square, which is opposite Lime Street station. The bus ride was not long but on it I faced a difficult decision. There was a tout on the bus separating each of the paper tickets that he had prepared to sell at the ground and having a fault with my email ticket I was forced to choose, between trusting the screenshot I’d taken of the email to be enough to get me in or taking a ticket from the tout. I chose to trust my screenshot as I can’t stand touts, ripping off other fans for the sole purpose of making their wallets bigger.

Luckily for me my screenshot was enough to get me through the turnstiles at the ground from where I picked up my free programme. Then I made my way off the wide avenues of the beautifully leafy suburb of Walton and inside the stadium which boasts a single stand down the dugout side of the pitch. The side opposite the dugouts hosts the camera tower and a load of scaffolding which is going to become another stand in the future, but behind the goals are standing room only.

I decided to take a seat for the first half and with it being unreserved seating I chose to sit in the second row back from the pitch right on the halfway line. I was just resting into my seat as the teams appeared on the pitch for their warm-up, out of the building behind the goal far away to my right. The visitors decided to stop in the near half to their entrance, whilst the hosts traversed the length of the pitch to warm-up away to my left beneath a gorgeous sunset that proved too distracting for me to care about what warm-up exercises either team had chosen to use.

One thing I did notice in the warm-up though was that the Chelsea away kit consists of a Yellow top, Black shorts and Yellow socks. This combination when scanned from top to bottom gave them the appearance of a rotting banana skin and was perhaps appropriate as they were facing a potential banana skin in this match.

The visitors from London are chasing the WSL title and came into this one in 2nd place in the table and just 5 points behind their rivals Arsenal with the advantage of having 2 games in hand over them. Chelsea are also in brilliant form coming into this having only lost twice all season and not once in their last 5 matches. They have only conceded 7 goals in their 15 matches so far this season and had not lost since 11th December when they were shocked by Reading in a narrow 1-0 loss.

Their hosts for their part have had such an inconsistent season with more changes of management than I have been able to keep track of. This lack of consistency in leadership has effected performances on the pitch with 8 losses in their 15 matches before this one and averaging less than a goal scored a match. This is despite their squad including the excellent Toni Duggan, Claire Emslie and captain Izzy Christiansen. Adding to that the defensive abilities of Danielle Turner and Poppy Pattinson and they have the quality to be far higher in the table. Combine this quality on paper and the recent upturn in form coming into this one as they have won their last 2 matches and I was interested in seeing if they could banana skin the high flying Chelsea and complete a hattrick of wins under their current manager Chris Roberts.

Mr. Roberts is on the programme as the Interim Manager though so I had no faith that he would be around 11 days after this one when I followed up the advert on the inside front cover of the programme and followed Everton to their match against Man U at Old Trafford on Mother’s day (see the next blog). Everton Women have truly become the Watford of the Women’s game as they rack up the managerial changes this season, but unlike the Hornets they can be assured of avoiding relegation this season as only 1 team goes down and Birmingham City have monopolised that spot.

Everton did not help their chances in this match though when Roberts saw fit to send his team out for the start with Toni Duggan only on the bench. The teams were announced just 9 minutes before kick-off and that Everton omission was not the only shock awaiting me as Chelsea left much of their attacking firepower on the bench. They had Bethany England, Lauren James and Drew Spence all on bench warming duties and Fran Kirby was only spared this fate as she was not even included in the matchday squad. Was this simply Emma Hayes resting her biggest threats for more difficult games on the run-in or was it overconfidence that would come back to bite her team in the ass? Only action on the pitch would tell, but my read was that it was more of a resting situation as they still had Sam Kerr in the starting 11.

When the teams emerged they followed the WSL tradition of lining up with their backs to the fans and this is something that really needs sorting out as it really breaks the immersion and enjoyment of the fans when the players they have come to see won’t even look at them. It was also unhelpful on a personal level that Walton Hall Park contains neither a screen nor a match clock and as such all the timings in this blog will be extremely approximate.

Chelsea started as they meant to continue by grabbing hold of the ball and just not letting it go. Everton for their half were unable to get anywhere near the ball in the first 10 minutes and their defensive play was that of a group of people who had only met 5 minutes ago and not of a team of pro footballers who have played together all season. The home support became as silent as a group of strict librarians, but luckily for them the visitors were unable to make use of their monopoly of possession to create any chances of note in the first 10 minutes. All they managed was a couple of weak shots straight into the waiting arms of Courtney Brosnan in the Everton goal.

By the 10th minute though the visitors had finally worked out how scoring works and took the lead that they absolutely deserved from their dominance so far in the match. Their opener came via a cross from deep on the right that was dropped on a sixpence for the onrushing Kerr to nod home from 6 yards out completely unmarked. It was an incredible cross for sure but to anyone familiar with Women’s football, which the Everton team certainly are, leaving a player of Kerr’s undoubted quality unmarked in the box is so foolish that most school teams wouldn’t make that mistake. Everton were so poor at this point that all I was wondering just how many goals Chelsea would get to pump up their goal difference.

The visitors were being given the run of Walton Hall Park at this point to the point that they could’ve taken a quick nap every time they received the ball such was the time they were being given by the hosts. It was as though the Everton ladies had never heard of the concept of closing your opponents down. The Chelsea players were getting at least 5 yards of space around them and were then able to waltz their way to anywhere they wanted when they had the ball, with none of the hosts players making even the weakest attempt possible to stop them. They were leaving it to any one else around them to track players and close them down and as such no-one was doing it.

This lack of willingness to take personal responsibility for keeping Chelsea at bay I was amazed that it took till the 17th minute for the visitors to double their lead. This one came from a simple throw by Millie Bright on the right that her teammate was allowed to drive forward with, as the two Everton players nearby left it to each other to track the run and thus predictably neither did. The ball was then laid back to Bright and her cross to the left side of the box was thumped home on the volley by Guro Reiten. To her credit Brosnan was able to get a hand to it, but there was simply too much power on the shot to give her a chance of keeping it out and less than 20minutes into the match Chelsea were already 2-0 up.

Everton were playing like a bunch of jokers at this point and they added to their comical display when Brosnan cleared the ball straight into the face of her teammate Gabrielle George from point blank range. Gabi George to her credit seemed to be unaffected by this ball to the face and carried on without complaint. The hosts almost went further behind in the 25th minute when a cross from the left this time was headed into the keeper’s arms from 10 yards out.

Then Everton did something half decent for once in the match by closing down Bright in her own box and forcing her to toe-poke her clearance into the stands. That clearance whizzed by my left ear and I was extremely grateful Bright was unable to get more distance on the ball. This moment was not enough to gain Everton any momentum in the match though as in the 29th minute they conceded another free header in the box that the hosts were grateful to see fizz past the right hand post off the head of Niamh Charles.

Missing that gilt-edged chance did not delay Chelsea’s 3rd goal for long though as they got it in the minute of all the 3’s (the 33rd). This one came from a rare cleared cross that bounced out to the feet of Erin Cuthbert 25yards out with no Everton player within 10 yards of her. She has far too much quality to be left in all that space and she punished the hosts by volleying the ball into the top right postage stamp of the net. It was an incredible show of Skill by Cuthbert, but also an awful error from Everton to grant her the freedom of the Park to pick her spot.

With Chelsea now 3 goals to the good and barely half an hour of the match played I was seriously considering the possibility that they could return to London with a double digit victory in their back pockets. Everton are threatened with relegation in the Men’s game, but having seen both of the Toffee’s teams in action this season it is unquestionably the Women who have played the worse football. I have never seen a team this unsure of how to complete basic skills and simple passes in my life, it was insane just how awful they ere this half.

They were given a respite from the torture in the 35th minute as Cuthbert required treatment after being caught by a stray boot in midfield. She was fine to continue after her physio appointment, but I’m sure the hosts would’ve preferred a longer break than the couple of minutes they got.

The hosts night almost got even worse in the 37th minute when Chelsea had 4 players running free in the centre with just 2 of the host’s defenders back covering. The cross those Chelsea players needed never came though as the winger who was looking to send in the cross was flagged off for offside in the build-up. That was a huge let off for the hosts and they would get another one just 2 minutes later when a point back tap-in at the back post, off a tempting corner whipped in from the left, could only be turned behind by Charles.

The rampant visitors were just shooting from everywhere now and although none of these resulted in a deserved 4th for them it was clear to everyone in the stadium that their 4th was coming. Everton were clinging on and praying to holy relics to make it to half-time without suffering further damage. The hosts did manage their first chance of the match in the final minute of the half though to give themselves something to hang onto at half-time. This chance fell to Hanna Bennison on the edge of the box, but she was only able to send it soaring over the bar.

Leading 3-0 at half-time is normally a great position to be in and leaves the team in that position grinning from ear to ear as they head down the tunnel, but I doubt that was the case this time. The visitors had been so dominant all half that they should have been disappointed to only have the paltry 3-0 advantage, it could easily have been double that.

Half-time lasted 30 minutes in all as the restart was delayed by an injury in the team of officials. It was originally announced to delay the restart by 5 minutes but things clearly took more time to sort out than they originally anticipated. I spent the extra time moving to my left and eventually ending up behind the goal at the far end of the pitch from the exit. Chelsea were shooting towards that end in the second half and I wanted the best view of the avalanche of goals I was expecting.

Roberts had seen how awful his team had been in the and launched into action to try and fix it with a long overdue change of personnel. He removed Nathalie Bjorn from the fray and sent on Lucy Graham to try and change the game and provide his interim charges with a foothold of a way back into the match. Graham almost provided that foothold in the first minute of the second half as she took a pot-shot from 18 yards out, but could only screw it wide of the right-hand post.

That was at least a signal of intent from the hosts though and they seemed to be seeing the ball a bit early on in this half, as they had finally found a way to gain possession for the first prolonged period of the match. They were asking questions of the visitor’s defence now at least but they then tried to shoot themselves in their feet. This foot shooting situation occurred in the 50th minute when a deep cross from the Chelsea right was sitting up for an easy clearance by Megan Finnigan. Instead of clearing it she slipped and the ball was able to sneak through to Kerr with her back to goal. Luckily for the hosts Kerr was unable to turn and shoot or lay it off before Finnigan can recover and clear the ball to save her blushes.

Chelsea used this incident as an initiative gainer in the grand scale of the match and were back threatening the Everton net in the 53rd minute. Goal scorers Reiten and Kerr looked to combine, but the former’s cross was agonisingly behind her teammate. The ball was then recycled by the visitors before the shot from 15 yards was deflected behind for a corner that was thumped over the bar from the same distance as the previous shot with Brosnan in no man’s land.

The match devolved into a midfield battle at this point and Emma Hayes decided that this wouldn’t do for her Chelsea team, who had spent so much of the game on top, and decided to switch things up with a double substitution. She removed Charles and Cuthbert from the action to rest them for tougher challenges coming up in the run-in for the title. The replacements were Drew Spence and Magdalena Eriksson, so hardly much of a step down in quality for the visitors despite the undoubted quality of those coming off.

These changes from the visitors didn’t seem to be the smartest calls soon after that though as Everton went on the attack, in the 63rd minute, for the first time in a while. A powerful shot from the Everton left was punched out by Zecira Musovic in the Chelsea goal, taking this long to mention the Chelsea keeper hopefully tells you how little the hosts had offered in the match so far. The punch was not the best example of the technique though as it landed at Emslie’s feet 20 yards from goal. Thankfully for the visitor’s clean sheet the resultant shot was nothing less than abysmal and it missed the goal by at least twice the width of the goal to the left of it.

In the next minute there was an audible comment from one of the player’s calling an opponent a “fucking dickhead”. I was not able to work out which player made that comment, but I know it was someone on the host’s side as it occurred just after Chelsea had been given a freekick in the middle of the pitch. The ref mentioned to Christiansen that there was “no need for that comment”, but this may just have been as a warning to get her teammates to watch their language in her role as Everton’s captain for the match.

The 65th minute brought a gilt-edged chance for the embattled hosts as they curled in a freekick from the right that was begging to be headed home from just 6 yards out, but none of the Everton players could get the decisive touch to nab the goal they never looked like deserving. This lack of ability to turn home such a simple chance triggered a double change from Roberts on the host’s bench. He went about adding a cutting edge to his team in a strange manner though, with Bennison and Magill being taken off (a midfielder and a striker) and replaced by Leonie Maier and Valerie Gauvin (a defender and a striker).

These changes by the hosts triggered changes by the visitors. Hayes shuffled her pack by resting the goal-scoring Reiten and Pernille Harder and bringing on Alsu Abdullina and Bethany England in their place. Both of these new arrivals on the pitch combined with Kerr in a gorgeous team move down the right to bamboozle the Everton defenders facing them. They advanced a little too far up the pitch though as the angle had closed down too much for England to unleash a shot and her cut back was blocked behind for a corner. Abdullina’s corner missed everyone in the centre and the game continued with the score unchanged into the final 10 minutes of the match.

Both managers made further changes to their team as the final 10 minutes got underway. Roberts made a double change for the hosts, replacing Aurora Galli and his captain Izzy Christiansen with Kenza Dali and the long overdue introduction of Toni Duggan. The captaincy of the team was passed from Christiansen to Danielle Turner, who had done the captain’s programme notes anyway. Hayes only made 1 change to her Chelsea team replacing Aniek Nouwen with Maren Mjelde. The announcer on the PA would have preferred other players to be involved in the visitor’s substitution though as he couldn’t pronounce the surname of either of the players being switched.

Chelsea got a little complacent in the 85th minute as they sauntered towards the victory. The gave Turner way too much space on the right hand side and she was able to whip the ball right across the face of goal from 25 yards out. Fading towards the goal it looked like it was going to sneak inside the post for a consolation goal, but it didn’t fade quite enough and flew inches wide of the left post. It was the closest the hosts had come to scoring a goal all match.

By this point of the match Chelsea had taken their foot completely off the gas and looked to be settling for the 3-0 win that they had more than earnt by now. Everton faded more towards the final few minutes though as the visitors created 3 more presentable chances before the end of the match. The first of these was a cross from the right that was headed back across the 12 yard line by Kerr, but none of her teammates were following up to stroke it home. The second was a skied shot from the boot of Spence in the 90th minute.

Then Kerr took it on herself to create the visitor’s final chance as the 3 minutes of injury times elapsed. She collected the ball 25 yards from goal and proceeded to weave her way through the home defence to get into a 1on1 position against Brosnan. Rather than simply slotting in Chelsea’s 4th she attempted to get sweaty with it and roll it across for her supporting teammate to tap home. This was a step too far though as an Everton defender was able to intercept this pass and hoof the ball upfield.

The ref took this clearance as the cue to whistle up for fulltime and Chelsea had to settle for just a 3-0 victory over their hapless hosts. It really should have been even more emphatic for the visitors, but they’ll still be satisfied with the 3 points and perhaps I cursed them by moving into position behind the goal in the second half ready to celebrate the expected deluge that never arrived.

The hosts for their part posted a truly disgraceful performance in the first half and though they improved massively in the second half they never looked like creating enough to deserve anything from the match. They had two matches against Man City between this match and my next game watching them, which they lost by 4-0 each time so they didn’t appear to have improved much as I made my way to Old Trafford this past weekend to see them take on the Red team of that City.

My experiences at that game, including whether Everton had improved at all in the intervening 11 days is a story for my next blog, but heading to that one I was sure of one thing. At the very least they can’t get any worse that they were at this Chelsea match.

Saturday 12th March 2022: The City Ground: EFL Championship:
Nottingham Forest vs Reading

Ever since I visited Nottingham for the first ever mixed-gender Triathlon Relay Cup on the banks of the Trent and taking in a T20 Cricket match at Trent Bridge I have always wanted to return to the city for a football game and now my dream is coming true.

With Notts County having dropped into Non-League in recent seasons there was only one choice for where to go to make this football dream a reality, Nottingham Forrest. I had read of their success in the late 1970’s and the 1980’s under the legendary manager Brian Clough and now I am finally visiting the stadium of this historic team, sitting in the stand named after their greatest manager. It was surreal.

Getting to Nottingham was a direct train from Lime Street, that only stopped in Manchester, Stockport, Sheffield and Chesterfield on the way. As a result of all these stops it took 2 and a half hours to get to my destination, it’s quicker for me to get a train to Central London. The train continued on to Norwich though so perhaps I got off easy on the journey and I have the greatest empathy and respect for those who made the full journey, having made that exact journey to visit family at the end of last year.

Thankfully the journey from stadium to station is a lot shorter. You head left out of the station and then just keep going till you meet the main road where you cross the road and turn right. From there you head towards the River Trent and the stadium will appear to your left. The weather was perfect, blue skies and sun as far as the eye could see, on match day so the stadium was doused in sunbeams and completely unmissable.

The City ground is a beautiful stadium from the outside, with the Trent End squeezed onto the edge of the river bank and if it takes even a tiny step back it will fall in. There were Canoeists and Kayakers practising on the Trent as I made my way down the bank road and it was just a gorgeous view. I thought this was a good omen for the hosts at the time and if you’ve read the title of the blog you’ll know this was a good hunch.

Despite arriving in Nottingham with 3 hours till kick-off and with the walk being just a 20minute jaunt, I didn’t actually arrive at the stadium till 90minutes before kick-off. This was because I had to get to Lime Street early in the morning and hadn’t had time for a proper breakfast, so I headed into the city centre to find some food. It was whilst tracking down some much needed lunch that I stumbled upon Nottingham’s best kept secret. Like Manchester, Sheffield and Croydon it is a city with a tram network. Unfortunately the trams are more on the Croydon level of sophistication than the fully developed networks of the other two and as such the network does not extend to the football area of town.

Having found lunch and then completed the 45 minute walk from my lunch spot to the stadium, I picked up a programme from the cash only programme seller as I turned off the bridge and down the bank to the stadium. Next to the programme seller was a scarf merchant, but none of the scarfs (except the obligatory dreadful half and half scarves for the match) were highlighting their recent history as they all depicted the successes of the club’s European glory days in the late70’s under Brian Clough. Having bought my programme I then sneaked round the Trent End, which was plastered top to bottom with memorial plaques to the fans who had witnessed the club’s glory days and are now no longer with us.

The stadium becomes far less picturesque as you turn the corner onto the Brian Clough stand as it backs onto a vast car park. In this car park is where you will find the club shop in a converted shipping container. From the shop I bought two keyrings, one with the club crest and the other with the City Ground street sign on it, out of respect for a team with such an illustrious history and a ground that I had always wanted to visit.

I was unable to make my customary lap of the stadium as the Bridgford Stand, in which the away fans are located was fenced off so I made a 180-spin and headed back down to the Trent with the intent to head round to the Peter Taylor stand side of the stadium in search of the coaches arrival point. The Trent was just too distracting though and I decided instead to grab a burger from one of the many burger vans on the bank road and enjoy it whilst relaxing on the river bank.

Enjoying my burger a little too much I lost complete track of time and, thinking it was close to kick-off, I headed straight inside once I finished my burger. The steward at the turnstiles was unfailingly helpful and I was glad he was fast with his job as I was rushing to find the loos once I made it inside. Just a quick heads up if you find yourself needing to use the City Ground’s facilities, the cubicles are miniscule so I would advise against using them if you suffer from any level of claustrophobia.

My experience at the food kiosk was a little more stress-free but not necessarily better. I went to the till closest to me and ordered a drink from the lovely young Indian lady manning it. She was not allowed to fullfill my request however as the young Indian lad at the till butted in at this point and insisted on finishing the transaction himself. I apologised to the young lady for her colleagues rudeness before heading into the stand to find my seat.

That seat was spectacularly placed, just 3 rows back from the pitch and smack bang on the halfway line too so I had a great view of the whole pitch. The only problem with it was that it was direct in the path of the sunlight pouring into the stadium and I really wish I had bought my sunglasses with me to the match. This awesome seat was tarnished significantly when my neighbour turned up as he could talk a deaf person into thumping him. He simply would not stop talking all the way upto kick-off when he was mercifully distracted by goings-on on the pitch.

The seat itself was still excellently placed though as I also had excellent views of the stadium’s 2 screens, one down at the Trent End of my stand and the other directly opposite it between the Peter Taylor and Bridgford stands. Above my head between the tiers of the Brian Clough stand was a banner that charted every trophy the club has won in it’s history. The last of those being their League Cup triumph in 1990, though it did have space on it to include future honours and it would have required smaller gaps between the text if they included promotions won on it.

They came into this match looking in good shape to secure another promotion this season as they sat 10th in the table at kick-off just 5 points behind Luton Town in 6th place and they had a game in hand over that rival too. Their goal difference of plus 12, before kick-off, stands them in good stead on this front as does their excellent form. Forest had not lost a single home match in 2022 and had not lost at all since a 2-1 loss to Cardiff on the 31st of January. Steve Cooper’s charges were looking good coming into this match and look a great shout to be playing in the Premier League next season.

The visitors are looking far more likely to be playing in League One next season than anywhere else as Paul Ince’s Reading team come into this match in 21st place in the table. Any visiting fans in denial over how precarious their teams position is only need to look at the fact that they came into this one 8 points adrift of Hull just a place above them and although they are 5 points clear of Derby County that is only due to the 21 point deduction that has been hanging round Derby’s neck all season. Without Derby being in the financial position they are Reading would be nailed on certainties to head down alongside Barnsley and Peterborough.

The visitors form is also abysmal heading into kick off losing their last two matches, one home and one way, to Millwall and Blackpool respectively and a shambolic goal difference of minus 26 for the season. Any of the away fans who had made the trip north in high spirits must have had other things on their mind than the match they were coming to see.

In further bad news for the visitors their hosts came into this one flying high off an FA Cup win against Huddersfield in their previous match that set up a quarter-final tie with their old glory day rivals Liverpool. With this win in their last match Forest named an unchanged team for this match, much to the chagrin of a lady in the row in-front of me who wanted to see her favourite Sam Surridge brought into the starting 11. For the visitors the main talking point among the fans around me was the manager’s inclusion of his son Paul Ince to lead the Royal’s line in this one.

The team sheet for the visitors was put up on a single slide and on it I was glad to see the return of a tradition of my travels, the players in the squad that are missing from the programme. This time it was 2 of the Reading substitutes that had been omitted from the programme squad lists, including their substitute keeper. They had two keepers on the squad list who didn’t make the matchday squad so this felt like a huge oversight for him to be missed off it, even if he is their 4th choice between the sticks.

Forest’s starters all got the screen to themselves as they were announced to rapturous applause from the home supporters. Once the tannoy had finished it’s announcement of the home team’s starting 11 the home fans broke into a chant that reverberated around the stadium like a prayer proclaimed in an ancient church. I could not make out the words of this prayer though as there were thousands of voices and I couldn’t understand the accent of any of them.

That unintelligible chant was the last action before the game kicked off and 17seconds after the match got underway the scores were no longer level. A whipped ball up the right straight from kick-off released Djed Spence into acres of space and his cross into the area landed at the feet of Keinan Davies with his back to goal 6 yards out. He let the ball run across his body then turned and slapped the ball under the despairing dive of Luke Southwood in the Royal’s goal. The fans had barely finished their pre-match chant when the goal went in and the rolling sound from that to the celebrations made it sound like a wave from the Trent had breached the top of the Trent End and flowed onto the pitch and into the stands.

With it having worked so well already for them Forest tried attacking down the right again, but this time the cross by Brennan Johnson evaded the slide of Ryan Yates by inches to deny Forest a second goal in the first 5 minutes. Reading had barely touched the ball early on and looked completely out of their depths in this one, they were wilting in the gorgeous early spring sunlight.

Having it so easy early on made Forest cocky to the point when one of their defenders, I took down the number 24 but he wasn’t even in the squad as it turns out. Whoever it was fluffed a simple defensive pass and dropped it to the feet of the Royal’s Andy Yiadom, but even then the visitors couldn’t work it out. Yiadom was eased off the ball by Davies and Forest cleared. Reading were back again a minute later when they secured a free-kick 35 yards from goal. Tom Ince got a yellow card for complaining to the ref about another incident that had happened seconds earlier. To get a yellow when the ref has just given your team a free-kick is quite the trick and I’m sure the visiting manager was impressed by his son’s exceptional achievement. The freekick was wasted and Forest regained control.

It wasn’t till the 20th minute that they created their next presentable chance. They whipped a freekick from the right straight through the corridor of uncertainty which was just begging to tapped home, but none of the host’s attackers could get the decisive touch. Having wasted this glorious chance Forest finally had to do some defending and in the 26th minute Ethan Horvath in the Forest goal had to finally make a save. It was a corner from the right that forced the save as it was poked goalward from 8 yards out. Horvath got down quickly to his right to stop the ball in it’s tracks and maintain the host’s lead.

Two minutes later Reading gave away another freekick on the right and this one was once again whipped in by the hosts and just begging to be tapped home, but yet again there was no-one there to tap it home and double their lead. Yiadom followed Ince into the book for complaining about the freekick being given to the hosts. It took until the 31st minute for Forest to pick up a booking of their own and it went to Jack Colback for passing the ball to himself off the advertising hoardings after the ref had given a foul against him.

In the 33rd and 34th Ince had two chances. The first after Forest were once again too casual in defence that was curving wide, but Horvath scuttled across to pouch it anyway. The second came after Ince muscled his way into the box before attempting to chip the keeper from wide left of the box at a 6 yard distance. Horvath was able to leap to palm the ball away though and keep things at 1-0 to Forest.

Reading made it a hat-trick of yellows in the 38th minute when Danny Drinkwater joined his teammates for a two-footed tackle on the host’s Brennan Johnson that caught him on the ankles. Drinkwater was lucky to get away with just a yellow, especially when he started complaining to the ref about the yellow. It was the most nailed on yellow I’ve seen for a while so why he was complaining I have not a scoobies.

The visitors took this let-off and the foothold they had managed to create another chance a minute later. Scott Dann cut in from the right hand side and takes a shot at beating Horvath at his near post but the keeper was equal to it and shoved it behind for a corner which the visitors wasted. This corner achieved one thing though as it left the host’s Max Lowe down on the turf unable to move. The physio’s checked him over and decided that he would be unable to finish the game forcing Steve Copper, in the host’s dugout, to make his first decision of the match . He decided to replace Lowe with a midfielder simply known as Cafu, though unfortunately he is not related to the Brazilian Cafu who terrorised opposition teams in Europe from the late 90’s to mid noughties (winning 2 world cups along the way).

Back to today’s match and Reading got in again in the 42nd minute. Once again it came through Ince who tied the defence in knots on the left before serving up a high cross into the centre for Dann to head home for the equaliser. Unfortunately it was just a few inches too high for Dann to get a decent connection with and his header went spiralling over the top.

The match limped from there to half-time as the game had settled far too much after it’s thrilling opening. The hosts had allowed complacency to flood into their play and allowed a listless Reading grow into the half. They had managed to make it the break with a one goal advantage though and with the sun beating down on the pitch it seemed that the football gods were still smiling on Forest. It appeared that Cooper had gone into them at half-time as they emerged long in advance of their visitors for the second half as I moved seat to my right to have a better view of the Trent End to which they were now shooting. I was confident that Forest would be geed up for this half and really turn on the afterburners. I would turn out to be right.

Forest went straight on the attack from kick-off and having wrested control of the ball from their visitors they earnt themselves a corner in the first minute. The delivery dropped to Steve Cook on the edge of the area and he volleyed it agonisingly over the bar. This was a great sign of intent from the hosts though as they looked to turn the screw on their relegation threatened visitors.

That twisted screw seemed to get to Tom Ince in the 48th minute as he started rolling around after being knocked down by the lightest touch from his marker. The host’s captain Joe Worrall was so infuriated by this that he threw the ball straight at Ince’s head to take the freekick the ref had given him. The ref seemed to miss this act from Worrall as he escaped punishment for it. Given how much complaining Ince had been doing all match though it made me laugh. It was even funnier 2minutes later when the Royal’s Michael Morrison went into the book for a soft foul. The host’s resultant freekick was flicked over to the back post where Scott McKenna was millimetres away from heading it home.

The next way that Worrall expressed his frustration at the game was by slapping a volley towards goal in the 54th minute. It flew agonisingly close over the bar but it seemed to sort out Worrall’s frustration, so there’s a silver lining at least. Free of his frustration Worrall arrowed a 60 yard pass up the right touchline to set Cafu in behind the defence and free to close-in on goal, until Morrison recovered to slide in and knock the ball behind. A minute after this it was Spence who got in behind on the right, but his cross was pushed off the line by Southwood.

At this point the game had become so hectic that everytime I looked down to take a note I missed some action on the pitch. I did note down though the point blank shot from Davis that Southwood cleared off the line in the 57th minute. Forest were getting closer though and soon they would reap their rewards for this. Before that though Reading made a change to their personnel as Ovie Ejaria on for Andy Rinomhota. Then Tom Ince tried twice to get himself sent off just after the hour mark as he first tried complaining to the ref again and then he committed a foul just seconds later. Neither worked though and he had to continue playing the game.

The game got a lot harder for Reading to get anything out of in the 62nd minute when Davies scored his second of the match through a beautiful solo move. He picked up the ball on the right side of the box then twisted and turned inside, shook off the attentions of the defenders and wrapped his shot around the forest of legs and in off the left hand post. It was a finish of beauty and the Forest lead was doubled. He would not be given the chance to complete his hat-trick though as he was hooked from action in the 69th minute, to be replaced by Sam Surridge.

The new man on the pitch was soon at the centre of the action as he twisted inside on the left side of the box and went down under contact, but the ref decided that it was a fair challenge and waved play on. The visitors were spooked enough by this and so desperate to get back in the game now they were 2 behind that they made another substitution in the 71st minute. Lucas Joao was the man brought on to replace the departing Drinkwater and the formation was changed to a 4-2-4.

Even this drastic re-jig was no use for the visitors though as the hosts were now in full flow and gained their 3rd goal in the 75th minute, when the ball dropped to Yates on the edge of the box and he rifled it into the top right postage stamp. The Royal’s keeper had no chance with that one, but that wouldn’t stop a couple of his teammates rounding on him for not saving it though.

This was game over for the match as a contest and it got even worse for Reading just 5 minutes later as the host’s netted their 4th of the match. They were threatening everytime they came forward now and were finding so much space on the right that you could park a fleet of Limo’s in it. Xande Silva, who had only been on the pitch for 2 minutes having replaced Johnson, exploited this space to advance on the Reading goal and then flick in a cross that landed on a sixpence and left Surridge with the simplest of tap-ins from 8 yards. It would’ve been the miss of the season if he had messed it up from there, but thankfully for him it was finished with consummate ease.

At this point Reading were struggling to assert any pressure on their hosts who looked like adding their 5th with every attack. Many fans witnessing their team be ripped apart like this would leave before the final whistle, but to their eternal credit the Reading supporters stuck around to cheer their team till the end.

Luckily for those travelling fans their team’s humiliation got no worse in the final 10 minutes as the hosts were unable to add any more goals to the 4 they had already scored. This was partly due to the fact that Forest had to finish the match off a man short after Steve Cook went down in considerable pain in his own area with a minute to go. The attention of the physios was not enough to get him back on his feet, so it was left to the St. John’s ambulance crew at the ground to tend to him and there was even a stretcher brought round to carry him round the pitch and down the tunnel. To the great relief of the home fans he was able to manage without the stretcher and instead was able to hobble round the pitch with the help of a medic either side of him for support. It’s never nice to see a player leave the pitch in this way, but much better than seeing them leave on a stretcher.

Little of note occurred in the 5 added minutes at the end of the match, other than Keinan Davies deservedly being named Man of the Match for his brace that set Forest on their way to a simple win. A win that set them up very well for the run-in to the end of the season and a potential play-off run after the regular season is over. It also left the home fans feeling very good about their upcoming match against Liverpool in the FA Cup.

In the time between the game and me writing this blog they have lost that game to Liverpool and accrued a number of games in hand over the teams above them and now sit just 3 points off the playoffs with 3 games in hand over Blackburn Rovers in 6th place as they enter the international break. Blackburn and their fellow Championship playoff dwellers Sheffield United are both teams that I will be looking to visit before the end of the season. With only a little over a month left in the season and other pressures in my life precluding the possibility of attending more midweek matches anytime soon whether I will manage to make games at Ewood Park and Bramall Lane before time beats me is a major unknown.

What I do know though is that I will not get to either of them before the 9th of April as I have other games planned for both this weekend and the 2nd of April at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge respectively. Before I blog those experiences though I have one last catch up blog to write as I squeezed in one midweek match last week when I visited Everton Women’s Walton Hall Park home for the visit of Chelsea. I had visited the ground twice already, but other circumstances around those days meant I was not in the right headspace to blog them. Third time lucky it is though and my next blog will bring you the story of how it’s not just Everton’s Men’s team that is currently a shambles.