Olympics - Part 1

Women's Olympic Football Tournament - Group F

Saturday 28th July 2012

@ City of Coventry Stadium [Ricoh Arena], Coventry

I know a lot of people have been critical of the Olympics being awarded to London, but personally I am massively in favour of it. This opinion is rather obviously swayed by the fact that I love watching sport whether it be cycling, rugby or american football, though it you are reading this association football or soccer is my main passion sports wise. 

Right from the start it was my intention to try and get some tickets for the football tournament plus hopefully some for an event at the Olympic Park. When the original application process for hopefully getting tickets came around, three requests were made: 1) football @ Coventry; 2) handball and 3) athletics. The football was a side issue as I was more interested in the latter two as the chance to experience the Olympics first hand is something that will probably never happen to me again. Rather unsurprisingly the only successful ticket application was for the football and the chance to go down to London for the games was gone. A few months later and some more football tickets were purchased, this time for a men's quarter final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Then a few months ago I got in from work one morning and heard on the news that there was to be some more tickets released for sale. Online I went and managed to get two tickets for the handball preliminaries for Friday August 3rd, which after the hassle and then disappointment of the original ballot was very straight forward and simple. Details of the visits to Cardiff and London to follow in parts 2 and 3.

   

For the football tournament I believe originally Villa Park in Birmingham was to be one of the six venues, but the club (Aston Villa) withdrew due to having work done on the pitch during the summer. The Ricoh Arena, or City of Coventry Stadium as it is to be known for the games was chosen as a replacement. I was not fussed as I had not visited either stadium anyway. The tickets that I managed to get were the cheapest available which was £20 and this was for two games. Which nations would be on show was not important but as it turned out we would be watching the current world champions (Japan), Sweden, Canada and South Africa. Women's football has only been an Olympic sport since the 1996 games in Atlanta. The record of the four teams involved today are as follows:

year	Japan	Sweden	Canada	South Africa
1996	1st round	1st round	did not qualify	did not qualify
2000	did not qualify	1st round	did not qualify	did not qualify
2004	quarter finals	4th	did not qualify	did not qualify
2008	4th	quarter final	quarter final	did not qualify

The current FIFA world rankings sees Japan in 3rd place, Sweden in 4th, Canada in 7th and South Africa the rank outsiders in 61st. The opening games in the group were played on Wednesday and both went as expected. Japan beat Canada 2-1 with first half goals from Nahomi Kawasumi and Aya Miyama, with Melissa Tancredi getting the Canadian goal on 55 minutes. Sweden went top of the group with a 4-1 demolition of South Africa. Goals from Nilla Fischer, Lisa Dahlkvist and Lotta Schelin gave them a three goal cushion at half time. A Portia Modise goal on the hour mark pulled a goal back, but Sweden's three goal advantage was restored three minutes later when Schelin got her second goal of the game.  

The stadium is very easy to find being only a short distance off junction 3 of the M6. It opened in 2005 and has a capacity of 32,609. Parking around the stadium for the matches were for either officials or if spectators had reserved it in advance. Considering the attendance was less than half the originally stated capacity organisers seemed to struggle with this. In the end we parked about 3/4 mile away near to the M6 motorway.

The security aspect was something that has been well documented in the press leading up to the games, and this (in my opinion) over-the-top approach was how it was. All possessions which including credit cards, cameras and even money had to be put in clear plastic bags to get into the stadium. When inside the stadium the majority of people simply put their possessions back into their own bag(s) and discarded the plastic ones. 

The atmosphere inside was that of a friendly and party nature with plenty of families in attendance along side the visitors from the four countries involved as well as the more hardened football fans. Not surprisingly the Japanese had the largest following spectator wise and number of photographers. Chants of "Nippon Nippon" broke out numerous times during their game against Sweden. Some of the Canadians were quite creative with their comments, with "there's only one Justin Bieber" in particular. During the second half the football team was amusingly nicknamed "The Biebers", though I somehow doubt that Canadian Football Association will make it official!!!! 

 Game 1
JAPAN 0-0 SWEDEN

This was the better of the two games despite the lack of goals. The Japanese dominated the game for the most parts and showed why they are the world champions. The passing, movement and one touch football were a pleasure to watch and left the Swedes chasing shadows. Despite their dominance the only saves Sweden keeper Hedvig Lindahl were comfortable and did not give her much concern. Sweden had both a height and physical advantage but on the times they did get forward the Japanese defence looked assured and dealt with things with the minimum of fuss.

Game 2
CANADA 3-0 SOUTH AFRICA

Any doubts about a second nil-nil of the afternoon were put to bed very quickly as the Canadians opened the scoring on seven minutes. A ball across from the right was guided past the South African keeper by Melissa Tancredi, though having seen the goal again to tv I thought Thokozile Mndaweni should have done better to keep the ball out. My consensus then was that the Canadians would push on and increase their advantage, but the South Africans got into the game more with Mpumi Nyandeni being dangerous. The South Africans nearly equalised following a mix up in the Canadian defence but the ball hit the top of the bar and went over. The second half saw the South Africans come at the Canadians but just before the hour mark it was 2-0. A cross from the left was headed goal wards by Christine Sinclair. It hit the underside of the bar and appeared to cross the line, but Sinclair reacted quickest to make sure. It was then only a matter of time before Canada increased their lead further and with seven minutes remaining Sinclair got her second of the afternoon. A through ball pierced the South African defence and she coolly beat Mndaweni with a low side footed shot.

Admission: £20 
Programme: £5 (football tournament)
Attendance: 14,753   


Some more photos of the ground and fans can be viewed below:

Two Herts - part 2

ROYSTON TOWN 2-1 HISTON
Saturday 21st July 2012
Pre-Season Friendly
Garden Walk, Royston

Following on from the 12.30pm kick-off at nearby Baldock I head nine miles eastwards along the A505 to Royston. I arrived at the ground with around twenty minutes before kick-off, but due to parking being at a premium I parked at the Town Hall car park, which is a few minutes walk away and only cost 50p due to it being free after 3pm.

The town grew up around the crossing of two ancient throughfare - Ermine Street and Icknield Way and is located in north-east Hertfordshire and has a population of around 14,500. It is situated on the Greenwich Meridian and is 14 miles south west of Cambridge and 44 miles north of London.

The football club were founded in 1875 and a list of some of their first team honours are listed below:

Spartan South Midlands League champions: 2011/12

Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division Cup winners: 2011/12

Spartan South Midlands League Floodlit Cup winners: 2008/09; 2009/10; 2010/11; 2011/12

Spartan South Midlands League Division 1 winners: 2008/09

Spartan South Midlands League Division 1 Cup winners: 2008/09

South Midlands League Division 1 winners: 1977/78

South Midlands League Floodlit Cup winners: 1994/95

Herts County League champions: 1976/77

Herts County League Division 1 winners: 1969/70; 1972/73 

Herts Charity Shield winners: 1981/82; 1989/90; 1996/97

Creake Charity Shield winners: 1911/12

The ground is one I liked immediately with the wooden fencing surround the pitch instead of the bog standard metal making a pleasant change. There are three seperate areas of covered accommodation at the ground - two stands (one seated and one standing) plus a lean-to from the clubhouse. The clubhouse was refurbished and decorated during the summer and has a very modern feel about it. 

The was pretty decent, especially for a pre-season outing and despite the warm weather was played at a high temp throughout the first half. Royston caught their higher ranked opponents cold by scoring inside sixty seconds, though this was helped by a spillage from the Histon keeper that fell kindly into the path of Matt Standon. Histon were rattled and it came as no surprise when Royston doubled their lead on eight minutes, as Martin Standon headed home a corner. Histon never settled and very rarely troubled the home defence during the opening forty-five minutes, while Royston played with pace and gave the Histon defence no time or space on the ball. 


The second half was only a few minutes old when Histon got a goal back with an unstoppable header that flew past the Royston keeper. Even though it was a friendly pride is a powerful emotion and I expected Histon to throw the kitchen sink at their hosts. This didn't materialise and it was a fairly even second period. 


It is always difficult to gauge teams in pre-season games, but I feel Royston should have enough about them to at least make the play-offs in the Southern League Central Division.

Admission: £4
Programme: Free
Badge: £2.50
Attendance: c200


A slideshow of thirty photos of the ground and game can be viewed below:



A cracking pre-season double, helped by the glorious weather and Graham Norton not being on Radio 2 but instead was a DJ who I had never heard of before, John Holmes who played some cracking tunes and some banter with his guests. Enjoy "50 Ways To Say Goodbye" by Train:

Two Herts - part 1

BALDOCK TOWN 1-0 LINTON GRANTA
Saturday 21st July 2012
Pre-season Friendly
The North Herts Arena, Norton Road, Baldock

For the second successive Saturday I have managed to find two games to attend in one afternoon. Following my trip "up north" last week I head in the opposite direction today with 12.30pm and 3pm kick-offs. The first of these sees me travel 75 miles, firstly south on the M1 to junction 13 before heading across country along the A507. The final part of the journey sees me turn right off the A507 onto Norton Road which takes me to Baldock and the North Herts Arena.

Baldock Town were formed in 2003 as Baldock FC and played in division 1 of the North Herts League in their debut season. A fifth place finish was achieved, while the following season they secured promotion to the premier division after finishing in 3rd place. Just one season was spent in the premier division, as in 2006 Baldock became founder members of the North & Mid Herts League (NMHL). Also in the summer of 2006 the club changed their name to Baldock Town FC. The clubs spell in the NMHL was short lived as the club achieved promotion to the Herts County Senior League (HCSL). The found their new surroundings to their liking and they ended the season as division 1 champions. This was rewarded with promotion to the premier division. Another name changed occurred in 2008 as the club became known as Baldock Town Letchworth FC. The first three seasons in the HCSL saw Baldock finish in 3rd place twice and 4th once. In 2011 there was a third change of name with the club reverting back to their previous name of Baldock Town. The 2011/12 season saw the club become HCSL champions for the first time as they lost only three games in their thirty match programme.

Baldock itself is an historic market town located in the North Hertfordshire District of....surprise surprise Hertfordshire. The town is located thirty-three miles north of London and fifteen miles south east of Bedford. The county town of Hertford is around fourteen miles to the south east. 

It is believed the town was founded in the 1140's by the Knights Templar, and one theory of the origin of the name of the town is that it is a derivation from the Old French for Baghdad Baldac, which the Templars hoped to conquer during the crusades. The modern layout of the town, and many buildings are from the 16th century.

The Knights Templar

To be honest history is not one of my strongest subjects and have very little knowledge of the crusades and had never even heard of the Knights Templar. 

The following is taken from the Wikipedia page on the subject:

"The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Latin: Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici), commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple (French: Ordre du Temple or Templiers) or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders. The organization existed for nearly two centuries during the Middle Ages.

Officially endorsed by the Catholic Church around 1129, the Order became a favored charity throughout Christendom, and grew rapidly in membership and power. Templar knights, in their distinctive white mantles with a red cross, were among the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades. Non-combatant members of the Order managed a large economic infrastructure throughout Christendom, innovating financial techniques that were an early form of banking, and building fortifications across Europe and the Holy Land.

A seal of the Knights Templar

The Templars' existence was tied closely to the Crusades; when the Holy Land was lost, support for the Order faded. Rumors about the Templars' secret initiation ceremony created mistrust, and King Philip IV of France, deeply in debt to the Order, took advantage of the situation. In 1307, many of the Order's members in France were arrested, tortured into giving false confessions, and then burned at the stake. Under pressure from King Philip, Pope Clement V disbanded the Order in 1312. The abrupt disappearance of a major part of the European infrastructure gave rise to speculation and legends, which have kept the "Templar" name alive into the modern day." 


After arriving at The North Herts Arena I was charged £1 for the admission and a further £1 for a programme, and was informed that the ground was used by the previous club that bore the Baldock Town FC name who folded in 2001. There are two sets of tip-up seating on the near side, a small stand on the far side that sits between the two dugouts and some terracing on the left hand side. The pitch is now an artificial surface and a cage surrounds the pitch, though the stand on the far side is not restricted by this. 

The game was pretty decent as pre-season games go. Linton Granta who won the Cambridgeshire County League last season settled quicker and looked threatening and creating numerous chances to boot. It took a while for the hosts to get into the game but as the half wore on created a few half chances but nothing that gave Linton much concern. The second period saw Linton come out like they started the first, and had two excellent chances. The first was a long range effort that was superbly saved by the Baldock keeper and the second was cleared off the line. Baldock posed more of a threat going forward and they scored the only goal of the game with around ten minutes remaining after a ball across the face of the goal was turned in at the far post.


Following the final whistle it was a short drive eastwards to Royston for game two of the afternoon.


Admission: £1
Programme: £1
Attendance: 31 (head count)


A slideshow of twenty photos of the ground and game can be viewed below:

Pre-season double

Saturday 14th July 2012


PARKGATE 0-6 ROTHERHAM UNITED
Roundwood Stadium, Green Lane, Rawmarsh

Two games for me yesterday as originally I was going to watch some American Football, then a noon kick off caught my eye between Parkgate and Rotherham United. Decision made and then it was a case to what to go and watch at 3pm - a good friend of mine Rob Hornby got in touch to say he was going to watch Glapwell v Shirebrook @ Clune Street in Clowne. Decision made again and the plan was sorted.

I left home at around 9.45 for the journey north up the M1 to Rawmarsh, a small town located a few miles north of Rotherham. The traffic was light and the journey uneventful. On arriving at the Roundwood Sports Complex the car park was already full, but luckily I found a space at the entrance to the slip road that takes you down to the complex. The complex is host not only to the football club, but bowls club, golf course and cricket club as well. Rotherham United also have their training ground at the site. 

Admission to the game was £5 but this was kindly waved for me on the condition that I allow them to use the photos I took. A further £1.50 was spent on a programme, £3.50 on a club badge and £2 on raffle tickets.

The ground is very tight and compact and spectators are allowed on two sides of the ground only. There is a seated stand on the side where the entrance is and there is further cover along the other side of the ground.

As expected Rotherham won this game comfortably with four goals in the first half and a further two in the second. It could and probably should have been more but in the end it was a good workout for both teams and also enabled Parkgate to bring in some much needed income. 

A slideshow of photos of the ground and game can be viewed below:





GLAPWELL 2-0 SHIREBROOK TOWN
Clune Street Recreaton Ground, Clowne


For my second game of the day I made the twenty mile journey south to the village of Clowne in Derbyshire. With Rob Hornby already there I arrived with around ten minutes to kick-off. As expected there was nothing in the way of spectator or pitch side facilities, and to be honest I would not normally have come this far from Leicester to watch a game at a venue like this.


A report on the game can be found on Glapwell's website @ http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/glapwell/news/winning-start-to-pre-season-620310.html


Nineteen photos of the game can be viewed in the slideshow below:





Finally last but not least Rob Hornby has his own charity blog "Around the Grounds 2012-13" and this can be viewed @ http://aroundthegrounds2012-13.blogspot.co.uk/

football is back

E.M.R. 6-3 A.F.C. SPORTING CHARNWOOD
Sunday 8th July 2012
Leicester Sunday League Summer Competition Grp B
Guthlaxton College, Station Road, Wigston


My first game of the 2012/13 football season, but for these two teams this will be round 5 in this competition that started back in May, with fixtures resuming last week after a break in June. I did go and watch a game in the opening round of matches which was between these two sides - Charnwood won 3-1 @ Brockington College in Enderby.


The results so far in Group B are as follows:


13/05: AFC Sporting Charnwood 3-1 EMR
20/05: AFC Sporting Charnwood 2-4 Shakespeare; EMR 2-4 Kilby Town
27/05: Kilby Town 1-3 AFC Sporting Charnwood; EMR 0-4 Shakespeare
01/07: Shakespeare 3-2 EMR; AFC Sporting Charnwood 1-3 Kilby Town

	TEAM	PLY	WON	DRW	LST	FOR	AGA	PTS
1	Shakespeare	3	3	0	0	11	4	9
2	Kilby Town	3	2	0	1	8	6	6
3	AFC Sporting Charnwood	4	2	0	2	9	9	6
4	EMR	4	0	0	4	5	14	0

This game was played on the artificial surface at Guthlaxton College and was an entertaining game I will likely to see all season. Both teams were intent on attacking from the start and it took only a few minutes for the opening goal. This came from the visitors from Shepshed, but by the end of the half the game had turned in the favour of EMR who led 3-1. The second half continued in the same attacking vain and five further goals were scored. 


Some photos taken of the game can be viewed in the slideshow below:
 

A summer update

During the month of June I have managed to keep myself busy by watching some different sports. This involved three rugby league games and one american football game:

02/06: Leicester Storm 24-16 Northampton Demons (Midlands Rugby League Premier Division @ New College, Leicester)

09/06: Leicester Falcons 44-6 Doncaster Mustangs (BAFA National Leagues Premiership North)

16/06: Nottingham Outlaws 30-22 St. Albans Centurions (National Conference League Division 3)

30/06: Coventry Bears 28-12 St. Albans Centurions (National Conference League Division 3)

I did take my camera to the american football game and the last rugby league game and slideshows of the photos taken can be viewed below:

I do have plans for July but this will be dependent on the weather as the forecast for the foreseeable future is rain. At the moment it looks something like this:

07/07: either a rugby league game or a pre-season friendly between Beeston AFC and Kimberley Miners Welfare (@ Olympia Sports Centre, Chilwell)

14/07: american football - Tamworth Phoenix v Leicester Falcons (@ Lichfield RFC)

21/07: Attenborough v Clifton (pre-season friendly @ Arnold Hill School)

24/07: Thrapston Town v Ringstead Rangers (pre-season friendly @ Titchmarsh Playing Fields)

28/07: the only definite - Women's Olympic Football (@ Coventry)  

A change of plan...

Nearly three months ago I made a decision to put All Roads Lead Somewhere to bed as it were, but influenced by numerous requests to reconsider this I have had a change of heart and bowed to peer pressure and reversed my decision.


It is debatable whether the posts will contain as much detail as in previous seasons, but one thing is guaranteed and that is there will be plenty of obscure football clubs visited during the course of the season. These will be alongside a visit to London for the Olympics in early August and a few more of the grounds in the '92.


Cheers


The Rambler