The following article appeared in the programme for Racing Club Warwick v Quorn on 20th March 2007.
The
ongoing saga of one man’s season.
Wednesday
31st January – Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur, Carling Cup Semi-Final 2nd
Leg
Fresh back from Barcelona and I got the word from work that
there was some corporate hospitality up for grabs at the Emirates stadium if I
fancied it. Did I fancy it? Do bears leave little packages in the woods?
Regular readers will know of my sympathies towards the Lillywhites and I’ve
never quite got over the League Cup Semi-Final between the same two clubs
exactly 20 years ago when Spurs led for most of the two-legged tie and also the
replay before ending up having their hopes crushed by the Gooners thanks to
four late goals. A chance for revenge then or was it? I remarked before kick
off that Arsenal’s fiendish ploy of selecting their youthful second string
meant that Spurs simply could not win no matter what the result. A victory for
Spurs and the Arsenal fans would simply shrug and say that Tottenham wouldn’t
have beaten the first team whilst a win for Arsenal and they could really crow
at their superiority over their near neighbours.
I’ve said it before and I’ll no doubt say it again.
The Emirates stadium is truly magnificent. My visit earlier in the season for
Arsenal’s Champions League game against CSKA was as an ordinary fan. Tonight I
was to be wined and dined in the hospitality area and, frankly, it blew me
away. We arrived in an area that was reminiscent of a modern gentleman’s club
being met by a cloakroom attendant who was taking coats at the door. Inside I
discovered a restaurant and bar area that was truly high quality. Perhaps not
quite The Ivy but certainly at the upper end of dining experiences in London. The food was a bit
nouveau cuisine for my tastes and certainly there was no chance of burger and
chips but this was without a doubt classy. Upon completion of the meal there
was nothing for it but to push back my plate and wander outside into the
reserved spectator area just as the match was about to kick off and luxuriate
in the plush seating (imagine an armchair and you’ve more-or-less got it).
Arsenal’s second-string are an amazing sight. They
remind me of Manchester United’s young side that led to that infamous remark by
Alan Hansen that “You don’t win anything with kids” before United promptly did
win almost everything for the rest of the 1990’s. Spurs to be fair had a fair
number of first choice players missing but, as the match wore on, the
youngsters in red began to assert themselves more and more. Adebayor notched
one on 77 minutes and it looked all over for Spurs. Jol threw on the rest of
his substitutes and, unexpectedly, Mido equalised with 5 minutes to go. With no
further scoring we were into extra time but sadly Spurs simply failed to show
for the added 30 minutes. They were never in it from the 91st minute
onwards as Arsenal’s babes passed them to death. It was no surprise when
Aliadiere lashed one in just before the turn around and the Gooners finished it
off on 113 minutes forcing an error from Chimbonda with an own goal the result.
So Arsenal go to Cardiff to face Chelsea having already despatched Liverpool
at Anfield and their deadly rivals Spurs in the Semi-Final. Can they overcome
the most expensively assembled side in Europe?
Probably! But even if they don’t, my tip would be for you to bet your house
that Arsenal will win the Premiership next season and probably a few more times
thereafter. Yes the kids are that good and boy does it hurt me to say that.
Saturday
3rd February – Racing Club v Oldbury United, Midland Alliance
Back to a more bread and butter affair on Saturday
with the visit of Oldbury to Hampton
Road. This game never looked likely to yield many
goals and it was little surprise when it finished goalless although the
non-believers amongst our ranks probably took some pleasure from the surprising
lack of a last minute killer goal from our visitor. A clean sheet for the first
time since our win at Atherstone on September 16th and our first at Hampton road since the 1-0
win over Boldmere on April 1st 2006! So that’s the positives out of
the way. Realistically the match was never going to be a classic on the Hampton
Road quagmire and I challenge you to reel off a list of memorable highlights –
there really weren’t any – forgettable I think is the best description. One
shot from the dangerous Matty Brown hit the woodwork but that was about it and
Oldbury could have felt a little hard done by when a couple of their players
bit the dust when arguably clean through on goal. Overall this should probably
be considered as a point won by Racing club rather than two dropped and let’s
leave it at that.
Tuesday
13th February – Racing Club v Biddulph Victoria, Midland Alliance
No match for Racing Club the following Tuesday due
to a frozen pitch and nor on the Saturday as Leicestershire blizzards meant
that Loughborough Dynamo away was cancelled. Match action was therefore resumed
10 days after the Oldbury game with the visit of relegation rivals and recent
conquerors of runaway league leaders Leamington:
Biddulph Victoria (!). Racing Club went into the game on 18 points with
Biddulph on 21 but also a hugely inferior goal difference that meant a win for
our boys would haul them up a place in the table. The pitch was once again a
quagmire but those supporters who hold the theory that Racing Club can only
perform on hard pitches were about to have to eat their words.
Racing Club took the lead after only four minutes
courtesy of a cool finish from Jamie Hammersley. Yes I said Jamie Hammersley!
Long overdue for a goal he probably had his most effective game in a Warwick shirt on the
night. Let’s hope that the floodgates are now well and truly open and that
there’s many more to come. Racing Club joy was doubled just five minutes later
as Matty Brown made it two with a similar effort to the first one. Biddulph
were well and truly on the back foot after only nine minutes and there were
chances at both ends as the rest of the first half flew by. The next goal was
going to be crucial and our boys got it after 66 minutes as Ubong finally put
one away with manager for the night Bernie holding up Ubong’s number on the
side lines! A great finish but why couldn’t he have finished an easier
one-on-one chance a few minutes earlier? Racing Club were now home and hosed as
the saying goes and further chances for both sides culminated in a corker from substitute
James Vale in the final minute. Yes that’s James Vale - what a night for
reticent scorers to come out of the woodwork! My man of the match was Jamie
Newland who also performed well in his wing back role throughout as did Ryan
Willetts. Pretty well everybody performed well on the night as we secured a 4-0
victory that their performances deserved. Remember that this was our first
league victory since Causeway United on September 26th - the woes of
four-and-a-half winless months in the league were finally banished. And we
should not let our second clean sheet go unremarked as Tom Farmer really earned
that prize with several high quality saves. The last time we had two successive
clean sheets? That’ll be fifteen months previous in November 2005! Happy days
are here again!
Saturday
17th February – Leamington v Retford United, FA Vase 5th
Round
Following
our stonking victory on the Tuesday night Racing Club players and fans alike
were no doubt disappointed to learn that the home game against Romulus on the Saturday
was called off because of that pitch once again. Faced with the prospect of no
game to watch there was really only one place to go on this particular
Saturday. Though we hate to admit it down Hampton Road, our local rivals are having
one hell of a season and, in addition to being out of sight at the top of the
league, are looking in serious danger of being one of the first visitors to the
new Wembley Stadium courtesy of the FA Vase. Their visitors on this day’s fifth
round tie were Nottinghamshire-based Northern Counties East side Retford
United, no fools themselves being nicely placed for an end of season assault on
their own league title. Retford even possess a full international in Neil
Harvey, a member of Barbados’
national side.
Leamington’s success this season meant
that this tie was sure to be well attended and, with Retford bringing a fair
few supporters themselves, the attendance bar at the New Windmill Ground was
raised to a new high with 1,380 spectators passing through the turnstiles on
the day. Racing Club fans, and there were a few in attendance on the day, had
the interest of former favourites such as Moreton Titterton and, more recently,
Ben Mackey appearing for the Brakes with Andy Gregory a non-playing substitute
on the bench. No sign of Tom Cudworth however and judging by the quality of the
Brakes back four on the day I think he may have a job on to win back his place.
The
match itself was a closely fought affair but I felt that throughout the Brakes
looked like they might create a chance whenever they had the ball whereas
Retford struggled to find an opening. On the half hour mark a fabulous run into
the box by Jamie Towers was converted by Ben Mackey to
his obvious cart wheeling delight. One-nil at the break but the second half was
pretty well one way traffic as Leamington were three up within 10 minutes of
the restart (and yes, another one from Mackey). The game was as good as over
and Warwick’s Boxing Day tormentor Dave Pearson
helped himself to a second with Leamington’s
other goal being put away by Jon Adams. Retford scored what was a consolation
goal in the 88th minute to leave the final score at Leamington 5
Retford United 1 and Leamington looking forward to a sixth round away trip to
Curzon Ashton (it’s near Stockport). Leamington will have to win the Vase this season if they
are ever going to as, once promoted, they’ll no longer be eligible and will
have to pit their wits in the FA Trophy instead. Still, at least that’ll leave
the way clear for Racing Club to launch an assault on the Vase next season!
Keep the faith!
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