BFC 2-0 Scunthorpe United, Saturday 2nd February 2019

‘Mutton dressed as lamb?  Mutton dressed as yak, more like.’’

The pre-match meal of champions.

Well, that was easy.  An early goal up, another before half time and despite Davies tipping over a close ranger as the 1^st half drew to a close, the result was never in doubt.  I suggested we could all go home after McGeehan had notched the 2^nd and so it proved.  I don’t think Scunny had a shot on target the second half.  Mind, I’m not sure we had that many.  But with the team knocking the ball around confidently, a couple of rounds of ‘It’s just like watching Brazil’  were heard from the Ponty.  We are a team on the march.

More town centre rebuilding.

The Adam Hammill Appreciation Society (AHAS) also turned out in force, as the former Reds’ legend took to the field for new club Scunny, and till about the 70^th minute he was the only player’s name I heard chanted.  According to the papers today, he also should have had a penalty, having ‘been chopped by Pinnock.’  I wish I could remember it, but it passed me by.  As a member of the AHAS, I’d like to think it happened though.  Perhaps I was daydreaming, cos for once I was there for kick off. 

I still miss Grove Street School.

We went ahead with a very bizarre goal. Mowatt lined one up from 35 yards and just as I was shouting ‘NOT FROM THERE!’ the ball drifted into the middle of the net.  The consensus was the keeper must have lost the flight of the ball due to the low sun. Or put another way, I’d never have forgiven Davies for conceding the same.  Looked like the keeper moved out of the way of it. Anyway, thanks very much.

Note the sun in the keeper's eyes.

With Mowatt pulling the strings in midfield, we pressed on and scored another jammy goal after 41 mins, McGeehan heading home when the ball deflected to him.  Still, you have to be in it to win it and his late runs into the box are a thing of majesty.  The Oakwell Paul Scholes.  Scunny then have 2 chances to pull one back before half time and Davies saves. Always said he was a great keeper.

Match action in front of the old Main Stand.

Half time came and went.  I was back sitting downstairs today cos my dad’s friend is ill and couldn’t make it upstairs, so I did the decent thing.  Luckily (selfishly) I didn’t have to do the coffee run this time as she came flask in hand.  But one thing I don’t miss about the back row of the lower tier is the number of spectators (I’ll not call them ‘fans’) who leave the match early.  Do they leave a film early? What’s the rush?  Can’t afford to miss the start of whatever Ant and Dec are presenting this week?  At least the bloke next to me had forgotten to put his man perfume on this week.  Small mercies.  

The Ponty v Scunny.

All this waffle is to say that even a day later I can’t remember owt about the 2^nd half.  Something tells me Brown nearly scored. Kiefer had a goal disallowed, but looked miles offside.  But that was 1^st half.  Yeah, about all I remember was Hammill got subbed, the home fans sang his name again, and at the end he came back on to do a mini lap of honour and hug as many of his old teammates as he could.  Anyone would think he wishes he were still at Oakwell.  I know plenty of others wish he was.
In a word: comfortable
Onwards and upwards!
*** Mowatt .  Absolutely ran the show.  Give and gos, driving forward, supreme passing, scored.  Sponsors MOTM. 
** McGeehan.  Best central midfield partnership in the division? 
* Davies.  Faultless (though he had nothing to do, 2^nd half)
Londontykes' MOTM: 1. Mowatt  2. McGeehan  3. Cavare

In an away end far, far away...980 Scunny fans.  Good effort.

Despatches:

Cavare again looked excellent going forward and between him and Brown, the future of the right looks certain.  Pinniloss, in for Williams, was solid if unspectacular.  Pinnock was his usual level of ubercool and Lindsay had another good game.  Best defensive partnership in the division?  Thiam had a couple of decent runs.  Up top, Moore looked on point without ever looking like scoring, while Cauley had a very quiet game.  Still, best front two in the division?  
As ever, well done our privatised rail companies, as the Hull Trains vehicle we were on was 45 minutes late.  That’s 45 extra minutes in a cold waiting room in Doncaster.  Ba5tards.  The mood was slightly more chipper in Kings X, as a Londontyke who shall remain nameless (A. Reed) attempted to help the tourist stragglers at platform 9 and ¾ by renting a trolley for them to pose with.  They were not grateful.

Drink du jour: Schniederweisse (#7) and Weihanstephaner (Parcel Yard).  Inbetween?  Spiced rum and ginger ale (not ginger beer; we have learnt that lesson).

Away: 980.  Very decent, given their home average.

The Damage:
£26 train
£2 fanzine
= £28

The Tunes:
Plumb (Field Music)
Portishead (Portishead)

East Stand pano

Ponty pano (cheers Jonesy!)

Be proud!

Welcome to ....

Oxford United 2-2 BFC, Tuesday 29th January 2019

‘He’s a Poundland Andy Carroll.’

The view from the car park.

I thought I’d give it a week.  Y’know, to calm down and all.  But I have have had it up to here (raises hand very high) with that keeper of ours.  At Oxford he made not one, not two, but three classic Davies errors as we all saw what an ‘all-rounder’ he is. Chuck in some s*** kicking (well, he is a bit of a sh*tkicker) and we have the bloke who is about to break the record for number of clean sheets in a Barnsley shirt.  Go figure.  (I’ll figure it; 2 division 3 promotions – here’s hoping – and a period, a long long time ago, in a galaxy, far, far away, when he was half decent.)

Anyone remember Meccano?

Major error #1 comes off a corner.  A ball arcs to the back post and Davies watches..nay, GAWPS…as their forward moves 4 yards to head the ball in from 2, while a statuesque Adam couldn’t move one yard (stretching his arm out gives him another yard). Is it this zonal defence we’ve heard so much about? Cos that might explain Davies’ unwillingness to ever move off his line for corners.  Yes, so Cavare didn’t do great with the first header, but that ball which looped back was in the air forever.  We were side on to it and saw the whole thing. Pre-corner, Ollie said ‘You watch, Al, Davies will pluck this.’  10 seconds later, the same moustachioed gentleman leant forward: ‘You were right, Al.’  (We’d had a conversation all about Davies in the car.)

A sparse home end.

Let’s be blunt, it was no more than Oxford deserved as we’d pretty much been garbage till this point, save for a cleverly worked free kick where we pulled it back for someone (Mowatt?) to scuff it to their keeper.  We thought it was Mowatt, cos it was the finish of a left footed player on his right foot, but that wouldn’t make sense, would it, playing the ball onto Mowatt’s RIGHT foot? But it would have been in keeping with the performance thus far.

Then a ball down their right.  The defence are chasing back, no danger yet…but who’s this careering 25 yards out of his goal? Why it’s Captain Calamity.  Who has NO CHANCE of getting to that ball first, so, as their striker lifts the ball over him, he turns and watches, nay GAWPS (like the rest of us; we all were on this one) as the ball floats towards goal. Is it going in? Going wide? It hits the bar.  A stock-still Davies suddenly gets the run on and hounds it back to goal while their player chases the rebound. Davies is back on his line to make the save (a point those watching on telly at home have made).  But what galls was the way he just stood and stared until the ball hit the bar.  Davies would have been first to that rebound if he’d chased back straightaway.

Pointless building a 4th side, I guess.

We scrape in at half time.  We’ll make changes, come back stronger and wake the hell up.  What happens is we continue as we were for another 25 minutes.  Oxford go two up with an absolute gift.  A hoofed clearance lands midway in our half and as Lindsay chases back, the obvious thing is to head it to the keeper.  Only Davies has hared it out again and by the time the ball comes down for Lindsay, he’s possibly too close to head it; get it slightly wrong and the ball would be past Davies for a tap-in to them.  So he attempts to shield the ball back to Davies, and somehow…somehow…their guy wraps his leg around, gets a nick and runs in to lay it into an empty net.  Our only hope is the ref gives a foul, but really, no-one is complaining (at the ref).  We see it for what it is: an absolute balls-up between keeper and centre half.  Replays show the ball to be in the box when their bloke nicks it.  Davies looks distraught.  Good.

Thereafter, Davies pulls out save after save, in particular from headers at corners.  He’s not helped by Pinnock and Lindsay, who haven’t won a header all night.  Are their blokes just TALLER?  They don’t look it.  All I can think of is this zonal marking, where their players get a run on for the jump, while ours have a standing start (see also: Luton away).  Whisper it, but Davies KEEPS US IN IT.  But it’s no use ‘keeping us in it’ when you've gifted them two goals.  We are never going to score.

The Main Stand.  Population: sparse.

Then it happens: a give and go from Brown, a low cross, a Thiam tap-in.  Where’s this quality been hiding all night?  Thiam is instantly hauled off.  That’ll teach him. The fans have woken up again and we really go at Oxford now.  20 minutes to get an equaliser and with 11 to go, Kiefer delivers.  Brown is running down the left, Kiefer is pointing where he wants it and Brown puts it on a plate. Great finish though.  The unthinkable could be on – we could win this game.  Oxford look dead on their feet, we continue to press, but we only come close once, Brown cutting inside from the left, curling one in and the keeper making a super save.  I forget who said they’d have had Brown’s babies had he bagged.  Probably all of us.

So, a draw, and as we left, it was mainly a sense of relief rather than disappointment.  We’d got away with one.  This could…should…have been a Wycombe or Shrewsbury.  Instead, it’s a point towards promotion. You can’t win ‘em all.  Not with this keeper.

In a word: goalkeeper

Onwards and upwards!

*** Brown.  Brad Potts R.I.P.  The King is dead.  Long live Browny! 
** Williams.  He may be slow, but he’s definitely improving.
* Kiefer.  For the finish.

Londontykes' MOTM:  1. Brown  2. Ben Williams  3. Moore

A sheepish goalkeeper faces the travelling hordes...

Despatches:

I knew that pre-match music was a bad omen: Republica’s ‘Let’s Get Ready To Go’ a la Sunderland (lost).  

Those Londontykes came from far and wide tonite.  Including a car full from Kentish Town (cheers, Dave).  Mind, Lord S wasn’t happy when Ollie unleashed a bag full of craft beer in the back.  Very nice it was too, wish I could name-check it.  Still, Dave should try driving around France with everyone else smoking ganja and a crate of booze on the backseat, if he wants to know ‘annoying’.  Chill, man.  But it was good to see Stu (his local game), Milton Keynes finest…Kev had made it from Way Out East…did I see Jim Armitage?  The S.H.I.T.S. had made it up from Hampshire (though the Naval One needs his eyes rubbing, giving Davies a mark) and Nozzer had been given a lift from that there Barnsley.  Shame child issues had prevented Wadd from making it, our 1^st ever visit to the three-sided middle-of-nowhere shed that is the Kassam Stadium.  How we’d have got back without a lift I know not.  A horrid, horrid, ground.  One nice / strange touch tho: Oxfrod produce a home AND away programme! (Well, home and away front cover – I did wonder why the programme had a picture of Alex Mowatt in a REDS’ shirt on the front.)  Still, it marks a remarkable turnaround for our current star player; last year he was on loan at Oxford, warming their bench.

Drink du jour: A couple of crafties behind a narked driver.

Away: 657.  Like Pompey's infamous 'crew'.About the only area of the ground with a crowd. 

The Damage:
£24 ent
£15 car hire/petrol
= £39

The Tunes:
Thinking About Myself  (Cosmic Baby)

BFC 2-1 Rochdale, Saturday 26th January 2019

‘How many Jagerbombs for t’toast?’

Welcome to ....

Christ, we made hard work of that.  Hill’s Lidl had come to Harrods, scene of previous 5 and 6 goal beatings…not to mention the 4-0 we meted out to them away this season…and at half time the talk was more of the chances of defeat than winning.  Rochdale had broken a few times, 3 on 3, but usually got so far then chose the wrong option.  Meantime, we were choosing the RIGHT options, but were failing with the pass.  It was 0-0 and the only save I remember wasa comfortable take for Davies.  Nozzer was most downbeat; ‘if they score we’ll struggle to equalise, let alone win.’

The old (new) market hall bites the dust.

Within 9 minutes his prognostication proved ill – it was one-all.  Dale went ahead when Beckenbauer (AKA Jim McNulty – remember him?) took a quick free kick for their striker to be clean through.  The pass was along the floor and went through 3 lines of Reds players, though I blame Pinnock the most.  WAKE UP!  No need to worry about Davies saving it.  I remember when we had Steele in goal and the opposition would be lucky if they scored 20% of one-on-ones.  Yeah, yeah, not his fault, I’m being harsh, I have my own agenda, etc.

Darn t'well.

Luckily, before worry truly set in, we equalised. Ben Williams made a barnstorming run to the edge of their box before being brought to an abrupt halt.  While time stood still and everyone wondered whether a free kick would be awarded, Kiefer bangs the ball into the bottom corner from 20 yards.  The ref had better not give a free kick…

This woke the (home) fans up too, as up until now Oakwell really had been my favourite Pete Namlook and Dr. Atmo album – ‘Silence’.  Anyone would think we’d rocked up expecting the team to rack up the goals against mediocre opposition.  Oh.  For a minute and a half we played with some intensity, before we slipped back into complacency and watched time slowly running out.

New friezes (well,the horizontal bits)) in the East Lower.  About time.

Then we scored.  75 mins in and Jacob Brown again shows we’ve not missed Potts by turning his defender and, instead of shooting, cleverly crosses the ball low.  Dougall’s miscontrol being his one positive contribution to the game, as he inadvertently flicks the ball up for Woodrow to volley in.  Thereafter, we waste various counter attacks as Rochdale leave space behind them.  Their keeper is even managing to hurry up a bit, now he knows they’re losing….so it was with some mirth Davies got booked for trying to timewaste (he can’t even manage that). 

'Good game Good game Good game Good game Good game'

Then, with injury time looming, an almighty scramble.  Davies has ONE thing to do, catch or punch the ball clear.  He fails magnificently and Rochdale have 3 or 4 bites at the cherry before we scramble it away.  As everyone else said, we won ugly.  It’s 3 points, you can’t win in style every game.  Make no bones, this was a big, BIG win. 

Onwards and upwards!

*** Ben Williams.  Sublime.  Didn’t put a foot wrong (apart from missing a long clearance, recovering, then slicing it).  Got forward in support, defensively sound.
** Cavare.  I had various arguments throughout the day about Dimi.  Yes, his final ball wasn’t always all that, but he had just run 50 yards with the ball (twice).  And didn’t get beaten all day by his winger.
* McGeehan.  Never flustered.

Londontykes' MOTM: 1. Ben Williams  2. Cavare  3. Brown

Some bloke who's signed and never played for Cardiff has died.

Despatches:
Davies was back to his best.  Can’t catch, can barely save and couldn’t keep a clearance on the pitch.  Lindsay was very good, including his distribution.  Pinnock passed the ball around looking classy.  Hopefully the scouts blamed him for the goal too.  Mowatt was so-so, while Brown looks better and better (by the way, I notice Potts has scored a 2^nd goal for his new club Preston).  I don’t remember Thiam doing much, though he worked hard.  Dougall came on at half time for Thiam and didn’t put a foot right.  He can’t even get out of the way of players, which was his undoing for his customary booking.  Not impressed.  The front two were very quiet – yet scored.  Imagine the damage they could do ON form.  Oh, and a lively cameo from new signing Green on the wing.  He was lightning.  Within 5 mins of coming on, he’d chased back and won the ball, put in another tackle, and skinned them down the left.  Shame he went for glory with the shot that went about 10 yards wide, but he’ll learn.

Also, big thanks to Mrs Reed taxis, there and back from Donny station.  

If you squint enough, you'll see some Dale fans.

Drink du jour: Schneiderweisse in #7, Weihenstaphaner in Kings X, vodka and orange inbetween.

Away: 334

The Damage:
£24 train
£3 prog
= £30

The Tunes:
Lunatico (Gotan Project)
Last Train to Llasa (Banco de Gaia)

East Stand pano

Pano from the Ponty (cheers Jonesy)

The Posh Seats.  Empty.

So good they named him after my cat.

The Ponty v Rochdale

How many Dale fans can you fit in a woolly hat?

Welcome to...(2)

Jordan Green.  You saw him here 1st.