football rambles

The Championship kicked off on Saturday and this was a game that Norwich were expected to win. On the way things were going towards the end of the season, it would appear that they would have aspirations of the playoffs, whereas West Brom would probably be happy to consolidate their place in the division, what transpired was quite different though. For most of the game it looked like Norwich were going to get the win as they pressured West Brom constantly. However, Max O'Leary in goal for the Baggies and their centre half pairing of Nat Philips and George Campbell were able to keep the Canaries at bay. Before the break Norwich had come close of a few occasions. In the opening few minutes Kenny McLean forced a save from O'Leary. In the half there were also really good chances for Andre Brooks and Kellen Fisher that they failed to convert. The second half continued in the same way that the first half had finished. In the opening encounters Brooks almost caught O'Leary out aft...

 Last night saw Downham unusually playing a Tuesday night game at home in August. They usually have to wait for the cricket team to pack up and play away until September and their midweek games tend to be Wednesday. However a 2-2 draw away to Cornard in the FA Cup and a packed schedule for non league clubs meant that they hurriedly had to organise the replay. There are a lot of new faces at Downham, so I am going to have to find out who they are as the season progresses. I am not even sure if the goalkeeper is a real goalkeeper. He did well last night but II am sure he plays outfield and Duncan McNally is returning to be the keeper this season. However, that is not particularly unusual at this time of year at this level when players are still on holiday. The game itself started off pretty equally, but with neither club really creating too many chances, although Downham did hit the bar and force a save early on. Tobi Lawal added some pace on the wing and the ex-Ely player provided s...

Unfortunately, politics will decide if the Broncos play in the Super League next season, but they're definitely doing everything that they can off it. It was good to see Alex Walker get 4 tries on his 200th appearance for the Broncos. Despite what the scoreline suggests, Goole didn't play badly and the try scored by Ronnie Ellis for the visitors was well worked out. However, it is clear that the Broncos are too strong for this division and the intensity and ruthlessness they showed in this game must mean that they have to be taken seriously. However, it'll be politics rather than performances like this that decide what happens next.

 Saturday saw the competitive football return with a very new look Linnets team taking on newly promoted Harborough Town. From the first look, I am expecting to see a lot of goals at the Walks this season (that's probably gone and cursed it), as attacking they look like they could be a force, although I thought they did look a bit vulnerable in defence.  The game almost got off to a lightening start when Tom Scott hit the post in the opening two minutes with a thunderous shot. Jesse Nwabueze also came close in the opening 10 minutes and was only denied by a spectacular save. However, on 13 minutes, it was Harborough who took the lead. A defensive mix up saw O'Sullivan for the visitors find space to rifle them into the lead. Lynn battled hard to get back on level terms and Jahmari Lindsay went close before the break. However, Harborough came closer to doubling their lead only to be denied by a Ronnie Hollingshead super save. The second half saw Harborough trying to take advanta...

 This was one of those pre-season games that seemed more about players getting minutes before the real stuff starts. Both teams fielded a lot of different players and subsequently it was a bit difficult for either side to gain much rhythm. Having said that the opening 30 minutes were dominated by Norwich. Jacob Wright had a good opportunity to put the Canaries one up on six minutes, but his shot was saved. On 15 minutes Andre Brooks thought he had given them the lead when he converted from a Ben Chrisene cross, but unfortunately it was ruled offside.  Osasuna did start to grow into the game and Lucas Torro and Ruben Garcia had good chances, but fired both of them wide. In the closing minutes of the half Paris Maghoma had a good chance to put the hosts in the lead after slaloming through the Osasuna defence before firing just wide. Matej Jurasek replaced Brooks at halftime and he was immediately involved. He delivered a fantastic cross with the outside of the boot, that was con...

 Saturday saw pre-season continue with King's Lynn taking on a young Norwich XI at The Walks. It was a good performance by the Linnets, although there were incidents that proved some of the issues that they had last season might persist in this one. In the opening half hour King's Lynn were the stronger of the two sides. They were rewarded with a penalty on 3o minutes when the dynamic Jesse Nwabueze was brought down in the box. However, Carlton Ubaezuonu squandered the opportunity with a soft penalty. Something that was reminiscent of last season where Lynn were regularly disappointing from the spot. Six minutes later the Canaries had the lead when Lynn were caught napping despite having most of the ball up until then - another trait that they need to curb. Ken Aboh giving the visitors the lead and it stayed like that until half-time.  Lynn came out firing in the second half though and Nwabueze equalised on 51 minutes with a fantastic strike from distance. It was made all the ...