football rambles

On Saturday morning I was busy with Crusaders at Stretham and after clocking up game 42 on Monday night I thought I might not bother with a game in the afternoon. With the time I had there were probably only 2 matches I could make it to. Cambridge City had their last game at Milton Road before joining up with Newmarket for a ground share and Soham had a chance of making the playoffs. As you may have noticed I am not a big fan of Cambridge City and I thought that going to two Soham games in a row wouldn't have gone down well with the regulars at the Unwind. In the end though I couldn't resist going to a game and I realised that even more locally the Ely Reserves were at home to Lakenheath, so for the second time this season I descended down to Step 7 for a Cambridgeshire Senior Premier game. The game started off brightly enough and it had the added interest of having a linesman that I work with, although I fought the temptation to heckle him! Ely whose reserves have had a te

Here are a few pictures from the cup final. My camera photos are usually bad, but due to the excitement they are specially bad this time. Apart from the one nicked from the Ely Standard obviously. Some lads with a flag. Sorry to the Ely Standard for mixing this with my own poor photos which follow. Waiting to get the cup Collecting the medals Lifting the cup - oops Lee Pacey with the cup

Last year Ely City beat Soham in a breathless final to win the Cambridgeshire Invitation Cup. On Monday they had the chance to retain the cup after reaching the final again, this time Cambridge City stood in their way. Ely went into the final as the underdogs and although Cambridge City have slipped away in the play-offs of late they are still 2 steps further up on Ely. Most Ely fans didn't expect a victory for the Robins and it would appear that none of the Cambridge City lot thought the trophy would be going back up the A10 again either. Cambridge City have never endeared themselves to me, so at least it was a chance to wind them up a bit, as they definitely can give it out, but can't take it. Little did we know that apart from being easy to wind up they are also bad losers. The opening half hour was pretty evenly balanced, but Ely looked more threatening and the other City looked adept at falling over themselves, but they were cancelling each other out during this p

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.

Last night as well as Sean being the mascot at Ely V Thetford the Robins recorded a decent victory, unfortunately it was against Thetford and more or less sealed their relegation back to Division 1. The last couple of season we went to quite a few games at Thetford, but this was regrettably the first time I had seen them this season because the fixture list meant that their home games have clashed with Ely's. I only actually recognised the 2 Portuguese players, Valter Rocha and Bruno Tavares in the Thetford team, so things had definitely changed since the heady days of massive victories and promotions from last season. Things looked ominous for Thetford from the start when Murray came close with a cheeky header from a Diaper shot in the first minute. However, it was the visitors who took the lead on 14 minutes when Parrish lobbed Pacey. Ely came back at Thetford though and just after the half hour mark Adam Murray, who was playing out of position up front, made a strong tackle in

Nadiya also made a video, here it is.

Sean was one of the mascots for Ely City's 4-1 win over Thetford. Here are a few photos by Nadiya. Sean in his Crusaders' kit waiting for everyone to turn up. Sean comes out with the players. In the centre circle. With the match officials and team captains.

Chesham players close in on a Cambridge midfielder The view of the cathedral from the Unwin Ground.

Chesham on the attack. A battle in midfield. Chesham turn defence into attack.

Cambridge header Cambridge take a corner. Chesham play the ball out of defence, again!

The Cambridge winger loses her marker. Chesham's first attack of the game Chesham clear their lines.

Yesterday Cambridge Women took on Chesham United Women in what could be the last game at the Unwin for Cambridge in what was their last home game of the season. The game was given an extra point of interest in that Chesham could clinch the league. We had expected for the visitors to perhaps run riot, as Ipswich who had easily beaten Cambridge last week had recently had 8 smashed past them by Chesham. The game however was very easily balanced and for most of the game Cambridge probably shaded it. However Chesham's defence was especially impressive. The visitors finally got the break they needed when on 58 minutes they managed to lob the Cambridge goalkeeper with a cleverly worked move. They almost doubled their lead one minute later, but hit the crossbar. They should really have made it 2 on 74 minutes, but the centre forward just rolled it to the Cambridge keeper. Cambridge had most of the play, but Chesham always looked the most likely to score. They took their chance and thei

On Saturday, there weren't many games on offer of the teams we usually go and watch, so we went on the short, but time consuming journey to Soham to see Town Rangers take on Ware in Ryman Division 1 North. At the moment Soham are riding in 6th, which if they can keep it up will be their highest finish at this level. Ware, conversely are in 19th and could still theoretically be relegated. Therefore we went to Julius Martin Lane expecting a home win. The first 15 minutes were fairly even with both teams trying to stamp their authority on the game. Buster Harradine for the home team was working his socks off and came close on 23 minutes and it looked like Soham were increasing in confidence. However, Ware's giant striker, Leon Simpson, made the most of a spilled save after Elliot King had shot for the visitors and stabbed the ball in the back of the net to give the visitors the lead. Simpson was clearly the danger man for the visitors and he almost extended their lead on the ha

Tuesday night Ely took on Champions elect Dereham Town and with the retirement of Nick Impey and several key injuries it looked like Ely might struggle. Ely had the first chance though when Chadwick came close on 5 minutes, but Dereham looked particularly effective down the left wing. The equilibrium and balance of the game was about to change though when a minute later there was an altercation between Coe and a Dereham player, which led to both of them seeing red. If that wasn't bad enough something happened in the tunnel between the two players and one of the Dereham players charged down there. This resulted in a 22 man brawl. The referee went off in a huff and it looked like the game might be abandoned. They managed to sort out their differences though and 20 minutes later they were back on the pitch. The referee was clearly not going to take any more and when Ben Lawrence went in with a strong tackle he also picked up a booking. The result was that the sting was completely

I am now having to play catch up on the games after games on Tuesday, Saturday and today (Sunday) and being away in Liverpool on Wednesday and Thursday. Hopefully I can get everything posted by Tuesday when I'll be back at the Unwin for Ely V Thetford.

The two teams battle it out in midfield. Cambridge get a cross in. Cambridge take a corner. The Cambridge goalkeeper gets caught in the clash that led to a lot of bad feeling between the benches.

The Ipswich Keeper comes to collect the ball early in the first half. Cambridge hit the post early on.

Ipswich clear early in the first half. Ipswich get to grips with Cambridge in midfield. Cambridge take a throw in the first half. A Cambridge player loses her footing.

Yesterday me and Nadiya went to watch Cambridge Women take on Ipswich in the South East Combination League. I hadn't been for a while, well since the weather had got bad! But the weather improved on Sunday, so I thought I'd give it another chance and it wasn't a bad game at all. It seemed clear from the start that Ipswich were the stronger team, however it was Cambridge who had the first chance and a cleverly weighted shot nearly caught the keeper out but hit the post. Ipswich soon took the lead on 14 minutes and the player who scored turned to provider with the next chance of the match. However, the goal that was scored on 26 after a fine cross was ruled offside. Ipswich had another good chance in the half, just before half time, but this time they hit the post. Cambridge had been trying to put the Ipswich goalie under pressure, as she seemed to flap a bit when the ball came to her and some of her kicking was suspect. Nevertheless, she proved to be a good shot stopper on

Woodbridge have something of a reputation as a bogey team for Ely. They woodpeckers often finish below the Robins, but always seem to win at the Unwin. Funnily enough though, it was the first time that I actually managed to get to a game contested by the two teams in the 5 seasons that I have been following Ely. The omens weren't looking too good for the Robins from the start. Both fullbacks were missing with Kenny Smith coming in for the injured Chris Sterecki, who has been a revelation this season, Richard Chadwick had to relinquish his usual role as centre forward to cover for left back Sam Parkinson and Ben Lawrence was missing at centre half. Later in the game Darren Coe, who was playing at centre back went off and his partner Adam Murray, who had an uncharacteristic nightmare of a game was sent off. Man of the match for Ely was goalkeeper Lee Pacey - when you lose 2-0 at home and the keeper is the best player it says it all really. Ely managed to stay in the game for

The programme, team sheet and ticket from King's Lynn's 7-0 victory over Mickleover Sports.

There is usually one game that stands out every season and this was the one that this season will be remembered for. Mickleover weren't a bad team, but Lynn were on fire and at times looked like the Barcelona of West Norfolk. During the first 15 minutes of the game it looked like it was going to be a frustrating game for Lynn, Sam Mulready and Dan Jacob were causing Mickleover all sorts of problems, but Dan Quigley and Russell Dunkley seemed loathed to convert the chances. Luckily, they soon decided to do it by themselves. The deadlock was broken on 17 minutes when Danny Beaumont crossed from the left and Jacob produced a fine header at the far post for the Linnets to take the lead. After that it looked like the floodgates were going to open with Lynn attacking in swathes. They finally got a 2nd on 23 minutes when Mulready took the defence on on his own to put the home side 2-0 up. Despite these setbacks Mickleover continued to try and defend resolutely and for the most part d

The bank holiday footballing blitz got off to a fairly good start with Ely beating Stanway Rovers. Ely were clearly the better team, but the game wasn't actually full of chances. Ely got off to a good start when they hit the post on the 2nd minute. The next real clear cut chance came on 37 minutes when Chadwick came close with a header. Stanway had a really good chance to register a goal just 2 minutes later, but some how a decent cross from the left wing was greeted by 3 of the Stanway players kicking fresh air when the slightest of connections would have led to a goal and the ball went out for a throw in. Ely managed to go in at the break with a one goal lead though when Chadwick got the last touch in a goal line scramble to see the ball over the line. The second half continued in the same vane as the first half with Ely having the better of the play, but without creating good chances. Stanway's best chance came on 61 minutes, but they again couldn't connenct and on 6

It's been a funny month for music. I listened to a lot of old faves, a few bands that I would never have thought of listening to normally and not as much non-English language stuff as I have been for the last year or so. Here is the play list for March 2013. http://grooveshark.com/#!/playlist/March+2013/84894088 March 2013 by jim_bomb on Grooveshark 1 Kasabian - Fire There was a period in the middle of the last decade when I gave this band quite a few plays. I think that I have been hankering for those bands that were a bit like the early 90s British bands and that is why they got so many plays. 2 De la Soul - A Roller Skating Jam Named 'Saturday' I sometimes like a bit of hip hop, but not usually as soft as this lot, but anyway I enjoyed giving them a blast this month. 3 The Lines - Blisstability There are a few bands called The Lines. This one is the post-rock band from the 80s. I think that a trip to Leyton Orient made me think of this type of music. 4 T

It's been a funny old season with postponements and abandonments occurring in more or less every month of the season, so I was looking forward to the Easter bonanza of 3 games in 4 days. The weather wasn't what you would have expected for Easter and decidedly looked more like Christmas, but fortunately everything went off without a hitch. I'll be catching up with reports of the 3 games after sorting out a few things and the off topic March play list. It wasn't disappointing though, Ely got off to a home win against Stanway and then I saw what was probably match of the season when King's Lynn knocked 7 past Mickleover Sports. Conversely, the last game of the bank holiday saw Ely lose to bogey team Woodbridge in what was the most lacklustre performance of the season. More about that later as there were mitigating circumstances to be fair.