September
All over the
world people were talking about the refugee camps in Calais. How thousands of
men, woman and children were desperately fleeing some horrendous warzones such as Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan and
Syria. 99% of people will just read about it, but not Bloods keeper Floyd
Croll. Floyd decided to pack up a bag of footballs and visit the camps. He gave
a very personal, heart-felt piece about his experiences, which made it on the
local news. The club and I were very impressed by Floyd and decided to help by
doing a bucket collection. James White also organised an acoustic night at the
club to help raise more money for the Red Cross. I really recommend you read
Floyds blog, which you can find on my blog if you click through the archive and
it will be in September.
Saffron Walden 0 - Haverhill Rovers 1
8th April 2015. The Meadow
The word robbed would be an
understatement. That was the opinion of the frustrated Bloods fans, as they
left the Meadow. Sorry to sound like Mourinho, but had he been the Bloods
manager, his comments toward the match officials would have made the back pages
of the national newspapers.
I know I may sound like a bitter, bad
loser, but in this instance it is well justified. If you are a Rovers fan
please don’t think I am being disrespectful. The Rovers lads played well and
came to the Meadow with a job to do, and full marks their game play.
We had the usual catch up before the
match. I was pleased to hear that James Thomas had re-joined the Bloods. On
Saturday, a few of the fans had gone to watch Royston against Hanwell to suss
out the competition for the next round of the FA Cup.
Sticko’s line up was similar to the
team who beat Cheshunt in the FA Cup. The main difference was that Bell played
up front, in place of the injured Sam Gregory.
To our amazement we had a
great goal disallowed. The Beast took a long throw-in, which found Fleming, who
flicked the ball over the keeper’s reach. The assistant referee had called a
foul throw, and the referee agreed. No idea how he would of seen that when he
was 70 yards away from the Beast.
Haverhill played well through
the first quarter of the match, with their best player being Michael Shinn. He
reads the game well, and has a great cross from a set piece. I thought he
looked like Bloods’ greatest threat.
The best chance of the match came
from Bell. G Man put some great pressure on the defence, which forced them to
play back to Archer. Archer miss kicked his rushed clearance, which Bell
intercepted. The ball just got under his feet, so his shot didn’t have enough
power on it. It was very unlucky that he couldn’t get his body behind the shot.
We continued to put the pressure on
with a series of free kicks and corners, but we just could not get a clear shot
on goal.
At the end of the first half Wig had
another great effort, where he turned his man but his shot hit the post.
That was a frustrating half which had
lots of controversy.
Second half and Strong went down from a
challenge. He required some treatment from Sarah, but got back up soon after.
He tried to walk it off, but eventually it resulted in him being replaced by
new Blood James Thomas. Bell then dropped back to the vacant right back
position.
15 minutes were remaining,
and we looked like we were up against it. Thomas showed some great skill on the
ball and played the ball into the box. He beat his man but the assistant
referee waved for a foul on the defender. I have no idea how he made that
decision. These decisions were starting to get silly.
5 minutes to go and Croll pulled of
an incredible save to his left. Rovers had a golden opportunity, but were
denied by the outstretched Bloods number 1.
90 minutes in and disaster struck.
The referee gave a penalty to Rovers for a ridiculous hand ball decision. The
ball hit the Beast by the line. His hands were by his side, and the ball would
have gone off for a goal kick had Beast not been there.
At the time I added the following to
the blog to vent my frustrations:
Regarding handball they now ask the referee to consider the proximity of
the potential offender to the person last playing the ball, the speed of the
ball and importantly whether the offender's arms are in a natural or unnatural
position.
So the question of intent is now, did the offender deliberately place
his arms in an unnatural position to increase the chances of the ball hitting
him?
If the answer to that is yes then it is correct to penalise that player
even though it used to be argued that was ball to hand.
So after reading the above I will let you make your own mind up.
The penalty was
taken well and scored Perry Moody, who has now been forgiven by the way.
So that
was it, game over. Rovers had taken all 3 points. A potentially great derby
match was ruined by some bad decisions. Do not get me wrong, Rovers played well
and if you ask their fans, I think they would agree we should have shared the
spoils.
The fans ‘Man
of the Match’ went to Wiggy Calver
Hanwell Town 1 – Saffron Walden 0
FA Cup
12th September 2015
At 10.30am sun was shining, the fans
smiling, and the bacon sarnies were sizzling. I resisted one of Andy’s famous
bacon sarnies and opted for a cup of tea.
It was great to see everyone and we
had a good catch up. We were still complaining about the matches referee. I
wanted to know if I had been too harsh in my last blog. The opinion of the
Bloods family was no.
I went to see Sam Gregory and Sam
Soutar first. I wanted to check on Gregory’s knee injury. He seemed confident
he will bounce back soon, which was good. I was pleased to see that all three
of our injured played come along to cheer on the team. (Strong, Solks and
Gregory)
The club had arranged for a coach to
take the team, board and fans to the match. So with the bloods family in tow,
we were off to Hanwell.
Wardley made more changes from last
week’s narrow defeat against Haverhill.
Croll was in goal. Defence: P Abbott,
Lawrence (Beast), Reid and Bell. Midfield: Snelling (Mashy), Harper and Noble
(Nobby). Forwards: Calver (Wig), Thomas, and Turner (G Man). Subs: Murphy
(Boss), M Abbott, Wardley, Crane, Drane, Souter and Grindrod (Viking).
Dan now had the nickname Viking, due
to your very impressive beard. I am only jealous that I can’t rock a beard as
good as you.
Early in the match, and thanks to a
lovely run by G Man, we had won a throw-in in the Beasts territory. The fans
called for the Beast the same way the Romans would have called for Spartacus.
The excitement was shortly lived, as Beast was penalised for a foul throw.
In the first 10 minutes Hanwell
looked the better side. They had a series of corners, but none of them troubled
Croll. Reid was having a great first 10 minutes and stood strong against a
physical Hanwell team.
Just as we thought we had gone one
nil up, the flag was raised for off side. The Hanwell defence had opened up and
Mashy got on the end of a cross, but according to the assistant referee, was
off side.
Shortly after the disallowed goal,
the same thing happened to Hanwell. I am afraid I was not looking, or as Wenger
would say ‘I did not see the ball’. I heard a cheer from the Hanwell fans which
was followed by ‘Aaaaaahhhhhhhh’ from the Walden fans, when they realised the
flag had been raised for off side. I love football banter.
Our best effort of the match came
from a brilliant long ball from Wiggy to Thomas. Thomas ran and played the ball
back to Wiggy. Wig’s shot was pushed away by Davies. G Man followed it up from
a header which was caught by Davies. That was very unlucky.
Hanwell started the second
half well. They came out all guns blazing. They had a great effort from Duguid.
It happened so fast, but Croll saved the shot and the Beast did well to keep
the ball under his control and play it out for danger.
5 minutes into the second
half, and Hanwell had scored. The goal came from a corner, which the players
struggled to see. The ball went over the top and was well finished
Hanwell came close to going two nil
up, from a header. The ball came in and the Hanwell player’s header hit the
post. Hanwell were playing well and we needed to get back in the game.
Hanwell were desperate to get
their second goal. Ighorae had a great shot on goal, but again Croll
stood up to the mark, and made a great save. Croll was determined not to be
beaten again, and was giving the Bloods a life line.
Shortly after, Hanwell’s keeper
Davies pulled off a brilliant finger tipped save to deny Thomas of his first
goal. Thomas headed Mashy’s excellent cross, but Davies saved the day for
Hanwell.
Duguid showed some excellent skill,
and just got passed Bell. His shot was strong, but Croll saved well.
The last great effort for the Bloods
came from a great ball from Harper, which found Thomas at the far post. Thomas’
header was on target but straight at Davies.
The match ended in defeat. We had
lost 1-0 in game, which could have gone either way. Hanwell looked the better
team throughout the second half and their pressure paid off. The Bloods did well
considering we played a step four club who has some very fast, skilful players.
Fans ‘Man of the Match’ went to Floyd
Croll.
Long Melford 0 – Saffron Walden 3
18th September 2015.
Stoneylands
Now that was more like it! This was
the win the Bloods needed to kick off our season, and climb up the league. It
was a very eventful evening at the Stoneylands. We had an own goal, a red card,
Sticksy lasting 90 minutes and a goal keeper who never gave up.
It was my first ever Friday evening
match. It was ground a hopper day, which means that people from all over the
country visit different grounds for the experience. I was introduced to a few
as the Saffron Walden Blogger. I was now known as Mr Blogger to a few of the
fans.
Last season’s match at the Stoneylands was epic. We
were 3-0 up at half time and ended up drawing 3-3. But this night was different.
The conditions were perfect and the Bloods controlled the game.
The starting 11 were:
Floyd Croll was in goal. Defence:
Grindrod (Viking), Lawrence (Beast), Wardly (Sticksy) and P Abbott. Midfield:
Snelling (Mashy), Harper, Noble and Bell. Forwards: Calver (Wig) and Thomas.
Subs: Drane, Murphy (Boss), Morrell, Crane and Soutar.
Ben Morrell was called up to the
first team for his first competitive debut, after impressing Sticksy in the
reserves.
Not much happened in the
first 10 minutes. Both teams were working the ball well, but with no real
danger at goal.
Thomas started causing
trouble, and produced a lovely flick for Bell to run onto up the right wing.
Bell’s cross was well defended, but only for a throw-in in the Beast’s
territory. The throw-in was punched away by Mansfield, but fell to the Viking.
The Viking’s shot seemed to hit the Melford defender’s hand, but handball was
not given. Melford broke well and gave Yearling a chance on goal, but his
effort went wide.
Yearling looked threatening and drove
toward the goal, but Mashy made a great sliding tackle to win the ball back. He
passed the ball to Wig, who made an excellent over the top pass to Thomas.
Thomas controlled the ball well, but there was no one home to receive his
cross.
During the first half we started to
mimic the Melford keeper, by yelling out ‘No foul’. As the keeper took a goal
kick, we would start the ‘woooooooaaaaaahhhhhh’ and as he kicked the ball we
would yell ‘No foul’. You have to give full credit to the Mansfield, as he
didn’t flinch once.
We won another corner for
Harper to take. The corner came in and was headed out to Wig. Wig floated the
ball back in and Jackson headed the ball over the keeper, and into the back of
the net for an own goal, after some great pressure from the Beast. We were
quite sympathetic towards Jackson and Mansfield and said how unlucky they were.
Mrs Nash’s flannel had now come out
after some great pressure from Melford. I believe from what she was saying, the
referee was getting on her nerves…or something along those lines.
We finished the first half strong. We
pushed for that second goal with decent chances from Wig, Harper and Thomas,
but just had to settle with the one goal for now.
Walden started the second half
with determination and grit. We had an early free kick but the effort was well
cleared.
Melford started to pile on
the pressure, with a great break from Clarke. Abbott made a great tackle to
deny Clarke a shot. Sticksy was controlling the line with the Beast very well.
The communication was excellent.
We shortly went 2-0 up after
some fantastic skills by Wig. Wig crossed the ball in, which fell to Bell. Bell
launched the ball into the top right hand corner, making it impossible to save.
We were on our way to our first win of the season, but were not counting our
chickens just yet.
Just as life for the Bloods
could not get any better, Wig skilfully took the ball around the defender and
crossed the ball low and hard into the 6 yard box. Mashy got in-front of the
defender and slotted the ball home. We were now 3-0 up. Mansfield was not
happy, but was not giving up yet.
Melford didn’t give up and Clarke
continued to look threatening. He linked up well with Rowe, but the Viking won
the ball back and cleared the danger.
In the last few minutes of the match,
there was a red card. Row saw red after a robust challenge on Viking.
Viking did have the last attempt but
it went over the bar and almost hit Mrs Nash on the head. Jackie told Viking he
would be taking home the kit tonight as punishment.
So that was it. Walden had won and
kept a clean sheet. It was a fantastic match for the Bloods. I am glad the
curse of the blog has now been broken.
The fans ‘Man of the Match’ went to
Wiggy Calver
Hadleigh 1 – Saffron Walden 2
26th September 2015
Still buzzing from our 3-0 away win
against Long Melford, I was ready to go again. I was so relieved to see that
all our hard work was finally paying off.
Our opponents Hadleigh, were
in 12th place with 2 wins, 3 draws and a loss. For those who do not know
Hadleigh, it’s a picturesque town with lots of history. It’s a really nice
place to come for a day out or better, a game of football. The ground is well
looked after and the pitch looked in great condition. I told the Chairman of
Hadleigh what a great job his grounds keeper had done.
Sticksy decided to take a well-earned
rest and did not start the match.
Floyd Croll was in goal. Defence:
Grindrod (Viking), Lawrence (Beast), Reid and P Abbott. Midfield: Snelling
(Mashy), Harper, Drane. Forwards: Calver (Wig), Bell and Thomas. Subs: Solkhon,
Murphy (Boss), Wardley (Sticksy), Crane and Soutar
It was great to see Solkhon back in
the squad, after recovering from his injury.
10 minutes into the match, and
Hadleigh called for a penalty as Chaplin thought he was tripped. The referee
was standing very close and waved play on.
Croll then pulled off a great save
from a lovely shot by Lorimer. He beat his defender but couldn’t beat Croll.
Croll was looking very confident.
Hadleigh almost drew first blood, but
Mashy saved the day and cleared the ball off the line. The effort came from a
corner taken by Jennings.
20 minutes into the match, and Mashy
came close to scoring a screamer. He smashed the ball from 25 yards out, but
the ball kept climbing, missing the goal by about 2 feet.
The Blood’s pressure paid off with a
brilliant solo goal by Wig. The Beast hit a long ball, which cleared the
defence. Wig controlled the ball and placed it in the bottom corner, leaving
Nower no chance.
Leading goal scoring Thrower
had a really good effort on goal, which Croll saved very well. They were
determined to get back into the game.
Thrower had another great chance but
again Reid got a great block in. Reid was working very hard.
Hadleigh continued to look
threatening and Spidler had forced a great save out of Croll, but managed to
take another shot. We held our breath as we watched the ball travel across the
six yard box. Luckily no one was there to meet it.
Second half and Hadleigh really worked hard to get
back into the game. They put together some great passes. They had a great
chance, but the assistant referee called for off side.
Just as we were under pressure,
Thomas scored a great goal. He took the ball from outside the 18 yard box, beat
two defenders and could have gone down from a trip, but he stayed up and
slotted the ball passed Nower’s outstretched right hand. Thomas looked thrilled
and punched the air. He was due a goal and it was only a matter of time. It was
2-0 to the Bloods after 10 minutes into the second half.
Hadleigh’s pressure soon paid off
when they scored a soft goal. Not sure what happened, as we had defended a lot
better chances than that. Chester passed the ball to Stafford, and Stafford
swept the ball into the bottom left hand corner. It was now game on. We had to
hold on or score another.
Now, what happened next from Floyd
Croll was incredible. I only wish someone recorded it. Croll first made a
fantastic save to deny Thrower, which then rebounded to another Hadleigh
player. Croll jumped up and saved it again. It was a superb double save. Goal
keeper Nower even clapped Croll out of respect.
8 minutes remaining, and Hadleigh
kept on trying to get back into the game, but we did not panic. Reid, Beast,
Abbott and Solk’s held the line well.
Bell looked threating on the wing and
worked hard keeping the ball. Bell won us a throw on to keep possession.
As you can imagine, we were yelling
at the referee to blow the whistle. We kept watching the referee take glances
at his watch.
Finally the whistle went and we had
won our second game on the trot. It was a brilliant effort for the team and we
are now heading in the right direction.
The fans ‘Man of the Match’ went to
Floyd Croll
Summary
Ilford 3 –Saffron Walden 2 – Essex Senior Cup
30th September 2015
Cricklefield Stadium
A dull 0-0 draw for Walden just does
not happen. This was yet another eventful match for the Bloods. The match had
it all; 2 red cards, a debut goalie, 3 penalties and of course, Mrs Nash’s
famous flannel.
Sticksy decided to rest a few players
for Saturdays match against Godmanchester. Wig was taking a well-earned break,
but would was available for the next match.
Floyd Croll was in goal. Defence:
Solkhon, Lawrence (Beast), Reid and P Abbott. Midfield: Murphy (The Boss),
Harper, Fleming. Forwards: Crane (Road Runner), Turner (G Man) and Thomas.
Subs: Bell, Grindrod (The Viking), Noble (Nobby), Drane and Snelling (Mashy)
8 minutes into the match, and
Ilford struck first. I am not sure who it was who scored for Ilford. Basically
the ball was crossed to the striker, who was in space. He struck the ball
perfectly, beating Croll’s dive. It was a very good finish.
Now I had to blog this Beast, and I
am sorry, but how did you get knocked over by Armagh-Tackie, who must have been
a foot smaller and 3 stone lighter? Sorry I had to mention that as the Bloods
family were shocked. We love you really big man.
20 minutes into the match,
and the Bloods were awarded a penalty. Atutis was sent off for trip on Thomas,
in the area. Now this caused a debate between the Bloods fans. Atutis was on a
yellow from a previous foul; however his foul on Thomas was not malicious.
Personally I thought the sending off was a little harsh.
35 minutes into the game and
disaster hit. Warwick latched onto a miss placed pass back and ran at the goal.
Croll came of his line and clashed with Warwick, giving Ilford a penalty. That
was the good news! The bad news was that the referee sent Croll off for the
challenge! Now I wouldn’t want to be ‘disrespectful’ to the match officials,
but how was that a red card? It felt like he was just trying to even up the
teams. Croll held his head high and walked off the pitch. We spoke to him as he
came off, and he said there was no point arguing about it, as the referee had
made up his mind. Solkhon took the number 1 shirt with no hesitation, as we
didn’t have Soutar on the bench. He was playing for Essex U18s. As you can
imagine the flannel was out, and we almost had to get Mrs Nash a towel.
Warwick took the penalty
well, and scored to make it 2-1 to Ilford. We were now down to 10 men, and had
our left back between the sticks. The Bloods fans starting singing ‘We love you
Solkhon, we do!’ even if he did look like he was wearing his Dad’s shirt.
G Man made a great run up the wing
and got into the box. He got a shot in but it was well saved by McAnaly, for a
corner ball. The ball went over the keeper and found the Beast. The Beast drove
the ball in low and hard, for the Boss to tap in. It was now 2-2 and I needed
the flannel.
It was half time and it was all go. I
needed a drink! Off to the bar we went.
Wardley made a half time
substitution. Paul Abbott was replaced by Nobby. The Bloods wanted to go for
the win, rather than risk penalties, so they played a 3-3-3 formation or it may
have been 3-5-1.
60 minutes into the second
half and Road Runner was replaced by Bell. The Bloods looked the better team,
and played like it was all or nothing.
67 minutes into the match and
Ilford’s Weber scored after Young hit the post. The ball deflected back to
Weber, and he made good of the opportunity. This felt like a kick in the teeth,
as the Bloods had been playing very well.
85 minutes into the match and
Bell was tripped in the box, and won us a penalty. I was interested to see if
the referee would get his red card out, but he didn’t. Thomas took the penalty
but McAnaly produced a great save, to deny Thomas a brace.
Minutes to go and we had a corner.
Jamie ‘Schmeichel’ Solkhon ran from his goal line to take part in the attack.
Bell delivered a good corner, but it was just too high for Solks.
We pushed and pushed for that
equiliser but it just did not happen. I was really proud of the lads for giving
it all they had. Even though we lost, the ‘Behind the goal crew’ had a great
evening. As always we stayed and clapped both teams off the field, and we
wished Ilford luck in the next round.
Fans ‘Man of the Match’ went to Jamie
Solkhon
Summary
September was looking much
better. We had won 2 out of 3 games and started to gel. We were out of the FA
Cup, but then we were never going to win it! It’s just nice to say you’re in the
FA Cup. So, Thomas had scored his first goal, we had beaten Melford 3-0 and
lifted last seasons the curse, and Croll was on top form. Things were definitely
looking up.
Player of the month - Wig Calver
Best game of the month – Hadleigh
away
Worst game of the month –
Hanwell away – FA Cup
Goal of the month – Spike Bell
vs Long Melford
Away fans of the month – Long
Melford
Away ground of the month -
Hadleigh
Thanks for reading
