football rambles

On Saturday Ely were back at home and faced Diss who were one of the other relegated teams from the Premier last year. Both teams will be hoping for better this season after disastrous records last time out. The first half hour was a scrappy affair and the official seemed a little whistle happy, which interfered with the flow of the game. Ely looked quit competent going forward, but at the same time looked vulnerable to set pieces. However, on the half hour mark James Seymour, who had been moved into midfield from defence latched on to a through ball and put the Robins in the lead. It was to remain this way until half time with few further chances to be had for either side. At the start of the second half Diss looked the more determined team and after just five minutes had an equaliser when a long throw caused confusion in the box. The equaliser seemed to awaken the Robins though and after Jack Saunders had come close he found Alex Theobold to stab home what was to be the winner after ...

Ely played the only team with a worse record than them on yesterday, when they took on Diss Town. Most people were looking forward to 'the battle of the losers'. as it was seen as the chance where Ely might finally get at least a point on the board. The first half was characterised by 2 teams making errors. Diss probably had the better chances, probably because they kept it simple. Somebody ought to tell the Ely players that when you aren't good enough for the Eastern Counties, you shouldn't really be trying to play like Messi. Surprisingly Ely took the lead in the second half when Luke Fretwell scored a bullet header, but it wasn't to last. A defender whose name it's probably better not to mention upended a Diss player in the box in one of the clumsiest challenges ever seen and it was 1-1, as Diss made sure from the spot. There was still time for the circus defenders to mess it up completely and truly embarrass themselves with yet more schoolgirl defending....

The photos above show the players warming up with the mascots. On Saturday Ely took on Diss and it was another disappointing game and another disappointing result for the Robins. Ely started well enough and had a couple of good chances, with both Adam Murray and Kenny Smith having decent chances. On 25 minutes though Diss had two great chances with Sam Parkinson having to clear off the line and then the post intervening when Pacey was left stranded when the ball came back out. The scores remained goaless at half time. Diss had hit the post again in the last couple of minutes of the half. Ely had had their chances too though, although they didn't have any real clear cut chances from the number of corners that had come their way. Diss came out looking the more confident of the two teams and yet another defensive error by the Robins allowed them to capitalise and take the lead. After this Diss took the game by the scruff of the neck and closed Ely down. One incident where a ...

Kenny Smith gets a cross in Back of the net. 2-1 to Ely

The teams line up Kick off An early Ely attack.

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day, as Ely took on Diss in what was a bit of a meaningless fixture. Ely were definitely the stronger of the two teams, so it was good that they came ahead with a win ahead of the cup final on Monday. Ely's first real chance came on 27 minutes when Murray's header just missed. One minute later the Robins took the lead from a wonder strike from Kenny Smith and Diss had hardly even got in Ely's half. That was all about to change though when after the centre Diss got in Ely's six yard box and forced the ball over the line. The Diss player more or less punched the ball in the goal, but neither the linesman or referee saw it, so the goal was given. For most of the game Ely dominated and on 61 minutes they got the winner when Taz's shot was saved and Josh Bridgeman scored from the rebound. They could have had more with Murray coming close on several occasions, but a win is a win.

The Eastern Counties League results so far this season have been unpredictable to say the least. Ely's have been a bit more predictable and perhaps a bit better than could be expected having beaten Clacton at home and Gorleston away and as would be expected losing to Dereham and Haverhill away. Diss have also had a mixed bag of results with their highlight being a 4-0 crushing of Great Yarmouth. Therefore despite the 4-0 thrashing that Ely inflicted on Diss in the Cup a couple of weeks ago it was difficult to predict what would happen last week. Ely didn't exactly start where they had left off in the Cup, as the first 10 minutes were pretty open, although the Robins looked the most likely side to score, with Josh Bridgeman coming close on 6 minutes and Austen Diaper also having a fine chance on 10. Five minutes later and Impey should have put Ely ahead from another pass from Austen Diaper, but he blasted it over. Ely were to continue where they had left off in the Cup th...

Maybe it's a bit, well very optimistic to think that Ely will get anywhere near Wembley, but the first game in the FA Cup in the extra preliminary round saw the Robins progress in style and also the extra cash from a cupm run will come in very handy. Ely completely dominated the game against Diss yesterday and ran out 4-0 winners in a pretty one sided contest. They did get a bit of help from the Tangerines of Diss though, who at times seemed happy to give Ely all the chances they could. The first goal which was scored by Richard Chadwick was pretty much indicative of the game as a whole. He fluffed his lines the first time and made a bit of a hash oif it, but Diss failed to clear their lines and he managed to force the goal of the line at the second attempt. After this Ely dominated the game and could have been further ahead if they hadn't wasted some of their chances. Diss looked particularly weak on crosses and as for their own attacking they weren't able to get pas...

Forget it when the media start going on about the FA Cup when the first round begins. The extra preliminary round starts tomorrow when Ely City take on Diss Town in what should be a close and from previous experiences a high scoring game. Let's hope that the Robins can put together a decent run in the Cup and the Vase this season - they need the cash. A decent run in the Cambs Senior Cup wouldn't go a miss either, as that was the highlight of the season 2 years ago, so no putting out weakened sides in any of the competitions this year, please.

Some things on Tuesday night when Ely took on Diss in the replay of the 2nd qualifying round of the FA Vase. Autumn was back with some football in the dark for the first time in months and a cup tie at the Unwin ended in extra time, as it did on so many ocassions last season. However, after the last Ely match I went to ended in 0-0 at Newmarket, Tuesday night's game ended in a goal fest. As may have been predicted the Diss player pictured in the club focus for Diss, Xavier Huckle, who is pictured in the club focus below did score against Ely again. In fact he scored 4 times, but it wasn't enough to save Diss. Trevor Munns has stepped down as Ely manager and now Dennis Lightning has taken control of the team again at least for the time being at least and he got off to a winning start. We predicted a lot of goals from the start when Grant Robbins scored after only a couple of minutes. However, we had to wait until the second half until Ely managed to extend their lead when Nick I...

Tomorrow night Ely have a second round replay in the FA Vase against Diss Town after a 2-2 draw in Diss at the weekend. Diss are currently second in division 1 of the Eastern Conties league, while Ely are struggling in the Premier. Diss also have a bit of a history in this competition after winning the FA Vase in 1994, but it's a long way from Wembley yet! Diss were formed in 1888 and one hundred years later they became founder members of division 1 of the Eastern Counties League. They have played in the Eastern Counties since, but from 1993 to 2006 they played in the Premier division. This year they will probably be hoping to gain promotion and last year despite missing out on promotion did win the division 1 league cup. Famous faces at Diss have included ex-Norwich and Chelsea player Robert Fleck, who managed the team until being replaced in 2008 and Mathew Upson, who is from the town, but I'm not sure if he has any connections to the club. The nickname of Diss is the tangeri...