Liverpool (21-12-2013)

Liverpool 3 – 1 Cardiff City, Premier League (21st December 2013)

Ticket: £42
Programme: £3
Half-time tea: £2-40
Petrol (£35 divided by 2): £17-50
Tea at services: £1-95
Car parking (£10 divided by 2): £5
Total: £71-85

For the final game of the year, we made another trek to Anfield for Liverpool against Cardiff. As it was a midday kick-off, and we’d be travelling up to Cumbria for Christmas, we drove this time, parking up right next to Goodison Park for £10. Despite the early start we were fairly glad this was an early kick-off as it meant we would be travelling for at least some of the journey in the light – on what was the shortest day of the year. Amazingly, we did the journey in 2 hours 15 minutes from Sheffield, which has to be a new record.

The game had been foreshadowed not by any events at Anfield, but by the palava at Cardiff, where the owner had threatened Malkay Mackay with the sack. A ridiculous situation as this was the same guy who had got them promoted from the Championship with a minimum of fuss. Liverpool, meanwhile, came into this game knowing that a win would probably place them top at Christmas, which had been almost unheard of in recent years. Things are certainly changing at Anfield, and if they can sustain this form until May, they will definitely be on the up again.
For this game we sat in the Anfield Road Lower stand (block 127), about 3 rows from the back. My girlfriend warned me that we would hardly be able to see anything from what were ‘restricted’ view seats. As usual, she was right, and we struggled (particularly in the first half) to see the action in the near goalmouth. A combination of the crowd standing, and the low roof meant that the view consisted of a narrow panoramic slit!

Thanks to my height, I was able to catch most of the first-half, when we witnessed another Luis Suarez masterclass. I have to confess that I had been a bit sceptical as to his striking credentials, but this season has all but buried those doubts. He was at the centre of everything in the first-half, and opened the scoring with a fine volley which had been created by some excellent one-touch passing on the edge of the box. Then, with Coutinho and Sterling, he split the Cardiff defence to create the second goal for Sterling – Suarez could have had it himself, but unselfishly laid it on a plate for the England midfielder. It got better from there, with the Uruguyan at the centre of everything in attack, scoring the third just before half-time. This was a technically brilliant goal, as he was off balance, and at an awkward angle from the ball, when he struck a superb curling shot into the bottom of the Cardiff net. His 19th in the league this year! Three nil and Cardiff already looked down and out, even if their fans were determined to have a good day out.

The second half opened with Liverpool still looking strong, and they threatened more goals but couldn’t quite create anything else. Cardiff managed a consolation header on around 60 minutes thanks to some confused Liverpool defending, making it 3-1. The away side played well in the second half, creating plenty of space and keeping the ball effectively, without posing a serious threat. The second half petered out to be honest, and though this wasn’t as bad as the Palace game, it was a bit disappointing to see it turn so pedestrian. Maybe this doesn’t matter if you are 3-1 up, and cruising, and maybe they were saving themselves for the Manchester City game on Boxing Day. The highlight of the second half was watching two pigeons on the Anfield pitch, who seemed determined to fight each other as close to the game as possible. That, combined with the strange view and the fine goals of the first half, made this a memorable game. Roll on 2014.

Handsworth (14-12-2013)

Handsworth 3 – 0 Oughtibridge WMC (Pete’s Patisserie Sheffield & Hallamshire County League), 14^th December 2013

By this penultimate football weekend of the year (for me at least), I’d pretty much had enough of the long-distance travelling, and with the nights closing in, a local trip had a certain appeal. And so, appropriately, I plumbed for Handsworth FC, where I had started the season for the #Oneclub friendly against Worksop. That was at the end of the July, with pretty much all the game played in the light – what a contrast today! I opted to drive the short distance from Beighton to Handsworth’s Oliver’s Mount ground, which took an impressive 15 minutes door-to-door – a nice treat after a couple of longer recent trips. The only down side was that I’d arrived just before 2pm, not realising it was a 3pm kick off. Not to be dissuaded, I went for a cup of tea (80p) and returned to the car to listen to the second half of Man City vs Arsenal. Incredibly it finished 6-3 to City, in a game which demonstrated the unpredictability of this year’s Premier League. For Handsworth, today’s game was arguably as important as the Etihad clash. Oughtibridge were 12 points clear at the top, but the Ambers had 4 games in hand, so this could be a crucial game today.

The first half was very evenly contested, judging by my record of shots on and off target. Oughtibridge’s number 10 hit an easy shot wide on 3 minutes, before Handsworth’s striker latched onto a backpass and ended up foiled by the keeper. The away side’s number 6 had a curling shot with the outside of his foot saved, and then hit a dipping shot just over. Handsworth had a spell of dominance in the middle of the first half, and sneaked into the lead when their number 7 (Danny Smith) planted a header in from the far post on 22 minutes. He’d been particularly impressive this half – winning the ball all over the pitch, passing and controlling with finesse, and showing great anticipation of movement around him. Handsworth’s grip on the game loosened slightly, but they were still showing great tenacity in tackles and pressing. Some tackles were perhaps a little over-zealous, with their pacy number 10 causing an outcry from the away bench with a sliding tackle just before half-time.

I grabbed a second cup of tea, bringing my outlay for today to £1-60, then trudged back for the second half. If I had wanted to, I could probably have watched this from the car, but decided to get closer to the pitch for a decent view. Handsworth came out looking determined to build on their lead, and their number 11 hit a shot which was tipped round the post by the away keeper, before a header went wide shortly after. Then for roughly a 15-minute spell, Oughtibridge controlled the game and began to look like they would get an equaliser. Still, nothing really materialised from all their pressure, largely due to some determined Handsworth defending. The turning point came on circa 60 minutes, when Oughtibridge’s number 6 received a second yellow for a late tackle. There was a brief flurry of pressure from the table leaders, but they gradually began to suffer with a man down. Handsworth’s number 9 hit a short straight at the keeper, before number 10 hit a dipping half-volley which was well-saved. Then in a mirror image of his first half goal, Danny Smith popped up at the far post to make it two for Handsworth and secure a vital win. Still they weren’t done, and a further 5 minutes of pressure resulted in a last-minute goal, slotted in by Smith after a neat shimmy in the box.

3-0 to Handsworth and it was a deserved win. They had fought hard for every ball, played some pacy attacking football and showed great commitment to win. What impressed me in this game was the way they attacked and defended as a whole team, with the defence, midfield and strikeforce playing as a compact and robust unit. Good luck to Handsworth in their bid for this title again this year.

Glebe FC (07-12-2013)

Glebe 0 – 1 Fleet Leisure (Kent Invicta League), 7^th December 2013

Entry: £3

Tea (x2): £2

Programme: £1

Train ticket (x2): £11-40

Coach ticket (Sheffield-London): £27-20

Total: £44-60

This weekend was a big one for football, with the FA Cup 3^rd Round draw taking place on the Sunday and the World Cup draw on the Friday. I’d been glued to my computer at work to see England’s group stage opponents – Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica – drawn out. The hot humidity of Brazil seems a longer way from an English winter gradually getting colder!

Like last week, I decided to do a ground which was off my radar, and definitely not on my list. When visiting a relative in Bromley, I took the opportunity to find a local match and went for Glebe FC, who play their home games at Holmesdale’s Oakley Road ground. This was about a 35-minute walk from Bromley South, and on various bus routes, so was a fairly accessible one. The ground was located at the bottom of a rocky lane, next to some allotments and a cricket pitch. £3 entry, but unfortunately the programmes had not yet arrived, so I made my way round to the main stand opposite the entrance (it wasn’t really a turnstile to be honest).

The stand was probably the most distinctive one I had come across this year. It appeared to be constructed from scaffolding poles which had been bolted together, with corrugated iron on the roof and back, and planks of wood with plastic seats screwed into place. Despite its somewhat rickety appearance, it was a fairly robust structure which had obviously received a lot of attention from some committed member of the club. It did me fine as I sipped on my tea, so well done to whoever built it!

Like the East Midlands game last week, I was somewhat dubious as to how good today might be. The Kent Invicta League had only become part of Step 5/6 in 2011/12, and in fact this was Glebe’s first season in the division. There was a pretty paltry crowd for this one, maybe due to a combination of the cold weather, a local Bromley FC match at Hayes Lane, and various other games in the London area. I guess it must be a challenge for smaller clubs in the capital when there are so many big league and non-league clubs vying for supremacy.

From the off, I was struck not by the game itself, but by the industrial language used by both sides. Every mistake, tackle or miscued pass was greeted with a volley of swearwords – not directed at anyone in particular, but more as a general curse towards an unforgiving football universe.

The away side (in navy blue) looked stronger, fitter and more organised. Their number 7 hit a shot to the keeper’s left which was saved before number 9 headed wide from a cross. Glebe (in red shirts and black socks) did threaten briefly, with their number 11 striker being caught just offside in the early stages, and a looping header from number 8 well saved by the home keeper. Fleet’s number 10 was then at the centre of a couple of attacks, hitting over after a well-worked move from midfield, followed by a stooping header which went just wide. Fleet then had a ‘Frank Lampard 2010’ moment as a dipping shot from outside the box rattled the crossbar and bounced on the line – I’m not sure if it crossed the line, but the incident certainly fuelled the vituperations of the away side!

The second half was dominated by Fleet Leisure, who showed greater fitness, quality and running for the ball. Glebe simply couldn’t cope with their superiority in midfield. Fleet’s number 7 forced another save from the keeper – moments later, number 5 headed in from a free-kick on around 49 minutes to make it 1 nil. They could have buried the game from there, with number 9 firing over when one-on-one, and number 12 hitting wide when clean through on the home keeper. There was a brief threat from Glebe, whose number 11 dribbled into the box before screwing a rare shot wide. The game took a slightly unpleasant turn when Fleet Leisure’s number 4 was handed a straight red for an unnecessary stamp on an opposition player. Despite the protestations of the away side and the provocation he’d received, I think he deserved it. The game was closed out with outraged cries to the referee, until Fleet realised that their 10 men had still easily taken the three points today.

On the final whistle, I was glad to get walking and warm up again. I hope I’m able to go to one of these Kent games again, as it had been good entertainment, and somewhere a bit different to usual. My only suggestion is that these games come with a health warning to those sensitive to the more ‘industrial’ words and phrases in the English language!