Ramsgate 1 v 6 Sittingbourne

Saturday 30th January 2010

Ryman League Division 1 South
Southwood Stadium, Ramsgate
Admission: £8.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 242
Match Rating: 4

Once again today, I ended up at a game that I had not intended to watch at the time of setting out, with the frosty weather game claiming my intended Kent Senior Trophy game at Deal against Sevenoaks, and, once again I ended up watching a high-scoring game with a team on end of a hiding, for the third consecutive game in a week.

On hearing that the game at Deal had been called off (how did we manage before mobile phones?!), I stayed on the train for another 20 minutes to take in the Ryman League Division 1 South game between Ramsgate and Sittingbourne - a fairly local derby. Southwood Road is about a 15 minute walk from the train station and it's fair to say that this is a typical old-fashioned lower non-league ground, with shallow banks of terracing at both ends, with partial covering, and a long covered stand with bench seating, entrance to which costs an additional 50p. The ground is perfectly adequate, but could certainly do with a lick of paint, tidying up and broken fences mended! Plus points though for having some character! The programme is an attractive and well-produced 52 page effort with all the essential information, however it is advert-heavy for a programme costing £2.

On paper, this game was a classic mid-table tussle, with Ramsgate in 8th place and Sittingbourne just behind in 11th, but having played two games less, and both teams were within touching distance of the play-off positions. On a beautiful winter's day - cold, but with clear blue skies and bright sunshine, this certainly turned out to be a game of two halves, with Ramsgate marginally the better side and certainly having the better chances in the first half and went ahead on 37 minutes thanks to a stonewall penalty which Warren Schulz converted, sending the keeper the wrong way. Just before half time, Sittingbourne scored a controversial equaliser when a scramble in the penalty box resulted in a shot that the Ramsgate keeper, Danny Twyman, saved, but according to the linesman, not before the ball had crossed the line. The Ramsgate players complained bitterly en masse to the officials, but predictably to no avail.

At half time, there was little indication of who might go on to win this game, and certainly no indication of the landslide that was to follow, particularly as Ramsgate had been marginally the better side. Sittingbourne took the lead a few minutes into the second half, and with Ramsgate looking a very poor shadow of their first half performance, Sittingbourne went on to score four more goals - including an embarassing moment for the Ramsgate goalkeeper when an attempted clearance hit the Sittingbourne forward and rebounded into the net, although to be fair to the keeper, he clearly demanded the defender to put the ball to his left, but the ball was played to his right. The last two goals were excellent long range efforts from just outside the box, which the keeper might have done better at keeping out. Ramsgate also had a player sent off for a second yellow card when they were 1-3 down with 20 minutes left, and which killed off any realistic chance of a comeback. It was just as well that the game was entertaining from a neutral's point of view, as it was very noticeable how sharply the temperatures dropped after half time with the sun setting, making it one of those stereotypical January days watching football when, no matter how much you wear, still your hands, feet and ears feel like ice blocks! Roll on those warm sunny football-watching days in April!

So, a very one-sided scoreline to the away team which was harsh on Ramsgate and in truth vastly flattered Sittingbourne, but who took their chances excellently and cashed in as the home side began to throw the towel in. So in the end, on reflection, the weather was kind to me in diverting me to an alternative game which proved very entertaining and full of goals.

Falkirk 1 v 4 Dundee United

Sunday 24th January 2010
Scottish Premier League
Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk
Admission: £20.00
Programme: £2.50
Attendance: 4,378
Match Rating: 3

The second game of my weekend in Scotland took me on a half hour train journey west of Edinburgh to Falkirk for this Premier League game between basement boys Falkirk and Dundee United, pushing hard for the “best of the rest” honours behind Rangers and Celtic. Falkirk Stadium, unsurprisingly for a new stadium opened in 2004, is located on the edge of town, and is about a half hour walk from Falkirk town centre and Falkirk Grahamston Rail Station. However, trains more frequently serve Falkirk High Station, which I used, and is about a 45 minute walk from the stadium.

Even though the Falkirk Stadium is one of the smaller in the Scottish Premier League, with a capacity of just over 9,000, it certainly looks impressive on walking towards it, with three modern stands with a curved design. I bought my ticket at the turnstile for an unallocated seat in the South Stand behind one of the goals, which was only opened at the start of this season. Everything about this stand is impressive, the seats were comfortable, plenty of legspace and a large incline between rows ensuring unimpeded views. The opposite North Stand is almost identical, the main West Stand an impressive two tiered stand with a similar design to the North and South Stand. Three sides of the stadium, therefore, are impressive and pleasing on the eye – unfortunately the fourth stand is a shallow temporary stand along the length of the pitch, with a red roof that contrasts poorly alongside the other tasteful blue and silver stands.

Dundee United were strong favourites to win this game, although Falkirk went into the game knowing a draw would lift them off the bottom of the table and were buoyed by taking away a point from their last league outing at Celtic Park. The game started fairly evenly with both sides having half chances in the opening exchanges. However, Dundee United took the lead on the half hour thanks to some awful defending, which set the tone for the rest of the game. On the stroke of half time, Dundee United doubled their lead, with the two goal lead a fair reflection of the first half. In the second half, Falkirk were truly woeful, with almost all of their players showing an almost total lack of concentration and application. By the last minute of the game, Dundee United had strolled into a deserved four goal lead, although Falkirk did pull a goal back deep into injury time.

On the evidence of this game, Dundee United do not appear to be missing their previous coach, Craig Levein, and look ready for a scrap for third place along with Hibernian and possibly Hearts. The omens look very bleak for Falkirk though after a wretched performance, looking weak and error-prone defensively and barely a threat going forward, apart from their newly signed man mountain, Enoch Showumni.

Hibernian 5 v 1 Hamilton Academical

Saturday 23rd January 2010
Scottish Premier League
Easter Road, Edinburgh
Admission: £22.00
Programme: £3.00
Attendance: 11,481
Match Rating: 4

This was yet another game that I hadn’t planned to take in. Spending the weekend in Edinburgh thanks to a bargain return train ticket from London to Edinburgh for just £18, I had intended to watch an East of Scotland League game at either Spartans, Edinburgh City or Preston Athletic. However a visit of the wonderful Edinburgh Castle took longer than anticipated, meaning that I would miss the earlier 2pm kick off at those grounds, and so I headed off on the half hour walk towards the Edinburgh suburb of Leith for the Scottish Premier League game between Hibernian and Hamilton.

Easter Road is a stadium that has seen considerable redevelopments in recent years, with three sides having large, modern stands with excellent views of the pitch. I chose to sit in the one stand that has not been redeveloped, the East Stand which runs along one side of the pitch, as this was the one stand with cash turnstiles. For the other stands, one had to queue at the ticket office to get a ticket prior to entering the turnstiles. I wish I had made the effort to queue. The low stand has had seats installed on a former terrace, with the seat rows at such a low incline that views of the action were frequently obscured. Combined with a low roof made even lower with a television gantry, this was one of the worst locations I can remember for watching a professional football game, and I would urge others not to make the same mistake by sitting in this stand!

On a more positive note, the game itself was one of the more entertaining games I have witnessed this season. Hibernian have been doing well this season, lying in fourth place and chasing hard for a European spot. Perennial strugglers Hamilton were down in 10th place out of 12, and so this game certainly looked a home banker.

Hamilton, however, can count themselves very unlucky to have lost by such a wide margin in the end. They looked the stronger team for the first quarter of an hour, carving out some good chances with Hibernian looking sloppy, and as seems common in Scottish football, the fans were already on the home team players’ backs. However, once Hibernian scored their opening goal, Hibernian transformed into an irresistible force, admittedly aided by some calamitous defending, and had opened up a three goal lead by half time, and it could easily have been more.

Hibernian would not have wanted half time to come, but events continued into the second half, and with 55 minutes on the clock, Hibernian had opened up a five-goal lead. Unfortunately, this seemed to be the signal for a quite breathtaking game to disintegrate, as Hibernian clearly decided to stick with what they had and became sloppy and guilty of showboating at times for the rest of the game. To their eternal credit, Hamilton never gave up in this game, and for the last half hour of the game, were by far the better side. They scored a consolation goal on 69 minutes, had several chances and it would certainly have been a fairer reflection on the game had Hamilton scored two or even three.

So Hibernian continue to push hard for European qualification, and for 24 hours at least, rose to third place in the league, and perhaps more importantly, opened up an eight point lead having played a game less than their bitter Edinburgh rivals, Hearts. Hamilton’s position still looks quite precarious with just three points separating them and bottom club Falkirk, although with only one club being relegated from the Scottish Premier League, their chances of staying up look reasonable, despite the apparent hiding they received today.

AFC Hornchurch 3 v 0 Bognor Regis Town

Saturday 16h January 2010
Ryman League Premier Division
Bridge Avenue, Upminster
Admission: £9.00
Programme: £3.00
Attendance: 207
Match Rating: 4

Oh, the relief of having non-league football to watch at 3 o'clock on a Saturday afternoon again! After a combination of waterlogged, frozen and snowbound pitches decimating the football fixtures for the past month, having to make do with games in the Football League and then, last weekend, the ultimate frustation of being unable to find a game to watch, today was "back to normal". Although even today looked in doubt...with many local non-league games called off as early as Thursday and many more on Friday, and with heavy rain falling in the south-east during Saturday morning onto saturated grounds due to the melting snow. However, the pitch at Hornchurch passed a morning pitch inspection, and on entering the ground, it was a huge relief to see a pitch in good condition with no standing water. That's not to say the pitch was perfect - as the game went on, the pitch cut up badly and produced erratic bounce which stumped players on numerous occasions.But at least the rain relented an hour before kick off not to be seen again during the match.

As for the Bridge Avenue ground, which is about a ten minute walk from Upminster Tube Station, it is certainly not helped by an athletics running track between the pitch and the spectators. Despite that, it is neat, tidy and well-maintained ground with as many as six stands, three along each touchline, although none of them having any character. The clubhouse (distantly) overlooks the pitch from one corner. The programme was a reasonable effort containing good information about recent matches and the opposition, although there are certainly far better programmes in the Ryman League.Team sheets were also distributed to spectators ahead of kick off.

Going into this game, Hornchurch were down in 12th position in the league, although only four points off of a play-off place, so congested is the top half of the Ryman League if one disregards the run-away leaders, Dartford. The position of today's visitors was far more precarious, having found life little easier in this league after being relegated from the Blue Square South last season, finding themselves third from bottom in the league having played more games than both teams below them.

The first half was a fairly even affair, Hornchurch possibly just shading it altthough Bognor Regis, to their credit considering their position in the league, always looked to play good football and created some good chances. Just when it looked like the teams would go in level at half time, Hornchurch were awarded a very soft looking penalty when Duane Jackman went down rather easily. Jonathon Hunt scored with a powerfully taken shot to the keeper's left. In the second half, Hornchurch seemed to up several gears and Bognor looked a pale shadow of the team they were in the first half, however, the game remained in the balance until the 64th minute. When a Hornchurch forward was clearly brought down in the area, the referee waved play on, signalling that the defender got the ball. A more likely explanation for his decision could be that he was reluctant to award a second penalty to the home sid.,However, the linesman indicated a foul and the referee duly awarded a penalty. Bognor made a bad situation worse, when their defender Lewis Ide was sent off for abusing the linesman. Almost the entire Bognor team then surrounded the referee and were lucky that only Michael Birmingham was booked. Hunt stepped up to emphatically hit home the penalty for his and his team's second. From this point on, there was only going to be one winner, with Bognor looking more and more disjointed as the game wore on, scoring a third when Jackman had a shot parried by the keeper which fell kindly to the onrushing Mark Janney to tap into an empty net. The result could have been even more emphatic than the 3-0 final scoreline, with Hornchurch hitting the bar and also guilty of wanting to walk the ball into the net rather than take a shot on several occasions.

So, a very entertaining game, for which both sides deserve credit considering the heavy and unpredictable nature of the pitch. As a result of this game, Hornchurch move within two points of a play-off place, but things look ever more percarious for Bognor, although on the evidence of this game, should have enough about them to haul themselves to safety in the coming weeks.

Aston Villa 3 v 1 Blackburn Rovers

Saturday 2nd January 2010
FA Cup 3rd Round
Villa Park, Birmingham
Admission: £18.00 (Holte End Upper)
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 25,453
Match Rating: 3

This wasn't a game I intended to take in. Indeed, having already visited Villa Park a few seasons back, I was not particularly keen to do so again, however unfortunately the ongoing Arctic weather conditions meant that beggars can't be choosers in terms of finding football to watch. My intention was to follow Charlton's game at Walsall, however despite early optimism from the referee himself at a 9 o'clock pitch inspection, shortly after arriving in Birmingham I found out that the game had been called off after inspecting again at midday. My desire would then have been to go to a non-league game in the West Midlands, however, unsurprisingly almost all games there also fell foul of the weather. The only game with any certainty to be on was the FA Cup 3rd Round tie between Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers, and so I caught a local train to Aston, from which Villa Park is a 15 minute walk.

Being an FA Cup tie, ticket prices were at a sensible level, and bearing in mind that the Holte End is where the most passionate Aston Villa support is to be found, I decided to buy a ticket in the Upper Section for £18. Located towards the back of one of the largest behind-the-goal stands in Europe, I was a little distant from the action, however on the plus side such a position does give a better panoramic view than is often gained from sitting closer to the pitch. I bought a programme which, by Premier League standards, I found most disappointing, with only 36 pages, very limited information on the oppostion and most features focussing on obscure stories from many decades ago and little about the magic of the FA Cup. Presumably this was a reduced effort compared to that produced for league games, and to be fair, the programme was at a reduced cost of £2. However, the programme reflected the tepid interest in the world's oldest cup competition, as did Aston Villa making seven changes from their previous league game, which was more than matched by Blackburn making eight. The lack of interest also seemed to extend to the fans too, as the attendance was around 10,000 below that for league games at Villa Park, despite ticket prices today being considerably cheaper.

As for the game, Aston Villa started much the better side and it was no surprise when they took the lead after 12 minutes, with the 18 year old Nathan Delfouneso glanced the ball in from a fine cross by Ashley Young. With one of their first attacks of the game, Blackburn had the chance to equalise on the half hour mark. However the Villa reserver keeper, Brad Guzan, pulled off an excellent save from David Dunn's penalty, celebrated all the more by the Villa faithful with Dunn having played for several years at Birmingham City. They were made to pay for Dunn's miss 6 minutes later, when the excellent Ashley Young was again the provider with an excellent free-kick this time for Carlos Cuellar to glance in similar fashion to the first goal. With Villa looking by far the more dominant side, the game seemed to be put beyond all doubt when El Hadji Diouf was sent off just before half time for a ridiculous two footed lunge near the corner flag. However, as can so often happen going down to ten men seemed to invigorate the side and on 53 minutes, Blackburn reduced the arrears when Guzan dropped a cross to the feet of Nikola Kalinic, who tapped in from a couple of yards. Blackburn continued to be much improved from their limp first half performance, and the outcome was in doubt right up to injury time at the end of the game, until Aston Villa won a penalty of their own and the Norwegian international John Carew cooly sent the keeper the wrong way with virtually the last kick of the game to send Aston Villa through to the fourth round.

This was an entertaining game at a very decent stadium, tinged with disappointment that the atmosphere in the Holte End was not as passionate as I had hoped, which may not have been the same as for league games, which links to my next disappointment that a cup competition which has so much history and tradition, which has provided so many wonderful childhood memories, is now treated very much as a second rate competition, an inconvenience, to the Premier League teams, and such lack of interest in the sporting elements of the game reminded me how so many aspects of lower-league and non-league football are much more enjoyable in my opinion.

The ticket for where I should have gone today...