Game 2: Wimborne Town 1.1 Paulton Rovers (Friendly)

Game 2: Wimborne Town 1.1 Paulton Rovers (Friendly) 24.07.21

After last week’s game in the heat the dress code had changed to raincoat and jeans with an overnight thunderstorm and the threat of more rain to follow today. I decided to head down to Wimborne to visit their new ground on the other side of town. The drive was straightforward until I reached the turnoff for the ground and without the benefit of an up to date satnav took the road round to the left instead of going straight down the road. Once I was heading the right way I found the ground and a decent sized car park on the right.

This was one of the first games to be played at New Cuthbury and the uncovered area behind one of the goals was out of bounds. There were two small stands along one side with a bar / refreshment area further down. There was a long, shallow terrace behind one goal that was filled with Wimborne Town flags before kickoff. Both of the teams currently play in the Southern League, Wimborne one division higher.

We didn’t have to wait long for the first goal, the home side taking the lead after three minutes. The ball was thrown in from the left side and then passed into the centre. A great through ball saw a Wimborne player up against the keeper and he unselfishly passed across the box for a team mate to smash the ball into the unguarded part of the goal.

The home team pressed for more goals but were often caught offside or saw long balls reach the keeper instead. They had a great chance to add a second when a Paulton player gave the ball away near the goal but this time the shot hit a covering defender. Following an enforced substitution and a water break Paulton got into the game more and saw a couple of chances go wide.

Paulton started the second half well and were unlucky to see a good effort hit the post early on. Wimborne were able to clear the ball quickly upfield and it took a good save from the visiting keeper to stop them extending the lead. Paulton scored an equaliser after fifty minutes, working the ball into the box well and while the first shot was saved by the keeper he had no chance when the rebound fell to visiting player to finish with a low shot.

The game was really entertaining after as both teams went for a winner. Paulton had less of the play but the better of the chances, at one point we saw the ball roll across the six yard box with no-one running on to finish it. Wimborne’s best chances came from runs down the right wing but the winger took the option to shoot from a narrow angle or to run the ball out of play when early crosses would have been more effective. Just before the end a Wimborne player tried to head the ball back to the keeper but it was too soft and allowed a Paulton player to take the ball towards goal. His attempted shot was saved and two follow up efforts by team mates were scrambled away when they should really have scored.

While the game was completed in the dry, I did have to stop on the way home after being caught in torrential rain and a thunderstorm in the Dorset countryside. The rain was coming down so quickly I couldn’t see the road (or huge puddles!) ahead so was grateful to find a lay-by to wait for the storm to pass over.

Game 1: Wallingford Town 1.2 Farnham Town (Friendly)

Game 1: Wallingford Town 1.2 Farnham Town (Friendly) 17.07.21

Originally we had planned to start the season with a pre-season game at Clanfield 85 but problems repairing a puncture near the ground meant that we missed thirty minutes of the game and both goals (but not a penalty save by the visiting keeper) in a 1.1 draw with Oxford City. That game wasn’t added to the records and we then planned a trip to watch Holyport take on Thatcham Town, only to pick up a tweet on Friday that the game was off due to Covid-19. So plan B kicked in and I was relieved to meet up with Alan at Wallingford Town pre kick off.

The ground is set in a sports complex with plenty of parking on a hot day. After paying £3 admission we had a wander along the two sides of the ground with easy access – behind the far end was pretty much overgrown. The first half kicked off on time and it was Farnham who made most of the play. They had a really good chance to score early on when a pass set up an open goal only for the visiting player to stumble and mishit his shot, allowing a covering defender to clear the ball. Just before the drinks break they came close again, only for another defender to clear the headed corner off the line. Wallingford had their best chance just before halftime, a good run from the left side and cut in saw a shot well tipped wide.

A few minutes after the restart Farnham took the lead. A corner was played into the area and after two headers were cleared, a Farnham defender cleverly looped another header over the home defence and under the bar to score. The game settled down with attacks from both teams but few clear cut chances. With fifteen minutes left to play a Wallingford player was played in, taking the ball around the keeper only to be brought down for a penalty. The same player stepped up to convert the penalty, striking the ball to our right as the keeper dived to the other side.

By now we were tucking into ice creams from the main bar and hoping for a winner which came just before full time from the best move of the match. A great crossfield ball found a Farnham player on the left wing, he beat his man and put a low strong cross into the area for a team mate to run onto it and strike the ball past the keeper. A great end to an enjoyable match.

Game 3: Tottenham Hotspur 1.1 Inter Milan (Friendly)

Game 3: Tottenham Hotspur 1.1 Inter Milan (Friendly) 04.08.19

With the new stadium up and running at Tottenham, Paul and I decided to take in a Sunday friendly match against Inter Milan. This was part of the International Champions Cup tournament with games taking place in Asia, Europe and North America between twelve teams. Both teams had lost to Manchester United, Spurs had beaten Juventus who had drawn with Inter. We got the stadium early and walked around to find our entrance before entering the ground with a quick bag search. Our seats were directly behind the goal at the top of the North stand with an excellent view. The main talking point in the team news was Delle Ali was unavailable through injury.

Spurs started quickly and Sissoko could have given them a very early lead when he was played in but he couldn’t get the shot away. They took the lead from the next attack after three minutes, Lucas Moura took a through pass around the defence and hit a great strike past Handanovic at his near post. Kane had a nice chance with some great footwork in the box to avoid Inter tackles but couldn’t get a shot in. For a friendly there were some heavy competitive challenges from both sides. Inter gradually got back into the game and Brozovic hit the post with a long range shot before they equalised. The ball was played into Sensi’s path with a short pass and he had time to compose himself before hitting a low shot in.

The second half was disappointing as a steady flow of substitutes from both sides spoilt the flow of the game. Son had a good chance after sprinting from the halfway line but his shot was well saved. The game petered out into a draw and under the competition rules a penalty shoot out took place. Paul and I decided this would be a good time to leave to beat the crowds heading to the trains home but we heard Inter had won 4.3 from a passing supporter who had the shoot-out on his phone.

Spurs: Lloris (Gazzaniga 64), Walker-Peters (Marsh 80), Sanchez (Tanganga 80), Vertonghen (Alderweireld 46) , Rose (Georgiou 80), Winks (Skipp 64), Sissoko (Eriksen 46), Ndombele (White 80), Lamela (Parrott 79), Lucas (Nkoudou 79), Kane (Son 64)

Inter Milan Handanovic, D’Ambrosio, De Vrij (Ranocchia 84), Skriniar (Pirola 74), Candreva (Agoume 84), Gagliardini (Barella 46), Brozovic (Joao Mario 84), Sensi (Valero 83), Dalbert (Dimarco 74), Perisic (Puscas 74), Esposito (Politano 46)

Att: 58,905

Game 2: Crewe Alexandra 1.0 Burnley (Friendly)

Game 2: Crewe Alexandra 1.0 Burnley (Friendly) 20.07.19

As Tim had a rare Saturday off we headed up to Crewe for their friendly against Burnley. The Burnley side was a mix of 1st team regulars and fringe players as they had also sent a side to Port Value for another friendly. We arrived at the ground in plenty of time for kick off and purchased tickets from the friendly staff in the ticket office before taking our seats in the main stand. It had been raining earlier in the day but by now the sun was out from the clouds occasionally with a strong breeze across the pitch.

The wind was strong that at times the water from the pitch sprinklers was flying into our faces. Burnley supporters had a difficult decision to make with two games to choose from but the away section looked busy and we heard that one supporter was taking in a half at each game as they’d not missed a Burnley game since 1974. The Burnley team was captained by former Crewe player Ashley Westwood which was a popular choice with the locals.

The first half was fairly entertaining as the home side played some nice passing football that Crewe sides of old were famous for. England keeper Pope made a mistake early on when he dropped the ball from a corner in a packed penalty area but managed to recover it. He had to be alert later when a good Crewe move saw the ball hurtling into the area, ending up in the keeper’s arms.Burnley had their first attack of note after fifteen minutes and forced the Crewe keeper into a good save. From the corner a Burnley header went well over. Crewe created a couple of chances but lacked the final quality ball into the area.

After twenty-two minutes Crewe broke away after a Burnley corner and managed to work the ball to the far side of the penalty area where Kirk ran onto the ball and placed a low shot past Pope into the corner of the net. They had a good chance to add to their lead when a Burnley player slipped and lost possession of the ball. Crewe pressed forward quickly but their player took a shot straight at the keeper when he had team mates in good positions in the area waiting for a cross.

The second half settled down into a similar pattern. Crewe created plenty of chances but lacked the final ball or accuracy in front of goal while Burnley were limited to occasional efforts that ended up in the crowd rather than the goal. Pope had to make a good save late on when Crewe got the ball out to a free man on the far side of the box. The game got a bit niggly when a Crewe player was fouled and got into an argument with the Burnley player who had kicked him. Another Burnley player ran in and started to get involved before the referee calmed matters down. Crewe made a couple of subs and I was surprised that Burnley didn’t reshuffle the team to try and get back into the game. Late on Crewe hit the bar from a long range shot and Barnes summed up Burnley’s afternoon by miscontrolling the ball in the area and watching it go for a goal kick. A well deserved Crewe win.

Crewe: Jaaskelainen, Ng, Hunt (Jones 74),Nolan, Pickering, Powell, Wintle, Green (Lundstram 74), Kirk, Lowery, Porter.
Subs not used: Richards, Riley, Ainley, Finney, Dale, Sass-Davies.

Burnley: Pope, Lowton, Long, Dunne, Pieters, Guðmundsson, Westwood, Benson, McNeil, Rodriguez, Barnes.
Subs not used: Legzdins, Cropper, Younger, Glennon, Harker.

Att: 2,058

Game 1: Selsey 1.8 Worthing (Friendly)

Game 1: Selsey 1.8 Worthing (Friendly) 13.07.19

Decided to head to Selsey as it meant I could pick up Alan en-route for our first pre-season game. The entrance to the ground wasn’t obvious and it took a bit of driving around to find that it was next to the local Co-op supermarket. The carpark was full by the time we arrived so we found a space in a nearby road and walked over to the ground, arriving a few minutes before kickoff. Admission was £5 but included a free drink at the bar. The ground looked busy and Selsey’s Twitter confirmed later that over 200 people were in attendance.

It didn’t take too long for the first goal of 2019-20. Worthing’s right back played a casual backpass to the keeper without checking who was around him and the ball was picked up by a Selsey striker who ran in on goal and carefully hit the ball past the keeper. Worthing were soon back on level terms, equalising three minutes later with a long range shot from the left side flying over the keeper and in. Two minutes later they almost took the lead when the keeper parried a shot and a Selsey player reacted first to clear it away. Worthing soon had the ball back in the box and one of their players took it round the keeper to score. After 20 minutes it was 3.1 to the visitors with a wicked curving shot giving the keeper no chance. After the goal there was short water break due to the hot weather but this didn’t stop Worthing’s momentum and they added a fourth goal with a well struck low shot from their number 11 for his hat-trick.

For the second half Worthing changed their entire eleven but it wasn’t until late on in the half that they added to the scoreline as Selsey started to tire. The Selsey keeper made a couple of good saves and at one point was helped when the goalposts moved. Worthing scored two goals in two minutes when players dribbled through the defence and shot past the keeper. Late on they added a seventh when a player took the ball along the goal line, composed himself and then beat the keeper at the near post with a shot. In the last minute a carefully weighted clearance allowed the same Worthing player to accelerate past the covering defenders. He placed a low shot past the keeper for his hat-trick and the final goal of the afternoon.

Game 9: Brazil 1.0 Uruguay (Friendly)

Game 9: Brazil 1.0 Uruguay (Friendly) 16.11.18

A Friday night friendly and an opportunity to tick Arsenal’s Emirates stadium while watching two of the top South American international teams was too good to turn down. Met Paul at Finsbury Park and caught the train down to the ground just before they stopped running. There was a light drizzle that wasn’t a great concern as our seats were under cover near the back of the lower tier. The programme was £5 but was a good read with information about the teams, previous meetings and Brazil’s earlier visits to the Emirates.

There were a few Uruguay flags but the majority of the crowd around us were there to see Brazil or for the neutral, Neymar. The only gripe about the ground was the location of the seat numbers, difficult to spot underneath the seats. This lead to a lot of people coming in late and unable to work out where they should be sitting. The stewards did well to move people to the right area and stop people from standing in the gangways. Both teams had a mix of household names and some debutants. I was pleased to see that Cavani was playing up front for Uruguay as he’s always impressed me in televised games.

The start of the first half saw Brazil dominate with Neymar at the centre of the play. He was unlucky to see a free kick saved before having a goal disallowed early on for offside. Uruguay came into the game more as the half progressed and Cavani had an excellent shot well saved by Alisson just before halftime. Neymar mostly played off the left wing or midfield and at times it felt like he gave himself too much to do from this deep location to get into a scoring chance.

As the game went on it was difficult to see where a goal would come from. Neymar was being fouled by Uruguay players in turn and the yellow card count grew. The only goal of the game did come but it was in controversial fashion after 70 minutes when Danilo was caught by Laxalt when clearing the ball. The referee didn’t give it initially and only awarded a penalty after checking with his assistant. There didn’t appear to be much in it and Suarez and Cavani protested to the assistant for some time afterwards. Neymar wasn’t fazed by the delay and stuttered his run to the ball before smashed the penalty in.

Teams:

Brazil: Alisson, Danilo, Mirando, Marquinhos, Luis, Arthur, Renato Augusto (Allan 59), Wallace, Douglas Costa (Richarlison 67), Neymar, Firmino

Uruguay: Campana, M. Suarez (Lemos 81), Mendez, Caceres, Laxalt, Torreira, Bentancur, Vecino (Valverde 85), Pereiro (Rodriguez 77), L. Suarez, Cavani

Game 2: Infinity 7.0 Hartley Wintney (Friendly)

Game 2: Infinity 7.0 Hartley Wintney (Friendly) 29.07.17

The original plan for the second part of today’s double header was a game at Winchester Castle but two sets of opponents dropped out and it looked like there would be no game after checking Twitter. This left a 2pm kick off at Infinity and a 3pm kick off at Fleetlands – given the weather I decided to head to Infinity and meet Alan. The drive across was mostly in the dry but it started to rain again as I arrived in Knowle and parked the car.

This was another match full of goals. Hartley Wintney were playing another friendly in a tournament at Basingstoke so it was difficult to gauge how strong their team was but it was no match for the hosts. Goals on 11 minutes (shot off post and in), 16 minutes (pass into box missed everyone and went under keeper), 29 minutes (breakaway with shot under keeper), 42 minutes (shot following corner) and 45 minutes (penalty) gave them a 5.0 half time lead. We almost saw another goal when the Hartley keeper missed a backpass but luckily for him the ball went wide.

As with the morning game, the goals dried up in the second half but the sixth goal again was the goal of the match – this time an outrageous shot after 57 minutes. The final goal came from an unmarked header after 66 minutes. An enjoyable start to the season despite the near constant rain.

Game 1: Andover Town 7.1 Hedge End Rangers (Friendly)

Game 1: Andover Town 7.1 Hedge End Rangers (Friendly) 29.07.17

An 11 o clock kick off at a new ground with options for a double header meant this was an easy choice for the first game of the season. The match was played at Sparsholt College near Winchester. At the back of the main car park were two pitches, one open and one fenced off with moveable dugouts and goals. There was no cover for the 40 or so spectators other than the trees on the raised hill behind one of the goals.

The game kicked off on time with rainclouds threatening – typical English summer day! Andover are one of the better teams in the Wessex Premier and that showed against their step 7 opponents. There were six goals in the first half and the woodwork was hit on more than one occasion. The goals were scored in the 4th minute (low shot into corner), 12th minute (header from corner), 14th minute (shot that looked to be wide but had passed through the goal net), 31st minute (keeper lost the ball, striker knocked it into unguarded net), 34th minute (ball passed back on breakaway, low shot in) and the pick of the bunch in the 36th minute – a shot from nearly the halfway line that beat the retreating keeper. By now the rain was quite heavy and the brolly was up.

I watched most of the second half sheltering under the trees behind the goal, only venturing out towards the end of the game as the rain died down. Hedge End scored from a nice dribble and low shot after 49 minutes, Andover added a seventh in injury time, a lob over the keeper had enough pace to beat the covering defender to the goal line. There was one flashpoint towards the end when an Andover player was unhappy at a strong tackle, the referee inviting the visiting manager onto the pitch to calm things down and lead his player off for a substitution.

Game 3: Salisbury 2.1 AFC Bournemouth (Friendly)

Game 3: Salisbury 2.1 AFC Bournemouth (Friendly) 21.07.15

A bumper crowd of 1,727 were at the Ray Mac for this match and the queues at the turnstiles at 7.45pm meant that the kick off was delayed until 8pm. Eddie Howe brought a young squad with a couple of senior fringe players also involved rather than any big name players.

The first half was similar to the Bristol Rovers game. Salisbury made a few chances but had to defend well to keep Bournemouth out. The half time score lines also matched, Harry Connick winning the ball on the halfway line and outpacing the defence before tucking a low shot past the keeper.

Salisbury made a few subs around the hour mark that had an immediate effect on the game. A free kick was swept to the back of the area and headed back across the six yard line. Nolan got to the ball first to head it past the keeper for the equaliser. Things got even better for the Whites with ten minutes to go when Ford cracked a shot in following a good move down the right side. AFC Bournemouth continued to create chances but couldn’t find a way past the Salisbury defence. A first league scalp for the new club.

Game 2: AFC Stoneham 2.0 Whitchurch United (Friendly)

Game 2: AFC Stoneham 2.0 Whitchurch United (Friendly) 18.07.15

AFC Stoneham have been promoted into the Wessex League for this season so I took a short drive to visit the ground for the first time. Opponents Whitchurch United play in the division above and will be the first league visitors to the Ray Mac next month.

For today’s game there was no admission fee or programme. The ground looked well prepared for the Wessex campaign with a large wooden stand on one side and a new teamboard on the wall of the tea hut. The club share an entrance with a golf range and there was the occasional thunk when a stray ball hit the high metal fence that separates the two venues.

The first half didn’t offer much promise of a goal. Whitchurch looked better when they reshuffled formation after twenty minutes but there were few goal efforts. After several substitutions for both teams, Stoneham made the breakthrough in the 70th minute. A low shot from the edge of the box came off the post and the rebound was tucked away as the Whitchurch defence appealed for offside. Whitchurch lost a couple of players to injury and the second one looked serious as a player went down clutching his knee after a tackle. Whitchurch saw an effort well saved before Stoneham added a cracking second with a few minutes to go.