New Airbus UK Broughton manager Andy Preece maintained his perfect record since taking charge of the Wingmakers with this Welsh Cup victory at Afan Lido in the only all-Welsh Premier League tie of the fourth round. Airbus UK defeated an experimental Wrexham side under the guidance of former boss Craig Harrison to reach this stage of the competition and arrived at the Marston’s Stadium high in confidence following a convincing win over Bala Town in the League Cup. Afan Lido were equally as confident however, having defeated local rivals Port Talbot Town in the previous round, but with £5,000 prize money at stake for the winners there was some concern amongst the home fans when the teams were announced 45 minutes before kick-off.

Goalkeeper Chris Curtis has been in fine form for Afan Lido this season. A talented keeper at Welsh League level, Curtis made the step-up in the summer following Lido’s promotion, and the league has been subjected to his mouth ever since. Curtis would be named on the bench for the visit of Airbus UK however as manager Andy Dyer brought in retired veteran Tony Pennock. The former Farnborough and Yeovil Town keeper is currently Head of Youth Development at Swansea City and a few years ago briefly managed Port Talbot Town in the Welsh Premier League. The brother of Lido assistant manager Ray, the experienced keeper went into the match well-short of match practice, but he and his team would have a long afternoon ahead.

Afan Lido 2-2 Airbus UK Broughton (Airbus UK win 5-4 on penalties) – Welsh Cup 4th round – Saturday 28th January 2012
In front of a typically small crowd Afan Lido took an early lead after 12 minutes when referee Kevin Morgan awarded the home side a penalty. Attacking the end away from the clubhouse, striker Mark Jones had previously despatched a spot-kick at that end of the ground over the fence, gardens and houses in the street adjacent to the ground in the victory over Newtown a few weeks before. Andy Hill had scored from the penalty spot against Bala Town in the clubs last league fixture and again made no mistake as he put his side ahead. The goal opened the game up as Airbus UK went in search of an equaliser and began to enjoy the better of the possession as Afan Lido struggled to supply their creative players with any suitable service.

With Leon Jeanne, Mark Jones and Carl Payne struggling to make an impression on the match against their physically stronger opponents, Tony Pennock became the busier of the two goalkeepers as the visitors responded to the continued barks of their new management team. On 25 minutes the scores were level as Mark Cadwallader headed home a fine corner with Pennock left to question the marking responsibilities of his defence while justifying his own decision to stay on his line despite the ball flashing across his six-yard box. Minutes later Pennock was again questioned as he rushed out of his area but failed to claim the ball and defender Kristian James was forced to make a crucial goal-line clearance to prevent his side slipping behind.

The animated bench of the visitors was then treated to a front row seat for a controversial moment that resulted in a mass brawl. Lido’s Daniel Thomas reacted to a stray boot from Airbus UK captain Glenn Rule and chaos ensued as referee Kevin Morgan whistled constantly but failed to prevent the resulting handbags that were traded. Morgan’s lecture to both was continually interrupted by Thomas and both players were eventually shown a yellow card for their part in the disruption. The incident added to the eventful match and there would be another twist as the half-time break approached.

On 41 minutes Airbus UK took the lead through Gavin Cadwallader as Pennock could only palm his save into the corner of the net from another set-piece. Questions have been asked over Lido’s ability to defend crosses on many occasions already this season and their impending Welsh Cup exit was now looking likely to be based on two more errors in judgement at the back. The goal would be last notable incident of an entertaining half as the frozen crowd made their way into the clubhouse in time to see Rhyl take the lead over Llanelli in the weekend’s live game that would also be eventually decided by a penalty shoot-out.

Afan Lido made changes during the second half and while Airbus UK goalkeeper Niki Lee-Bulmer became more involved in the game as the home side pushed for an equaliser. Airbus UK looked comfortable however but failed to test Pennock as much as they would have liked and also struggled to test the Lido defence from set-pieces and take advantage of their weakness. Influential defender Carl Evans was pushed upfront as the home side continued to search for an equaliser but it would not arrive until injury-time when substitute Liam Thomas scored the crucial goal that would take the game into extra-time.

As with most cup fixtures, extra-time came and went with little incident, although both sides could have prevented the match being decided by the lottery of penalties. The equaliser had lifted Afan Lido as much as it had deflated Airbus UK and as the additional thirty minutes neared completion the already small crowd appeared even smaller after two hours of football. Referee Morgan eventually brought the game to a close and the players mixed with the officials and management in the middle of the field to confirm who would have the responsibility of deciding the tie and booking their team a place in the quarter-final.

The inclusion of Tony Pennock had been the main talking point of the pre-match build-up and the veteran keeper would also be the topic of post-match discussion. Pennock saved the first spot-kick that he faced, but with the scores level after both sides had scored four from their first five penalties, Pennock stepped-up to start the knock-out process. His effort was saved, but he failed to match the heroics of his opposite number as he returned between the posts, as Airbus UK scored with their sixth spot-kick to book their place in the last eight of the Welsh Cup. Afan Lido, finalists five years before, were out.

Mark Pitman
Visit www.markpitman1.com for links to all blogs, news stories, features, reports and opinion as the big Welsh football news stories break. You can also follow Mark Pitman at www.facebook.com/1markpitman and www.twitter.com/markpitman1

The age old club versus country row has taken a back seat of late. No managers have complained of the bum deal the club receive as their prize assets swan off around the world for a meaningless friendly. Instead the argument has been replaced by a new beast; governing body v countries.

This summer promises to be a bumper year for live sports betting pundits, with the European Championship in Poland and Ukraine taking place just before the Olympics in London gets underway, with football taking a more prominent role than most years thanks to the inclusion of a Team GB squad.

Although not exactly united – the governing bodies of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are still protesting at the team’s existence – Team GB has been rubberstamped and is ready to roll, although it has already started to ruffle a few feathers among club managers as well as officials from football associations from all four corners of the British Isles.

Team GB boss Stuart Pearce has reportedly contacted over 200 players about represented Britain at the Olympics, while David Beckham, who has already thrown his hat into the ring for the skipper’s job, is rumoured to have had a clause written into his new L.A Galaxy contract that allows his to leave mid M.L.S season to take part in the London games.

There was something telling about Gareth Bale’s quoted when asked about Team GB and his potential participation.

When asked about playing for Britain at the Olympics, he simply responded: “As long as all parties are happy I don’t see any reason why not”.

The pressure being placed on players by the respective football associations of the countries outside of England is clear to see. Bale has been pictured in a Team GB shirt already but makes it clear there is a caveat to his participation – that the Welsh F.A are happy with it.

Scotland have taken perhaps the most aggressive stance, alluring to the fact that any of their players who accept the call could be omitted from future Scotland squads.

In a strange reversal, clubs that had previously maintained a frosty relationship with the respective F.A’s about releasing their players for international duty have been more than happy to offer their players forward for the Olympics.

West Ham and Aston Villa are just two clubs that have so far revealed they have had players contacted about representing Team GB  for the summer tournament, with Hammers boss Sam Allardyce saying he would be more than happy to release his players for the tournament, while Villa boss Alex McLeish says he has no problems with it.

Pearce says he has been ‘saddened’ by the farce so far that the governing bodies have contributed towards. The idea of unification between the home nation sides is something instantly appealing to fans – just glance at their rugby playing counterparts (the British and Irish Lions) for the type of spectacle a team from the British Isles can produce. It is unfortunate then, that player could potentially be reprimanded for taking part in what should be a spectacle. Unfortunately the row shows no sign of ending soon

About twice a season, Dagenham Dan and I eschew the delights of Dagenham, and board a flight to the Iberian Peninsula to take in a game or three over the course of a weekend. Normally these involve a trip to the Camp Nou to watch Barcelona destroy whichever team happens to be that weeks whipping boys, but this time around we thought we would try something different. Neither of us has yet made it to the new Espanyol stadium, so we decided that a trip to watch them instead was in order.

Well, that’s not strictly accurate. Just before the tickets went on sale, I spotted that the fixtures had been altered because of a player’s strike that had postponed the first round of league games. So when I rang Dan with the news, the conversation went something like this;

“have you seen what they’ve done with the fixtures?”

“no”

“they’ve changed them round, because of the players strike”

“what?”

“all the games that were in week one are now being played when we go; they’ve switched them round”

“what?”

“when we are supposed to be going to Barca- Malaga, they are going to be in Malaga, and not Barcelona”

“you’re kidding”

“I’m not. It’s on the Barca fixture list on the website”

“hang on, I’m going to log in now. Oh s@*@”

At this point, the flights had already been booked, and it would have cost us the same amount again to cancel and re-book. So, a simple solution presented itself. Namely that we would still travel, but go and watch Espanyol instead, with the hope that we would still be able to fit in another couple of games along the way.

So naturally, as the weekend approached, we were back on to the fixture websites, seeing what was in around the city that we could get to. With the Espanyol game being confirmed as a Saturday evening kick off, it meant that we had the whole of Sunday to fit in as many as we could. We had managed to get to three games in a day back in May, so while Dan was confident of at least emulating that, I was a bit more cautious. There have been a few trips planned where we could get to several games, only to have them kick off almost simultaneously, and ruin that idea.

Saturday 21st January 2012, Espanyol v Granada, Estadi Cornella-El Prat
Up until the early nineties, Espanyol played in the city centre, at the Sarria Stadium. This was one of the venues for the 1982 World Cup, and hosted one of the finest games ever played, when Italy beat Brazil 3-2 (thanks to a Paolo Rossi hat-trick) in the second round. From there, the club moved out to the Olympic Stadium, and stayed until about eighteen months ago, when they finally got their own stadium. It’s one of the first “new” stadiums to be built in Spain, and the club are rightly proud of it.

Today, the club are unveiling a statue to their former player, Dani Jarque. The statue has been placed just inside the stadium, at gate 21, which was his shirt number. Jarque was the player whose name was emblazoned across the vest of Andres Iniesta, after he had scored the only goal of the 2010 World Cup Final, and the vest is on display on a memorial wall inside the stadium.

The fans obviously still have Dani Jarque at the forefront of their thoughts, because twenty one minutes into the game, the whole crowd bursts into a minute’s applause. Both Dan and I look at each other in a state of puzzlement wondering what is going on, before we both realise what is going on; this is a another sign of affection to Jarque.

The main noise from the home fans is coming from the opposite end of the stadium to where we are sitting. I have mentioned before about the comparative lack of atmosphere at the Camp Nou, but here that doesn’t seem to be the case. There are two blocks in the lower tier where seemingly every occupant is engaged in the choreographed jumping up and down, or singing. There are also certain chants that involve the whole home support in the stadium, and when everyone is joining in, it makes for a much better atmosphere than down the road in the Camp Nou. Here, there seems to be many more that will join in with the singing than at Barcelona; clearly the current European and World champions are a bigger draw to the visiting tourist, but there feels like there is a greater desire to join in here. Perhaps those that attend the Camp Nou are waiting (or expecting) to be entertained, whereas here, there is a feeling that they should get behind their team in order to inspire them to achieve more.

The team must be getting some kind of positive vibe from the fans, because by half time in this one, they are 2-0 up. Just over mid-way through the half they are in front, thanks to a header by Baena which is followed by a penalty (scored by the impressive Verdu) in stoppage time. Granada are competently showing why they are towards the bottom of the division with a fairly toothless display in which they are only creating any kind of opportunity through unforced Espanyol errors. One such mistake allows a lone Granada forward through with a one-on-one opportunity with the home keeper, but his shot is well saved, and that is their best chance of the half gone.

In fact, that’s their best chance of the whole game. Four away goals all season will probably tell you all you need to know about Granada on their travels, and with ten minutes to go, Espanyol make it 3-0; Rui Fonte scores after a free kick is not cleared by the Granada defence. For the preceding thirty five minutes they have been the better side and have deserved to increase their lead to a score that goes someway to reflecting their dominance of the game. A crowd of just over twenty six thousand is inside the ground to see this comprehensive win, and once the third is scored, some start to make their way out. As the game peters out to its conclusion, Granada have been lucky to get zero, while this result will see the home side move up to sixth in the division, and just three points from fourth place. If Espanyol continue to pick up points like this, they could be into the Champions League next season.

Once the final whistle is blown, the club song is played over the public address system, and we take our last pictures before heading back towards the metro station, which is about fifteen minutes walk away. To let some of the crowds disperse into the night, we head towards a small museum, which contains among other things, a scale model of the new stadium, as well as old players shirts, another tribute to Dani Jarque and a few other pieces of club memorabilia. It’s an interesting few minutes spent in the warm, before we head back out into a rapidly cooling evening.

Sunday 22nd January, CD Masnou v Pobla de Mafumet
Day two of our trip starts with a trip north of the city to the seaside town of Masnou. With most of the games that we could attend all kicking off at mid-day, we had a choice to make as to which one we would go to. Whereas I would be quite happy to go back to places that we had been before, Dan has this thing about trying to get to as many new grounds as possible. There were a couple of grounds that are near to metro stations that we could get to without too much difficulty, but as it was a nice day we decided to go to the game slightly further away. Having made a trek by the mainline trains to Sabadell in the rain a couple of years ago, it is best to get these games done when the weather is decent, and today, it is certainly that, with temperatures in the high teens, and a clear blue sky.

It seems to be a league rule that the pre-match music must consist of as much beat-heavy stuff as you can possibly play; given that the stadium is surrounded by apartment blocks, it must drive the residents nuts when the team pays at home. It’s audible a few minutes down the road, and as we draw near to the ground, we also notice that we will have to walk across a dry river bed to get to the ticket office to purchase our tickets. A gruff, disembodied voice asks for our €12 each, and we are issued with a thin strip of paper that looks like it was run off of someone’s home printer. Just before the teams emerge, the scoreboard operator ambles across the pitch, with his collection of huge numbers for the board tucked under his right arm. As he clambers over the wall and readies himself for action, the away team emerges to a round of applause from those in attendance. Then the home team enters the pitch to the same applause. Finally, the officiating team runs onto the pitch to supreme indifference to the fans.

The game is between teams at opposite ends of the table, and it is easy to see why. There are a few yellow cards dished out, but the play is very disjointed, and it is certainly not much to write home about. As we leave the only seated area of the ground at half time, we walk past the tables and chairs of the club bar, where four men are playing dominoes. Clearly the half has not entertained them much.

It’s not much better in the second either, with a couple of further cautions, but still nothing to make the bloke with his giant numbers get up and move. The final whistle is blessed relief, and the game ends goal-less. We then have the walk back to the station, and as we approach the crossing outside the station entrance, we can see the train approaching. Dan rushes across the road and legs it into the ticket barriers, thrusting his ticket into the machine. I try the same, but manage to get only a “out” barrier instead. Luckily I manage to get through, and just jump on board as the doors are shutting. It’s a close thing, but for thirty minutes at least, we can relax. Game three is just a few hours away.

Sunday 22nd January 2012, FC Barcelona B v Xerez, Mini Estadi
Despite checking every game in the third and fourth division, and even dipping into the two groups that make up the Catalan Premier Division, the kick off times announced meant that we could only get to three games over the course of the weekend. Our quest to get to four games over the course of a Spanish weekend has to be put on hold again, or at least until the next journey out here.

Being a bit of a Barca fan, it has been strange not going to Camp Nou on a visit out here, so this is the next best thing. On our last visit to watch the B side last May, they blew a 3-1 lead against Las Palmas to lose 3-5.

Tonight though, there are less people here than on that warm May evening; we try to work out the crowd as the game goes on, and reckon that it might be around the 800 mark. It’s a cold evening, and with a 7.45pm kick off, the hats and gloves are already on by the time that the game starts.

Barcelona are playing in more or less the same style as the first team, although as you would expect, it’s not quite as slick here. The news has already filtered through that the first team are well on the way to victory in Malaga when the home side take the lead through the impressive Tello. With six minutes to go before half time, he drifts in from the left side of the Xerez penalty area, and curls a right footed shot past the goalkeeper and into the far corner of the net. Barca have been the better side up until this point and they now have the goal to go with their superiority.

As Dan disappears at half time, I wonder if these games are being promoted enough through the membership. All current Barca members can get in for free, and bring up to three guests in for €5 each. I accept that this isn’t the first team, and that it can be difficult to get yourself excited to watch a team that actually can’t get promoted any higher than they are now. But even so, it’s still a relatively cheap night out, and you could at least bring the kids along. And this is the second division, not the Spanish equivalent of the Isthmian League. Can you imagine any club in the English second tier getting 800 for a home league game?

With an hour played, Barcelona are 2-0 up and the game is as good as done. Another good piece of play by Tello on the left wing results in his low cross eluding everyone and is tapped home at the back post by Rodri. His acrobatic goal celebration is followed by a mass migration to the bench, where everyone joins in with the celebrations. Xerez have never beaten Barcelona B in the mini estadi, and they certainly don’t look like doing it tonight.

Which they don’t. By the end of the game, it is still 2-0, and the home side have moved up to 12th following this win. There is enough time for a trip to the golden arches before boarding a train back to our hotel on the other side of the city. While we might not have had the quality of football that we have had on previous trips, it’s still been a good one, and we have at least been to two new grounds. With our next trip into Europe being in five weeks time, at least we don’t have to wait too much longer for our next fix of the beautiful game, continental style.

Now earlier this year, the fates transpired for me to provide my first @theballisround match review and I was truly honoured. I happened to be taking a long weekend in Washington DC and the rest, well the rest you can read here.

Now I’m not a cynical man [TBIR: oh yes he is] but when I had an upcoming trip to New Zealand and I mentioned this over a pint at the world-famous Market Porter pub in Borough Market, no sooner had the words passed my lips but theballisroundphone (like the bat phone but hard-wired to football) was whipped out, an app started and a match selected. It started to feel a little less like, ‘good last review Gary, how about another’ and more, ‘we haven’t had a review from NZ, can you go’. I’m not a proud man, and just like the last time, the footballing gods (not Pele and Chris Waddle) had worked things out beautifully. Not only were Auckland City playing at home whilst I was there, they we top of their league, it was my birthday (give or take a day) and they were 8 minutes from where I was staying. You can’t thumb your nose at fate like that!

A couple of quick calls later and Stu confirmed that he could indeed cover my expenses. Unfortunately, this didn’t mean my flight, accommodation and match ticket [TBIR: Don't forget the Tupperware!]. It turned out to mean your ticket and a pie, but don’t go mad on the pie.

Now unless I’ve got this wrong, this will be the first NZ soccer…sorry football review for @theballisround so I hope it lives up to expectation and you enjoy.

For those of you that have never been to New Zealand, it’s a land of great natural beauty, basically formed from volcanic activity and they are rugby ’til they die. Everything is geared to rugby and I mean everything. You’re nothing at school unless you play for the first XV and it continues in that vein until you realise you won’t be an All Black. That basically means that football/soccer gets the thin end of the wedge. Other things you won’t find a lot of in NZ are gyms or dentists. The place has one of the highest heart disease rates in the world and that’s not helped by finding pies sold on every street corner. They are great pies though!

On with the story. Now I have to give you a little backdrop to my visit, trust me it helps set the scene. My kids live permanently in NZ and I get to see them twice a year. This is a bummer (understatement) but more importantly means that I have Daddy duties to perform in order to keep the whole thing interesting each time I see them. This trip we were staying mainly in Auckland and upon arrival I did what any good Daddy does. I gave them a great big hug and then I played the guilt trip blackmail upon them a.s.a.p. ‘Now kids, the only thing Dad really wants to do whilst he’s here, for him, and for his birthday is to go and see a football match’. Reading this back, I can’t believe I said that bearing in mind the game but I did. Now, if you’re going to play a card that big, as Stu will tell you, there’s got to be a bit of, what’s in it for me and a bit of what’s in it for you. So, on the day of the match, Saturday 14th January, I established that we would get up, go to a play gym in the area first, do something they like, then head off to the football for the 2pm  kick off, see the match.  Everyone’s a winner.

To make a short story long – the tale of the pre-match events went something like; absolutely pouring with rain (fingers crossed for Four Seasons in One Day); trip to play gym takes 1 hour not 20 minutes as the motorway is shut; upon arrival the kids pipe up that you need socks to go in this play gym (Kiwi kids invariably never wear shoes, let alone socks), it’s summer, they are in sandals/jandals and ‘we never thought to tell you’; turn around, go back, get socks, detour to avoid the motorway, clock now says 12pm ; play for an hour and a half, order some food whilst there otherwise the natives get restless and complain they are hungry 2 seconds after you leave (any of this familiar parents?); leave with 30 minutes to spare, feeling particularly smug, plenty of time, half way there and I happen to say ‘where’s the Tamagotchi?’. Cue tears, it’s been left behind, the end of the world is occurring for my 8 year old, who incidentally has been killing them left right and centre but this ones a keeper! I moan out loud, ‘the one thing I wanted to do’ and the little sobber in the back says ‘it’s ok Dad we can leave it, I know you want to see the football’. Heart strings snap, turn the car around, the whole way explaining someone might not have handed it in like we would, we shall see. Tamagotchi has been handed in, the universe which stood on the brink, rights itself and the US returns to defcon 4. Upshot, we get to the game about 12 minutes late.

I’m ‘helping’ the kids out of the car as quickly as I can to hear a medium cheer from Freyberg Field…the unmistakeable, ‘the home side has scored’ cheer. Bugger. Now, the entry fee is pretty reasonable, kids under 11 are free and adults pay $10. Bearing in mind it costs close to $5 for a coffee, it’s pretty cheap and upon name dropping @theballisround and that I was writing a review somebody rushed me a programme to boot! Soccer in NZ is purely amateur but it’s fair to say that Auckland City are set up in a professional fashion compared to some of the teams. They have a head coach, Director of Football, goalkeeping coach, multiple physios and a logistics manager. To illustrate this point, the opponents in the game I watched, Canterbury United, had a coach, an assistant and a manager. This has paid dividends for AFC over the years with them acquiring a Spanish coach, who brought Spanish players with him (from Barcelona I was told…but not Messi) and being geared towards winning or gaining entry to the Oceanic Champions League. This provides a showcase for the players (one just transferring to Dinamo Tbilisi) whilst also promoting the sport more in competitions such as the FIFA Club World Cup Finals. All the time this is trying to push for professionalisation and equalisation with things like the A-League in Australia. I doubt this will ever truly happen in NZ if I’m being honest. The population is just too small to really accommodate the infrastructure, players or even fan base but one thing you can never underestimate about this nation is the size of their heart or passion for their nation!

Now where was I ? Right, we’d just got into the stadium, blagged a programme and were surveying the savannah. The stadium was pretty full, it was the first game back after the winter break (an Oxymoron if ever I heard one – Winter break in the “summer season”)  and the main stand, which had capacity for about 500 was burgeoning. The was a very small barmy army of expats bouncing up and down, obviously looking for their football fix but with 2 kiddies in tow, I decided we’d stay down the cleaner language end. The highlight from this bunch was a rendition of ‘I am a City fan, I live in Sandringham’ to the tune of Anarchy in the UK. I was kindly informed by a nearby fan that number 9 or 11 had scored – that accurate and as I write this, with little Internet connectivity, I’m still none the wiser. I was pleasantly surprised with the skill level on show. There was some obvious quality on display but also some obvious lack of it.

Just like in Washington, I suspected that there would be one or two individuals that might look the men apart and capable of turning the game in either direction as the remainder of the half, which truly wasn’t inspiring, played out in a familiar fashion. Both teams would get the ball at the back, hit it long to a target man or try for a wing man who had a turn of speed. The problem with this approach was that every time the wide players beat someone, there was nobody of any quality in the box or the final ball was too poor. The number 10 for AFC, who really were the more dominant team stood out, Luis Corrales. With a name as exotic as that, I was a little disappointed to hear a very broad Kiwi accent when he slid into the hoardings with an expletive or two.

What wasn’t disappointing was the catering and half time fair though. The two teams trudged off down a makeshift tunnel and we made for the food. Meat in bread and two hot chips later (cold chips are in fact crisps) we were greeted by Marty Clark, the half time karaoke sensation that is brought on to ‘entertain’ you. Marty belted out such classics as Sweet Home Alabama whilst we mingled in the clubhouse. This was a great little place. Full of scarves, trophies and locals out for the crack of the day. A lot of English accents merged with the Kiwi and the traditional non confrontational home and away fans shared a beer or two. The aforementioned Lionel Messi even has a place on the wall with a random I didn’t recognise but I’m sure Messi was pleased with the snap anyway!

The second half was a much better affair. We moved ourselves to the half way line to be closer to the bench and the ref so I could try out some bone-fide Lewes FC style heckling. AFC were playing a very strange formation. They had 3 at the back but not in a classic 5-3-2 formation, they literally had 1 centre half and 2 full backs…they were that wide. Any pressure Canterbury applied was quickly swarmed with the Auckland number 13, Alex Feneridis dropping into the second centre half position. Out on the flanks Canterbury were also quite impotent with seemingly the numbers to really overlap and outnumber this formation but no tactical guile or on pitch sense to try it.

Auckland started much the brighter of the teams. They weren’t going to sit or risk sitting on 1-0 and they kept pushing forward. They had a neat outlet in Corrales and they had direction. On 54 minutes they played an overlap down this right flank but the cut-back was over elaborated on and the shot tamely saved. The Auckland centre half and skipper, Ivan Vicelich was a step up in class. Tall and composed he dictated a lot of the AFC attack, direction and marshalling. Give Canterbury their dues, the game opened up and started to be a contest. As a consequence of pressuring themselves, they left themselves open for a second and through a counter attack on the left it came via Manual Esposito who tucked the ball over the on rushing keeper with a tidy right foot finish.

The game should have quickly been 2-1 as Feneridis, who I didn’t think was having a good game, was turned far too easily in the area, the ball squared for the unmarked number 11 of Canterbury, Matt Thomas, only for him to shoot tamely and straight at the keeper. Feneridis looked more the part as either a centre half or midfielder but this duality of position saw him turned twice more, in less dangerous positions but turned nonetheless. It’s at this point that the aforementioned class should tell. The tactically savvy would have said that attack was indeed the best form of defence. Throwing a second striker on, pushing someone up, overloading the flanks, all of these would have put AFC under more pressure but they were playing too far in their comfort zone. Only concentration or lack of it was going to beat them.

The referee sensing that no-one had noticed he was on the pitch so far took matters into is own hands. Corrales wriggled free one too many times down the right and was cut down by Cole Peverley. This didn’t go down well with the mini maestro who promptly shoved his hands in Peverely’s face. This of course turned into a push back but after 3 minutes of assistant and referee conferring, what should have been two yellows, shake hands, get on with it, turned into 2 reds…and it didn’t serve any purpose. It’s at this point I trotted out my favourite heckle from the Lewes game I saw earlier this season ‘come on ref, we’ve all had a drink‘. Canterbury were now lost, they weren’t a man down but they we rudderless. Auckland fancied another chance on 81 minutes. The ball worked across the area with everyone too afraid to pull the trigger, eventually ending in one over the top, despite a cue of people available to hit it.

During these final minutes one of the leagues top scorers and cut above players Emiliano Tade made his entrance. This guy has a turn of pace, control and the greed of a striker. He made his presence felt with the blues third goal on 88 minutes. What seemed to have been over complicated by the more average players yet again, was returned to Tade who started the move. He swiveled and right footed, struck it in the bottom corner. This guy will score many more this season and although he’s maybe not big league material, he’s a big fish in this pond.

Game over. So how do I sum it up? A very enjoyable game. A very welcoming club. A major event to get there but incredibly worthwhile and my birthday treat. Thanks @theballisround!  Now about that packed lunch box..

Gary can be hired out to attend your random sporting events around the world.  He is an expert at making paper airplanes and is the only man on record to have his arm broken by a Swan in 2011.

Following two successive victories away from home, Swansea City were looking to continue the form that had seen them defeated just once in their last seven prior to Sunday’s fixture.

Given the calibre of Swansea’s performances thus far in the top flight, the majority of Swans fans were optimistic ahead of the game despite the Welsh side being written off by the majority of pundits.

With Swansea possessing mass strength in depth throughout their midfield, Brendan Rodgers had many options at his disposal for Sunday’s game, and opted to reinstate Joe Allen in place of Andrea Orlandi whilst Kemy Agustien and Leon Britton retained their places in the side.

As expected, Robin Van Persie returned to spearhead Arsenal’s attack, having been rested for their FA Cup fixture last weekend. The Dutch striker didn’t take long to exhibit why he has received many plaudits this season, breaking the deadlock within the opening 5 minutes. The centre forward latched onto a great through ball from Arshavin, pausing to unsettle centre back Caulker before slotting the ball past Vorm at his near post.

The Swans were not trailing for long ,as they were gifted the perfect opportunity to get back on level terms with 15 minutes played, as Welsh captain Aaron Ramsey was adjudged to have brought down Nathan Dyer inside the penalty area. The ref had no hesitations in pointing to the spot and Scott Sinclair calmly stepped up and converted. Retaining his perfect record from the penalty spot.

Following Swansea’s equaliser the visitors appeared to be rattled. For the Swans were controlling the game and doing to Arsenal what you so often see them do to sides. Having been criticised for not creating sufficient chances this season, the home side were relentlessly asking questions of the Londoners, causing countless troubles for their back line.

Despite the queries as to whether Swansea City are the new Arsenal, Brendan Rodgers’ side were playing with an air of resilience, desire and hunger that could not have been a carbon copy of their opponents.

Van Persie had a chance to restore Arsenal’s advantage on the half hour mark when Ashley Williams was caught out of position, however Steven Caulker came across to cover and block the Dutch man’s shot.

Arsenal’s only real threat was coming courtesy of Van Persie and Ramsey who both did well in advanced positions of the pitch throughout the game, causing expected problems for Swansea’s colossal defence.

Brendan Rodgers made his first change at the interval. With the game evenly poised, Sigurdsson was introduced, making his Premier League debut he impressed instantly. A set piece specialist, we posed a far superior threat from corners with Sigurdsson’s perfectly weighted deliveries. The Icelandic midfielder had a great work ethic, quick feet and linked well with Danny Graham.

The visitors were the quicker out of the blocks in the second half, with chances coming for both Arshavin and Walcott- both failing to find the target with their efforts.  Swansea deservedly took the lead through Nathan Dyer with 57 minutes played. The diminutive winger remained composed to fire home his 3rd goal in as many games. Swansea were working as a unit, tracking back and playing some breathtaking football with their rhapsodic rhythmic passing. Neil Taylor was allowing Theo Walcott acres of space to run out wide, playing to the wingers one real strength. The England international seized on this freedom in the 69th minute when he worked his way into the box before chipping the ball over Vorm in order to provide Arsenal with an equaliser, scoring his first goal since October.

The knock out blow came within a minute of the restart as Sigurdsson played through Danny Graham who was able to find the back of the net from a tight angle.

Dyer and Rangel were interlinking to superb effect on the right wing, however Catalan Rangel did not deliver such an assuring performance defensively.

Henry made his Premier League return with just under 30 minutes remaining, however failed to make the same impact as he did when introduced against Leeds in midweek.

For me, the only worry for the Swans at the weekend were the full backs. Offensively both were impressive, however got caught high up the field a number of times. I felt they were drawn into almost playing as additional centre-backs on numerous occasions, meaning both of our wingers were forced into defensive rolls too frequently.

With Fabio Capello present for today’s fixture at The Liberty, Nathan Dyer delivered one of the most exhilarating performances of his career, showing his credentials offensively and defensively, he, along with substantially helping Swans to victory, staked the perfect claim for a place in England’s Euro 2012 squad.

This momentous victory for Swansea sees them soar into the top half of the Barclays Premier League table.

Swansea City headed into their first game of 2012 as the only Premier League side still awaiting their first away victory of the season.  Having acquired two points from their previous two games, Swansea went into Monday’s fixture hoping to record their first victory in five.  They faced an Alex McLeish side full of confidence and looking to build on their 3-1 victory over Chelsea on Saturday.

The Swans, who had failed to score in their previous two away fixtures, got off to a sumptuous start, taking the lead within the opening 5 minutes of the game when Nathan Dyer pounced on a defensive error from Warner, using his pace to serge into the box and drill home his second goal of the campaign.

Danny Graham made an assertive start, applying maximum pressure on Villa’s defence and keeper, forcing them into mistakes early on.  Alex McLeish’ side had a perfect chance to haul themselves back on level terms when Agbonlahor rose to meet a great cross into the box, however his header didn’t test Vorm as he couldn’t direct on target.

With his only other Premier League action coming in the form of a cameo second half appearance during Swansea’s 2-2 draw at Molineux, Andrea Orlandi was handed his full top flight debut at Villa Park and from the outset looked to seize the opportunity playing in behind Danny Graham, linking play from midfield to our striker, and it was the Spaniard who came close to doubling Swansea’s advantage, when his sweetly struck effort fired marginally wide of the post.

Both Gaby Agbonlahor and N’Zogbia were given far too much space and freedom down the right wing, as Rangel often got caught out of position as the Catalan was unable to keep up with the pacey forwards.

Swansea City were in control of the first half with Dyer capitalising on shaky defensive displays from both Warnock and Dunne, in order to advance into dangerous areas on numerous occasions. Having often been criticised for his failure to deliver a top quality ball into the box, the diminutive winger did so with much effect on Monday, almost setting up Danny Graham however the strikers shot was kept out by Guzan.

Nathan Dyer continued to command play down the right flank with some awe-inspiring close control, demonstrating all of the attributes that have made him one of the most highly sought after players by a number of other Premier League sides.

Swansea were counter attacking with far more conviction and pace, and seemed to have the perfect balance of enthralling build up play and penetration.

Danny Graham came close to doubling the Swans lead once more when great vision from Kemy Agustien saw him find Neil Taylor out on the left wing, the Welsh international delivered a great ball into the box for Graham who’s effort fired marginally wide.

Making their most emphatic start to a game away from home, Swansea were buoyant pushing forward, looking to extend their slender advantage.  The Welsh side started the second half much like the first- in the ascendancy. The visitors were eventually rewarded for their persistence and endeavour to pressure the hosts when another Villa error lead to Swansea’s second goal of the match. Danny Graham’s pressure on Guzan, forced the keeper into a poor clearance which fell straight to Neil Taylor. The full back played the ball down the line for Routledge who found Graham inside the penalty area, after his initial strike was parried away the ball fell back to Routledge who made no mistakes in slotting the ball home, scoring his first ever goal in the top flight.

Brendan Rodgers made his first change just before the hour mark when Joe Allen replaced Andrea Orlandi. Despite Allen doing a sterling job when introduced, I feel we lost a lot of our momentum and assertiveness pushing forward when Orlandi departed.

Following his first goal in 116 Premier League appearances, Wayne Routledge seemed to grow in confidence after his goal as he started to get the better of Collins.  Aston Villa tried to amount a comeback, with Stephen Ireland and Collins coming close to halving the home sides deficit.

Swansea displayed why they have one of the best defensive records in the league as they worked as a unit to keep out Villa’s attack. With little over 10 minutes remaining, Scott Sinclair replaced the sensational Nathan Dyer, and it was the substitute who set up Swansea’s final chance of the game as he played through Joe Allen, denied by the onrushing Guzan, who injured himself in the process of the save.

Despite Villa’s attempted comeback at the start of the second half, Swansea’s defence remained colossal in order to sustain the onslaught of pressure and Rodgers’ side worked hard to ensure they kept their 9th clean sheet of the campaign, with Williams and Caulker’s centre back partnership continuing to grow and impress.

Featuring in Swansea’s last four games, Kemy Agustien is quickly consolidating his place in the starting XI, offering a great physical presence and yet again showing great vision and skill, the Dutch midfielder was involved in a number of Swansea attacks.

Delivering a sumptuous performance on Monday, Nathan Dyer constantly proved a threat on the right wing, breezing past Warnock with ease, and with competition for his place in the starting XI, Dyer staked the perfect claim for a permanent place back in the starting line up.

Having rarely featured since Brendan Rodgers took the helm, Andrea Orlandi delivered an outstanding performance at Villa Park, retaining possession well, linking play from midfield, seemingly up to the pace of the Premier League, I feel the Spaniard deserves to retain his place in the Swans side

Swansea City went into Saturday’s game hoping to defy the odds in order to record their 5th victory of the campaign and round off a historic year in style. In their way of doing so, stood a formidable Tottenham side aiming to close the gap between them and top of the Premier League table to just 4 points.

Brendan Rodgers team selection suggested that he had one eye on Monday’s trip to Villa Park as he made 6 changes to the Swans starting XI to face Spurs. Neil Taylor returned to the side having missed Tuesday’s game due to a knee injury, meaning Jazz Richards switched to right back to cover for Angel Rangel who was amongst the substitutes having not fully recovered from his ankle injury.

Gary Monk was restored to the starting line up in place of the ineligible Steven Caulker, whilst Mark Gower was restored to the XI in place of Britton. Stephen Dobbie was handed his first start since the opening game of the campaign, and Luke Moore lead the Swans line of attack, replacing Danny Graham. Nathan Dyer made his first start in 4 games, meaning Wayne Routledge dropped to the bench.

The visitors got the game under way however it was the home side that settled the quicker, with their first chance of the game coming within the opening five minutes when Nathan Dyer broke free from Assou-Ekotto, before forcing Friedel into a full stretched save to deny his curling effort.

Moments later Friedel was worked again. All be it a tame effort from Dobbie after the Scot latched onto a great ball through the centre from Gary Monk, however it was great to see us creating more chances and forcing the keeper into action more frequently.

Gareth Bale did not have the influence on the game that the majority of Swansea fans had feared he would, kept quiet in the first half by the ever improving Jazz Richards.

The hosts were applying relentless pressure on the visitors high up the field, not allowing them any time on the ball they continued to push forward.

I feel Scott Sinclair delivered his best performance of the season against Spurs. Having been highly criticised for his selfish play over recent weeks, the winger was looking a far better team player, tracking back, pressuring defenders into conceding possession and with 23 minutes on the clock, almost gave the Swans the lead with an outstanding strike blasting marginally wide of the target.

Vorm continued to demonstrate why he has received such praise over recent weeks, making a perfectly timed challenge on Adebayor to stop the striker breaking the deadlock after he had found himself through on goal, latching onto a poor pass from Dyer.

When on the ball, Spurs demonstrated why they have become such a powerful force in the Premier League, with their fluid passing movements and speed pushing forward creating optimum problems for Swansea.

The visitors started to stretch us a little with 10 minutes of the half remaining with shots from Assou-Ekotto and Adebayor coming close but not testing Vorm.

Two minutes before the interval, Spurs took the lead through Van Der Vaart, who blasted home from 6 yards. For all their possession and alluring passing movements, Swansea failed to capitalise on their dominance and undeservedly went in trailing at the interval.

The Swans made a change at half time as Angel Rangel was introduced at right back in place of Jazz Richards who had done a commendable job to limit Bale’s threat in the first half.

Spurs looked to catch Swansea cold as they surged forward in search of a second goal with Vorm denying both Kaboul and Van Der Vaart within the first 10 minutes of the restart.

The home side, for the first time in the match were looking vulnerable, with Adebayor looking particularly dangerous, attacking both wings as well as posing a threat through the centre.

Spurs were dealt a huge blow midway through the second half when they were forced into making a change as Scott Parker limped off injured.

Swansea made their final two changes, as Kemy Agustien and Graham were introduced in place of Mark Gower and Luke Moore.

There was an instant momentum shift as Swansea’s urgency became far more apparent. Brendan Rodgers’ side continued to press for an equaliser and Scott Sinclair thought he had rescued a point for the home side with less than 10 minutes on the clock, only for his shot to be cleared off the line by Modric.

The Swans continued to plug away and were finally rewarded for their endeavour 7 minutes from time, when Rangel’s delivery into the box deflected off Assou-Ekotto to take the ball away from Friedel, allowing Scott Sinclair to calmly slot the ball into an empty net from close range.

The home side continued to ascend but despite pressing for a late winner, the score remained 1-1 as the Swans dented Spurs title hopes.

A point for the hosts sees them enter 2012 five points clear of the relegation zone. An outstanding feat for a team tipped by many to struggle with the demands of the top flight.

Handed his first start since the opening game of the season, Stephen Dobbie appeared a little off the pace on Saturday, however I feel the Scot deserves a run of games in order to adapt to the pace of the top flight as he proved against Spurs he is one of few players Swansea possess who is willing to shoot from outside the area.

Despite the Swans having to deal with numerous defensive injuries, Ashley Williams has been colossal for Swansea this season and deservedly earned Man of the match at the weekend. Making vital interceptions in all areas of the pitch as well as delivering many inch perfect long cross field passes, the Welsh international read the game well, dispossessing Spurs players with ease.

Having picked up 15 points from our opening 8 home games, Swansea City were hoping they could continue in a similar vein of form when they played host to fellow promoted side Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday. Swansea were looking to gain revenge for last Boxing Day’s game at Loftus Road, which saw Brendan Rodgers’ side condemned to a crushing 4-0 defeat.

Having made impressive second half appearances against both Newcastle and Everton, Kemy Agustien was rewarded by a place in the Swans starting XI, as he was favoured ahead of Mark Gower for Tuesday’s game against Rangers.

The only other Swans change came in defence as Neil Taylor missed out due to a knee injury, Angel Rangel made his first start since picking up an ankle injury against Aston Villa, whilst Jazz Richards was drafted over to left back.

Despite Warnock conceding prior to the game that many teams are starved of possession when they visit South Wales, Taarabt and Barton did well in early exchanges to dictate the play as Vorm was forced into action twice early on to deny efforts from Helguson and Mackie.

The home side then began to find their feet and played their way back into the game, with Allen, Routledge and Graham combining well on the right flank.  The Swans took the lead in the 14th minute courtesy of a Danny Graham strike, after the forward connected beautifully with a Wayne Routledge cross to score Swansea’s first goal in three games.  The striker came close to doubling the Swans lead moments later, denied only by a fantastic block from Hill. Danny Graham was proving a handful for Rangers, posing a constant threat for the home side.

Swansea had optimum chances to kill the game off in the first half, but not capitalising on their opportunities meant they lead by the slenderest of margins going in at half time.

The Swans didn’t really get going after the interval as they allowed QPR to play their way back into the game, with slack defending the home side allowed the visitors too much time on the ball.

A double substitution from Rodgers saw Luke Moore and Nathan Dyer introduced in place of Angel Rangel and Wayne Routledge, in hope to reignite Swansea’s urgency pushing forward.

However, before either substitutes could get a touch, QPR hauled themselves back on level terms when Britton’s misplaced header found its way through to Mackie who calmly slotted the ball past Vorm as the Swans conceded only their third goal at The Liberty this season.

Taarabt came closest to providing a winner when his curling effort was tipped over the cross bar by Vorm. Despite Rangers pressing hard to find a winner, Swansea survived the onslaught in order to hold out for a point.

Failing to work oppositions goal keepers sufficiently has further reiterated our need to buy an additional forward in the January transfer window.  In order to retain our Premier League status, I feel that we need to be taking maximum points from fixtures like this and even at this stage of the season I can’t help but wonder whether these failings to capitalise on pressure applied and finish games off will be rued come May.

Scott Sinclair delivered numerous dangerous deliveries into the area during the first half of the game, but without Neil Taylor, Swansea failed to pose the same threat down the left wing.

Kemy Agustien delivered a stand out performance for the home side on Saturday as the midfield had far more shape and structure with the Dutch midfielder sat just ahead of the back four. Even when played as emergency right back in the second half, Agustien was highly impressive.

The Swans next challenge will be one of their sternest of the season as they host Harry Redknapp’s Spurs, in impeccable form, Tottenham boast blistering pace and skill throughout their squad and have players that can cause problems from all areas of the pitch.  Swansea will hope to have Neil Taylor at their disposal for the game as a full strength defence will be essential to block Spurs attack.

Despite our love for the beautiful game we realise that there is more to life than football.  Well, we only say that when the football season in England has finished and we cannot get to anywhere abroad to watch a game. So we have to take our hat off and take a bow to those other sports that have kept us entertained in 2011.

3rd – New York Jets 16 New England Patriots 37
“Stu…how do you fancy four hours of drinking, eating and occasionally watching some sport?” Said Luge Pravda to me back in October when I had booked my work trip to New York.  How could I say no?  So just a few hours after touching down we climbed to the top of the MetLife Stadium, with a beer (BudLite of course),a foot-long Nathan’s hot dog and a smile a mile wide on our faces.  American football is actually a good game – if you take out the bloody pointless stoppages in play.

2nd – Castleford Tigers v Leeds Rhinos
I’d been to a few Rugby League games in my life but they had been of the London Bronco/Harlequins variety, and never a local derby.  Castleford is a small town of 30-odd thousand people and when Leeds Rhinos came to town, the locals all came out in force.  A capacity crowd saw a real humdinger of a game which saw the Rhinos eventually run out winners.    It was a passionate, full bloodied affair played on the part by local players who cared for the shirt.  Beer flowed, food that would have Jamie Oliver tongue-tied was being served and we left with a big northern smile on our faces.

1st – Surrey Lions v Hampshire
Cricket is really hit or miss as a day out.  If the weather is good, the teams are in form and the crowd are in good voice it cannot be beaten.  Last year at the Whitgift School in Croydon we had one of those days.  For just £10 we saw 586 runs, 16 sixes and 17 wickets whilst sitting on the boundaries edge supping cold pints of Spitfire.  On a day when you needed to keep an eye on where the ball was heading you could could not have asked for better entertainment at one of the finest natural cricket grounds in the country.  Without any permanent seating, spectators laid out on the grass bank or simply sat cross-legged on the boundary rope.

With over a hundred games to chose from in 2011 we have seem some brilliant games…and some utter dross.  We have a saying at GTC Towers – “A great day out spoilt by 90 minutes of football” which is nearer the truth on most occasions. We drew inspiration from those games that made us smile, that when we got home and CMF said to me, “how was the game?” I would enthuse about my afternoon/evening.    So here we go.

3rd – Götland 2 Isle of Man 4
We’ve already mentioned that one of the best away days of the year was the Island Games and this was the first game in our festival of football.  The tournament kicked off at 2.15pm.  At 2.15pm and 8 seconds Götland were one nil up.  What followed was a festival of football where Isle of Man raced into the lead and could quite easily been four or five goals to the good by half time.  Neither team had defence in mind as they threw everything forward in sweltering conditions.  The only downside?  No beer.

2nd – Whyteleafe 4 North Greenford United 3
This was one of those classic cup ties full of incident.  The cup in question was the FA Trophy, the two teams from respective levels in the Isthmian and Southern Leagues.   When we pitched up at South Whyteleafe and wandered the country lanes looking for the ground little did we know we would be on the end of a seven goal 34 minute cracker.  At half time when we supped our beer in the club bar, looking back at a relatively dull scoreless first half, little did we know that a monster of a game would be unleashed in the second period. North Greenford raced into a 3-1 lead only for Whyteleafe to pull level and then they were awarded a controversial last minute penalty.  With tension mounting in the 50 or so crowd, Whyteleafe scored and took the prize money and a place in the next round.

1st - Neath 0 Real Betis 8
In years to come people will talk about the 4th August 2011 and the events at The Gnoll in Neath.  I will sit down my Grandchildren in thirty years and tell them the tail of Jonathan Periera Rodriguez who arrived in the small town of Neath in the Welsh valleys as a mere squad player for La Liga’s Real Betis, and left a hero.  When he left the pitch after sixty five minutes he had scored all seven goals for the Spanish side in the most one-man performance I have ever seen.  He literally was the difference between the two sides and the stats after the game showed that he had seven chances in his time on the pitch.  Quite how a La Liga side came to be playing against a Welsh Premier League side is in itself a mystery especially as they rolled into town in their branded coach.  Just for the night…