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.