BFC 1-1 Walsall, Saturday 8th September 2018

‘I’ll get mi’ lube’

Welcome to ...

We have nothing to fear except fear itself.  Well, that and complacency.  For a second game in a row what I witness is a Barnsley side completely outplaying the opposition, finding it oh so easy…missing chance after chance…and allowing inferior opponents to get back into the game.  OK, Walsall were a lot better than Gillingham, and actually did come away with the draw (we could have done with them equalising sooner), but we only have ourselves to blame…

Drab. (The fans' outfits, not the town, obvs.)

Who missed what? Well, little happened in the 1^st half, so all of these were in the 2^nd, as we kicked towards the Ponty; Moore flicked a header wide from a superb Penniless cross; Thiam cleared the bar as the ball rolled nicely to him; Moncur f***ed up a 2 on 1 as his cross couldn’t have been worse (overhit for a goalkick); Victor had a one-on-one saved (the move of the match, from one end to the other, involving 4 or 5 players and quick, one-touch passes) while Moncur had a late one scrambled around the post by the keeper.  We should’ve been out of sight (again).

I'm sure this floodlight used to be INSIDE the ground...

Having said all that, Walsall missed the best 2 chances of the game, both from poorly defended corners.  Early in the second half, as a clearance was returned into our box, the defenders were too late in coming out and left their player to flick a ball over the bar from 3 yards out.  Proving this was no fluke, a minute before they equalised, an identikit move leaves 4 (4!) of their players 6 yards out and their player controls it, turns, and somehow drags it wide.  The gods are with us. We have this game won.  But as I said, complacency comes on (centre midfield), Walsall attack and they always, always, had an extra man in our box and a 10 yarder is drilled through the legs of both defender and keeper. 

The Walsall massive.

As Slacki said, it felt more like a defeat, conceding in the 87^th minute.  But we showed what we’re about, we continue to create (shame we didn’t use the 6 foot 8 bloke up front tho) and we remain unbeaten.  Given Walsall’s also unbeaten start, they’re no mugs, so maybe we need to look at it as an an extra point towards promotion?

Oh yeah, I forgot, we scored.  Victor had a shot, the keeper saved it, it hit a defender and bobbled in.  The gods are with us.  We’re gonna win this game etc.

*** Bahre.  This lad looks class.  I like him already (though since I thought his name was Ibehre, I expected Jabo’s younger brother.  He doesn’t look like Jabo’s younger brother…)  Confident on the ball, drives forward.  Tired a little towards the end, but what do you expect in his 1^st game?  Perhaps we can also buy him a shirt wot fits.

** Moore.  Perhaps a controversial choice.  Moore won everything, held balls up, brought others into play…but couldn’t get on the end of anything cos apart from that Penniless cross, the balls to him were utterly, utterly appalling, usually not beating the 1^st man. 

* Victor.  Came on for McGeehan and caused mayhem up front.  He certainly seems to have the knack of being in the right place at the right time.

Twitter MOTM: Penniless.  
Londontykes MOTM: TBA (when I get round to reading my e-mails).

The teams come out.

Despatches:
‘Who do you hate this season, Al?’ asked Nozzer as we waited for our Gala Bingo taxi.  ‘F***ing Thiam’ I returned.  Too fast for the fullback, too strong, too skilful…but simply cannot get the message from brain to feet in enough time to know what to do with the ball.  Nevermind his inability to cross a ball.  Allegedly scored 2 v Oxford the other week, crackers an’ all.  All I’ve seen is 20-30 failures and a penalty at Millwall.  If anyone here can tell me he’s a better winger than Adam Hammill…I…I…I’d be speechless.  McGeehan more than matched the ineptitude, being dragged off at half time after a couple of loose passes in midfield. How many more failures will he be allowed?  Pinnock made a couple of mistakes (complacency: thinking he’s as good as we think he is) while my favourite Lindsay moment involved him holding onto the ball too long in his own area and being forced to rush a clearance, which he underhit straight to them.  What does everyone see in him that Wadd and I don’t?  (Christ, me and Wadd agreeing on a player!?)  On the plus side, I thought the centre halves protected Walton well…but those Walsall chances from corners stick in the craw.  Walton did make one great save, tipping over a close range header in the 1^st half. I’d nearly forgotten about that.  Penniless looked solid for the most part but got stripped in the 1^st half, while Cavare looked defensively sound, but couldn’t cross a ball over 6 feet high.  Mowatt and Moncurhad their moments, though never really created owt.  Fair play to Stendal though, making another adventurous sub and changing the formation.    

Drink du jour: Arcade Alehouse this week, and I made the mistake of having a Durham Pale Ale.  Horrid.  Back on the Staropramen.  Later, vodka and orange or G&T.  I learnt yesterday the difference between London gin and non-London gin.  I have since forgotten.  

Onwards and upwards!

Away: 400.  Well, that’s what the tannoy said.  No-one on the train thought it was anything like that.

The Damage:£30 train
= £30

The Tunes:
Key Markets (Sleaford Mods)
Achtung Bono! (Half Man Half Biscuit)

The teams break out before KO.

More drabbidity behind the East Stand.

Tickets Only.  Disappointed hordes turned away.

A 2nd half downpour.

The #23 has a rest. Time was when I recognised a player by his number...

BFC 3-0 Walsall, Saturday 14th May 2016

'He's sh*t, he's lame, he scores in every game.'

The message is clear: build a better Barnsley by knocking it down.

In news hot off the press, I am an idiot.  On the train up, having just discussed how to get to Walsall for the 2^nd leg, Dave asks me why I’m marking a bunch of books.  ‘Well, I’ve gotta get through them.  It’s Year 8 Parents Evening on Thursday.’  Oh.  We make the play-offs approximately once every blue moon and I can’t make the away leg cos of a prior commitment.  Still, at least it’s on telly.  And we’re 3-0 up so it won’t matter anyway (!)

The Barnsley diet: Percy Turners and pure lard

YES!  Three-nil up from the 1^st leg.  Dreamland.  Word in the pub beforehand was we’d take a draw, or even a 0-1, cos we know we’ll destroy Walsall away and, besides, Walsall have the best away record in the division.  The Super Reds make all of this a nonsense.  We cruise it, SSW scoring twice and putting one foot and a couple of arms into that there game at Wembley.  Cancel the camping trip I have planned for the Bank Holiday.

Must be a big game; crowd outside Walkabout

I thought we were comfortable throughout, even though they missed 3 decent chances.  The least they could have done was test Davies, which they barely did.  Hecky’s comment that we’d be in a better position cos of our big game experience this season was prescient; Walsall completely bottled it, despite having nearly 60% possession.  (40% is the new 60% anyway; ask Leicester.)

When was the last time this was full?

I wasn’t even sat in my usual seat, so that didn’t jinx us.  My dad took his mate, so, as I perused the upper tier on t’web, I hit on an idea: I’d go in the Ponty.  There might even be an atmosphere!  The good old days!  And what an atmosphere.  It was buzzing throughout.  It was a bit like Wigan last week, a full stand of Reds behind the goal getting behind their team.  I was a bit gutted though that my seat in Row Z didn’t catch any crosses from the ghost of Tom Williams.  But if Wigan was my fave away game of the season…and Oxford my fave neutral…then this has to be my favourite home game – of years.  It really was brilliant and anyone not there missed out.  Well, if you insist on living in Vienna, Adelaide, Bergen, Singapore, Witney, etc…

It's a beautiful day...I'm coming over all U2.

The crowd were never wavering in their support and we got our reward just before half time.  Having already had a goal (wrongly) disallowed for offside (Isgrove sliding in Hammill’s sublime cross), SSW pulls a ball back across goal for Hammill to sidefoot into an empty net.  Only he misses the goal completely, it hits a defender, and still goes in.  Who says we never get lucky?  This is compounded early in the 2^nd half when Winnall actually manages to put his foot through a shot (I didn’t think he had it in him) and it loops in over the keeper.  Who says we never get lucky?  I make that 3 deflected goals in 2 games.  Still, as Alan Shearer would say, ‘if you don’t buy a ticket…’.  

YOOOOUUUUU REDS!!!!!!!!!!!!

A couple of minutes later and Super Sammy Winnall has topped becoming the world’s worst 22 goal a season striker (last week) to being the world’s worst 24 goals a season striker this.  And fair play, it’s a great goal, as he bursts through a couple of challenges and lifts the balls over the keeper with his left.  The finish was reminiscent of THAT Michael Owen goal against Argentina (though obviously, SSW is a better player than HIM).  I am another 20 pounds lighter thanks to that second goal. Thanks, Sammy.

Under the stand at half time.

It’s 3-0 and there’s more than half an hour to go.  While we never actually showboated, we never really went for the jugular.  Several times we broke 3 on 3, but the end product wasn’t there.  Will we live to regret such generosity?  I know we nearly did, when they broke and they shunned a golden opportunity.  Thus, the tie is neatly poised – in our favour.  But go a goal down early in the 2nd leg and Walsall could still make something of this game.  Let’s not make history by becoming the 1^st side to throw away a three goal 1^st leg play off lead.

*** SSW.  Scores 2, sets up another.  Always liked him. 
** Roberts.  Wins everything AND can play.
* Isgrove.  Ran around.  He likes running around.  Though should’ve squared it once instead of being greedy.

Londontykes Top 3:
*** Roberts  ** Winnall  * Isgrove

pre-match panorama.

Despatches:
I don’t know where to start.  They were all great.  

Onwards and upwards!  

Drink du jour: A 6.5% IPA, followed by an Erdinger, then the IPA again…followed by vodka, orange and champagne (not all together) on the train.  Y’know, together with the lie in this morning, I could really go for 5:30 kick-offs in a big way.  Not sure I need to be paying £4 for a programme though, however many colour photos I get.  Did I fall asleep on the bus?  I can't actually remember.  Maybe I didn't.  I know I fell asleep on the couch.  Went to bed at half four. Deleriously happy.

Away: Just over 2,000.  They didn’t look very lively either.  Shellshocked?‘East Stand, give us a song ……

West Stand, give us a song ……Walsall, give us a song …..’

The Damage:
£15 ent
£36 travel
£4 prog
£4 scarf (half price)
£5 t-shirt (half price)
= £64

Drunken Londontykes back in Kings Cross

Fans and friends outside the latest incarnation of the cod Irish pub

Toby meets and greets

Match action in front of the Walsall 2,000.

Looking towards the away end.

A packed out East Stand and Corner Stand.

The players head towards their mates / WAGS.

Full time, 3-0.

Anything to stop ppl watching the match as they leave early.

The Ponty!

Barnsley 3-0 Walsall, Saturday 7th March 2015

‘Super Georgie Waring’

Oakwell Flower Shop, as was.

Have we seen the last goal Barnsley FC will ever concede?  5 wins, 5 clean sheets.  Them that walked out at Crawley at 0-3 will regret not being able to say ‘I was there’ as the 4^th and 5^th got banged in, when we’ve won the European Cup for a 3^rd consecutive season.  Or so we mused on our way back on the train, possibly having imbibed a few.  It’s getting a little boring winning every week.  Even more so when you’ve just controlled the game and destroyed the opposition, albeit with possibly less possession than they had (certainly 1^st half).  Walsall weren’t even a bad team.  Are Barnsley back!!??

The Ponty / East Stand

The tone was set after 15 minutes.  He soared like an eagle.  He leapt like a salmon.  He came down from the clouds..and bundled it home with some part of his anatomy (they were claiming ‘hands’)  Yes, it’s the resurgence of Super Georgie Waring, nodding in a free header from 4 yards.  ‘I coulda scored that’ Slacki claimed later, and he probably could with marking like that.  I doubt he could have bagged George’s 2^nd though, as he turned into a cross between Messi and Waddle to drop a right shoulder, go left and hammer the ball through the keeper.  ‘How did the keeper NOT save that?’ asked Mr Marshall senior, showing all and sundry where I get it from.

Then the icing is well and truly dolloped onto our cake as O’Sullivan skins the fullback and has the wherewithawal to pull it back for Winnall to smash home into the far corner with his left.  Like what Hourihane used to be able to do.

East Lower looking rammed

*** Why, it’s Super Georgie Waring of course.  Are you insane?  Sponsors MOTM, too, or at least would be if we had any.  Apparently it was a fan vote on one of them new fangled things…Twitter?

** Scowen.  He tackles, he runs about.  He passes it to teammates.

* Pearson.  Controlled midfield, worryingly went off injured.

Londontykes top 3:

1. Waring

2. Scowen

3. Pearson

The Saddlers

Despatches:
Pearson was problies our best player till he went off early 2^nd half.  O’Sullivan had a quieter game than I’ve seen, yet still had a hand in 2 goals.  5 games, 5 wins.  He’s my new favourite (loan) player. Hourihane.  What can I say?  We all knew he’d stay on the pitch while the more dangerous Lalkovic got the curly finger for Winnall.  Great finish.  Holgate had a very poor 1^st half (believing his own hype?) then looked the thoroughbred that he is in the 2^nd.  Nyatanga played well while Davies had zero shots to save.  Well done that defence!

Drink du jour: spiced rum and ginger ale.  Too sweet, even by my tastes.  Drank some more, to be sure.

Away: 338.

The Damage:
£23 travel
£3 programme

I've never noticed before...our pillars enjoy breeze-block cuddles

The Ponty

Pre-match

East Stand this way!