Gorleston 2 v 3 Hadleigh United

Saturday 29th October 2011
Eastern Counties League Premier Division
Emerald Park, Gorleston
Admission: £5.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 140
Match Rating: 4

Very reasonably priced train tickets motivated me to venture into deepest East Anglia with a long daytrip to the east coast.In all honesty, there was nothing particularly attractive about the game itself, between two seemingly average teams at county league level, however I have always found that the Eastern Counties League compares very favourably in terms of quality on the pitch as well as the organisation and interest off it to what I am used to at the same level in the south-east corner of England.

Having spent some time in the pleasant town centre and on the seafront of Great Yarmouth, I then made my way south by bus along the coast to Gorleston-on-Sea, a four mile journey taking just under half an hour, with the Emerald Park ground, home of Gorleston, about a five minute walk from James Paget Hospital. For a club that has never played at a higher level than the Eastern Counties League, the ground is remarkably impressive, and would not look out of place at least in the Ryman League Premier Division, although it also has to be said that it is not particularly attractive and has little character. The ground is continuously enclosed with corrugated iron around three sides and has two or three rows of seating. Along the remaining length of the pitch is hard standing, mostly uncovered apart from a small tarpaulin covered area, together with tea bar and various other small buildings. The ground certainly has a neat, uniform look about it, all painted in the club colours of dark green. Indeed, it is not just the stadium that was impressive - there is a friendly feel around, it is clear that there are plenty of persons working pro-actively behind the scenes to give the club a professional feel, and much effort - in a non-imposing way - is made to guide people towards the bar, tea bar or club shop - itself an impressive element for a club at this level of football. The efforts to maximise matchday revenue should be commended. All in all, the club has the strange feel of a club two or three tiers higher in the pyramid, but has not apparently had the ambition on the pitch to get there. Programmes were available on entering the ground, and is one of those that promises much but delivers rather less. It certainly has an attractive cover and layout inside, and all of the essential stats and facts are covered, but it does lack something to make it an interesting read - adverts, it does not lack, though.

Today's match would be between two teams stuck firmly in mid-table. Considering that this is Gorleston's first season back in the top flight of the Eastern Counties League, having won the First Division last season, they have made a very solid start to the season, in seventh place in the 21 team league, and certainly came into this game bang in form, having won their last four matches in a row, and six of their last eight games, a run which included wins against the current top two teams in the league, Dereham Town and Wroxham. Today's visitors, Hadleigh United, have not started so well, and found themselves in 14th place in the league.

On a bright, sunny late October afternoon, the game had an explosive start, with just over a minute played, Darren Cockrill almost gave Gorleston a dream start, with a 22 yard pile driver thumping back off the crossbar. This certainly seemed to hand the initiative to the home side though, as they had the better of the opening exhanges, and duly took the lead on 13 minutes, when a quick passing move towards goal culminated in Mitch Forbes slotting home. It only took the visitors seven minutes to get back on level terms though, when a free kick from wide close to the byline was firmly headed home by Oliver Canfer. Hadleigh United soon followed that up with another goal just three minutes later to take the lead, when a fairly tame cross into the box should have been easily claimed by the keeper Elliot Pride, but he juggled it, allowing Stuart Joplin to head home. On 36 minutes, Gorleston were back on level terms, when Hadleigh failed to clear the lines and allowing Christy Finch to score with a low shot into the corner in a crowded goal area. The 2-2 scoreline remained as the referee blew his whistle for half time and was a fair reflection of the game.

After an entertaining, topsy-turvy first half, the second half was something of a disappointment, with not much urgency and few goalscoring opportunities. Although Gorleston attacked with vigour in the first five or so minutes of the second half, as the half wore on, Hadleigh dominated more and more, and on 71 minutes, Hadleigh went back into the lead when a good quick move resulted in a fierce shot by full-back Chris McLaughlin which beat the keeper from a tight angle inside his near post into the top corner from about 12 yards. A deserved lead, which they comfortably held on to, as Gorleston faded badly and never looked likely to mount any further serious attacks.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 18 v 24 Chicago Bears

Sunday 23rd October 2011
NFL International Series
Wembley Stadium, London
Admission: £60.00
Programme:£10.00
Attendance: 76, 981
Match Rating: 4



Despite not really having any understanding of the game, nor in all honesty having had much interest in the game, the lure of witnessing a different sporting occasion and the associated razzmatazz of American Football inspired me to book a ticket - despite the high price - for the one NFL game of the season to be played outside of North America, at the home of Association Football, Wembley Stadium.

Part of the attraction of attending the Tailgate Party, for which I arrived at Wembley a couple of hours earlier. Unfortunately, long queues to get in followed by long queues to each stand of interest meant I was not able to fully enjoy everything the Party had to offer, however it was still an enjoyable experience to walk around the various demonstrations and have-a-go stands. Before entering the stadium, I purchased a programme, eye-wateringly expensive - as everything else was at this event - at £10.00, however it must be said it was an excellent publication. A4 sized consisting of 116 glossy, full-colour pages, and certainly contains everything one needs to know about both teams and the NFL season in general, plus numerous interviews. An excellent publication for enthusiasts this side of the water, as well as novices to the game like myself.

This evening's match, which would be the fifth "International Series" match played in London, would be between two fairly evenly matched teams, for which technically was a home game for Tampa Bay. Tonight would be the first time that a team, Tampa Bay, will have played twice in London, and they would be hoping for a better result than last time, when they lost 7-39 to the New England Patriots. Tampa Bay were considered the slight favourites for this evening's match, and they had won four and lost two of their matches so far, whilst the Chicago Bears had won three and lost three of their matches.

After a predictably glitzy and extravagant build up to the game, which included performances by the Goo Goo Dolls, performances by the Tampa Bay cheerleaders and Katherin Jenkins singing the English national anthem, it was the Chicago Bears who started off much the better side, and opened up a 7-2 lead by the end of the first quarter. The second quarter was much of the same, as Chicago opened their lead up to 14-5 with half of the game played.

Things hardly seemed to improve for the Bucaneers in the third quarter, as the Bears soon scored another touchline and had another one disallowed by the time I returned to my seat after a refreshment break. By the end of the third quarter, there really did only look to be one winner, with the Bears leading 21-5. Finally, in the final quarter, the Bucaneers made more of a game of it, and threatened to make a remarkable comeback, as they got within a converted touchdown of victory, as they won the final quarter by 13 points to 3, however the Bears held on for an overall victory of 24-18, to keep them in the hunt of making the end of season play-offs. This result completed a thoroughly miserable day for Tampa Bay owner Malcolm Glazer, who earlier in the day had witnessed his other club, Manchester United, humbled 1-6 at home by city rivals Manchester City.

In all honesty, I did not really understand much of what was going on, struggling even to follow the ball at times, probably not helped by my distant vantage point from right at the top row of the stadium, although this also gave an excellent panaromic view of the stadium to really soak up the occasion.

Wadhurst United 4 v 2 Ticehurst

Saturday 22nd October 2011
East Sussex League Cup Round 2
Washwell Lane, Wadhurst
Admission and Programme: N/A
Attendance: 65 (head count)
Match Rating: 4

I had originally intended to go to Chatham Town's game against Heybridge Swifts today, which would have completed the "set" of Kent senior football grounds for me. However, a delayed train meant I missed my connection and would not have arrived at Chatham train station until well after the 3pm kick off. Therefore I decided to divert to a game that I had considered as a possibility anyway, an attractive looking cup game, albeit at intermediate level, which would be a derby game between neighbouring villages.

Today would be a revisit to a ground I visited last season, a very pleasant rural village location, and a description of the ground can be found here.

All of the ingredients were there for an intriguing game today. The match would be between two clubs separated by just three and a half miles, with many links between the two clubs. There would also be a chance of a giantkilling today, with Wadhurst United in the Premier Division of the East Sussex League but have made quite a poor start to the season, with one win and four defeats from their opening five games, against Ticehurst, of the First Division, who have made a strong start to their season, winning four and losing the other of their opening five games. In the latest annual memorial match between the two clubs in August, Ticehurst won 4-1 at Washwell Lane.

On a bright, sunny but somewhat chilly autumnal afternoon, the match started off as would have been expected - at a high tempo. However, with just seven minutes on the clock, Ticehurst's task suddenly became a lot harder when they unbelievably had their top striker, Liam Bull, who has scored twelve goals in just 6 games this season after scoring 23 in 24 games last season, sent off for a second yellow card. Both yellow cards seemed very harsh - the first for not retreating from a free-kick but he barely had time to do so before the referee waved his yellow card, and the second picked up whilst he was battling his way towards goal with a defender. This did not seem to impact too much on Ticehurst's play, as the game remained even, and on 17 minutes, they hit the post with a header in a crowded penalty area. Wadhurst were then awarded an indirect free-kick was awarded deep inside the penalty area after the keeper was penalised for picking up a long range back pass, but the shot was blocked. With around half an hour on the clock, Ticehurst's task seemingly became mission impossible, when they had a second player sent off, their captain Calvin Bull, brother of Liam, again for a second yellow card, again very soft, and indeed the referee had a really poor game throughout, dishing out countless yellow cards that rarely seemed necessary in a competitive but not overly physical game, and he seemed to be completely out of touch with the level and spirit of the game. On 41 minutes, Wadhurst broke the deadlock when good approach play resulted in a shot being parried by the keeper, only for the ball to be tucked away by James Mitchell from close range. On the stroke of half time, Wadhurst were awarded a penalty thanks to a rather agricultural shove on the striker heading away from goal, and the penalty was slotted into the left corner by Nick Holland with the keeper diving the other way. No sooner had the game restarted and the half time whistle was blown.

One feared for Ticehurst, as several of their players completely lost their composure at the end of the first half in response to the shocking performance of the referee, and they conceded a third goal on 48 minutes, with a corner met by a simple downward header into the net by Lee Bates. Surely game over now, and Wadhurst now took their foot off the gas, playing a pedestrian passing game with Ticehurst looking completely beaten. However, out of the blue, the Wadhurst keeper carried the ball out of his area under pressure, and a free kick was awarded wide of the penalty area. The free kick was dinked in perfectly and met with a header that gently went into the net via the inside of the post on 55 minutes by Martin Richardson, for what was surely only a consolation for Ticehurst. Almost unbelievably, Ticehurst were very much back in the game five minutes later when they scored again, with a powerful drive by Richardson for his second of the game after an initial shot was blocked. By now, Ticehurst really had their tails up and an equaliser very much looked on the cards, even playing with nine men. However, with ten minutes remaining, Wadhurst finally put the game to bed when a peach of a curling cross from wide was headed perfectly into the top corner by Bates for his second of the game. Wadhurst went on to have plenty of chances to further extend their lead, most notably when they had a goal questionably ruled out for offside and had a shot blocked close to the line with the keeper beaten, but any heavier defeat would have been harsh on Ticehurst.

So it was Wadhurst who progressed to the next round, job done for them, but enormous credit to Ticehurst for making a real game of it despite being reduced to nine men in the first half - it was just a shame that an incredibly poor performance from the referee impacted so heavily on the game.

UN Käerjéng 97 2 v 3 CS Fola Esch

Sunday 16th October 2011
Luxembourg Division Nationale
Stade Um Dribbel, Bascharage
Admission: €8.00
Programme:None
Attendance: 514
Match Rating: 3

This would be something of a bonus match for me, which was made possible by a kick off two hours later than my earlier game at Differdange and the relative proximity. So at the final whistle at Differdange, I hurried to the train station and made the eight minute train journey northwards to Petange, from which the ground is about a twenty minute walk

After earlier enjoying one of the more attractive football grounds at Differdange, the Stade Um Dribbel was something of a disappointment in comparison, a thoroughly unremarkable, modern football ground. That is perhaps not surprising, given that this is a brand new stadium, this being just the second game played there. In keeping with every ground in Luxembourg I have visited, it is extremely neat and tidy. Straddling the half way line is a large modern grey stand, which has seating in its main part, standing area along a long balcony in front of the clubhouse to one side, and underneath is the tea bar. Along the other length of the pitch and behind one of the goals is just hard standing, and behind the other goal fencing means it is not really possible to watch the game from there. Looking from the main stand, a slight grass incline gives a moderately pleasant view. No programmes or similar publication were produced.

Last season, Käerjéng finished in third place in the league to qualify for the Europa League - their campaign lasting just one tie, although to their credit their drew the first leg against the Swedes BK Hacken. They have got off to a good start this season, in second place in the league going into this game, having won five and drawn one of their eight games so far this season. Fola Esch, the oldest club in Luxembourg, finished as runners-up in the league last season, but have made a poor start to the season, and found themselves second bottom, having won just one and drawn three of ther eight games.

By the time I arrived at the ground, Fola Esch were already leading 1-2, having fallen behind on ten minutes through Welter, but they hit back through Dallevedove on 26 minutes and Souto with a penalty on 28 minutes. Soon after I arrived, Fola extended their advantage to 3-1 after a quick counter attack, the ball was played in from wide to Calideri who had a simple finish on 34 minutes. Fola looked in total control of the game, although a couple of minutes before half time, they were reduced to ten men when a second yellow card was shown to Klein.to potentially make the game a little more interesting in the second half

This certainly seemed to lift the home side as they started to look the more threatening side after the break and did most of the attacking - as one might expect with a man advantage, equally unsurprising was how Fola played with men behind the ball and the occasional counter attack was the limit of their ambition now. On 62 minutes. the home team were awarded a free-kick just outside the penalty area in a central position, and Andres fired home into the top right corner to give Käerjéng hope of salvaging a point. They looked capable of doing just that, but their task would be hampered with a sending off of their own on 67 minutes, with a straight red card shown to Zewe for a late, high tackle. This did not actually hamper Käerjéng too much, as they continued to look the more threatening side, although Fola really should have put the game to bed on 75 minutes, when a one-on-one opportunity was fluffed by Kitenge, who had only come on as a substitute three minutes earlier, with a weak shot straight at the keeper. The referee was having a very poor game, who saw fit to eventually show eleven yellow cards and a straight red card, most of which were not really necessary in a game that was not dirty by any stretch of the imagination, and it was no surprise at all when Fola Esch were reduced to nine men two minutes from time when they had another player, Alomerovic, sent off for a second yellow card. There was barely enough time left for Käerjéng to take advantage, and so Fola held on for a narrow 2-3 away victory and three much needed points to lift them a couple of places in the table, whilst results going their way meant that Käerjéng remained in second place, although they slipped five points behind leaders Grevenmacher who won 5-0 today.

FC Differdange 03 3 v 1 F91 Dudelange

Sunday 16th October 2011
Luxembourg Division Nationale
Stade du Thillenberg, Differdange
Admission: €8.00
Programme:Free
Attendance: 821
Match Rating: 2

The second match of my weekend stay in Luxembourg was one I had eagerly anticipated, given that I had received many recommendations of the venue to be the stand-out, must-visit stadium in Luxembourg, the Stade du Thillenberg. A further attraction to the fixture would be that it was between two of the strongest sides in the Luxembourg league.

The Stade du Thillenberg is located in the town of Differdange, a 40 minute train ride south-west from Luxembourg city and very close to the border with France, with the stadium about a ten minute walk from the train station. As one approaches the area, it is hard to imagine that there could be a pleasant football ground hidden away in an industrial area harsh on the eye. However, as one leaves Differdange town centre and into woodland as one approaches the stadium, it indeed becomes apparent that this will be a very attractive location for a football ground. If one is looking for a really pleasant stadium, a scenic backdrop and/or a traditional feel are essential - this stadium has both in abundance. It is set at the foot of steep wooded hills packed close by all around the ground, giving a very scenic and atmospheric feel.. Straddling the halfway line is a small, rather uniquely designed traditional all-seater stand, and along the other length is a vast uncovered terrace - with its steep incline of steps, the top step would not be a place for anyone not keen on heights. Behind both goals is just flat standing. Apparently Differdange are looking to relocate to a new stadium in the relatively near future, and the loss of the Stade du Thillenburg would be a crying shame indeed. On entering the stadium, an A4 sized paper club magazine is handed out of free of charge, but is of little interest, containing mostly advertising and a minimum of information that may have been relevant at the start of the season. But at least the club produces something, not always the case in Luxembourg.

This afternoon's match would see the reigning league champions visit the home of the cup holders for the last two seasons, and both teams could boast the very rare distinction for a Luxembourg club side of progressing through a round in a European competition this season, and there was certainly no disgrance in going out to Maribor (in the case of Dudelange) and Paris St Germain (in the case of Differdange). Both clubs have made solid in unspectacular starts to their league campaigns, with Differdange in seventh place, having won three and lost two of their eight games so far, whilst Dudelange were in third place, winning four and drawing three of their eight games.If Differdange were to beat the league champions today, they would have to break a record of Dudelange winning in each of the last five seasons at the Stade du Thillenberg, quite a surprising statistic given that Differdange are one of the stronger teams in the league.

On a bright, sunny afternoon, with just eight minutes on the clock, Differdange opened the scoring following a corner, when a rather undignified scramble across the six yard box ended with Janisch poking home from 6 yards. The hosts were clearly buoyed by this and looked the better side, and it was no surprise when they doubled their advantage on 31 minutes with a bit of a goalkeeping howler. Janisch spotted the keeper slightly off his line and fired a long range shot from 25 yards, and the Luxembourg international goalkeeper Jonathan Joubert inexplicably just patted out the ball in front of him, allowing an easy tap in for the onrushing Er Rafik. A real gaolkeeping howler, but he was not helped one iota by his defence who made little effort to track back. Differdange comfortably held on to their two goal advantage which they fully deserved.

Within three minutes of the restart, suddenly Dudelange were back in the match, when a long curling cross was met at the far post with a header from close range by Bensi. The game now looked really in the balance, although for the most part the match remained a midfield battle with few clear-cut chances for either side - which, with the scoreline at 3-1, suited the home side. On 63 minutes, Differdange restored their two goal advantage, when a corner was met with a powerful header from Bukvic. This really seemed to knock the stuffing out of Dudelange who did not really threaten until the last minute of the game when they had a shot cleared off the line.

This was a slightly disappointing game to watch, where Differdange set themselves up solidly and to be difficult to break down whilst Dudelange surprisingly lacked the creativity or inspiration to open up the home team regularly enough. However, this was an important win for Differdange, which lifted them one place but more importantly brings them closer to the leading pack, most of whom failed to win today and are now just two points behind second place - other results meant that Dudelange remain in third place.

Racing FC Union Luxembourg 3 v 3 Union 05 FC Kayl-Tétange

Saturday 15th October 2011
Luxembourg Division Nationale
Stade Achille Hammerel, Luxembourg City
Admission: €8.00
Programme:Free
Attendance: 203
Match Rating: 4

When I had originally booked my trip to Luxembourg (via Frankfurt-Hahn airport) for a long weekend, it would be something of a gamble which game I would be able to watch on the Saturday evening, as all but one of the games are scheduled for Sunday afternoons, and only at fairly short notice is usually just one of the games moved to the Saturday evening. It was something of a disappointment when that game turned out to be CS Pétange and Progrès Niedercorn, not only two of the strugglers in the league, but I had also seen the reverse fixture just last season. So it was a relief when an additional game was subsequently moved to the Saturday, at a venue I had not been to previously, nor had I before watched either team in action.

The Stade Achille Hammerel is located just a five minute walk north-eastwards from Luxembourg (City) train station, and without having any kind of "wow" factor, it is a very pleasant venue to watch football at. There is one modern all-seater stand straddling the half-way line with no obstructing pillars, and either side are large uncovered terraces as tall as the stand. Attached to one of these terraces, behind a corner, is the clubhouse on the first floor, with a teabar and grill directly underneath. Along the opposite length of the pitch are six uncovered terrace steps, and behind both goals is flat uncovered standing. Neat hedgerows along three sides of the pitch, as well as the immaculately maintained nature of the ground, give the ground a very smart feel. The programme, which is given away free on entering the ground, is a full colour A4 sized publication, designed to cover the first half of the season but with an 8 page black and white insert specific for tonight's match, with articles in three different languages - French, German, and Luxembourgish.

Tonight's match would be between two of the surprise packages of the Division Nationale so far this season. Racing FC Union Luxembourg finished just one place and three points clear of a relegation play-off place last season, whilst Union 05 FC Kayl-Tétange were promoted as champions of the second tier Promotion d'Honneur last season. Clubs promoted to the top league usually seem to struggle in Luxembourg - last season, both of the promoted clubs went straight back down - in the case of FC Wiltz, this despite having the league's top goalscorer! However, going into tonight's game, the clubs were in fifth and sixth places, having won four, drawn two and lost two games so far, Racing one place better off than Tétange with a goal difference superior by one goal. Therefore, the omens pointed towards a close game between two evenly matched sides playing with confidence.

Considering that the two games I had watched in Luxembourg previously were desperately poor affairs, it is fair to say that I did not have high expectation of this game. However, it turned out to be one of the most entertaining games that I have witnessed for a long time, with plenty of twists and turns, lots of attacking intent, some controversy, and containing both pieces of great skill as well as calamitous errors. The game was just four minutes old when the first goal was scored, a rather fortunate one at that, which gave the visitors the lead. Spotting the keeper slightly off his line, Toni Lopes fired a long range shot towards goal, and the keeper made it back across in time to cover the shot, but presumably had lost his bearings as he patted the ball down - over the line, according to the linesman - before gathering the ball. The Racing team protested furiously, and this seemed to really affect the home side, as Tétange went on to completely dominate the first half. They had a goal disallowed on 20 minutes for offside - the general concesus seemed to be that this was a poor decision - but on 36 minutes they did open up a two goal lead with a wonderful goal, starting with a beautifully judged curling ball forward to Lopes just wide outside of the box, who turned and unleashed a stunning shot over the keeper and into the net. Tétange continued to carve out good chances, and the only question appeared to be how much they would win by. However, on the stroke of half time, Racing got back into the game when the ball was spread wide and then played low into the box, which a defender missed allowing an easy tap-in by Nicolas Romero from six yards.

Whether it was this late first half goal providing inspiration or some choice words from the manager, Racing were utterly transformed in the second half, as it was their turn to completely dominate the game in the second half. They had chance after chance after chance to equalise, most notably on 58 minutes when a header struck the bar after a very weak punch by the goalkeeper, but finally they did get on level terms on 66 minutes when the ball was played across goal from the byline and Levy Rougeaux slotted home from 12 yards out. There now only seemed to be one winner but then suddenly Tétange, completely against the run of play, went back into the lead on 74 minutes, when the ball was crossed high into the box and the keeper, a half time substitute, went up for the ball with Idir Mokrani, but he couldn't claim the ball and it spilled away for a simple tap in by Mokrani. This was harsh on Racing, and they eventually got the equaliser they deserved two minutes from time, when a free kick was played into the box, dropping for Thomas Fullenwarth to nudge the ball home from close range. 3-3 was how it ended, which was overall probably a fair and accurate reflection of an open game very much of two halves and full of endeavour.