BFC 2-1 Wycombe Wanderers, Saturday 16th February 2019

‘I’ll come in your box anytime.’

It's a fine day as we head to Oakwell.

Another week, another win.  It’s getting boring now.  And I don’t know if anyone else noticed, but Wycombe were another form side coming to t’Well, 11 points from their last 6, so were no mugs.  And so it proved in an entertaining first half which we largely controlled, yet Wanderers had their chances.  Cavare made an amazing block to prevent a certain goal at the Ponty End, while Davies later made a great save (ok, the ball was hit that hard it just hit him, but he was getting his body across the goal and deserved his piece of fortune).  But otherwise, it was all us.

Another week...another commemoration.  Gordon Banks R.I.P.

We’d taken an earlyish lead, on twelve or so minutes, as Bahre (in for the injured Kiefer) ghosted in from behind the defender and was taken out.  The Wycombe fans we met later felt the player was already going down, but it looked stonewall to me; their lad simply hadn’t seen him and as he nicked the ball he was kicked.  Cauley stepped up to send the keeper the wrong way, 1-0. Otherwise, Penniless hit a 25 yarder which the keeper just about got to, while Mowatt missed the chance of the day, somehow missing from 8 yards with only the keeper to beat.  (Clue: it was on his right foot)

Cauley slots home the pen.

In the second half, we looked streets ahead of Wycombe but without anything to show for it, until some bloke called Hedges (Hedges!!) split the defence with a throughball down the left and Jacob Brown crossed the ball low for Cauley to run onto and hit first time high into the net. Pure class, Barnsley.  And Hedges had only been on the pitch for a minute, having come on for Thiam (Stendel must have been confident; Thiam didn’t look injured).

Stadium improvements at t'Well.  New door on East Stand turnstiles.

Before then, one of their players got himself injured; maybe it was the way he landed? But it looked serious, cos he just didn’t move.  Eventually, with physios and stretcher-bearers surrounding him, he recovered, which was good news as far as I was concerned, cos I was beginning to envisage another visit from the Air Ambulance and our match called off (honestly, I was concerned for their player to BEGIN with!)  Course, this meant 10 minutes of injury time (after 12 last week) and we were aiming for a 17:11 train out of Barnsley.  Andy I agreed: if we were two up we’d catch that train.

The Wycombe hordes.

So it was that we missed 5 minutes of the injury time, just as the match was (literally) kicking off.   Challenges were flying in from all angles and McGeehan’s wild lunge on the halfway line resulted in a  yellow.  Stranger, their bloke reacts by getting up and pulling his HAIR.  Y’know, like a GIRL.  (Casual sexism ahoy!).  But seriously, if this was at school, back in the day, a boy pulling hair would’ve been laughed out of the place.  At least get sent off for PUNCHING McGeehan.  But I’m guessing ‘El-Abd’ is not from these parts and was brought up under a different set of cultural rules and expectations.  Still, it took the ref over a minute to send him off, as the player refused to answer to the incessant whistling.  Both Andy and I thought he’d have got away with a yellow had he come to the ref straightaway.

The Ponty v Wycombe.

Then we left, and apparently Wycombe scored a debatable pen.  How does that happen?  They go down to 10 men and we find it MORE difficult?  But not to worry, it’s soon game over and Andy can put his phone in his pocket and breathe easy.  The promotion push continues.
In a word: cruising

Onwards and upwards!

*** Cauley Woodrow.  Another week, another two goals.  Kiefer who?

** Pinniloss.  Solid throughout and helped out in attack.

* McGeehan.  Up and down, driving forward, getting shots off, finding his own men, winding the opposition up…

Londontykes' MOTM: TBA

Akinfenwa v Pinnock.  Spot the difference.

Despatches:Davies was excellent in goal (again).  Lindsay and Pinnock were both excellent.  I really enjoyed the latter turning his man at one point and strolling out with the ball.  Bahre ran around doing I’m-not-quite-sure-what, while Mowatt was his tidy self.  There were several little one-touch moves around midfield that can unlock a defence in the blink of an eye (witness the 2^nd goal). Brown had another good game, while Thiam looked good enough to keep on, but wasn’t.  Hedges got a good run out, but I can’t remember him doing owt beyond THAT pass, while Dougall was brought on late on to shore up things…but didn’t.

The Wycombe lads on the train said their keeper kept them in it (Cauley had a superb header superbly tipped over, denying him a hattrick).  Mind, they also said Davies was in the top 2 keepers in the division (they were young, bless).
And I presume everyone noted Moncur scored again for Luton?  That’s something like 4 in 130 minutes for them, as opposed to his 1 in 130 days for us.  (I haven’t worked that out, just a rough guess!)  Oh, and why did I explain several times in the club shop that the Toby Tyke gnome I was buying was mos' def' NOT for me.  It's for a friend in The Netherlands, honest.  No, REALLY.

Drink du jour: Late train meant time for a mere one (Weihanstephaner) in the #7. Stella and Kroney in the loud and quiet pubs in Donny.  Vodka and orange and a couple more wheat beers in the Parcel Yard.  

Away: 411.  

The Damage:
£8.30 train (due to refunds)
£3 prog
= £11.30

The Tunes:
Mixmag Sept 11 (Sven Vath)
Blue Bell Knoll (Cocteau Twins)

Panorama v Wycombe.

Match action in front of the old Main Stand.

Gordon Banks.  The only English goalkeeper to have won a World Cup.

Home Sweet Home.  The mean streets of Peckham.