I rocked up at 10 to 3. Positively early by my standards. And I was still outside the East Stand at 2 minutes past kick-off as I couldn’t find my season ticket on that there new-fangled gadget speaking telegraph which people are using these days. I couldn’t remember the app….was it Google Pay? Google Play? I hunted through my emails but the ‘search’ facility couldn’t find any emails from Barnsley FC, though I knew there to be one at some point in the summer with my ST details. So, despite being a bloke, I asked some people….but of course, they all had iphones rather than Android. So I asked the yoof on the turnstile. He didn’t know what app it was on either….yet still managed to find my ST in less than 20 seconds.
Straightaway, I noticed the scoreboard wasn’t working. It said we were losing one-nil. I knew this not to be the case cos we played the next 40 odd minutes as if it was goalless. No urgency, no sense of wanting to score, we were just waiting for them to score before trying to do owt about it, weren’t we? Our only hope was their keeper, fumbling a gentle long ranger and…what was his other f*** up? I think he tried dribbling round Cole and ‘got away with one’. No worries though. Duff will give them a kicking and it’ll be one way traffic towards the Ponty, 2nd half.
Well, it was one way traffic. Exeter extended their lead, scoring another early goal. Lisa’s son Jay grabs a second, gifted by Mads, somehow losing a 70-30 tackle allowing a low cross and tap home for a centre forward in the 6 yard area without a Reds player within similar yardage. Turns out we are the feel-good story of the day, as we’ve allowed this Fulham loanee to score his 1st goals for Exeter since taking his (dead) dad’s old #9 shirt. It’s a nice story. I’m happy for him. No, really. Honestly.
There is no doubt who deserves to win this game. We are picked off on the break and the score could have been far, far worse. Clean through against The Mask, they hit the side-netting. A two-on-one is messed up with a poor pass. And the full-time whistle is blown with them about to be clean through. In return we have a 7 yarder blazed over the bar from Aitchison after he’s controlled it with his chest. I’m sorry, but this, for me, is unforgivable from a professional footballer. Thankfully, everyone else has forgotten this miss, and it didn’t even make the TV ‘highlights’. A footballer cannot hit the target from 7 yards, under no pressure, with the ball hanging deliciously at just the right height.
Onwards and upwards!
*** Kitching. Another game where our left sided centre half outshoots our attacking players.
** Cole. Made some great runs, with and without the ball. Zero support.
* Cadden. Just for the pass of the day, a 45 yard crossfield ball straight to a Barnsley player.
Official MOTM: Mads. Mad. Let’s just focus on the 2 things he did. Gave them a goal (and where was he for the 1st?) and blazed over a header.
Londontykes’ MOTM: 1, Cole 2. Kitching 3. Andersen
Despatches:
Great turnout in Spiral City, as former Londontyke pool team ‘ringer’ Chris Badman came to see his beloved Exeter. At least one ‘Londontyke’ had a good day! And poor Jude…..Jonesy promised #1 son his 1st home match of the season, and with a strike-ridden rail network they drove up, along with Slacki and Reedy. A 400 mile return journey for that and without copious amounts of hard liquor to dull the pain. Maybe they can take solace from the biggest (home) cheer of the day, when the PA system inadvertently started playing some music midway through the second half. I am reliably informed it was ‘Dakota’ by the Stereophonics, a band so ‘meh’ they are Wayne Rooney’s favourite. It was that kind of day.
Drink du jour: Brewdog Planet Pale Ale.
Away: 475. Good effort. God knows what time they set off. Probably the day before, train strike an’ all.
Today’s take home: Find the app before you leave the pub. (Or stay in the pub.)
The Damage:
c.£31 travel
= £31
The Tunes:
BB6 Music (Huey Morgan / Craig Charles’ Funk and Soul Show)
BBC5 Live (Fighting Talk)
Return to the Source (Various)
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