Seagulls at the Banks’?

Crowds were gathered at Shoreham for the annual Shoreham Air Show last weekend. Something went wrong. Dreadfully wrong – and as is the norm now there were so many cameras on it to record the Hawker Hunter (one of my personal aviation icons) topping out of a loop in blazing sunshine and – somehow, time will perhaps reveal – bottoming out too low and crashing into the nearby A27. Fireball!

Latest death toll yesterday was eleven and set to rise. So sad. And I am a great fan of air shows (though on holiday in Bideford I missed the one at Cosford this year) but this is real tragedy. People and families affected.

Shoreham: close to Brighton. Brighton our visitors this evening in the Capital One Cup. And one of the people who lost their lives in the disaster was a member of the Brighton hospitality staff as well as playing for Worthing F.C. as a genuinely rightful mark of respect before kick-off there was a minute’s silence. Enormously respectful – the whole crowd in harmony for a minute, between referee’s whistles.

 

Then applause and the game began.

Credit to the four hundred and some fans of Brighton who made the long journey; these are real supporters. Travelling the distances for away games in mid-week. As an experiment Walsall have moved away fans into the pitch-side stand, with both “ends” being allocated for Walsall fans. The idea, as best I understand it (and maybe I don’t) is that our team gets vocal support from both ends. This is fairly common at other away grounds. Let’s see what comes of it.

Certainly there were chants from both ends – and enough noise from the Brighton travelling masses.

Now Brighton began the game unbeaten: second in the Championship ( league above us) and started brightly enough. Our defence passing the ball smartly and accurately, but Brighton stronger and appearing fitter (as one might expect from a higher league side). Don’t get me wrong; I am constantly impressed by the levels of fitness shown by the Saddlers team: Jon Whitney has a lot to be proud of. But they also appeared more tactically savvy, changing and adapting and sharper.

Downing guilty of misplacing some passes and giving the ball away.

Referee was also sharp: we got a high number of free kicks in the first fifteen minutes. But then he slacked off, feeling, perhaps that he had established his authority.

Bradshaw playing a lone man up front, busy as ever, but getting nothing from the Brighton defenders. Credit to the striker – he never gave up chasing and harrying. Kieron Morris again supporting brilliantly: some wonderful close control as he ventured on long runs.

The corner score board screen surreally showed the pitch action. Smaller than real life. At rock concerts it is the very opposite: the stage screens show large images. Here we wondered at the point of the exercise. Really necessary?

But a few minutes before half time Brighton player Forster Caskey, after riding a challenge for a defender, decided to throw himself to the ground. Rather than book the blatant diver the referee pointed to the spot and the penalty was scored.

Half time – one of the access doors to the savoy Lounge being jammed we nipped inside for a coffee. Back out again afterwards Walsall’s attitude this season kicked in. they’ re from a higher league? Well, let’s get among ‘em then. Lalkovic, eager in the first half became more of a threat, jinking, turning, her one moment, somewhere different later.

Young, muscular centre half Matt Preston made his season’s debut (was that his parents next to me taking so many photos?) to replace Downing. Sawyers on for Flanagan. A long, perhaps hopeful ball down the line saw Tom Bradshaw, head down getting to it first, bustling past a defender and knocking it into the ox. Sawyers? No, he let it run: Lalkovic, steaming in hammered it home. He is very passionate, this twenty two year old and celebrated long and too hard, earning a yellow card. Such antic s (scoring and heart) have already made his return popular.

Now we were rampant!

But, another Brighton penalty at least as dubious as the first. Blazed high, wide and not terribly handsomely over the bar. To the delight of the Walsall fans ensconced behind the end where, normally Brighton fans would have been. Is this the desired effect?

Game ticking in to last ten minutes, we are well on top, pushing hard. Sawyers, having a much better game against this classier side, swung a ball into the path of raiding forward defender Rico henry: the tiniest player on the pitch. Tiny? But massive hearted; he’d run himself all over the pitch to that point. A great finish – and we hung on for the additional five minutes. Thanks ref!

Who would we like in the next round? I wondered aloud if Milan Lalkovic might like to have a crack at Chelsea the team that let him go.

Whaddaya know? Looking at the draw on the internet: Chelsea at home

The original Mourinho versus the “ginger Mourinho”

Meanwhile in the Athletics World Championships Jessica Ennis-Hill amazed herself and not a few aficionados by blasting her way to a gold medal. Modesty personified she is gritty, committed and gracious, she was uncertain about even competing in these games having given birth to a son just a year ago. Alf Tupper, are you looking in on this? And Greg Rutherford also claimed a gold in the long jump.

Close Shaves and World War III ? Coventry Home.

Home

23^rd August.

Getting just a little bit of stick at home for the – er – not quite beard that I am not quite growing. Its not a fashion thing, indeed not a big deal; just that when I don’t shave facial hair appears. But, casting for a suitable time to take a shave, some days ago I promised “after the Coventry game”. Because, seriously the Coventry game seemed like such a long way into the future.

Talking to a guy in the butcher’s car park. He went to his first ever Walsall game in 1948. He reels off a string of names that was the line-up. He does the same for a Liverpool team that played against Walsall in “one of the best games I’ve ever seen”. His wife, appearing from the butchers, is a west Brom fan and talks, with a smile about “when we beat Chelsea six-nil”.

They sometimes go, together to Hednesford Town football games – and it was very interesting to talk with him.

There is increased media speculation about the transfer market. Tom Bradshaw is – and properly so – a magnet for scouts. The big clubs have a week-and-a-bit to make their moves. Scuttlebutt on the Rochdale terraces was about how much: ) we’d miss him and b)how much he’d be sold for. There’s pride backed by realism to deal with if you’re a Saddlers fan.

Dean Smith is apparently also talking about making “two more signings”. We are a small club with a small squad. But to make anything like a real bid for any kind of sustained glory I reckon he is right. Injuries will bite at some point.

I have a friend who is a Coventry fan, but replied to an invitation to the game by saying that he “was taking his family to the zoo”. There’s a difference?

A warm drive to the game. Parked up and, not knowing the new season’s systems I enter via the turnstiles. Access to the Savoy Lounge ( needing a season pass) is changed: the restaurant is now in the centre of the room and we are permitted some space – and it might get crowded! – at the far end. So I have to burn the routes into my brain and delete the old by-habit ones … including which toilets to use.

Coventry have bought a goodly number of fans; the atmosphere is superb: noisy, bright, animated. Coventry are doing well (early season league leaders) and have high expectations. Stadium (this is my first home match) looks impressive. Good playing surface.

 

By these new routes it seems a long way to my seat, but sure I will get used to it.

There is a buzz from the beginning; this is one of the many local derbies throen at us this season. Notably Jason Demetriou (nominally full back) is forward and at home taking players on, little one-two passes and sharp. Etheridge, so mobile and looking more confident, has a few scrambles. Bradshaw is marked by a physically large centre half Reda Johnson: interesting. But we make ground and keep it, looking very positive and on the front foot. Coventry have their own goal machine, Adam Armstrong, teenager on loan from Newcastle, but their attacks fizzle out in poor shots.

Then there is a pantomime moment. On top of the professional (what a misnomer: it is nowhere near professional to fall over, feign injury and seek advantage – quite the opposite in fact!) part of their game one of the Coventry players (James Maddison) goes down – and stays down. Physio comes on – he’s there for an unusually long time before deciding Maddison can walk. Maddison then takes an equally long time to limp to the side line (carry the bloke for God’s sake, let’s get on with the game). Immediately, however the physio signals that he is OK to re-join the game, the ref waves him on,. He walks on to the pitch, looks at the bench, shakes his head and – sits down! He could have found that out while he was “off the field of play”!

Substitution! Six minutes gone!

The football being played is open, skilful and a wonderful advert for both teams – and, indeed football at this level. While the referee misses some things and is lenient with others the players are committed and seem to be enjoying the match themselves. We string about twenty passes together; the move ends with a promising shot; wide.

We break the deadlock just before half time. Bradshaw is marked pretty much out of the game, dropping back deeper to find the ball. He scoops a ball to the busy Sam Mantom who drops a wonderful pass in to Forde’s path. Cool finish: one nil!

Half time. We organise getting tickets for the Brighton game (Capital One Cup at home on Tuesday night) and wander out for what we think will be a torrid second half.

It is, but Walsall are keeping this aggressive attitude. Rather than sitting back on the one gaol (so expensive last season) we rally after the inevitable early Sky Blues pressure and Bradshaw (who else?) is there to snap up a rebound from Lalkovic’s shot and toe – poke the ball in for the second. Possession and quality then from saddlers. Kieron Morris (good start to the season from him) comes on for Forde and Cook comes on for Lalkovic. A surprise because It seems to be sawyers whose game is least effective at this point. He is too easily put off the ball of doesn’t get to the passes. But, hey I am not the manager – and we are winning two nil! What do I know?

In the final twenty minutes or so Coventry go for broke. Big centre half Johnson goes up front, they throw everything they have at us – and we endure, getting some counter attacks going to balance the game. We are not giving up, they can’t let us get another goal. They have a near-perfect free kick come back of our post. We relax: Etheridge had it covered after all. Didn’t he ? (No he bl**dy well didn’t!).

And Murphy, their clever nuisance value winger hits a screamer which Etheridge very definitely doesn’t have covered. Consolation. But on the drive on the way home, Brighton tickets in back pocket, I hear that we are (joint*) League One leaders – equal on points with Gillingham.

Teenager Joel Richards, long time Walsall supporter and local referee- one of a family of three who, along with other tourists was murdered in a terrorist attack on a beach in Tunisia – has had his efforts recognised by Birmingham County referees. He is awarded Referee of The Year. He should have been alive to collect it!

So it is now after the Coventry game: should I shave the “beard?

*hmmm; just wondering: shall I delete the “joint” before I publish?