Marine (31-01-2015)

Marine 1 - King's Lynn 2 (Evostik Premier), Saturday 31st January 2015

Petrol = £7-50 (£30/4)
Train (Liverpool to Crosby) = £3-70
Entrance = £10
Programme = £2
Bovril = £1-40
Tea = £1-40
Total = £26

Wednesday - I manage to get 2 late availability tickets for Liverpool-West Ham.
Wednesday eve - happily give my ticket to Mrs Groundhopper's mum
Friday eve - scour websites and fixture lists for grounds to visit
Saturday 9am - on Twitter watch as one match after another falls prey to the weather
Saturday 10am - decide its either Crewe, Morecambe or Bradford
Saturday 10.30am - discover there is a game on Merseyside which is on - Marine vs King's Lynn.

And so it was that I ended up going to Marine's Rossett Park, on an almost spur of the moment decision. Heading to watch a King's Lynn away game while so many others had fallen by the wayside was beyond any expectations. Mrs Groundhopper was off to Anfield again with her mum, and her dad was happy to explore the city centre, so we headed across the M62, doing the journey in a ridiculous of time of 2 hours!

After lunch in the centre, we headed our separate ways, and I strolled into Liverpool Central for the train to Crosby. This was something of a trip down memory lane, as I'd visited Rossett Park a few times as a student in 2004-2007, and had actually seen one of King's Lynn's last games there before they went bust in 2009. There was time to visit the sea-front before kick-off, so I wandered down to see the sand dunes and sculptures. This was a blustery day and the sand was blowing wildly across the beach, giving it something of a dramatic feel.

I was delighted to find that Rossett Park was much unchanged since my last visit in 2009. This is a cosy ground nestled in between terraced houses, and like the Moat (in Gresley) has only 3 sides accessible to spectators. The end behind the far goal has a block of sweeping terraces completely exposed to the elements, while the long side is narrow and wrapped in a roof of corrugated iron. The end nearest the turnstiles has a neat stand of seats, backing onto the obligatory tea-bar and hospitality hut.

King's Lynn came here as the 'fulcrum' of the league - i.e. bang in the middle! Marine, in contrast, were in the bottom 3, and slowly being sucked into the trap-door. We had not won away since the opening day of the season, so this would be a great opportunity today. King's Lynn started stronger, but the first-half was dominated by the home side, with Marine creating a cluster of chances. Tom Peers managed to get clean through after a mistake in the home defence, whilst James Short's free-kick flew over. On 20 minutes, Menagh cut inside to forge a chance, only to fire straight down the keeper's throat at close range. They then took the lead on 31 minutes, when Lloyd Ellams converted a penalty awarded after a foul on Codling. The only away chance of note was when Peter Winn headed over just before the break.

In the second-half, King's Lynn slowly started to go through the gears. Winn's free-kick flew over, and they started to get a proper hold of the ball in midfield. On 57 minutes, we equalised in somewhat controversial circumstances, with a ball from the right being turned towards his own goal by Bembo-Leta. The keeper reached it, and time stood still while the officials decided that it had crossed the line. That was a 'ghost goal' if ever I saw one!

Within 12 minutes, we had scored again. This time, Mettam slid in an excellent poacher's goal from the right side of the 6 yard box, although there was a hint of offside from the home fans. To their credit, Marine did not give up, and forced consecutive corners at the exposed terraced end. The first one was awarded when Alex Street tipped a shot around, then he denied Marine again with a superb diving save. Unlucky Marine then hit the cross-bar from the resulting corner. Somehow we hung on to claim only our second away win of the year. I have to admit that we were pretty lucky in this one, and on another day, Marine may well have taken all 3 points. I hope they manage to stay in this league, as they are a great club, and I look forward to visiting again when time allows. I was glad to get onto a warm train, and back to the car, after an icy day on Merseyside.

Liverpool (24-01-2015)

Liverpool 0 - 0 Bolton Wanderers (FA Cup 4th Round), Saturday 24th January 2015

Train: £22-30
Ticket: £30
Bus to Anfield: £4
Parking (£14.30/2): £7-15
Bovril: £2-50
Tea: £1-85
Total: £67-80

Every year, every season, I hit a low point, either through self-pity or actual physical illness. For this one, I had a strong dose of 'man flu', with a heavy cold and cough knocking me for six in the build-up. I wasn't sure that a late kick-off at Anfield would do me any good, particularly with the January weather getting colder. As we huddled with our bovrils just before kick off, two positive things happened. First, I realised I was able to connect to the LFC Fan wifi, so was able to check the scores as they came in. Then, we noticed two huge scorelines in the FA Cup - City losing at home to Middlesbrough and Chelsea losing 4-2 to Bradford at Stamford Bridge. This game against Bolton now had added significance, as a win would surely give Liverpool a good crack at a decent run this year.

The build-up to the game was dominated by talk of Emile Heskey, playing for Bolton against his former club. In fact, the key player for Bolton was very nearly Eider Gudjohnsen, who wasted a couple of decent opportunities for the Lancashire side. This was not a bad game, not by a long stretch, but another one where Liverpool were left ruing missed chances. They fizzed and sparkled, particularly through Sterling and Coutinho, and forced several superb saves from Bodgan in the away goal. Liverpool created plenty of chances, but just couldn't find the net, coming up against some determined Bolton defending. Having seen the same side at Sheffield Wednesday a week earlier I could see how they had managed to defend so well in both games - utter, resolute commitment to defending and stopping any attack. The Red men would have to do it all again at Bolton in a replay, not exactly ideal with so many games piling up. I was glad to get home after this one, and collapse in a heap before doing nothing on Sunday. 

Sheffield Wednesday (17-01-2015)

Sheffield Wednesday 1 - 2 Bolton Wanderers (Championship), Saturday 17th January 2015

Ticket = £25

On another cold winters day I headed across the city to what seems like an annual trip to Hillsborough. I set off just after 1.30 from Handsworth, catching a direct bus via the city centre. There were no travel costs today as I took full advantage of my bus pass.

 

 After a 10-minute walk across Hillsborough Park I had time for a cup of tea, before entering the ground at about 5 to. I have to confess that I have a certain fondness for the Kop here, where the narrow alley behind the stand is enveloped in a cloud of smoke and the brickwork feels like it has been untouched in decades.

Up to row 33, where I was perched on the end of an aisle. The stand seemed reasonably busy, and the brass band at the very back were slowly getting the atmosphere into gear. It was slightly muted and compared to last year a game against Barnsley the round of 'Hi ho Sheffield Wednesday' was fairly quiet. The atmosphere did gradually build through the game and by the end the Kop was noisy and parochial.

The opposition today were a solid if unspectacular Bolton Wanderers, led by Neil Lennon. There was a cluster of fans in the upper tier of the Leppings Lane end who'd made their way across the Pennines. Bolton took an early lead thanks to a mixup in the home midfield which left Feeney to slot home on 6 minutes. They looked sharper in the opening 20 minutes, with some neat passing and footwork particularly in midfield. It wasn't a great surprise when they doubled their lead on 25 minutes when Pratley seized on the ball on the edge of the D and slammed it home. The Kop were yelling 'handball' but replays showed it definitely hit his chest. The second seemed to spark Wednesday into life, and they responded with Chris Maguire scoring a penalty in front of the home fans. They were now seeing a lot of the ball, and it didn't look so bad as it had. I should add that the period before half-time saw some torrential rain and sleet, which had subsided come the break.

The second half was a frustrating one for Wednesday, who continued to dominate proceedings in the middle of the park, with little or no reward. Maghoma and May looked most threatening down the left wing. In fact Bolton looked most like scoring, forcing two diving saves from Lonergan in quick succession. Frustration grew and on 83 minutes Hutchinson was dismissed for a second yellow card - for a flying and high challenge in the centre circle. That seemed to spark the Owls into life again, and almost immediately they started creating chances. First Nuhiu drove a fine shot against the cross bar, and Stevie May headed in the rebound only for the goal to be ruled out for offside. The Kop were furious - there is nothing like a sense of injustice to fuel anger at football. By now we had reached 90 minutes, and the clamour grew when the board went up with 6 minutes injury time. It just wasn't to be though with another shot cannoning onto the cross bar after a fine fingertip save by Lonergan. A bloke along from me screamed 'you lucky b******s', probably summarising a frustrating day for Wednesday. Bolton were a half decent side but they should really have shared the spoils after this one. They had to their credit been hard to break down, which is key in such a tough league. Next week I'll be at Anfield watching Liverpool take them on in the FA Cup - lets hope they get a lot more luck than the hapless Owls today.

Mossley (10-01-2015)

Mossley 1 - 1 Burscough (Evostik Division 1 North), Saturday 10th January 2015

Train (Manc-Mossley) = £4
Toilet = 20p
Entry = £8
Programme = £2
Tea = £1
Bovril = £1
Sandwich = £2
i-Paper = 40p
Total = £18-60

I'm now on the mid-winter carousel, and set off today with a list of 4 possible games, not knowing which one I would end up at. Thanks to a positive tweet from Mossley ('Match is ON!'), and a postponements at Ashton Town, I headed up to Seel Park. Mossley is 3-4 miles north of Stalybridge, and from Piccadilly it is accessible by 2 trains. Changing at Stalybridge brought back happy memories of August 2008, when King's Lynn had visited Bower Fold - the game which felt like the start of our Blue Square North adventure.

 

After a short train ride from 'Staly', I ascended a steep hill and turned left, cutting through a few side streets to reach the ground. The map showed the station pretty much next to the ground, but the Manchester A-Z does not include contour lines, so I had no idea that this was actually perched on a hill! The scenery was stunning, with the town nestled on the edge of the Pennines, near Abraham's Chair and Alphin Pike. The vista from the ground certainly rivalled that of Colne and Ramsbottom.

Seel Park was a beauty. Entering through the (rather stiff and rusty!) turnstile led out onto the top of some steeping terracing. To my left was a stand held together by what appeared to be girders, and to my right the terraces swept down towards a covered standing area, where supporters were beginning to gather. The old-school feel of the ground reminded me of Methyr's Pendarren Park and Chorley's Victory Park.

Today's game pitted Mossley (10th) against Burscough (12th), with 4 points separating the two sides. In my experience this league offers a lot so I was looking forward to this one. As the game kicked off, the vicious wind worsened, and I took some shelter with my back to the valley. This made no difference, and it was absolutely freezing up there! Mossley started more brightly, with Rio Ahmadi stretching for an early shot which drifted over on 8 minutes. Sam Robinson then forced a near-post paw from Calvin Hare in the away goal from a tight angle. Burscough looked like the away side, and were most effective when launching swift counter-attacks. Early on Jordan Williams twisted and turned to get a shot away, but to no avail. Again, Mossley's Ahmadi came close, firing a snap shot narrowly wide. Bizarrely the ball went out for a throw-in, such was the power of the wind. Burscough sent a warning on 33 minutes when Darren Schofield's flicked header nearly went in, and then took the lead on 37 minutes with a free-kick from Williams. At this point, it began to snow, and with the wild wind turning into a gale, I don't know how the players made it to half-time.

It was now freezing and I headed to the bar to get warm and check the Premiership scores. This wasn't quite as cold as Workington in 2008, but came close. When the second-half came, and I stuck my head above the parrapet, the wind and snow had completely disappeared. Mossley had the better of the chances in this half, with Robinson at the heart of the early action. First he had an angled shot saved, then was involved in a 3-way collision with a couple of defenders. The ball drifted clear, and the keeper was stranded off his line. Arron Hevingham hesitated, and despite the crowd shouting 'shoot', decided to pass to someone else. The moment had passed.

Robinson again had another chance, this time flashing a header wide. Tom Pratt looked like he would equalise when he hit a volley with plenty of time on the ball, but again it went wide. Mossley finally and deservedly equalised when Kyle McGonigle's superb free-kick flew into the net. Game on. Mossley - or Mozzley as the locals seemed to pronounce it - were determined to score, but they were somehow prevented by some stout defending, missed chances and some smart passing from Burscough. Caldon Henson in their right-back position looked dangerous coming forward and frequently caused problems on the Burscough left. Burscough admittedly threw in several questionable challenges, to the anger of the home crowd, and the game was increasingly characterised by some fierce midfield battles. In all, 8 yellow cards were shown (4 to each side).

Burscough, to their credit, never gave up, and somehow held on for a point. Mossley, despite a strong performance (particularly in the second half), were disappointed to come away with only a draw with their close rivals. As the game finished with the floodlights on full blare, the wind picked up again, and sleet started to fall. I was glad to get moving after this one, but I have to say well done to both sides on a cracking game on a potentially miserable winter's day.

Liverpool (01-01-2015)

Liverpool 2 - 2 Leicester City (Premiership), Thursday 1st January 2015

Ticket = £51

Petrol = £20-50 (£41 divided by 2)

Programme = £3

Pie and tea = £5-80

Parking = £5 

Total = £75-30

Our new year began with another visit to Anfield, where we haven't actually been since the late win over Swansea in the League Cup. It often ends up that we have a glut of games, then nothing for ages. We drove across to Merseyside this time, as we were heading up to Cumbria after the game.  Unbelievably it took 2 hours via the M62, which beats our previous best of 2hr 15 mins!

There's no disguising the fact that Liverpool have had a disappointing season thus far. Although they had managed a couple of wins and a decent draw against Arsenal, Liverpool's performances have a disjointed feel to them so far. There have definitely been sparks of brilliance, and we saw a lot of promise in the 4-1 win over Swansea, but this team is a shadow of what they were last year.

Leicester came here off the back of their first league win for ages, having lost something like 8 games in a row before that. This game was an intriguing one, with the away side looking quite prepared to mix up the play, looking to both get the ball on the floor and through the sir when required. Despite Liverpool's early dominance of possession and creating a few half chances, Leicester nearly led when a cheeky free kick rattled the post.

After that Liverpool were in the ascendancy. Coutinho looked particularly strong and influential - he has significantly improved on the physical side of his game and can now cope with the more robust tackles he faces. 

However for all their effort, Liverpool couldn't break the deadlock. That is until an unfortunate Leicester defender was penalised for handball after slipping on about 22ish minutes. Gerrard converted the resulting penalty at the Anfield Road end. The home side were buoyed by the goal and were pretty much camped on the edge of the away box for the remainder of the half. They made it 2-0 when another handball resulted in another Gerrard penalty - this time to the keeper's right. 

The second half ebbed and flowed, and was a real contest in the middle. Surely Liverpool wouldn't blow a 2-goal lead?! By sheer willpower, Leicester forced their way into the game and the home side's fragile defence must have given them some encouragement. David Nugent - who had been at the centre of many Leicester attacks - made it 2-1 with a superb angled volley inside the box. This was a moment of real quality as he had managed to get power and accuracy on a difficult first time shot. Liverpool looked like they were ready to crumble, and Leicester inexplicably brought themselves level when a simple run and square back allowed their striker to slot in from the edge of the box. This was a poor goal to concede, and I was left scratching my head as to where the defence had been. After that either side could have won it, and there were several nervy moments (mainly when Leicester crossed the ball!) before Liverpool scraped home. This game was perhaps typical of their season, with plenty of sparky attacking play counterbalanced by schoolboy defending, and an inability to defend a lead. It will be interesting to see how they fare in the cups this year given that their league form is so erratic. I wonder what I'll be writing about this time next year!