Best fans in the world: FACT.

England vs Ghana

A little bit of Ghana comes to London.

Following the win over Wales, England were in action again.  A second string team was to face a Ghana team fresh from a nine hour flight after their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier win against Congo.  Apparently the England friendly was given higher billing than the qualifier in the Ghanaian press.  There are a lot of Ghanaians in England and they all seemed to be heading to Wembley, willing their team to be the first from the African continent to win on English soil.  The first sight of the away fans was at London Marylebone station as several fans walked down the platform in a swirling vortex of colour and noise.  The sound of bongos filled the air, accompanied by strong Ghanaian singing voices.  The singing continued on the train to the stadium itself as more Ghana fans joined the party.

Inside the ground the Ghanaians had filled their 20,000 allocated seats and some had spilled over, intermingling with the England fans.  The atmosphere was fantastic as the teams were read out and the anthems played.  The Ghana fans were doing their best to out-sing the 60,000 England fans and they were succeeding more often than not.  They cheered everything from throw-ins to passes, from shots to misplaced Glen Johnson crosses, of which there were many.

The ground filling up before kick-off.

Ghana had the better of the chances early on, with Hart forced into making good saves to keep the scores level.  England started to come back into it despite some crunching Ghanaian tackles and good attacking play in the wide areas caused the Black Stars problems.  Only some great 'keeping by Kingson denied Ashley Young a goal.  Young had another golden opportunity half way through the first period as he somehow smashed a shot into the crossbar from what seemed like a yard out.  England finally took the lead just before half-time.  Downing failed to control the ball in the area and Carroll, following some earlier lethargy, burst onto it; smashing it past Kingson.

A rare first half attack from the Black Stars.

The second half was all Ghana.  The Black Stars were putting pressure on England, who had replaced the woeful Johnson with the equally disappointing Lescott.  England, whilst under pressure, remained largely unscathed thanks to profligacy on the part of Ghana.  The Black Star players seemed to receive the ball, panic and then either shoot from an unlikely position or run the ball off the pitch.  They did have one meaningful attack but the resultant shot was well blocked by the inanimate-carbon-rod-like Gareth Barry.

There were several subs made during the second period, with Defoe, Jervis and Welbeck all making appearances in place of Carroll, Young and the excellent Wilshere.  As the clock ticked on it looked like the Ghanaian support was going home empty handed.  It took until the 90th minute for the equalizer to come but it was well worth the wait.  Gyan, beating Lescott for the third or fourth time in forty-five minutes, buried the ball into the bottom corner.  There was just a wall of noise as the well deserved Ghanaian celebrations kicked off.

Leaving the ground, the party mood continued with singing and dancing all around the stadium (video below).  I have never been so pleased to see any team score against England as I have the Black Stars.  Their fans are truly the best I have ever seen and they have surely made a lot of friends in their first senior trip to England.

Next up: Boston face Worcester City at York St.

Easy

Wales vs England

Firstly a bit of pre-amble... It's been a busy week at Boston United.  Shortly after the Harrogate game last week it became apparent that Rotherham had sacked their manager.  Inevitably the rumour mill started turning adding to the fears that the managers would leave.  Rob Scott had previously denied all links with Grimsby but the Rotherham job was bigger and at Scott and Hurst's footballing home no less.  The news broke on Monday morning.  No, not Rotherham... Grimsby.  Flipping GRIMSBY!  Rob Scott seemingly not fussed about lying to the Boston fans had, along with Hurst, been informed of an approach by United chairman David Newton.

Newton advised the managers that they'd be allowed to talk to Grimsby if they would agree to some conditions which would cover the Pilgrims financially for the remainder of the season.  Rob Scott threw a hissy fit worthy of any toddler and promptly resigned taking Hurst with him with only seven games left in the season.  Since then, the now ex-managers have signed up to lead a team who are, frankly, not going anywhere this year.  In fact there is a chance that they may be playing Boston next year.

The waters are muddied even further by the fact that Scott and Hurst have no legitimate way of releasing themselves from their contracts and are, as such, still Boston managers.  Hurst is still registered as a player at York St!  Grimsby are adamant that Boston and Newton don't have a leg to stand on over compensation but I'd back Newton to rinse the Codheads for all they're worth over this.

Newton had to find some managers to take up the reigns before the crunch game at Solihull on Saturday.  He plumped for on-again, off-again Boston striker Jason Lee and club captain Lee Canoville.  I would imagine that this is only to the end of the season and is probably another wise decision from the chairman.  These two know the club and the team and probably won't change too much.  Their first decision came with the news that Haystead could be out for the rest of the season.  This prompted the return of 40 year old, club legend and record appearance holder, Paul Bastock.  Good luck, guys!

So the Solihull game was looking even more important now but, having not known this several months ago, I'd made other plans.  So it was that I found myself speeding through a misty English countryside on Saturday morning bound for another country.  A strange foreign land, with odd customs and an even more odd affinity for all things woolly.  Arriving in Cardiff it was clear that a party atmosphere was building as England fans milled around the crowded streets and bars.  Table football and super-expensive beer accompanied the highlights of encounters past in the England village.

The teams come out.

Miss Wales sings the anthems.

It was soon time to make the trip through the streets of Cardiff to the Millennium Stadium.  The ground started to fill up before kick-off and eventually almost 69,000 people crowded into the stadium.  The English national anthem was met with an inevitable wall of boo's, incidentally this was the most noise the Welsh made all day, whilst the Welsh anthem was greeted with a shower of inflatable sheep.  The match kicked off and within minutes the small number of Welsh fans having a party near the away end were silenced.  Frank Lampard's penalty conversion on seven minutes followed minutes later by a great Darren Bent conversion, after some good work by Glen Johnson and Ashley Young, effectively ended the game.

With some Wales fans calling it a day and making their way to the exits after only 20 minutes, the match descended into a training exercise for England.  The Welsh team were awful and none of the players seemed to want the ball.  England on the other hand were confident and with a bit more application could have scored several more.

Lampard scores the penalty.

With the lack of competition and the near silence from the Welsh fans it was difficult for the English to get any sort of atmosphere going, particularly in the second half.  The atmosphere amongst the group of Boston Boys at the game was probably lower than average with the news of England's heavy defeat in the 2011 Cricket World Cup being compounded by reports of a missed Weir-Daley penalty and a 1-0 loss at Solihull.  The rest of the EURO 2012 qualifier was played out calmly.  Wales had one or two chances but weren't able to capitalize due to a serious lack of quality all over the pitch.

England fans applaud the players.

Standing in the ridiculously poorly organized queues at Cardiff Central Station for an hour or so, there was time to mull over the game as England's qualifying campaign rolls on.  England's was a competent performance, you can only beat what's in front of you after all.  Wales on the other hand have some serious rebuilding to do to get anywhere near to being competitive in this competition.  Post match reaction from Solihull seemed to indicate that the Pilgrims were the better team and probably should have got something.  So, some consolation for the trip home.  It wasn't the worst day by a long stretch but it definitely wasn't the best either.

Next up: England take on Ghana at Wembley in a friendly.

After the Lord Mayor's show...

Boston United vs Harrogate Town

Baby Pink...

Following the dazzling second half performance on Tuesday, this clash was always going to be a case of after the Lord Mayor's show.  The Harrogate game earlier in the season was the stereotypical game of two halves.  6-2 at half time only to finish 6-3.  Boston made one change before the game, with reserve 'keeper Ricky Drury coming in for Dan Haystead who'd turned his ankle.

Ricky Drury.

Boston had a couple of good chances early on with Newsham and Pearson denied but, in truth, never really got going.  Drury did well to not be distracted by the baby pink away shirts and to claim his first save of the match.  This set the tone for an assured début performance.  Half an hour in and Harrogate were in front.  Nowakawakaski (or something like that) was played in as the defence was split by a through ball.  In on goal the 'keeper stood no chance and Boston were behind.  Seven minutes later Boston were further behind.  A cross to the back post was converted well by Marshall.  Boyes tried to pull one back for United but Harrogate's Sideshow Bob look-a-like centre-back was on hand to clear off the line.  United's passing was woeful and the close control was awful.  The Pilgrims deservedly went in 2-0 down at half time.

Semple and Darley came on for Yates and Sleath, the main culprit of the first halves bad passing, at half time in an attempt to brighten the side up.  The game was still flat ten minutes later as Weir-Daley was introduced in place of Newsham.  It was looking like the only way Boston would score was if one of the Town players picked the ball up and threw it in the... GOAL!  Weir-Daley running onto a Boyes flick on nailing the ball home from twenty yards.  

The longest name in non-league?

The Town 'keeper did everything he could to waste time eventually earning himself a booking.  The Boston fans got even more wound up as Dorothy a.k.a. Gary King arrived on the scene.   With this substitution it became clear that Harrogate weren't going to score a third and United looked to push on for the equalizer.  Pearson and Boyes both had chances but they failed to take advantage.  It looked like that was it as the clock ticked into the fifth minute of injury time.  Semple broke free down the right and swung in a great cross.  Harrogate couldn't clear and an almighty scramble ensued.  The pinball concluded with Weir-Daley poking home from all of a foot to equalize.

A lucky point for the Pilgrims from a flat game in front of 1369, especially on a day when Nuneaton and Alfreton both lost and Guiseley also dropped points.  Next up for the Pilgrims is an away trip to Solihull Moors in a BIG game in the play-off hunt, coverage on United Live.

Next up for me: Wales vs England in Cardiff.

Wow, just wow.

Boston United vs Alfreton Town

Alfreton are, in the words of some, a little bit good.  Their record before the game reflected this, P24 W20 D2 L2 scoring 64 in the process.  Since losing to Boston at their place only Telford have managed to inflict a defeat, again at the Impact Arena.  Telford, as you might remember, aren't bad either and they managed a draw in the return game.  Alfreton look to be clear favourites sitting in second, their 24 games played being seven fewer than Nuneaton who top the league by a point.  With statistics like these and Boston managing to win with their only shot on target last time out it, would be fair to assume that Alfreton were up for this.  Coming into Boston just over an hour before kick-off I had a horrible feeling we might get a hiding.

89 away fans made the trip.

The crowd reflected the importance of this game and, with Man United on the telly, 1503 (89 from Alfreton) was a superb mid-week attendance.  So good in fact that it was 400+ more people than at Macclesfield Town vs Lincoln City in League 2.  There was a bit of an atmosphere from the outset as the Town End cleared their collective throats with the teams emerging.  United made three changes with Hunter and Semple out as Newsham and Yates came in, while the injured Jelleyman was replaced by Canoville as Cullingworth switched to left-back.  Alfreton included ex-Pilgrims Ian Ross and Daryl Clare who got a good reception on the whole.

The game was a classic from the outset, end to end with both teams having chances and both defences working hard to keep the scores level.  Haystead did a fantastic job to keep a cross/shot from dipping into the top of the goal-mouth.  It was to be in vein as, twenty minutes in, Ian Ross came along with the curse of the ex-player, delivering an arrowed ball from the right which took a flick on from Brown a long way out to divert it into the top corner.  The goal seemed to come as a bolt from the blue and United had to pick themselves up.

The game continued to be tight but was beset by bizarre refereeing decisions.  Credit to the Alfreton players for not diving but it didn't stop the ref from calling play to a halt for the lightest of touches.  These interruptions favoured Alfreton as it disrupted the Pilgrim's rhythm.  This really told as United were hit on the break.  A Boyes shot was blocked and the ball was sprayed to Hearn quickly, he committed Haystead before planting the ball into the empty net with minutes to go before half-time.  Hearn celebrated excessively in front of the United fans and could've easily been booked if the ref. was paying any attention.

The Town End through the mist.

2-0 down at half-time and United looked dead and buried.  The Pilgrims hadn't played badly at all but Alfreton had shown why they were league title favourites.  It was going to take something pretty special to pull even a point out of this match.

The second half kicks off.

Boston started the second half well and had reduced the deficit within five minutes.  Green, originally credited with the goal, did some good work to cut the ball in for Newsham to tap-in at the near post.  There was still work to do but as the volume levels in the ground rose the confidence of the players was also visibly boosted.  Hearn wasn't feeling so smug now and needed to be subbed off, presumably for a broken dummy which he'd obviously thrown out of the pram now things weren't going all his way.  The referee went from being biased against Boston to just poor, only to give a bias against Alfteton later in the game.

Yates and Boyes started to come into their own as a cut-back was slammed into the side of the net, cutting short the premature celebrations of some around me.  A poor clearance let Boston in again and this time a through-on-goal Sleath made no mistake, tucking the ball under the on-rushing 'keeper.  Twenty minutes to go and it was game on.  Alfreton were looking shaken, particularly at the back.  With all four sides of the ground making tremendous noise Alfreton missed a chance to take the lead, Clare incapable of punishing his old club from a free kick.

Having kept Clare out at one end Pearson repeated the heroics of the Gloucester game.  A pacey Yates corner met by a thunderous header.  The ground went mental!  A roar that could probably be heard in darkest Derbyshire greeted the finish as the turn around was complete.  Alfreton threw the kitchen sink at the United back line, a header just over was swiftly followed by a stonewall penalty turned down (they'd only have missed it anyway) and a drive smashing into the upright.  United held on for the six, yes SIX, minutes of added time to take away a brilliantly won three points from a hard-fought game.

To top the night off, news filtered through that both Nuneaton and Guiseley had drawn giving the Pilgrims an extra boost in the hunt for a play-off spot.  I'd say Alfreton will still win the league though, it'd be a special talent to throw it away from the position they're in.  It took a long time to write this as I couldn't find the words.  I think the best way to sum it up come from Youngie's Twitter feed: "Wow, just wow."

Next up: Harrogate Town visit York St.

A tale of two bottles... and maybe some football.

Boston United vs Gloucester City

The lonely bottle watches the game

Gloucester City were the second team in a week that the Pilgrims wanted revenge over.  The Pilgrims don't seem to play very well against Gloucester.  Previous performances include an under-par win at Whaddon Road in January, followed a week later by United's unceremonious dumping from the FA Trophy at York St.  Following their Trophy win there were some excessive celebrations from the City lot.  This time round the travelling support had dropped from the 30+ Trophy glory-hunters, to only seven who could be bothered to make their way to south Lincolnshire.

A rare first half attack

Boston fielded the same team which completed the 4-0 mid-week thrashing of Stafford Rangers and had dispatched Droylesden a few days before.  The first half was ridiculously boring.  The City 'keeper taking what seemed like an age to take even a simple goal kick.  The whole Gloucester line-up seemed intent on time wasting and, when they weren't, on putting eleven men behind the ball.  Hunter had the best (possibly only) chance of the half when a good cross fell to his feet.  It seemed easier to score than mess it up but heavy pressure from the defender enabled the 'keeper to gobble the chance up.  One of the most exciting events of the first half was the appearance of a rogue plastic bottle on the fence around the pitch...

Suddenly, a second bottle!

The second half had to be more interesting and it was, almost instantly, as a second plastic bottle appeared next to the first!  Some sort of bizarre, bottle mating ceremony perhaps?  On the footballing front, Jelleyman was replaced following an injury and the team was shuffled with Green dropping in to left back and Yates coming on into the left wing slot.  Boston had only their second goal-bound effort of the game as Boyes hit one from 25 yards but it was easy for the 'keeper.  The reluctance to put the ball into the box from wide does beg the question "why don't the wingers cut in and have a go?"  Sadly, nobody seems to want to take a shot either and so the ball is fed wide, the cross doesn't come in and the opposition get possession.  It's all a little frustrating.

United were visibly lifted by the arrival of Weir-Daley for Hunter with 35 minutes left as the managers tried a newfangled tactic of making a sub with more than five minutes to go!  Finally!  It hadn't been Hunter's day but Weir-Daley definitely sharpened the attacking line up a bit.  Still, with ten minutes left it was feeling like one of those days.  Weir-Daley won Boston a corner and Mr Hallgarth confidently predicted a goal from a Pearson header.  However, on the basis of his recent cricket predictions I thought the ball would probably go out for a throw-in.  As it was, a great Yates corner was met by a bullet header from Pearson leaving the 'keeper no chance.  Can you predict me a lottery win next please, Adam?

The Gloucester 'keeper tries to get back.
The only marathons he's ever seen are called Snickers these days.

The Gloucester 'keeper wasn't wasting any time now and his distribution was helping City apply a bit of pressure.  Pearson was on hand to block a goal-bound effort and protect the lead he'd given Boston.  City seemed incapable of breaking down United as the Boston defence stood strong.  With a few minutes left the City 'keeper embarked on what must have seemed like a marathon to him, as he mirrored McKeown from the Trophy game and came up for a corner.  Unlike McKeown, he got nowhere near the ball and it was only some slow distribution from Haystead which saved his blushes as he puffed and panted his way back between his sticks.  The ref. must have actually been monitoring all the time wasting as there were seven minutes of stoppage time for the teams to play out at the end of the match.

A win is a win but these have to be some of the dullest points I have ever seen.  I've definitely seen worse games, England vs Montenegro for example, but not much worse.  The good news is that Guiseley and Blyth both fell to defeats so this victory will do the Pilgrims' play-off aspirations a world of good.

Next up: League-title holders-elect, Alfreton Town visit York St.

Out for Blood

Boston United vs Droylsden FC

Droylsden were due some pay back.  Boston's 4-0 defeat at their hands back in November brought an end to the club's run of ten games without conceding a goal in emphatic style.  Boston needed to get a result out of this game to fend off the Bloods challenge for the play off places while keeping Solihull at bay as well.  Having watched the Birmingham vs West Brom. in the bar, which incidentally ran much the same course as the other West Midlands derby last week, the fans piled through the turnstiles... in surprisingly low numbers.  For a game such as this I'd have expected more than 1139 through the gate.

Hunter was handed his first league start for an age as Weir-Daley was rested.  Semple was preferred to Darley and Jelleyman returned to the defence.  United were bright from the off and created plenty going forward.  Semple and Green were doing some excellent work to support the two front men.  A chance soon came, but not from the forwards; 'Keith' Austin narrowly missing out following a good delivery from the corner spot.  The flood gates were open and Green was involved in creating several chances which Boyes and Hunter couldn't quite take advantage of.

The two heavyweights trudge off at half-time.

Green was involved in so much of the play and he proved his ability once again with a lay off to Semple.  Semple had a pop from the corner of the penalty box and from my vantage point the ball seemed to sail straight through the 'keeper to nestle in the back of the net.  1-0.  Droylsden were limited to a couple of chances for   Dan 'the cheat' Gardiner, one of which came back off the upright.  Hunter had an excellent opportunity to double the Pilgrims' lead but shot wide.

The second period started frenetically with the Bloods central pairing running the show.  Both sides had early chances but it was Boyes who put United two in front with a deflected 20-yarder at the second time of asking.  It was at this point where Gardiner's behaviour took a bizarre turn.  The crowd were already piqued by his continual feigning of injury when he decided to get himself booked by throwing the ball at the referee's back following a free kick decision in United's favour.  The free kick from Semple was scrambled away and Droylsden threw the kitchen sink at United's back line.

Droylsden pick up a couple of bookings.

The Bloods managed to test Haystead in the United goal once or twice more before the end but he was up to the challenge.  The frustration in the Droylsden team was evident when, with a man already off the pitch injured and all subs used, Church was mown down by Dan 'the colossal cheat' Gardiner.  Never have I been happier to see a player sent off!  The bookings weren't over there though as another two yellow cards were shown to Bloods players in the last minutes as Boston comfortably claimed the three points.

Next up: Stafford Rangers away on a Tuesday, I'm not doing that one but coverage can be found on United Live.  Next up for me is Gloucester City at York St as Boston look for revenge.

Stand up if you love Villa...

Aston Villa vs Blackburn

Rain and a pitch which reportedly resembled Skegness beach at high tide put pay to Boston's trip to Stafford Rangers; not unexpectedly, it has to be said.  There was doubt about this game from as early as Tuesday when Stafford's mid-week clash also fell prey to the conditions.  So it was that, while hopeful the game would be on, several of us set out with back-up plans at the forefront of our minds.

With confirmation of the cancellation coming just after 10 a.m. the discussion on where to go began in earnest.  There were a couple of non-league options but all were either off or in severe doubt.  That only left the higher league clubs... great.  One suggestion which was quickly shot down was a trip to MK "franchise FC" Dons, I am not going there!  The other options within easy reach were Leicester vs Coventry, Wolves vs Blackpool, Walsall vs Rochdale and Aston Villa vs Blackburn.  Leicester was too expensive; Wolves wasn't appealing and was, as More in Hope than Expectation later found, inexplicably sold out;  I'd already been to Walsall so that left a trip to Villa Park.

The players line up before kick-off

The Premier League is pretty tight near the relegation spots and both Villa and Blackburn were nervously glancing over their shoulders at the start of the day.  A win for Villa would propel them to mid-table and above their rivals.  Blackburn were looking for three points from the teams ninth meeting in two seasons, to cement their mid-table status and stave off relegation fears.  Meeting up with the other Pilgrims at Villa Park it was apparent that it's a nice enough ground and, from our £23, back-row seats, we could definitely see plenty of it!

Villa attack the Blackburn goal.

Sadly, the view was largely wasted for the first 45 minutes as the "greatest league the world has ever seen©" produced one of the worst first halves I have ever seen.  There were only two points of interest; only one of which was football related.  The first point was how any club could pay £24 million for Darren Bent; through on goal with only a prone 'keeper to beat, he walked it right into the 'keepers hands.  The second was the hilarity of, possibly seated, Villa fans in the Holte End singing "stand up if you love Villa" eliciting absolutely no response from any other Villa fan in sight.  Clearly the fans aren't that enamoured with their club!  Villa did muster the odd shot, mainly thanks to some woeful Blackburn defending.  Luckily for Blackburn the Villa efforts were equally poor and were easily kept out.

The second half produced some entertainment.  Blackburn had an attack straight from the kick-off.  However, within minutes of the restart Ashley Young was hauled down in the box after the defender was reluctant to get rid. The penalty was duly dispatched past Paul Robinson in the Blackburn net by Young.  Blackburn seemed insistent on returning the ball to Villa with every pass.  Ten minutes later and an own goal (Hanley) was followed closely by a good run and finish from Downing to put Villa three in front and cruising.

Young about to convert the penalty.

Villa were controlling the game and Blackburn had only managed one shot on target until the 80th minutes when a heavily deflected Kalinic shot foxed Friedel in the Villa goal to make it 3-1.  Blackburn's fledgeling comeback was very short lived as Young made it 4-1 with a good shot from 20 yards almost straight from the restart.  Both Kalinic and Emile Heskey, or "the Premier League's Danny Davidson", put shots narrowly wide in the closing minutes.  Blackburn's woeful performance was capped when Nelsen was sent off for bringing down Young inside stoppage time.

So, the first half was awful but five goals and a sending off in the second period partially made up for that.  After all, it could've been much worse; we could've gone to Walsall!

Next up: Boston United vs Droylsden