The Football tourist

Having been back to London to pick up the tickets for this FA Cup match and taking the free evening to pop into Plough Lane, it was now time for me to head to the FA Cup showdown between the Franks of Thomas and Lampard. Thomas Frank is the manager of the visiting Brentford and for his first match Frank Lampard was taking charge of his new team, Everton. The blue side of Merseyside had finally taken the step of ending the ill-fated reign of Liverpool legend Rafa Benitez, who had lead them into a relegation battle in the league, and replacing him in the dugout with Chelsea legend Frank Lampard. Lampard’s reign as Everton manager began today with the visit of Brentford in the 4th round of the FA Cup.

Getting to the ground for me was one simple cycle, but for those coming in to Liverpool by train you can either head across the road from lime street and get the 19, 20, 21 or the matchday 919 bus from the Bus Station. To walk to Goodison Park from Lime street is simple you just head right out of the station and then follow the tourist road signs towards Anfield, there are no such signs for Goodison, until you see Anfield appear up the road to your right and you then carry on straight. You head down the side of Sefton Park and Goodison appears in front of you. The first thing I saw of Goodison were the large blue letters of the sign above the stadium, although I could only see the section spelling out Good from my viewpoint and that was one thing that Everton had not been till this point of the season.

They now had a new manager though, who had been confirmed on Transfer Deadline Day and had made a couple of marquee signings who should improve their squad no end. They bought in Dele Ali to give them more threat going forward and Donny Van De Beek to shore up their defence. Brentford had responded on the same day with a huge signing of their own in the incredible Christian Eriksen, returning to England and competitive football for the first time since the Euro’s last summer. None of these players were able to play for their club in this one though, Ali and Van De Beek are cup-tied whilst Eriksen will not be able to play for Brentford for “a few weeks” as he works to return to match fitness. Everton were also without their main striker of Dominic Calvert-Lewin who was still recovering from a knock.

I arrived at the ground with ages till kick off and having bought my programme from a Red lad on the walk to the ground, who had been hoping that Benitez would stay for the season and relegate the blues, I walked past the shop without heading inside. I then passed the statue of Dixie Dean on the main road and then proceeded down the Goodison road stand, where there were huge banners on the side of the stand of notable players from Everton’s past and underneath that was a timeline of Everton through the years. The timeline wraps round the Goodison Road, Sir Howard Kendall Gwladys Street and Bullens Road sides of the stadium and tracks the history of Everton from their 1878 founding right up to 2014, why it goes no further into modern times is anyone’s guess.

As I walked down Goodison Road it became clear why Everton are the known as ‘The People’s Club’ as the whole of L4 appeared to have turned out to greet their new manager. Lampard returned this show of passion for his appointment by giving a quick fist bump in the fans direction as he headed straight inside the stadium off the bus. Way to get the fans onside Mr. Lampard, but he would improve that welcome on the pitch.

Having seen this interaction between the new manager and his new fans I headed down to the far end of Goodison Road and found a three-sided statue that had Howard Kendall on one side, Colin Harvey on the second and Alan Ball (who joined after winning the 1966 World Cup) on the third side of the triangle statue. Each of them were legends for Everton in their own era, but they have to share a statue whilst Dixie Dean has one all to his own at the other end of Goodison Road.

I bought my lunch from a food stall near this triple statue, all the food stalls and programme sellers are cash only by the way, then headed past the Gwladys Street end of the stadium and the second club shop on the corner of the Gwladys and Bullens sides of Goodison. I then had to go past the barriers that separate the away fans turnstiles from the home areas and then inside the barriers and all the way back along Bullens Road to turnstile 46/47 , that then turned out to be outside the barriers anyway and I couldn’t get in through. The stewards had obviously dealt with this situation with other fans as they knew to send my back to turnstile 50 where the steward let me in without needing to scan my ticket.

Once inside the stadium you can feel the age of the place everywhere you look. The ceilings are low and the concourse is thin and claustrophobic, the away fans were packed like sardines into the tiny spaces and I can understand why Everton are moving to a new stadium in the docks. Goodison Park was the first custom-built, football only stadium back in 1882 and it’s all wood under your feet and the seats are tiny metal flip-down one with just a metal bar across the back for lumbar support. Not comfortable, but as an away fan I would be standing most of the match anyway if things went well. My seat was right by half way and though Everton had been generous in giving the away fans a full side of the stadium they had also put a pillar in the way of my view to the left so I could hardly see the penalty area, but I could see the goal though I would wish I could not as the game progressed.

The big screens in the stadium are diagonally opposite each other and the one I could see, between the Goodison Road and Gwladys Street stands, showed only the starting 11’s for the teams and no substitutes at all. Writing them on the programme was a nuisance though as the outsides of the programme are glossy paper which cannot be written on, I had to resort to writing the player’s numbers on the CEO’s and Captain’s pages of the programme.

Those numbers did show me one thing which had been whispered round the away fans before the match was actually true, David Raya was back in goal for the Bees for the first time in months after recovering from injury. This was both great and awful news as Raya is undoubtedly one of the best keepers I have seen for the bees in a long time it normally takes players returning from injury a few matches to bed back into the team. The last time the Bees were in this situation they lost their first game 3-2 to Burnley and had one of the worst first halves of football I have seen from any team in history. I was hopeful they would avoid a repeat performance.

Following current protocols the teams entered from different areas of the stadium, with the hosts entering through a tiny opening at the top of some stairs, that I think must lead to the changing rooms. The visitors entered from a huge tunnel far away to my left and as they entered from different areas they also entered at separate times and the stadium PA decided to sound an ear-splitting siren as the Bees entered. This infuriated me to the point where a comic version of me would have had flames coming out of his ears. It was in this mood that I watched the game get underway.

My mood did not immediately improve as Everton were the first team on the attack as they fed off the wave of positivity in the crowd. They got the ball up to Richarlison in the box and as he attempted to hold the ball up he lost his footing and ended up flat on the turf. He felt he had been tapped and thus turned to the ref screaming for a penalty that no ref would ever give. It may not have been the most successful attack from the hosts, but it was certainly a signal of intent and indicative of the control they had established in midfield early on.

Brentford had their first attack of the match in the 6th minute and it came from a throw in. The long throw on the left landed in the box and created pinball in the area. Kristoffer Ajer won this pinball but his tempting ball across the face of the 6 yard box was deflected behind by the home defence and then the visitors wasted the corner.

The first truly threatening attack of the match came in the last dry minute of it, the 9th minute. Everton worked the ball out to Ben Godfrey on the left and his pin-point ball to Richarlison gave him just one defender and the keeper to beat. He left the defender for dead with ease, but then shanked his shot far wide of the right-hand post. Then the clouds broke and the rain streamed down, it peppered the turf but luckily the stands were well under cover and I remained dry.

This change in conditions underfoot along with his attacking efforts had an effect on Godfrey as he fell to the turf in the 12th minute with little attention from the visiting players. He was unable to continue and with the help of the physio he was forced to limp off the pitch. Lampard’s first substitution as Everton boss saw the introduction of Yerry Mina to the action in place of his injured defensive colleague and it would turn out to be an excellent call.

This personnel change did nothing to halt the hosts attacks and they were back in down the right in the 14th minute, the cut back was dreadful though. It was straight to the feet of the defence who were able to clear it back towards the hosts goal. The visitors break came to nothing, but Pickford’s clearance from it was a little more coincidental. Richarlison and Pontus Jansson went up to challenge for the ball, but only found each others head’s to make contact with and they came back down far quicker than they went up. The break in play as they were checked over by the medics was a nervy one for both sets of fans but, much to the relief of everyone, both players were cleared to continue and the match continued.

Everton were nearly gifted a goal in the 17th minute as a throw from the left is then worked into the centre of the box where it looked to be heading straight to the feet of Mads Bech Sorensen to clear for the visitors. Except that he allowed the ball to bounce in front of him and the bounce took the ball past him and to Richarlison instead, who had been a menace for the visitors defence so far. Richarlison turned and volleyed towards goal, but the ball was always rising and it sailed over the bar.

Another mishit goal kick from Pickford provided Brentford with their best chance yet. This time the ball simply squirted from under Pickford’s feet and lay invitingly in the box, begging to be tapped in for a lead Brentford didn’t deserve. Luckily for the home keeper his defenders were on the ball seconds before the onrushing Mathias Jensen could turn it home for the visitors and the score remained at 0-0 for now.

Brentford used this mix up by the hosts to gain a foothold in the match and in the 24th minute Ivan Toney got the ball, by dropping all the way to halfway, and ran at the home defence. I hoped that having turned away from his marker and finally in space he would make something from this opportunity. He was pulled back by a recovering Demarai Gray and the attack was murdered in it’s crib. Gray went into the ref’s book for his foul but it was the right move for the team and he won’t have minded the yellow card too much, particularly when Brentford wasted the free kick.

These embryonic shoots of hope for the Bees seemed to sprout further in the 27th minute when Christian Norgaard wrestled the ball free in midfield and seeing Toney making a run in behind, he tried to drop the ball at his teammate’s feet. The ball had a little too much on it though and the aiming was off too as it drifted to the right of the pitch and the readjustment that Toney had to make allowed Pickford to beat him to the ball and sheppard the ball behind for a goal kick.

These shoots of visitor revival were cut off at the source in the 30th minute however, as the hosts took the lead their play so far deserved. The goal came from a corner after a shot from inside the penalty area had deflected behind off a defender. The corner that came in from the right was an in-swinger into the 6 yard box that was badly misjudged by the home defence, which allowed Yerry Mina to ghost into position and head home for the opening goal just 17 minutes after coming on as a substitute. 1-0 to Everton and the home fans responded by going wild in the stands, they had been rather quiet upto this point but now we heard their joy.

This joy was almost destroyed 5 minutes later though as Brentford fought back and came agonisingly close to equalising the match. Toney collected the ball on the edge of the box and laid it off to Canos who made hay down the left before laying on a perfect defence splitter for Toney to tap home. Unfortunately for visiting fans, like me, Toney had not moved after laying the ball off to Canos and thus was not in position to collect the return ball and tap home the simplest finish of his career.

No matter though as Brentford created another chance to equalise just 4 minutes later. This chance was created by a great passage of team work. First Mads Roerslev collected the ball on the left then he played the ball to Jensen who slipped it through to Ajer. They all had chances to cross the ball in, but declined to take them as Toney was their only teammate in the box and he was at the back post. So instead Ajer rolled the ball to the advancing Canos who unleashed a powerful shot that got deflected just over the bar. It was the closest Brentford has come to scoring and would be the last time they would threaten to do so this half.

Everton’s regained control of the match in the 42nd minute from a Brentford corner. Everton took control of the ball from the corner and broke upfield. This break was cut out in a slightly different way to the one Gray had chosen when the team’s roles were reversed earlier in the match. This time Richarlison’s threatening run through the centre was ended when Roerslev blocked him off with a simple body check that resulted in a yellow card for the Bees player and a freekick to Everton that they duly wasted. However, this break did smother Brentford’s momentum and put the initiative back in Everton’s hands.

Mina nearly added a second goal for the hosts in the final regulation minute of the first half as he glided through the centre of the visitors defence only to slip as he made contact with the ball, sending the ball spiralling harmlessly wide and keeping the match at 1-0 to Everton going into half time.

My half time was serenaded by my fellow visiting fans, who had created a chant for Christian Eriksen, the highest profile signing the Bees have ever made, that went like so ‘OOOH Christian Eriksen, he plays for Brentford in red and white, he passes with his left foot and he passes with his right foot, he plays with Christian Norgaard and he’s fucking dynamite’. It was so catchy that I couldn’t help but join in with it, to the point where I almost missed the start of the second half.

This would have been a mistake as the start of the second half was filled with action. My first feeling when I saw the teams lined up for kick-off for this half though was disappointment as it was clear that Canos and Toney had swapped positions. Brentford’s main striker was now out on the wing with a winger through the centre. Sure Toney had been seeming more allergic to the penalty area with every passing game since November but it felt like a backwards step to actually change his position like this.

Despite no changes for either team at the break it took just 3 minutes for Everton to double their lead. The worst thing for me as an away fan was how easy it was for the hosts. A simple ball over the top took out the whole of the Bee’s defence, Raya reacted just fractions of a second too late and the onrushing Richarlison beat him to the ball then poked it past him into the empty net. It was one of the simplest goals I have seen scored at a football match in a long time.

Brentford responded to going 2-0 down by going on the attack. They worked the ball through to Toney, finally in the penalty area, who went down with minimal contact and the ref waved away his protestations for a penalty. The Bees tried again in the next minute, the 51st, this time down the right but again they went through Toney and once he weaved his way from centre of the box to the right side of it he arrowed the ball back across the box nanometres out of reach of the despairing slide of Mathias Jensen.

Toney got his penalty in the 53rd minute when a ball by Vitaly Janelt splits the defence and finds him in space in the box 8 yards out. He taps it past Pickford, who clatters into him as he attempts to connect with the ball and it’s a clear penalty to Brentford. The first time Toney has had a threatening touch in the box all match and it gets a reward. The whole of the away stand was on tenterhooks as Toney stepped up to take the penalty he had won and the release that followed when he slotted it away, low to the keeper’s left, was biblical in proportion. Brentford had a goal, it was 2-1 and now the comeback was surely on.

The chance for the Bees to level the scores came on the hour mark as a deflected shot goes uncollected by Pickford and gifts Brentford a corner. The bees work the corner short before crossing into the box with a pinpoint effort that finds Toney in space just 8 yards from goal. Toney then contrives to somehow miss the target entirely and the hopes of a comeback began to fade.

Those hopes were completely snuffed out in the 61st minute as a defensive mistake gifted the ball to Richarlison on the right and his cross into the box confused the home defence so much, that all they could manage to do was deflect it just over the bar for a corner to the hosts. As Everton scored their first goal from a corner so that is how they got their third aswell. It was another simple inswinger whipped into the 6 yard box and this time Mason Holgate was the player in blue who was there to guide it home and make it 3-1 to Everton.

Brentford responded to conceding again by making a substitution with Vitaly Janelt making way for Shandon Baptiste a minute after that goal went in. Meanwhile, Everton celebrated retaking a 2 goal lead in the match with a couple of agricultural tackles on Toney in the 67th minute. The second of these tackles was after the ref had blown the whistle for a Bees free kick, but this didn’t mean the ref would do anything about it. The ref gave a yellow card for the first tackle, so then to see nothing given for a similarly rash challenge after the whistle had already been blown was both confusing and infuriating to me and the Bees fans around me. It became even more so 2 minutes later when Anthony Gordon went down whilst on the attack despite no-one appearing to be within 3 yards of him and still got a free kick for the hosts.

No matter though as both teams would make double substitutions in the 73rd minute and Gordon was one of those removed from the action by Frank Lampard. He was joined in his removal to the bench by Vitaly Mykolenko (who I hope is holding up okay with the current situation in his homeland) and they were replaced by Andros Townsend and Jonjoe Kenny respectively. The Bees substitutions at this point of the match saw Mads Roerslev being replaced by Josh Dasilva, on for his first appearance in months after recovering from injury, and Sergi Canos replaced by Samman Ghoddos in an attempt by Thomas Frank to salvage something from the remainder of the match. Lampard’s substitutions would turn out to be more successful.

Brentford almost gifted Everton a 4th goal in the 75th minute when Mads Bech Sorensen headed a clearance back towards his own goal instead and only the quick feet of Raya allowed the keeper to recover the situation before the onrushing Richarlison could finish the chance. So close to 4-1 to Everton with 15 minutes left of the match, but they would get their 4th before the final whistle.

First though Brentford had another chance to waste in the final 10 minutes. This came in the 81st minute after great play on the left by Mathias Jensen created the cross that was begging for a finishing touch. All it got was a punch clear by Pickford that skimmed over the head of Kristoffer Ajer who was unable to get the touch on it that it needed. Toney was nowhere to be seen in the box when this gilt-edged chance was playing out.

As the final 10 minutes of the match ebbed away both teams made further substitutions. First Brentford replaced Rico Henry with Finley Stevens in the 83rd minute, bringing on fresh legs in defence in an attempt to keep their hosts to just the 3 goals. Everton for their part made a double substitution in the 88th minute, the imperious Richarlison making way for Cenk Tosun to a standing ovation from the Everton fans and Demarai Gray being replaced by Alex Iwobi as Everton went looking for that 4th goal that would cap a great first game under Lampard.

In a moment indicative of his performance Toney missed the chance to intercept an Everton pass in the 90th minute and instead of tracking back to help out his teammates he instead chose to kneel down and whack the turf. It shows that he still cares about his football I suppose, but it wasn’t the most helpful action for his teammates at that point.

The 4th goal for Everton came in the 4 added minutes at the end of the 90 and it came through the substitute Andros Townsend, who had only been on the pitch 20 minutes. Everton broke free on the right hand side and advanced towards the Bees goal, the cross that came in was delicious and with Townsend in acres of space in the area he picked up the ball and rifled it home. There was no attempt to mark him of close him down by a visiting defence that had given up trying by this point. 4-1 to Everton was the final score and it was no more than their performance deserved. Congratulations to Lampard on his first win with his new team and if they perform like this in the league they’ll have no trouble staying up. Brentford on the other hand were embarrassing and I couldn’t wait for the full time whistle to blow to put me out of my misery in the second half.

Everton were on top all over the pitch and the only team looking likely to score for the whole of the first half then they took over the pitch in the second half and put the Bees to the sword, despite the penalty moment. I felt that a large part of the reason that the Bees were failing to credibly threaten for most of the match was the allergic reaction that Ivan Toney seemed to have to getting in the box. He spent most of this half coming as short as the halfway line for the ball and as he is the Bees main striker this left them with few options to get up the pitch and the few times they made progress on the wings their main striker was nowhere to be seen in the box when they looked to put in a cross. This personal belief led to a heated debate between and a fellow Bees fan the row behind me, in the 35th minute. He felt that Sergi Canos has been the main reason for the drop in the Bees form as he does not have the motivation to play well when he starts and is only any use when bought on as a second half substitute.

Whatever the truth truly is, Brentford’s form had begun to enter an alarming slide and the second half had been truly dreadful and as such I was not looking forward to my midweek game as I watched the Bees on their trip to the Etihad, attempting to prevent themselves going a month without a win in the league. That blog will be up soon as I attempt to catch up on a backlog of blogs that has built up as I have had to focus on other things this month.

As I’ve been writing this there has been excellent news for Brentford fans. Christian Eriksen has made his return to competitive football for the first time in 259 days and I am so glad to see him back in action. His return as a substitute lasted 38 minutes and I’m sure he will play the full 90 as soon as he reaches full match fitness. I hope to secure another Brentford match ticket soon to see Eriksen in action for the Bees. WELCOME BACK CHRISTIAN.

This match fell into my lap, to start February, whilst I was down in London to pick up tickets for my FA Cup team at the weekend. I had an evening to fill whilst in the Big Smoke and I have always had a soft spot for AFC Wimbledon so I took the chance to go and visit the south Londoners. They moved back to their home borough of Merton for the first time since the disaster of 2004, when the AFC had to be formed by the fans due to the Milton Keynes debacle. Milton Keynes was the successful option of those being considered at the time with one of the rejected ideas being a move to Dublin where the team would still play in the English divisions, so perhaps Milton Keynes was the best of a bunch of bad options.
To me AFC Wimbledon are the true Dons and as such I will be referring to them as the Dons for the rest of this blog.

With that disclaimer out of the way, the game that I saw from the Dons was their league 1 game against Cheltenham Town and it was back at Plough Lane. The Dons went into this game just one point above the relegation game and on an awful run of form. Their last win was on the 7th December away at Accrington in the league and their last home win was against today’s opponents on 4th December in the FA Cup. That game ended 4-3 to the Dons and having seen that I was hoping for another such high scoring game today. Then I saw that the Dons had only scored 2 goals across their 7 games in January and hadn’t scored 2 goals in a single match since a 2-2 draw against Wycombe Wanderers on December 11th and those hopes drifted away.

Their visitors were only 3 points above their hosts in the league having played a game more and came into this match in a similarly dreadful run of form. Cheltenham had not won since 23rd November when they got a 2-0 win away at Gillingham. That was the last of a run of 3 straight wins, but they haven’t won since and they hadn’t even manged to score in their last 2 games in the run up to this one. December 11th is also the last time they scored twice in a single match and, as with their hosts, it was also in a 2all draw though theirs was against Lincoln City. This run had really hurt their goal difference, to the point that a win for the Dons would see them leapfrog the visitors on that score.

With the teams so tightly matched in the league and their awful form coming into this one I was eager to get to the game. The journey was anything but straightforward though as there were delays and then a cancelled destination on the District line as I was travelling on it. Luckily the cancelled destination was Ealing Broadway, which would’ve destroyed my chances of getting to a Bees game, and I was just delayed by 15 minutes at Earl’s Court on my way to Wimbledon Park.

Yep that’s right, just like the famous Wimbledon Tennis Tournament, the best station to alight for Wimbledon FC is not Wimbledon itself but Wimbledon Park instead. It’s just a 20 minute walk from there. You turn right out of the station and then right again when you reach the T junction where ‘ahead’ isn’t an option and 15 minutes later Plough Lane appears on your left. The turn into Plough Lane is easy to spot as it’s marked by a monument to the old Wimbledon FC that the current AFC Wimbledon owes it’s existence too. Finding the stadium itself is a little more difficult as it’s tucked away on the left hand side of the road, just keep your eyes peeled that side as you pass between the Ford and Vauxhall showrooms and you’ll spot it though.

It’s not the most visually imposing stadium from the outside, but it is in the place of the old Wimbledon dog track so it at least has some history in the local community and now it’s making more history for the community with the return of Wimbledon football to Merton. As you step down into the stands you feel as though you are stepping into a Roman amphitheatre, a huge bowl of a stadium that you step into to watch gladiators of the pitch battle out to settle who is the best.

Before I headed inside I needed a ticket and unlike most stadiums this one had no clear ticket office. Collections were done from the till in the club shop, but to actually buy a ticket I had to head out of the shop and down the side of the stadium to a guy behind a rickety table. I was able to buy a ticket for the dugout stand and it was very useful that I was able to get a ticket for this stand as it was the only one I was able to locate the entry too. The rest of the stadium backs onto flats and whilst there must be entry points around those sides I was unable to spot them. I didn’t enter immediately after buying my ticket though as I hadn’t got my keyring or a programme yet, but having picked those up from the shop I was ready to head inside.

Getting inside would turn out not to be as easy as I hoped though as it turned out that my ticket would not scan on the turnstile. Luckily the steward was right there and, after checking with the security personnel waiting to get in behind me, he was able to tap his pass to let me inside. There are more programme sellers, cash or card your choice, just inside the turnstile line as you step into the cavernous concourse. There is so much space on the concourse that it felt like they could play the match in there. There was also space in there for two huge food kiosks, each with its own specialised fast track queue for those who order through the new swipe station app that they were advertising throughout the concourse. I did not try the app, but I did appreciate the free Wi-Fi that came with it.

I cannot eulogise about the concourse and facilities enough at Plough Lane, they were absolutely incredible and if the same quality was evident on the pitch the Dons would be back in the Premier League in no-time. The programme was more indicative of their current position in the league though as it is put together in what feels to be a very haphazard manner. As a seasoned football fan I am used to seeing the team’s player lists either on the back cover of the programme or on the page inside the cover, but AFC Wimbledon instead choose to hide theirs on page 23 of the programme. The coaching teams and match officials info was a page turn further in, with the league table another turn away and the season’s fixtures are two further turns on.

The screen in the stadium was as unhelpful as the programme. It was on the far side of the stadium to me and the writing on it was so small that it’s very lucky for the away fans that it was down their end or they’d never have been able to keep up with what was going on in the game. Not that there were many away fans at the match, though given the journey from Cheltenham and the fact that this was a midweek winter match the lack of travelling fans is perhaps understandable.

By the time I had located these pages I was already in my seat and unable to use the Wi-Fi to note down the starting 11’s and I’d already missed the visitors matchday squad so I had to read those numbers off the players back once play was underway. I did work out 3 of their substitutes though as they stayed out after the warmup to get a little more shooting practice, practice that on the evidence of the earlier warm up was badly needed. One of those Cheltenham subs was a Man named Aaron Ramsey. I knew it was unlikely to be a loan move for the Man who had just joined Rangers from Juventus, but with Robinho agreeing to turn out for a Sunday league team in Shropshire in March I figured anything was possible. It was not him.

The home team sheet was a simpler affair, though the only name I recognised on it was number 21, Luke McCormick. The only other player on the Dons programme that I recognised for the hosts was their designated captain Alex Woodyard, who was left out of their matchday squad with Ben Heneghan given captain’s duties for this match instead. I did recognise the iconic womble mascot for the Dons though, a great nod to the famous song.

The Dons did had a surprise for their fans before kick-off as they unveiled their deadline day signings to the home fans. They had a keeper and, perhaps more importantly, a striker to unveil and given their recent struggles in front of goal it is Sam Cosgrove who comes in with the bigger burden of expectation of the two. Time will tell whether he can live up to those expectations.

The first five minutes of the match set the tone for how this one would be played with a lot of physical tackles raining in from the visitors and the Don’s number 10, Ayoub Assal, bearing the brunt of them early on. Perhaps he used this treatment as motivation though as with the first attack of the match he swept the hosts into a 1-0 lead in the 9th minute.

The opening goal came from a Dons corner on the right that was cleared back to where it came from only for Assal to collect it and advance a couple of yards into the area before flashing the ball across Evans in the Cheltenham goal and in off the left hand post. It was a great finish by Assal and a case of first chance, first goal for the Dons.

Going behind seemed to wake up the visitors as they created their first chance of the match a minute later. They fired it just over the bar from 20 yards out, but it was a sure sign of intent from the visitors. The Dons would not let it go unanswered though and they took control of the match for the next 10 minutes.

The first Dons attack in this time of dominance came in the 12 minute as Assal nabbed the ball off Charlie Raglan and set the Dons forward through McCormick. He laid it off to Terry Ablade with his back to goal, he turned and shot low to the Keeper’s right to pouch the ball and keep things at 1-0. Ablade had a second chance just 2 minutes later, but he launched this effort high into the stands.

The Dons were even able to create opportunities on the break as they cut out a Cheltenham attack down the right in the 15th minute and Ablade was set free down the centre. This time though he was cut off at the knees before he could advance into the box by the hosts Alfie May. This was an extremely cynical tackle from May and many in the home stands were crying out for a red, but the distance from goal worked in his favour and the ref let him off with just a yellow. It would prove to be a very important decision for the match.

First though the Dons wasted another chance when an inviting cross from the right evaded all the waiting Dons players in the box and Cheltenham were able to clear once more. The first 20minutes had been a period dominated by the hosts and a one goal lead was no more than they deserved at this point.

They should have had a chance to double that lead from the penalty spot in the 23rd minute when Ablade’s chasing of a lost cause down the right resulted in a gorgeous cutback into the path of the onrushing Assal. He did up two visiting defenders like kippers before being tripped by another defender as he went to unleash his shot. The ref saw nothing in this though and gave nothing at all. The visitors thanked him for this by cannoning their clearance into the back of the ref’s head.

Another cynical tackle on Assal in the 25th minute left him flat on the turf requiring treatment, but once again it was only a yellow for the offending Cheltenham man. When Assal was back on his feet and able to continue there was yet another Cheltenham based problem as May refused to get 10 yards from the free-kick until the ref came over and dragged him back. This was a ballsy move from a player already on a yellow card, but once again the ref was in a lenient mood and he remained on the pitch.

These let-offs for Cheltenham inspired them to finally create some threatening attacks as the game reached the half hour mark. Their second chance of the whole match came bang on the half hour as they worked a ball down the right and then their striker, who I had down as number 9 despite him not being in the matchday squad, turned and flashed a shot just over the bar.

This sighter for the visitors prompted a chance of tack for their next attack a minute later and it paid dividends with the equalising goal. They picked up the ball on the right, but this time they switched it across the park to May. He advanced to just inside the left side angle of the penalty area and his driven shot has enough on it to beat Nik Tzanev in the Dons goal at his near post and draw Cheltenham level in the match.

In the 33rd minute things would get even better for May and worse for the Dons as May raced Tzanev onto a loose ball in the area. It looked to me as though Tzanev had won the race and May then went over his hands after the ball had been palmed away from danger. The ref disagreed feeling that May had won the race and Tzanev had taken the player instead of the ball. Since it’s the ref’s decision that matters this meant a penalty to Cheltenham and a chance for May to complete a quick fire brace and give the visitors the lead. May slotted the ball straight down the middle with Tzanev diving away to his left, 2-1 to Cheltenham and a brace for May who was lucky to still be on the pitch. He rode his luck again in the 35th minute as the ref gave him a talking too for an incident that I missed, but which had incensed the fans around me.

The rest of the regulation 45 of the first half descended into a midfield battle that the Dons continued to just about maintain the upper hand in, but they then had no-one to provide the out ball. Assal had the pace to trouble the visitors back line but had decided to consistently come short at this point of the match and this left the Dons with little threat in the final third.

The Dons did create one final first half chance in the four added minutes though as a freekick from their left was headed away by the visiting defence only to land at the feet of McCormick on the edge of the box. He volleyed goalward but it was always rising and ended up ballooning harmlessly high over the bar. The Dons were attacking wide down the right as the ref blew for half time and the frustration of the home fans at this timing was palpable.

The first half may have ended 2-1 to the visitors but I still felt lucky with the match I was witnessing, not only had the Dons managed to score but they had also dominated the majority of the half and only saw themselves behind due to a 3 minute spell visitors who had shown little threat the rest of the half.

The Dons were the first to emerge for the second half and I was certain that if they played as well as they had for the first 25 minutes of the first half they would create the chances to draw level and then win the match. Mark Robinson in the Don’s dugout was thinking down the same lines as he made no changes at half time but nor did Cheltenham’s Michael Duff though who had taken heart from those two quick fire goals.

After the Dons had two kick-offs for the second half, the ref making them retake the first for reasons that were not obvious to me, it appeared that Robinson had made the better call. It took all the way to the 47th minute for the Dons to create their first gilt-edged chance of the half. A cross from the left was headed back across goal from the back post and it looked to be sneaking in as an advancing Don’s striker was pushed over as he advanced to make sure of it’s final position. Nothing was given for this blatant push as Evans was able to shepherd the ball behind for the visitors.

A minute after this dubious decision there followed another. The ref gave Cheltenham a free-kick after a true 50/50 challenge from which neither team emerged with the ball. This turn of events further stoked the anger of the home fans, after the penalty decision that went against them, and they started chanting “2-1 to the referee” then moved on to the old classic “You don’t know what you’re doing”.

The game continued though and the Dons created another great chance in the 52nd minute, with a whipped cross from the right that presented Ablade with a free header from 6 yards out that he somehow managed to aim straight into the keeper’s grateful arms. Cheltenham then went straight on the attack themselves as Matty Blair advanced on the right before nutmegging the Don’s defender opposite him before trying to run through his opposite number. The ref gave him a freekick for this attempt that the visitors took an age to decide what to do with before sending it into the area, where it was pinballed around for far too long before the Dons eventually managed to clear it away.

In the 56th minute the Dons had a freekick of their own on the right hand touchline. They tried to take it quickly, but the ref pulled them back and when they did send it in it evaded all their players including one who ended up in a heap on the turf. Once again nothing going from the ref, third time wasn’t the charm it seems.

As the hour mark came and went Robinson decided it was time to shuffle his pack, taking off Ablade and sending on Aaron Cosgrave in his place. This would prove to be an excellent call by the Don’s Head Coach and having made it in the 63rd minute there was plenty of time for it to make a difference. It almost paid dividends in the 67th minute when a deep cross from the Don’s right was flashed agonisingly wide of the left hand post by Cosgrave.

A minute before that Don’s chance came one of the worst tackles of the match as Reece Hutchinson came flying in like a missile on a Don’s midfielder in centre field clearing him out and leaving him in a tangled mess on the turf. Once again it was just a yellow card from the ref, but it convinced Duff to make his first move of the match and he chose to remove Hutchinson from the field and replace him with Lewis Freestone. Robinson made a move of his own at the same time and took off the excellent Luke McCormick and bring on Ethan Chislett in his place. The match was on a knife’s edge as the match entered into it’s final 20 minutes.

The visitors would have the first chance of these final 20 and it came, once again through Alfie May. He collected the ball 20 yards from goal and weaved his way into the box before unleashing a shot from the left side of the area that squirms just wide of the left-hand post and denied May the hat-trick he so clearly wanted. The sides then traded tame shots into the keeper’s arms over the next three minutes. This convinced Duff to make his second move of the match, this time replacing Kion Etete with Aaron Ramsey.

The Dons created a chance to equalise in the 77th minute when Cheye Alexander had a pop at goal from the edge of the box. It managed to weave it’s way through the forest of legs in the box, but it was infuriatingly off target and the visitors retained their lead. The visitors then had a chance of their own to get the goal that would’ve killed the game off, but their cut back from the by-line on the right hand side sailed straight into the grateful arms of Tzanev in the Dons goal.

As the final 10 minutes of the match approached the Dons were definitely taking control of the game again and in the 80th minute they made use of this control by finally scoring the equaliser. I’m not quite sure how they did it as I missed the build up to the goal, but I saw the finish from Cosgrave. He rifled it across the keeper and into the back of the net, a great composed finish by the substitute to draw the Dons level with 10 minutes of normal time left to play. Enough time for a winner perhaps?

The first team to go close to that winner were the visitors and again it was May with the chance. The ball found him on the edge of the box with space, but his shot was tame and rolled harmlessly through to Tzanev. May would get one more chance before the final whistle. First though both teams made substitutions with the Dons replacing Alexander with Paul Osew in the 83rd minute, then Cheltenham replaced Callum Wright with Charlie Coikett in the penultimate minute of the match.

The rest of the final 10 passed without chances and then May had his second chance to win it in the last minute of the regulation 90. He was sent running after a ball in behind that had the whole of the hosts defence beaten. He reached the ball and sent a shot in to complete his hat-trick and win the game. Unfortunately for the travelling fans Tzanev was equal to the effort getting down to save with his legs and the scores level as the board went up for 5 minutes of added time.

The Dons had a chance a minute in the added period but every time the move broke down at the crucial moment and they didn’t give Evans a single save to make during this period. It began to rain as the ref whistled for full time and that change in the weather was mirrored by the reaction of many of the fans around me, as they saw their team only manage to draw a game that they had controlled almost from start to finish. I was just pleased to have seen goals from each team when their form coming into this one had been so abysmal. Sure it would’ve been great to see the Dons win on my first visit to their home back in Merton, but it was still a great spectacle and nice to see them back where they belong.

My next blog will be chronicling my experience at Frank Lampard’s first match in charge at Everton as he started his managerial reign with an FA Cup match against Brentford and their manager Thomas Frank. It was the battle of the Franks and next blog you’ll find out who won, amongst other things.

With the Premier League on their winter break over the last weekend of January, I took the chance to go to a Manchester derby. Not the big Manchester derby between City and United, but a derby down in the lower reaches of League 2 between Oldham Athletic and their local rivals Rochdale.

They are separated by 6 miles as the crow flies and also by 6 positions in the league. Oldham started the day bottom of the League and 7 points from safety, with Rochdale not fairing a whole lot better in just 18th place themselves at the start of the day just 9 points clear of the drop. The form of both teams was indicative of their league positions too. Rochdale had only managed 6 wins all season and the last of these had been on the 18th December, though to be fair to the Dale they had only played 2 games in the interim. Oldham’s form was even worse, as they only had 4 wins to their name all season and none since the 20th December, though they have played out a 5 all draw with high flying Forest Green since then and one of their four wins this season came in the reverse fixture against Rochdale back in September.

The hosts could also take encouragement from the return of John Sheridan to their dugout for the remainder of the season. He masterminded their successful survival pushes in both the 2015/16 and 2016/17 so now the Latics’ owners have turned to him to keep them up yet again. They call it a Shezurrection in this part of greater Manchester and they’re hoping he will make it a hat-trick this season.

First though there was the game today to play and for me it took longer to travel too and from than it actually lasted on the pitch. Having got a delayed train into Manchester Victoria there are two ways to get from there to Boundary Park. One way to do so is to get a train to Rochdale and then get the bus down to Oldham from there but, as I was going to be in the home end, I chose instead to get a tram from Victoria to central Oldham and then walk up to the stadium from there.

The trams are well signed at Victoria as Metrolink and once you get to the platforms you need to get a tram heading towards either Shaw and Crompton or to Rochdale as both head through Oldham. I got off at Oldham King’s Street tram stop, as it was a straight shot from there up a single road to the Royal Oldham Hospital when you turn left down Sheepfoot Lane. Boundary Park then appears on your right a minutes walk down the road. The whole walk from King’s Street takes about 30 minutes so for a quicker, but windier journey to the stadium you can get off one stop earlier at Westwood from where the walk is down as taking just 20 minutes.

However you get there the stadium is no much to look at from the outside. It looks like a bog standard brick walled block of flats as you approach it from the road, with the ticket office well hidden in an alcove in the wall. It is on the right hand side of the official entrance to the stadium and when I finally located it I was able to secure a ticket for the Jimmy Frizzell Stand, despite their being no such stand shown on the stadium map on the back of the ticket itself. I decided to take my normal lap of the stadium and locate the correct stand that way.

The lap of the stadium makes it seem no more impressive than the view from the road though as the two sides I was able to access were not in great shape. One of the sides backed onto a large carpark and the other backed onto what was essentially wasteland. The fourth side was the away end and with a large police presence at that end I decided not to head that way.

I did however head into the club shop and buy my traditional keyring before heading back round to my turnstile to head inside for the match. There were programme sellers everywhere around the ground and right by the turnstiles too, so it won’t be hard to find a programme before heading inside and you will also have lots of time to grab one if you wish because the queue to get inside that moved at a glacial pace.

Despite getting into the turnstile queue with an hour to go before kick-off those queues were already taking up the whole of the car park which was impressive for a team that is doing so badly at the moment. The queues took a long time to clear though with how slow they were moving though and whilst waiting to get inside I checked the team sheets on Twitter whilst in the queue. Getting inside once you reached the turnstiles was not easy either as the entrances were very thin indeed and it was a hip squashing experience to get onto the concourse.

Once through the turnstiles the food kiosks were easy to find though as they’re right in front of you as you enter the concourse. There was a drinks only kiosk to the left and a food kiosk to the right so I grabbed a pie, that was attached to the foil container, and headed to my seat. There were no screen or clock to see though so all my timings for the match will be approximate. What I also couldn’t see was the away fans who were seated far away at the other end of the ground. The tannoy was no help either as it was set at such a low volume that no-one could hear anything that was being said over it, this would become a particularly important shortcoming early in the first half.

Before that though I had to write in the squads on the back of my programme and, as has now become a running joke for me, this meant I had to write players on that their own teams had left off the programme. This time it was just the one substitute for the hosts and two of the visitors starting 11. I hope that at some point soon I get to go to a match where all the players are already on the programme.

Getting to and into the stadium was a nuisance for me, but it certainly hadn’t effected the home fans appetite for the match though as their chants were loud enough to be heard over the driving wind in the stadium. The wind could do nothing to drown out the noise of the drum that one of the home fans had brought into the ground and that drum itself did more to raise the atmosphere than any of the chants. With the away fans at the other end of the ground the normal atmosphere at a match was unable to build but that didn’t stop the home fans setting off the thing that I will remember most from the match, flares and lots of them.

The wind was doing it’s best to become the main feature of the match though after it kicked off. It was blowing towards the goal Rochdale were attacking in the first half and it had an effect on the Oldham keeper’s goal kicks early on. He put the ball straight out from them twice in the first 3 minutes of the match.

Rochdale were getting forward at will early on, but the only time they threatened early on the ref whistled them back for offside. The keeper managed to keep the freekick in play this time, but he was back to his normal method of putting the ball straight out of play from the next goal kick.

The most interesting thing happening on the pitch at this point were the truly old-style tackles that were going in all over the pitch and the ref was letting them all go too, which was helping build the atmosphere in a way that the layout of the stadium was not helping. Having the opposition fans at the opposite end of the stadium may have been a good call from a security stand point, but it left the atmosphere feeling flat throughout.

The pitch got a little more interesting in the 15th minute as the visitors got their first corner of the match, so I looked down to make a note of this incredible turn of events and when I looked up again the hosts were without a keeper. I thought he had been substituted for a moment and then 4 Rochdale players headed off down the tunnel. I had no idea what was going on at this point and with the tannoy at whispering level there was no way of finding out. The moment I knew something serious had happened was when the rest of the players and then the officials all headed off down the tunnel too.

The next thing I knew a stretcher was being taken down the tunnel and word filtered through the fans around me that there was a medical emergency in the crowd. I never had any clue how serious the medical situation was with this fan, but I hope they are okay now. I don’t even know if they were taken to hospital as the information for the fans in the stands was non-existent. This is exactly the kind of situation that a screen would be really useful for.

Play was suspended at this point and the delay lasted 25 minutes before the match got underway again. As the teams came back out after the delay the home fans released 4 flares and then they let off another one as the corner Dale restarted the game with was whipped straight into the keeper’s arms.

From this point on though I had not the faintest clue where we were on the match clock so the rest of the match was just a blur of mediocracy. Oldham put a 50 yard ball down the right at one point in the half but their striker had wandered offside. Apart from that one moment of wasted quality from the hosts it was the visitors dictating play in the first half, but they were seriously lacking with the final ball.

Every shot that Rochdale had was either sent straight into the keeper’s arms or harmlessly high and wide. They were being given a lot of chances by the home team too because they seemed completely allergic to closing their opposition down at any point. At one point in the first half an Oldham defender even managed to clear the ball into his teammate and set Rochdale running free in their attacking half. Rochdale had three chances to shoot and they didn’t take any of them, they took the fourth that they created seconds later but this was one of their high and wide efforts. I’m genuinely not even certain that either keeper had to make a save all half.

Just before the ref mercifully blew for half time there was a collision between opposition players at the far end of the ground from me. Neither player was seriously hurt, but the Rochdale player did require a lengthy treatment session before he was able to continue. Despite this delay and the earlier match suspension there was no added time at the end of the half, which has to go down as the most surprising thing about a half of football that could’ve put an insomniac into a coma.

After grabbing a drink at half time I returned too my seat just in time to see Oldham coming out for the second half. Each team was shooting towards the end with their fans behind the goal and I hoped that this would improve the quality of the attacking play. At the start of the half Rochdale had two excellent chances and they came inches away from scoring. The first of these chances came from a cross on the right that came close to going straight in but that ended up wrapping round the post rather than inside it. Then minutes later a mistake by Piergianni gifted Dale the ball on the right and once they had moved the ball across to the left they shot straight into the keeper’s grateful arms.

The visitors were finding so much joy down the right hand side that the amount of chances they were wasting was not even funny, it was ridiculous. What was also ridiculous was the wind that had got so bad that the ball wouldn’t even stay in the corner quadrant for the corners that Rochdale were consistently getting.

Oldham for their part were struggling to even get hold of the ball let alone attack and when the home fans released yet more flares later in the second half it made it more flares than home attacks in the match. Sheridan will have to improve his team immensely if they are to have any hope of staying in the league.

It really should have been 1-0 to the visitors at what felt like the 70minute mark as they had a cross form the left that they managed to knock goalwards, but somehow even this came to nothing as the final touch from yards out sent it just wide of the right-hand post.

In truth neither team had looked like scoring all match and for most of the second half the hosts hasn’t even looked like getting the ball. So it was a huge surprise to me when in the final 10 or so minutes they finally managed a sustained spell of possession and then actually did something with it too. They had a decent cross into the box from the left that was headed inches wide by Bahamboula, then Bahamboula created a chance all by himself. He weaved his was through the visitors defence and then, just as he should have shot, he tried to set the ball of to Missilou but his pass was cut out by the visitors and cleared up field.

Then in a barely justifiable four added minutes at the end of the 90 Oldham went close again and this time Missilou took the matter into his own hands entirely. He waltzed through the visiting defence and made it all the way to the by-line from where he attempted to chip the visiting keeper and he came extremely close to managing it too.

This was the most quality there had been in the entire match and it was also the final action of the match as the ref whistled for time on one of the most lacklustre games it has ever been my misfortune to experience. It was also a really long journey back to my flat and with the round trip it was one of the most wasted day of my life.

My next blog will come from a much better game and one that I hadn’t expected to go too but that fell into my lap midweek, when I was back in London picking up my ticket for the FA cup game I went too today. The midweek game in question took place at Plough Lane and the visitors were Cheltenham Town. See you once I have written that match up, it was a vast improvement on this one.

So after the warm-up in Leigh it was off to Manchester proper for Man City against Arsenal at the Etihad Academy Stadium that is just across the road from the Etihad Stadium proper. This match was between two of the biggest hitters in domestic Women’s football in England. They are both perennial challengers for the WSL title and with the hosts in 5th and their visitors leading the way by 4 points and a game in hand I was expecting one hell of a game. I was not disappointed, but first I had to get there.

Getting out of Leigh was the hardest part of the journey as I made the call to get lunch before leaving and thus missed the bus by 5 minutes and had to wait 50 minutes for the next one. Having finally gotten out of Leigh and survived the long journey to central Manchester down awful roads I still had hours till kick-off so decided to get dinner in the city before getting the tram from Piccadilly station to the game.

The tram to get is the light blue line towards Ashton-under-lyne and then you can either get off at Velopark stop, just across a busy dual-carriageway from the stadium, or you can get off at Etihad Campus stop and take the connecting bridge over the road from the Etihad to the Academy stadium. The view either way from the bridge is incredible, with the two stadiums in the 360 view and if I can work out how to get pictures on this blog at some point it will be added to the blog.

I got to the ground 90 minutes before the kick-off and decided to tour the stadium and try to make it all the way round. This is not possible as there is a fenced off area with pitches for youngsters to play on. This attempt to lap the stadium did however get me to the team’s entry point to the stadium just as the Arsenal coaches arrived and the ladies headed straight down the tunnel. I understand that is probably a Covid protocol, but it would be great to see players interact with the fans again.

Once all the players had headed inside I continued round the south side of the stadium, past the blue cartoon wall that was painted using inspiration from drawings by local schoolchildren. The wall is known as the ‘Football Effect’ wall and it is great to see the connection between the team and it’s local community. This cartoon wall is incredible, but the rest of the local area is lacking in things to do and with the merch and programmes only on sale inside the stadium there is no reason to get to the ground early.

I however had got there early and so I headed inside the stadium as soon as the turnstiles opened, an hour before the game, and headed from my entry point, at the South East end of the stadium, to the programme sellers at the North East end of it. Once I had the programme I grabbed food and a drink, non-alcoholic drinks are free at the stadium for all WSL games, then took my seat. I was in my seat for the keepers warm-up and I have never been in my seat that early before. It also seems like the sprinkler guys were not expecting warm-ups that early as the sprinklers were still on and they were also not set up correctly. Instead of just watering the pitch they were also watering the walkway in front of the stand that the home fans had to walk down to get from one end of the stand to the other, it was rather funny watching people running the gauntlet and trying not to get soaked. The sprinklers were turned off before the outfield players emerged for their warm-ups.

At the end of the warm-ups the City players came over to the East stand, populated by home fans, to applaud those who had come out to watch them. This was a lovely gesture from the home team and a great way to connect with their fans, more fans should follow their lead. Arsenal reciprocated the gesture by coming across to the east stand to pose for a team photo in front of the fans, after they had re-emerged for the start of the match.

The away fans were in the west stand, but they had the line-ups and handshakes between the teams to enjoy. There were no fans behind either goal but the screen was away behind the north goal, in north west corner of the ground and large enough to be easily seen by both sets of supporters. I was hoping it would work better than the screen for the United game had and I was not disappointed.

After whizzing through the visitors squad with Mead, Little and Miedema all starting and Heath on the bench the announcer went very slowly through the home team. It was a good thing too as injuries had forced the hosts to give game time to a 17 year old goal keeper, Kiara Keeting, but they had not seen fit to include her on the programme and the tortoise speed of the announcer allowed me to get her full name right and write it onto my programme. City had also elected to leave Ellen White on the bench, with Alex Greenwood and Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw leading the line instead.

With those few things all sorted out and having moved seats 3 times, due to other people already having taken my seat and not wanting to cause a scene to get it back, the game got underway.

It didn’t take long for the action to commence and in the second minute Arsenal had their first chance of the game. This chance came from a freekick from 25 yards out and it didn’t quite go as planned. The freekick was taken quickly by Leah Williamson, but it went straight into the face of Kim Little from point blank range. Not a great move from Williamson there to hit your team captain in the face, but luckily Little was able to carry on after a bit of treatment.

City were working their way into the game, but then almost gifted the Gunners a goal in the 9th minute. A mix-up between Steph Houghton and Keeting in the goal left the ball free to run to Beth Mead but, luckily for City, she was unable to sort her feet out in time and by the time her shot came in there was a defender in place to clear it away.

Arsenal just kept coming though and a minute later they fashioned another chance. This one came down the right and the cross to the back post was turned towards goal by the outstretched boot of Vivianne Miedema, but Keeting made up for her mistake a minute beforehand by getting down low to save a certain goal.

The game was interrupted in the 12th minute as Williamson once again smashed a ball into another player’s face. This time it was a clearance that hit Lauren Hemp of City from point blank range. Once again though the player hit in the face was able to continue after a bit of treatment. The Ladies were outshining the Men on this front, there was none of the rolling around and messing around that you see after tackles in the Men’s game.

The game was all pass and move, a real game for the purists. In the 15th minute City finally fashioned their first presentable chance of the match as they had a cross from the right that was met by Hemp in the centre, but her header looped into the waiting arms of Manuela Zinsberger. It was an unfortunate end to the first great chance for the hosts.

The hosts had been getting a lot of joy down their right through Jess Park, who had the beating of Katie McCabe every time she carried the ball forward. These attacks were coming to nothing though and when their attack broke down in the 16th minute their visitors broke on them. This break was unceremoniously bought to an end though as Georgia Stanway cleared out McCabe and got a yellow for her troubles. I don’t believe there was any intent behind the tackle, but it was still one of the clearest yellows I’ve seen at a Women’s match.

In the 22nd minute Arsenal were on the attack again and Mead whipped over a cross, but this time it was cleared away and set City on the break through Lauren Hemp. She worked the ball upfield and her ball across field to Park was perfect. Park then advanced into the area and then fired just over the top. It was the closest City had come to scoring and it underlined my belief that there were goals in this game for certain. I didn’t know when the goals would come, but I knew they would come.

The first goal almost came in the next minute as Arsenal rob the ball off Kiera Walsh in their attacking third. They worked the ball to Miedema on the edge of the box, who only had to turn and shoot. Instead she overplayed the ball by trying to lay it off to a teammate on her left and this allowed City to get back in and grab the ball back. This was a huge wasted chance for the visitors and it really should have been 1-0.

City took this let off and went on the attack in the 25th minute. This chance came through Park down the right as she beat McCabe and tried to cross the ball into the net, but Keeting was once again equal to the visitors effort. Despite having the beating of McCabe it was just minutes after this that Park decided to change sides and give up the biggest advantage City had over their visitors. Arsenal chose the same time for their wingers to change sides of the pitch as well. This change only lasted a short time though as less than 10 minutes before all the wingers switched back to their original sides.

Whilst the wingers were on the switched sides there was the first sign of rising tensions in the game. There was a freekick to City in the 33rd minute that had to be delayed due to a confrontation between Hemp and McCabe, for which they both picked up yellow cards. As they were getting yellows though my attention was drawn to Williamson who had gone down on the turf. Thankfully she was able to continue after treatment and the game continued without injuries.

The 36th minute was when City took control of the half for the last 10 minutes, a deep cross from the right picked out Hemp 10 yards but she could only head it over the bar. Then in the 39th minute City had another free header from 10 yards out that was also put inches over the bar. This time the gilt-edged chance fell to Lucy Bronze as she was picked out by a gorgeous freekick from Greenwood. Bronze was so frustrated not to have taken this chance that she thumped the ground to dissipate her frustration. It’s great to see this passion from players as it will bleed through to the fans and build the passion in the fans that is needed to keep them coming back and build up the Women’s game.

There also need to be controversial decisions once in a while too that fans can argue about and one presented itself in the 41st minute when Mead was making a covering run and accidently ran into the City player with the ball and knocked her down. Some people would say that this was an accident and not a foul, but in this game the ref decided that it was a foul and gave a freekick to City. This is the kind of decision that could go either way and gives fans something to talk about once the game is done.

From there the half petered out as City kept on the attack but never looked threatening enough to actually score, so I decided to go join the half-time food queues early. With City on the attack I knew I wasn’t going to miss anything, there was a great view of the penalty area that City were attacking from the food queue. That queue took ages, despite the two queues at my end and another kiosk at the other end and I was only just getting my drink as the teams re-emerged for the second half.

Whilst I was waiting the first half ended 0-0, but I was still certain that there would be goals eventually. Over half-time the tannoy played Meat-loaf over the speakers in a tribute to the recently passed music legend.

Jonas Eidevall had other things on his mind during half time though as he decided to make changes to his Arsenal side for the second half. He took off Williamson and replaced her in central defence with Rafaelle Souza. It didn’t make a lot of difference to the momentum of the game as City created the first chance of the half in the 49th minute as Vicky Losada got herself into space on the edge of the box and fired a shot in that missed the post by inches. It looked to me like it had been deflected on the way through, but a goal kick was given so it must have gone straight behind instead.

Before that though there was a collision in midfield which left players down from both teams. The City player was on her feet so quickly that I couldn’t work out who she was, but Mead was down for longer, but she was able to carry on after treatment. She then created a great chance for herself in the 52nd minute as she was set free down the left-hand side where she turned Bronze inside out then moved into the box before shooting straight at the keeper.

City made a substitution in the 57th minute with Caroline Weir entering the fray for Losada but it didn’t turn the game in their favour. Arsenal were back on the attack in the 59th minute as they got the ball to Miedema on the left, who cut inside and shot straight down the throat of Keeting. Either side of the keeper and it would have been 1-0 to the gunners, but there is no way this game was ending goalless.

In the 61st minute a ball out to the left from Little got to McCabe as Bronze slipped as she went to clear. McCabe’s cross was deflected goalward by a City defender, but Keeting was equal to the shot. She got to the ball no problem, but then spilt it out into the centre of the area. It looked like Miedema would get a simple tap-in until Keeting recovered just in time to gather it off her feet as she went to shoot.

With this scare survived it was the City’s turn to go on the attack. They worked the ball out to Park on the right who dribbled into the area and then shot into the bottom left corner of the goal, but Zinsberger was equal to it and got down to save. Unfortunately for Arsenal the ball then squirmed out of her grip and back into the area. Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw was running onto it and looked like she would get there first for the simplest tap-in of her career, but there was a defender who recovered just in time to nip it off her toes and get it clear. I was still convinced that one would go in soon though, it had too surely.

Arsenal made a double substitution in the 63rd minute when they replaced Nikita Parris and Frida Maanum with Lia Walti and the American legend Tobin Heath. The latter substitution would be the more consequential in the scope of the match.

After that double substitution one finally went in. and it went to City. They got it as Hemp got the ball on the left and sprinted down the wing. Her cross put the ball on a plate for Shaw just 6 yards out. She wasn’t missing from there and finally we had the opening goal of a truly enthralling match. The goal was not without controversy though as the ball that set Hemp free on the wing had hit the referee on the way to her. Normally when the ball hits the ref play is restarted with a drop ball but in this case, as the ball went from one City player to another and didn’t change teams, the ref played on. This is completely legal by the rules of the game and I was happy the goal stood as I had been waiting to celebrate a goal all game. The Arsenal bench were less impressed though and Eidevall even got a yellow card for his protests. Shaw had put City 1-0 up and as far as the ref was concerned that was the end of it.

Arsenal made a substitution in the 72nd minute, with Jordan Nobbs replaced by debutant Stina Blackstenius, and City then reciprocated with one of their own in the 74th. Having given them the lead Shaw was then removed from action and replaced by Ellen White, the last person Arsenal will have wanted to see having just gone behind.

City almost doubled their lead in the 77th minute as they attacked through the middle at speed. Stanway had the ball and with White running free in the centre it looked like the right move to play her in. For some reason though Stanway played it to Hemp on her left and the shot was saved by the legs of Zinsberger and behind for a corner.

Arsenal were searching for an equaliser as the game entered the final 10 minutes of the match, but it was City who were in control the whole time. They created the first chance of the final 10 as they worked the ball to Weir 20 yards from goal. Her shot was aimed to the keeper’s right, but Zinsberger got down to keep the game at 1-0. City were back on the attack again in the 85th minute and this time it was a solo effort. Their striker weaved her way through the Gunner’s defence with ease, but was then eased off the ball just as she shaped to shoot. No matter though as they had another chance just a minute later, this time shooting from distance, but once again Zinsberger was able to get to it and palmed it wide.

City then decided to make a substitution in the 88th minute as they looked to close the game out and it rather seemed to disrupt their momentum. Stanway was replaced by Laura Coombs and it was from this point on that Arsenal were on top till the final whistle.

First Arsenal launched a freekick into the area which ended up making it’s way to Miedema at the penalty spot. She turned and volleyed the ball towards goal, but it was deflected just over the top. Then the board came up for the added time and it turned out there were 6 minutes, which Arsenal would use to their advantage.

They finally got the goal their play deserved in this added time. They worked the ball out to Mead on the left who couldn’t get a shot away, so she passed to Blackstenius who also couldn’t get a shot away. She laid ball back left to the onrushing Tobin Heath who did get a shot away, a beautiful shot. Curled from the left of the box and right round Keeting in the City goal and into the bottom right corner of the net. It was a thing of beauty and there was still time for either side to get a winner.

It was Arsenal that had the chances to get the winner, they had two. The first came from a ball across the box that landed at the feet of Miedema, but her shot was tame and easy for Keeting to save. Then the final Arsenal chance was ended just as it began. Little was running free down the centre and was setting the Gunners on the break when she was stopped in her tracks by Walsh. The City lady went in the book for what was a cynical challenge, but it was also the smartest yellow of her career and an excellent tactical decision which kept the scores level.

The scores ended level too and whilst it would not have been fair for either team to have lost the match I would have loved to have seen a winner as it would have been a cracking end to an awesome match. A match which was a brilliant advert for Women’s football and for Women’s sport in general. It was certainly one of the best football matches I have been too in a long time and I’m looking forward to returning to Women’s football in 2 weeks time for the Manchester derby, as long as I can get a ticket that is.

I have a lot of football to go to between now and then though as I have games to go to at weekends and midweek until then and a blog to write about my trip to a League 2 derby in Manchester yesterday. That was Oldham Athletic vs Rochdale and I’ll be writing that blog in the next few days, if all goes to plan. See you then for the quintessential 0-0.

This Sunday I took the whole day out of my life and go on a trip through the Women’s football on offer in Manchester at the WSL level. This of course meant heading first to Wigan and then on to the little village of Leigh a 25 minute bus ride away. My destination was Leigh Sport’s Village and my first game of the day was Manchester United Women vs Tottenham Hotspur Women.

This was 3rd in the league hosting the team just below them in 4th, there was nothing separating the teams on points coming into this one and only settled into their respective league places on goal difference. I was expecting a competitive game once I get there, but first I did have to get there.

Getting to Leigh in time for the noon kick-off meant getting up early enough on a Sunday to get a 9:13am train out of Lime Street to get to Wigan for 10am and then get either the 9 or 10 bus towards a place called Higher Folds. That is an hourly bus service and as such missing one bus would’ve meant not getting there for kick-off and I couldn’t risk that. I chose the 10 over the 9 because the bus stop for the 10 was right outside North Western station, whilst 9 was across the road and round the corner so imagine my annoyance seeing the 9 head off up the hill and off to Leigh whilst I was left waiting.

Luckily I wasn’t waiting long as 5 minutes later my bus turned up and after a scenic journey through Lancashire I got to the ground with just over an hour till kick-off. With no club shop to go buy a keyring from and no programme sellers outside the ground I went for a walk in the nearby woods before taking a lap of the stadium and heading inside.

The lap of the stadium was interesting in that it revealed the huge car park on the other side of the stadium that I hadn’t explored yet, that also serves Leigh college next door and the large Morrisons across the road from the stadium. The stadium seemed more set up for rugby league games than football games though and the statue outside the West Stand was of a rugby league player just referred too as ‘Woody’, who seemed to be a club legend for Leigh in rugby league. This statue was right outside the main entrance to the stadium, but this entrance looked more like the entrance to a shopping centre than one to a football stadium.

The turnstiles were at least normal for a football stadium though and whilst I used an E-Ticket to gain entry there is also a ticket office selling paper tickets at the stadium, so you can pick your preference. Once inside the south stand I headed to the food kiosk at the far end of the stadium to grab some food and pick up a programme before heading into the stand itself to find myself a seat.

The seats were first come first served and this made the way that the food kiosk was managed particularly annoying. There was one steward managing the queue who decided that the one queue for the two tills was too simple and so decided to split it into a queue per till. Perhaps this would have worked better than the single queue if the steward in question had then let people choose which queue they wished to join instead of assigning each person a queue as they arrived. He seemed determined to always direct people to whichever queue was moving slowest at the time and woe-betide anyone who dared try to use their own initiative to pick a queue for themselves. It was truly infuriating, but I kept my cool and after a needlessly long wait I had my pie and programme and went to grab a seat.

The seat I chose was half way up the stand behind the goal in line with the left side of the 6 yard box, with the only screen in the stadium away to my right and the dugouts away in the stand to my left. For this game the East Stand away to my right was closed as was the North Stand at the other end of the ground to me, but the two open stands were both at least 75% full and this was a promising sign for the growth of the Women’s game.

The strange thing about the location for this game though was that it was not taking place in either a non-league Men’s team stadium or in a purpose-built stadium for the Women’s game. Perhaps this had something to do with the lack of proper use of the stadium’s screen, which showed the first 6 starters for the visitors and then cycled through 6 different screens in quick succession and then was never used again in the match other than to show the current score. The tannoy was not much help in working out the squads either as it was certain that Man United were starting with 2 players wearing the number 12 shirt. I had to go to google to find the actual team sheets for the match and the second number 12 for the hosts was actually their number 17.

These few problems sorted though the teams were ready for the off with the visiting Spurs shooting towards the fans stand in the first half, whilst Man U were saving this advantage for the second half. The orange clock that was actually tracking the game was not nearly as prominent as the large red clock that was not being used so the timings, till I noticed the clock in the 39th minute, will be approximations. The timings from then onwards will be exact.

Despite these two teams possessing some of the best attackers that the WSL has to offer, including Ella Toone, Alessia Russo and Leah Galton for the hosts and Jessica Naz and Rosella Ayane for the visitors, the first ten minutes were completely devoid of any attacking threats from either team. Every time either team came forward in the opening minutes of the match the respective defences were able to cut out the move before it developed enough to become a chance for the attacking team to score.

This extremely disjointed opening to the match was not helped by the referee who was blowing up and interrupting the match for even the smallest infraction from both teams. This was in line with the laws of the game, but it was draining the momentum from the game. It took till the 12th minute for either team to create a chance that actually threatened. The home team created this chance with a pass through to the right corner of the penalty area that forced the Spurs keeper to get down to her left and gobble the ball up at her near post. From this save Korpela set Spurs on the break down their left which finished with a slide-rule pass across the 6 yard box from Jessica Naz, only for it the be called back for an offside against Naz.

The next two presentable chances came from free-kicks and it was one per team. First the hosts created their first threatening chance through a free-kick on the right which was flicked on in the box and slides just wide of the left-hand post in the 16th minute. Then came Spurs free-kick chance in the 24th minute from the right-hand touchline that got cleared to the edge of the box and was then sent back in with venom only to be deflected out for a throw-in. This corner was put behind for a Spurs corner and from that corner Untied broke upfield. They worked it to one of their strikers, at the far end of the pitch from me, who shoots high over the bar from 20 yards out.

This was the closest either team would come to scoring for a while as the game settled back down into it’s previous midfield battle as it has been up till this point. The 29th minute bought the first card of the game and it went to Ella Toone of United. She went into the book for blocking off Naz on the left hand side of the pitch as the Spur’s player looked to turn and run at the United defence. It was an unnecessary card for Toone though as Naz was not turning her with any speed at all and, like most of the game so far, the attack looked to be completely threat less.

Given the lack of excitement in the first half hour of the match it was almost a relief to have a break in play that allowed the game to reset. I say almost because this break in play came due to a Spurs player being down in the visitors penalty area needing treatment. It’s never a good thing to see a player down injured and needing treatment, but this break in play seemed to do all the players the world of good. The player needing treatment was able to continue after her time with the physios.

This break seemed to recharge the hosts more than their visitors though as it was them who had the best chance of the match so far in the 37th minute. This came from a deep freekick that landed to Toone on the left hand side of the box, who flashed a powerful shot right across the face of goal which skimmed the post on it’s way behind for a corner.

From this corner, in a game of so few quality attacking moves so far, we had the first goal of the game. United’s corner from the left was turned home in the centre by their number 8, Vilde Boa Risa, but I only know this thanks to the announcer over the tannoy as I was so amazed by the chance a minute earlier that I was making a note of it safe in the knowledge that nothing was then likely to happen until half-time. Whether I saw it or not though United had scored the first goal of the game and now lead 1-0.

In the aftermath of this goal and determined to focus more on what was happening on the pitch, this is when I spotted the dim orange clock on the railings of the deserted East Stand and was now able to tell for certain how far through the match we were and thus when things were actually happening.

This is how I know that having taken so long to take the lead it took just 4 minutes for the hosts to double their lead, I saw this one. United found space down the left and the cross into the box was pin-point perfect to the waiting Hayley Ladd in the centre of the goal who had the simple job of directing it into the goal off the left-hand post. I may not know exactly how United took the lead, but their goal to make it 2-0 was a move of sheer quality.

It was also the last action of note in the first half and a first half that was sorely lacking in excitement and quality for the first 36 minutes ended with 2 goals for the hosts and a lead that would prove to be unassailable for the visitors. It certainly shows why you should never leave the stands early at the end of a half. The two goals for United at the end of the half were perfectly timed to change the half-time team talks for both managers and take all the momentum away from their visitors in a way that they would never be able to recover from.

Despite the lack of quality attacks from their side in the first half, the Spurs dugout decided against making any changes at half time. Man U for their part also decided to stick with their team from the first half, though given their brace at the end of the half this was perhaps more understandable.

In half time I joined the queue for food, but with just one kiosk working and having not moved an inch after 10 minutes I decided to cut my losses and head back to my seat for the second half. I hoped it would be more entertaining than the first, but with the last 10 minutes of the half fresh in my mind it was going to have a lot to live up too.

The second half started well though as the hosts went on the attack in the 47th minute and really should have had a third goal. A mistake in defence by their visitors gifted the ball to Russo and her delicious cross picked out Galton 2 yards out in the centre of the goal. It was the easiest tap-in I have seen at a football match but somehow, with the goal at her mercy Galton managed to send the ball over the bar. It will go down as one of the miss of the season in the WSL without a doubt.

Having nearly taken a 3-0 lead at the start of the second half the hosts almost gifted the visitors a way back into the game just 3 minutes later. Mary Earps in the United goal tried to clear the ball upfield, but the clearance was a little wayward and the ball smashed straight into the face of Jessica Naz. She was able to continue without needing treatment though and luckily for the hosts the ball ricocheted out for a throw on the right hand side.

These two early chances in the second half were a good sign that this half would be a much more exciting half than the first. Unfortunately not as for the next 10 minutes the game reverted to the midfield battles of the first half and it looked like the game might fade out to the end with United happy to settle for just the two goals and a win that would move them clear of their visitors in the table.

Imagine my relief then when Russo wrestled the ball free from a melee on the right and surged forward with intent. Her cross found Galton at the near post, but her deft finish at the near post was kept out by Korpela who stopped it going in. However, she could not paw it behind and the ball flew across the face of goal where there were no waiting United players to turn it home for a third goal.

This was the last straw for the United bench who decided the time was finally right to make changes. They decided on two at this point with Kirsty Smith and the exceptional Alessia Russo replaced by Martha Thomas and Hannah Blundell. No movement from the Spur’s bench yet though.

These changes had the desired effect within minutes for United as they were gifted a third goal by their visitors. Galton won the ball on the left and put in a dangerous cross on the edge of the 6 yard box. Luckily for the hosts though Neville looked to be in the perfect place to clear the ball away, but in going for the clearance she got her feet caught underneath her. The keeper had switched off, relying on Neville to clear the ball and this left Vilde Boe Risa with the simplest of tap-ins from the centre of the goal. This one went in and now it was 3-0 to United and game over.

This finally sparked movement on the Spur’s bench as, in the 65th minute, they removed Josie Green and bought on Angela Addison, their most dynamic midfielder, and not before time. United made a substitution of their own as this point too bringing on Jackie Groenen, but a mishap in my notes means that I have no idea who she replaced.

These changes did nothing to help Spurs as they almost gifted United a fourth goal in the 69th minute. A simple pass to the keeper was allowed to run across her body by Korpela and then she slipped as she went to clear upfield with her right boot. Galton was on the ball and rushed in looking for the goal her play so far deserved, but the keeper recovered to poke it off her toes just in time.

By this point in the match United were easily on top and barely having to try in order to maintain possession. They were also attacking with speed and intent now and looked likely to score every time they came forward. That said Spur’s had not completely given up and they threatened on a rare break in the 72nd minute as they found space on the left, then worked the ball out to Ayane on the right. Ayane let fly in an attempt to beat Earps at her near post, but the United keeper was equal to this effort.

This excellent chance for Spur’s would also be the last involvement in the game for Rosella Ayane as she was substituted 5 minutes later with right-back Asmita Ale coming on in her place. This change freed up Ashleigh Neville to move forward into her more natural winger position, with Ale taking the defensive role on at right back.

This change almost bore fruit for Spurs in the 79th minute as they broke down the right. The cross to the back post from deep was pin point and the onrushing Rachel Williams met it with purpose, but her header knocked the ball just wide of the post as she collided with the post instead. Thankfully she was just a little winded and was able to carry on after treatment.

This chance bought the game into it’s final 10 minutes and with United clearly feeling that the game was now won they removed Leah Galton from the action, to a standing ovation, and bought on Ivana Ferreira Fuso in her place. This was an excellent call from Untied as it was Fuso who had the last chance of the match.

In the 86th minute Fuso came close to setting up a goalal that would’ve put all the other goals in the game to shame. She picked up the ball on the right side of the penalty area and then proceeded to turn 4 Spurs defenders inside-out, bamboozling them with an exquisite show of skill that would have graced any game in any competition in the world. Her whipped cross across the 6 yard box was just begging to be turned home by any of her teammates, but the defence beat them too it and the best move of the match was denied the finish it deserve, keeping the score at 3-0.

This was the last chance of the game as the action faded through the final 5 minutes, with both teams just waiting for the match to end. When the game would end though was not made clear to anyone though as no board was put up for the added time at the end of the 90, leaving the 1,518 spectators in the stands none the wiser as to how long remained in the match.

Not even the match clock was any help as this stopped recording time at 91:16 and the game just kept going. There was just enough time for the visitors to make one final substitution, taking off Jessica Naz and bringing on Isabella Lane. I’m still trying to work out why they waited till this stage of the game to make a substitution though as the game was gone by then and there was nothing that the new Lady on the pitch could do to change the course of the game.

Minutes later the ref blew the final whistle and the game ended in a deserved 3-0 win for Manchester United Women over their sub-par visitors Tottenham Hotspur Women who will certainly have better performances this season and will hope to turn things around soon, because if they have more days like this they will get turned over again and again.

As for me I now had 5 hours to get out of Leigh and across to the far side of Manchester for the second game of my day to watch the blue side of Manchester take on the red side of North London, who also happen to be the league leaders.

This week I went back to London for a game at the Brentford Community stadium that had originally fallen to the Apocalypse and was now going ahead just over a month later than scheduled. The Brentford game in question was the visit of Manchester United to the newly promoted Londoners.

This was the first meeting between the teams since a League Cup meeting in 1977 and their first meeting in the league since 1946. Both of those games were United wins, with the Brentford win dating back to 1938 when they won 2-0 in the FA Cup 5th round. That is quite the gap in time since Brentford have won this fixture, but I went down for this one with hope that they could be successful this time around and even the Man U fans that I met on the tube to the game were positive about the Bees’ chances.

The visitors were in better form coming into this one than perhaps their fans recognised though as they have only lost one of their last eleven games in all competitions since Rangnick took over in November. Yeah they did surrender a two-goal lead last weekend but other than that they have been doing well under their new manager. They are one of only two teams that have scored in all of their away games this season and came into this one looking for their 300th away league win of all time.

Add to that the fact that Brentford had conceded seven goals in their previous two games and only scored once in them and it certainly looked like the away fans had hopes of a positive outcome to the match. One thing the visiting fans could be sure of though was that their team would be getting the first goal as Brentford had conceded the opening goal in 13 of their last 14 matches. The gap between the clubs in only 9 points at this point in the season and 7 places, with Man U in 7th and their hosts in 14th.

For this match and with a free day beforehand I was able to get to the ground for the arrival of the visiting coaches. The visiting players went straight from their coaches into the stadium without waving at the fans lining the barriers to see them. Only David DeGea and Juan Mata broke the mould on this and acknowledged the fans, many of whom were visiting fans, but I didn’t see Cristiano Ronaldo making his way off the coaches. Unless he got off the coaches before they arrived or me and everyone around me at the barriers somehow didn’t spot one of the most famous footballers of all time or he got to the ground at another time to avoid the crowds. I have no idea which it was, but I do like to think that hundreds of football fans would notice CR7 getting off a football coach.

At this point I still had more than an hour till kick-off so I decided to use some of the time to head to the club shop and buy a keyring for the team I have supported for years. I have had a keyring for Griffin Park, but never just for Brentford and now was definitely the time to change that. I also bought a programme for the game and on there was quite a surprise, the away team had a man just listed as Hannibal on the programme. He was not in the matchday squad for them, but still it’s a strange choice of name for anyone who has seen silence of the lambs or knows their punic wars and I’m really looking forward to hearing commentators talking about him on Sky, BT, Amazon and Match of the Day. Also not in the squad was Paul Pogba, who missed out with injury.

I headed into the stadium with an hour to go before the match and found the stands almost completely deserted. Now a football stadium without fans in it is an extremely creepy place to be and how teams played in them in 2020 when no fans were allowed inside I have no idea. I couldn’t stand 5 minutes in that cavernous bowl with no atmosphere and headed back to the concourse just in time to see the teams announced on the concourse screens. Having not seen CR7 exit the away team busses I was shocked to see him in the starting 11 and even more so to see Bruno Fernandez in there alongside them. They have been the Gerrard and Lampard of the Portuguese national team for years now, so to see how they did in a club game together was going to be interesting.

Theses two talisman’s of Portuguese football could not have been much further apart when the visitors warmed up though. Whenever they were doing any exercises in two lines C. Ronaldo would be at the back of one of the lines and B. Fernandez was at the front of the other one. Even when they came over to right in-front of where I was for the final part of the warm up, before heading inside for a final ream talk, they still went to opposite ends of opposite lines. They did share a fist bump as C. Ronaldo gave one to each of his teammates as they made their way over and he even gave a couple of them pep-talks as the warm up came to an end. None of that seemed to make much difference once the game got underway though.

Brentford were on the attack from the kick-off and the visitors looked shell-shocked. It took all of two minutes for the bees to create their first chance of the match. Mbeumo waltzed past Dalot and attempted to slip a cut back to the penalty spot, but it got deflected back to Jensen on the edge of the box who let rip. His shot rifled just past the left-hand post, but it wouldn’t be the last chance of a first half dominated by the hosts.

The hosts next chance came just two minutes after the first as they floated a freekick to the back post which is headed back across goal and comes inches from connecting with Ivan Toney, but the visitors are able to clear it away just in time to keep the scores equal early on.

It took six minutes for the visitors to get a sustained period of possession and another two minutes before they created a chance of their own in the match. This came from a corner on the right that got headed clear and recycled to halfway. Then a great pass down the left got a visiting player in space for the first time all match and the resulting cross caused all sorts of problems in the hosts defence before a combination of Lossl and Jansson managed to get the ball clear and away. It came right back in the 10th minute though and this time the visitors chance came down the right. This time though the deep cross was just a little too high for the onrushing Bruno Fernandez to connect with at the back post.

Those scares seemed to boost the hosts and hyper-focus them on what they needed to do as they created chance after chance in the 12th minute. The bees first chance of this quick fire trio was created with a cross from the left that found Jensen 6 yards from goal. The ball was nipped off his feet by the visiting defence but fell to Janelt nearby who let rip and guided his shot agonising wide of the right hand post. There must have been a deflection on it though as the ref gave a corner to the hosts, they ended up taking three back to back. From the first of these the home defence had no time smuggling the ball behind for another corner. The second corner caused them more problems as DeGea could only clear it to the feet of Mads Bech 15yards out who saw his shot deflected inches wide of the post. The third corner presented the most clear-cut chance for Brentford to take the lead. It fell to the feet of Jensen who somehow managed to fire the ball over the bar from just 8 yards out. All of those chances were ones that you would expect to be buried at this level and it absolutely should have been 1-0 to Brentford at this stage.

The next chance for 1-0 that the hosts would waste came in the 16th minute as the bees work the ball wonderfully down the right hand side and then feed the ball to Mbuemo with only the keeper to beat. The duel was won by DeGea who got down to save Mbuemo’s shot with his legs. Luckily for Mbuemo his blushes were saved by the linesman who flagged for an offside against Baptise in the build up. At this point I was already getting nervous about all these missed chances as I wrote in my notes that the Bees can’t afford to be letting chances like this go begging and expect not to be punished for it later.

The visitors wasted a chance to punish their hosts for missing so many chances in the 18th minute, when a freekick from the left fell to Mason Greenwood on the edge of the box but his shot lacked power and was easily cleared upfield by the host’s defenders. The promising break that developed was brought to an end though when Mbuemo overhit his through ball to Jensen and the break broke down.

There was a break in the game in the 22nd minute when a collision, near the corner flag at the end of the West Stand that the visitors were attacking, results in Jansonn and Fred ending up on the canvas. They were checked over by the medics and were able to continue playing, but these checks took some time to ensure that both players had not suffered a concussion. In this break the visiting fans piped up to remind the home fans why they had come to see the match or at least the reason the visiting fans thought we had, ‘You’ve only come to see Ronaldo’. I’m sure there was some truth in this for some of the fans in the home stands, but it was interesting that even fans of Man U thought we’d come to see one player rather than their whole team.

Speaking of CR7 he came inches away from connecting with an inswinging corner in the 29th minute. Unfortunately for CR7 the ball was once again played in a little bit too high and flew harmlessly away from danger. The next corner for the visitors resulted in a chance for the hosts. They broke up field and played a lovely set of passes from Mbuemo, Toney and Jensen. The ball eventually fell to Jensen one-on-one with the keeper just 8 yards from goal, but DeGea won this duel too as he once again saved with his feet. The ball ended at the feet of Toney on the left and a deflection from the resulting cross nearly resulted in an own goal, but once again this one went inches wide of the post.

The Bees were creating a lot of chances and would go on to waste even more chances in the 35th minute, but by this point I was so infuriated with the profligacy of the host’s attackers that I didn’t even bother writing down who wasted them this time. It was becoming rather ridiculous how easy Brentford were finding it to create chances and equally ridiculous brilliant they were becoming at wasting them. The last chance that Brentford wasted this half came in the 38th minute as a Toney shot from the edge of the box.

The football on display had certainly not warranted a first half that ended 0-0 but the host’s ability to waste chances meant that the first half did indeed end 0-0. No-one in the stand around me could understand why it was still all-square at the break and how on earth Brentford had failed to score. The guy two seats away from me on my row, who was wearing a bee costume after losing a bet, even called how things would go in the second half. His words to me at half-time were ‘we are going to lose this one, you can’t miss that many chances and win cause there’s no wat they can be that bad second half’ and he couldn’t have been more right.?

Rangnick made no changes at half-time despite the abysmal display from his team in the first half, but what he said to them during the break clearly had an effect as the came out in the visitors came out with a new sense of purpose in their play and were now attacking at speed and actually putting passes together now.

This new lease of life for the visitors almost paid dividends in the first minute of the half as a cross from space on the right reached CR7 at the perfect height at the back post and his header across goal looked like it might be sneaking in under the bar. It did not and instead rebounded away off the bar. This was by far and away the closest the visitors had come to scoring all match so far and the first time they had even really threatened the hosts goal.

From the rebound off the bar the hosts broke upfield and Mbuemo once again fed the ball through to Jensen who found himself one-on-one with DeGea once more. The duel this time was won by the keeper once again though and this time he used his hands. This time the shot was so weak that it just rolled into DeGea’s arms.

Then in the 54th minute a rare mistake from CR7 gifted the ball to Jensen and this time he doesn’t even bother trying to start another Brentford attack and risk another duel with DeGea. This time he decided that since the simple hadn’t worked he would instead go for the spectacular and attempt to score from the halfway line. As had been the theme so far this match it did not work out well for Brentford. The shot was drifting harmlessly wide, but DeGea walked across his box to catch it anyway.

A minute later the host’s punishment finally began as the visitors took a lead that their play had done very little to deserve so far this match. Their opening goal came through Anthony Elanga who had a tap in from 2 yards out after a ball over the top that he beat Lossl too. I was busy writing my note on Jensen’s effort from halfway at the time of the visitors attack and only looked up in time to see Elanga score the goal.

Seeing the visitors take the lead was a punch in the gut after the hosts had dominated the game to that point and come so close to taking the lead so many times in the first half.

Two minutes later the visitors almost had a second as McTominay took a shot from 20 yards out that Lossl contrived to ladle behind for a corner. Lossl had been relatively untested in the first half on his first home league start since signing for the Bees, but here he showed the first sign that it may take him some time to adjust to his new surroundings.

The whole Brentford team seemed to lose all confidence after conceding that first goal and despite Janelt’s attempt at the spectacular to draw them level in the 60th minute their play went to pot from here on out and they went further behind in the 62nd minute.

The visitors second goal came through a ball over the top to Bruno Fernandez that took the whole of the host’s defence out of the game. Fernandez was not alone in getting in behind the Bees backline and he chose not to shoot himself, but to set up his companion instead. He rolled the ball across the box for Mason Greenwood to tap-in from 10 yards out. That was one of the simplest goals I have ever seen scored at a match at any level and it seemed to signal the opening of the floodgates for the visitors.

A third goal for the visitors almost came to pass in the 66th minute when an inviting cross to the back post by Bruno Fernandez was just a little too much for CR7 to get his feet ready for in time and the great man ended up flat on his back in the box.

By this point both managers had decided that changes were needed and it was the host’s Thomas Frank that made the first moves. He made a double substitution in the 63rd minute as he replaced Sergi Canos with Rico Henry and Vitaly Janelt with Shandon Baptiste in an attempt to add some fresh legs to his team and perhaps a new impetus after conceding two goals in quick succession. These substitutions were followed up by the substitution that many Bees fans had been hoping for at half-time as Jensen was replaced by Yoane Wissa. This change was wanted by many around me as Wissa was seen as a more natural finisher than Jensen, but there is no doubting that Jensen had not had a bad game by any stretch. He had got into many great positions and caused the visitors defence many problems in the first half and if he keeps getting in those positions then the goals that hadn’t come today will start to flow soon.

The visitors responded to these substitutions with two of their own. The first of these saw Greenwood replaced with Rashford, but it was the second substitution that got the biggest reaction from players and fans alike; CR7 was taken off to be replaced by Harry Maguire. This was a strange call for many reasons, not least of which was that CR7 had been causing the hosts problems even in the first half but also as it seemed to signify a change of shape for the visitors. They appeared to be shutting up shop and settling for a 2-0 win which seemed a strange call when they had been so clearly on top since they took the lead.

The changes had no effect on the momentum of the game though as Brentford almost gifted their visitors a third in the 74th minute when the messing around at the back, that they had gotten away with against Port Vale nearly cost them here. Luckily for the hosts though Pinnock was able to get back to nip the ball off Fernandez’s feet as he went to shoot and the score remained at 0-2 for now.

I say for now as it only took 3 more minutes for the visitors to actually add their third. A defence splitting ball on the right made it through to Rashford who rifled it past Lossl at his near post. It was a great goal, but as a home fan this was the point the last vestige of hope inside me died and the game became a dead rubber for the last 13 minutes as it was now clear who was getting the three points.

The visitor’s bench was so confident that the game was now won that in the 84th minute they took off their opening scorer Elanga and replaced him with defensive midfielder Nemanja Matic in an attempt to consolidate their clean sheet.

It didn’t work as just a minute after this change the hosts finally got the goal that their first half performance had deserved. This consolation came through Ivan Toney who turned home a long throw from Mads Bech from the right touchline, but at this point I was so sure that there was no comeback in the offing that I was unable to take any joy in seeing Brentford finally take one of the chances they had created.

This was the last chance that Brentford created in the match and also the final threatening chance of the game. In the four minutes added at the end of the 90 Fernandez did find himself free in the box with just Lossl to beat, but his attempted chip was weak and Lossl didn’t even have to move to catch it. This was the last action of the match as the ref then blew his whistle for a match that proves the old proverb that football is a match of two halves and is also notable for having not a single card shown all match.

The game ended a 3-1 to Manchester United and whilst this was a score no-one would’ve predicted after the first half, it does show the truth behind another old proverb ‘you have to take your chances when you have them’. Thomas Frank always says that Brentford either win or learn from each match and I hope today they have learnt that proverb and never forget it.

I will be back with Brentford when they visit Everton in the FA Cup fourth round, but this weekend I’m off to Manchester tomorrow for a day of Women’s football. I will be visiting both United and City and will be looking to blog both of them next week, lets see how I do with that.

This weekend was the big night in the FA Cup, the third round. This is the round where the big boys join the competition and those teams who have come through at least 2 rounds already have the chance to gain the scalp of a team that no-one would ever expect them to beat. The game I attended was one such opportunity.

The team with the opportunity for the scalp were Port Vale of League Two, who play their home games in the village of Burslem on the outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent, and the team they were attempting to defeat were Brentford of the Premier League. The two team’s last meeting was in 2014 at Griffin Park, when the hosts won 2-0 as they sealed their promotion into the 2nd tier of English Football. Port Vale finished that season in a creditable 9th place to secure their second season in the league. They finished that season a mere 7 places apart in the league system but now, 8 years later, that gap has increased massively to 62 places at kick-off.

The gap between the teams was even more pronounced when considering the area they play in. Brentford have a modern, state of the art stadium in central London, whilst Port Vale play in a tiny stadium in a run-down village on the outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent. I had to head down to the village the evening before the match and if I thought Crewe was in a poor state before, it looks like Buckingham Palace levels of rich compared to Burslem.
The 25 minute walk to my hotel from the tiny station of Longport, least used station in Staffordshire, was up and over sludge covered roads as the snow of previous days melted away and it was the most miserable walk I have ever done. I knew very little about Port Vale before going to this match and now I know more about the area they are situated in than anyone could ever reasonably wish to know.

On the day of the match I completed the morning tasks that had forced me to travel down the day before, after all it’s difficult to be on a zoom call on a 2 and a half hour train journey which you also have to change trains during, and headed down to the stadium.

My hotel was a short 10 minute walk from the stadium and with so little else to do in the village, I arrived at the stadium with a long time to go before kick-off. I filled this time, first by heading into the club shop to buy a keyring for the team to add to my collection and when I saw they had programmes for sale in there too I bought one of those as well. Then I decided to take a lap of the stadium to see if any of it was nice to look at from the outside or if there were any interesting things to see around it. What I found was a statue to the Sproson family, whose contribution to Port Vale is legendary in that area. The named members of the family were Phil, Roy and Jess; they were two brothers and Jess’s son Phil who all spent the majority of their careers at Vale. Phil even went on to manage the team at the end of his playing days.

This statue was the only notable thing I saw on my lap and as it was outside the away players entrance I decided to see if I could catch the arrival of the last of the Bees’ coaches. EPL regulations currently require 3 coaches for the journey to away matches and whilst I had missed the arrival of the first 2 I caught the 3rd coach, which had been delayed by a police escort. That escort took the coach via a diversion and then sped off leaving the coach to fight through the traffic and arrive at the ground 15 minutes later than the others.

The players and Bees’ manager Thomas Frank had no problem getting into the stadium once they arrived though, but I was not so lucky. A problem with the ticket scanners at the turnstiles meant that it took me ages to get inside, so it was lucky I had the time. When I finally did get inside I headed to the food kiosk to the far right end of the stand and grabbed a pie and a drink before making my way into the stands to find an empty seat. The tickets had no reserved seats on them for away fans so it was simply first come, first served.

I settled into a seat directly behind the goal, but just far enough back that I was behind the only screen in the stadium and thus couldn’t see anything on it at all. There were seats further out, but they were behind pillars which blocked the view of the pitch so this was the best position available. It did make taking down the starting 11’s for each team difficult though and even more so as the tannoy was having serious sound issues, it would start off loud and then tail away to nothing just as the important information was being read out.
I was just about able to note down the two teams from seeing them in their huddles before kick off though. Through this method I realised that Brentford had given a first start to their January signing Lossl in goal, who had previously played for Huddersfield but joins the Bees from time playing in Germany. He may have been in the starting 11, but he was not on the programme so I wrote him in. I didn’t write in the Vale substitutes though as I thought only to worry about them if they came on, they did not.

The other major changes in the Bees’ squad were the return of record summer signing Ajer to the back line after a long injury layoff, with captain Pontus Jansson dropping to the bench. Toney was also on the bench to start this match as Mbuemo was also named on the bench on his return from injury. All these changes meant that it would be the untested partnership of Wissa and Forss leading the line for the Londoners.
The Port Vale starting 11 were all well rested as, due to postponements, they had not played a match since losing to fellow league 2 high fliers Newport on December 11th. They had not played a match at home since beating Hartlepool 2-0 on the 27th November so I was expecting a huge crowd for this one, but half of the seats in the stand away to my right were empty. It seems not even the chance of seeing their team beat an EPL team was worth the risk of the variants to many home fans.

The lack of a visible clock may not have been a reason for home fans to stay away but it did make the timings of any match events easy to work out, so all minutes will be extremely approximate throughout the match report. Before that though I just want to give a shout out to the person controlling the pre-match music as they played both Park Life and Hey Jude multiple times before kick-off. Park Life is just a great tune, but Hey Jude is the basis for a normal Bees’ pre-match chant and whilst that chant doesn’t use the whole song it was still lovely to have this familiarity to enjoy at an away game. It certainly helped me settle into the match.

Port Vale seemed settled in from the kick-off as they secured a freekick inside the Bees’ half in the first minute having gone straight on the attack. The freekick flew harmlessly over the bar, but going on the attack so early was certainly a signal of intent from the home team as they were not about to be overawed by their visitors. They had been opponents in League 1 just 9 seasons ago after all.

Vale went on the attack again in the 6th minute as they found space to get in on the right. The ball across field landed at the striker’s feet, who then lets it run across him and chases it to the by-line. He gets there in time to slot in back across the box, but this time Pinnock is there to clear it for the visitors. Bees then break up field and the ball is worked to Forss on the left, but he over-runs it before any chance can be created.

It took until the 10th minute for Brentford to create a chance of their own. They got in down the left but the cross lacked a little precision and meant that Dominic Thompson had to try for the spectacular at the far post to have any hope of getting it on target. Unfortunately for the visitors he is a full-back and his attempt at the spectacular failed impressively.

This chance and the gap between the teams in the league seemed to give the Bees confidence as they decided to play tika-taka in defence and it almost cost them in the 11th minute. The Port Vale players put the pressure on the Bees and this almost deflected the ball into the goal when Lossl finally decided to clear the ball upfield. Luckily for the visitors though the deflection was off the side of a Vale player and deflecting to a Bees’ midfielder.

The visitors then managed to hold onto possession without creating anything for the next few minutes. Vale broke out and upfield in the 15h minute. They launched the ball up the left and the race was on between the hosts David Amoo and Mads Bech for the visitors. Mads Bech won and cleared the ball away from danger for the Bees. It was another great attack for the visitors though and another reminder for their illustrious visitors that they would not simply be rolling over and letting them win.

The visitors responded to this by managing their first shot on target in the 20th minute. A cross from deep on the Bees right pinged around the area and from player to player on both teams, before it made its way to Wissa. His shot was on target from within the 6 yard box, but with the ball bouncing around so much to make it to him there was hardly any power on the shot and it simply dribbled to Stone in the Vale goal.

Vale were on the attack again in the 22nd minute when Mads Bech gave them a freekick 20 yards out on the right-side of the pitch. This was whipped in to the far post but unfortunately for the hosts Pinnock was there to head it away from just in front of their waiting striker.

This was the last chance Port Vale had with the scores as their Premier League visitors took the lead in the 26th minute. Their opener came through an attack down the centre of the pitch. Mads Bidstrup had a chance to shoot on goal, but as he is a midfielder he instead decided to lay the ball off to the onrushing Forss on his right. Forss stroked the ball across the keeper and in to the net. Cure wild celebrations all around me in the away end. Without the announcements I was too busy trying to work out who had scored and note it down to truly enjoy the joy of the moment. I thought this goal would open the floodgates for the visitors to walk to the win, but Vale were not going down without a fight.

In the 30th minute the Bees were almost gifted a 2nd goal when a cross from their right was knocked away from his own keeper by one of the home defenders under no pressure from anyone. This mistake almost let the ball make its way to the onrushing Bees strikers, but the defender was able to clear it just in time to keep the score at 1-0. They almost made it 2-0 themselves in the 34th minute as Janelt fired over from just inside the box.

The visitors were almost made to regret letting that gilt-edged chance go as Vale came extremely close to equalising in the 37th minute. Thompson slipped at left-back and the resulting Vale cross came inches away from flying straight in at the back post. If the hosts had someone running in at the back post it would have been a tap-in to equalise, but unfortunately they had no such player and Brentford were able to shepherd it behind for a goal-kick.

Another chance for a hosts equaliser came and went in the 42nd minute when a pass across his own 6 yard box by Lossl came millimetres from being turned home by Vale’s James Wilson. This kind of messing around at the back had now nearly cost the Bees on 2 separate occasions and it was frustrating to watch them seem to try to throw away their lead. I hope they don’t play like that going forward in the league or further rounds of the cup as better teams than Port Vale.

This was the final chance of the half as there was only 1 minute added on, or at least it only seemed like a minute. I have no idea how long it actually was as I missed the board and the tannoy once again died at the most important moment of the announcement. I have no idea why the tannoy was in such awful shape, but whatever the reason the first half ended 1-0 to the Premier League visitors. The host from League 2 were still in the match though and if they could just get a little more luck with their finishes they might yet win in the second half. One things for sure though, they weren’t making it easy for the visitors.

I went to grab a drink in half-time, but with the queues and with no announcements or screens in the concourse of the Hamill Stand (the away fans end for the match) I lost track of time a little and had missed the start of the second half by the time I returned to my seat. I don’t believe that I missed more than a couple of minutes and my fellow supporters assured me that I had not missed any goals. Whilst this was a relief to know, the fact still remains that I had missed some of the half and not knowing how much I had missed means that any minute markers I give for the second half should be taken with a heaping helping of salt.

That disclaimer out of the way onto the second half and in the 50th minute Vale won a corner on the right that sent the home fans into raptures as they did all they could to inspire a comeback from their team. The corner itself was massively overhit and then put behind for another corner. At the second time of asking things went no better for the hosts as Lossl was able to come and catch the ball just past the far post, it having flown over the heads of everyone in the 6 yard box.

Then in the 53rd minute the Vale manager Darrell Clarke decided to make his first change, bringing on Danny Amos for James Wilson and giving Vale a few minutes with both Amoo and Amos on the pitch. I say a few minutes because in the 59th minute Clarke was at it again making more changes and these changes saw David Amoo removed from the action along with James Gibbons, to be replaced by Dennis Politic and Mal Benning.
This was my impression whilst at the match at any rate, but further fact-checking whilst writing this blog has shown that Amos was not even in the Port Vale squad for the match and that it was instead Harratt who came on for James Wilson. Harratt was not on the programme and as I do this as a normal fan, without any access to offical team-sheets or other media aides I was unable to catch this mistake at the time.

With those changes out of the way the hosts had two chances in 2 minutes to equalise. First in the 60th minute when the somehow managed to guide the ball just wide from 6 yards out and then a minute late when a cross from the right was cleared off a Vale player’s feet by Pinnock in the Bees’ defensive line.

These chances made Thomas Frank decide that the time was now right for the visitors to make a double substitution of their own. Ajer’s return was bought to an end as Mads Roerslev replaced him in the back line and time was also called on Wissa’s match as he was replaced by the returning Bryan Mbuemo.

It was Mbuemo who would make the greater impression off the bench as he doubled the visitors lead 3 minutes after coming on. The ball was fed to Janelt in space in the centre of the pitch and he drove towards goal. His slide rule pass through the defence was perfectly into the path of Mbuemo, who took it in stride and slipped it to the keeper’s left. That’s 2-0 to Brentford and it felt like there was no way back into it for Port Vale.

3 minutes later Port Vale were back in the match with goal of their own. A cross from the left by the recently introduced Politic found its way to the head of Harratt, one of the Vale substitutes not on the programme and who I had mistaken for Amos when he came on in the 53rd minute. I did not know who had scored at the time and without the announcer working I had no way of finding out till I came to write this blog. It is only on double checking my facts whilst writing that I have found out about this mix-up I made on the day.

After their FA-Cup tie against Manchester United, Villa manager Steven Gerrard said that the fans had no idea what was going on during the VAR reviews and after checking my facts for this blog it’s clear that I had even less clue what was going on infront of me at this match. A screen that all fans can see or a working tannoy is an absolute must for football matches, particularly when the teams involved are not well-known or shown on TV often. Even a football-nut like me can make mistakes without them, so how is a casual fan supposed to cope. The mix-up is totally down to me, but a screen I could see or a working tannoy would have been a huge help.

Nonetheless, it was a goal for Port Vale and with the way they had been playing they were certainly back in the match now. It also gave the home fans something to celebrate and so they did. It was great to see the elation in the home stands and it was almost increased a minute later in the 70th minute as a shot from the right point of the box was only kept out by a last second Lossl dive.

Vale getting one back prompted another change for the visitors as they replaced Vitaly Janelt with Shandon Baptiste in the midfield and a minute later they went close to opening their lead up again with a pile driver from Saman Ghoddos that had to be parried away by Stone in the hosts goal.

It was almost level in the match in both the 75th and 77th minutes. in the 75th minute The hosts have the away defence all over the place, but their cross from the right evaded everyone and was knocked behind by Lossl. Then in the 77th minute Lossl was beaten by a chip as he rushed out to the edge of his box to beat the Vale striker to the ball. He was unsuccessful in this endeavour and it looked like the hosts may be drawing level. Unfortunately for them though the visitors defenders were back on the line to head it away from danger and save their keeper’s blushes. Vale came straight back again though and headed over from 12 yards out.

As the match entered the final 10 minutes the match was finely balanced, but a minute later the visitors had wrapped it up. The third Brentford goal came through Mbuemo once more, as he made his mark on his return to action after injury. His second came through a free running attack down the centre at speed. He looked for a pass but when there was none on and with the fans behind the goal urging him to shoot he let rip. He wrapped it round the defender and in off the post. Aidan Stone in the Port Vale goal stood no chance, it was a finish worthy of winning any game and it put took the game away from the hosts.

This third Brentford goal lead to changes for both sides. I have no idea who went on or off for the hosts, but the visitors took off Ghoddos and bought on Ivan Toney. The second Bees sub bought on Myles Peart-Harris for his first appearance in a while. Brentford bringing on their main striker just after they had confirmed their lead was a huge blow to the hosts and their hopes of getting back level in the time remaining.

Brentford should even have had a 4th goal in the 86th minute as Marcus Forss let rip from 15 yards. It was straight down the keeper’s throat, but the power on the shot meant he could only parry it to the feet of Peart-Harris yards from goal. His shot should have nestled in the back of the net, but instead it went straight into the keeper’s legs and away from danger. That should have been 4 for Brentford but Vale kept the deficit to just 2 for now.

A minute later Brentford had their 4th and the game was truly done. There were fouls on both Peart-Harris and Toney in the box, but it was the Toney one that the referee gave the penalty for. Normally Toney is the penalty taker for Brentford, but with Mbuemo on his hat-trick it was him who took the penalty. Mbuemo’s penalty was straight down the middle and that completes his hat-trick. The joy he took from scoring 3 on his return to action was written all over his face and I hope he can take the joy from this and turn it into excellent form in the league.

Brentford almost got a spectacular 5th in the penultimate minute of the match as Toney let fly from halfway. It looked for a minute as though it was going to beat the keeper, but at the last second Stone got back to prevent it crossing the line.

That was the last action of the half as Brentford made it through to the next round of the cup. Port Vale did better than the final score-line suggests, but an away win is still the right result all things considered. The reward for the Bees winning this match is an away draw at Benitez’s stuttering Everton. A game that I really hope to be able to get a ticket for,

There will be a little break in this blog though as I was unable to get a ticket for Brentford’s visit to Liverpool this weekend to play the red side of the city. Their game in London was a cracker that ended 3-3 and I’m sure their game this weekend will be just as brilliant. Being unable to get a ticket though I have made other plans for the weekend, so my next blog will be in at least a week’s time as I return to London next week for the rescheduled match between Brentford and Manchester United.

As we enter the new year I am jumping straight into the action at the first chance I have. The second day of the year and I’m already back at the football and this time it was a game that I knew I had a good chance of enjoying. The results from the first day of the year were not encouraging though as they had all been won by the away teams. When you add to that the results that Brentford had been getting in December, they hadn’t scored since the 10th of that month when they came back to win against Watford. That is only 3 games though in all competitions with the cancelled game against Man United in that time period.

Brentford were going to have their work cut out for them though as they were up against an Aston Villa team who have been on a true resurgence since Steven Gerrard took over. Villa have only lost to the top 3 teams in the league since Gerrard came in and it looked like a tall order for Brentford to become their fourth conquerors. Villa have looked a class team since Gerrard came in and he has brought his impressive revival skills to another huge British club. I always thought he would after the insane turn-around he achieved at Rangers and it’s lovely to be proved right. I was hoping that this game would provide a speed-bump for his revitalisation of Villa though.

This whole game was weird for me though as I was hoping to see Brentford win and turn their form around, but this meant rooting against the team managed by my boyhood hero. I was struggling the whole match with this dilemma all match and it was made even worse than it could have been due to the return of Mr. Gerrard to the side-lines after time isolating with the C word. To see my hero in the opposition dugout was such a strange sight and it took me most of the first half to get used to it.

The match was also an important one for both sides as they are only separated by 2 points in the table, with a win for the Bees taking them above Villa and a Villa win taking them into the top half of the table. To add to this it was also set up to be the return of Ollie Watkins to face his old team at their home stadium, not the Griffin Park Stadium he used to play for them in though as they moved to their new stadium in the season after he made the move to Villa Park. All these factors combined made this match the most surreal experience of my life in football stadiums.

One of the surreal factors was taken out of the equation early on though as Watkins was not included in the Villa squad for the match and I don’t know why this is, but whatever the reason for his omission was it removed some of the drama from the match and robbed Watkins of the heroes return he would have been given by the Bees fans. It was not only Watkins missing for the visitors though as they were also without Tyrone Mings, Axel Tuanzebe and Marvelous Nakamba.

Villa were not alone in missing normal starters though as the Bees were without Mbuemo and Rico Henry in their squad. It was Villa however that stuck to the new tradition of away teams naming players in their squad who aren’t mentioned on the programme, just the two this time though and they were substitutes Iroegbunam (number 47) and Feeney (59). Neither of them entered the fray at any point though so perhaps taking the time to jot their names down on the programme was wasted, particularly as it took 3 tries to ensure I spelt Iroegbunam’s name correctly. With those matters all taken care and the traditional pre-match rituals taken care of the teams were ready to get the match underway.

The first 5 minutes of the match were not all that exciting on the pitch as both teams felt their way into it, so the Villa fans took the opportunity to educate the home fans on a few facts about their club and its’ players. Well actually only one of their players as they revealed in their chant supporting their right back Matty Cash that he is Polish. This is certainly something I was unaware of and as there are no longer flags next to the player’s names on the programme, like there used to be in seasons past. The second memorable Villa chant highlighted their European Cup Final win over Bayern Munich in 1982, their only European Cup success but still one more than Arsenal, Spurs and Everton have combined. Though in fairness to the north London rivals they have both at reached the final at least.

Anyway, the first on pitch action of the match occurred in the 9th minute of the match when the host’s Mathias Jensen mis-timed his jump as the ball flies across the area and land at the feet of a Villa player on the edge of the box, who skies his effort well over the bar and behind for a goal kick. The first chance of the match for the visitors and no more than their early play deserved as Brentford’s form from the end of 2021 continued.

Villa had another gilt-edged chance to take the lead present itself to them in the 12th minute as Ivan Toney lost the ball in midfield and gifted possession to the visitors who fed the ball through to Danny Ings on the left side of the box and with just the keeper to beat, he fired his shot into the side netting as he tried to win the battle at the near post. He made up for that miss just 3 minutes later though when he was once again fed the ball on the left side of the hosts box. This time he drilled his shot across the keeper and into the net near the far post to open the scoring for Villa.

The goal was a team play of sheer beauty and nothing more than their play so far in the match deserved. They had been in control of the match from kick-off, managing to keep possession from the start and they had been probing to find ways through the deep defensive set-up of the hosts long before they found the way through to Ings for their goal. The Villa fans celebrated taking the lead by letting off a flare in their end and at that time in the match it looked like they were celebrating the first of many as they were truly on top in all the important battles in the match. The hosts badly needed to improve if they were to have any chance of taking anything from the match.

The hosts had their first chance of the game in the 19th minute as they finally got a small bout of possession and broke up the pitch on through Canos on the left, but just as they got into space for the first time the ref whistled time on their attack. The ref made this whistle up due to a Villa player being flat on the pitch. I didn’t see the incident that put the Villa player in that position and whilst it certainly seemed like the right call by the ref, to stop the game, it was also awful timing in the middle of the Bees first attack of the match.

It was also the Bees last attack for a while as Villa regained the control they had been enjoying all half. Villa even came one block away from doubling their lead just 4 minutes later. Their corner to the back post was headed towards goal from 10 yards out only to bounce of the back of another Villa player and away from danger. This was a comical screw-up from my perspective, but from the Villa perspective it was a wasted chance that they would come to regret later in the match.

Later in the match almost meant just 2 minutes later as Kortney Hause in the Villa defence came inches away from scoring the own goal of the season. He lets a chip fly from the far left side of the box which the keeper has no chance of getting too and which landed in the side netting, to the relief of both the Villa players and their fans. It would have been a brilliant piece of skill if it had ended in the back of the net and an equaliser that the hosts would not have deserved.

In the 28th minute Villa got in behind again as a 30 yard pass over the top, on the right, for their winger to run onto had Jansson beaten completely. Luckily for the hosts Pinnock was sprinting over from the left side of the pitch and got their in time to prevent the cross from coming in. Villa regrouped though and worked the ball back to McGinn on the edge of the box. Unfortunately he ballooned his shot over the bar, but the ease with which Villa were opening up the home defence every time they attacked was worrying and it looked like only a matter of time before the floodgates opened for an easy Villa win. Brentford had been utterly awful so far and would need to seriously improve to have any hope in this match.

They had their first meaningful chance a minute later though as they finally woke up and realised they were in a football match here. Wissa wrestled the ball free on the left and got running. He worked the ball to Jensen on the left side of the box who got the first shot on the board for the hosts. He volleyed the ball just over the top and sparked the hosts to life. A real end to end football game emerged from the previous one-way Villa traffic and the first act of this new game was for the teams to trade yellow cards for cutting out each others attacks.

The hosts then won a freekick just inside their half, in the 32nd minute, that they attempted to take quickly and catch the Villa players napping. They managed this and it look like Toney had fed the ball through to a free running Wissa in the box, only for the ref to pull them back to retake the freekick. In their haste the hosts had taken the freekick from yards forward of the spot of the original foul, which meant the ball was in the wrong half of the pitch and made it easy for the ref to spot. Not the best mistake for the hosts to make, but it at least showed the new energy and will to play that they had discovered minutes earlier.

Wissa then ballooned a shot over the bar from 6 yards out in the 34th minute before Villa went on the attack again. This time though it was Villa’s turn to have an attack whistled off when they were in a promising position. They had the ball running free through the centre to Ings when the ref blew them up and gave a freekick to Brentford for a foul that he had seen in the way that Villa had got the ball. Even as a Bees fan it looked soft, but on the football pitch the ref’s word is law and so it was now 1-1 in whistled off attacks for between the teams.

In the 39th minute the football took a back seat as a set to developed in the Villa box between Toney and Hause. They threw each other to the turf, but it looked to be nothing more than handbags and it also looked like one of those incidents that is 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. A yellow a-piece and a drop ball seemed the way forward to me, but the ref instead gave a freekick to Villa and no cards at all. This made no sense to me but as I have said before, the ref’s word is law.

After those two moments of parity between the two teams the hat-trick of parity was reached as the Bees achieved parity on the scoresheet too. Their equaliser came in the 42nd minute through the excellent Yoanne Wissa. The ball was well worked on the Bees’ left as Roerslev and Wissa played a 1-2 to bypass the Villa midfield and then Roerslev fed the ball to Wissa again. He advanced to the edge of the box before unleashing a driven shot into the bottom left corner of the goal. Martinez in the Villa goal stood no chance of stopping it as the Bees got themselves back into the match. It was the hosts first goal in more than 3 weeks and a team move of sheer beauty that got them back into this match.

The hosts almost had a second with the final attack of the half as Canos and Toney exchanged passes on the Bees left flank, before Canos unleashed a quality cross to the penalty spit. He was expecting Toney to be there and he would have been if he had continued his run, but instead Toney hadn’t moved since his last pass to Canos and Villa were able to clear the ball away. The first half ended with the scored at 1-1 and whilst the hosts were happy with that, the visitors will have gone in at half time knowing that they should have been ahead after their dominance of the first half hour.

That early Villa dominance and the later resurgence of the Bees must’ve left both managers feeling happy with their team’s performance as neither made any changes at half-time.

Sometimes the half-time break halts the momentum of the team on top before the whistle, but not this time as within a minute Roerslev was able to volley the ball goalwards from the edge of the box. His volley lacked power however and Martinez had more than enough time to get across and catch it. Roerslev was at the forefront of the Bees play again in the 52nd minute as his header away from a Villa cross set the Bees clear on the break down the right hand side. This promising break fell victim to ref’s whistle and put the hosts 2-1 up on this score. This time however the ref’s decision to stop play was vindicated as it became clear that Canos was in some severe discomfort on the right side of the Villa box. The treatment given to him by the medics was clearly unable to fix whatever the problem was as he had to be substituted 2 minutes later.

The bad luck for the Bees continued in the 60th minute as Mathias Jensen went down right in front of me clutching his leg. It appeared at first to be a groin issue, but when he hobbled off the pitch minutes later it became clear that it was more likely to be a hamstring problem. Canos was replaced by Saman Ghoddos and Jensen by Shandon Baptiste, but if these two are out for the long term then the Bees squad which is already stretched by injuries to David Raya, Rico Henry and Bryan Mbuemo will begin to look wafer thin and some reinforcements in this current transfer window appear a must for the depleted hosts.

For this game though the hosts changes appeared to give Villa a second wind as they produced two chances in as many minutes. Both of these came from long balls over the top. The first fell to Ezri Konsa in the penalty area but his touch let him down at the crucial moment and the ball dribbled to Fernandez between the sticks for the Bees. The second chance fell to Danny Ings on the edge of the box and his powerful shot had to be deflected wide by the Bees defence.

This Villa momentum was brought to an end in the 69th minute as Gerrard decides to shuffle his pack. He took off Jacob Ramsey and replaced him with Morgan Sanson. Ramsey had been a little anonymous in the second half so it seemed to be a sensible switch, but this switch seemed to give the Bees a little extra momentum for some unknown reason and they created the next presentable chance of the match in the 75th minute.

A sweeping Bees attack fed the ball through to Frank Onyeka on the edge of the Villa box. He cut inside one defender and let fly, his shot sailing inches wide of the post as the hosts came extremely close to taking the lead in a game they had looked like losing comprehensively in the first 30 minutes.

Villa then had an attack of their own in the 77th minute when only a sliding tackle from the covering Ivan Toney prevented them from getting in behind the hosts defence. The ref gave Toney a yellow for the challenge and at this point I was quite relieved the ref had taken a different view of the first half set to than I had or that would have been Toney’s marching orders. As it was though Toney remained on the pitch and the Villa player he had tackled received treatment before play resumed.

The last 10 opened with a substitution from both sides. Villa replaced Bertrand Traore with Trezuguet for his final appearance before he heads off to compete with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. For the hosts Frank Onyeka was removed from the action and replaced by Vitaly Janelt.

It was Villa who had the first chance of the last 10 minutes with a glancing header off a freekick from the left hand side that flew straight into the keeper’s grateful arms. That happened in the 82nd minute and a minute later the hosts had the lead. The second goal for the Bees came from the right hand side as the ball was worked forward to Roerslev. His first shot was blocked, but the ball rebounded straight too him and he made no mistake at the second time of asking. He slid it under the keeper’s diving body and into the back of the net.

That was Roerslev’s first ever goal for Brentford and the first time Brentford had been ahead in a match since beating Watford 2-1 on the 10th of December. They would win again here, but not before Villa put them to the test and forced them to defend that lead with every fibre of their being.

In the 85th minute Villa broke upfield and worked the ball into the Brentford box. Their first shot from 6 yards out was brilliantly kept out by Fernandez and the rebound was hacked to safety by Bees captain Pontus Jansson. Where this fighting spirit had been from the Bees in the first 30 minutes of the match beats me, but I was glad they had it here.

Villa came again though and came close to an equaliser in the 90th minute as the hosts blocked chance after chance. First Villa had a shot blocked from within the box, then one blocked as they let fly from the edge of the D, then a third chance went begging as Targett headed just wide at the back post.

Their were 5 added minutes at the edge of the 90 and my nerves could’ve done without that. Villa had chances to equalise twice within these added minutes. They first had two corners in a row that they almost scored from. Fernandez had to get down low to his left to smuggle a header round the post from the first one and then punched the ball off a Villa striker’s head from the second. Villa refused to be beaten though and produced one final chance. This time a freekick on halfway was fired up field and landed at the feet of Hause on the edge of the box. His attempt to square the ball to a teammate was cut out by the Bees defence who put it behind for another Villa corner. Martinez came up for this one too, but even having the keeper up was not enough to force the ball into the goal and the match ended 2-1 to Brentford.

Villa can feel hard done by not to get at least a point from the match as they absolutely deserved it. The result as it is though catapults Brentford above Villa and into 12th place, which makes them by far and away the best newly promoted team of the season and makes their decision to roll-over their current kit for next season too look far less optimistic than it first appeared. My apologies must go to Mr. Gerrard though as his team deserved a point from the match and to see my boyhood hero leave the game with no points for his team just feels wrong. It’s how things worked out though and on the showing from both teams they will finish the season far away from any worries at the wrong end of the table.

Since the match Villa have bought in Gerrard’s old Liverpool teammate Coutinho in on loan till the end of the season and I hope this works out for both parties far better than his move to Barcelona did.

The next blog will come from the Midlands as Brentford visit Port Vale this weekend in the FA Cup 3rd round and I will be present at the match as the League Two side look to gain a Premier League scalp. Cupset on the cards?

Manchester City are a team known for 2 things.
1. Winning every domestic title going
2. Playing in front of half empty for huge European games

The reasons they are known for these things were both on full display in my last match of 2021.

The match in question was their visit to Brentford and as a home fan I went into this match with extremely no expectations of seeing my team win. City have a team stocked full of expensively bought world class stars who came into the game top of the table by 6 points and in brilliant form. They had scored seven, four and six goals in their last 3 matches coming into this one and given that this one was against a newly promoted team I expected them to score at least five in this one. Brentford are also not in good form going into this one, with 1 win and 4 losses in their last 5. That one win being against newly promoted Watford who are hovering above the relegation zone.

I attempted to arrive at the ground in time for the arrival of the away team coach because the hype around City is so high that even I wanted to see some of their players emerge, but due to delays on the tube I arrived about 15minutes too late for the coach. This was a good sign of how disappointing my whole evening would be.

The second sign was the clear lack of defence and the weakened bench that City had bothered to show up with. They had no Walker or Stones in their squad and both Steffen and Carson, of Euro 2008 qualifying fame, as their goalkeeper on the bench. They even followed Chelsea’s lead from last week by naming a debutant on the bench and not include him on the programme. Just the one this time though and this time he didn’t even play.

On the subject of those who didn’t play, Rico Henry was out of the Bees squad for reasons I’m not aware of, Bryan Mbuemo missed out with injury and Canos was only named on the bench. So both teams were missing some of their main players and this had a clear negative effect on the game.

From kick-off Man City played keep ball camped in the Bees half and did all they could not to do anything with it but pass it to someone else in blue. It was a dreadful game to watch and were it not for the hype surrounding city leading me to hope that the game might spark alive at some point I would’ve walked out at half-time. Once City took the lead with their only piece of skill in the 17th minute they were content to simply hog the ball in their attacking half and pass it between each other for the rest of the match. Brentford rarely threatened to get the ball either and on those rare occasions they did get the ball they did not look like scoring.

City’s goal was the only move of any quality all match and came from a 40 yard pass that picked out De Bruyne on the right side of the penalty box and he dropped a gorgeous ball onto the feet of Phil Foden on the other side of the box to stroke it home. It was an incredible move by the visitors and far more like what I expected to see from Man City all match. It’s a crying shame that this was the only time they showed the class that they undoubtedly have in their team. It was also almost taken away by a VAR check for offside, but this was dismissed by the VAR official relatively quickly.

It also came during the only time in the match when the hosts had actually got hold of the ball and unlike the visitors they had threatened to do things with it, namely to score. They pounced on a defensive mix-up by City to get in behind. A quick 1-2 between Wissa and Onyeka and the former attempted to cross the ball to Ivan Toney waiting on the penalty spot. The cross never made it to Toney though as it was cut out and turned towards his own net by Ruben Dias, luckily for the visitors Ederson was switched on and dived low to his right to keep the scores at 0-0 and within 2 minutes City had taken the lead.

These two breakouts of a football match aside the first half was boring to the point of being a cure for insomnia. I even found myself drifting off at points during the match due to the dross on the pitch. I have never come close to this level of boredom at a football match before.

At half time though it seemed that both managers were satisfied with what they had seen as neither of them made any substitutions and the game got back underway. The lack of changes on either side meant a return to the dross ball that had been seen in the first half after the first 5 minutes that is.

City even had the ball in the net a second time in the 50th minute when a cross from the left found Foden in space in the box and he finished it across goal, only for the assistant on the far side to raise his flag and correctly rule the goal out for offside.

That was the last bit of interesting play for 16 minutes though till De Bruyne tried to bring some enjoyment back into the match with a great effort from distance that Fernandez had to get down to his left to palm away. The ball then bounced up and De Bruyne went for the spectacular, which would have really livened up the match, but his bicycle kick could only find the side netting.

This was the final enjoyable part of the match though as City settled into their keep ball and it got to the point where even their own fans started drifting off a bit. I looked towards the City fans and saw a few of them yawning and a couple more with their heads resting on the shoulder of the fan next to them, who I assume they knew. When your ‘football’ has this effect on your own fans you have to know that something has gone wrong.

There were chants of ‘Boring, boring City’ from the home fans and Mexican Waves in the stands throughout the second half and I’m surprised it took that long for them to begin.
The main thing that stands out in my mind from the second half, apart from the lack of skill or effort on display, was the amount of diving from the visitors.

The player in City’s ranks with a reputation for diving is Raheem Sterling, but with him on the bench for this one his teammates took over. First through the number 10 they bought from Villa in the summer of 2021 for a reported £100million. In the second half he took to falling over with no-one near him and the ref kept giving him free-kicks for it so he kept doing it and then having seen how well it worked for his teammate City’s goalscorer decided to get in on the act too. For the last 20minutes the ref was taken in by so many questionable City moves that it became embarrassing.

Those were the most interesting parts of the most boring match it has ever been my misfortune to bear witness too. The fact that there were so few of them made this a real drudge of a blog to write as I had to re-live the horror of the match.

City win domestic matches by doing everything they can to stop their opposition getting the ball and they play in front of empty stadiums in Europe because their fans are only willing to sit through their brand of football if they know they will get the glory of a win. United used to be the team that glory hunting fans would have followed in the past, but they have now crossed the city of Manchester to support the noisy neighbours (from their homes in the south of course).

This match was at least a fitting end to the year though, an awful match to end an awful year both for me personally and for the world. Hopefully 2022 will be better for all of us and the world situation will improve soon too.

I will be back with my first blog of the new and improved year next week, when I’m back up north again and blogging about the last game of my holiday get away in London as Brentford start the new year hosting Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa. No matter what happens in that match one things for sure, it can’t help but be more exciting than this one was.

I have loyalty to two English teams, Liverpool and Brentford. Liverpool were my boyhood team, the team I have supported since I was 5 and one of the reasons I chose the city as the place to rebuild my life when such a place became necessary earlier this year. Brentford on the other hand are my main team these days. I have been going to their games since 2015 when they were in League 1 and have followed their rise to the Premier League going to as many games as possible each season.

I bring this up because when I was 10 Liverpool gave me the greatest football moment of my life with the 6 marvellous minutes in the miracle of Istanbul, the most incredible comeback in sporting history. This match was when Brentford reciprocated by giving me their own version of it, the 5 miserable minutes of north London.

The match that delivered the eponymous 5 minutes was a matter of Deja-vu for me as I have already blogged the league meeting of these two teams at this very stadium mere months ago. The teams involved are Brentford and their fellow Londoners, visitors once more, Chelsea and the stadium is the Brentford Community Stadium. The league game with those parameters was extremely hard fought and narrowly won by Chelsea by just a single goal. Will this game, in the League Cup Quarter finals, follow the same script or will here be a joker in the pack?

Well the first joker was one I expected, lots of changes from Chelsea. They are dealing with lots of injuries at the minute and when you add the challenges of Covid too that it was the smart move for them to ring the changes for this match and rest their main players for their league title tilt. To this end Lukaku, Thiago Silva, Werner, Loftus-Cheek, Hudson-Odoi and Edouard Mendy were all omitted from the matchday squad. This meant a rare start for Kepa between the sticks for Chelsea and 5 debutants in the matchday squad.

Three of those debutants made the staring 11, but they didn’t make the programme. I was scrabbling to write them down as they were announced. What was that name? Xavier Simons. At least that’s not too hard to write, but what was his number? No idea, come back to it. Wait who was that? Harvey Vale. Great another one not on the programme, but simple to write out. Again no idea of the number, come back to it. A third debutant? What was the name? Jude, easy to write. Wait a sec, Jude Soonsup-Bell. Small and quick write it down, thank goodness he’s the last one to write can come back to his number later. The debut substitutes, just get surnames and worry about the rest later.

I was able to get the numbers as the teams were displayed on the screen minutes before kick-off. It was 54 for Xavier Simons, 68 for Harvey Vale and 64 or 84 for Jude Soonsup-Bell, I was writing too quickly to be able to actually read what I’ve written. What I did understand about the debutants in the starting 11 though is that there was one for each area of the field. Simons was Right-back in the defence, Vale was in the midfield and on his debut appearance for the Blues Soonsup-Bell was given the task of standing in for Lukaku and leading the line, talk about in at the deep end. The debutants on the bench were Webster 71 and Hall 75, neither came on though so I have no idea where they play.

Brentford for their part were at almost full strength with the only notable exception to this being Toney only being named on the bench as he continues his return from a bout of Covid and Raya who is out for months to come with a long-term injury. Instead of changes Brentford went for atmosphere. They created the atmosphere pre-match with an impressive lights show.

I got to the stadium with about 10 minutes to go to kick-off and when I walked up the stairs into the stands I was walking out into a pitch black stadium. With all the postponements that were happening elsewhere in the leagues I wondered, was some huge practical joke being played on me?

I had my answer seconds later as the screen on the far side of the stadium lit up with the face of Thomas Frank who said a single word ‘Action’. This started off an incredible light show that sparked the atmosphere in the stands and had the useful side effect of helping me find my seat. Once I was settled in the seat and the light show came to an end the match was ready to go.

Despite all the Chelsea changes they were the team who started the match on top. They hogged the ball for the first 9 minutes, just wouldn’t let their hosts near it. It was just a shame for the visiting fans that Chelsea hadn’t put their shooting boots on yet. Chelsea got into so many excellent positions with intricate build-up play but then they ran out of ideas when it came to creating the chance they needed to turn dominance into goals. Their debutant striker taking time to build his way into the game.

Their fans were doing all they could to inspire them though with an impressive array of chants, from ‘one man and his dog’ to a rip-off of Liverpool’s ‘Bring on your…’ chant from their European games across the last few seasons. These chants inspired Chelsea to put the Brentford goal under siege, but they couldn’t inspire Chelsea to actually put the ball in the net because Chelsea didn’t take the shots that may have helped the ball end up there.

Brentford finally broke out of the siege in the 9th minute and it was a simple hoofed clearance that did it. That ball found Mbuemo in behind the Chelsea defence with just the keeper to beat, but instead of beating Kepa he decided to be unselfish and pass the ball to the onrushing Wissa for what would have been an easy tap-in to give the Bees the lead against the run of play. Unfortunately for the expectant home fans the pass was lacking in quality and went sailing behind Wissa. A huge waste of a simple chance for the hosts.

They would waste another simple chance just 3 minutes later. This time their breakout came down the left as Rico Henry got in behind the visiting defence. His first cross was blocked, but it bounced straight back to him so he had another go. The second cross was much more successful and landed at the feet of Mbuemo on the edge of the box and his attempt to pick out Wissa was successful as well this time. Wissa was the unsuccessful one as his header from point-blank range was kept out by a Kepa save off the line. Chelsea then tried to get an attack going on the break which was cut out by Vitaly Janelt, who went into the ref’s book for his troubles.

Then it was back to the Chelsea siege and they’d finally found their shooting boots and started creating chances that threatened the hosts goal. The first time they threatened was in the 17th minute when a pullback to the edge of the box was volleyed on the turn which sailed within a couple of feet of the post. The closest Chelsea had come so far in the game.
Then 2 minutes later they came even closer to opening their account. The cross from the Chelsea right evades all the home defenders and tempted the keeper out of position too to reach a visiting player at the back post. He decided that a looping header back across goal was the right call at that point and this gave the keeper time to recover and catch the ball on the line.

Chelsea almost gifted their hosts a goal they hadn’t earnt in the 22nd minute though when a clearance from Kepa in space in his box bounced off Mbuemo’s back and skimmed inches wide of the right-hand post. It would have been the most hilarious goal I’d ever seen at a football match, but it was not to be and Chelsea settled right back into their siege of the hosts goal.

The next Chelsea chance came in the 25th minute as they got in down the left and then the cross almost went straight into the net. Luckily for the home fans though Fernandez spotted it and got in position to stop it crossing the line. The ball bounced to the feet of a Chelsea player 10 yards from goal who could only volley it over the top.

3 minutes later Chelsea had 3 guilt edged chances blocked in a single minute as they broke upfield from a Brentford corner. The first of them was a cross that was on target and the second and third were shots from within the box that hit home players in the midriff. The Chelsea fans at the other end of the ground shouted for handball on each of these blocks, but the midriff is not the hand and the ref didn’t even consider it.

Brentford finally managed a prolonged break out in the 30’s though as Rico Henry burned past Simons at right back for Chelsea and crossed into the area which was met by Jensen at the back post and was saved at point blank range by Kepa once again. Chelsea were on top for most of the half, but spent these 10 minutes trading blows with their hosts, it was such an engrossing end to end period of the match that I even stopped making notes on it. I never do that so I’m sorry you’re missing out on the most incredible part of the match.

I got back to my notes 5 minutes before the end of the first half as a 40yard pass from Jensen picked out Rico Henry on the Bees left, the only part of the pitch that the hosts had any joy in during this half. Instead of crossing, as he usually does, Rico waltzed into the box without a visiting player laying a finger on him. It would have been a brilliant individual goal if his shot had not been straight at Kepa in the Chelsea goal who was able to palm it behind for a corner that the hosts completely wasted.

Chelsea took back control for the final few minutes of the first half and created two opportunities in the final two minutes of it. The fist of which was a deep cross from the left that evaded almost everyone in the 6 yard box and was then headed towards goal at the back post from point blank range. This time though it was the host’s keepers turn for some goal line heroics as he positioned himself perfectly to catch the ball on the line. His clearance up field however was less heroic as it went straight to a man in blue and Chelsea went right back onto the attack.

This attack was cut out on the edge of the area by a Sergi Canos foul and Chelsea had the perfect chance to end the half with the goal their dominance deserved. They put the free kick straight into the wall. It was the Chelsea players this time that shouted for a handball the ref was never giving them, whilst Mbuemo took the chance to break upfield. Marcus Alonso cleared out Mbuemo on halfway to stop this break in it’s tracks in the last act of the half and earnt himself a card in the process.

Despite Chelsea’s dominance of possession they went in at the break level with their hosts and this spurred Tuchel into action. He made a double substitution at half time and had clearly identified end product as Chelsea’s main problem ad he called time on Soonsup-Bell’s debut up front and replaced him with Pulisic. He also made a tactical change in midfield by replacing Kovacic with the much more defensively minded Jorginho in an attempt to minimise the danger caused by Brentford’s breakouts.

I also believe that Tuchel must have really laid into his players at half time because they came out for the second half with a new desire to attack with purpose. They got in behind in the first minute of the half and unleased a shot that was blocked yards from goal. Brentford used this block to go straight on the attack themselves and make an attempt to chip the keeper, but Kepa was equal too it.

It took till the 53rd minute for Chelsea to threaten again. This time they got in down the right and then Brentford almost shot themselves in the foot. The cross from the Chelsea right evaded most of the defenders and Pulisic by inches only to ricochet off Henry at the far post and towards the goal, but there again was Fernandez to scramble it behind. That’s twice off the line from each keeper, if only Fernandez could’ve made it three. That moment comes later.

First though Chelsea threaten again in the 56th minute as this time a through ball evades everyone by mere inches and sails through to Fernandez. Then Chelsea took the time to almost shoot themselves in the foot 2 minutes later when a Brentford corner was punched clear by Kepa to land at Mbuemo’s feet on the edge of the box only for a Chelsea player to skittle him and give away a tasty freekick to the hosts. They wasted this golden chance and Chelsea settled back into their siege for another 10 minutes, but without the impetus of the half time changes and team talk behind them this siege failed to truly threaten.

Perhaps this is what motivated double changes by both teams in the 66th minute. Tuchel removed the remaining debutants from action and sent on Mount and James to push his team forward and add some badly needed cutting edge to their attacks. Frank for his part decided now was the moment to go on the attack after surviving so many Chelsea sieges and thus he introduced the talismanic Toney to the fray as he continues his return from a bout with Covid last month. Frank also bought on Norgaard and removed Janelt and Wissa from action.

These changes didn’t change much in the overall patterns of the game though as it was Chelsea back on the attack again in the 68th minute. Winning a freekick on the right that was curled beautifully on target, but once again Fernandez was equal too it and punched it out. The punch lacked power though and the ball fell to a man in blue in the centre of the box, but luckily for the keeper his defenders were on hand to deflect the resulting shot wide of the posts and Chelsea wasted the corner.

This was enough to convince Frank that his previous subs weren’t enough and that more changes were needed if his team were going to have any chance of grabbing a goal and snatching victory from this game that they had simply been surviving up till now. The changes he decided on though made absolutely no sense to me. He bought on Ghoddos and Onyeka, both attacking players who may be able to sneak a goal out of nothing, but he took off Rico Henry at this point. Rico had been the only Brentford player getting any joy on the attack so far this game so to remove him from play when you’re desperately looking to create chances against a team that has been cutting off all other options to you seemed foolish to me. This change also meant that a new formation was needed as neither player entering the fray could take on the defensive duties that Rico had at right back.

This change was then followed 2 minutes later by the arrival of rain clouds over the stadium and there is no escape from the rain in the front two rows where I just happened to be sitting. This felt like a bad omen to me at the time and unfortunately I was to be proven right within minutes. Brentford had survived the Chelsea onslaught for 78 minutes and their visitors still didn’t look any closer to scoring under their own steam. The Bees just had to survive 11 more minutes and they would make it to penalties and the chance to make it to the League Cup semi-finals for the second season running. I had even managed to begin hoping that this could happen, so it was at this point that things took an extreme turn for the worse. Cue the 5 miserable minutes.

This 5 miserable minutes lasted from the 79th to 84th minute of the match and this is when Brentford took it upon themselves to destroy any chance they had of winning the match and instead hand the win to Chelsea on a silver platter. There had been many Chelsea crosses that evaded everyone in the box and Rico Henry had almost turned one of them into his own net earlier in the match only for Fernandez to bail him out. This time Brentford captain Pontus Jansson decided to show Rico how it should be done. He met a Chelsea cross the back post and shanked his clearance into his own net, 1-0 to Chelsea and they hadn’t even had to score it themselves. Crushed is too soft a word for how I felt in that moment and there was worse to come.

Exactly 5 minutes later Chelsea had a second goal and once again it was gifted to them by a Brentford mistake. This time the goal came from the penalty spot. It was a driven pass from deep on the right that caught Brentford flat footed and Chelsea had Mount running onto it unmarked as he had already left Jansson for dead as the Brentford captain failed to track his runner. Mount was easily beaten to the ball by Fernandez, but the bees keeper cleared out Mount as he went to clear the ball. It was a clear penalty and 2 mistakes from Bees’ players that lead to it. The penalty was stroked home by Jorginho to put the game to bed for the visitors and conclude the 5 miserable minutes for me.

Brentford had survived so many Chelsea attacks without looking like conceding and were minutes away from making it to penalties only to then surrender the match in 5 miserable minutes and 3 unforced errors.

They should’ve had a penalty of their own in the 87th minute when Marcus Forss, who had come on during the 5 miserable minutes, was charging into the box and got taken out by Kepa, the Chelsea keeper, with the ball having already passed him by. It was a clear penalty that the ref didn’t even look at giving. It would’ve only been a consolation for the hosts, as they didn’t threaten again before the final whistle but it was still a penalty and should have been given. The topic of refereeing consistency has been a hot topic in the Premier League in recent weeks, but it should also be talked about in regards to other competitions too.

The only thing not in doubt though is that however it came about Chelsea deserved to win the match and they could have added a goal all of their own making in the 3 added minutes at the end of the 90. Mount had worked his way into space on the left side of the box and only had the keeper to beat, but instead of shooting he passed the ball across the box to a teammate that wasn’t there.

Chelsea fans won’t mind about all that though as they won the match 2-0 at the final whistle and made it through to the Semi-finals where they will face Tottenham Hotspur. If Brentford had won this match then the Semi-final would’ve been the same one that they lost last season and a chance for revenge. As it is though Chelsea have a golden chance to make it through to the final as, on current form, they go into that Semi-final as the favourites. Good luck to them.

My next blog will also probably be another Brentford loss as they host Manchester City in their final game of the calendar year. I just hope Man City have to earn the win through some exceptional skill by one of their multitude of world class players and not from an unforced Bees error. Find out if my hope is realised in the new year as I am too busy in the next few days to write it up then.

Happy New Year to you all and may 2022 be a vast improvement on 2021.