Frauleins beat men to Euro glory

Stamford Bridge provided the location for a fitting end to my football season at the Women's UEFA Champions League Final. Having enjoyed the corresponding fixture two years ago at Craven Cottage, the fact that admission was doubled to £10 was not a problem as I went to see if Olympique Lyonnais could win a third successive final against Vfl Wolfsburg,

However the evening was a pretty anodyne experience compared to that at homely Fulham, an impression which was formed as soon as I was greeted by a phalanx of five bouncers and signs informing me of football prices at the local Wetherspoons. 

A crowd approaching 20,000 gathered at the Bridge to watch a tense affair with the French meriting their favourites tag throughout, the winger of two years ago Louisa Necib controlling the game from the middle of the pitch. They were unable to break down the German defence though, Wolfsburg maintaining a breakaway threat throughout and once they had weathered an early second half storm, Martina Muller took advantage of a generous penalty award to score what proved to be the winning goal from the penalty spot.

Weary Wigan surrender to fate

L for Latics

A wet Tuesday evening in North London was the backdrop to what finished as a comfortable win for Arsenal but what, up to the hour  mark was a keenly contested game.

Playing for an essential three points to keep up hopes of winning the soul destroying race for Champions League Football, Arsenal started brightly when Lukas Podolski opened the scoring with a header. With the Gunners well in control a jaded Wigan looked to have run out of gas after their awesome FA Cup win last Saturday.

Having been applauded onto the pitch by all corners of the stadium the small knot of Latics fans, penned appropriately in a small L shaped section of the normal away end, comfortably made themselves heard, and as complacency crept into the Arsenal ranks, Athletic began to get into the game.

Failing to score a second that would have killed off the game, Arsenal began to sit deeper and become preoccupied with referee Mike Dean's decisions. An athletic toe poke by Laurent Koscielny saved the blushes of Wojciech Szczesny when he came out late to challenge Arouna Kone and it was no surprise when Shaun Maloney levelled the score with a delightful free kick just ahead of half time.

At half time a pitchside interview with ex Gunner Brian Talbot introduced some perspective to the argument about squad rotation as his remarkable feat of being on the pitch for every second of Arsenal's 70 matches in the marathon 1979-80 season was recalled.

After the break Wigan continued to show the spirit and invention required to win the match and with Arsenal also needing to win an open game ensued. It was clear that the next goal was going to be crucial and the tide turned in Arsenal's favour when Szczesny pulled off a decent save from Kone. The sorcery of Santi Cazorla then paid divdends as the Spaniard set up three goals in nine minutes for Theo Walcott, Podolski and Aaron Ramsey the latter seeing the Welshman cap another solid game with a deft finish.

At the final whistle Wigan dejectedly plodded over to thank their supporters. Although many sounded the death knell for the club following their failure to once again save themselves at the last from relegation its timely to note that it was Paul Jewell who led them to promotion into the Premier League. There are plenty of managers of Jewell's ilk around for manager Dave Whelan to appoint should Roberto Martinez leave, and with the club's financial structure still in place there is no reason to doubt that they will be challenging for a return to the top flight next season. Arsenal in the meantime made preparations for a lap of appreciation although I opted to trudge off to the tube in the pouring rain, a prospect preferable to saluting the possibility of  the pseudo achievement of another Champions League qualifying place.

Freedom Football

Left it late for my annual visit to Craven Cottage this season but I was rewarded with an enjoyable day at the match which in the style at Fulham is how football ought to be. With opponents Reading already relegated this freed up the mind to focus purely on the game and forget what might be happening elsewhere. Indeed the end of season mania was firmly left in the pub pre match as we voyeuristically watched the final day of the Football League in the aptly named Temperance a hostelry just busy enough to enjoy a pre match pint with the buzz of football talk.

A brisk walk in the sunshine through Bishop's Park took me to the away end and a fixture I had regularly watched in the late 80s/early 90s in an altogether more sedate atmosphere. These games were played in Division Three before crowds around the 4,000 mark and were low scoring affairs, the faded glory of the Cottagers summed up by the minor celebrities such as the Oxo Dad and Duffy from Casualty brought onto the pitch to perform the half time draw, and the bitter men who stood in the paddock of the Stevenage Road stand next to the Cottage shaking their fists at the steepling open terrace of the away end.

Although the roof to cover the still temporary feeling seats on the terrace unfortunately obscures the view, at least it creates an atmosphere with the away fans buffered by the unique neutral zone. Freed from the worry of their fate, the Reading fans were determined to enjoy their day out by the Thames, creating a raucous atmosphere to which their team responded with their biggest win of the season. All this was in spite of the unnecessary attentions of the inappropriately named WISE stewards who seemed to spend most of the game trying to confiscate Mr Blobby.

Reading started the game in fine form, deservedly taking the lead from a Hal Robson-Kanu penalty. As the half drew on Fulham came in to the game but found their path to goal blocked by the outstanding Alex McCarthy who looks as though he may one day justify the chants of England's number 1. However a change following the opening goal to boost the home teams attack with the addition of Hugo Rodallega seem to have the reverse effect by the way the impressive David Ruiz was moved into a more withdrawn role.

Reading justified their half time lead by pioneering a second half goal fest which on the one hand reinforced the best league in the world tag with the concomitant excitement but on the other the number of unforced defensive errors suggested that this was a game more of Championship quality.

Despite striker Pawel Pogrebnyak appearing to play with the hand brake on, his team mates needed no stimulus, scoring three goals marked by the quality of the finish. Taking advantage of a deep lying one paced centre back pairing of Hangeland and Senderos, Robson-Kanu and Le Fondre maintained the Royals lead before Karacan sealed the points with a shot drilled in along the ground from the edge of the penalty area.

The goals only served to exhort the already buoyant away support to new heights of glee at this unexpected turn of events regularly pointing out the incredible nature of the win. Fulham did belatedly wake up to the fact that they are not quite safe from relegation with Ruiz spearheading their comeback by scoring two goals, but on the rare occasions that McCarthy was unable to stop any further scoring attempts the woodwork came to Reading's rescue.

Thus with both teams going for it in the style of promotion/relegation death match, both sets of fans were treated an extraordinarily open second half which went some way to justifying the ticket price. Looking ahead Fulham need to address their decline if they are to maintain their Premier League status next season, whilst its clear that Reading have the makings of a team which can hold steady in the Championship. So it will be the signings made in the summer which will be crucial in inspiring each club to better themselves next season. 

A relaxing afternoon ended with a stroll back to the Temperance where we were briefly joined by Reading legend Adie Williams. It somehow summed up the day that he was able to freely chat with fans despite the Premier League hype, and proves yet again that a trip to Craven Cottage is the best value day out at the match in London.

Out with a whimper

A welcome stress free trip to Billericay yesterday due to the rare occasion of Maidenhead United being safe on the final day of the season. As such it was carnival time with the welcome tradition of the final away trip made in fancy dress. Despite the reservations of some this to me is a perfect antidote for the overbearing pomposity of those who cannot acknowledge that football is nothing more than a leisure pursuit. It also demonstrates a refusal to conform to the half scarf, full kit wearing consumer identity becoming depressingly familiar throughout the English game.

Although the Magpies could not match the marvellous penguins of Hartlepool United (above) , there was a good showing in a range of outfits, including two Noddy Holders. 

Don't fear the reaper

On a more serious note, with Billericay already relegated, the services of the Grim Reaper were still required and he spent the train journey silently meditating under his cowl to prepare for the solemn rites which he would have to perform that afternoon.Arriving at Billericay we had plenty of time to enjoy the High Street with its many pubs. Everywhere we went we were greeted warmly aside from the woman who was worried about the soul of the reaper and wanted to open his heart to Jesus which was worrying as I would have thought she would have been aware of the key role he has to play at Armageddon as detailed in the Book of Revelations. The raggle taggle army of Maidenhead fans ebbed and flowed towards the ground with unfortunately the final walk to New Lodge being showered with rain. Inside the ground just ahead of kick off it was clear that this would be a match too far for United, with Curtis Ujah injured pre match leading to Tom Gilbey being called into the team in what was the definition of a makeshift defence. Having something of a point to prove after their narrow defeat at York Road in February, 'Ricay were on top for  most of the game, Billy Lumley being called into action early on to tip a Jay May shot over the bar in the fifth minute. With just over a quarter of an hour gone May went on to score what proved to be the only goal of the game when he took advantage of a defensive mix up to smash home the winner off the cross bar.

The Great Dictators

As befits a relegated team, Billericay weren't exactly solid at the back but Maidenhead spurned a golden chance to equalise when following some good work from Daniel Brown and Reece Tison-Lascaris, Chris Flood somehow managed to snatch the miss of the season from Richard Pacquette's grasp by ballooning the ball over from virtually under the crossbar. It really did seem easier to score. Later in the half Michael Pook had a free kick tipped over the bar but Billericay could well have doubled their lead just ahead of the break when a Lumley block fell to an attacker who blasted the ball wide.

After the interval the game continued in a similar fashion, but as the half drew on Maidenhead fought harder to find an equaliser, a lovely pass from Brown putting David Pratt in the clear only for his shot to hit the cross bar with seventeen minutes remaining.

Cum on feel the noize

A late free kick cried out for the watching Alex Wall to leap onto the pitch and score but it was somehow appropriate that the game finished 1-0 to Billericay to leave Maidenhead in a final place of fourth bottom. A win would have seen the Magpies rise to fourteenth but this would have been a false reflection of a season which promised much in patches but sadly only served to deliver a fourth consecutive campaign of struggle. Many a time over the last nine and a half months, the comment "we're a top ten team" has been made. That may have been true on the occasion of some of the better performances but the league table doesn't lie.The fact is that better discipline and fitness has led to the improvement required to stay up, but without consistency the feats of the similarly supported and funded Weston-super-mare in challenging for the play offs are far away.The first priority must be to build a defence which is capable of lasting the season to avoid the problem caused by patching it up with loan signings and itinerant players looking for match fitness to secure a move. Today's signing of Curtis Ujah is a step in the right direction. All things being equal the first eleven might be good enough on paper for this level but without the fringe players challenging for places its all too easy to slip into the losing runs which are an unfortunate trademark of Drax's reign at York Road. A positive element of the Conference South which has now developed is that all the sleeping giants in the feeder leagues seem to have risen back to their natural level leaving a division divided into three: those with serious title ambitions with the appropriate support and infrastructure, those whose status is secure and the stragglers. This has seen the division take on the characteristics of the Isthmian League Premier which preceded it, Maidenhead's position in the latter group at least helped by the fact that the newly promoted clubs also look destined to struggle. With this likely to continue next season, the club must prioritise the two FA competitions. As the team is likely to lose more league games than it wins, cup runs in these national high profile competitions are vital to raise the morale of everyone at the club. The prize money is not to be sniffed at either. The best eleven must play in these games, regardless of up coming league fixtures, with midweek games being moved where possible to accommodate proper rest and recuperation. A little bit of glory goes a long away in salving the pain of dropping points week in week out.

Where's Wally?

Mick Jones resolves culture Clash

Spot the ball

As a new town, on first reflection Crawley seems to be quite incongruous in its Sussex setting, but unlike its ugly sisters over the border in Hampshire, things have turned out rather well not just for the town but also its thriving football club.
Helped by a backdrop of early summer sunshine Broadfield stadium proved to be the ideal location for a meaningless end of season middle of the table lower division match between the hosts and Preston North End.
The short walk to the ground provoked the thought that this was the town, Basingstoke wanted to be, the approach to the stadium lined by appropriate art and accessed by a pedestrian subway which hardly evoked the dystopian terrors associated with its counterpart in Wolverhampton.

No subway army to watch out for

Being a modern football ground, cash was not accepted at the turnstile, but purchasing admission via a short walk around the main stand to the ticket kiosk was simple enough with a programme rounding up the charge to £20. This part of the stadium was the showpiece with the Blue Square Bet Premier Champions sign still proudly displayed two years after the Red Devils left non league football.

No beer in sight of the pitch

The tidy away section of the ground, catered fully for the visitors, even including a bar modeled on one of those hastily erected smoking areas which sprung up in pubs all over the country when the smoking ban came in. This clever erection allowed beer drinkers to comply with the "no alcohol in sight of the pitch" dictum whilst still remaining firmly in the ground which only served to illustrate how ridiculous this rule is, as once  I had finished my reasonably priced half litre of Carlsberg (the metric measure only serving to increase the feeling I was at a game in Europe), and with the alcohol still coursing through my veins I managed to avoid the incredible hulk like transformation into a football hooligan as the pitch came into view within a couple of short steps.

The stadium itself showed little signs of its non league past with the main stand being flanked by two terraces at either end. However the gazebo which ran the length of the opposite touchline was not obviously temporary although pretty much a bigger version of the kind I'd last seen at Truro.

Nice gazebo

As the teams warmed up I was pleasantly surprised to see former Magpie manager John Dreyer leading North End through their paces. I assumed he had followed sacked manager Graham Westley out of the door , but it was good to see he had broken his link with the Stevenage boss and had now paired up with new Preston manager Simon Grayson.

Tumble takes the warm up

The build up to the game had been so laid back it was shame it had to kick off. From the start Crawley, wearing a smart modern take on Southampton's classic 80s Patrick kit, took control with some slick passing which quickly bewildered a leaden footed Preston defence. A goal came early, Mike Jones' strike from distance bouncing unkindly over the dive of goalkeeper Thosten Stuckmann. Crawley continued to dominate and should have pressed home their superiority with at least another goal. Preston offered little in return beside hopeful long balls up to lone striker Jack King (ex Woking and Farnborough), thus as Crawley's early burst faded the game became a dull affair, worse in comparison to the non league fare I'm accustomed to, due to the faster pace.

After the break Preston's tempo saw them make inroads into the Crawley penalty area on a regular basis, and they looked capable of an equaliser, particularly when winger Lee Holmes entered the fray. Indeed Crawley were only saved by the cross bar from a King header, and Preston were denied a good claim for a penalty when a defender hauled down his man on the blind side of the referee.

Still based on the first half a draw would have flattered Preston and its clear Grayson has a lot of work to do to transform Westley's squad into a promotion chasing outfit next season. Crawley continue to progress with what will be their highest ever finish. Assuming they will build on an impressive base of 1,700 season ticket holders they could well be challenging for the play offs next season.

Harry's Game

And so it came to pass that Maidenhead United secured their position in the "Title Sponsor Vacant" South for next season with a full seven days to spare thanks to a fairly comfortable win over a shambolic Bromley outfit. 

It was one of those rare days when everything comes together. The sun was shining, the biggest crowd of the season turned up and the players delivered when it mattered. Add in the results elsewhere and Maidenhead United will have the uncommon privilege of a last week of the season which matters little beyond the odd move up or down the table.

Going into the game both sides were woefully out of form, Bromley having lost seven consecutive games and not even managing a goal in the last five, whilst Maidenhead had a record of nine defeats in their last ten outings. Bromley's disastrous form was rumoured to be down to off the field problems leading to a demotivated team and in truth what took the field at York Road was the worst team I had seen since Truro City visited back in September. This is very unusual for a Mark Goldberg eleven and its clear much needs to change at Hayes Lane if they are to start next season in better shape than they are finishing this one.

Maidenhead if not quite able to score at will were certainly able to freely create chances throughout the game, with just the usual Magpie defensive frailty meaning the result remained in doubt to the dying minutes. Harry Pritchard was the man to shine for United with a dazzling performance of wingplay, alternating between firing in deadly crosses with some old fashioned mazy Charlie Charles style dribbling.

Kicking off down the slope Maidenhead took the game to Bromley from the outset, Bobby Behzadi creating an early chance typical of the match with a long ball over the top which found Richard Pacquette only for the striker to balloon his shot over the bar.

The first goal arrived on the quarter hour mark when Pritchard danced round the defence in the penalty area to set up David Pratt who swept the ball home from close range. Obviously being Maidenhead this was not the start of a comfortable afternoon and Bromley equalised five minutes later when Darren Waldren headed in from a corner.

With Pritchard in his pomp though there was little chance of Maidenhead being pinned back, the winger rattling the crossbar before delivering a free kick which eluded everyone. Not to be denied he then lobbed the ball over the top to Reece Tison-Lascaris who rounded the keeper with typical aplomb to score before collecting the plaudits from the crowd behind the goal.

After the break Pritchard continued where he had left off, firing a humdinger of a shot goalward which forced a great save from the feet of the goalkeeper, he then delivered a corner onto the head of Pacquette to double the margin of the lead. As Maidenhead started to relax the game looked in danger of turning into a rout as Pritchard again set up Pacquette twice more, the first effort going wide, the second hitting the back of the net only to be disallowed for a push by another United player.

The lack of discipline shown by Bromley all afternoon boiled over with twenty minutes remaining when captain Waldren was sent off after tussling on the ground with Tison-Lascaris, but the ten men showed the resilience to pull a goal back with nine minutes to go from another set piece, a free kick from the right side of the halfway line finding Pierre Joseph-Dubois who applied a deft finish to beat Billy Lumley. Any terrace jitters were soon dispelled though when within two minutes Tison-Lascaris set up to Pacquette to restore the two goal lead. There was even time for Pacquette to miss a chance for a hat trick before the final whistle went and the result from Sutton United more or less confirmed Maidenhead United had beaten the drop again.There will be plenty of time to reflect in May on a season which promised more than it delivered in league terms so for now its best to enjoy the moment when everyone did their bit to ensure the three points were won. There was James the mascot leading the team out (perhaps the sight of him holding hands with Michael Pook defused a little tension), injured Mark Nisbet wearing his lucky pink shirt and tie, and most importantly Charlie the dog whose York Road record now reads attended three won three. I think I'll buy him a season ticket in the summer.

Emirates Stalemate

Top quality game at Arsenal on Tuesday night which began at least in warm Spring sunshine for a change. With both sides in need of three points it was good to see an open game. Although for Everton it was certainly a case of no quarter asked or given, the Toffee's up and at 'em approach initially discombobulated Arsenal as they appealed in vain to the officials for protection. However once the Gunners realised that Everton knew exactly where the referee's line was and how to sidle alongside it, they stepped up to the plate and from then on looked most likely to win the game. That they didn't was down to the absence of a top drawer striker. Last season Robin Van Persie earned the three points with a sublime piece of skill to score the only goal of the game. This time around no one was quite good enough to make the most of the few goal scoring opportunities that were created. With the ever impressive Fellaini in the cockpit, Everton also maintained a threat leaving the draw a fair result which reflected the clubs current status in the chasing pack.

Mustard finish sees off negative Norwich

A funny day at the Grove yesterday which began with a massive sigh of relief when I discovered that the Maidenhead game at Dorchester had been called off at 2.45 pm. But for an early evening engagement, I would have made the pointless trip, but at least those that did could drown their sorrows with £1.50 bottles of Carlsberg.

As for the game in front of me, despite Arsenal's strong Spring league form I was full of worry about the result. I was sat in the North Bank where I rarely see Arsenal win, indeed I can remember watching Chris Hughton's last visit in 2010 when his Newcastle team won a dour game 1-0, shortly before he was sacked. Still at least the prospect of goals were on offer, having sat nearby when almost a year ago Norwich shared six goals in a great game of football, and also earlier this season when a late penalty missed by Mikel Arteta prevented the Fulham game being settled by the odd goal in seven.

The last ten minutes aside though what transpired was an awful game of football to match the miserable weather which even seem to dampen the spirit of the foam finger wearers and split scarfers. With Norwich struggling on the brink of the relegation zone, their approach to the game was entirely understandable putting ten men behind the ball. Arsenal's starting eleven was unable to break them down, with Gervinho lacking guile, Wilshire match fitness and Cazorla stuck out of position on the wing. With Giroud seeming to play in a withdrawn role (false nine? - cue joke), Arsenal offered little promise of scoring whilst the game remained goalless.

As usual it took an opposition goal from a set piece by Michael Turner to spark the Gunners into life, with at least Wenger having the option to bring on some quality attacking players in Walcott, Podolski and Chamberlain. With the first two of the three returning to fitness it was good to see the impact they had on the game and hopefully they will be deemed ready for selection in the crucial game against Everton on Tuesday night.

However Arsenal's salvation was late coming and in the time between the Norwich opener and the equaliser, the Canaries demonstrated some cynical gamesmanship to slow the game down and waste time. I have no problem with the goalkeeper moving the ball across the six yard box or waiting for an attacker to challenge before picking it up but I really detest the antics of Grant Holt who when on several occasions a throw was clearly awarded to Arsenal did everything to obstruct a resumption of play. Norwich were helped by a weak referee who acquiesced with their tactics as the temperature grew in the stadium with the boiling blood of the Gooners.

That the equaliser came from a controversial penalty made it all the sweeter although the controversy was somewhat manufactured as it centred on how far away the linesman was when he made the award rather than the actual foul itself. The game then threatened to descend into pantomime as the Norwich players refused to conclude their heated debate with the officials in the corner, and then goalkeeper Mark Bunn stormed off in a huff to leave an empty net. The referee would have had a lot of sympathy for allowing Arteta to put the ball into the unguarded goal but he waited for Bunn to return before the midfielder delightfully placed the ball just beyond the keepers reach in the far corner.

The last few minutes then made up for the dross that had been on show before with Arsenal taking the lead with what looked like an own goal claimed by Giroud, and Fabianski making a superb save with his feet from Howson in a Norwich move direct from the restart. Podolski then completed the scoring with the goal of the game, a computer style turn and Howitzer shot which gave the goalkeeper no chance.

Job just about done as the Gunners rise to third place in timely fashion, looking good to stay there with a lot of important squad members returning from injury.