Sheffield FC v. Worksop Town S & H Senior Cup Final at Hillsborough 08/05/08

Well this is it; we've finally reached the last game of the season, and what a way to finish off as we once again make our (regular) appearance at Hillsborough for the Senior Cup Final. It's fitting too that we should be watching it in glorious end of season weather too, although I've not gone as far as to put the shorts on yet!

After all the hectic activity of the past few weeks when we seemed to be seeing everyone every other day, it seemed strange after last Saturday's game to be bereft without any footie at all. In fact at one stage I thought the computer had broken down as there were no emails flying around, which there had been plenty of as we arranged and re-arranged pick up times, depending on work schedules as the games piled up. It still seems funny though playing on a Thursday, I'm sure that's going to bugger my head up for what's left of the week (No comments Deano!)

John called me in the afternoon to confirm arrangements to meet him, Deano and Maz outside the stadium and then I ended up 'rest my eyes' when I should have been getting ready to set off. Nevertheless, I still made it into town for twenty past six, but then ended up having to wait another twenty minutes until the number 53 bus turned up. It's a pity this route's stops are so isolated from the other buses that go Hillsborough way. Still, it's Sod's Law that if I'd have tried a different route that would probably have been late too and at least this one drops me right outside the ground. Thankfully there's very little traffic on the road and it sails through to my destination. In fact I'm just getting off the bus and I can see John, Deano and Maz walking towards me.

 We make our way in and spot Caroline, Andy, Tim and Sue so go and sit with them near the front of the stand. It's a lovely evening, with the sun streaming across the pitch as the players come out, and we're playing in all white. As the ground is all seater we are going to 'stay put' where we are instead of moving round being as we're kicking towards the goal farthest away from us. This gives us an opportunity to study our defence at close hand so to speak, as we're usually to far away to really appreciate what goes on at that end of the pitch as we concentrate on watching the goals we score instead. Mr. Versatile Rob Ward is playing centre half tonight, he even has his noisy boys chant now as he's played in most key positions this season including a spell in goal too. Worksop may have thought they were on a winner when they looked at the team sheet and saw one of our regular forwards reverting to a defensive roll, but we have no worries on that score. I suppose that in theory we're the underdogs tonight being as Worksop play in a higher division, but on form I think it's us who are favourites. The game starts and Worksop have the first chance, before Vill breaks forward and puts a shot over the bar. We then have a scare when the 'visitors' hit the post. In fact Jamie is being kept quite busy as he then tips away a goal bound header. After twenty minutes or the team eventually settle into their game after weathering the early pressure. Just before the half hour mark some good work by Dolbs and Smudge (sounds like a kids TV programme!) sees the ball delivered high towards the back post and stand-in skipper for the night Gav Smith comes ghosting in to head home and send most of the crowd into wild celebrations. That's how it stayed for the rest of the half and as the whistle blows, we get the chance to stand up and stretch our legs. Billy has his noisy boys’ shirt on with the name Fishy written underneath the noisy boys’ logo. John says to him, "Billy, what's the Fishy for?" All of us shut up talking and look at John and say Billy the Fish in unison. It's a cartoon character in Viz magazine, Billy being a goalkeeping fish and 'our' Billy being a budding goalkeeper himself! Stu say's to John, "I can't believe you had to ask the question, just about everyone in the stadium knows who Billy the Fish is." Andy replies on John's behalf, "Well, he's not been well," which raises more than a few laughs. Most of the players are back on the pitch, apart from the Worksop number eleven. He was getting some stick from the noisy boys in the first half as he's carrying more than his fair share of weight, so they regaled him with a chorus or two of, "You've never seen a salad!" Anyway, when he does eventually wobble back onto the pitch one of the lads shouts," I couldn't get a half time pie because of you!" This again has us laughing aloud.

The game restarts and after a while their 'keeper goes down injured after a challenge. While he's being attended to the Worksop number eleven comes to the sideline and calls for a drink from the dug-out. As he's drinking, Tim shouts, “What’s in there, Slimfast!" Even the players were smiling at that one. As Sheffield attack Deano spots an Eddie Stobbart lorry passing the ground as there's a little gap on the far side which you can see high sided vehicles pass, we tell him it doesn't count as we're already in the ground and not travelling. Mind you, we had to be quick to think that one up! With twenty minutes to go Sheffield get a corner which Worksop fail to clear properly and the ball bounces kindly to the feet of Gav Smith, who fires the ball home for his, and the teams second goal of the night. Cue more wild celebrations and the slow exodus of Worksop fans who can't take it anymore, which is a bit disgusting when you think about it. I mean, they've reached a cup final, you think the least they would do would stay till the end to acknowledge the efforts of the team. I know our fans would stay to the bitter end, even if we were getting thumped, which happened a few times this season, still, that's what we're like and is possibly one of the reasons, apart from the playing side of things why clubs are jealous of us, because we are, the biggest non- league club around these parts despite what the Stocky in-breds think. Well, with the game virtually over we celebrate every pass and rejoice when the ref finally blows his whistle. Of course we wait for the presentations and sportingly applaud the vanquished as they collect their runners-up medals; after all there were hardly any of their fans left to do it. Then it was time for the cup to be presented, and as we were all near the steps where the players would come back down they all received and handshake or pat on the back. We wait to watch the photo's being taken on the pitch then it's time to head to the riverside suite for some after match celebrations. There was still another presentation to be made this evening too as we hadn't yet handed out the BTF player of the season award. Once the players had all arrived Deano got me and one of the others to hold our flag up whilst John presented the champagne to this years winner, Vill Powell. Time for numerous photos before the celebrations continued. Me, John, Deano and Maz then decided to call it a night so, after saying all our farewells, which took about another half hour we made our way out. We stopped at the chippy on the way and John got a fish buttie and I got a fishcake buttie which we ate as we strolled homewards on a warm and very pleasant evening. We stopped to say goodbye to Deano and Maz, who had got their supper wrapped up at the chip shop and made our way to the top of the hill. The timing couldn't have been better as we both finished our al fresco supper just before reaching John's house. Just time for him to dump our rubbish and let Lynne know he was just dropping me off home and then away we went, back to Firth Park. What a great way to finish the season. 

Many thanks to all who contributed to my scribbles, whether that be accidental or on purpose, don't forget I'll have my eyes and ears open next season (apart from when I'm in the car!) so watch out! My football isn't over yet though as I'm off to visit our 'German branch of BTF supporters and we'll be taking a trip to Austria to watch the European Championships in Vienna, so look out for that in the near the future. Enjoy your summer, and, until next time.

Happy Travelling

Trev

 Well here we are at the end of a fantastic league campaign, just 90 minutes (unless it's extra time) from the ultimate success of gaining promotion to the UniBond Premier League at the first attempt.

Even though I'm working today I'm in good spirits, especially as it's now light as I stroll down to the bus stop at 5am, with the birds (the feathered variety !) just waking up in the woods. It's a midday finish today, and John is already waiting as I emerge outside, with Deano already comfy in the back seat. Maz isn't coming along today but we do have another passenger, as we head up to Woodhouse to pick up Deano's brother Steve. He's outside waiting for us as we pull up. so I dump my coat and rucksack in the boot, along with Steve's coat to give us more room and then we're off. Although I read there may be showers later, it's warm and sunny at present so I've got clothes to cover all occasions. That's one disadvantage of going to a game from work, you can almost never be sure what the weather will do, apart from Winter when you knows it's going to be freezing cold and wet!

We've only just got on the motorway and John already spots a James Irlam go whizzing past us. Soon after that, up pops the rarity of a Preston's of Potto, swiftly followed by not one, but two Eddie Stobbarts, all spotted by John, he's on fire today. He claims another Eddie Stobbart a bit further on which was a bit unfair as I was looking at the back of my eyelids at the time. I did claim 22 Eddie Stobbarts later on, but that was only because we were driving past their depot, and the others refused to acknowledge it as the lorries weren't actually moving at the time!

After listening to the radio for a while , John hands me the directions that Stu put on the site. Unfortunately they were written to take a different route than the one we've chosen, so basically, they may as well be written in Arabic for all the sense they make! After a couple of slight detours we head straight for the town centre. Once there, me and Deano are able to direct John, via our knowledge (no, don't laugh) from our previous visit when we walked round the town looking for a chip shop. We find the ground with no problem, and make our way into the car park just as Stu, Craig and Liam arrive. There's already a big crowd, as expected as we make our way inside. We see Tim, Sue, Paul and Debbie, along with some of the noisy boys busy blowing up red and black balloons which we'll release before the kick-off. I'd emailed Tim earlier in the week to get the programmes for us, just in case we were going to get hold up, or they sold out, but there seemed to be an ample stock of them today. Nevertheless, once Tim had got his breath back we say hello and he gives me the programmes while Sue takes the money and puts it in her purse. I think he's too starved of oxygen at this moment to realise that's the last he'll see of that!

Jeff (from St. Helens) had emailed John to tell him he'd be here today, so he went to the bar to find him, before joining me, complete with a pasty, as I get the teas. I'd already had something to eat on the way down as I grabbed a sandwich out of the dining room before meeting the others. The teams emerge into bright sunlight and we go and take our places behind the end we're kicking towards. There's over 1300 people here so you can imagine, space is at a premium as we stand against the railings elbow to elbow. The pitch is very bobbly, making the ball difficult to control and the first twenty minutes are a very edgy affair. On the half hour mark Nantwich take the lead after lots of pressure, but the lads pull level on the stroke of half time as Smudge hits a free kick into the bottom corner, much to our delight.

As you can imagine, with such a large crowd there's a massive queue at the snack bar so we don't bother waiting and just take our time to wander round to the other end of the ground. It's still sunny but a bit more breezy this end as we no longer have a wall to shelter us. There's two Dabber fans stood near our lot exchanging banter with the noisy boys, although some of it is far from nice, but  we just let it ride. It's a tense and cagey affair out on the pitch but with less than twenty minutes left it's the home side that go in front again. Things look dead and buried as the home side (prematurely) start celebrating, but in added time a Sheffield corner sees Wardy get on the end of it and we equalise. Suddenly it's all gone quiet on the home front as we start to sing. There's only just time for Nantwich to restart the game before the referee blows for full time.

At this point one of the stewards gets very officious, claiming that one of our young supporters is damaging the fence surrounding the pitch which was a load of rubbish. Steve then gets involved in a heated 'discussion' with the two Dabber fans who have been giving it large all the game. Once more the steward steps in, and advises Steve to leave the ground before he gets thrown out. Back on the pitch the teams have changed end and the noisy boys have gone round to the other end, but we can't be bothered as it will be time to make back here again by the time we get up there. The lads have the better of this period but can't convert their superiority into goals. Nantwich come more into it in the last couple of minutes, putting the pressure, but the referee eases the situation by blowing up for the end of the period just as they are about to take a corner. The second period of extra time is just as tense as the players are tired and do not want to make a mistake, especially our lot who've had such a busy schedule these last couple of weeks, some of them are doing well just to stand up. No goals arrive, so it's going to go down to the lottery of penalties, not an ideal way to finish such an important game, but until they come up with something different that is how it's going to be.

The kicks are going to be taken at our end, so quite a few more fans arrive before the shoot-out starts. It's Nantwich to start and they score. Up steps Smudge, who also scores to keep us level. Nantwich score again but Gav has his kick saved. Third round of kicks and the home side increase their advantage with Jamie well beaten every time so far. Young Matty Lowton is our next kicker, and it's vital he scores, but no, their 'keeper saves once again. It's now shit or bust as Nantwich have to miss this one or Jamie at least has to save it to give us some hope of coming back from the dead (so to speak). The atmosphere is so tense as up steps the Nantwich player, he shoots.....and scores. a mass eruption of noise emanates from all sides of the ground as the fans run onto the pitch to celebrate the Dabbers victory. Us lot, we're just stunned and more than anything I'm mentally exhausted. For the neutral supporter the penalty shoot out is great to watch but if your side is involved it can be heart breaking, especially today. We've won some before, so we know what that's like too , although the stakes haven't been this high before. We congratulate the players as they go off the pitch, and also the Nantwich team too, after all, we've played them four times this season and they've won them all so credit is due.

We eventually make our way out as John gives me the car keys while he goes to the loo. Steve is already waiting there for us and once John arrives we join the queue to get out of the car park. Whilst we're waiting John notices that no one has put the boot door down. I tell him it's a new aerofoil to help with speed like on the formula one cars. I go and close it and we finally get out of the car park and on our way home at 6pm.  It's all quiet on the journey home as we listen to Bolton playing Sunderland on the radio, it's not that interesting but there's nothing else to listen to, and to be honest, we're all too knackered to care! Looking on the bright side, it's been a tremendous season and could still end with silverware as we have the Senior Cup Final to play next week. The pressure is on to win as the under 19's won their League Cup, the reserves have won promotion, the ladies are Champions of their League and have got promotion, so there's only the first team with nowt to show for their efforts. Come on the lads! Until next time.

Happy Travelling

Trev

Sheffield U19 v. Alfreton Town U19 League Cup Final At Staveley Miners Welfare 28/04/08

It's my second day off in succession and I spend it by chilling out and basically doing bugger all, it's just nice not to be at work. I did go to the movies this morning, it's great when the kids are at school as it's nice and peaceful there. John picks me up early as we've given ourselves plenty of time to get there, even though it's not far away. We wanted to make sure we got a space in the car park. Well there was very little traffic to hold us up and we actually arrived just gone 6.30! So we just sat in the car for a while listening to Chris Evans on the radio which was funny. If you are a regular listener you'll know he has a record of the day in which listeners can send in texts and emails to say whether it's a hit or a miss. Well today’s song was by Scarlett Johanson, yes, the actress, who was doing a cover version of a Tom Waite song. Let's just say that she shouldn't give up her day job as it was bloody awful, and that was the overall opinion of all those that voted too.

After that, we decided to make our way inside and it's only £2 which is great value for a Cup Final. The ground is looking as good as ever, it's a lovely place and I always enjoy our visits here, which have mainly been for a pre-season game, we also generally have to put up with a downpour too, so I warn John of the fact that we may get wet at some stage. One of the first people we meet up with is Clucky, who is now in charge of the Alfreton side. Just some information here for the noisy boys and other Sheffield late-comers to our growing band of supporters - he used to play for us and at the time was the 'hard' man of the side, you'd have liked him for his wholehearted commitment, a sort of Copnell, but with a brain!  After that it's snack bar time, I'd already had something earlier before setting of so it was just John who tucked into pie, chips and peas from a very extensive range to choose from, we both had a cuppa though.

The game kicks off and looking around, there's a really good turn out to watch this match and there are a lot of people come to support our lads. Sheffield take the lead on 34 minutes when Danny Mackenzie punishes a hesitant defence to walk it past the 'keeper, leaving Alfreton defenders and 'keeper arguing as to whose fault it was. We keep the lead for the rest of the half and spend the break talking to Graeme and Helen. Helen is off to see Howden Clough play their last match tomorrow, and that's when our ladies will officially know they are champions, because even if Howden win, they still have to score over 30 goals to beat our goal difference!

The second half starts with Alfreton putting the pressure on, and coming close with a header against the bar, but that's really the nearest they came to scoring all night as ten minutes later Danny once again scores, turning exquisitely in the box to put the ball beyond the 'keeper and Ted Cribley puts the seal of approval on a fine display by grabbing Sheffield's third in the last minute. Time for celebrations all round as the cup is presented to the young 'uns on a fine evening's display of football. It's a very pleasant and short journey home as we look forward to tomorrow's clash against Stocksbridge in the play off semi-final, surely they'll not be as lucky as they were in scraping a draw as they did last Friday and class will finally tell this time! Until next time.

Happy Travelling

Trev

 Alsager Town v. Sheffield 26/04/08

 It's the last league match of the season and it's traditional weather too, sunny and boiling hot. So why have I got five layers of clothes with me? Well, I was working this morning and at 5 am it was hard to tell what the weather would do so I made sure I was prepared for all eventualities. Thankfully I was able to discard a couple of layers prior to leaving work to meet John. As I'm stood waiting for him at the park gates opposite the hospital I was tempted to buy an ice cream, but thought twice about it as I'm sure John would have wanted one and he couldn't really drive and eat an ice cream at the same time (although once he reads this bit he'll probably tell me that he CAN do such a thing, especially where food is concerned.)With me on board, we headed up to Gleadless, where we were meeting Stu and Craig so we could all travel down in one car. We see him just arrive home from work as we pull up outside the house. Once Craig arrives we all jump into the car and off we go.

  The main talking point is the rumpus at the end of last night's game against Stocky. Apparently there's been a lot of postings on the site, but not having read them I can't comment so I'm just listening to the others. Just before we get to the motorway we're held up in a traffic jam, which appears to be because there's a car boot sale in the field next to the slip road. John says, “Fancy having a car boot sale on a match day, in fact look, there's men there. Why aren't they going to a football match?” Once we're on the motorway it all goes quiet as me, Craig and Liam all nod off and Stu is trying his very best to keep his eyes open. Thankfully John is wide awake! It's a lovely run and we arrive about ten minutes before kick-off. Just as we're about to go inside John says, “I reckon we've just got time to find the snack bar before the game starts. Well. Lo and behold, as soon as you get through the turnstile the snack bar is the first thing you come to. So we each have a lovely hotdog with proper fried onions.

  We go and meet up with the others as the teams decide which way they are going to kick first. The game starts and we're still walking round to the end we're going to be attacking when the referee blows up after an altercation between Daz and one of their players which results in both players being sent off within the first minute of play. Neither side nor the fans could believe the ref had brandished the red card when all it needed was lecture to both players to sort it out. That sort of set the tone then as he was intent on being in the spotlight and it was obvious it was a new whistle he'd got as he sure liked to hear it's sound! There's a cheer goes up as we find out that Nantwich are losing at home to Goole. This is followed by John's phone ringing as he says, "I bet this is Lynne telling me that Wednesday are losing, " and sure enough, they're one down at Leicester. Some of our fans spot a couple of kids watching the game perched up in a tree just outside the ground, so they come in for some good old Yorkshire stick from the noisy boys. On the pitch it's Alsager who take the lead just after twenty minutes. Their goal is leading a charmed life as we get ever closer to scoring and we're having some good banter with their 'keeper too. Thankfully, with less than ten minutes of the half remaining Holmesey conjures up one of his specials into the top corner to level things before the break. Nantwich have also equalised in their game too and the Owls have missed a penalty.

  We make the trek back up to the snack bar and John tucks into pie and peas, he's certainly missed his food while he's been ill but he's determined to make up for it now.

   We all basked in the sunshine as the game re-started with the lads now kicking down the slope, but despite having the majority of the play it was the home side who re-took the lead ten minutes in. Of course, Deano then sends me a text to say that Nantwich are winning, (which would mean them finishing third and us fourth, with a possible meeting in the play-off final.) Worse was to follow when totally against the run of play Alsager get a third goal. It was all Sheffield now, but you could tell from the busy schedule of games that most of the players were absolutely knackered and had all on to stand up never mind play football. With less than ten minutes left Vill poaches a goal back and Alsager are content to get every player behind the ball and hang on for a memorable win. However, a minute from time Holmesey is tripped on the edge of the area and young Tom Carney steps up to coolly slot the ball over the wall and into the top corner, a goal even Ronaldo would have been proud of! Of course, we all go completely mental while the home players sink to the ground. In fact they were desperately seeking the referees whistle to finish the game as the lads almost clinched a victory at the death. However, a 3-3 draw in a very entertaining game (despite the referee) was good enough to see us clinch fourth spot in our first season in the UniBond and qualify for the play-offs with a juicy tie at home against those upstarts from Stocky our reward. So it was a very pleasant trip back to Sheffield, and once we'd dropped Stu, Liam and Craig off it was home to get some rest, draw breath and get ready for just a few more games before our season finally ends. Until next time.

    Happy Travelling

       Trev

Belper Town v. Sheffield 15/04/08

I've been working today and I can't believe that on my way home I actually encountered hail and sleet. In fact when John picks me up its still raining as we head into town to pick Deano up from work. He was telling us how he had to let Maz out (of work) as they were the last two people in the building, and he has to lock the place up. He was also telling us about him putting his trousers on to go down the stairs to unlock the building. I'm not going to tell you anymore to that story, you can let your own (filthy) minds think what you like, but I will tell you that this little tale ends with Deano turning up at the car carrying a new toilet seat!!

   It's good to see John getting back into the swing of things regarding the away matches, me and Deano even suggested to him that if the driving to and from the games and then watching the action was getting too much, he could just drive us there and spend the time while the game was on just resting in the car, gaining his strength ready to drive us back home, Needless to say, he wasn't too impressed with our suggestion. We'll all miss the trip to Colwyn Bay on Thursday due to work , but Stu will keep the proverbial (Behind the) Flag flying as he'll be able to make the trip, despite now working up in Leeds.

   It's a good journey down, with John spotting not one, but two Eddie Stobbarts. Well, he said he spotted them; I was busy looking at the back of my eyelids and listening to the radio! The rain had just about stopped and the sun was trying to peak out from behind the dark clouds as we arrive at the ground. John had made very good time, as it's only taken us an hour to get here. We park behind the ground at a place called Belper Meadows, but after today's rain it's more like Belper Waterpark as we try and dodge the very large puddles on our way back round to the turnstiles. Once inside we get a view of Belper's new one seater stand (see photo), and then it's straight off in search of food. You can tell John is feeling better as he orders himself a jumbo sausage with chips and peas. I settled with a plate of chips, and Deano finally succumbed to the sight and smell of our food to indulge in a plate of chips for himself, which is a rare occurrence. We go and sit in the stand to eat our food; of course I'm finished first. This is due to me shovelling it down as quickly as possible, a trait I had to learn at work as we only have a limited amount of break time where we're expected to get food, eat it and relax, yeah, right! While the other two are finishing off their meals I go into the clubhouse in search of a Belper pin badge for my mate. I don't know about a badge, they could sell them as saucers, they're that big. While I'm in there I see Stu and Neil just on their way out to find us, so I join them and take them to our 'spot' in the stand. Me and Stu had already decided we had to look after John as this was his first proper away game for quite a while and he had to take things easy. Funnily enough, when I mentioned this to Deano when we arrived he said, "Sod that, he can look after himself now we're here." He soon stopped laughing when I pointed out that we still had to get home!

  There's a lot of support for the lads here tonight, Billy has even brought his drum, to accompany those noisy boys who've managed to make the trip. The pitch is looking in good condition, with plenty of grass still on it, and thankfully the weather has cleared up too, although we're under cover anyhow if it decides to rain. Things on the pitch looked good for the lads when, with twelve minutes on the clock, Pete Davey sent over a cross which was flicked on by Jamie Smith and Asa was on hand to apply the finishing touch which didn't go down too well with the locals as he used to play for Belper. The noisy boys were in fine voice and the team were more than holding their own, although Belper were at least showing more determination than when we came here earlier in the season and won 4-1.With five minutes of the half left Daz threaded the ball through a statuesque home defence and Vill was on hand to double the score, much to our delight, and Neil's misery, being as this is his home club. In fact he decided to head for the bar to get the drinks in for him and Stu before the half time whistle blew! A couple of minutes later I headed towards the snack bar behind the stand in order to get drinks for me and John and as I was stood in the queue I heard a cheer go up and someone behind me said that Sheffield had scored again in injury time and it was Asa once again, getting his second of the match.. They have home made soup here and I got me and John some, it was cream of vegetable and very tasty too. I was certainly enjoying the evening, especially as the local behind me ordered the soup too, only to be told I had just had the last two portions!

  Back in our seats, Stu has gone to join Neil in the bar and we have a chat and watch the rain which has started to fall once again. By the time the second half gets underway it's absolutely chucking it down, but it doesn't deter the noisy boys from standing out in it, singing their hearts out, bless their little cotton socks!. Despite the rain both sets of players are putting on a decent show although it has to be said that the home sides players seem to be going down more easily than Linda Lovelace. Ten minutes into the second half and an incident involving Jonah sees the Sheffield captain taking an early bath. Despite their numerical advantage Belper still can't breakdown a resolute Sheffield side as Danny once again makes a good save to thwart Anthony Wilson, the lanky ex-Hallam player we all love.......not! A minute later and Danny is also on his way off the pitch, although this time it's due to injury. So, with no reserve 'keeper on the bench, up steps Wardy to take over in goal. This man is amazing, he's played in several different positions already this season, so this is just another one to add to his CV. This seemed to excite the home crowd who I suppose were now looking at the prospect of scoring against our ten man team and maybe clawing back something from the game. However, Wardy has only been on the pitch for a minute when he launches a kick upfield and Vill was on the end of a flick on to coolly slot the ball home for goal number four, which sees the Sheffield fans dance with delight as the noisy boys start chanting, "Ten men, and you still can't score."  Poor old Neil is taking some stick off of us, but he's man enough to bear the teasing we're giving him. With just under ten minutes left Belper finally get on the score sheet, amid ironic cheers from their fans. They did have a chance three minutes later too, but Wardy pulled off a brilliant save. So as the full time whistle blew the Sheffield fans were loud in their congratulations as the players left the field, whilst the few remaining Belper fans were busy grumbling as they shuffled out of site. Well what can you expect, being beaten 4-1 at home, not once, but twice! At least Neil was honest enough to say we thoroughly deserved it. It may also make some sense to me as to why he's always off on his own travels, visiting different games most weeks instead of having to watch Belper all the time!

  After John has been round our fans to get the man of the match vote we head off back to the car park in almost total darkness as the floodlights are turned off, nimbly (well, as nimbly as we can be) avoiding the puddles as we go. It's really difficult to see but we know where the car is, or we thought we did. You see, as we're heading towards it we see Craig stood next to it, (he has the same make) and in the split second that John activates the electronic key to unlock the doors Craig must have done the same and we all stood and watched as he got in the (John's) car. It was only when he got behind the wheel he realised it wasn't his as he doesn't have a crook-lock like John's got on his car. By now we were right beside him and it was so funny to see the reaction on his face when he got back out of the car. It was definitely a moment we should have captured on film! After we'd all sorted out that we were in the correct cars it was homeward bound as we listened to the radio and once again made good time with little traffic to worry about. I finished off the evening with a few Jaffa cakes and a cuppa before falling asleep in front of the television! Until next time.

   Happy Travelling

      Trev 

Cammell Laird v Sheffield 05/04/08

It's my day off, yahoo! As usual I'm still awake early so intend to make the most of the day as I have a busy morning ahead of me. First stop is Firth Park for my hair cutting, and I get soaked on the way back as it decides to start raining just as I'm in the middle of the park with no shelter and only a light coat. So I change coats, (of course the sun is shining now) and proceed into town and end up getting soaked once again!

So it's third time lucky as I put on a dry coat and set off to meet Andy and Caroline. Deano had already informed me he wasn't making the trip as he'd still not fully recovered from his virus, and he's also passed it on to Maz now so his weekend is going to be spent looking after her. The bus seems to take forever just to get to town so I let Andy know I'm running a bit late. I eventually arrive at Meadowhead and we're on our way. It's a straightforward drive with very little traffic delays which I'm thankful for being as we were cutting it fine in the first place, even before I turned up late. We pass a place called Port Sunlight which Andy informs us was a community built by the Lever Brothers for their workers with all the houses being identical. They're the people what make Palmolive soap among other things.

The sun is shining as we reach the ground and it's just ten minutes to kick off. Inside we meet up with the rest of the Sheffield fans which seem to increase with each match. Some of the noisy boys are there and Liam appears, showing me his new 'Noisy Boys' shirt that Stu has had a hand in getting organised for our vociferous bunch of supporters.

It's sunny but quite windy too. Just before the start I go and get a cuppa and burger, which wasn't too bad at all. Then it's round to the opposition goal to stand with the rest of our gang. Things don't go to plan on the pitch as we go one goal down with less than ten minutes played. Nevertheless, the chant goes up for, 'Dave McCarthy's Barmy Army,' and would you believe that Stu actually forgot the words! Things don't get much better in front of us as the home side score another goal. It's not that we were playing badly, they were just getting the breaks and were assisted by a strong wind too. Tim and Sue start up a rendition of 'Ferry 'Cross the Mersey' and Gleadless's premier lounge singer (that'll be Stu) joins in with his own version, completely taking over. At least it was more entertaining than the match at this point. There's no more goals before the break, so as Stu (and Liam) head off to the social club as guests of Glocko I once again avail myself of the catering facilities.

The second half has us now facing the wind, so it's a bit like being on the sea-front as it certainly clears your sinuses. On the field the lads are trying their best to get something out of the game and there's a glimmer of hope as Cops pulls a goal back with ten minutes left. Cammell are having to do a lot of defending now, although they still cause a couple of scares with breakaways upfield, but Danny was on hand to save the day. Into the last minute and it's like a siege on the home goal as Sheffield go all out for an equaliser  committing men forward looking for the breakthrough. So what happens next ? The home side break upfield, and with most of the Sheffield players now caught out of position they grab a third and decisive killer goal. Just to rub salt into the wound they also grab a fourth in added time to give a scoreline that looks like they won this game easily, when in fact they were hanging on for dear life until the very last minute. So yet another 4-1 reverse, they seem to becoming a bit of a regular occurrence at present. As Stu travelled over on the coach he has time to kill until the players are ready to leave so he's off to the club house to drown his sorrows (literally it seems, from what I heard a few days later!) We make our way back to the car and start the long journey home. Surprisingly it seems to pass fairly quickly and Andy is kind enough to drop me off at home, thus saving at least another hour to my journey and I settle down to some chicken curry and a box of Jaffa cakes which helps ease the pain of today’s result. Oh well, at least we got some sunshine and fresh air. Until next time.

Happy Travelling

Trev 

Sheffield Ladies v. Howden Clough Doncaster Keepmoat Stadium 30/03/08

Today's the day. It's the big one against our nearest challengers for the league title, beat these and we're almost home and dry. John is finally out of hospital again and on the mend and is making the trip today. With our pitch being unfit, and the fact that there should be a first team game there tomorrow the ladies game has been switched to the Keepmoat Stadium at Doncaster, home of Doncaster Rovers. Well, that's not quite right because where we are playing is the adjoining pitch next to the said stadium. This pitch is usually used by Doncaster Belles for their home matches, so Helen has managed to pull in a few favours for us to be able to find somewhere to play. The directions he had were fine until it got to the bit containing about six roundabouts. In fact even that was going well until we discovered that the sixth one didn't even exist as it had now been replaced by traffic lights and a new junction. We eventually turn round and head back the way we’ve come. It's then that I notice that John has put the destination postcode in he'd been given, and it isn't the Keepmoat we're heading for but a cul-de-sac! I direct him back onto the route we've just taken and tell him, "Follow the signs that say football stadium, you can't miss them as they're bright yellow things!" Mind you, saying that, John's always told me he's partly colour blind and usually works traffic lights out by instinct and bloody good luck! We soon get there and there must be something happening in the big stadium as the car park has plenty of cars in it and a couple of attendants. When we stop at the gate she says to us, "it’s £5 to park.” We told her we were just coming to watch the ladies play, pointing to the pitch opposite. So she replied, "Oh, well in that case it's £3." The cheeky sods! If we'd have thought on we'd have turned around and used the unmanned car park about 100 yards away but we just couldn't be bothered. It's a nice place as we take our seats in the well elevated stand. Despite a good opening spell of play we soon find ourselves two goals down. Jon and Liz turn up at this point and Jon says, "I presume that's one nil to them is it?" (He'd just seen them score the second one on his way to sit with us.) So we put him straight, but it doesn't get any better as the half ends with Howden Clough winning five - one! Admittedly most of the goals were just giveaways, but we had the wind at our backs during that half so fear the worst for the remaining forty five minutes. Thankfully the ladies come out in the second half and, with 'nothing' to play for relax and virtually play the visitors off the park, pulling a further two goals back, but just couldn't get anymore, although those extra goals could prove vital if the title ends up being decided on goal difference. Obviously the players were disappointed about the result, but John tried to be positive by telling them they won the second half two-nil. We have no problems finding our way back to the motorway and in no time John is dropping me off at home. It was good to see him up and about again, he was even getting all the Eddie Stobbart lorries on the motorway too so he must be feeling better! Until next time

Happy Travelling

Trev

Stocksbridge Park Steels v. Sheffield 24/03/08

I'm off today so it cereal an Easter eggs for breakfast! No, I'm only kidding, I didn't eat any chocolate until, let's see, it must have been eight O'clock, after all, I had to let my cereal digest first. I spent a leisurely morning catching up on a couple of travels and also watching the footy highlights I'd taped last night. With John still not well, me and Deano had arranged with Richard for him to pick us up at Hillsborough as he'd be passing that way on the way to the match. In fact Deano called mid morning to say that he was full of cold so he wouldn't be going to the game either.

I set off for the rendezvous in blizzard-like conditions. The snow was coming down that fast that it was hard to see the bus coming as the flaky stuff was blowing straight into your eyes. Once I was on the bus I'd only travelled a couple of stops and reached the Northern General Hospital and the snow had vanished and the sun was out, although it was still cold. Having been up to Bracken Moor on a number of occasions I know what to expect so I'd made sure I was well wrapped up for any extreme weather we may encounter. Because it's a Bank Holiday Monday there's not too much traffic about and I'm off one bus and straight on another in less than five minutes. With time to spare I get off two stops before I should just so I can have a walk and kill some time until it's time for Richard to show up. He arrives bang on time with his brother-in-Law and off we go. With last summer's floods there's still part of the A whatever road closed off so we take the detour before getting back on track. Richard hasn't been before and all he knows as we approach Stocksbridge is to look for the clock tower. I'm able to help him out as we approach it, turning sharp left to go up the dreaded hill. Well. It’s okay if you're in a car but it damn near kills you if you end up having to walk up it as you're in urgent need oxygen and a drink by the time you get to the ground. We arrive in plenty of time to get a place in the car park and pull up next to Glosso, who's also just arrived. He's on his own today too as Victoria has the dreaded flu bug so Debbie is having to look after her. He did tell me a funny story though about his journey here. Apparently he was driving along and noticed he was following Jon and Liz (Ball). So being as he'd never been to Bracken Moor before he just decided he'd follow them. Well, they eventually pulled over and got out a map, so when Glosso approached them they told him they weren't going to the match today, they were just of out for a walk. (You see Glosso; you ought to know by now that anything like that I just can't resist putting in the travels!) Anyway, we walk across the road and into the ground. The pitch is looking really good, in fact it's a good day weather-wise now, apart from the cold, at least the snow has disappeared...........for now. The noisy boys are here and it's not too long later that Stu and Liam turn up. Liam is shivering, but he has his coat undone and is carrying his woolly hat instead of wearing it. Just before the players come out I notice a steward carrying a stretcher down to the side of the pitch and I say to Stu," Looks like they've found out Cops is playing." Once the teams have decided which way they're kicking we go and stand with the noisy boys. With it being a local derby there's a big crowd here but I reckon the majority of support has come to cheer Sheffield on. The announcer is getting on our nerves(for want of a better description) by repeatedly saying "Sheffield's top team" every time he talks about Stocksbridge, and of course their fans are lapping it up by singing that we're from Derbyshire not Sheffield, but the noisy boys give as good as they get with some well chosen songs of their own. On the pitch Stocky take the lead against the run of play, then to make matters worse their goalie blatantly fouls Vill in the area and ends up with just a yellow card instead of red. Just to add insult to injury the bugger then make a double save from Smudge's penalty kick. Despite numerous chances for the lads they go further behind with five minutes of the half remaining and then to cap it all they get a third from the penalty spot on the stroke of half time. We're all shell shocked as we make our way round to the far side for the second half. I text Deano to let him know what's happening, he can't believe it either but responds with, “Well at least I'm sat here nice and comfy and warm!"

Of course, their 'keeper comes in for a load of stick as soon as he steps onto the pitch for the second half. The lads pull a goal back just before the hour mark when Vill slots home but soon after Stocksbridge increase their lead again when Smudge is adjudged to have brought down a player in our area (despite getting the ball) and once again they score from the spot kick. I suppose we ought to be thankful the ref didn't send Smudge off as it's just been one of those days. The noisy boys are bored too, so, standing on the hillside they begin to sing the 'German Bomber' song and throwing themselves down the banking. (this was due to the fact that there is a bus load of German tourists here for the match.) And that, as they say, was that. We made our way out, while some of the Stocky fans gave us abuse from the back of the stand, it's funny that, I thought that all alcohol was banned from the ground and could only be consumed in the club premises. I must remember to ask their chairman that very question if I bump into him when he comes over to our ground. I have no problem about losing as you cannot argue with the scoreline, but I do object to having foul and abusive language hurled at us, especially with women and young kids around. Back at the car park and Richard is waiting for me. As a neutral observer his brother-in-law enjoyed the match, but it was hard trying to explain what went wrong to him (from our point of view at least.) Thankfully Richard takes me all the way home so I have plenty of time to drown my sorrows with some ice cold Bailey's and a couple of Easter eggs to finish off the day...Happy Easter! Until next time

Happy Travelling

Trev