football rambles

 It could be argued that League 1 isn't  a natural fit for either of these clubs, but for very different reasons. Sunderland have aspirations of being in the Premier League and definitely have the support and ground for this, while Cambridge are currently punching above their weight. They are where they are though and Cambridge have already proved this season that they can bloody the nose of more illustrious opponents, they have also proved that they can fold against anyone too, so it really was a game where you couldn't predict what would happen. However, it was the wind that seemed to play the biggest part in the game. Sunderland had the wind giving them the upper hand in the first half and  Alex Pritchard made the most of it to steer the ball in and confuse the U's keeper Dimitar Mitov enough to put the ball in his own net. Cambridge battled back though and Sam Smith equalised on 27 minutes before Nathan Broadhead again used the wind to his advantage to give the Black Ca

 When I bought the tickets for this game I wasn't expecting too much from it. Villa were on an atrocious run of form, and not looking like getting back on track. A lot of Villa fans will disagree, but when Dean Smith was sacked after we lost 1-0 to Southampton, it was probably for the best that he departed. In the meantime Steven Gerrard was given the job and it made for what looked like a more intriguing fixture and for me gave us some hope. I predicted a 2-0 victory and I was not to be disappointed, even though Villa left it until late. For large parts of the game this still seemed like the Dean Smith performances of late, but with the ever impressive Emi Martinez in better form and making some key saves. For me the midfield looks a bit week and Marvelous isn't the answer although his break away led to the Watkins goal. Targett looked out of sorts for a big part of the season at left back and despite playing better today, you have to think he is probably the type of fullback

 It's been a while since I have made the trip up the road to Thetford for a game, mainly due to the pandemic, but also because they always seem to clash with Ely games. This time though both Ely teams were away, so it was a good opportunity to visit a club that I have enjoyed watching in the past and a clubhouse that I also really like.  The clubhouse was great and after a Shed Head, I also sank a few Stellas. The game was also good and exceeded expectations in front of a really decent crowd. Wroxham ahead of the game were second in the league - and still are with Ely losing to leaders Gorleston on the same day - and Town had what can be best described as a patched up team. The game however was pretty equally matched. Thetford actually started off the brightest, but as the half progressed Wroxham grew into the game and took the lead through Ryan Miles on 24 minutes - no wonder he's keeping Grant Holt out of the starting line up!  Thetford initially responded well, but Wroxham a

 I was probably looking  forward to this game more than it justified, but I was really looking forward to it! It was a great day out and we had fun in the Cricketer's, but the game didn't live up to much and let's be honest although I was pumped for it, it didn't look amazing on paper. I had hoped to see Louie Barry start for Town, but again he was left out of what was a very strong looking starting 11. For Barry's sake I am hoping that he will come back to Villa or get a loan where he's wanted in January. Anyway, as I was saying it was a strong starting line up. In fact perhaps even stronger than the team that lined up in the league at Cambridge a couple of weeks before. When Wes Burns put Ipswich 1-0 up after 8 minutes it looked like the rout that I had expected was about to come to fruition. However despite Ipswich's dominance the Oldham defence, in particular Piergianni kept Ipswich at bay. On 41 minutes Oldham found an equaliser and it was clear that th

  After seeing Ely win at home last week( 3-1 v Fakenham), this weekend it was back to the Abbey to see Cambridge take on the Dons. Like most Cambridge games it was impossible to predict, but the Us came away with the winner.  It was definitely a well deserved victory and although Wimbledon fashioned a few chances in the first half Cambridge definitely had the lion's share of the play.  They finally got the breakthrough early in the second half when a long ball fell for Jensen Weir who carefully headed home to get his first professional goal. After Cambridge took the lead, Wimbledon pressed to get back in the game, but Cambridge stood firm at the back an ran out with a deserved win. Above  - Cambridge celebrate the win at the end of the game  Above - Cambridge on the attack Above - Sponge Bob in the away end