Crawley Town 1 v 0 Norwich City

Tuesday 27th August 2019
EFL Cup 2nd Round
Broadfield Stadium, Crawley
Admission: £10.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 5,109

I had only visited the Broadfield Stadium a fortnight ago, and it is rare indeed that I take in any EFL Cup action, and this would be my second this season, having taken advantage of the opportunity to pay one last visit to Griffin Park in the last round during a week off from work. But the opportunity to watch a Sussex club play at home against a Premier League club was an occasion I did not want to miss, all the more as the club offered discounted pricing for this fixture compared to league fixtures (half price, for where I chose to sit).

For this game, I chose to sit in the only area I had not previously watched a game from, the East Stand. A temporary looking stand that was opened in 2012 and stretches virtually the whole length and backing on to the A23 dual carriageway, views are not great from here, with plenty of supporting pillars along the front, but its intimate nature and its roof really augmenting the chanting and drum beating. As for the programme, for me what Crawley produce is the future for printed programmes. The glossy 16 page publication is ample to provide a good preview of the match, not loaded with irrelevant information, "fillers" or advertising, and costs just a pound. I believe this is the standard format for all of Crawley's games, and hopefully they see an upturn in programme sales following the introduction of this format.

On the face of it, the odds would be massively stacked against Crawley progressing this evening, as a League Two outfit, and so ply their trade three divisions below Premier League newboys Norwich. Manager Gabriele Cioffi thought as much, as he mentioned his club had a 1% chance of winning this evening. But as expected, they would not be playing against the Norwich first eleven - far from it, in fact all 11 players were changed from the team that lined up against Chelsea in the Premier League last season. On paper, the team that Norwich put out should still have had enough quality and experience to prevail. In the previous round, Crawley won 2-3 at Walsall, whereas tonight would be Norwich's first game in this season's competition.

At the end of another hot day, conditions were quite warm and humid this evening, and with the stadium close to capacity - including a full contingent of away supporters - a good atmosphere was certainly generated at kick-off. It looked likely that that atmosphere might soon be dampened down though, as Norwich went straight for the jugulars and the Crawley players struggled to close the Norwich players down quickly enough. It looked like only a matter of time that the deadlock would be broken, and although it was in the 17th minute, it was massively against the run of play, as Crawley scored it. Following a corner, Bez Lubala received the ball back, ran toward the left edge of the penalty area, and then struck a powerful low shot which took a deflection off defender Sam Byram to divert the ball past keeper Ralf Fährmann and into the net, to send the home crowd into raptures.

For the rest of the game, Norwich always looked the better, more composed team, as would be expected, but for all of their neat passing, the end product was mostly lacking, and at times fortune favoured Crawley, as the woodwork denied Norwich on a couple of occasions, and shots were either well saved or blocked. After their goal, Crawley did hold their own for long periods, and created some decent chances themselves. As it was, Crawley's lead remained precarious right through to the end, but roared on by some impressive support from the stands, which increased with intensity as the game drew to a conclusion, Crawley managed to hold on and seal progression to the Third Round.

So a great night for Crawley, who will now await with anticipation to see who they will play in the Third Round draw, and for me, this was the second major upset I have witnessed in this season competition, after seeing Cambridge United win against a team from two divisions higher in the last round.

Video highlights of this match can be viewed by clicking here

Crowborough Athletic 1 v 3 Tunbridge Wells

Monday 26th August 2019
Southern Counties East League Premier Division
Community Stadium, Crowborough
Admission : £8.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 301

   

Following my morning game at Jarvis Brook, I then made my way across the southeastern side of Crowborough - enjoying a refreshing pint in the very pleasant beer garden of the Wheatsheaf en route - to what was the Alderbrook, but is now known as the Crowborough Community Stadium following its redevelopment some years ago, for a local derby between two clubs separated by the Sussex/Kent county border and less than ten miles.

I was a fairly regular midweek visitor to the Alderbrook up until moving away from the area in 2014, and not much has changed since then - not that it needed to, it is a well appointed ground that is more than adequate for the club's needs in Step 5 football. The turnstile block is in one corner, with a gazebo erected just inside from where raffle tickets are sold. Behind the goal, a brick building  stretches virtually between corner flags, with overhang along the front to cover a few steps of terracing. Team line-ups are displayed on a whiteboard on the wall by the changing rooms entrance, a tea bar is located inside, with a window to the front. The Crow Arms is located in the corner, a small brick hut from where alcoholic drinks are sold. Along the length closest to the entrance there are three stands, the oldest of which is in the middle, these days all-seated and attractively decorated in blue and white club colours of blue and white, and either side are modern metallic stands, one all-seater, the other with steps to stand on. This length is closely lined by tall trees, which provided very welcome shade from the hot sun beating down today. Around the rest of the ground there is hard standing, closely lined by metal perimeter fencing, which separates the ground from the rest of the Alderbrook Recreation Ground. The 16 page programme remains well presented and a good read, with interesting reading material to digest inside.

After a couple of seasons knocking on the door of promotion to the Isthmian League, Crowborough finished in a respectable 13th place last season after losing a large number of the squad due to promised money from a backer drying up and the club having to cut its cloth accordingly. They have started this season with a win and two defeats from their opening three games, which included a 0-8 home defeat to Bearsted, and they also exited the FA Cup at the first hurdle. Tunbridge Wells have had some disappointing seasons recently after their famous FA Vase Final appearance in 2013, and have finished in the bottom half of the table in each of the last four seasons. A change of manager and some new players has seen a much improved start to this season, winning their first three league games and an FA Cup tie after a replay, before bowing out 2-1 to higher league opposition Haywards Heath Town at the Preliminary Round stage on Saturday.

On a very hot and sunny afternoon, with temperatures nudging around 30 degrees, Crowborough took the lead on 6 minutes when Kieron Scantlebury ran onto a ball forward, just about outpaced some defenders before lobbing the ball over the keeper and into the net - a very good, cool finish. The visitors would then see more of the ball, coming close to getting back on level terms on 20 minutes, when a Crowborough defender diverted the ball just over his own bar, and on 40 minutes when some twisting and turning in the box by Danny Powell left a defender on the floor and his eventual shot was well parried by the keeper, and the follow up shot by Jordan Wells was struck powerfully against the bar. But deep into added on time, the visitors did equalise, Jake Beecroft curling in a free kick from the left and the ball found its ways through a crowd of players, beyond the keeper's dive, and into the net. There was barely time to restart, and so the players headed in at half time with the scores level.

The turnaround was complete just a couple of minutes after the break, when Chris Lawal got on the end of a corner, striking the ball into the ground with it bouncing past the keeper and into the net to give the visitors the lead. And they opened up a two goal lead eight minutes later which they probably deserved, but it came in fortunate circumstances, the Crowborough keeper completely missing a back pass as he tried to kick the ball away first time, and the ball rolled goalwards, with Powell chasing the ball to tap it home from a couple of yards out. That did feel like the deciding goal, and so it proved, although both sides did have the odd chance to score again. And it so was Tunbridge Wells who sent their sizeable contingent of supporters back over the border to Kent happy, and their team ended the day top of the table with a 100% record, the only one remaining in the league.

Jarvis Brook 4 v 0 Copthorne

Monday 26th August 2019
Southern Combination League Division Two
Limekiln Playing Fields, Crowborough
Admission : None
Programme: Sold out
Attendance: 53

 

With a gloriously hot and sunny Bank Holiday Monday forecast, I decided against risking a long distance car journey in search of a new ground for me and instead decided to stay fairly local, and watch two games in Crowborough, starting with this game kicking off at 11am.

The Limekiln Playing Fields enjoys a very rural location, accessed by car via a narrow country lane with a ford running across it, or a 20 minute walk from Crowborough train station, and is nestled immediately adjacent to The Ghyll woodland nature reserve, with trees all around the main pitch, with views across to the neighbouring village of Rotherfield. Inside the main entrance to the complex, there is a fair sized car park, and the clubhouse building, which houses the changing rooms and a tea bar with a decent sized room to sit in. Refreshments are also available from a window from the same tea bar. A whiteboard displaying the team line-ups is located pitchside of the clubhouse building, where the players come out. The pitch is fully railed, with an impressive number of advertising boards hanging from the railings, and there are a couple of permanent brick dug outs. There is no hard standing, nor cover, available, although there are some wooden benches along the half of the length closest to the clubhouse. No floodlights are present. A noticeable feature of the ground is a pronounced slope from end to end, and the pitch is rather undulating in places too. On a very warm, sunny day, the Limekiln made for a beautiful setting for football. Programmes were produced for this fixture, but only a handful were available for spectators, which were snapped up before my arrival.

Jarvis Brook finished in sixth place in the division last season, and started this season with a 2-2 draw at home to reigning champions Rustington, and a 0-8 win away to the division's perennial whipping boys Ferring. Copthorne lost their opening game at Angmering Seniors 3-2, before drawing 1-1 at Worthing Town.

Copthorne started this match on the front foot playing up the slope in the opening minutes, but on 4 minutes, Ben Adams ran onto a throughball and despite strong appeals for offside, Adams stroked the ball home to give Jarvis Brook the lead. And the home side had numerous chances to increase their lead, but saw shots go just over or wide. The Copthorne manager was shouting at his players, and he took advantage of the first half drinks break to give his players an extended pep talk, but they did look somewhat off the pace after a bright opening. With the scoreline remaining just 1-0 at half time, the visitors were certainly still very much in the game going into the second half, when they would be kicking down the slope.

But on 52 minutes Jarvis Brook doubled their lead, when George Holman headed the ball in at the near post from close range following a corner, despite the keeper getting a hand to the ball. The home side continued to create good chances, and their third goal came on 67 minutes when Adams headed home from close range at the far post. And they made it 4-0 on 74 minutes, with Adams completing his hat trick, a good run towards the penalty area culminated with a powerful shot across the keeper and into the far top corner. Jarvis Brook had further chances to extend their lead, but 4-0 was how it finished, a fair reflection on a game that Jarvis Brook dominated, impressing with the work rate and creativity in very hot conditions.

Charlton Athletic 1 v 0 Brentford

EFL Championship

The Valley, Charlton
Admission: Season Ticket
Programme: £5.00
Attendance: 16,771 (2,250 away)

Today I made my second trip to The Valley in four days, full of optimism after a terrific performance by the Addicks on Wednesday evening, when they were very unlucky to only take a point from the match. There was some drama for me getting to the game - arriving at my local train station, I then realised I did not have my season ticket on me, and so had to return home. Missing my intended train, catching the next one would have meant me missing kick-off, and so I d to drive 20 minutes to another station down the line, that is served by more frequent trains and would allow me to arrive at The Valley about half hour before kick-off.

I had watched today's visitors less than two weeks ago, when I visited Griffin Park for a League Cup Round One game against Cambridge United, a game they lost on penalties. There was certainly nothing to fear from a Charlton perspective that night, although it was a youthful team who played that night, with just three players starting both games. In truth, Brentford have a decent team these days, finishing eleventh in the Championship last season and are widely tipped to finish in the play-offs this season, although they have had an average start to their season, winning one and drawing one of their four league games before this one. And they may not have helped their cause towards the end of the transfer window, when they sold star striker Neal Maupay, who scored 28 goals in 49 appearances last season to Brighton. A little extra spice was added to this fixture when they tried on several occasions on transfer deadline day to secure Charlton's talisman Lyle Taylor, but their eventual reported bid of £4 million was rejected. Today's programme was combined with the club's official handbook. As a Charlton fan, it is an excellent, very informative publication, but I always think it is is very harsh on the visiting team on the day the club that does this, having to pay £5 for a programme when half of it is not relevant or of interest to them.

A standout feature of this game was the intense heat, with temperatures nudging close to 30 degrees, and so perhaps it was inevitable that this game would lack the intensity of Wednesday's game. A match review of this game can be viewed by clicking on the following link https://www.cafc.co.uk/news/view/5d6159a339a95/report-charlton-1-brentford-0

Video highlights can be viewed by clicking on the following link https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1MIinXQ8xnw

In some ways, this was the complete opposite to Wednesday's game against Nottingham Forest. Whereas Charlton played ever so well that night, full of energy and attacking intent, today was more of a backs to the walls affair, as Brentford dominated every statistic from the match, apart from the most important one. Although they played a lovely patient, passing game, too often there was no end product, and they are surely ruing their failure to replace their star striker, their play lacking a cutting edge. Although Charlton were "battered" for long periods, they defended well, heroically at times, and combined with clinically dispatching one of their rare chances at goal, a case could be made that this was a deserved three points for the home team. In any case, viewed with Wednesday night's game, a four point return was about right, and with it, the fantasy of Charlton's return to the Championship on a shoestring budget continues, still unbeaten after five league games and ending the weekend in third place in the table.

Charlton Athletic 1 v 1 Nottingham Forest

Wednesday 21st August 2019

EFL Championship
The Valley, Charlton
Admission: Season Ticket
Programme: £3.00
Attendance: 17,204 (1,751 away)

It was looking highly doubtful whether I would be able to take in this game, as I haven been suffering from gout since Monday. Happily, it did not develop into anything too debilitating this time, and so after finishing work half an hour early to make my way up to The Valley, arriving about ten minutes ahead of kick off.

The feel good factor at The Valley shows no sign of abating, still unbeaten following a good 2-2 draw away at Barnsley last Saturday, although a slight blot occurred last Tuesday when what was basically the reserves lost on penalties at home to Forest Green Rovers in the League Cup First Round. Two more very astute looking signings arrived, well outside the transfer window for different reasons. Erhun Oztumer arrived on a free transfer from financially stricken Bolton Wanderers, after successfully negotiation his release with the authorities, and Tomer Hemed, also on a free transfer from Brighton & Hove Albion after his contract was cancelled, but for some reason it took almost two weeks for everything to be deemed in order by the FA for the transfer to be completed. Nottingham Forest had a difficult start to their season, starting with a 1-2 home defeat to West Brom, followed by a 1-1 draw at Leeds, and then home wins against Fleetwood, 1-0 in the League Cup, and then dispatching Birmingham 3-0 at home.

A match review of this game can be found by clicking here 

Video highlights can be viewed by clicking here

In summary, this was an excellent game from a Charlton perspective, particularly during the first half, when ouf fast paced, pressing game created numerous chances, as Forest hardly got a look in. But it was disappointing to only end with a point, although in the end it could have been worse than that, as Forest finished strongly as Charlton seemed to run out of steam somewhat.

Aylesbury Vale Dynamos 1 v 0 Wembley

Saturday 17th August 2019
Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division
Haywood Way, Aylesbury
Admission : £6.00
Programme: Full version online, 4 page printed version free with entry
Attendance: 85

Today I decided to tick off another ground in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division as I near its completion, for an interesting looking game where something would have to give, both clubs having made 100% starts to their league campaigns.

Haywood Way is about a 20 minute walk from Aylesbury Vale Parkway train station, and the entrance to the ground is in one corner, to the side of the brick clubhouse building, the interior of which has been recently redecorated with a stylish black and grey colour scheme, with two video screens show rolling advertisements, and a projector screen shows BT Sport games - in today's case, Arsenal against Burnley. The clubhouse is perched quite high above the football pitch, with a small balcony offering an elevated if quite distant view by the corner flag. Below the clubhouse, there are a row of benches more familiar at train station platforms, while straddling the half way line there is a pleasantly dated, rather unique wooden stand supported by scaffolding poles, with 3 rows of seating inside, and a tea bar in the rear wall. There is a stand behind the goal closest to the entrance, covering a flat area to stand on, with just hard standing available around the rest of the pitch. It's quite a charming ground with a very green and rural feel to it, surrounded by countryside. As for the programme, the club has got it absolutely spot on in my opinion. A very decent 28 page edition is downloadable from the club website, containing plenty of interesting reading material and more than enough stats to digest, and it made for ideal reading on the train journey before the game. However, a 4 page printed version is also offered at the turnstile, containing a good welcome message from the manager, upcoming games and the matchday squads for both clubs - all one needs during their time at the ground.

Both clubs have had fantastic starts to their seasons, both winning their two opening league games, and both progressing past the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round after a replay. Aylesbury Vale Dynamos, as Aylesbury FC before their merger with Bedgrove Dynamos in the summer, suffered relegation from the Southern League Division One Central after nine seasons at that level. Although they finished in a relegation spot, second from bottom, they played the second half of last season in the knowledge that they would be relegated no matter where they finished, as the match officials' changing room would be smaller than required by the FA. Wembley finished in twelfth place in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division last season.

On a sunny, fairly warm afternoon, but with a blustery wind, the first half was very even, with only the odd half chance being created, as both teams cancelled each other out to a large degree. The wind, which was behind Aylesbury in the first half, certainly played a factor. On 40 minutes, the home took the lead, when a long range free kick, fully 30 yards out, was powerfully struck hard and low by Bruno Brito, and the ball took a sizeable deflection off defender Juachim Ejinfor to wrong foot his keeper and the ball flew into the net. Right on the stroke of half time, Brito fired in another free kick from outside the outer corner of the penalty area, heading for the top left corner but denied by a very good finger tip flying save by the keeper. Immediately after that, the referee blew the whistle for half time.

Wembley would have the wind behind them in the second half, but they did not really use that to their advantage, instead they found it tricky to judge aerial balls, and so despite enjoying quite a lot of possession, they did not really threaten to get back in the game. On 58 minutes, Brito was in the action again, perfectly send a low ball into the danger area, and a defender just stuck a leg out before the striker to divert the ball only just past his own post. On 62 minutes, a Wembley looping strike from 25 yards only just went over, whilst on 66 minutes, Brito struck a shot that was going well wide but deflected off his team mate Drew Tappin, and the ball went only just the wrong side of the post in the end. On 76 minutes, Wembley had another good chance, a free kick from close to the corner flag was played in and after the keeper couldn't claim it, the ball dropped just beyond the far post. On 85 minutes, Wembley saw a shot smack back off the post from a central position following a good lay-off, whilst a minute later, a Wembley defender failed to cut out a low cross into the box, and a powerful first time shot by Ryan Tamplin was well saved by the keeper. In the final minute, Wembley had one last chance to claim an equaliser when a low cross was just missed by the striker and a defender sliced the ball just over his own bar, as Aylesbury Vale Dynamos claimed the three points to retain their 100% league record.

The programme for this match can be viewed by clicking here