Chesterfield 2-1 Barnsley, Saturday 22nd November 2014

‘Ah’m a bit funny wi’ Christmas dinner in a pasty.’

Get ready - Barnsley are coming!

After 3 wins, 9 goals scored and me seeing none of it, normal service was resumed yesterday as we slipped to defeat against Chesterfield.  Excellent backing from the away end(s), a decent performance (Cole missing a one-on-one, a header cleared off the line) but in the end we were done by a couple of marvellous finishes from a player who won’t be at this level next season.  Or even from January.  I’m sure Danny Wilson told his players to mind Eoin Doyle, top scorer in the division by a country mile, but what can you do with goals like he notched yesterday?  The 1^st was a sublime finish as he ran onto a long ball down the channel and lobbed Turnbull, caught forlornly in no-man’s land.  1-0 at HT.  Then his second, he cut inside, left our defence for dead buried it into the far corner.  He’s a class act and no mistake.  Irritatingly, we’d been completely on top in that first 10 mins or so, 2^nd half, so it was completely against the run of play.

Nice car.  Nice spire.

As ever, apart from the goals, there was nothing in it.  (That sounds like something Alan Shearer would say on MOTD).  Arguably, we looked the better team. As long as we didn’t let Doyle have the ball, we’d be fine.  We had (half) chances.  Cole dallied a little too long as the keeper sprinted out and blocked, while a header destined for the top corner was cleared off the line.  Bugger.  Still, there was time for a quick break down the left and with yellow shirts (why?) piling into the box, the ball fell to Treacy who couldn’t really miss.  That gave us 9 mins (including injury time) to scrape an equaliser and though camped in their half, we never really threatened.  Overall, a positive performance but one man made all the difference – and he didn’t play for us.

Welcome to the Proact

*** Difficult.  No-one really stood out.  (Well, apart from Crainie, who was beaten more than once down his wing).  I’ll go Dudgeon.  I thought he was solid and often ran past his own man to support attacks.  They didn’t give him the ball of course, but there it is.

** Nyatanga.  Ramage looked a little shaky and Lewin was usually on the cover.

* Hourihane.  Just because.

Despatches:
Andy helped ensure the day was not without stress, by forgetting our Two Together railcard.  On the way up, the ticket woman said she’d have billed us were it not for her not having her ticket machine (what was the point in checking tickets, then?)  At Chesterfield railway station, we enquired about return tickets.  No reduction on the ones we’d bought, that’ll be £71.50 each please. No ta – we’ll risk it on the way back. (It was due to be £80 on the train.)  On the way back, got on train…to find some Brummie Bluenose numpties coming back from Rovrum not being too keen to move out of our seats.  I must have been a little tipsy, cos I insisted.  But they were our saviours really, cos when the ticket inspector came, he looked at a couple of their tickets then moved on, presuming we were all one group.  Phew. 

The game: They scored 2 out of 3 shots on target, we got 1 in 5.  While Cole occasionally looked dangerous, I only ever noticed Winnall when he was failing to hold a ball up.  I’m not sure this 3 up front thing is a successful tactic (4 at one point in the 2^nd half).

Saw Reds’ legend Kempy in the toilets at half time.  ‘That’s three fifty tha’ owes mi’ as he berated a mate, with a suspicious pool of (alcoholic?) liquid spilt all over the floor.  Careless.

And good backing from the away fans today, proving it makes absolutely FA difference in terms of the result.  We sold out the away end and they gave us another 400 tickets in the East Stand….hence chants of ‘East Stand East Stand give us a song’!  Was a bit disappointed it took less than minute for ‘Chesterfield’s a sh*thole, I wanna go home’.  Go on then – f*** off home.

And hopefully Hicksy will provide us with a run down of the sponsored walk from Barnsley to Chesterfield, cos rumour has it he had to drop out.  Do sponsors get reimbursed, I wonder???  We ourselves had a decent walk to and from the ground, 20 minutes or so each way.  Easy ground to find though – simply walk down Sheffield Road from the town centre.

The Proact - perfectly designed for flagbearers

Drink du jour: Went to CAMRA pub the Rutland pre and post match.  The Hoegaarden was off, so Stella promoted herself to the starting grid, while the bitter drinkers entered into Chesham’s finest, Redtail.  Then, feeling like a change, Bacardi (and coke) made what was possibly its season’s debut on the train.  Not sure the family me and Reedy met in the Betjeman Arms appreciated me telling them we were wondering what their relationships were….but it’s not my fault if your daughter chooses to go out with someone who looks like it could be her brother.  And no, that’s not dad’s new (younger) girlfriend, that’s his daughter.  They’re just a very touchy-feely family.  (ManUre fans from….Surrey)

Oh, and I didn’t fall asleep on the bus.  It was the couch this time, watching The Championship.

The sun begins to set on Barnsley's chances...

Away: 2433. 

Damage:
train: £25
match: £22
programme: nowhere to be seen