On Saturday morning I was watching highlights of Hannover 96 v Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga and then USA v Finland in the women’s ice hockey at the Winter Olympics.
Both finished 3-1. Then it was down to the business of ‘phoning round the grounds to find a match that was on.
I’d had my eye on St Albans City v Weymouth in the Southern League’s Premier Division for a few days.
I hadn’t been there for a while and the Clarence Park pitch can usually absorb the rain. I also had in mind Bromley, Carshalton, Dulwich and Wealdstone among others but there was nothing doing at any of those places.
The game is on and the teams come on
I’m reading that some clubs haven’t played a home match for two months. The ‘Big Splash’ is proving to be more problematic than the ‘Big Freeze’!
St Pancras to St Albans took less than 20 minutes on the train. As we proceeded northwards, the sky was getting darker and darker.
Moments after stepping onto the platform I was in the huddled mass by the ticket windows who witnessed a spectacular hailstorm.
I’ve personally never seen anything so severe and there were literally piles of little white pebbles on the road to the ground.
The pitch looked to be in a good condition and I stood in the cold wind behind one goal with the substantial ‘Saints’ following in a decent crowd of 762.
Fans queue up for much needed hot drinks at half-time
The home side’s strategy of all-out attack produced three goals and a few other scrambles in the first half.
They have scored over 100 goals in all competitions this season and are now third in the table.
I moved to the back of the covered bit along the side for the second half, where it got colder and windier and started to rain. This half was uneventful by comparison and there were no further goals.
I don’t think anyone on or off the pitch particularly appreciated five minutes of stoppage time. Then I couldn’t feel my hands or feet as I tried to speed-walk through the puddles back to the station.
The Regent’s Park pitches were too muddy for football yesterday morning but apparently perfect for women’s rugby, with two matches going on.
So my only other match in the last week was Fulham v Sheffield United in an FA Cup Fourth Round replay on Tuesday evening.
With the Tube strike due to start at 9pm or 9.30pm, depending where you looked, it inevitably went to extra time.
I saw Fulham draw 1-1 with Sheffield United in a Fourth Round tie back in 1967. The scorers were Allan ‘Sniffer’ Clarke and Mick Jones, both of whom went on to play for Leeds United and England.
I was standing right at the back of the then open Putney Bridge End with my dad and it was definitely a better match than Tuesday’s.
Matches this season = 122
Matches in total = 6,587
Twitter: @thebarberfan
