Radcliffe 4-1 Morpeth Town, Tuesday 19th March 2024

Radcliffe 4-1 Morpeth Town, Northern Premier League Premier Division, Neuven Stadium, att. 1,132.

With my Saturdays pretty much booked up till the end of the season, this is the only chance to visit Radcliffe, runaway leaders of the Northern Premier League (Premier Division). And what with Darlo’s miracle National League South survival most definitely ON, Darlo Kev makes a scouting mission of it. I’m over the Pennines into Ashton, pick him up and we’re off. He can earn his corn navigating, since Google Maps has packed up on me.

We arrive with an hour to go and park up outside some old folks’ bungalows around the corner from the ground. There IS a car park next to the ground, but it looks pretty full anyway. Do they have a social club? They most certainly do. We pay our tenner to get in and enter the social club in time for...the draw for the Bolton Hospital Cup. Fought between sides a couple of rungs or more down the ladder from Radcliffe, it looks like the final is to be played here at the Neuven Stadium. The likes of Daisy Hill can only dream.

I’ve seen Radcliffe already this season, steamrollering higher division Farsley in the FA Trophy, 4-2. They are a mean looking physical bunch who’re running away with the Northern Premier. 10 points clear? 12? I forget. Tonite, midtable Morpeth are lambs to the slaughter. We walk around to the far side, a small, open terrace unroofed. We pass the tunnel, to the left corner, and past the newish seated stand behind the goal. Behind the opposite goal is a small covered terrace, while on the social club side a tiny terrace, with roof not much taller than a bus shelter, retains the charm of a ground at lower level. Meantime, adjoining the social club (actually, two big rooms) was the smallest hospitality suite overlooking the pitch, a table for 12. I love it.

And since when were Radcliffe no longer ‘Borough’? 2018, it turns out. That’s a shame, as along with Stevenage, it gave them an unusual name. Otherwise, I’d only know them for letting the phoenix club of Bury share their ground pending issues being sorted at Gigg Lane. Fair play for that, so I’m pleased for them that they’re on the verge of promotion to the 6th tier (a resurgent Bury playing two tiers down).

Radcliffe are hot favourites tonite and take 13 mins to open the scoring, before running out comfortable 4-1 winners. They’re too fast, too powerful and too good for a Morpeth side who’ve come a long way for nothing. As for the visitors, what chance if you’ve got to encourage your part time players to take the afternoon off work for a likely pasting? Well done to the one Morpeth Town fan who made the journey though (or, at least, the one showing his colours).

The Damage:
£10 ent
£2.50 programme
= £12.50

*beer was on Kev, for driving. He had Guinness, I Staropramen.

BFC 0-0 Cheltenham Town, Saturday 16th March 2024

‘Get up, yer great Jessie!’

Home to relegation-threatened Cheltenham, a side with a defence so bad they’d taken Jack Shepherd on loan (though he didn’t play today, not allowed?), and the top 4 all playing each other...this was going to be our week, wasn’t it? The day when we hauled back a few points on those above us and reinvigorated our charge for top 2. Or b) fail to score and drop points while the top 2 both win very difficult games. Is the game up? Yeah, probably. But with 8 games to go, that’s a long time to feel sorry ourselves about failure to go up automatically, while Lincoln (16 goals in 3 games, including five against us) storm up on the outside ready to nick that last play-off spot and triumph as the side in form.

Coach Collins thinks we deserved to win. The Yorkshire Post says we missed lots of chances (while not actually naming any, though pointing at numerous crosses from Cadden, O’Keefe and Phillips). The usual, then. We put plenty of the ball into the right areas, but don’t have a centre forward capable of being in the right place. Oh, there was one chance...Phillips clipped a delicious ball over the defender for Cole to run onto from behind and...bullet the header wide. Other than that, our best chance was actually the chance to create a chance. We have a counter and Phillips looks up to find McAtee in space in his own half, not a defender in sight. (Where had they gone???) All he has to do is play the ball in front of McAtee for the latter to run onto and be clean through. It is absolutely impossible to mess up...but he manages it, overhitting the simplest of passes for the keeper to run out and clear. This would be criminal if playing for the Dog and Duck, nevermind as a paid professional.

Still, no worries. We’ll get another chance in a minute. I felt this attitude pervaded our play. No urgency, no sense that any of our 18 shots actually mattered (4 on target, none of which I can remember), cos we were so on top, we’d score at some point. Ah, on top. We had most of the ball (it felt more than the reported 61%) but in truth, Roberts prevented us from going a goal down in the 1st half, one super save round the post, along with a tip over off a corner. (The corner was taken at least 6 inches outside the ‘D’ but that’s by the by.) I hear Cadden drove a free kick off the post, but I’d exercised Plan B in our quest for a goal and gone to the toilet. Nearly worked!

Later...it’s coming back to me now...Cadden had another shot saved on the near post, but it was all a bit comfortable for Cheltenham, who, fair play, kept 2 men up throughout. So we don’t even have the excuse of a massed defence. There was plenty of space all over the park and we failed to take advantage. Overhearing the lads behind say there’s only 8 matches left, I turned and corrected them. ‘I think you’ll find there’s 11’. They looked perplexed. ‘Well, there’s the play-offs.’ They p***ed themselves laughing. ‘There’s no way we’re getting to the final.’ Fair point.

Onwards and upwards!

*** Earl. Why not? Official MOTM. Solid and came close 1st half.
** Cadden. Left back as best attacker? Not for the 1st time this season.
* De Givigny. Brought the ball out well.

Official MOTM: (My Name is) Earl

Londontykes’ MOTM: 1. Cadden 2. Connell 3. Earl

Despatches:
We had a goal disallowed for offside, 3 or 4 mins in. I’d like to see that again. A ball was curled in and either Russell or McAtee touched it in from close range. I’m not entirely convinced we were offside (did the linesman get the right man?) but hey, another chance will come round in 5 minutes. A. Londontyke thought Russell had had a good 1st half. I’ll be honest, I noticed him twice. The disallowed goal, and again, later, when he was stood still on the halfway line. What’s that about watching paint dry? O’Connell was here and there, while Phillips hit a couple of crosses straight to the 1st man, not his standard at all. Roberts didn’t put a foot wrong, while O’Keefe was actually pretty good. (Strange though that Coach Collins had benched Jordan; that’ll teach him for scoring a 25 yarder the other nite!).

Up front, I have to say I disagree with Collins. Cosgrove looked promising and deserved longer, though admittedly messed up a couple of moves, either hitting it wide, or turning down a shooting chance to not quite get the pass to Phillips (who would have been clean through). It’s ok though, there’ll be another chance in 5 minutes. Anyway, Coach Collins hauls Cosgrove before the hour to put Devante on. I’ve seen rumours Cole doesn’t care anymore ‘cos he’s got his Championship move lined up.’ Has he? Really? I cannot wait to see which higher division fools are taking our former goalscorer. At his current rate, he won’t hit 20 till December. ‘Which year?’ chorused 2 wags in the pub beforehand. I have since seen his miss on t’tellybox. Awful. It’s ok though, we’ll have another chance...etc

On the 80 minute mark, Coach Collins drags off McAtee and Cadden for...Marsh and Cotter. Now I know we’ve given up, though Marsh does at least trouble an empty seat with a snapshot over the bar. No worries though, cos...

Drink du jour: House Party IPA in Spiral City

Away: 202. Just as they were about to be the first away support I’ve NEVER heard this season, a chorus of ‘Chel-ten-ham, Chel-ten-ham’ broke out in the 95th minute.

The Damage:
c.£8 petrol
= c.£8

Carlisle United 2-3 BFC, Tuesday 12th March 2024

‘Oh God he’s p***ed...get to bed NOW!’

I’m up in the north-east this week, so of course I had a ham and pease pudding sandwich for my lunch yesterday. And today. And tomorrow. And Thursday. And I’ll bring the ingredients back for another one on Friday. If there’s one thing I miss about the north-east, it’s pease pudding. So I wasn’t all that hungry when I went for pre-match tapas with Nice Guy, Jim and Oakwell historian, pre-match. (You get a better class of companion going to Carlisle.)

Ah, Carlisle. We’ve not played them since...was it 84-85? 85-86? Anyway, I was 11 and the turnstile operator let me climb over for free, so I’ve always had a soft spot for them. One-all it was (Ian Walsh). He was rubbish an’ all – me not rating our centre forwards is not a recent thing. Remarkably, we hadn’t beaten them away in the league since 1954. Was Gerry (R.I.P.) there, I wonder, like he was at QPR in 1950? And is there a team in the league who’re NOT a bogey team for us? Lincoln home Satdy, Carlisle away today. Just as remarkably, we’ve only played them 8 times at Brunton Park in 70 years, as we both yo-yo past each other in the league.

After a mini pub crawl of the Kings Head, a tapas bar and a pub with Apple in the title (I think), we found ourselves outside the ground to hear the teams come out. Who’s been sending Coach Collins my drivel? Kane and Cole are OUT. About time. Mind, so is McCart. Was Satdy’s defensive debacle all his fault? Dunno, but with Pines continued absence, MdG is back in the centre (Coach Collins DOES read my nonsense!) and Jordan is back in the 3. Even better, after criticism on Satdy, Jordan DOES concentrate on his own performance and rifles in a 25 yarder into the top corner to equalise.

And do the changes prevent defensive aberrations? Of course not. A ball bounces over our defence and they’re in for one nil. Indeed, until Jordan’s out-of-nowhere worldy, we were being shown up by the worst side in the division (again) as slick one touch moves left our defence grasping. Luckily, they’re bottom for a reason (and let the reason be love). Lady Luck never shines on teams at the bottom, and when Jordan trips their player at one-all, the ref refuses to point to the spot. That’ll teach that not so wily Cumbrian to try and stay on his feet. (Seriously, does a player have to hit the floor for a penalty?) At the other end McAtee hits the bar, but I can’t tell whether he ought to have done better, while Cosgrove stings the keeper’s paws with a mighty 25 yarder.

Second half, we run riot. Well, we score 2 and dominate, before carelessly conceding a late goal against the run of play to make life interesting. Cosgrove takes a throughball and intelligently lifts it over the keeper for McAtee to bundle home. (Lesser mortals may have shot and had it smothered.) Then a ball is swung to the backpost, and who’s this ghosting in? Why, it’s Zinedine Zidane. Ok, it’s not, it’s Jon Russell (in for Herbie) who’s been christened Zidane by one disbelieving wag. (‘Wag’ in the traditional sense of the word.) Done and dusted, home and hosed, all that’s left is to wonder how many we’ll score, when complacency hits, O’Keefe completely misses a ball down the line and they’re in for 2-3 and an ‘interesting’ last few minutes. Do we have enough? Well, we have enough to beat a side with 11 defeats in 12. But we need to improve.

Onwards and upwards!

*** Cosgrove. Led the line superbly, chased balls, held them up, found his teammates, cracking shot, set up a goal.
** McAtee. I wish he wasn’t as good as he is. We might have had a chance of buying him.
* Russell. I dunno, I’m plucking a name out of a hat now, but I liked how madly he celebrated his goal, knowing full well nobody rates him.

Londontykes’ MOTM: 1. Cosgrove 2. McAtee 3. Connell

Despatches:
I forgot to say, no Roberts in goal either. Kilip fills me with zero confidence. Jordan scored his worldy, but shoulda had a penalty against him. O’Keefe and Cadden were fairly anonymous, our tactic mainly appearing to be to knock it around defence 3 or 4 times before hitting it long to Cosgrove. Difficult to give the back 3 marks when they concede 2 to Carlisle. Luca put it about, while Phillips looked OK, but let down Nice Guy who had a twoer (that’ll be two pounds, not 2 grand) on Adam to score and there being more than 5.5 goals in the match. Wise Guy Jim suggests bookies offering a special offer ‘more than 5.99 goals’. Why 5.5? It could be 5.01. 5.36 recurring. Anyway...Oh, and Cole and Marsh came on, half an hour and 20 minutes left respectively. I don’t know who did less.

The drinking continued in the pub over the road from Brunton Park. I think there were more Barnsley than Carlisle, as we caught the end of a Champions League tie, plucky little Arsenal beating Porto on pens. And in a rare example of my benevolence, I helped out a friend in need. I won’t say who, but someone many of us know was in a right drunken state and had no idea how to get to his hotel. So I took him to my hotel, made him a coffee, charged his phone enough for me to find his hotel...then got lost trying to find it. (I’m a follower not a leader). Thus, after walking round town, we got to the station and re-traced his route 10 hours earlier…to find it was round the corner from my abode. Oh, and did I say I had to be up at 5:15am, as I had people coming round early? (Needless to say, those f***ers didn’t turn up when they said they would).

Drink du jour: Gamma Ray, red wine, more red win. I blame the classy company!

Away: 883. Their away end is bizarre, the stand stretching beyond the touchline cos they were gonna move the pitch (but never did). Thus, you have Reds fans needlessly having poorer views while the ground can potentially hold nearly 14,000 more than came tonite. Still, it might be another 40 years before we play them again, so it was nice to visit.

The Damage:
£24 ent
£2 programme (a foldy out thing wot covered Carlisle v Reading too.)
c.£25 petrol
£40 hotel
= c.£91

BFC 1-5 Lincoln City, Saturday 9th March 2024

‘No-one saw that coming!’

Before the match I was chatting to Nozzer. ‘We never beat these.’ ‘What do you mean?’ I asked. ‘We beat them 4-2 at their place in the 90s, Vat of Lard scored.’ ‘Ok then, we never beat them in the league.’ I’ve just looked it up. We haven’t beaten them in the league since I WAS BORN. Who cares that we’ve only played them 10 times since (Lincoln: 7 wins), but still. That’s incredible. Add on Lincoln’s recent form, 10 unbeaten in the league, and there was something almost inevitable about Satdy’s result...but still.

FIVE ONE. Five bloody one. And the one only came once the game was gone. We were absolutely destroyed whilst ‘enjoying’ 67% possession. I guess there’s only so many times you can play triangles, or rectangles (there were usually 4 of them) on the halfway line before the opposition get bored and show you how it’s done. They open the scoring when a super 50 yard reverse crossfield ball (eat yer heart out, Herbie Kane!) finds the right winger in space and he lays it across for the centre forward to fire in from 10 yards. Great goal. Direct, at pace, each player in tune with what the other player was going to do. It’s almost as if they practice. Cheats.

What does our 67% come up with? Well, Cadden bundles his way through a couple of times, but his centre forward has gone missing (as he has done since January; still, you can’t blame the club for not selling Cole if no-one offered to buy him), while Phillips drives a cross in from the right, but the centre forward has gone missing...etc. Phillips also hits a 30 yarder from a free kick, but the keeper saves, bottom corner. Still, no keeper gets beaten from there (see later).

It’s 0-1 at half-time but Oakwell is a morgue. We’ve come back from a goal down how many times this season? How many times this past month? But there was something in the air (tonite), a collective resignation. How fortunate that my friend Anna Marie could compare the (lack of) atmosphere with her 2 previous games...Arsenal beating Liverpoo (yes, even The Library has an atmosphere sometimes) and Argentinian no-marks River Plate (!) She doesn’t even like football. (A prerequisite for a Reds fan, some might say.)

Coach Collins sends the same side out. Why not? We’ve dominated possession, and looked vaguely dangerous down the flanks. He gives it 8 minutes. Kane and McAtee are hauled, the latter to the bafflement of the crowd. Do we want to win this? Obviously not. Cosgrove is on, though surely Grant is an improvement on Kane. Within 5 minutes we are losing three nil. A cheeky Imp runs BETWEEN 2 of our players (with the ball, WTF?) before planting it into the corner. The 3rd is worse (or better, if you’re a Lincoln fan). We lose the ball on the halfway line, they break, and an Imp beats one...two...three...four players in red shirts before putting it in the far corner. I hadn’t realised they’d signed Messi. God give me strength. (Difficult. He doesn’t exist. Sorry to be the bearer...etc.)

Coach Collins gives it another 6 minutes, then says ‘f*** it, the game’s gone’ and takes off Cadden (and Cole, apparently he was playing too). O’Keefe and Marsh are on. What? Are we a charity? Marsh’s sole contribution is to get in Cosgrove’s way, preventing the latter scoring a certain header. The changes make a difference though, as Lincoln score another, a 30 yard shot which bounced in front of a diving keeper and in. (Note to Phillips: make it bounce!) Still, there’s no way a keeper gets beat from there. Not a good one. The crowd leaves. Sorry, MORE of the crowd leave. (Not La Famille Jones, I can still them in the Ponty, crying.)

Then IT HAPPENS. We have a real life attack and score a real life actual GOAL. Credit to Cosgrove for completely missing the spherical object for an open goal, thereby allowing the ball to be picked up on the left and crossed back in for Phillips to crash into the top corner from 10 yards. Some fans still won’t forgive him though for his part in the balls-up at 0-1 where we were 2 on 1 and his square pass came off his studs as Cole ran away, allowing the keeper to collect.

Then my own personal highlight. We immediately bring on Russell for Luca (I told you Coach Collins had given up) and within a minute Russell and MdG are being outpaced by another pesky away fellow. All that sitting on the bench must be tiring for the lad, I reckon. 1-5. Nevermind watching them try to play football, I’d pay good money to see Russell and Herbie Kane be part of a 4x100m sprint relay team, Russell as anchor (I said ‘anchor!’)

Five one. Five bloody one.

Onwards and upwards!

*** Phillips. Intelligent crossing, scored and had our only other worthwhile effort.
** Cadden. Twice beat 2 defenders and hit a low cross into the pocket of space without a Reds forward running anywhere near it.
* No-one. The rest were, without exception, appalling.

Official MOTM: Phillips.

Londontykes’ MOTM: 1. Phillips 2. Cadden 3. No-one

Despatches:
Where was Pines? No idea. Interesting that Coach Collins played McCart in the middle, rather than MDG, when MDG had been there all season pre-Pines. Did it work? (That’s rhetorical, kids.) So who do we blame for the defensive debacle? Coach Collins for choosing the set up? McCart for coming in and spoiling an unbeaten run (albeit one that couldn’t keep clean sheets)? The Frenchman for having a flashback to his debut? If all the opposition have to do is run at De Gevigny, we can kiss goodbye to promotion now. Earl mucked in with the defensive aberrations too.

However, I’ll also raise you a Jordan Williams. Captain Extraordinaire’s contribution appeared to be in his arms rather than his legs as he waved them about frustratedly at anybody and everybody. He must be taking captaincy lessons from Bruno Fernandes. Listen, Jordan, it’s MY job to tell the players how s*** they are. It’s YOUR job to do something about it. Or just concentrate on your own game, that’d be a start.

Or was it the midfield’s fault, for the lack of cover? Connell, half the player he was last season, but twice the pay packet (and the rest) after signing his new contract last season. I hate to say it, but I wish we’d cashed in on him last summer. Kane? Well, he’s out of contract at season’s end, isn’t he? Isn’t he? He’d better be. We can start counting down his games now. Ditto Devante. It’s only the lack of an alternative keeping him in the team. ‘But he’s the top scorer in the division blah blah blah’. He’s rubbish, and you know it.

Hopefully this is the wake-up call for us to go on a run, but we can’t carry more than one, maybe two players who’re ‘off it’. And between Kane, Connell and Cole, there’s 3 for a start.

Drink du jour: House Party IPA in Spiral City.

Away: 1,965. Nearly two thousand fans had a whale of a time on Satdy, and by full-time, probably outnumbered our ‘magnificent support’.

The Damage:
c.£8 petrol
= c.£8

BFC 2-2 Bolton Wanderers, Tuesday 5th March 2024

‘It’s Claire Balding!’

First of all, what a fabulous advert for League 1 and the EFL in general. Two top sides going toe to toe, one bossing the first half before an out of the blue goal swung momentum completely in favour of the other side. It was fast, it was furious (Fast and Furious...XI?) and neither side gave a quarter. Obviously, losing a two goal lead was hugely disappointing from our perspective, but the draw keeps us in the hunt for second, plenty to play for...and we’re arguably the form team.

That 1st half. We coulda, shoulda...been more than a goal up. Devante was studs away from a tap in (twice – maybe he should set off earlier?) and miscontrolled another great chance. The goal however showed up our tactics throughout that half. We put the high press on the Trotters, attempting to play out from the back. The Frenchman won it halfway into their territory and the ball ran loose for an opportunist finish from McAtee (tee tee), who was everywhere. Scarves were twirled and the atmosphere ratcheted up a notch. We were well on top and looking hungry. That said, Bolton had one or two chances too, including an unbelievable goalline clearance from Cadden as the ball spun goalwards off the keeper and a Wanderer wandered to the backpost for a tap in. Phew.

Second half seemed more of the same. We were looking much the better side when Pines rocketed one in from a corner. Credit to Cole, who held the ball up before backheeling it off a defender into Pines path. (Note: I’m not saying he deliberately backheeled it off the defender with this in mind, but that the unconventionality caused mayhem.) Two nil. EIEIEIO...etc ‘Now you’re gonna believe us, the Reds are going up!’ I know. Since January an atmosphere has broken out at Oakwell, as fans are believing again.

Then...it all went wrong. Bolton take a quick free kick on the halfway line. McAtee and Kane switch off and don’t block the kicker, Connell gets caught wrong side and they are away down our right. 3 passes in total (I think) and it’s a tap-in for Big Vic (of all people). We’d be raving if we’d scored that, a sweet, sweet move. Still, there’s half an hour left so as long as we continue what we’d been doing...

No. The game flicks over like a lightswitch. Bolton are now coming at us, wave after wave. Yes, we stepped back, yes, the midfield can’t get a foot on the ball (Kane could barely move after the hour, presumably exhausted from the pace of the game…yet strangely he stayed on), yes, the forwards are second best to every ball…but the defence was heroic that half an hour, block after block….and when Bolton did get through, Roberts pulled off some incredible close range one-on-one saves. One incredible passage involves them hitting the post and having...I dunno...2, 3? shots blocked. Honestly, it felt like being a child again. I cannot remember the last time I was so tense at being a goal up. (I’ve seen enough calamities to not let it bother me, but here I was, my leg tapping away involuntarily with increasing ferocity as the Bolton hordes launched another attack.)

The 90 minutes are nearly up. How much injury time? 6 minutes maybe? 8 (EIGHT). Wow. Well, maybe. Goals, subs, the odd injury. We survive yet another scare. (They’ve stuck on a sub with pace who is simply waltzing through our midfield). We are camped on the edge of our box, all subs used. Then it happens. A ball comes in from the left, a Trotter goes down next to a Reds player (Earl?) the ref can’t wait to point to the spot. Now, obviously I’m biased, and I’ve since replayed it a dozen times...and the TV picture is inconclusive. Would I want it for us? Certainly. Would I shout for it? Definitely. Would we get it? Not in a million years. Still, there’s pressure on the taker, and Roberts has been magnificent. There’s always hope. Roberts saves, but the rebound falls kindly to the visitors and it’s two-all. I can’t say they haven’t deserved it, but one more point of order, m’lud. The goalscorer wasn’t in the area when the penalty was taken, but he’s undoubtedly in the ‘D’. I’ve long since lost track of the rule changes since I officiated, but shouldn’t this be a re-take? Or is that too much for a linesman and a ref to notice? Why else is he 4 yards ahead of every Reds player?

We kick off and Kane hoofs it straight to their keeper to start another Bolton attack. There’s only one team gonna win this now.

Onwards and upwards!

*** Roberts. Can’t fault for either goal, made some incredible saves and punched a corner out in a crowded area.
** The Frenchman. Intercepted balls, passed it around and set up the opener.
* Jordan William. What a difference having a RWB who can control a ball. Consistent throughout and made 1 or 2 crucial blocks.

Official MOTM: Pines

Londontykes’ MOTM: 1= De Givigny / Roberts 3. Pines

Despatches:
Up until they scored, Bolton’s best chance of a goal looked like giving Pines the ball to feet. I know it’s early days, but you’re either comfortable in possession or you’re not. What makes this particularly crucial is that he’s the central player of a back 3, meaning if he loses it, they’re clean through, which happened once. I also thought that having a giant centre half would mean we’d never concede off a corner again, but we always looked shaky last night. I did enjoy Courtney on OUR corners though…being marked by Big Vic, who may be ‘big’ in girth, but must be 6 inches smaller than Pines. Earl, like MDG, brought the ball out easily in possession and consistently found his men. Whatever I’ve said, these 2 are massive January signings and we’re a much better side for them, nevermind that it allows Jordan to be switched out right. What can go wrong?

Cadden never had the chance to get forward as much as usual, but at least wasn’t being skinned like Derby. Taken off at 68 for the fresh legs of O’Keefe. Kane...what can I say? He was blowing chunks after the hour and was always 2 yards from any ball, puffing and panting his way through the second half. If I give Collins fair dues for the tactics (high press), he has to take criticism for keeping Kane on. (Imagine a slower version of Russell!) Connell had a good game, getting about and putting in challenges, though, again, their fresh legs meant we struggled late on. Phillips and McAtee were playing well when they were hauled. McAtee in particular was causing them problems, but he was on a booking. Grant looked alright (for McAtee) while in injury time, Collins brought on Cosgrove for Cole. Cosgrove. Every match I see him barged, grappled, thrown over, without any recompense from the officials. Same again, as he’s barged, midair, off the pitch. They’re given the throw and (in my mind’s eye) run up the pitch for the penalty. (*note: some of you may have seen on Twitter that the referee apparently is a Washday fan. If so, incredible.) A former Londontyke (guess) reports another Londontyke (guess) commenting ‘he (Cosgrove) needs to be gangraped to get a foul’. Cole was a willing runner throughout, and if he had half of SSW’s nouse for a goal, woulda scored a hattrick. Did you know he’s been outscored by Pines in the last 9 games? Just saying!

Drink du jour: Leffe in Bramahs.

Away: 1,980. ‘Two nil and you f***ed it up.’ Cheers lads, you milk it. You deserved it.

The Damage:
c.£8 petrol
= c.£8