Who are they!? Exacchhly!! (Matchgoing starting Friday 5 Aug)

[Gangster Octopus]

Finishes Penrith 1 Thornaby 3.

[cantagalo]

Beat that sky Brentford boy...

Yep, that's impressive.

This was the best I could manage tonight.

[Ray de Galles]

We're talking sky, are we?

[Patrick Thistle]

Shrewsbury Town 3-2 Carlisle United
EFL Cup round 1

Took the eldest niece and nephew into safe standing for the first time. Niece was unimpressed at the lack of a seat. They were into it when Shrewsbury scored two goals right in front of us. My first league cup game for some time and the first time in ages I'd done back to back home games.

My sky pic

[Nesta]

A fair few still savouring the pre match pub crawl I see

[Patrick Thistle]

A fair few still savouring the pre match pub crawl I see

Of course

[Tapiocahead]

20220809_205927.jpg A bit of Bradford sky for the thread

[cantagalo]

Radford 1 Anstey Nomads 3
FA Cup Extra Prelim Round Replay
.
A trip to the backstreets of inner-city Hyson Green is not a glamorous experience nor does it provide a suitable backdrop for stunning photos but it does have a certain gritty charm. After their narrow defeat in last season's play-offs, Radford have started well, winning both their league games and achieving a creditable draw at the weekend against their higher ranked opponents.

With a giant-killing on the cards, Radford started strongly and more than held their own. A series of good crosses into the box tested the Nomads' defence and they were perhaps unfortunate not to take the lead. A bad mistake gifted the opening goal to the visitors in added time but remarkably there was still time for an equaliser before the break with an excellent header. Two early goals in the second half as loose balls in the box were lashed home ended any realistic hopes that Radford had but overall they gave a good account of themselves.

[The Mighty Trin]

I find myself at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, which is where Neil Armstrong did his aeronautical engineering degree. My girlfriend spent a few years here so we're visiting her friends. The Purdue Boilermakers (American) football stadium doors were open, so I popped in. I'm told that the record attendance is 71,629, but that it now holds about 55k. Lovely people. They also claim to have the world's biggest marching drum. There's more than corn in Indiana!

[longeared]

Swallownest 0-7 (seven) Wakefield

After an early flurry from Swallownest there were two good chances for the visitors and they should have been two up inside ten minutes. It was only shortly after this that I realised Swallownest were wearing orange rather than blue and they'd actually been on top. Anyway once past this confusion Wakefield set about steamrollering the game, they were five up at half time including an hat trick from the impressive Jake Morrison then took all their best players off and still knocked a couple more in, another player also completing a treble. They're top of the league after that and may take some shifting.

Wakefield AFC are another attempt to set up a football club in the city and they brought a fair travelling support with them, which contributed to a crowd of a huge 262. Terry Curran is involved with them and the great man happened to come and stand next to me. He wasn't terribly impressed with the need for a water break "if I'd asked for a drink when I was playing I'd be told no because I might get a stitch" and once the game was won turned his attentions to his evening's accumulator. Bristol Rovers were letting him down and the scoreline at Shrewsbury didn't help "I've spent more money in t'fish shop than Shrewsbury have on fucking players". I suppose he was lucky I didn't start fanboying over him and going "That goal at the Lane!"

The sky was very nice but unfortunately defied my attempts to get a decent photo of it.

[Furtho]

IMG_20220809_205304525-01.jpg

Newport Pagnell Town 1-2 Stotfold. FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round replay

Newport the better side in the first half, didn't make the most of their superiority but eventually scored via a scramble and were 1-0 up at half time (both teams having had a penalty saved along the way). Second half it felt like Newport's strategy was one of containment; certainly they showed very little up front and the attacking subs they made did not improve them. Stotfold grew into it and started to take control, scoring twice in the last 10 minutes to go through. 339 crowd, including some very young (primary school aged) kids who went behind the goal and shouted "You're shit! Aaaaarrgghh!!" at the Stotfold keeper.

[Patrick Thistle]

kids who went behind the goal and shouted "You're shit! Aaaaarrgghh!!" at the Stotfold keeper.

We had (exactly) one of those shouts aimed at the Carlisle goalkeeper last night. Mainly from yooves rather than young kids.

[Artificial Hipster]

Poynton 0-1 Egerton
Cheshire League Premier Division

Too early for sunset pics but a lovely evening for football spoilt only by, well, the football.

With the 2 keepers seemingly having entered into a secret contest as to who could launch the ball the highest there was an awful lot of head tennis on show such that I found myself increasingly drawn to the cricket taking place on an adjoining field.

Fittingly it was an own goal (pictured) from a long throw that won it after I'd long since resigned myself to a 0-0. Having lost their first 3 games and with ambitions of rising to the NWCL Egerton will have been happy with the points however they came.

[Baptiste]

Mansfield Town 1-0 Tranmere Rovers
Definitely a bogey ground now. We had two golden chances to score, didn’t take them and Mansfield scored a scrappy one from a corner. I’ll give it time but despite a change in formation and vast reduction in average age, this was the same as last years dour stuff. Mansfield hardly set the world on fire either.

Belper United 0-3 Lichfield City
Pleasant afternoon in the sun, the ground wasn’t quite as splendid as I’d been led to believe but pleasant enough. Lichfield dominated but the Belper keeper was playing a blinder until the finally broke through around the hour mark and comfortably added 2 more. As you can see below a drone hovered over the ground in the first half, it seemed nobody noticed.
Tow Law Town 2-0 Tadcaster Albion
Wow. Probably perfect conditions to visit this one. The sun setting over the Pennines in the west, and in the second half, the moon rising in the east. Fabulous backdrop, mild and not a breath of wind. Can imagine can be quite the experience in January. Very tidy and quirky ground with decent facilities and a pronounced slope from touchline to touchline, one of which had the narrowest strip I’ve seen for the assistant to run on.
Tadcaster were the better team but could be a long season for them as they created very little despite a lot of possession. They conceded to a penalty last in the first half and a free kick (below) in the second where the wall parted like the Red Sea. Despite a lot of injury time thanks to a nasty Tadcaster collision with the dug out, the home side comfortably kept the visitors at bay to secure a home tie with Ashington. A fitting and memorable 300th ground.


Attendance at the latter two games was the same, 178!
Mansfield didn’t bother to produce a programme and neither did Tow Law, though they did have a online version which I didn’t look at. So fair play to Belper for making an effort and producing one. At this stage of the season I’d have like to have known how different Mansfield’s team was from last year. Even club websites are half-arsed these days - trying to find out admission prices and definitive KO times wasn’t easy.

All 4 games I’ve seen this season have been low on quality and entertainment, could be heat, shortened pre-season or ever increasing player turnover but I hope things improve…

[Artificial Hipster]

Challenging Ray for sunset of the week there.

[Uros Predic]

In the latest episode of a seven year and counting series of 'Kowalski and I will never quite meet', I set off to watch Llanrwst United v Bangor 1876 only for the bus to break down en route.

Would've been a great sunset in the Conwy Valley last night too.

[ursus arctos]

For Trin, the Purdue drum



They are very proud of it, and it even has its own Wikipedia entry

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purdue_Big_Bass_Drum

[elguapo4]

For Trin, the Purdue drum



They are very proud of it, and it even has its own Wikipedia entry

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purdue_Big_Bass_Drum

Imho it's not a marching band drum unless you can march with it.

[ursus arctos]

I would suggest that you keep that opinion to yourself should ever visit West Lafayette

This guy carries a sledgehammer everywhere he goes

[Ray de Galles]

Wimbledon 0 Gillingham 2
League Cup, First Round
Plough Lane

A promising if ultimately frustrating performance from a relatively young & inexperienced Dons side against Gillingham's usual bunch of clogging shithouse cowards.

Wimbledon played the more coherent football and dominated the balance of chances created but poor finishing from the two second string forwards cost them along with a shocking display of officiating from the referee and one linesman.

To be honest, the officials' incompetence hampered both sides pretty equally for most of the game to be honest and it's hard to recall a dozier pair, given the amount they missed throughout the game.

However, in the latter thirty minutes they managed to deny Ayoub Assal a clear penalty and issue only a yellow for this cunt's assault from Franchise Scum Ben Reeves.

https://twitter.com/mistergls/status/1557445701545738249?s=21&t=mDbmu8ABgmryZ3047mONbQ


I really can't see how it's not a straight red for the kick on Assal after the whistle or a yellow each for the foul with the ball in play and another after it goes dead.

[Capybara]

Sutton Common Rovers 0 Fisher FC 1
FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round Replay

To Whyteleafe, where Sutton Common Rovers are playing their home games this season. steveeeeeeeee & Antepli Ejderha reported an entertaining game between these two at the weekend but this was nothing of the sort with neither team seeming able to put together more than two passes in what was a niggly affair. The only thing I noted in the first half was that, once again, the game started about three minutes late. In the second half, Fisher showed slightly more purpose and after 68 minutes produced the game’s first shot on target. A minute later they had the ball in the net but it was ruled offside. Finally, after 83 minutes, there was some goalmouth action which ended with Fisher’s number 9 scoring the winner and saving us from another 30 minutes. There wasn’t even a decent sunset to photograph. Att: 113

[steveeeeeeeee]

Nice looking ground, though. I shall be attending the next round on the 20th against Sittingbourne FC.

[cantagalo]

Hucknall Town 2 Dunkirk 3
UCL Division 1
Att: 220

A mercifully short trip to Watnall Road and a healthy crowd at this level for what could just about be described as a local derby. I parked just over the road where their new stadium is being constructed. Though I couldn't get in to the building site see how it was progressing, it is due to be open towards the end of this year.

This was my first taste of UCL Div 1 league action this season and I have to say I was disappointed by the standard. Hucknall in particular seem to have regressed from last year when they reached the play-offs. Dunkirk took an early lead and extended it in the second half with the standout moment of the match, a 30 yard screamer by their centre half and captain Lewis Wilcox. A late flurry of goals enhanced the scoreline but could not disguise the poor quality of the game overall.

[Furtho]

Last night I went to a pre-season friendly between Northants Combination big guns Blisworth and our young heroes of the North Bucks & District League, Stony Stratford Town. At kick-off time, 6.30pm, it was still 30 degrees in open sunshine and the pitch, while pretty flat, looked like a desert. The more experienced, physical Blisworth were 4-1 up at half time, Stony pulled it back to 4-4 in the second half and there was no further scoring beyond that. Seven of the eight goals were therefore scored in the goal facing into the sun, the Blisworth players were obviously completely knackered by the early stages of the second half while Stony's team full of teenagers could keep going rather longer. The Blisworth coach, frustrated at his team's capitulation, was heard to shout "One small tactical change and it's gone all apple crumble," which sounds like it ought to be rhyming slang but I don't think actually is.

[NickSTFU]

As mentioned up thread-Shrewsbury 3 Carlisle 2

If I manage my work diary effectively, I can get an early finish for a Tuesday night game and have a mini-pub crawl down Belle Vue, ending up in the 'Grove'.

I didn't on Tuesday, so I just had a couple of 'Thatcher's Gold' (cider weather see) and a bag of crisps.

Simpson got a better reception than I thought he would and just reaffirmed my oft held view that Shrewsbury fans are as soft as shite.

He was a cunt and a racist one at that.

Anyway, a decent game of football where both sides dominated in patches and scored some well worked goals.

Carlisle looked a little lightweight in midfield. Either that, or Salop really are shithouses.

I guess on chances created Shrewsbury deserved the win, but then I wouldn't have begrudged them the win either. Carlisle look a much better side than they did when we played them in the FA Cup last season.

Looking at PT's photo it seems I was stood to the left of him. I did see who I thought was his brother, but turned out it might have been him.