BFC 1-2 Chesterfield, Saturday 9th April 2016

‘Linesman.  Yer can shove thi’ flag up thi’ arse’

Fri nite, Princess Louisa, Holborn.  Oddjob, no less.

Ever since our Wembley win I’ve been besieged by sniping comments from Londontykes past and present (mainly past) wondering how I could deal with positive.  How would I handle winning at Wembley? How would I cope with us getting promotion via the play-offs? How would I manage us being successful?  In a sentence: I don’t have to worry.  Yesterday, we well and truly ballsed it up.  We didn’t simply shoot ourselves in the foot, we went all Kurt Cobain.  If (when) we don’t make the play-offs, today was the day.  Suicide.  (As an aside, listen to Goldie Lookin’ Chain’s ‘Self Suicide’)

Committin' suicide to enhance my career

It worked for Mickey an' Tupac Shakir

Jesus was nailed up to some wood

2000 years later an' book sales are still good

I heard in a song suicide is painless
An' it's 80 percent sure to make you famous

Wankin' with a bag on yer head, tied to a door

That bloke from INXS, he knew the score

Like our play-off chances, Oakwell is over the hill (and far away).

They don’t make ‘em like that anymore.  Where was I?  Oh yes.  We have been beaten at home by a side in the bottom 6 with 10 men.  ‘But they only had 10 men for the last 10 minutes’ said a fellow traveller.  Yes, Chris was right – and it was one-all when JCR (the JCR!) got sent off at ones apiece.  We f***ed this up bigstyle.  No excuses.  Yes, the ref was s***, but he didn’t allow them to score 2 goals from 3 attacks (was it that many?) while their keeper had a blinder (and wasted time like a pro too).

Welcome to .....

We’d not long since equalised (our one bit of luck all day as Hamill’s 20 yarder looped over the keeper) when JCR went through Aidey White for a stone cold 2^nd yellow.  Stupid, given he’d been booked only a couple of minutes earlier (dissent?)  So that was him off and, presumably (hopefully) a continued siege on their goal. Actually, I worried Chesterfield would sit back and we would have our usual difficulty breaking down 10 men. Well, I was half right. Chesterfield broke up field, wide left. 3 (THREE) Reds stood off their left winger, allowed him to control the ball, turn, and run straight through them, getting a lucky deflection, but still, he earnt it….so he leaves those 3 behind, enters the box…where a defender (Roberts?) has to leave his man to close him down, leaving an easy pull back and tap-in.  The Ponty’s ‘You’re not singing anymore’ after Hamill’s effort is returned with interest from the away end.  Still 7 mins to go though.

The Corner Stand, from pitch level.

During those frantic last few minutes, we hit the post (Roberts), Hamill cut inside 3 or 4 of them and then his shot was cleared off the line…Winnall had one saved.  It wasn’t to be our day.  And while we had 2 decent penalty shouts (Selwood swears it was handball and those in the Ponty had the best view, as well as Toney being taken out at full pace) there was one refereeing decision which stood out for me. We were breaking from the halfway line, 3 on 3, when the ref blows.  I go apoplectic.  There’s no way it was a foul for us to win the ball.  Oh no, better than that.  He’s given the free kick to US and pulled play back cos their bloke is nursing a slight injury to his ankle.  No medical care needed, he got up, trotted back into position and we re-started with Chesterfield having 9 men behind the ball.  AND we had a Premiershit ref: Neil Swarbrick.  (He doesn’t seem to do that many games anymore; wonder why?)  

'Toby, Toby!'

The 1^st half was generally even, though Chesterfield had a header superbly saved by Davies and then missed the unmissable…3 yards out, generous low cross, I think he (Novak) fell over the ball.  Open goal.  Certainly the worst miss I’ve seen in a Reds game this season (including us).  Their fans were already celebrating as he missed.  I enjoyed that.  

Chesterfield did go ahead though 10 mins or so into the 2^nd half.  Hecky had dropped (rested?) George Williams at right back to give Bree a runout and, having been skinned twice in the 1^st half, a ball from his side is launched towards the back post where Novak gets inbetween Mawson and White to head it across Davies and in.  Think Oxford’s 1^st goal last week, but from the opposite side.  Oh well, we only have to score 2 now.

Looking toward the away end.

After a brief respite, we then threw the kitchen sink at them.  The keeper saved a powerful low shot from Toney; he saved superbly from a Winnall header (Hamill cross) at the back post; Isgrove had a shot deflected onto the post; Mawson headed a powerful effort over from a Roberts throw.  Other shots were blocked and, as I said, a couple of big penalty shouts were ignored.  This could easily have been 5 or 6….yet we lost, due to criminal defending, great goalkeeping, bad luck and poor refereeing.  Wembley (Mark II) may well be cancelled, but if we create as much as this in each game we could easily win what’s left of our matches.  

Panorama v Chesterfield

*** Roberts.  Won absolutely everything, inc. crucial interceptions.  Yes, he lumped the ball forward at times, but even that brought pressure with our forward 2.  Had to go off for 10 mins (stitches?) in the 1^st half.  Resolute.
** Winnall.  A tame effort at goal 1^st half, but otherwise coulda had a hatrick. Great movement, nice touches and did everything but score.  Shame, cos my line about ‘form is temporary, lack of class is permanent’ was made a little redundant, as he had a great game bar scoring.  Oh.
* Mawson.   The ying to Roberts’ yang.  How do we concede when one wins everything and the other manages to play the ball out of defence?  Twitter MOTM.

Londontykes MOTM:
*** Roberts
** Mawson
* Hamill / Winnall

Half time entertainment.  As good as it got.

Despatches:  The manager/interim 1^st team coach possibly f***ed up here, but for all the right reasons.  George Williams (Most Improved POTY?) was dropped (rested) for Bree to return.  He was easily beaten twice in the 1^st half, but no worries, he’ll still be around 2^nd half to concede 2 goals from his side.  The second goal was absolutely CRIMINAL and possibly only 33.3333333333333333333333% (recurring) Bree’s fault cos 3 of the f***ers let their bloke have the ball and simply stared at him while he ran into the box.  Lads, this is Sunday league stuff:  one go to him, he turns the other way, the 2^nd bloke takes it off him.  It works against Hamill and Hamill is a far far better player than their left winger.  Thereafter, everyone is all over the place as players try to cover one player, only to leave their own area free.  The knock-back, a tap-in.  ‘You’re not singing anymore’.  Indeed, we weren’t.  F***ing atrocious.  Hamill played well again.  Scored, whipped in balls.  Occasionally over elaborated and/or ran into 2 or 3 defenders at a time, but if he didn’t – he’d be in the Premiership.  Long live his mistakes. Without them, he wouldn’t be with us (in so many ways).  Brownhill won lots of the ball 1^st half before disappearing while Hourihane kept moves flowing but didn’t do much in the final third.  Fletcher was poor (why’s he so much better when he comes on as sub?) but it was nice to see Watkins return (even if he was one of the 3 for their winner).  Isgrove…well, you can write his match before it starts. Busy, creates nowt, scores less.  And Davies was sound, save for 2 goals he could do little about.  

The Pukka Pies East Stand.

Drink du jour: vodka and orange.  Dave misunderstood how to buy alcohol in Sainsburys though and had to piggyback our vodka.  Hence I’m not as trashed as I might normally have been.

Away: a thousand and odd.  I thought there were more.  While I thought we WOULD bring more.  Must be easier getting to Wembley than Oakwell.  (Are there more Londontykes than Barnsleytykes?)
Come on you Reds!  Win the last half a dozen games and…we won’t finish any lower than we are now.  I never wanted to go to Wembley twice in a season anyway.  Honest.

The Damage:
22 travel
5 mug (present)
3 prog

The Ponty.

Pre-match on Grove Street.