AFC Wimbledon Ladies 3 v 1 Enfield Town Ladies

Sunday 29th September 2019
FA Women's National League Division One South East
Colston Avenue, Carshalton
Admission: Free
Programme: Free
Attendance: 90

With my girlfriend having to work today, I decided to make the most of it and take in some fairly rare Sunday afternoon action today, and with just one's men's game being played in the south-east, my attention turned to the women's variety. My shortlist was further shortened by rail engineering works and then heavy rain falling throughout the night and into the morning causing several options to be postponed. Happily postponement was never going to be an issue for this match, as it was to be played on a plastic pitch, and free entry sealed the deal for me to take in this game in the fourth tier of the women's pyramid.

AFC Wimbledon Ladies play their home fixtures at the home of Isthmian League Premier Division outfit Carshalton Athletic, and I last visited Colston Avenue over seven years ago, and since then, there have been any major changes, apart from the installation of the plastic pitch, and some general sprucing up of the existing furniture. The fantastic covered terrace is still in place, stretching along the whole of one length, and on the opposite side, there is a comparatively small all-seater stand situated to one side of the half way line. A fairly modern, bright and airy clubhouse is situated in portakabins, with a large screen showing BT Sport, whilst the club shop and refreshment outlets were closed today, although hot food and drinks could be obtained from the clubhouse. A few wooden picnic tables are scattered in front of the clubhouse, for more clement days than today. Behind the end closest to the entrance, a covered area stretches between corner flags, whilst behind the opposite goal, there is mainly uncovered standing, apart from a small covered area behind the goal. A glossy 8 page programme was offered free of charge to those who wanted one, containing the basics and made for a good souvenir of the game.

Both clubs have made good and almost identical starts to their league campaigns, both unbeaten so far and both winning two and drawing three of their opening five league games, both have scored ten goals, but Enfield are one place above Wimbledon, in fourth place, having conceded a goal fewer (five). Only five points separated the two clubs in the final standings last season, Enfield finishing in third on 35 points, three places above Wimbledon.

On a pretty miserable afternoon, with frequent heavy rain showers but with the occasional bright, sunny spell, Wimbledon made a good start, seeing a low shot parried by the keeper inside the first minute, but on five minutes they did open the scoring following a good run down the left by Rebecca Sargent, in ocean's of space, ended with a low cross into the middle finding Helen Ogle, who tapped the ball first time past the keeper. But on 16 minutes, the visitors equalised when Beth Lumsden fired a free kick across the keeper and inside the far post. Wimbledon went back into the lead on 20 minutes when Katie Stanley struck a free kick over the keeper and into the net, and four minutes later, they opened up a two goal cushion with a goal the original Wimbledon "Crazy Gang" would have been proud of, goalkeeper Charlotte Ferguson punted the ball downfield, bouncing over two Enfield players for Stanley to run onto, and she burst clear of the defence before driving the ball past the keeper. The game then settled down somewhat after the rush of goals, and with not much further attacking action, Wimbledon went into half time with a relatively comfortable two goal cushion.

The second half saw Enfield have plenty of possession and much of the play was in their attacking half, but they struggled to find a way through as Wimbledon contained them well, and controlled the game. The closest Enfield came to pulling a goal back was following two corners - one headed over the bar on 84 minutes, and three minutes into added on time, the ball was cleared on the line direct from a corner, with no goal given despite Enfield's loud protests. And so it was Wimbledon who claimed the three points and retained their unbeaten start to the season with a very good performance, and indeed this was an entertaining game to watch, and a decent advert for fourth tier women's football.

Charlton Athletic 1 v 0 Leeds United

Saturday 28th September 2019

EFL Championship
The Valley, Charlton
Admission: Season Ticket
Programme: £3.00
Attendance: 21,808 (3,179 away)

After my previous visits to The Valley this season were full of optimism as The Addicks made a terrific start to their return to the Champuonship, today I reverted to the more feelings of pessimism.

After star striker Lyle Taylor was injured in the last international break playing for Montserrat, Charlton carried precious little threat in the last home game against Birmingham, which the visitors won 0-1 in a thoroughly disappointing and frustrating encounter. And Charlton followed that up with a 0-2 defeat at Wigan last Saturday, and apparently we were a well beaten outfit on the day. And after those two defeats in a row, Charlton have dropped to ninth in the table, with four wins and two draws from their opening eight league games. And the visitors today were Leeds United, one of the strongest outfits in the Championship and red hot favourites for promotion, and came into this game in second place, following five wins and two draws from their opening eight league games, with a perfect away record, winning all four league games away from Elland Road, scoring twelve and conceding just one in the process. Although Lyle Taylor would again be absent, Leeds would also be missing one of their top forwards in Pablo Hernandez.

And indeed, it looked like it was going to be a long afternoon for Charlton, as Leeds went on the attack right from the kick-off, forcing several corners and decent saves in just the first couple of minutes. And as the half wore on, Charlton really rode their luck as it looked surely only a matter of time before the visitors would open the scoring, but were denied by good saves, blocks and fortune shined on them a couple of times when defenders diverted the ball only just wide of their own goal. But miraculously, it was Charlton who took the lead on 32 minutes, when Tom Lockyer's shot was blocked by the keeper, rebounded off a defender and then hit Macauley Bonne to bounce over the line, to give him a goal on his first league start for Charlton, after his transfer from Leyton Orient in the summer. Quite surprisingly, Leeds' threat seemed to diminish as the game wore on and whilst they still looked to have a goal in them, they were nowhere near as threatening as in the opening half hour.

And so Charlton held on for a terrific, and improbable win. Leeds certainly had the better players and looked the more threatening. But they couldn't turn their 72% possession into goals, and although they had 19 shots (to Charlton's three), only four were on target. They will surely be there or thereabouts for promotion come the end of the season, but after those defeats for Charlton, the performance today was a big relief, full of solidity and desire which makes us very hard to break down and beat, and that is making being at The Valley a really enjoyable experience right now. It was also really pleasing that we did not use any of the anti-football tactics employed by Birmingham a fortnight ago to close the game out. Today's result took Charlton up to sixth place in the table, but the tough games just keep on coming, with a visit from second placed Swansea City to come on Wednesday.

A match report can be found by clicking here and video highlights can be viewed by clicking here

Newport Pagnell Town 4 v 0 Leighton Town

Saturday 21st September 2019
Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division
Willen Road, Newport Pagnell
Admission: £6.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 193

Taking advantage of a cheap Southern Advance train tickets for a total of £17 with a £1.90 Plusbus add on, I decided to visit my penultimate ground in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division today, and apparently my 700th ground overall, according to the excellent Groundhopper app.

Having arrived at Milton Keynes Central train station, I then caught a bus for a 20 minute ride, through the rather unique town centre of Milton Keynes, and over the M1, passing by the Willen Road ground, with the nearest bus stop just beyond and a five minute walk back to the ground. The football ground is part of quite a large sporting complex, which also hosts a cricket field, tennis courts and other football pitches. The complex's clubhouse is located outside of the football ground, and is comfortable, bright and airy inside, and impressively offers two cask ales - quite unusual at football grounds - with large screens showing BT Sport. A large grassy area with picnic benches is available in front of the clubhouse, which was ideal on a warm and sunny afternoon like today. The entrance to the football ground is located behind one of the goals, and one enters to find a very neat and tidy ground, tightly lined with hedges along three and a half sides, and a green wooden fence along the remaining section. There are all-seater stands straddling the half way line on both sides, a modern metallic stand on one side, with a more traditional and aesthetically pleasing version on the other side, with hard standing around the rest of the ground. A decent range of hot and cold food and drinks, as well as club merchandise, is available from a wooden shed next to the metallic stand, but perhaps the most attractive aspect of the ground is only visible from the outside - a bright mural painted on the rear of the more traditional stand. There is a lot to like about Willen Road, with a really friendly welcome and environment to go with a neat and comfortable venue. The 16 page programme was professionally presented and printed, and served its purpose in providing the basics on the basis that more in depth stats and facts can be gleaned online.

In their first season since being laterally transferred by the FA from the United Counties League Premier Division, Newport Pagnell have had a good start to their season, with four wins and a defeat from their opening five league games. Leighton Town have have had a more difficult start to their season, with just one point to show from their three league games played so far, although their campaign may not have been helped by the four games they have contested in the FA Cup, before exiting at the First Qualifying Round stage.

On a gloriously warm and sunny late September afternoon - most likely the last such afternoon before autumn and winter take hold - the first half was rather strange in that it was the visitors who created the better chances, but found themselves two goals down at the break. After two minutes, Leighton saw a deflected shot kiss the near post, and a follow up shot by Aaron Murrell beat the keeper but was cleared close to the line, and then Leighton's Danny Webb struck a powerful shots just over the bar on 6 and 11 minutes. But it was the home side who took the lead on 11 minutes, with just about their first effort on goal, but what a goal it was, Leon Lobjoit chested the ball following a cross to tee himself for an acrobatic volley on the edge of the penalty area which flew into the net beyond the keeper's dive. On 31 minutes, the visitors again hit the woodwork, when a low shot across the keeper hit the outside of the post, whilst two minutes later, Lobjoit sent a far post header over the bar for the hosts. Leighton had another great chance on 38 minutes, Murrell's shot being well blocked by the keeper's legs, and Leigh Stevens' follow up shot was blazed over from fairly close range, albeit from a slight angle. Leighton really should have at least been on level terms by that stage, but that was to be as good as it got for them, and Newport Pagnell seized control of the game by doubling their lead on 43 minutes. A low teasing cross from the right caused confusion between a defender and the keeper, and Jimmy Burnside tapped into the empty net.

It was a harsh half time scoreline for the visitors, but they barely threatened in the second half, as Newport Pagnell relatively cantered to a comfortable win. They scored their third on 67 minutes, Micky Burns dinking the ball over a defender to set himself clear down the right, before tantalisingly crossing the ball low into the box and Burnside struck the ball into the roof of the net. And four minutes into added on time at the end of the match, they added gloss to the scoreline with their fourth goal, a corner looped high above the keeper and defenders for an unmarked Lobjoit to head up at the far post.

And so a clinical performance from Newport Pagnell, and Lobjoit's two goals was a reward for a display that was a joy to watch at times, with his silky footwork and inventive play. Leighton Town will rue not being able to convert at least one of their decent chances in the first half, and will be disappointed that they did not threaten to get back in the game after the break.

Video highlights of this game can be viewed by clicking here

Charlton Athletic 0 v 1 Birmingham City

Saturday 14th September 2019
EFL Championship
The Valley, Charlton
Admission: Season Ticket
Programme: £5.00
Attendance: 18,752 (3,136 away)

After two Saturdays without a game at The Valley, following an away game at Reading and then an international break, today's game would, on the face of it, represent a good opportunity to extend their excellent and most unexpected unbeaten start to the season, before a run of games that would probably be difficult to get many points from, including Wigan away, Leeds and then Swansea at home, Fulham away and then Derby at home.

After winning 0-2 at Reading, Charlton came into this game in second place, following four wins and two draws from their opening six league games. Birmingham were in ninth place, following three wins and a draw from their opening six league games. Their away form has not been good however, losing both away matches 3-0, as well as a League Cup tie at Portsmouth by the same scoreline. Ahead of the game, I felt this was a very winnable game, but as a team that may not have the standout players in it but is workmanlike, Birmingham could well frustrate us, particularly if they were to take the lead.

For the second time already this season, the matchday programme was sold at an inflated £5.00 price, this time to mark the 100 year anniversary of football being played at The Valley, containing 100 pages and including photos and tales from various club legends, officials and fans. For a Charlton fan, it was a very interesting publication, but these kind of bumper editions always seems a little unfair on away fans to "have" to purchase if they want a souvenir programme for the day.

A report of the game itself can be viewed by clicking here , and brief highlights by clicking here.

So, it was a desperately disappointing performance, with a rather subdued atmnosphere possibly due to the sunny and hot conditions. It was concerning that, with Lyle Taylor out injured, we carried very little threat going forward, and the game panned out exactly as I feared it might - Birmingham staying tight and compact, and once they scored their goal, did everything possible to waste time and break up play, for the last 20 minutes or so. On the receiving side, it was incredibly frustrating to watch something that felt like anti-football, and if teams have to win by such means, football "is gone". But it was one of those situations where it would probably be perfectly acceptable, a professional performance, if it was my team doing it.