I’d have been keen on going actually. It was a last minute choice to fill the hours between check out and flight for them as it’s been bucketing down today and it was close to the hotel - they were impressed.
As was I with the game, both sides had a sharp passing style, tackled brutally and played with a proper libero. There were 9 ultras for the home side complete with flags, banners and flares while pretty much all the other 200 fans chain smoked throughout. It was like the Serie A games I used to attend in the nineties in microcosm. Atletico won 3-0 through a set of beautifully worked goals.
One oddity was that the home side made five substitutions. Given it was a competitive league fixture, have they altered the rules at that level (and others) in Italy?
Eee it were cold. Southport deserved something from the game, but didn't get it. C'est le Foot. Awful miss from home side when clean through with the clock literally showing 94:59
The scoreboard/stadium clock? I don’t think I’ve been at a game where they go past 90 minutes, I’ve always presumed it’s a regulation to prevent the players/crowd questioning how much injury time has been played.
Colchester away. Really need a good away win after two home draws, but been picking up injuries and our defence has been a bit ropey of late. Hope Akinde is fit enough to start. Good away following, over 1000 tickets bought apparently.
Well, that was shit all round. Terrible game, settled by a scrappy goal after crap defending. Nouble gave our makeshift right back the run around, whilst 7 or 8 of our players looked hungover. We managed two shots on target, with our only meaningful effort coming from a 97th minute free kick. Cowley didn't hold back in his criticism of our defence, and our forwards. Not seen him this critical before, and 2 points from 9 doesn't bode well for the vegans visiting next week.
I'm still angry about Pogba's penalty run up. Also Pogba and Smalling combining to let Everton back into the match. Still, we played some nice stuff and I had a hot vimto.
Found this on the five substitutions in the Serie D game, it doesn't explain the reasoning for it apart from some vague waffle about "change that football is going through at a world level" in the final paragraph. The keeping the substitutions to three windows was ignored yesterday, obviously. ;
I'm still angry about Pogba's penalty run up. Also Pogba and Smalling combining to let Everton back into the match. Still, we played some nice stuff and I had a hot vimto.
Are hot vimtos nice? Colchester were selling them and we were bemused. I've never heard of them.
The IFAB explicitly allows for it below the top level., but I haven’t found definitive proof of it being used elsewhere. From the quote in the Gazzetta piece, the Italians think that they are innovators in this respect.
Steeton are now playing at Keighley Cougars ground which is a 20 minute walk from my house so we've been down a few times this season. I think it's the 3rd time in about a fortnight they've let a 2 goal lead slip.
I went to Guiseley 0 Kidderminster 0 and lost feeling in my extremities long before the end. The only incident of note being the Kidderminster team doing all their skipping over cones directly in front of me at the start of the 2nd half which made me a bit self conscious
Watched AFC Liverpool v Steeton this evening. Both sides scored a penalty in the first half before Steeton scored twice in the second half and looked like they were on course to secure the win. However a looping shot over the keepe halved the deficit erode AFC Liverpool equalised in the 93rd minute. This was the second time I've seen AFC Liverpool get a 3-3 draw this month, although on the previous occasion it was them that threw away a two goal lead in stoppage time. It's also the second time in a couple of weeks that I've seen Steeton lose a two goal lead.
Cheltenham v Stevenage - only the second game I've been to since Sept 1st and I can't say I'm looking forward to it, Cheltenham are bloody dreadful at the moment.
It's not too much of a stretch to say that I saw more quality in my 12 year old's game yesterday afternoon than I did in this load of crap.
Cold, damp, and more entertainment watching the clock tick over than anything that happened on the pitch.
Stevenage were shite and Cheltenham made them look like World beaters. Looks like, unless something very dramatic happens around January time, our second stay in the Football League will be a short one.
The IFAB explicitly allows for it below the top level., but I haven’t found definitive proof of it being used elsewhere. From the quote in the Gazzetta piece, the Italians think that they are innovators in this respect.
It's allowed in the UEFA Youth League - I witnessed it at Liverpool's game last week - and the European competitions for under 17s and 19s (male and female).
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