football rambles

 A nice sunny day saw Downham take on early league leaders Stowmarket at the Memorial Fields. Stowmarket started the game showing why they were top of the league going into the game. Downham faced attack after attack. Fortunately, Charlie Congreve in goals for Downham kept them at bay. The game was turned on its head in the 41 minute when Tobi Lawal was brought down as the last man by Hayden Baker and was given a red card. Lawal had been the one player who had been giving Stowmarket something to think about. One criticism of Stowmarket, who clearly have a good team is that they can be quite physical. Things got worse for Stow on the stroke of half time when Eoin Mc.Quaid scrambled the ball home to give Downham the lead going into the break. The second half saw Downham take control of the match with the man advantage, although chances were few and far between for both teams. At one point Downham had a two man advantage when another Stow player was sinbinned for 10 minutes, but they ...

 Finally a home game across the road I could go to. Due to sharing with a cricket team, Downham have been playing away games since the last time I went there after just moving in in April. They did have one other home game, but I was in Italy at the time. Stowmarket are a team that I also saw at the end of last season when they were relegated Isthmian North back into the Eastern Counties Premier. On that occasion they lost to Enfield 4-0, who themselves were also relegated but to the Essex Senior League. On Saturday's performance it doesn't look like they are going to turn much around despite now being in a league lower. Downham dominated the first half and could have been 5 or 6 up. Stowmarket managed a solitary shop that was easily saved. Downham went in at the break two goals to the good, Rudy Da Rocha scoring the first and Harley Murkin marking his debut with a goal. Chances were few and far between in the second half, but Downham must have felt it was job well done and it ...

This was Enfield's las home game in Bishop Stortford before they move to a groundshare with Hertford next season, after gaining promotion to the Isthmian North last season, they managed to stay up this one. However, they were helped by the demise of East Thurrock and  the poor results of a very young Stowmarket team who provided the opposition today. The first half was fairly miserable with the best chances falling to Stowmarket who hit the woodwork twice. In all senses though it really did have a feel of an end of season game where both teams would be glad to get it over and done with. However, whatever the Enfield players were told at halftime seemed to have the desired effect. Robert Clark opened the scoring for the Es on the 53rd minute and from then on Enfield didn't look back. It looked like a good performance to me, although some of the Stowmarket fans seemed to think that it was a case of heads dropping as soon as they went a goal down. Either way, on the hour mark subs...

After last week was a complete wash out and our two main options of a Clapton away game and Ely at Needham Market were washed out, it was back to the Unwin for something almos like a Spring's day to see the Robins take on Stowmarket again., this time in the league. The first half was low on quality with neither side getting a grip on the game, but it was Stowmarket who went in at the break in the lead when ex-Thetford hotshot Matt Dixon complete in zorro mask stole the ball to put the visitors ahead. It was clear that in the second half the Robins had to up their game if they were to get a vital 3 points, and thankfully they did. The vistors were penned in in their own half for most of the second half and on 65 minutes Alex Theobold levelled things up with a header. Ely continued to push forward and put pressure on Stowmarket, but it looked like the visitors were going to grab a draw until in stoppage time James Seymour got another headed goal for the Robins to give the home si...

It's been a couple of weeks ago since this game in the Eastern Counties Division 1 Cup. It was quite a bad tempered game and not a classic with the visitors winning and having a man sent off.

Yesterday saw Ely City take on Stowmarket in another friendly, in what was the fifth game I went to in July. It was the third Ely game and ended in a draw, meaning in July I saw the Robins win one, draw one and lose one. Stowmarket weren't exactly brilliant opposition and when Grant Robbins scored in the opening couple of minutes, it looked like Ely might be in for a big victory. However, things didn't work out like that and on the half hour mark a bad offside call by Lee Dixon let Stowmarket equalise. However, their parity was short lived with Nick Impey making it 2-1 to Ely just before half time. It looked like Ely might be able to extend their lead in the second half, as Stowmarket didn't seem too clever a team, but unfortunately it was Stowmarket who equalised. The introduction of Robbie Mason gave Ely a fresh impetus, but he didn't seem to be comfortable playing with Andy Petit and the game finished 2-2 in what was the poorest of the preseason perforrmances I have ...