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February 2020

Posted in Uncategorized | March 3rd, 2020

Saturday 1st February 2020
Sky Bet EFL League 2

Swindon Town 2

Eoin Doyle 20, Hallam Hope 45+2

Exeter City 1

Randell Williams 34

Referee:- Kevin Johnson. ……………………………………………Attendance:- 13,095
Admission:- OMGDS £17.00 (£25). …………………………….Programme:- £3.00
The last time I was at The County Ground was for a Premier League match in 1993. Swindon drew 2-2 that day with Ipswich Town. Today’s match attracted the host’s highest crowd of the season by a considerable margin. Sadly, the windy conditions meant that play was scrappy and disjointed in this first against second confrontation. The home side fans were passionate throughout and the hosts just about deserved their narrow victory.

Monday 3rd February 2020

A gem of a walk in blustery conditions from Empingham across the edge of Rutland Water to Normanton with snowdrops bristling amongst the trees and even the occasional yellow aconite. Alison was fetchingly accoutred in a garb of many colours and the return to Empingham followed a route that swung away from Rutland Water across the fields and the main road to Stamford. Five stiles and 7.7 miles with Alison Merricks, Maureen Owens and Norma Jarvis.

Alison Merricks, Walk Leader!

Monday 3rd February 2020
Premier League 2 Division 1

Tottenham Hotspur u-23 1

Malachi Fagan-Walcott 16

Brighton & HA u-23 2

Peter Gwargis 6, Warren O’Hora 47

Referee:- Elliott Swallow. …………………………….Attendance:- 153 (h/c)
Admission:- OMGDS £2.00 (£5)…………………………programme:- NONE
Free teamsheet

Tuesday 4th February 2020
Emirates FA Cup 4th Round Replay

Derby County 4

Andre Wisdom 28, Duane Holmes 35, Scott Malone 51, Wayne Rooney 77(pen)

Northampton Town 2

Nicky Adams 46, Sam Hoskins 84 (pen)

Referee:- David Webb. ………………………………………….Attendance:- 15,860
Admission:- OMGDS £11.00 (£16)………………………….. Programme:- £2.00

Wednesday 5th February 2020
Uhlsport United Counties League Division 1

Long Buckby 3

Jimmy Smith 5, 41, 73

Wellingborough Whitworth 3

Jack Daldy 7, Maciek Skwirowski 49, Remy Brittain 59,

Referee:- Harry Price……………………………………………………………..Attendance:- 41
Admission:- OMGDS £3.00 (£5)………………………………………..Programme:- £1.00
High flying Bucks were foiled by a spirited, counter-attacking performance from mid-table Whitworth’s. Home striker, Jimmy Smith, helped himself to a hat-trick, but despite leading twice, the hosts found themselves a goal adrift entering the final fifteen minutes. Heavy pressure secured the equaliser, but the winner remained elusive! With Graeme Askham and Dave Gooding.

Thursday 6th February 2020

A bright, sharp, cold morning with ice crunching underfoot and an opalescent clear blue sky overhead. We walked from Wing Maze to Rutland Water and Burley House (not to be confused with Burghley House near Stamford) was clearly visible across the water. After a break at Normanton we returned via the tiny village of Lyndon where the church tower peeps out from behind the squire’s manor! Pretty muddy underfoot towards the end, until we crossed the main railway line from Leicester to Peterborough and began the final steep pull up to Wing! No stiles! 8.6 miles. With Alison Merricks, Harry Hamill and Maureen Owens

Saturday 8th February 2020
Southern Counties Least League Premier Division

K Sports 7 (seven)

Alex Arif 7, Jack Bray 24, Matthew Gething32, 48, 56, James Aldeman 81, Connor Pring 90,

Edith & Belvedere 0
Referee:- Richard Joss. …………………………………………………….Attendance:- 82
Admission OMGDS £4.00 (£8). …………………………………..Programme:- £2.00
A frustrating day started off with the closure of The A14 and just got worse. Tunbridge Wells v Canterbury City – our destination of choice – was called off just as we arrived, due to a waterlogged pitch, so we rapidly adjusted our sights and repaired towards Maidstone. K Sports was not an arena to titivate the tastebuds, being a 3G stadium with a single Meccano stand seating around 100, but the welcome was warm, we saw a good match – with the majority of the opposition playing their first games for the club after a financial crisis and a half time invitation to the boardroom for refreshments. Surprisingly, we really enjoyed the visit! With John Main

Tuesday 11th February 2020
Spartan South Midlands League Division 1

Stotfold 0

London Lions 0
Referee:- Jon Panconi. ……………………………………………Attendance:- 168
Admission:- OMGDS £3.00 (£6)……………………………… Programme:- £2.00
Only Stotfold’s second game (and their first under lights) at their new stadium – The New Roker Park – on a bitterly cold evening with a biting wind. The ground is functional rather than aesthetically pleasing, plenty of car parking, decent club house, a seated stand for maybe 125 spectators and standing cover on the opposite touchline. The match was a disappointment. The hosts barely mustered an attempt on goal whilst the visitors had a couple of second half opportunities. A draw, however, was a fair result. With Graeme Askham, John Main, Phil Evans and any number of interested hoppers!

Friday 14th February 2020
Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund 4

L. Piszczek 33, Jordan Sancho 49, E. Haaland 54, Raphael Guerneiro 74,

Eintracht Frankfurt 0
Referee:- Bastian Dankert. …………………………………….. Attendance:- 81,365
Admission:- €51.00 …………………………………………………..Programme:- NONE
Magnificent experience! The far away end changed from dancing supporters to a tableau of Dortmund history in the blinking of an eye! The match was a walk over for the Signal Iduna (the old timers still prefer The Westphalion Stadion!) side and Jordan Sancho looked every penny worth 100 million -pounds or euros – couldn’t believe how easy it was to access and leave the ground. The underground railway was free and I was back in my hotel within half an hour of the match finishing – despite the massive crowd!
Why are we leaving the European Community? They do things SO much better over here!

Saturday 15 February 2020
Regionalliga 4 West

Wuppertaler SV 1

M. Osenberg 90,

SV Rodinghoussen 4

F. Backszat 43, L. Meyer 54, S. Engelmann 60, 72,

Referee:- Mitja Stegenann ………………………………………………Attendance:- 1,871
Admission:- OMGDS €8.00 (€11)………………………………………Programme:- €1.00
Stadion am Zoo has a capacity of over 23,000 so today’s crowd had plenty of room! To get to the stadium, we travelled by overhead rail swinging from side to side as it negotiated the bends! The match itself, was a pretty turgid affair. The visitors, top of the league, enjoyed a regulation victory over the seventeenth placed hosts, but it was laboured and sterile, although the efforts of the home ultras leant some drama to the occasion! With Gary Miller, Daz Bibby, Dave and my son Mike.

The overhead railway – a feature of Wuppertaler and our means of transport from the Hauptbanhof to The Stadion am Zoo

From the left:- Dave Alderson, Gary Miller, Mike McGeown, Daz Bibby.

Saturday 15th February 2020
Bundesliga

Fortuna Dusseldorf 1

E. Thommy 29

Borussia Moenchengladbach 4

J. Hoffmann 22, L. Stindl 51, 77, F. Heuhaus 82,

Referee:- D. Siebert……………………………………………Official Attendance:- 51,000
Admission:- €30.00. ……………………………………………Programme:- Free A4
Probably not a good idea to leave it late to catch the tram from the station to the ground for what was a local derby match. We were crammed in like sardines!! Even worse getting back – we were crammed like sardines just waiting to board a tram!!! Lovely ground, though and a wonderful atmosphere. The away fans had overflowed out of their penned area and we were surrounded! Great game. The visitors were lethal on the break and fully deserved the victory. Another great German experience!

The away fans celebrate an emphatic victory

Sunday 16th February 2020
Bundesliga 2

SV Darmstadt 98 1

I. Hohn 59,

SV Sandhausen 0
Referee:- B. Kempkes ………………………………………………….Attendance:- 14,310
Admission:-(seated)€16.00………………………………….Programme:- by donation
Darmstadt’s stadium resembled a building site. The new stand was being used for only the second time and the ultras stand behind the goal had a very temporary feel to it. The ground was maybe three or four thousand short of capacity, the ultras gave it all they’d got to burst the air of somnambulism that stretched like a shroud over the game. The only goal came after an hour and the hosts just about deserved the victory and the spoils, but it was a dour contest!!! Dave, Daz, Gary and son Mike were with the ultras. I took a seat in the new stand.

Sunday 16th February 2020
Bundesliga

FSV Mainz 05 0

Schalke 04 0
Referee:- D Winkmann. ………………………………………………Attendance:- 27,482
Admission:- €30.00. ………………………………………………………Programme:- NONE
The Opel Arena stands out on the horizon as the (free) shuttle bus service decants spectators for a half mile trek to the stadium. It is bigger than it looks but there were plenty of unused seats for today’s game. Some of us who had seats were forced to stand because everyone else was! Despite the lack of goals, this was a tense encounter with the plucky hosts giving a good account of themselves against high flying Schalke. The draw was a fair result but both sides had good chances at the death!

Saturday 22nd February 2020
North West Counties League Macron Cup
Quarter Final

Shelley 3

Joshua Dyson 38, Matty Waller 45+1, Alex O’Keefe 66,

Ellesmere Rangers 2

Jack Briscoe 36 (pen), Karl Bailey 53,

Referee:- Zac Bambek …………………………………………………………..Attendance:- 55
Admission:- OMGDS £3.00 (£5) ………………………………………..Programme:- £1.50
High up at the top of the Peak District and almost in Huddersfield, Storthes Hall houses many of the university’s students and The Stafflex Arena, home to Shelley FC for the last five years or so. The ground lies in the shadow of the Emley Radio Mast – presently under repair – on the side of a windswept moor. There is some cover along the near side with tarmac terracing, but narrow hard standing only around the rest of the pitch. Heavy rain which blanked out the radio mast heralded the commencement of this match between two fairly evenly matched sides. In a hard exciting encounter, the hosts just about deserved their victory and progression into the semi-finals of The League Cup. Lovely club, very welcoming!

The Emley Radio Aerial, presently undergoing renovation. The thin mast adjacent is the temporary structure whilst the work is taking place!

Monday 24th February 2020
FA Premier League

Liverpool 3

Gini Wynaldum 9, Mohamed Salah 68, Sadio Mane 81,

West Ham United 2

Issa Diop 12, Pablo Fornals 54,

Referee:- Jonathan Moss. ………………………………………………Attendance:- 53,313
Admission:- £46.00. …………………………………………………………Programme: £3.50
Another step closer to their first league title since 1989 and tonight’s nervy display kept the fans on their toes until the final whistle! West Ham United belied their lowly position and for the first hour, comfortably held the champions elect and could arguably have won the match but for two Fabianski howlers. As usual, a tremendous atmosphere at Anfield. The stadium looked magnificent, but it lacked the theatre of Borussia Dortmund when I was there ten days ago! With Graeme Askham, Chris Berezai and John Lord.

Friday 28th February 2020
Austrian Liga 2

Floridsdorfer AC 3

Milan Jurdik 8, Marco Krainz 17, Christian Bubalovic 83,

SV Horn 3

Jorge Peláez-Sanchez 52, 56, 72,

Referee:- Manuel Schuttengruber. ………………………………….Attendance:- 632
Admission:- €15.00……………………………….Programme and teamsheet:- F.O.C.
This was the ground where Marco Arnautovic commenced his career. It resembles a building site in parts, but we had a very friendly reception and I sat next to the father of Canillas, the hat-trick hero for the opposition this evening. At half time, the result seemed beyond doubt as the hosts held a two goal advantage and had spurned several other inviting opportunities. By the hour mark, the lowly visitors, with two second half substitutes, had not only wiped out the deficit, but had taken the lead! It took a goal seven minutes from time to spare home embarrassment! Very enjoyable and only a twenty minute journey by train from the heart of Vienna. With Jonny Crane, Mark Sumner and son, Jim.

Saturday 29th February 2020
Austrian Liga 2

FC Blau Weiss Linz 1

L. Tursch 61

Grazer AK 1

D. Hackinger 27,

Referee:- G Gmeiner. ………………………………………………Attendance:- 1,285
Admission:- €19.00. ………………………………………………..Programme:- F.O.C.
An hour and a half on the Salzburg express brought us to Linz on The Danube and The Linzer Stadion which is a large athletics arena with a football pitch in the middle and very interesting illumination with floodlight pylons that resemble a finger dotted with diamonds at the tip! The ultras from both teams kept up a fervent support of their icons but, in truth, the match was no classic and a draw was probably the fairest outcome! With Jonny Crane, Mark Sumner and son, Jim!