Charlton Athletic 2 v 1 Swindon Town

Monday 18th May 2010
League 1 Play-off Semi-Final Second Leg
Score 2-1 (3-3 on aggregate after extra time, 4-5 on penalties)
The Valley, Charlton
Admission: £17.00
Programme: £3.00

Attendance: 21,521

Match Rating: 4

For a Charlton fan, this was the biggest game for many a season, a rare highlight after several disappointing seasons that has seen Charlton plummet from being an established Premiership club to the third tier of English football in just four seasons. The first leg of this play-off semi final set the tie up deliciously, with Swindon recording a 2-1 victory at the County Ground, although in truth they should have headed to London for the second leg with a more comfortable cushion, squandering some wonderful chances. The two teams have been evenly matched all season, with only two points separating the teams in the final league standings, and both regular league games ended in draws.

For this game, I was seated in the Upper North Stand, directly behind the goal, which offered an excellent view of the action, with plenty of legroom and the rows are sufficiently inclined. Indeed, The Valley is a fine place to watch football, with large concourses en route to the stands, with only the Lower North Stand feeling rather cramped and with a low incline between seats and the South Stand, given to away fans, which is somewhat cramped. As usual, the programme at Charlton is an above average publication, with plenty of readable articles of interest to home, away and neutral fans.

The game itself had a most unfortunate opening, when the Swindon goalkeeper, David Lucas, collided with his own player and fell awkwardly in the first minute of the game, and after around five minutes of treatment, had to be helped from the field with a shoulder injury. The more the first half went on, the more Charlton dominated the game both in terms of possession and chances, and it was no surprise when they took the lead on the night to level the scores overall on 27 minutes, when Simon Ferry stabbed the ball into his own net, and on the stroke of half time, Charlton took the lead in the tie for the first time when Dave Mooney fired in from 16 yards with a good finish.

At half time, with Charlton flooding forward at will and Swindon looking increasingly desperate in defence, Charlton looked a good bet to make it to the Wembley final, all the more so when Swindon were reduced to ten men on 67 minutes when Gordon Greer was rightly sent off for an awful high lunge on Deon Burton. However, five minutes later, Swindon brought the scores level on aggregate thanks to some shocking defending allowing Danny Ward to poke the ball past Darren Randolph in the Charlton goal. From this point on, play switched from end to end, and either side could have won it, and deep in to injury time at the end of normal time, Charlie Austin spun past Miguel Angel Llera for a potential one-on-one with the goalkeeper, until Llera rugby tackled Austin to the ground. A well deserved red card for Llera, but this probably saved the game for Charlton and ensured extra time would be called for.

Extra time started much the same as normal time ended, although chances dried up the longer it went on, probably with the fear of losing the game overtaking the desire to win it. That said, Charlton had two glorious chances to win the game in the second period of injury time, but it was not to be and the match headed for a penalty shoot out. Nicky Bailey was the unfortunate player to be the only person to miss from the ten penalty kicks, which meant that Swindon booked a day out to Wembley. There are pros and cons of the play-off system as I have discussed previously, but overall there are probably more pros than cons. A penalty shoot-out to decide promotion has always seemed wholly unsatisfactory to me, either a replay, awarding promotion to the higher placed team in the league or the winner of the aggregate score in the games between the two teams during the season would be possible fairer options.

Sligo Rovers 1 v 2 Bohemians

Saturday 8th May 2010
League of Ireland Premier Division
The Showgrounds, Sligo
Admission: €15.00
Programme: €4.00
Attendance: 2,200
Match Rating: 4

















A trip to the Republic of Ireland for this weekend’s entertainment, once again made possible by Ryanair’s ridiculously cheap ticket prices. Living outside of Ireland, without taking time off from work, it is quite difficult to take in a League of Ireland game generally, as nearly all games are played on Friday evenings. Happily, this season Sligo Rovers are playing their games on Saturday evenings, and so I booked a flight to Knock airport on Saturday morning and then made the 45 minute coach journey up to Sligo close to the north west coast of Ireland. Sligo is a pleasant town to spend a weekend, and as this was a warm and sunny day, I made my way to Strandhill for a very relaxing afternoon on a peaceful sandy beach before the game.

On returning to Sligo, I made my way to The Showgrounds, which is about a ten minute walk away from the train and bus stations. The Showgrounds is certainly one of the nicer stadia I have visited this season, boasts some glorious background scenery looking from the large modern all seater main stand, with mountains visible in the distance and with Sligo Cathedral closer behind a smaller, rather old fashioned all seater stand. Behind one of the goals is a shallow bank of terracing, and behind the other just hard standing. The programme was an excellent effort, printed on high quality paper and all in colour and with more than enough information about both teams and how they have been doing so far this season. At €4 this seemed expensive to me, but then most things seem expensive in Ireland to an Englishman...

Both sides have had a rather disappointing season so far. Going into this round of games, Sligo Rovers were down in eighth place in the ten team league, and had scored just once in their last four games. Bohemians, champions of Ireland for the last two seasons, have so far found the going a little tougher this season, finding themselves down in 5th place, 6 points off of the top two, although with a strong looking squad, it is surely only a matter of time before the Bohemians juggernaut clicks into gear.

On a gorgeously sunny evening - certainly an attractive argument in favour of the football season being played over the summer months - Sligo certainly had more of the attacking play, but too many times their play seemed to fall apart as they approached the penalty area, often seeming to want to take unnecessary touches and sideways passes instead of taking a shot or making an incisive pass. Bohemians always looked more composed and more of a direct threat and it was no surprise when they took the lead just after the half hour when Jason Byrne converted Paul Keegan's cross into the net.

The rest of the half was played out without major incident, but after the break Sligo were a transformed side, showing much more threat and the former Cameroon international, Joseph Ndo, creating most of the home side's chances from the wing. Indeed, Ndo claimed the assist for Sligo's equaliser on 58 minutes, when his corner was met perfectly by a Matthew Blinkhorn header. Sligo then continued to push hard and had three or four gilt edged chances to score, including hitting the crossbar, but as the game wore on, it looked like Sligo would have to settle for a draw. In the end, they didn't even get that, when a rare second half foray forward resulted in the winning goal for Bohemians, when Aaron Greene crossed the ball from one side of the pitch to the other, and Mark Quigley rifled home a good finish.

Chelsea Youth 2 v 1 Aston Villa Youth

Tuesday 4th May 2010
FA Youth Cup Final
Stamford Bridge, London
Admission: £3.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 10,447
Match Rating: 3

This evening I decided to take in my second FA Cup final in two days, this time the Youth Cup, with the added bonus of bargain ticket prices, which I ordered online, allowing me to tick another of the best stadia in England off of the list. It's another ground I've been wanting to visit for a number of years, but have been utterly reluctant to pay the ridiculous ticket prices that Chelsea normally charge.

Stamford Bridge is very conveniently located just a few minutes walk from Fulham Broadway tube station, and it certainly a vastly improved and fully modernised stadia these days. There are a number of nice touches around the outside of the ground, beginning with a brass band playing as you enter the complex and a long mural of photos providing excellent opportunities for fans to have their photo taken next to their favourite player, or with a trophy. As the stadium is tightly packed into a residential area, it gives quite an impression of awe, which is not truly justified with the relatively small size of the ground. As you enter the stadium, the concourses are some of the nicest I have experience at a league ground, bright, fresh, clean and colourful - not the usual grey stone walls that makes one feel somewhat imprisoned. As I made my way to my seat in the lower tier of the Matthew Harding (North) Stand, the stadium was impressive without being "awesome". With a 10,000 capacity anticipated, only the lower sections of three stands were open to spectators, and the West Stand was completely closed. The 28 page programme provided all of the basic information required to inform spectators of both squads and their roads to the final, and was a quite typical glossy publication produced at FA events.

Tonight's game was the second leg of the final, which was evenly poised after a 1-1 draw at Villa Park the previous week.Home advantage would make Chelsea slight favourites, but away goals do not count double in this competition, so Chelsea's away goal was irrelevant. Chelsea have been formidable in the competition so far, conceding two goals in six games and keeping 4 clean sheets, and recorded three 4-0 wins en route to the final. Aston Villa have had a less rampant route to the final, although they did manage to go to Newcastle in the semi-finals and get the win they needed to claim the aggregate win.

The game started off evenly but with Chelsea having the better chances, so it was a slight surprise when Aston Villa took the lead on 33 minutes, when Ryan Simmonds whipped in a good ball from out wide for Kofi Powser head the ball powerfully wide of the keeper and into the net, judged to perfection. For the rest of the half, Chelsea continued to look the better team but couldn't find the net. This continued into the second half, which Chelsea almost entirely dominated, and they eventually scored their deserved equaliser on 65 minutes, when a swift counter attack resulted in Marko Mitrovic converting a Jocopa Sala cross low past the keeper. Aston Villa did then come back into the game and created some reasonable chances as the game became quite end-to-end, but just as the game was looking like it was heading towards extra time, Chelsea won the game thanks to a wonderful by their captain Connor Clifford, who struck a powerful shot past the keeper from 25 yards out. Chelsea almost extended their lead as the game entered injury time, when a Mitovic shot hit the crossbar, bounced up and back down on the crossbar again, before bouncing away.

And so, Chelsea held on to claim a deserved but narrow 3-2 victory on aggregate, and this could set Chelsea to be only the fifth club to have won both the FA Youth Cup and FA Cup in the same season if, as predicted, their first team go on to beat Portsmouth in the FA Cup final in a couple of weeks time. This was an entertaining game which, in theory, bodes well for the future, with plenty of skill on display from both teams. However, it will be interesting to see how many of these players actually make it to their respective first teams, most likely not too many, although the Chelsea defender, Jeffrey Bruma, has already made his league debut and is predicted to play a greater role in the Chelsea first team squad next season. For the future of English football, it is also disappointing to see how many of the youngsters are from foreign shores and so will not be eligible for the England team in future.

Arsenal Ladies 2 v 3 Everton Ladies

Monday 3rd May 2010
FA Women's Cup Final
City Ground, Nottingham
Admission: £5.00
Programme: £3.00
Attendance: 17,505
Match Rating: 4

For my May Day Bank Holiday entertainment I headed up to Nottingham for the most prestigious fixture in the Women's football calendar, the FA Women's Cup Final. With tickets priced at just £5, managing to book return coach tickets from London for just £1 each way, and an opportunity to visit a stadium that has been on my wish list for some time, this was a very cheap day out that I had looked forward to for some time. And the day did not disappoint.

On arrival at Nottingham, the CIty Ground is about a 20 minute walk from the city centre, mostly alongside the River Trent and passing by Notts County's Meadow Lane ground along the way. The stadium has a very pleasant setting, right on the banks of the River Trent. It's fair to say that the stadium is showing its age, with narrow concourses and a design quite typical of the 80's, but it retains a nice character about the place. I was sat in the lower tier of the Brian Clough stand along one length of the pitch, which is a fairly common two tier grandstand with hospitality boxes separating the upper and lower tiers. To the right of this stand is the Trent End, a large but unnoteworthy stand. Opposite the Brian Clough Stand is the Main Stand, which is actually the worst stand of all, chiefly because it cannot be redeveloped and made taller due to tight restrictions in consideration of the housing close by. The remaining Bridgford Road stand is interestingly designed, as it swoops down the considerable height difference between the Brian Clough and Main Stands. The programme couldn't really be faulted, costing £3 with a glossy hardened cover and containing an abundance of information on the two teams, the FA Cup season and women's football in general.

Arsenal had to be favourites for this game, as they have for so long been the utterly dominant force in the women's game. They have yet another league title in the bag, and this was Arsenal's eleventh FA Cup final and have won all ten previous finals they have particupated in. However, there's no doubt that their team has been weakened by some of their best players moving to the professional league in the USA, but still packed full of internationals, they still look a formidable outfit. However, Everton have emerged into quite a force in recent years, although without winning a major honour in their present guise. With a fair sprinkling of internationals and lying in third place in the league table, the ingredients were there for this to be close encounter.

After having been treated to the musical talents of Cascada, who also played the national anthem before the game, the match started off in warm sunshine. THis soon however gave way to windy rain showers and such variable conditions were to last throughout the match. Everton took the lead on 16 minutes through Natasha Dowie, niece of Iain Dowie, who struck the ball powerfully home after her initial shot was blocked. Arsenal responded by carving out some good chances, although overall Everton probably edged possession and attacking play. Arsenal equalised on 43 minutes when Gemma Davison was brought down by Rachel Unitt for as clear a penalty as you would ever see, which was confidently dispatched by Kim Little for her 42nd goal of the season. However, on the stroke of half time, Everton regained the lead when Toni Duggan sent in a dangerous cross and England international Faye White could only flick the ball into her own net. So the underdogs took a lead into the half time interval to put the all conquering Arsenal team under real pressure.

However, Arsenal were back on level terms on 54 minutes, when the prolific Scotland international Julie Fleeting looped the ball over Rachel Brown and into the net. Arsenal had the upper hand for the rest of the game, but after 90 minutes, the match remained deadlocked at 2-2. Arsenal will wonder how on earth they did not win this game comfortably in extra-time, as they squandered chance after glorious chance. Just as the game looked to be heading towards the dreaded penalty shoot-out, Everton strode forward and the ball was played forward for Dowie, who timed her run perfectly, and she clipped the ball over the onrushing Emma Byrne in the Arsenal goal and into the net from a tight angle with just a minute of extra-time remaining..

This was a most entertaining game, right up in the top three or four I have watched all season, and was the perfect advert for Ladies' football. It was an evenly balanced game with many chances at either end, and it was a pleasure to watch a football match where both sides played with excellent team and work ethics. It was played in a very positive spirit and it was refreshing to see the genuine enthusiasm and delight of the players on scoring or winning the cup. There was none of the nasty edge and the frankly boring harassing and baracking of referees that is seen in the men's game. It's true that the women's game is blighted by too many comical mistakes and the atmosphere lacks the passion and intensity of the men's game, but the quality of play and skills shown may well be a pleasant surprise and I would recommend watching a high profile women's game to anyone.

Boreham Wood 2 v 0 Kingstonian

Saturday 1st May 2010
Ryman League Premier Play Off FInal
Meadow Park, Borehamwood
Admission: £10.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 1,102
Match Rating: 3

For today's action, I decided to take in one of the end of season play-off finals, to see who would be the second team promoted alongside runaway champions Dartford from the Ryman League to the Blue Square South. I have a strange mixture of feelings towards the play-offs, that are probably very similar to those that most other people have.. That it is a most unsatisfactory way of deciding which team gets promoted, when twists of fate on the day can determine whether a team reaches the promised land or not, and indeed neither the second nor third placed teams after 42 league games made it to today's final. Yet there's no doubt that play-offs keep the season alive for many more teams than if just the top two were to be promoted, and it generates an excitement, level support and an occasion with so much riding on 90 minutes of football that rarely occurs at this level.

Meadow Park home of Borehamwood, is about a 20 minute walk from Elstree & Borehamwood train station via Borehamwood town centre, and is a quite unremarkable ground. It has one modern all-seater stand - where I was sat - stretching most of the length of one side, along the opposite length is a covered terrace, and behind either goal is open terracing. A very neat, well-maintained ground it's fair to say, that would easily accommodate a higher level of football. Segregation was in place today, which it would turn out was a very wise move. A hike of a pound on the admission for today's game was quite a surprise, and the programme was a pretty good effort, glossy and in colour, but 28 pages, 10 pages of which are advertising, for £2 does seem overpriced, but this is a familiar complaint of programmes at this level.

Judging by the previous season, both clubs have done extremely well to be in a position to win promotion to the Blue Square South. For the previous two seasons, Boreham Wood have battled to avoid relegation, finishing in 18th and 19th places, and this season looked like going the same way as they lost three of their first four games, but since the turn of the year have been around the play-off positions. On the face of it, they have been a team that has efficiently ground out their good results, conceding the second fewest goals in the league, but had only scored 54 goals from their 42 games, the sixth lowest in the league. Kingstonian were promoted into this league as Champions of the Ryman League Division 1 South and have had a steady season to claim the final play-off berth, and did excellently to go to well-fancied Sutton United and win 4-2 in the play-off semi-final.

The game itself was quite typical for one having so much riding on it. Very competitive, players hurried into mistakes, and few clear goalscoring opportunities, and it was no surprise that the scoreline was goalless at half time. Boreham Wood took the lead on 69 minutes, slightly against the run of play, when a free kick close to the corner flag was nodded in from close range at the far post by Ryan Moran. Also unsurprisingly, this opened up the game, with Kingstonian carving some good chances, but with Boreham Wood always looking threatening on the break. Two minutes from time, the game was won by a sublime shot by Dewayne Clark from 20 yards out wide of the penalty area which gave the goalkeeper absolutely no chance. A wonderful finish that would have had the Sky TV commentators drooling if it were a Premiership game, and that sealed Boreham Wood's promotion to Conference football for the first time in their history, which rightly sparked joyous celebrations at the final whistle.

It will be interesting to see how Boreham Wood fare in the Blue Square South. It could be debateable whether they have the level of support to sustain that level of football. Today, the vast majority of the support were from Kingstonian (full credit by the way to their fantastic, colourful and vociferous support), and Boreham Wood's average attendance this season has been the second lowest in the whole league at 162. Unfortunately it should also be reported that there was a sizeable minority of people from Boreham Wood who did their best to spoil what was probably the most wonderful day in the football club's history, culminating in one "person" from behind the goal leapt over the fence and ran on to the pitch to strike the Kingstonian captain, Francis Duku, in the face, before being led away by the police to hopefully face at the very, very least a banning order and hopefully face criminal assualt (amongst other possible) charges. Aside from that, I also heard many reports of locals trying to goad the Kingstonian fans, who to their immense credit took defeat very well - in the true non-league spirit. Hopefully, those unpleasant locals will not be interested in the more run-of-the-mill fixtures, where presumably the club will be less successful in the higher league, that will be played at Meadow Park.