Herve’s adventures of winwin
In 2004, Herve Renaud was sacked as manager of Cambridge United. He had won 4 of 25 matches while in charge in a season that saw Cambridge relegated to the Conference. Now, who was the manager of Saudi Arabia when they beat Argentina 2-1? None other than Herve Renaud.
…was a merry old soul
A fascinating line-up at Elmore AFC last week, with their 9, 10 and Jack forming an interesting trio. I may have heard it wrong, but I think I heard white.
The game’s result was a 5-0 away loss for Elmore at Ivybridge Town, which was played at, let me see, I’m not sure, hold on, it was Erme Playing Fields. This game took place in the South West Peninsula East Division, although I’m more curious about the West Division, which features Sticker AFC.
World Cup tables
Group A ends with the hosts in the bottom place – what you might call base Qatar. You would have thought they could have pulled a few strings to have finished higher than that. Still, they might end on a high note.
Getting all the ducks in a row
My old friends at Aylesbury United took part in an extraordinary game in the Southern League Division One Central Division at Hertford Town. After going 3-0 down in 32 minutes, the Ducks pulled back to 3-3 with three goals three minutes either side of half-time. However, in the 82nd minute, Hertford Town regained the lead. Mukwade levelled the scores a second time for the Ducks with a last-minute goal, making the final score 4-4. Am I being too imaginative to think that two ducks on water look like 4-4? Also, is Mukwade a breed of duck? Mysterious, indeed.
Toon Army visit to the Mighty Reds?
You might be wondering why Newcastle United were playing at Old Trafford this weekend with the World Cup taking place. Well, it was Newcastle Town from Staffordshire that were visiting Trafford FC. Trafford is a mile on the opposite side of the M60, a motorway dividing Trafford FC from their more illustrious neighbours. The score was 2-2, although we’re curious whether one of Newcastle Town’s scorers was Andy Ritchie? In fact, it was Oliver Ritchie that helped to take a point home for the Toon Army, I mean Castle Army.
We all live in a blue submarine
The draw for the FA Trophy 3rd Round, which is due to be played on December 17th, produced some interesting pairings as the big guns from National League join the competition. Harrow Borough, one of the teams we are following, have been drawn away to Swindon Supermarine. The club always sounds like a cross between a supermarket and a submarine, but the name comes from a merger of Supermarine FC and Swindon Athletic back in the 1990s. Let’s meet at the fish counter for this one.
Tulips blooming in November
Of all the sides in the first four ties of non-League football, Spalding United is the only undefeated team in their respective leagues. On Saturday, they won
2-0 at Gresley Rovers to keep the pressure on Stamford, who are top of the North Premier League Midlands Division. The Tulips from Spalding are five points adrift as they have drawn six of their 17 league games and are level on points with Halesowen Town, who are yet to draw a game.
Saints heading north
It’s FA Vase week next weekend. One tie that caught my eye was Pinchbeck United v. St Panteleimon. It sounded to me like an all-Cornish local derby, but I am miles off. Pinchbeck United, in fact, come from Pinchbeck, which is near Spalding in Lincolnshire. They even groundshare with Spalding United. I swear that I didn’t realise this when I researched Pinchbeck United. Their opponents, St Panteleimon, come from Greenford in Middlesex (or has Middlesex gone now?) and were formed as recently as 2015 from the Greek Orthodox community. Hopefully, my cheque from the Spalding Tourist Board will arrive soon as it is overdue.
Wimborne winner video
When Wimborne Town played Bristol Manor Farm, the score was 1-1 at the end of normal time. Both teams scored in added time to make it 2-2. From the retake, Dan Bartlett scored an amazing winner to make it 3-2 – watch the video. My favourite bit is the sound of the bloke saying, “wwwaaaeeerrrppp” as the ball sails in.
Quiz answers
Finally, the answers to last week’s quiz, asking what connected these FA Trophy and FA Vase teams – Folkestone Invicta, Brentwood Town, Three Bridges, Sevenoaks Town, Leighton Town, Cheltenham Saracens. The answer is that the team names contain the numbers one, two, three, seven, eight and ten. If you got it right, award yourself five points. See you next week.
