Athersley Recreation (28-03-2015)

Athersley Recreation 1 - 0 Staveley Miners Welfare (Saturday 28th March 2015), NCEL Premier Division

Paper & gum = £1-20
Entrance = £5
Programme = £1-50
Tea = £1
Bovril = £1
Train ticket = £5-20
Total = £14-90

Welcome to the Rec! Such was the friendly welcome I received at Sheerien Park, Barnsley, for my second visit. This ground is surprisingly nestled in the Athersley area of Barnsley, a few miles north of the town centre, so I opted to walk it from the station.

The black and white of Athersley were today pitted against the yellow of Staveley Miners Welfare. As the teams headed out from the near corner, I swear I heard some fans cheer for the 'banana army'! The away side looked like a decent outfit, with 9 full of handy skill, and 4 and 8 looking industrious in the middle of the park. Their first real opportunity came when 9 hit the side netting on 28 minutes, though they didn't manage to forge anything more meaningful than a stray free kick. 6 and 7 in the Sthersrley midfield were strong and skilful, looking like they could contain the threat from the Derbyshire outfit. They pretty much dominated proceedings in the first half, so were rather unlucky to fall behind on 32 minutes when 11's dipping cross rolled in off a home defender.

After the obligatory bovril at half time, I strolled around to enjoy the sounds of 'Wake up boo', Fatboy Slim and latter-day Ocean Colour Scene. The chap in charge of the music was clearly having a great time!

The pattern of play changed slightly in the second half. The Rec came out looking galvanised by the goal, with an early chip saved, and 9 skying a rebound after a run from 10. At the other end, Miners Welfare had a couple of their own chances fired over, through 7 and 9 in quick succession. Athersley's number 10 then fired just wide of the keepers right post, and Staveley's 9 volleyed just over. It was fractional to be honest. The final score of 1-0 was a little unfair on Staveley who had toiled without reward. Nonethless I'd seen another rumbustious encounter in the NCEL. Thanks to Athersley for another friendly welcome.

England (27-03-2015)

England 4 - 0 Lithuania (Euro 2016 Qualifier), Friday 27th March 2015

Tea: £1
Coach: £40-60
Ticket: £32-50
Burger: £6
Tea: £2-50
Tea: £2
Total: £80-60

This was my first England international since the Thursday night game against San Marino, and I was really looking forward to it. After another long and dark winter, we're gradually emerging into something resembling spring. The clocks change this weekend, and the summer beckons.

I was relaxed about food with this trip, having only packed a few pieces of fruit and some yogurt. As I had a voucher for a free programme (saving a fiver!) I decided to treat myself to a burger and a cup of tea outside the stadium. Suffice to say it filled a hole, though I'm not sure if the £6 burger was worth the price. In fact, I found that the tea I had inside Wembley was cheaper and better than the one I had outside. Thanks to the coach arriving in plenty of time, I made my way into the stadium nice and early, which I quite enjoy - it's great to soak up the atmosphere pre-KO. Tonight, the Coldstream Guards brass band were playing some magnificient classics, including 'Three Lions', 'Colonel Bogey' and the Grandstand theme tune.

I sat in block 511 in the East side of the ground, which was the end England were attacking in the first-half. In this qualifying campaign, we have so far been excellent, with 4 wins out of 4, which is a real contrast to the tough start to the WC qualifying in 2012. Tonight's match against Lithuania marked the halfway point of the qualifying campaign. Within a couple of minutes of kick off, Rooney rattled the post when he rolled a shot on the floor after wriggling through, That could have been 47! A few minutes later, he did actually reach the 47 mark for England, when he headed in a rebound from Welbeck's fierce shot. Then a cheeky looping header dropped kindly onto the post for a relieved Lithuanian keeper. Welbeck was very much at the centre of the attacks, showing great strength and aggression, which is refreshing to see. He hit a right-footed curler wide before he scored a poacher's goal on 44 minutes when he prodded in a low cross from the England left. 2-0 and this was already comfortable.

The second-half continued in much the same fashion. While we were not quite as dominant as we had been against San Marino, Lithuania were struggling to keep pace with us. Delph's volley was saved early on, then the ever-active Welbeck forced another save at the near post, and had a decent penalty shout soon after. It was increasingly academic, and when Sterling turned in a cross from the right for his first England goal it was game over. This was a night of firsts, and the crowd cheered at the sight of Harry Kane warming up on the touchline. Unluckily for him, he had a long wait to come on, as there was a 4-minute spell of unbroken play! It didn't affect him at all, and he came on making an immediate impact as a substitute. With his 3rd or 4th touch of the game (reports seem to vary), Kane headed in at the far post to grab his first goal on his debut. I was delighted - it is absolutely great to see three in-form strikers playing for England in Welbeck, Rooney and Kane. The only negative on the night was a late reckless tackle from Sterling, which left a Lithuanian player on a stretcher, and very nearly caused himself a serious injury. He really needs to grow up and mature at times.

So the qualifying campaign continues to be a great success. As many have predicted it is quite easy at times, but the national team can only beat who is in front of them. For the progression of this promising group of players we need to be tested against sterner opposition, so it will be interesting to see how we get on against Italy on Tuesday. I am filled with optimism when I see Rooney edging closer to the scoring record, Kane scoring on his debut and Welbeck in fine scoring form in recent games. Let's see if we can take this to the next level against the better teams in Europe.

Liverpool (22-03-2015)

Liverpool 1 – 2 Manchester United (Premiership), Sunday 22nd March 2015.

Train (Sheffield-Liverpool) = £23-10
Ticket = £56
Programme = £3
Bus to Anfield = £4
Hotel £180/2 = £90
Tea = £1-85
Left luggage = £2
Greggs roll = £2
Total = £181-95

I opted to have this Saturday completely off nonleague hopping, in favour of a leisurely train journey to Liverpool ahead of the big derby. I say leisurely - actually we ended up being decanted at Oxford Road, due to an accident further down the line, catching a slightly slower Northern train across to Merseyside. I must admit it was nice to chill out, locate the hotel and wander out for dinner rather than the usual rush.

On the Sunday morning we headed up to the ground at about 12ish, after some breakfast and impromptu shopping (cooker lightbulb!). As an extra sign of preparedness we even bought the programme in the centre!

It was a crisp bright day on Merseyside with a blue sky. The streets around Anfield were already filling up with people crowding outside the pubs and takeaways. We headed straight in to the ground - block MS in the main stand, where we were one row from the back. It was a decent seat as anywhere further down and we would be eyeballing the rather unpleasant United fans in the Anfield Road end!

In the first half Liverpool were poor, and United clearly had a game plan. The home side had a couple of decent 5 minute spells, including a fine move culminating in a shot just wide from Lallana, and a wild volley from Sturridge. Coutinho looked to be their best player, surging through midfield and showing great strength on the ball. Apart from that United looked the better side, with a highly disciplined shape and organisation. They barely allowed Liverpool any time on the ball and frequently forced dangerous back passes and errors. Joe Allen, sitting in front of the defence, looked extremely fragile in possession. It was no real surprise that United went in 1-0 up, with a superb ball from Herrera slipping Mata through for a low finish at the Kop end. I should add that at half-time, the great Pele was out on the pitch, not quite what I had expected on a day like this – a nice surprise nonetheless!

I still felt optimistic that Liverpool could get back into this match. On came Gerrard for the second half and it seemed the cavalry had arrived. Then, barely a minute in to the second period, Gerrard stamped on Herrera and was rightly sent off. I couldn't see the incident fully so credit to the referee for spotting it. For a 15 minute spell Liverpool looked all at sea, and conceded a second when Di Maria's dinked pass set up Mata for a wonderfully acrobatic volley, reminiscent of Di Canio many years ago. That sparked the home side into life, and they began to attack with greater tenacity, resulting in Sturridge pulling 1 back just before 70 minutes. After that United shut up shop and I can't recall that many clear chances for Liverpool. There was at times a lack of imagination and pace from them, with Sterling looking particularly out of sorts. Then at the other end, United contrived to miss a penalty through Rooney after a player tumbled in the box. This result was a body blow in the race for UCL football next year, and it may consign Liverpool to more Europa League football in 2015-16.

Hall Road Rangers (14-03-2015)

Hall Road Rangers 2 - 0 Dronfield (NCEL), Saturday 14th March 2015

Train ticket (Sheffield-Hull): £25-90
Tea: £1
Bus: £2-50
Entrance: £5
Programme: £1
Tea: 80p
Total: £36-20

Twice now I've visited Hull in 2014-15, and on both occasions I have found the locals to be friendly and welcoming. The city gets something of a bad press, but I have only good things to say about it. As I was waiting at the bus station for the bus out to Dunswell, I must have looked a bit lost, as a chap sat down asked me where I was heading to. When I explained, he told me the bus to get onto and even went into great detail about the road junction nearby!

Dene Park has been Hall Road Rangers' ground for some years now, but they will be moving to a new ground at the end of the season. I wanted to get this one in while they were still there - in addition, it may be that Hull United (the other residents at the ground) will be playing NCEL football next year. The ground is accessible down a track signposting an Italian restaurant next to the ground - strangely there were no signs for the ground itself nearby.

Dene Park was another nice NCEL ground. To the right of the turnstiles (nestled behind the goal) was the seated stand (is that a contradiction?!) and to the left a portakabin doubling as a tea-hut. The ground was bounded by a wooden fence on all sides, and the main feature behind the far goal was the tree roots which gradually seemed to be swallowing up the paving slabs. 

Today's game pitted 15th vs 18th, so this should be a close one today. Hall Road started blindingly, with Mike Walsh raking in a superb drive after some excellent passing from Harrison and Start. The first-half was punctuated somewhat by late tackles, and a couple of bookings. There was firstly a scuffle on the far touchline (Hall Road's left-wing), which amounted to nothing more than handbags. Then Dronfield's 7 was booked for a rash tackle, while the Dronfield keeper even picked up a yellow (I believe for dissent). The away team seemed outraged at almost every decision, even when it was obvious that they were in the wrong. There were relatively few chances in this half, and it says a lot that one of the main events was when the corner flag was knocked out of position on 16 minutes!

The second half saw Dronfield suddenly realise they were in a match here. First they forced a superb tipped save from Janney in the home goal, and then number 9's free-kick was tipped onto the bar by another great block (followed by a reaction save almost immediately after). Unfortunately for Dronfield, Hall Road went up to the other end not soon after and made it 2-0 on 58 minutes when another excellent drive - this time from Paul Morrill - flew into the bottom left of the net. According to a post-match report, this was from 45 yards! This seemed to ignite Dronfield, but not in a good way. Richie Marples was red-carded on 75 minutes (I am unsure exactly what for, but for once the away side did not complain). Their rotten luck continued when 9's speculative volley looped onto the cross-bar. Hall Road's 12 was slipped through late on, and could have made it 3, but was foiled by the onrushing away keeper (who looked remarkably similar to Hugo Lloris). 

Ashton United (10-03-2015)

Ashton United 2 - 2 Frickley Atheltic (Evostik Premier), Tuesday 10th March 2015

Fish & chips: £4-99
Train ticket (Manc-Ashton): £5-90
Entrance: £10
Programme: £2
Tea: £1
Oxo: £1
Total: £24-89

There are a small cluster of grounds which I can now realistically do in the evenings from Sheffield, and Ashton is one of them. I must admit to feeling somewhat jaded from recent travelling before this one, but came away completely invigorated by a thrilling game of football and a cracking ground. Ashton United's Hurst Cross ground is a 15-minute walk from the nearby station, on a corner nestled behind a row of houses. This isn't actually that far from the likes of Stalybridge and Mossley, though I daresay its a tricky journey by public transport. The ground was a real gem, as you enter at the top of a few rows of terracing, onto the vista of two covered stands (one seated, one terraced), with some distinctive looking red crush barriers lining the edges of the pitch. The music in the build-up was awesome - 'Relax' (Frankie Goes to Hollywood), 'All you need is love' (The Beatles), and 'The longest time' (Billy Joel).

Ashton are in the title race, and came into this one on the tails of Skelmersdale and FC United. Frickley, its fair to say, defied the odds. The Yorkshire side threatened early on when Reece Thompson's cross drifted agonisingly across the face of goal on 2 minutes, and when Luke Hinsley fired wide after a smart passing move. At the back, Luke Hornsey and John Cyrus were immense in containing the Ashton strikeforce, with first-half chances limited to Dale Johnson's shot over, and Jack Higgins' header wide. They were working incredibly hard, and I was impressed they'd got to this point at parity.

The second-half was incredibly open. Ashton went 2-0 up with goals from Martin Pilkington and Jack Higgins on 63 and 68 minutes respectively. The second had seen a particularly good top corner save from Sam Leigh in the away goal, only for Higgins to slot in the rebound. Game over? Not in this league. Frickley seemed to grow in confidence despite the deficit, and were riled even further when a rough tackle from Jack Higgins sparked an angry reaction from the away fans (I believe they used the term 'chicken shit' to describe the referee's decision!). On 76 minutes, Frickley were handed a lifeline when Thompson was brought down in the box, and Gavin Allott coolly converted from the spot. Reece Thompson, who had been at the centre of many of the away attacks, grabbed a deserved equaliser on 87 minutes when he cut inside and rattled in a goal off the inside of the post. After that, Frickley could even have won, with a couple of half-chances not quite working out for them. This game was absolutely terrific, played at a fast pace, and I have to say well done to both sides for a great game of floodlit football played under chilly conditions.

Liverpool (08-03-2015)

Liverpool 0 - 0 Blackburn Rovers (FA Cup Quarter-final), Sunday 8th March 2015

Petrol £30 (estimate)
Programme £3
Ticket £34
Parking £5 (£10 divided by 2)
Total £72

For some reason, we have been unlucky enough to see all the home games where Liverpool have stuttered and struggled this year. They came into this one on a good run of form, having beaten Man City a week ago.

Frankly you would not have believed there was a Wembley place at stake here. Liverpool looked tired and short of ideas while Blackburn evidently came to get a nil-nil. The tone for the match was set when Martin Skrtel was KO-d for a couple of minutes, which was a concern given the seriousness of head injuries. The best opportunities were half chances at best, with Toure's poked goal disallowed for offside and a couple more efforts flying into the side netting. At the other end Blackburn's Rudy Gestede was a real thorn in the side of the home defence, and they were working hard to keep Liverpool's midfield 'box' firmly closed.

The second half was not much better and began slowly to peter out. For all their negativity it was Blackburn who had the best chance with Mignolet making a great reflex save from a flicked header. At the Anfield Road end Liverpool's chances were drying up with Henderson's flash drive across goal saved. Plenty of other speculative efforts were blocked and again it was clear that the home side had run out of ideas and energy. The only faint consolation was that they were still in the cup and did have a second bite at the cherry at Ewood Park.