Rotherham United 1-0 Accrington Stanley

Rotherham United 1-0 Accrington Stanley
Sky Bet League One
Saturday 16th November 2019

This was an intriguing contest; feisty, battling and energetic, with some decent football played.

Rotherham, just about, deserved to win and got their goal thanks to Carlton Morris' header from a set-piece move on the half-hour mark.

Unable to get a second, however, they dropped deep and put their fans through a nerve-jangling juggernaut of emotions late on as Accrington pressed, probed and came incredibly close to snatching an equaliser.

What made this game all the more unpredictable was referee Darren Handley, who perplexed people time and again by reaching a string of bizarre conclusions. He dished out seven yellow cards, one red card and fully-deserved the chant of 'You don't know what you're doing!'

When in comes to inept officials, he isn't quite in the same 'elite' category as Trevor Kettle, Darren Drysdale, Eddie Ilderton or Graham Salisbury, but a few more displays like this will almost certainly ensure his mugshot takes centre stage in the gallery of despised referees.

Amidst the joy, fun and downright chaos, there was also a pigeon on the pitch.

The pigeon appeared to have the same amount of brain cells as Mr Handley as it flew aimlessly around the pitch in its quest to nibble on grass seeds - and how it never got trampled on when it took up residence in Accrington's goalmouth, I'll never know!

After a quick dash to the New York Stadium; missing the first few minutes due to exceptionally bad public transport in Sheffield earlier in the afternoon, my camera phone died not long after plonking my backside on a seat in the North Stand.

First-world issues to one side, however, Rotherham were quite dominant; pressing their opponents back, playing on the front and looking decent.

The Millers carved out numerous early chances with Chiedozie Ogbene going close with a curling shot, Michael Ihiekwe seeing a header saved and Matt Crooks, against his former club, twisting and turning his gangly body to great effect and being a great nuisance.

Under John Coleman's leadership, Accrington have always been a tough and uncompromising unit over the years.

It's brought them success so they have no reason to change their style - even if it's not pleasing on the eye or likeable to football purists, but over the next few minutes, a series of tough, full-blooded tackles (and not always good ones) from the visitors went unpunished by Mr Handley as he began to incur the wrath of startled spectators.

That said, the home fans were on their feet in celebration by the half-hour mark when Morris headed home following the simplest of free-kick routines, with Wiles providing the left-foot delivery from the right flank. It was too easy and a poor goal for any team to concede.

It wasn't long until the aforementioned Mr Handley began to infuriate folk once again by penalising Rotherham's players, who weren't exactly shrinking violets when it came to getting stuck in, for trivial offences that in his eyes were fouls but in reality, they were much softer than similar ones which he'd waved play on for, earlier in the game.

It was too inconsistent and indifferent and he soon had his biggest decision to make when Accy 'keeper Dimi Evtimov came flying out of his area and recklessly collided with Crooks who otherwise was in a brilliant position to make something happen.

The home fans were incensed and screamed for a dismissal yet were left raging when only a yellow card was shown. Lets just say that Evtimov was a very lucky boy to still be on the pitch!

More bizarre refereeing decisions, coupled with yellow cards, littered the remainder of the first 45 minutes and with simmering tension, it was a good job the half-time whistle arrived before things reached boiling point.

Ignoring the actions of the bloke with a whistle, Rotherham went close through Morris just prior to the interval and they also started the second half positively - going nearer to doubling their lead when Clark Robertson's close-range header had Evtimov scrambling.

At the other end, Sean McConville enjoyed a couple of efforts though by this stage most of the crowds eyes were on the pigeon that seemed to have a magnetic attraction to the ball - and always left it until the last possible second to avoid being trampled on.

It later earned a round of applause; a feat which Mr Handley also achieved as a sarcastic response to him finally awarding the hosts one free-kick following yet another poor challenge by one of the visiting players.

Ogbene, Crooks and Wiles then linked up in a fine, free-flowing move which saw the latter unleash a ferocious shot from the edge of the box that stung the palms of a back-peddling Evtimov and resulted in a corner.

As the minutes passed and the game entered its final quarter (and considering the Millers' indifferent home form this term and penchant for conceding late on), the tension around the New York Stadium increased by a few notches.

It was something which Accrington thrived on and they began to push forward more with Sam Finley flashing two warning shots narrowly wide of the target, just a few minutes apart.

Rotherham introduced Freddie Ladapo in a bid to ease the tension and score a second goal - something which would have put the result beyond any reasonable doubt.

However, Mr Handley delivered yet another dose of diabolical drama - this time as he dismissed Ogbene for apparent simulation, despite it appearing that the Rotherham player was fouled as he tried to shield the ball out of play.

‘Soft' would be a diplomatic way of describing the red card. 'Ridiculous' would be nearer to the truth - as it was absolutely baffling!

Now playing with 10 men, Rotherham had little choice other than to protect their lead and see out the closing stages.

The undercurrent of disgust at the referee would have become enormous had Accrington forced the ball home three minutes from time when an almighty goalmouth scramble saw three separate efforts blocked or mis-kicked inside a packed area, before the ball eventually skidded wide (somehow) from close-range.

Ultimately, Rotherham were resolute enough to cling on, battle through four minutes of stoppage-time and get three points which moves them up the league table.

Comparing this performance to the ones I saw a few months ago, they're clearly a capable and very good side who are progressing in the right direction. Even if they'd conceded a late on, there was enough in this display to suggest that Paul Warne is getting things right. The blend appears to be quite good, the side seems to have gelled, and though improvement is still needed in both boxes, I don't think they're far off finding some consistency.

Accrington, too, will cause problems for teams due to their style and mannerisms - though they'll probably come undone when they have a referee who penalises them for cynical fouls.

Now where did that bloody pigeon go?

Chesterfield (U18s) 2-2 Doncaster Rovers (U18s)

Chesterfield (U18s) 2-2 Doncaster Rovers (U18s)
Football League Youth Alliance
Saturday 16th November 2019

Despite goals by Junior Smith and Will McGowan earning the lads a point in a draw with Chesterfield, was this a point gained or two points lost?

It was pretty much the discussion amongst folk on the way out of the venue yesterday and there were definitely two different perspectives. In the context of the performance, I'd personally view it as a point gained - one which might prove valuable come the end of the season in terms of title chances!

The overall performance undeniably needed improvement - it was bitty, inconsistent, sloppy at times, and not dissimilar from some of the other displays in recent weeks. The Spireites, frustratingly, equalised (twice) when they really shouldn't have been allowed to and they also mustered up a few other openings which could have found the net.

That said, Rovers were the better 'footballing' side. In small periods, the lads moved the ball well, looked dangerous and were unfortunate on more than a couple of occasions that some of their ideas just didn't quite come off.

McGowan was instrumental on the ball time and again, whilst Smith had another positive enough game. Lirak Hasani grew into things more and more as the minutes ticked by and Marius Conradi came off the bench to deliver his best showing of the season - strong, determined and being a nuisance for the home defence.

Nevertheless, the performance wasn't complete enough for the win - even though the lads were definitely on top in the closing stages and, had there been another 5-10 minutes been left to play, they might have found a winner.

Despite near-incessant rain during the previous 48 hours, weather conditions weren't too bad during the game aside from a couple of brief spells of drizzle. A 4G pitch meant there were no problems at all with the playing surface.

The first few minutes were quite tentative with not much going on, though Rovers did muster up a half-chance when a set-piece ball towards the penalty spot, from the right flank, was flicked on by Smith ahead of a flapping 'keeper who'd left his line. The ball eventually fell to Ben Blythe who couldn't get enough power to direct his subsequent shot towards goal and a comfortable clearance was eventually made by one of the covering defenders.

Soon afterwards, there was a stoppage in play when Liam Ravenhill clashed heads with an opponent just inside the Spireites' own half. The collision made a horrible sound, initially appeared to be very serious, and resulted in both players dropping to the floor. Fortunately, it wasn't too bad, however, and after a minute or two, both players were able to continue.

Ravenhill did need to go to the sidelines for some extra treatment as he'd marginally come off worse and within seconds of him re-entering the pitch, he made a crucial interception on the edge of his own box just as a Chesterfield player was about to unleash a shot.

Over the next quarter-hour or so, there wasn't too much to write about. Opportunities at both ends were sparse, though in terms of play the hosts did get on top and got the ball wide (from where they looked most threatening) on a handful of occasions, but they couldn't make a decisive, piercing pass or deliver a telling cross to really pose questions.

At the other end, there were a few times when Rovers tried to release Watson, Smith and Derrett down the inside channels - including three attempted balls in a 45-second spell. The ideas were generally right, yet on each occasion, the execution of the ball or first touch from the attackers just wasn't quite what it needed to be and the Spireites' kept things at bay.

Around the half-hour mark, Chesterfield were forced into a substitution when one of their players was left in agony having suffered some sort of hand/finger injury in an accidental collision with McGowan.

Not long after the change, the hosts went close when Cunningham was caught out in the left-back position and, after a Spireites player delivered a ball into the box, Blythe had to make a timely block to thwart someone before the ball ricocheted, bobbled and was eventually cleared away. It was all a bit untidy and more Spireites pressure moments later ended when Ben Bottomley showed good hands to claim a deep cross towards the back-post area as Rovers came under a bit more pressure.

There was then a comedy moment that would have been worth £250 for 'You've Been Framed' had it been caught on camera, when Watson, tracking back to help out defensively, inadvertently smashed an attempted clearance straight at Cunningham who took the full force of the ball in his knackers from only a few yards away. Needless to say, the left-back dropped to the floor in absolute agony, with tears in his eyes, and probably had a high-pitched voice for the rest of the day!

Nevertheless, it sparked something in Rovers as from this point up to half-time the lads enjoyed a pretty dominant spell where Chesterfield struggled to get out of their own half and were under pressure.

On 39 minutes, a free-kick was awarded on the edge of the area; perfect for a right-footed player, when the referee brought back play after Smith was fouled but still got a shot away. Instead, the left-footed McGowan took the resulting set-piece and laid the ball off to Hasani whose slicing shot was harmlessly off-target.

Whilst that idea didn't quite come off, the next move certainly did - and resulted in a goal as Smith got in-behind, close to the byline inside the area, and hammered a shot goalwards which ricocheted off a defender's body at point-blank range, crossed the line in mid-air and nestled in the back of the net. Even if the Spireites player had hooked the ball clear (as was possible), the linesman was flagging to say that it had crossed the line anyway!

The goal was fortuitous as the team display up to this point had been very 'hit and miss' but it meant the lads had something to protect and they continued to play on the front, probing and pressing, up to the interval.

The second half performance, largely, was a continuation of the first 45 minutes and began in drizzly conditions with the Spireites enjoying the early initiative. Disappointingly, it took only a few minutes for the hosts to find an equaliser - coming when a striker showed good movement to get into space and fire a powerful low shot through Bottomley's legs with the move materialising down their left-hand side.

Back on level terms, Donny needed to 'up the ante' again and get a better foothold, but instead, the next few minutes were quite scrappy with misplaced passes, attacks breaking down too simply, and not enough penetration of creativity from either side.

As the hour mark approached, Rovers had begun to raise their standards and Watson won a free-kick on the edge of the box when he was clumsily brought down by a defender.

Unlike the previous set-piece in the first half, this one was absolutely perfect for McGowan and the midfielder let fly with a sumptuous strike that curled over the wall, beyond the reach of the diving 'keeper and into the net. It was a high-quality attempt that deserved all the applause and admiration which it subsequently received from onlookers.

At 2-1 with half-an-hour to go, there was an almost palpable feeling that if the lads could find another goal then it would kill any hopes of another Chesterfield comeback.

Despite that feeling, however, and despite some decent possession in and around the box for a minute or two after the re-start following the goal, within only a few minutes the Blues were back on level terms. This time Rovers couldn't clear the danger inside their own box and a shot was eventually fired into Bottomley's bottom-right corner.

It was frustrating, annoying, irritating - especially because momentum immediately now swung back in the hosts' favour, yet it showed precisely just how much of a 'mixed bag' this performance was.

Rovers then made a change with Owan Derrett being replaced by Conradi.

In the last 25 minutes, there wasn't a great deal in the way of opportunities though Rovers did press, loiter and dictate things more and by the end, they were pressing hard for a winner.

Chances that were created saw Smith flash a powerful snap-shot wide from about 15 yards, whilst Conradi latched onto a cross into the box, chested it down and had the ball pinched away from him, when he may as well have headed it.

Cunningham, on the left flank, couldn't find accuracy with a couple of crosses despite being in threatening positions on both occasions, Hasani looked more and more dangerous in the middle against a tiring defence, whilst Watson worked hard but to no avail and also needed treatment after becoming the second player to get one in the knackers during the closing stages.

Eventually, time ran out and the score ended 2-2; a point apiece and again it's a result which, depending on how you view it, can be interpreted in different ways.

Team: Ben Bottomley, Josh Clemitson, Nathan Dimou, Ben Blythe (C), Lewis Cunningham, Liam Ravenhill, Lirak Hasani, Will McGowan, Owan Derrett (Marius Conradi), Jack Watson, Junior Smith.

Scunthorpe United 3-0 Sunderland

Scunthorpe United 3-0 Sunderland
EFL Trophy
Tuesday 12th November 2019

If Sunderland's players end up having to do laps of the training ground as a punishment for this defeat, they deserve it and they only have themselves to blame.

Sometimes, it's easy to go over the top or get carried away, but this was an absolutely abysmal performance from start to finish!

New boss Phil Parkinson, no doubt keen to impress the same supporters who 'hounded out' his predecessor at the Stadium of Light, named close to a full-strength team for this EFL Trophy tie - knowing a win would see his side into the knockout stages.

Sometimes in this competition it's about who really wants it most and on the evidence presented, the Black Cats' players didn't want it whatsoever so they deserve to be read the riot act.

It was horrendous from their perspective; turgid, desperate, dire - and some of their 'big names' who've played in the Premier League, etc, just didn't fancy it on this freezing cold night at a relatively nondescript venue with a poor attendance.

Scunthorpe, who also fielded a strong side, had more spells of possession, created more and ultimately deserved the win. It's impossible for anyone to argue with that. Their players rolled their sleeves up a bit, grafted a bit and were prepared to work - that's why they won and it was everything which Sunderland (as favourites) should have done, but didn't do!

Initially, my plan for tonight was to head to Valley Parade to watch Bradford City versus Rochdale, but excessive 'peak time' rail fares with Northern; the UK's worst rail company where inefficiency, pure greed and crap customer service is prevalent, put paid to that idea.

Therefore, the back up plan of Scunthorpe versus Sunderland was put into action.

There were times during the first 45 minutes where I seriously considered why I'd bothered going to this game, or whether I'd even watch a football game again - it was depressingly bad, awful, bloody cold, there was no atmosphere, nothing to get excited about and utterly miserable.

On the pitch, Scunny pressed and lurked, created a few openings though they didn't have the cutting-edge or ability to turn that into goals, whilst Sunderland had one or two chances but offered little else and didn't stamp an authority on things.

The Iron also began the second half on the front foot and, now attacking towards their own fans, those on the terracing behind the goal responded with some chants and decent effort in trying to create an atmosphere to liven things up.

They were rewarded with more pressure from their idols, though there was no real 'rip the defence open' moves until Abo Eisa got in-behind on 66 minutes and was subsequently brought down by 'last man' Luke O'Nien, just inside the box, which resulted in a red card.

Lee Novak smashed the resulting spot-kick past the Sunderland 'keeper (who'd had a go at a cheeky ball boy for kicking the ball away earlier on) and Scunny had a deserved lead with a quarter of the game left to play.

It didn't get any better in terms of quality and it wasn't long before I made my own early exit - along with quite a few others who weren't best pleased with what they'd witnessed.

After my departure, Eisa and Novak added second and third goals, respectively, in the dying minutes to give Scunthorpe a 3-0 victory - a result which looks emphatic on paper and means the indignity, disgrace and bewilderment will be felt even more by those in Sunderland.

It might also prove to be a blessing in disguise for Parkinson. It's still quite early in his reign and he won't get any idiots wanting him to be sacked because they've been knocked out of this competition. The one lesson he can learn from this game was that the players he put out performed like a bunch of characterless tw*ts - seemingly not prepared to roll their sleeves up and do any work!

Some folk might say 'the red card changed the game' but it's a feeble, weak and rubbish excuse - not acceptable or reasonable. In the 65 minutes prior to the penalty/red card incident, the same group of Sunderland players didn't do anything to warrant earning a win.

Unless something changes quite quickly, I doubt Sunderland will bother the automatic promotion race in League One this season. They've got the stereotypical big stadium, support, expectation and fanfare rubbish which comes with being a 'big club' but they've got some gutless, heartless players who won't graft in tough environments.

If they play anything like this in their FA Cup replay at Gillingham next week, they'll be doing some more laps of the training ground in the aftermath.

Farewell Bootham Crescent

With a long-awaited move to a new 'Community Stadium' imminent, it made total sense to pay a visit York City for their recent FA Cup First Round encounter with Altrincham.

Bootham Crescent is a ground which oozes with character and nostalgia in abundance.

There's a tiny little car park full of pot holes, rattly old wooden seats situated in a Main Stand that has no smoking signs plastered everywhere, terrace steps with years of history, and spiky metal fences in the Popular Stand that would have health and safety inspectors fuming with rage.

Do some 'ear-wigging' and you'll hear many terrace tales about bucket collections to save the club from liquidation, free Kit-Kats and Yorkie Bars on matchdays, whilst the names of the many hundreds of players who've pulled on the famous 'Y Front' shirts in years gone by will roll off the tongue in all corners of the ground.

The smell of deep heat wafting from the old changing rooms up, through the players tunnel, and up to nostrils of spectators in the Main Stand and the sense of community - a football club hidden away in-between terraced houses in the city centre is what makes this place so special.

I've seen 10 games in total at Bootham Crescent - some good, many bad and plenty of ugly ones!

My first visit, on a Sunday afternoon in April 2004, included a certain Jon Parkin returning to haunt the Minstermen, not long after he'd joined opponents Macclesfield Town. York were on a horrendous winless streak stretching as far back as the New Year, and it eventually culminated in their relegation from what was then-known as Nationwide Division Three (now League Two) a few weeks later.

It took eight years for the club to regain their Football League status and I was at the ground on a handful of occasions in a press capacity in 2011/12 as Gary Mills oversaw a brilliant season that also included FA Trophy success.

Bizarrely, there was even a Blue Square Bet Premier clash between Gateshead and Kidderminster Harriers at Bootham Crescent in freezing thick fog on a cold night in March 2013. I missed the start of the game due to problems on the trains (some things never change) and the Tynesiders won 2-0 - something which put a massive spanner in Kiddy's title aspirations that year.

I've got several memories of squeezing into the tightest (and probably worst) press box in the country, but one game in my double-figure amount at the ground stands out above the rest.

It was Wednesday 2nd May 2012 and the Blue Square Bet Premier Play-Off Semi-Final between York City and Mansfield Town - or, as many people will remember it, the night when Carolyn Still (the Stags' CEO who was, allegedly, an escort girl before marrying the chairman) got nicked for a variety of reasons.

Working at the club at that time, she was a nightmare - wild, crazy, unpredictable and someone who you didn't want to be sat anywhere near when she was 'off her head'. The same stand would be too close for comfort, but the problem this night was she was sat about two f**king seats away.

Bearing in mind she was meant to be 'responsible' in representing the football club, her ear-piercing screeches of 'COME ON MANSFIELD' throughout the first 45 minutes, along with getting up and down like a human yo-yo at various points to visit the toilet and a cry of 'WOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO' when we opened the scoring were cringe-worthy.

It was nothing like anything I'd ever seen anywhere previously in any football ground, or anything else I've ever witnessed since.

At another point, she told the Family Stand to 'F**k Off' which, as you'd expect, didn't go down well and got her quite a bit more attention than what she was already getting from stewards. They'd realised who she was but, seemingly, were scared to kick her out which just prolonged the entertainment!

During the half-time break, and after throwing a strop at York's directors for celebrating their equaliser just before the interval, she tried to get on the pitch to speak to the TV cameras and make an 'announcement' to the Mansfield fans.

Unfortunately, she was denied; such a shame as it'd have been hilarious to watch her potentially 'Do a Delia' and look even more stupid. After being told no, in yet more drama, she couldn't resist shouting at Mark Cooper (the current Forest Green Rovers manager) that he wasn't fit to run Premier Sports - mistaking him for being the person in charge of the TV cameras!

In the second half, it was eerily quiet for a while until she re-appeared then subsequently disappeared - and word filtered through that she'd been asked to leave the ground. Then, a bit later on, came the news that she'd been arrested for an incident outside which surprised nobody!

Quite a few of the folk who'd been in the press box - such as the guys from the Non-League Paper, one or two nationals and radio journalists, etc, were on the same train on the way home and it was a very funny journey as we 'discussed' events.

The game itself barely got mentioned and that, by the way, ended in a 1-1 draw.

Unsurprisingly, the mother of sh*t storms followed in the days afterwards with national papers having an absolute field day due to the (alleged former) escort being escorted away in handcuffs in a police car. Her then-fiance, the chairman, tried to play the incident down which fooled nobody and the club tried to blacklist every journalist or photographer who'd said bad things about her in print or published photographs.

Even better, the local Safety Advisory Group wanted to postpone the second leg (scheduled for the following Bank Holiday Monday) as, somehow, her name was on the safety certificate for Field Mill. SAG claimed, given the events, she wasn't a responsible person to hold it. It got changed to ensure the game went ahead, but they did have a very, very, very valid point!

Another funny thing was Sophie Hicks (one of York's directors - and a fellow female in football which was played on in the media) made a comment to one of the papers that Carolyn Still 'seemed a little distressed' during the game. It was the understatement of the century and, whether it was intentional or not, it wound up a few people in the boardroom at Mansfield whilst pretty much everyone else found it to be hilarious.

Needless to say, when Mansfield next played at York, a good part of the pre-match build-up was spent dodging 'jokey' questions on whether she'd be attending. For some reason, I don't think she's ever been back to the ground since - nor has the in-match entertainment ever been as eventful, bizarre or funny.

That's just one of many stories about what life was like inside the lunatic land - and, subsequently, it's something which will always be my abiding memory of Bootham Crescent.

Anyway, back in the normal world, as someone who also lived through the change when Doncaster Rovers left Belle Vue in 2006, what's certain is when the ground is gone, it'll be sorely missed by those who've frequented it for years, if not decades.

It'll be a really strange era in the months afterwards - joyous, bright, hopeful and optimistic in many respects as the club will be thriving, but it'll be a time still tinged with sadness because both the club, and outsider perceptions of it, WILL become different.

Trust me, everything changes. The comforting smell of deep-heat, crap press facilities, makeshift tunnel barriers, old terrace steps, rickety seats clattering, the proximity to directors in the Main Stand, the two managers slipping around in a muddy technical area, the experience of getting p*ss wet through in a wet car park full of pot holes, will all disappear for good.

Initially, it won't be home - it'll just be a stadium.

Everything will feel just a bit 'too nice' - a bit too clean, a bit too corporate, a bit too pristine and a bit too different to normal. There'll be some fans who resist the change and, to start with, will loathe the new place. There'll also be dozens of teething problems (stewarding, car parking and a general sense of identity amongst fans) as everyone acclimatises to the new place.

Things will take a few years until it becomes the 'norm' and memories of Bootham Crescent start to become etched further and further back in the memory bank.

It'll be a sad day when the final whistle goes at the ground for the final time, but what a memorable, funny old place Bootham Crescent has been over the years!