Taunton v Larkhall. Tuesday 17th January, 2017

Taunton 10 Larkhall 2

More Southern League Div One South & West action tonight as I headed to Taunton Town FC's Viridor stadium. Taunton is also home to Somerset County Cricket Club. The town's football team have long been in the shadows of their more famous neighbours, who have been served by such household names as Botham, Richards and Trescothick. This season however, the footballers have enjoyed some lime light themselves. The Peacocks made it is far as the First Round proper of the FA Cup, always a great achievement for an 8th tier team, narrowly loosing to National League Barrow after a replay. In addition, going in to tonight's game they had clocked up an impressive 10 league wins in a row including their most recent, an away victory at Hereford in front of 3000 fans which was a first defeat of the season for the run away league leaders.

  

301 people were in attendance tonight at the Viridor stadium. It's a decent ground for this division and they seem to have the infrastructure to manage at a higher level. The pitch is a good size and whilst it's in a built up area, there is space around the stands should they wish to expand. Behind the goals were two fair size terraces, both partially covered. On entering the ground I made my way to the side of the pitch where I found a club shop in the corner along with the bar, club offices, and a tea and food hut with plenty of helpful stewards on hand to keep things ticking over. On the same side is also a lovely old stand that sits on the half way line, 3 rows of seats deep and about 20 long. It's roof is supported by concrete pillars and dips down over the pitch giving plenty of shelter from the elements. On the other side of the ground was another all seater, 3 rows deep. This was a longer, more modern and crude affair, stretching most of the length of the touch line. Also worth a mention was the pitch itself, it looked in good nick and was very neatly cut. I wasn't surprised to find out that the chief groundsman is also the chairman. Drainage and rolling is obviously a high priority down at the Viridor.

Taunton's ground is on Wordsworth road. I'm not sure if this road is named after the great 18th century poet. It might be named after a giant cat, as unusually for this level, Taunton had a 7 foot feline mascot in attendance in full kit with Wordsworth emblazoned on his back.

The Larks came in to this game in poor form. Whilst Taunton had won ten in a row, the away team in turn hadn't won in ten and had recently lost their captain and centre back Ollie Price. There has also been a recent management change and in addition their first choice keeper was suspended for this game following an eye brow raising 4 red cards so far this season. This was not the ideal preparation for a visit to the leagues form team.

Just a couple of minutes in to the game however, the Larks were to take the lead. Taunton's defenders appeared flat footed and allowed a cross to come in from the left which was met by an unmarked Ben Brooks who nodded in from close range.  

I once played in a under 12 club game where my team went in to a 1-0 lead only to loose 16-1. The experience was very confusing and painful my young self and took a while to recover from. What was to unfold here was not quite so total a humiliation, but not far off.

Larkhall take the lead

Larkhall managed to keep the Peacocks out until the 18th minute though had a lucky escape a few minutes earlier when Jordan Rogers saw a shot from the edge of the area come back off the post. The equaliser came when a high cross came in from the left was nodded down for captain Shane White to drive past the keeper from outside the box. A few minutes later it was 2-1 after Owen Irish picked up another nod down with his back to goal before turning his defender and finding the net.

It was soon 3-1 after Rogers flicked on a long ball for Staley to run on to and finish in a very quick counter attack. Next Rogers took centre stage as he scored the fourth with his right foot before adding the fifth almost immediately with his left.

Shell shocked Larkhall had one good chance to pull one back before the break but their number 5, Hobbs saw his powerfull header go just over the bar. 5-1 at the break.

After I enjoyed a competitively priced pasty from the bar and did a lap of the ground, play resumed: 

In Jordan Rogers Taunton had a player composed on the ball and dangerous with both feet who Larkhall who just couldn't contain. I heard a few home fans saying he'd scored a couple of braces this season and hoped that this would be the game in which he got his hat-trick. When he went off injured 5 minutes in to the second half, the away team must have breathed a sigh of relief. There was to be no let up though and it wasn't long before more misery was heaped on the Larks.

Five become six when Rogers replacement capitalised and scored after the keeper dropped a high ball under a what looked  liked a very strong challenge. Ross Staley got the seventh after an impressive run and long range shot. The eighth came from a powerful header by defender Ben Palmer from a White corner.

Most of the Taunton fans had sensibly positioned themselves behind the Larkhall keeper, Humphries, to get a good view of all the goals flying in. The tall keeper was having a torrid night, the defence in front of him lacked the strength and aerial power to offer him much protection and he inevitably bore the brunt of the home fans banter.

The forlorn Humphries retrieves the ball from the back of the net again

 It was soon 9-1 when White and Palmer combined again from a corner with the same result. Meanwhile Larkhall had made a couple of subs and to their credit were still trying to string passes together. It came as a shock though when they scored their second of the night. It seemed like an age since Brooks had opened the scoring but here he was again to drive past the keeper who touched it on to the bar before it crossed the line. This goal  was understandably 'celebrated' with possibly the least amount of enthusiasm I have ever seen at a football match.

Humphries then had a rare bright moment when he pulled off a great save from a close range volley to ironic cheers from the home fans behind him. A few minutes later, with the score at 9-2 the ball went out for another Taunton corner. I heard a Larkhall defender ask the ref how long left, "3 minutes" came the reply. The defender responded with just one word, but the way he uttered "Ref" spoke volumes. It begged for mercy, pleaded and berated the man in black all at the same time. The ref was unmoved and the Larks were to concede a tenth goal from another header from a corner before the game was finally bought to a close.

Shane White gets ready to swing in another corner

10-2 at full time. A remarkable performance from a very strong Taunton team who made it an impressive eleven league wins in a row tonight. Despite their games in hand it would take Hereford to implode spectacularly for them to be knocked of the top spot. Taunton will probably have to settle for a place in the play offs. If this form continues they will fear no one.

Mangotsfield v Hereford, Tuesday January 10th, 2017

Mangotsfield 0 Hereford 1

This was a rearranged fixture from late November. On the original date the game had been called off due to a frozen pitch not long before kick off. Most Hereford fans had not only set off but had arrived at Cossham Street before getting wind of the decision. It is fair to say there was a bit of tension between the two clubs over who was to blame for the late abandonment. Allegations ranged from refs being leaned on to a Chairman trying to defrost the six yard box with a kettle. What ever the truth of the matter, everyone's focus was firmly on the football on this mild January night.

Hereford came in to the game as run away leaders and still unbeaten in the league. Mangotsfield were in a rich vein of form themselves that had seen them rise to fourth, looking to bed themselves in the play off positions for the second half of the season.

Predicting a bumper crowd that goes hand in hand with Hereford away games, I ensured I arrived at Cossham Street in plenty of time. On entering the ground I realised I'd managed to leave my memory card for my camera at home and was thus reliant on my phone for pictures. Apologies for the lo fi images...

I was last at Cossham street a couple of summers ago for a pre season frinedly. It's a nice compact ground on the outskirts of Bristol. You enter on the side of the pitch that houses the Ralph Miller stand, this is the only seated part of the ground and straddles the half way line. Along side the Ralph Miller stand is the changing rooms, a large bar and club house and a well stocked club shop is tucked away in a shipping container.
Opposite are the dug outs which are embedded in to the low roofed terrace behind them. In fact the dug outs are so much part of the stand that when watching from that part of the ground you can almost stand shoulder to shoulder with the managers if you so wish. The remainder of the ground consists of two covered terraces behind the goals, the one at the road end slightly bigger than the other.

I joined the que for a cup of tea and took in the team news. I'd seen Hereford earlier this season in the FA Cup and was pleased to see the team hadn't changed much. I was looking forward to seeing the deadly duo of Mills and Symmons upfront. Ex Bristol City duo Plummer and Fortune were still there along with Jamie Edge in midfield who had caught the eye previously. Disappointingly ex Wolves, Hereford United and perma-tan man Ryan Green was missing in defence.

For Mangotsfield, or The Field as they are known, Lewis Hogg was in the starting line up. Now 34 and assistant manager, Hogg was something of local sensation in his youth. Captain of Bristol Rovers whilst still a teenager, big things were expected of him before he left Rovers in his early 20's. He subsequently enjoyed a successful carer mainly in the conference and surprisingly never graced the football league again. I was also pleasantly surprised to recognise Steve Phillips warming up in goal. The ex Bristol City, Bristol Rovers, Shrewsbury and Crewe keeper joined The Field last month from Bath City. On a short term loan apparently in an effort to regain match fitness after coming back from injury.

The que for the snack bar was a long one and slow moving. The attendance tonight was given as 602 and I imagine at least 450 of those were from Hereford. I got speaking to a friendly Bulls fan in front of me who was looking forward to the game and was clearly enjoying his evening. The group behind me were a bit less enthusiastic, grumblings ranged from stewards not knowing what they were doing, to the club not anticipating a large crowd and putting on more catering staff with several "Tin Pot" references thrown in. These fans seemed to be in the minority and perhaps the late abandonment and wasted journey was still fresh in the memory for them. But it did get me thinking of what it must be like for Hereford fans travelling to grounds -this season and last- that are far smaller than they are used to in their long history.

For the most part I imagine other clubs love having Hereford in their league. For many players at this level, performing in front of 3,000 at Edgar Street will be a highlight of their career. In addition the fantastic travelling support the Bulls take with them means a potential big pay day when the Hereford express rolls in to town. The increased ticket, bar and food sales provides a much needed boon to clubs who often struggle to keep up with their outgoings. Inevitably there will be some tensions, clubs in this league often rely on a very small number of people, mainly volunteers, to keep running and prepare for match days. Usually used to just about coping when a hundred people turn up, they likely wont have a pool of supporters big enough to call upon when 500 odd more turn up for a mid week game in January. As a result, the Hereford fans have to suffer the long ques, lack of stewards and overflowing car parks. Additionally, I imagine the regulars at the hosting clubs risk feeling their noses have been put out of joint when they are outnumbered by five to one on their own turf. Especially when Hereford keep on winning!

Enough though of this speculating, to the game...

Straight from the kick off it became evident that the pitch was a bobbly one. A few early touches went amiss and it looked like both teams realised that this wasn't the ideal surface to string passes together along the ground. Hereford looked to have adapted well when after just a couple of minutes Mills broke in to the box but his right footed shot drew a good save from Phillips.
As the half progressed, Mangotsfield managed to get in to the final third a few times, won a couple of corners but didn't manage to create much in the way of clear chances.
At the other end, home captain and centre back Brice was battling well with Symmons aka 'The Beast', winning his share of headers and generally preventing him from being able to hold the ball up in usual effective way. On the one occasion when Symmons was able to show his strength and protect the ball, it enabled him to turn and shoot from close range but Phillips was there again with an impressive stop.

Almost in the dug out

Shortly after came the contentious moment of the game. Hereford were awarded a free kick just out side the box. The ref stood over the ball whilst Phillips positioned himself at his post organising the wall. Mike McGrath standing next to the ref asked if he could take it, the ref must have said yes and at the last minute stepped back leaving McGrath to swing the ball over in to the far corner of the net with the keeper flat footed and stranded at the other post. The goal was given and the whole Mangotsfield team set off in pursuit of the ref in protest. Social media was awash in the aftermath of the game with debates around the rules around quick free kicks. Bulls manager Peter Beadle conceded in his post match interview that the ref may have made a mistake, saying that it might have been wrong to allow the free kick to be taken after the initial window for a quick one had seemingly past with the keeper busy setting up his wall. For me even if it was completely legal, the way the ref hovered near the ball until the last moment seemed to disguise the fact that he was happy for it to be taken. I'm still not clear on the rules but most importantly the goal stood and it was 1-0 at the break.

The game remained tight in the second half. Hereford had a chance which was saved on to the bar, in an attempt to get the rebound Tristan Plummer ended up in the net as the keeper just got to the ball ahead of him. At this point a bloke I'd been chatting to then asked me if I watched Goggle Box? I thought this was strange small talk for the terraces but it turns out that Hereford wideman Tristan is a regular on the Channel 4 show with his brothers Twain and Termaine! I'll have to tune in and have a look. Throughout the second half the noise generated from the Hereford fans was impressive. They were crammed in to the smaller of the two terraces behind the goal they were attacking. Led by a drummer they rarely let up and got through an impressive catalogue of songs.

Mangotsfield were working hard in searching for an equaliser. They managed to get a fair few decent looking crosses in, but Hereford's centre back Fortune towered over their forwards and manged to clear the danger. Most of The Field's best moves seemed to involve midfielder Kerry Morgan. I wasn't surprised to learn he'd played for the like of Swansea and Newport previously. He also had a couple of chances himself that he hit over the bar. The home team will be disappointed that the Hereford keeper remained largely untroubled throughout the evening.

At the other end, Mills had a good chance to put the game to bed. Through on goal he was denied by Phillips again with a brilliant finger tip save pushing the ball past the post. Prolific as Hereford's attacking unit has been this season, it can't be often that they come up against a keeper with 500 odd football league appearances to his name. Tonight it looked like it would take something like a controversial quickly taken free kick to beat him.

1-0 at full time. No shortage of effort and commitment from both teams. Hereford dug in well for another 3 points on the road that see's them continue their remarkable form this season.

@goneforaburtone

Forest Green Rovers v Torquay United. Sunday 1st January 2017

Forest Green 5 Torquay 5

What better way to start the New Year than at the New Lawn... especially when a ten goal thriller lay in wait.

National league convention dictates that who ever you play on Boxing day, you end up playing again in the reverse fixture a few days later. Torquay had beaten Forest Green 4-3 down at Plainmoor, I thought if this game was half as entertaining as that one I'd be in for a treat. I'd been wanting to visit Forest Green's home for some time and staying near by over the holidays afforded me the golden opportunity.

Forest Green Rovers are an interesting football club for a number of reasons. Their chairman is Dale Vince, a green energy mogul and ex 'new age traveller' who has pumped a considerable amount of his fortune in to the club. Currently the longest serving members of the 5th tier, they have been knocking on the door of promotion to the football league for a number of seasons now. To date have fallen just short, most recently loosing at Wembley in the play off final to Grimsby.

Presumably at the say so of Vince, Forest Green became the UK's (perhaps the World's?) first vegan club in 2015. Red meat has been a no no for some years, but now not only are fans unable to get their hands on a meat pie at half time, they also have to accept dairy free alternatives to milk in their tea and coffee.

Forest Green are an ambitious club, although they have only been at the New Lawn for about a decade, plans are afoot to build a brand new stadium in a green technology park nearer to the M5. Although the New Lawn is big enough for the football league, locals told me that the access roads are poor and being situated on the outskirts of the small and picturesque town of Nailsworth is not ideal.

On arriving at the ground I deliberated on where to watch from. Originally I planned to watch from the narrow West terrace that stretches the length of pitch but as it was a very wet and cold day, I opted for the comfort of a seat in the main stand opposite.

Due to the excesses of the night before I didn't fancy a beer but after clocking the electric car recharging points, I popped in to the aptly named 'The Green Man' looking for a toilet, home and away fans were mingling happily in the ample bar area and their were a good selection of local ales and ciders on offer.

'The Green Man'

On entering the main stand, the first thing I noticed was the absence of any advertising boards or any other barriers between the pitch and the front row of seats. I can't think of any other ground, especially at as high a level as this where this is the case. It definitely made you feel closer to the action. It was also noticeable that the stewarding was very light touch around the main stand. The stewards I did see seemed to keep a low profile and wore black 'Safety officer' coats rather than the high slinky high vis numbers you usually see. All in all a nice set up which made for a refreshing change.

Despite the miserable weather, a bumper crowd had turned up to freeze away their NY hangovers. Behind the goals were two covered terraces, the home terrace was pretty much full and the away terrace was also packed, with 500 odd noisy Torquay fans having made the long trip up from Devon. Opposite the main stand was the aforementioned West terrace, very much open to the elements, I counted 10 hardy souls who had opted to watch from this exposed outpost.

Taking in the team news I was very disappointed to see that Nathan Blissett wasn't featuring for Torquay. The big target man had been man of the match on Boxing day and scorer of the first goal. He is also a cult hero amongst Bristol Rovers supporters following his time at the Memorial stadium.

Resigned to not seeing Blissett leading the line for the Gulls, I sat back in my seat and got ready to enjoy some football. The early exchanges made the league table look like a sound guide for the quality of the teams as 3rd place Forest Green looked dangerous and were taking the game to lower mid table Torquay.

The home side took the lead after just 4 minutes. Rob Sinclair showed a positive frame of mind when he kept the ball in play when he could have let it go out for a corner, despite having a defender closing him down, he managed to find a team mate and a couple of passes later, after a neat dummy from Adam Carter, Keanu Marsh-Brown opened up his body and put the ball in to the bottom corner past the Gulls keeper Moore.

Forest Green players celebrate the first of the games ten goals 

Forest Green continued to make chances but Torquay were level with what seemed like their first attack. Fitzpatrick played a ball in from the right which bounced across the box allowing Sparkes to convert from close range. 5 minutes later the same two combined again with the same result, sending the Torquay fans behind the goal ecstatic as they took the lead.

By this time I'd got chatting to the bloke and his daughter next to me. They talked me through their view of Forest Green's season so far. In short a great start followed by a wobble along with a lack of defending and a lot of high profile signings. It turned out the bloke behind us was a Swindon fan along for the day, he chipped in his two penneth worth about how Swindon had been great in attack but chaotic at the back when Marc Cooper (current Forest Green manager) was with them. 

On the half hour mark, the ex Barnet man Marsh-Brown scored again, converting a Dale Bennett cross to make it 2-2. The home team weren't on level terms for long though. Torquay were awarded a free kick and up stepped Fitzpatrick to deliver the cross, Verma appeared unmarked and headed in at the near post to make it 3-2 to the visitors and an impressive hat-trick of assists for Fitzpatrick.

After a breathless first half I went in search of a coffee, with dairy off the menu I added some oat 'milk' to my Americano. I was pleasantly surprised, though to be fair it was that cold that anything hot would have done the trick. Back in my seat I told my new friend that the oat milk was nicer than I'd expected, it turns out he wasn't a convert and he took out a little bottle of cow's milk from his inside pocket which he brings every week for hot drinks! It would have been interesting to speak to more home supporters of what they make of the regime at Forest Green. I read somewhere that the Q(uorn) Pies they sell are delicious. If I'd have seen someone with one I'd have asked but everyone I saw eating had opted for the chips only option.

  

A few minutes in to the second half and the goals showed no sign of drying up as Torquay scored their fourth. Forest Green again failed to deal with a low cross in from the right and the unfortunate centre back- Pinnock turned the ball in to his own net from close range.

The hosts responded by bringing on Elliot Frear who immediately looked threatening on the left. The scoring soon continued as Forest Green made it 3-4 after Christian Doidge bundled the ball home after a bit of panic in the Torquay box. By this point the home fans seemed confident they could score again but were realistic enough to know they were going to struggle to stop any more going in at the other end.

When Torquay won a free kick just outside the area. Everyone feared the worst. Up stepped Fitzpatrick with his magic right boot and promptly found the back of the net. In a game with ten goals in it should come as no surprise that the keepers and defenders didn't have the best game of their lives. For this goal, it seemed that Sam Russell was completely blind sided by his wall. The strange thing was, from where I was sat, admittedly from the side of the pitch, it seemed like he'd gone the right way and then moved his arms out the way. To use a cricketing analogy, it was like a first slip who'd gone for the ball and then pulled out at the last minute to leave it for second slip, unfortunately for Russell their was no second keeper to come to his rescue and it was now 3-5. People around me seemed shell shocked by of the game that was unfolding before them. The Torquay fans were quite rightly enjoying their day out and making a hell of a noise up the other end.

Now fearing embarrassment, Forest Green went charging forward again. Elliot Frear showed a great bit of pace and skill when he cut in from the left, he darted past two Torquay defenders before his fierce shot was parried straight in to the path for Doidge who tapped home his second and Forest Green's fourth with 83 minutes on the clock: 4-5.

To be fair to Torquay, they didn't shut up shop, perhaps realising that trying to defend a lead in this game was pure folly, they went in search of restoring their two goal cushion. But it was Forest Green who scored the tenth goal of the game. Torquay's keeper, Byron Moore jumped up to collect a skied shot that had ballooned in to the box, Forest Green's big striker Shamir Mullings went up with him and under pressure the keeper dropped the ball and fell over. The ref said no foul and in the resultant desperate scramble, Moore somehow managed to push the ball in to his own net as he tried to get their before Mullings. Pandemonium in the home end and 5-5.

With 2 minutes of normal time left plus stoppages, it seemed this game had at least another goal in it. Torquay launched long balls forward and Forest Green hearts were in mouths when Russell dropped a speculative high ball worryingly close to the goal line before gathering it safely. Up the other end, Doidge had a header come back off the bar from a corner. The final few minutes were hectic, I remember Forest Green hit another chance just over the bar and Torquay almost getting in on the break, but the final whistle came with the game stuck at 5-5. It was time to take stock and go in search of a dark room for a lie down.

This really was a crazy afternoon. Ground hopping vlogger, Adam Thurston was also at the game. His video captures some of the frenzied end to end chaos of the game and is well worth a watch: FGR v TORQUAY

I wish both clubs well for the rest of the season and thank them for serving up such entertaining fayre. On this display Torquay should continue to move up the table and if Forest Green can tighten up a bit at the back then this might yet be their year.

@goneforaburtone

Merthyr Town v Chippenham Town, Tuesday 13th December, 2016

As the name suggests, ground-hopping involves dropping in to a football club, watching them play and then moving on to the next ground. Tonight I was in the rare position of watching a team for the second time in a week. Here I was at Penydarren Park in Merthyr, watching them take on Chippenham who I'd witnessed play Slough in a thrilling 3-3 draw last Tuesday.

Originally for this Tuesday I'd planned to travel to Newport to watch their FA cup replay against Plymouth. Due to T.V. scheduling this had been moved and so I found my self looking for a football fix elsewhere. The game at Merthyr seemed the obvious option and not just because I had been so entertained by Chippenham last week. I'd been wanting to visit Penydarren Park for a while, having heard tales of it's charms from various fellow travellers.

I was also aware that Merthyr Town are one of the growing number clubs owned by their supporters which was an attraction. In addition, they have a rich history stretching back over 100 years. In the mid 20th century they had a period in the football league and then in the 80's pulled off one of the great European shocks when they beat Atalanta from Serie A in the Cup Winners cup.

The dawn of the 21st century saw Merthyr Tydfil struggle financially before they were eventually wound up 2010. Fortunately the supporters trust which had formed in 2006 was on hand to reform the club immediately as Merthyr Town FC. A lot of hard work and a couple of promotions followed and the club nicknamed 'The Martyrs' now find themselves towards the top of the Southern Premier league. 

                         

                        

On entering the ground the first thing that struck me was it's size. The big terraces and stands hint at the history and success of the club in years gone by. It also felt like quite an open ground with the stands set back from the pitch with a fair bit of shiny tarmac in between. I wasn't surprised to find out that it once accommodated a greyhound track. This was the first time I'd seen a 4G pitch in the flesh and it's lush greeness was very easy on the eye. Along with a very shiny silver building which I think houses the club offices, the artificial pitch juxaposed with the rest of the ground, much of which looked like it had remained unchanged for many a decade.

                             

The old and the ....

...Very futuristic looking building next to the main stand

Initially I found my self in a covered stand behind the goal to which Chippenham were attacking in their green away kit. It was a good sized stand with a mixture of terracing and seating. In addition the stadium comprised of a seated main stand with the dug outs in front and the futuristic building next to it. Behind the other goal is an open terrace which with the rain coming down wasn't very busy as I arrived. The final stand is a beaut, a large covered terrace stretching the length of the pitch and then some. Whilst a lot of lower non league grounds have terraces stretching the length of the pitch it's rare to find such a large one these days. It reminded me a bit of the one at Bath City's Twerton Park. 

                           

                               

From inside the terrace it felt even bigger. It's roof over hangs and it doesn't have much in the way of lighting, so from opposite it's hard to see quite how far it goes back or how many people are in there. The darkness added to the feel of the stand as a big cavernous enclave from which to peer out at the football below.

The ground seemed so big that it felt like corners and sections of it had literally been forgotten about and had been close to being reclaimed by nature.

  

                            

Whilst I enjoyed the seemingly never ending expanses of concrete terraces around me, the game was in full flow. Travelling from Bristol after work on a Tuesday night, I knew I was pushing it trying to make it for a 7.45 kick off. As it turned out, due to not being able to find my wallet at home and a closed lane on the M4, my fears proved well founded and I arrived ten minutes after kick off. The man on the turnstile informed that I'd missed a goal. Merthyr were already 1-0 up courtesy of a headed goal from Ryan Prosser.

Fortunately I didn't have to wait long to witness the second goal of the evening and it was that man Prosser again. The bearded target man displayed some strong hold up play before playing a one two with Jarrad Wright, slotting home the return with a low shot to the keepers right from inside the box. 

With Merthry taking an early 2-0 lead, the away team looked to get back in to the game. The good news for them is that in Pratt and Sandell they have what must surely be the most feared strike partnership in the Southern League. Chippenham have scored more goals than any other team and Sandell is comfortably the top individual scorer in the league. Though they struggled to make inroads in the first half, it wasn't hard to see why they are such an effective duo. The running that Pratt does is incredible, nothing seems to be a lost cause for him and aswell as the goals he scores himself, the space he creates for Sandell must help explain why their partnership is so prolific.

                        

2-0 at the half time saw me head for the bar at the back of the main stand. It was a good size, with plenty of T.V. screens on the walls, it certainly wasn't as old or as characterful as much of the ground. Devoid of much club memorabilia, it had a bit of bland feel to it. The beer was cold though and I had a nice chat with a couple of locals who filled me in on on some of Merthyr's fortunes over the season to date.
                               

It got a lot busier than this

The home side looked to pick up where they left off after the break but soon found their lead halved as that man Sandell pulled one back. Chasing a through ball after some neat passing in midfield, he was strong and composed enough to shrug off his marker, round the keeper and from a very tight angle, pass the ball in to the net in off the far post.                                  

Merthyr were soon on the front foot again and had a period of sustained pressure resulting in a flurry of corners at the Chippenham end. I was watching from the second half from the main stand where a few vocal away fans had chosen to sit and were soon enjoying some banter with the Merthry fans as they both sought to 'encourage' the linesman on the near side to give decisions their way.  

  

                             

Merthyr came close to restoring their two goal cushion when Barrow hit a fierce left foot shot from distance which Chitty in goal did well to acrobatically turn over the bar. Merthyr continued to win more corners but they couldn't convert one and soon Chippenham had a golden chance to level. Sandell was adjudged to have been bought down in the box by centre back Curtis McDonald and stepped up himself to take the penalty. He smashed it past the keeper and it was all square. 

A couple of minutes later the linesman called the ref over and after a hushed conversation and much confusion, McDonald was summoned and promptly shown a straight red card. Word in the crowd was he must have said something to the lino over the award of the penalty. 

      

McDonald see's red after ref consults with the "whispering assassin"

With 12 minutes left on the clock, Chippenham had the chance to push for a winner. Merthyr looked to the bench to sure things up and I was pleasantly surprised when I heard that Eliot Richards was among their substitutes and was coming on. Richards started his career at Bristol Rovers and broke in to the first team as a teenager, going on to make over 100 appearances. I was fortunate enough to be in attendance when he scored a hatrick in a 7-1 demolition of Burton Albion. Still only 25 he is rebuilding his carer having battled through cancer. It was nice to see him back on a football pitch.

Chippenham were unable to exploit the numerical advantage and the final few minutes passed without either team coming close to grabbing a winner.

                     

Full time: Merthyr 2 Chippenham 2.

An enjoyable evening amongst the 386 in attendance at Penydarren Park. Now in safe hands and with a big stadium and catchment area, Merthyr feels very much like a club on the up.
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