Motor Mania
Well, it is the Bristol Street Motors Trophy, and it is good to dig out some of the lesser-known songs from 1983. This Roman Holliday track was one of my favourites of that year, but wasn’t a big hit, only scraping its way to number forty. Although on seeing the squad numbers for the opposition this evening I was tempted to go for I’m The Face or Zoot Suit by The High Numbers, but I’ve already used a Who title this season.
It was a good weekend, with an away win over Cambridge United seeing us climb to third in the league, and a draw between Bolton and Wrexham on Sunday meant we stayed there after all the weekend’s fixtures had been completed. FSS initially put the highlights for that game in the League Two section, continuing their inept start to the season and the new TV deal.
In the aftermath of the win, and the smoke flares (which not only caused damage to Cambridge’s pitch but also to other Crawley fans’ clothing and skin), the club have reiterated their condemnation of the use of smoke bombs. Expect even more security checks incoming.
And looking at the foot of the League Two table Saturday night I was amused to see that the bottom two were the teams we beat in last season’s playoffs. Looks like we’ve ruined them then.
Another Tuesday night, another cup game, but a different competition this time around, as it’s the first game in the group stages of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy. We had a decent run in the competition last year, winning our group, and getting to the knockout stages for only the second time since the competition introduced the group stages ten years ago. We also won our first knockout game since the change before losing to eventual winners Peterborough United. The only other time we got out of the group stage we also lost to the eventual winners (Coventry City). So, if we make it out of the group and lost in the knockout stages, everyone will know who to bet on to win the trophy.
We are playing Brighton & Hove Albion U21s, the first time we have played this particular lot of under 21s (or formerly under 23s), and a change from Aston Villa’s who we’ve played the previous two seasons. Despite it being an under 21s side, they could actually play a side with no one under the age of 21. They have to play six players who were under 21 on the 30th of June, and therefore who could all have had birthdays since then, of the others they can have a maximum of two players who are aged over 21 and have also made forty or more senior appearances, so technically speaking they could play Lewis Dunk and James Milner, which makes a bit of a mockery of it being an under 21s side.
For League One and League Two teams I didn’t realise there are limits to how weak a side they can put out. They must have four ‘qualified’ outfield players. Although ‘qualified’ is quite broad. It includes any player who started the previous (or following) first-team fixture (not sure if they have Mystic Meg checking who is going to play the next game). Or any player who is in the top ten players at the club who has made the most starting appearances in league and domestic cup competitions this season. Or any player with forty or more first-team starting appearances in their career, including International matches. Or any player on loan from a Premier League club or any EFL Category One Academy club. Which, at this stage of the season probably means we can play who the hell we want.
Tickets have gone on sale today for next Tuesday night’s game away against the full Brighton side. There have been queues, both on the phone and at the ground for the season ticket holders to get their tickets before the 3,180 allocation go on general sale on Thursday. A job for me for tomorrow when I’m not in the office and can pop to the stadium.
Popping to the stadium always seemed more hurried when trying to get there for an evening kick off after a day in the office in Hove, the morning rain has gone away, and it is still daylight as we head to the ground, even if it will be properly dark before we leave.
Haven’t seen any sight of our mate Al stewarding before today, and there has been no sign of Reggie the Red at our home games yet either. Which makes me wonder whether the latter is depending on the former for a lift to the ground, or are they the same person?
Getting there later does mean I can pick a team sheet up, and from it I can see we’ve only named four outfield subs. The squad contains neither Fish nor Faal. Again. I’m not sure when, or if, I’ll tire of that pun. We are all in red, and BHA are in their traditional Tesco carrier bag kits. The officials have come dressed as a pack of Stabilo Boss yellow highlighters.
We are a bit slow out of the blocks, I’m wondering if there was some pre-match napping going on. Eddie Beach had a couple of early attempted clearances blocked by a BHA striker, but fortunately neither rebounded into the goal. And Rafiq Khaleel is taking some time to get up to speed and is looking like he’s running through treacle. But we begin to wake up and Ade Adeyemo puts a ball through to Jack Roles in the box, but the shot is straight at the keeper.
They appear to be trying to walk the ball into the net, Roles, Khaleel, and Panutche Camara are passing it between themselves in the penalty area but can’t seem to get a shot off. And on ten minutes a hoof up field bounces and Toby Mullarkey takes the decision to try and chest the ball back to Beach whilst on the turn. He doesn’t get enough on it, and a BHA attacker nips in between the two, and strokes the ball into an empty net and we are behind 0–1.
Hopefully, that will wake us up. We win a corner, and it appears as if it is wasted, fannying about with it on the left wing, a ball comes in and a shot is block at source and comes back to Charlie Barker just outside the area and he smashes it in to equalise within three minutes of us going behind. 1–1.
There is a lot of possession play and not much action for fifteen minutes until BHA get a half chance and a shot cannons off the near post and out from seemingly nothing. At the other end Camara has a shot blocked and then thirty seconds later launches another shot high over the KRL Logistics stand, and it probably cleared the car park as well, and would have been heading off down the underpass on its way to Southgate.
After that brief piece of action there isn’t much on show and one added minute is played at the end of the half and the whistle goes with the score at 1–1. Toby Mullarkey gets a chance to rest his chest (hey, that rhymes), and is subbed at half time with Max Anderson coming on in his place, and Barker drops to the back three.
It must have been coffee at half time instead of the sleeping pills before the game as Crawley come out attacking. Antony Papadopoulos has a shot blocked on the end of an attack straight from the kick off. We keep possession and play it into the box, but the final ball just isn’t quite there. BHA attack and Beach makes a save, and we work it back out well down the pitch, and across the field and Khaleel has a shot / cross deflected out for a corner.
But then play is becoming a bit sloppy, lots of misplaced passes and BHA get more chances and force another save from Beach.
And as soon as I had written the above in my notepad, we get the ball back and attack again and Papadopoulos drills a shot into the net from twenty-five yards out and we lead 2–1. Meanwhile I’m thinking he would have been a more appropriate scorer in this competition a couple of years ago when it was sponsored by Papa Johns.
Joy Mukena takes the ball out of defence and runs, and runs, all the way to the edge of the BHA area, where his attempted ball through is deflected for a corner, which is actually crossed into the box for a change and there is a header which goes just wide.
Roles gets the ball in midfield about thirty yards out, as he did in a similar position last week, and like last week, Rick behind me shouts ‘Shoot Jack’, and he does, but this week it sails way over the top of the Eden Utilities Stand. Camara is subbed off and replaced by Armando Junior Quitirna.
Papadopoulos runs past a defender, but the defender doesn’t want to let him go, Papadopoulos continues to run with the ball for fifteen yards with the defender still pulling his shirt back before the ref finally gives a free kick. Which we waste. And BHA are still dangerous on the break and work it well to the left and have a shot which is just wide.
But we attack again down the left and Ronan Darcy, who has come on for Adeyemo, plays it to Roles in the middle of the park, who plays it across to Armando and his shot is just wide. However, the sloppiness is never far away, and we give the ball away in the middle of our own half, they play it to the left at pace and the cross comes over, there is slipping and falling in the box and the BHA striker at the back post pokes it in and it is all square again. 2–2.
From the kick off we attack, and Darcy and Roles exchange passes, and Darcy sees his shot go just wide. We make our final possible outfield substitution with Barker coming off to be replaced by Jeremy Kelly.
There are five added minutes, during which Darcy is clattered about a week after the ball has gone and is down injured, but there is no free kick. After treatment on the pitch, he continues getting treatment on the sideline and we are playing with ten men, and BHA are trying to take full advantage, and a last-minute shot hits the outside of the post and goes out for a throw. The full-time whistle goes, and it ends 2–2, which means in this mad competition in the group stage it is penalties time.
As the toss is done for which end the penalties will be taken and who will go first, Darcy is helped gingerly from the pitch and off, and that is a worrying sight. The penalties are taken in front of the home terrace, and BHA go first. Their first penalty is smashed against the bar. 0–0. Cameron Bragg takes our first with casual nonchalance and sends the keeper the wrong way 0–1. BHA score, Roles slams his penalty into the bottom corner 1–2. BHA score, Armando sends the keeper the wrong way 2–3. BHA score again, Josh Flynn sends a thunderbolt into the roof of the net, 3–4. And Beach saves the final BHA penalty, and we pick up the bonus point.
It wasn’t a great performance, and the injury is a worry, but there was decent playing time for squad members, and it may lure the senior side into a false sense of security for the Carabao Cup game next week. The crowd was announced as being 1,545 including 221 away fans, and the sponsors’ man of the match was Charlie Barker.
After a hectic start to the season, I get a week off, as I’m not going to Wigan, so my next game will be away at the Amex next Tuesday, so I will see you next Tuesday.
Come on you reds.
Originally published on my own website (without the pictures) at the link below.
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