Watford 2 v 2 Bristol City

Tuesday 29^th November 2011

Football League Championship

Vicarage Road, Watford

Admission : £10.00

Programme : £3.00

Attendance : 12, 418

Match Rating : 4

Another ground that has proved surprisingly elusive over the years was ticked off this evening, inspired by Watford Football Club’s commendable decision to reduce all ticket prices to £10.00 when purchased in advance via their website (which attracts a 50p administration charge) – on the day, prices rose to a comparatively eye-watering £26.00 or £31.00 - standard prices for other league matches at Watford..

Vicarage Road is about a 20 minute walk from Watford Junction train station via the town centre, and after collecting my ticket from the Ticket Collection Office, I made my way to the opposite of the stadium to enter the Upper Tier of the Rous Stand, along one length of the pitch, which is usually the most expensive area of the ground to sit in. Views are excellent from this two-tier stand are excellent, with no obstructions. Behind both goals are large single tiered stands, against with no obstructing pillars, with visiting fans allocated one half of one of these stands. Considering these three stands, the stadium is a modern and impressive one, however it is completely let down by the remaining length of the pitch, which is more akin to a building site. The main stand has been removed, whilst the condemned extension stand towards the corner has been condemned and is out of use.  Towards the other corner is a small part of former terracing, and scattered around is various temporary gantries and portakabins, as well as temporary dugouts.

A glance at the league table which points towards this clash being between two struggling teams, with Bristol City occupying a relegation spot in 22nd position after 18 games played, whilst Watford were only three places and one point better off. However, both sides have actually been in very good recent form. Watford have won their last three home games and had conceded just one goal in their last four outings. Bristol City, who earlier in the day had announced eye-watering losses in excess of £11 million in the last financial year for the second successive year, have won four of their last five games, the other game ending in a draw at West Ham.

On a cold night with clear skies, the game started quite cautiously, until the game burst into life on 25 minutes, when left back Carl Dickinson unleashed a wonderful 25 yard shot which flew past ex England goalkeeper David James to give the home side the lead. They doubled their lead on 42 minutes when Mark Yeates' shot from outside the box took a deflection and cannoned off the crossbar with James beaten, and Craig Beattie reacted quickest to tuck the rebound away. However, there was still time before half time for Bristol City to get back into the game, when Marvin Elliott powered home a far post header from fairly close range following a cross from wide by Ryan McGivern.

This set the game up nicely for the second half, and within just a minute of the restart, Bristol City completed the comeback, but what a gift it was. The Watford Adrian Mariappa passed the ball back to his keeper Scott Loach, who took his eye off the ball and allowed to ball to roll past him and into the net. Happening in front of the Bristol City fans ensured plenty of stick for Loach for the rest of the match, although to be fair he looked assured for the rest of the match. The visitors looked the more assured team throughout the second, although both sides looked capable of scoring, most notably with virtually the last kick of the game when Troy Deeney flashed a shot just wide of the post. So it was something of a surprise when there was no further scoring and the points were shared, which was sufficient to lift Bristol City out of the relegation zone, and Watford one place to 18th.

Video Highlights at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8OnD_RDFVI

Brighton and Hove Albion 2 v 0 Barnsley

Sunday 6^th November 2011

Football League Championship

Falmer Stadium, Brighton

Admission: £24.00

Programme : £3.00
Attendance : 19,841

A visit to Brighton and Hove Albion’s new stadium has been high on my hotlist ever since it opened for business at the start of this season. Availability of tickets – not that common, given the high percentage of season ticket holders and fans embracing their long-awaited new stadium with relish, together with this match being put back to the Sunday, meant that today would be the day.

 Brighton’s two previous football grounds could not have been more different - the wonderfully old-fashioned and atmospheric Goldstone Ground (to this day, feelings of disappointment bordering on anger swell up inside me when I pass the shopping complex which now stands where the ground used to be) and the Withdean Stadium (one of the most inappropriate grounds lacking atmosphere, however crucial the ground was to the club’s very existence).  

Falmer Stadium (or the American Express Community Stadium, to give it its current sponsored title), is very conveniently located next to Falmer Railway Station, meaning access is as straightforward as can be – although leaving the stadium would turn out to be a complete nightmare, with long queues for trains which were either cancelled or ridiculously short formed. The stadium is located next to the busy A27 dual carriageway – a typical location for a new stadium that would be described as bland, soulless and of the identikit variety. None of these would apply to this stadium though, which looks impressive as one approaches it and is attractively and uniquely designed on the inside and out, with a curved design which slopes downwards quite considerably from the large West Stand down to the East Stand. Thought has obviously been given to the stadium blending into the local South Downs.  Inside, the West Stand has three tiers of seating, whereas the East Stand has only one tier, and behind both goals is a small tier of seating. Curiously, the corners are not used for seating and the stands have a rather odd, unfinished look about it, as if the seating has been place there at the last minute without much thought towards incorporating it into the design of the stadium. The roofs of the stands, all joined together, allow light in, and the blue and white colours of the stadium give it a bright, airy feel, and cushioned seats together with plentiful legroom ensure a very comfortable arena to watch football in.

After a terrific start to the season since promotion from League 1, when they won six of their first seven games in all competitions, things have been rather trickier since, and have now won in their last ten games in all competitions. They found themselves in 13^th place going into today’s match. Barnsley have had a difficult start to their season, almost the opposite of Brighton’s, winning just once in their opening ten games, but then won three of their last six games, and found themselves in 17^th place. 

After a miserable last game at Watford in midweek, when they failed to even have a shot on target in a 0-1 defeat, Brighton needed a good start, which they had,  piling on early pressure in the opening minutes. They could not score an all important goal, and as the first half progressed, Brighton looked the better team, whilst Barnsley always looked capable of scoring on occasional breaks. Just as it looked like the scoreline would be goalless at half time, Brighton scored their first goal in five and a half hours of play, when defender and captain Gordon Greer scored his first goal for the club with a shot across the keeper after the ball spilled from a free-kick into the box.

Barnsley started the second half strongly and the game looked in the balance until the 56^th minute, when Ryan Harley fired home from a tight angle after Craig Mackail-Smith had hit a post. Brighton comfortably saw the game out to win 2-0, it wasn’t a vintage performance but the result was priceless in steadying the ship after their recent poor run. For Barnsley, it looks like being another season of struggle to avoid the drop

Doncaster Rovers 1 v 0 Crystal Palace

Saturday 24th September 2011
Football League Championship
Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster
Admission: £15.00
Programme: £3.00
Attendance: 9,362
Match Rating: 3

With a cheap bus ticket to Sheffield aimlessly booked months in advance, my plan was to attend either the Don Valley Stadium - which has surely assumed the Football League's undisputed number 1 status as the most unsuitable and least atmospheric venue since Brighton vacated the Withdean Stadium, or a non-league game. However, a visit to the Keepmoat Stadium suddenly became the stand-out fixture for me to attend, considering tickets were almost at half price for this fixture, and that Doncaster would be playing Crystal Palace, a club who, being a Charlton fan, are the team I "love to hate" in the Football League.

Having caught the train from Sheffield Meadowhall to Doncaster, the Keepmoat Stadium is located about a twenty minute walk south-east of the train station, sandwiched between industrial estates, a retail park and also a small lake. Although most of the usual complaints about a newly built stadium can be applied here - no real character or unique identity - it is one of the better newly built grounds I have encountered. Well designed on the outside and inside, an attractively designed "wrap-around" stadium with excellent views from every seat in the ground, and the size of the ground has been sensibly set so that it has quite an intimate feel which helps for a good atmosphere to be generated. The programme was quite disappointing with little interesting to read but plenty of mundane articles.

Doncaster have made a dreadful start to this season, gaining just one point and scoring two goals in their opening seven matches, leaving them four points adrift at the foot of the table. Events bordered on the farcical at the club in recent days, with the chairman publicly fully backing manager Sean O'Driscoll on Thursday, only to place him on gardening leave on Friday (apparently via tezt message), quickly to be replaced Dean Saunders, surely appointed due to his name rather than experience gained in the Conference. It seemed harsh on O'Driscoll, perhaps a knee-jerk reaction to the club's poor start, considering the club has overachieved massively in their five years under O'Driscoll up to this season. For Crystal Palace, it has been something of a struggle to maintain their Championship status in the last couple of seasons, however they have made a reasonable start to this season, and find themselves firmly in mid-table, in twelth place in the 24 team league, although they have lost their last two league games.

As might have been expected with a new manager at the helm, Doncaster started off the game quite well, although Crystal Palace's young and pacy forward line always looked capable of weaving their way to a shot on goal. As the first half continued, Crystal Palace increasingly dominated proceedings as Doncaster's play deteriorated, probably due to a lack of confidence on the ball, relying on aimless balls forward, and they were probably slightly fortunate to go into the half-time interval with a 0-0 scoreline.

The second half started off with something of a midfield battle, Doncaster certainly improving but rarely looking capable of scoring. However, arguably the game-changing moment came with the introduction of Doncaster's Billy Sharp, the club's top goalscorer in the last two seasons. His introduction lifted the fans, and his all-action display certainly lifted the team. Ten minutes after his introduction, and Doncaster took the lead, with the slice of luck that clubs in a predicament like Doncaster need, when former Crystal Palace midfielder John Oster took possession about 30 yards out and struck at goal, and a large deflection off a defender's leg wrong-footed the goalkeeper and the ball nestled in the corner of the net. From this point, there only looked to be one winner, as Doncaster spurned several wonderful chances to increase their lead and by now Crystal Palace's threat was negligible. And so Doncaster secured a crucial three points and a good start for the new manager, and whilst they remain bottom of the table, hope will have grown that they can move in the right direction. Crystal Palace look destined for a comfortable mid-table season, and they have some excellent tricky youngsters who the club will do well to keep hold of in the long term.