Tinpot Are on the Way to Wembley - Tipton Town 2 Market Drayton 0 - FA Carlsberg Vase 2nd Round - 17/11/07

My options were plentiful as I set off from work in Solihull, I had plenty of time to get to a plethora of games. I thought about going to Bewdley Town but that might have been cutting it a bit close but there was still Dudley Sports, Lye Town, Bilston who are still playing at picturesque Bantock Park and the one I was really trying for, Oldbury United who are currently ensconced at Pelsall. Oldbury were playing Dunkirk in the Vase and it was Blog pun heaven (Dunkirk spirit and all that!).
Then I reached the outskirts of Birmingham and ground to a halt, Christmas shopping has obviously started then! It took me another hour to do seven miles and I was left with just one possibility, a quick jaunt the couple of miles to Tipton Sports Academy and their FA Vase tie against Market Drayton. Cameron and I made it for kick off though and even managed to grab tea (60p) and bacon butties (£1.60) before taking our seats.

On paper this would probably go down as an away win, Market Drayton are sitting just below the leaders in The Midland Alliance with a couple of games in hand and Tipton have been struggling for goals recently and sit lower mid-table in the same division, although I note from the programme (£1 I think) that they had scored four goals in each of their last two games. Mind you four of those were against the rather less than good Brereton Social, currently propping up the Midland Combination Premier Division.

Quick confession. I forgot to charge up the batteries in my camera! So no pictures again. I am so good at this! To that end I have pinched a couple of pictures of the Tipton badge and team from their website.
Hope you don't mind and they will, of course, be removed on request. I think the webmaster posts on Tony Kempster's forum so I'll go and confess on there in a bit!

Anyway, to the game, in between jumping up and down and kicking a football around with Cameron I did watch some of it, and Tipton started excellently, a couple of times they threatened to unlock the Drayton defence and finally did so after about twenty minutes, Calum Martin latching onto an excellent through ball to slot home confidently. Four minutes later they scored again, Danny Bragoli showing that he's lethal from a yard out after the ball had hit the post and rolled along the goalmouth.

For the rest of the half, indeed for the rest of the game, Market Drayton vainly tried to get back into it, but a combination of stout defending, good goalkeeping (even if he does tend to punch rather than catch a bit too often) and woeful finishing meant that Tipton progress to the third round. Dreams of Wembley perhaps? Well maybe not, there's another four rounds and plenty of good teams out there yet but you never know do you?
Tipton, famous for Stayvie Bull and scratchings but maybe one day for a football team as well?

Hmmm...scratchings, although some might say you'd be better off eating the pencil.

Attendance - 88
Price - £5 Adults £2.50 Kids
Programme - 28 pages £1
Temperature - Cold, very, very cold.
Tamworth watch - Lost 3-2 at Harrogate, only three points above the relegation zone, a win needed very soon.

Ever Wish You Hadn't Bothered? - Tamworth 1 Nuneaton Borough 2 - Blue Square North - 10/11/07

This weekend saw three notable local derbies, Newcastle and Sunderland fought out a gripping 1-1 draw at The Stadium of Light, Villa edged out Birmingham City 2-1 in a typically passionate Second City derby with help from Agent Ridgewell (ex-Villa defender now playing for Blues and scorer of an own goal to put Villa one up), and then there was this turgid heap of rubbish which had all the passion of watching your Grandmother trying to snog your Grandad after one too many sherries at Christmas. (I'm not sure this simile works - Ed)

I'm having serious doubts that Gary "I know this league" Mills is the man to take Tamworth forward, the team still lacks cohesion three months into the season and we certainly lacked any fight and commitment to the cause in this match. A recent unbeaten run in the league was a bit misleading as most of these were draws, a couple of them admirably snatched from the jaws of victory! Still, we continue to turn up, but a crowd of only 1300 for the first competitive game against the Scummers for a few seasons with over 400 of those coming from Banjo Town should be ringing alarm bells, the people of Tamworth need little encouragement to find other things to do on a Saturday as it is without serving up this tripe when they do bother to turn up.

I didn't even have the luxury of being able to sink a few pre-match anasthetics, I was driving once again due to work commitments, I need a new job. Those that do enjoy a pre-match beer and fag have at last been given a smoking shelter outside the clubhouse, the club shop has had to make way but it has been temporarily replaced by a lovely bright yellow gazebo! Smashing.

A not so Evil Gazebo!

The Shed Choir were really up for this game, it often takes a while for the full repertoire of songs to come out but they were being aired before kick-off, unfortunately this passion and belief was not transmitted to the players who started off by looking really put out by the fact that Nuneaton had the cheek to tackle them. We conceded the midfield very early on and never got it back, in fact we mainly bypassed it altogether. hoof-ball in a swirling wind, great tactics Gary!

Nuneatons first goal was a tap-in following some comedy defending, the one time our defenders really should have just leathered it they opted not to bother! The pattern of the game thus decided The Shed had to find something to do between neck massages and decided baiting ex-Tamworth manager Ray Bradbury, now doing something or other at Manor Park, fitted the bill nicely. He took it in good spirit but I was disappointed that nobody noticed that he is looking more and more like the bloke out of The League of Gentlemen.

Tamworth did actually put a few attacks together towards the end of the half, Sheldon came close with a curling shot from the edge of the area and we might have had a penalty on 41 minutes when Robinson appeared to be fouled but the referee decided that Robbo's backwards three-and-a-half somersault in the pike position was maybe a dive. That was as good as it got though.

The weather deteriorated after half-time, and Tamworth deteriorated with it, none of the substitutions made a blind bit of difference and the inevitable happened on 58 minutes when another piece of awful defending left Brown one on one with Viega and it was all over. Actually I think they might have scored before we made any subs? Oh well, games like this tend to destroy brain cells quicker than drinking Absinthe.

Another abysmal bit of defending gifted Nuneaton their second, I'm not sure exactly how or why nobody decided to tackle or pick up the run of the Nuneaton forward but they didn't and the game was over.

Or was it? A heavily deflected cross from Des Lyttle somehow squirmed past Acton and we were back in it. So, a do-or-die all-out assault on the Nuneaton goal for the last twenty minutes to salvage some pride in this local derby then? Don't be so bloody stupid, this is the new toothless tigers of Tamworth and they barely created another chance. The game petered out and Nuneaton claimed the bragging rights for a few months.

There was a lot of booing at full-time, I don't necessarily agree with it myself but it's understandable. I don't think Mills has many games left to get this team playing well again, a defeat at Harrogate next week (not an easy game at all) followed by defeat away to Stalybridge in the FA Trophy might just do for him, they say you shouldn't go back to an old club, maybe Gary Mills is regretting doing so.

In a new but welcome innovation, Tamworth's new stand has been built so that spectators have no view of the pitch. (Cheers Trickers!)

Attendance - 1305
Price - £10 Adults £5 Kids
Entertainment Value - 1/10
Randall's new Prodigy tribute act - Scorching

Still No Football So..........

Have a picture of an animal that looks like a wrinkly penis with teeth:

Two weeks without football, look at what I'm driven to!

Yep, a combination of work and other circumstances have left me football-less for two whole weeks, and once again I find myself stuck in the office without even a radio.
I do, however, have some internet access so what I'm going to do this afternoon is have the Sky Sports vidiprinter and the brand new Non-League Vidiprinter both running and I'm going to blog the action as it comes in!
This will be exciting won't it boys and girls?!

14:49 - The tension is unbearable as kick-off time approaches, I will mostly be following the fortunes of Aston Villa at home to "Premiership Whipping Boys" (Copyright all the tabloids) Derby and Tamworth away at Southport, a place we rarely get anything. I will also add anything else of interest if I can be bothered.

14:52 - In the early kick-offs, The Arse and Man Utd drew 2-2 in the only game Sky seem to have been bothered about for weeks, Celtic have won at Kilmarnock and Hartlepool are winning at Millwall 1-0.

14:58 - Stuttgart have taken the lead at Nurnburg.

15:02 - As I eagerly await the first goal the tension is unbearable...or something.

15:04 - And away we go as Rangers take the lead at home to Inverness and Morecambe score at Chesterfield.

15:06 - Still waiting for something to pop up on the NL Vidiprinter, but as it mostly relys on people at the games texting scores in it will inevitably be behind, still a good idea if it takes off though.

15:08 - Aha! The NL vidiprinter is working and Hayes & Yeading have taken the lead at home to Eastleigh. First Conference, sorry, Blue Square Premier goal comes at The Ray McEnhill where the visitors Grays are 1-0 up against Salisbury.

15:12 - First Premiership goal, Newcastle 0-1 Portsmouth.
Cheshunt are 1-0 up against Cirencester, I've just given the guys on the H&V Aston Villa forum that news, I'm sure they'll be pleased.

15:16 - Newcastle 0-3 Portsmouth, after 11 minutes, blimey!
First goal in Tamuff's division sees Workington take the lead at Solihull Poors.

15:18 - Havant & Waterlooville winning 1-0 against Hampton & Redbridge, if those two teams merged they could be called Hampton & Havant & Redbridge & Waterlooville!

15:22 - After 20 minutes it doesn't appear as if anyone at all has scored in The Championship. Newcassul have pulled one back and Chelski are 2 up at Wigan. Burton and Stafford are both 1-0 down at home to Kiddy and Excreter.

15:25 - Nowt from Villa or Tamuff yet.
Both Mansfiled and 'Uddersfield have notched three already, Klattering have taken the lead at home to Blyth Spartans.

15:28 - We have a Championship goal, Wolves take the lead against Bristol City.
And it appears that whoever was texting the Tamworth scores was just a big tease at The Lambs scored in the fifth and sixth minutes are are 2-0 up - Yippee!!!!

15:33 - The astonishing Leeds revival continues as they take the lead at Carlisle. They would be something like 11 points clear if they hadn't had 15 points deducted, still hate them though.

15:40 - West Brom 2-0 up at Watford, bit of a surprise there.
Alfreton 1-0 up at Harrogate which is probably an even bigger surprise. Boston, Vauxhall and Leigh also winning.

15:45 - Approaching half time and the only Premiership game without a goal is of course at Villa Park!

15:55 - Michael Briscoe and Tony Robinson scored for Tamworth, a win should see us into the top half of the table.

16:02 - Second halves should be starting. Big Ron Atkinson's Halesown Town might be heading for their first win since the daft racist became Director of Football, they are 1-0 up against Tiverton.

16:07 - First goal of the second-half comes from Edgar Street at Hereford go 3-1 up against Darlo.

16:12 Luke Young has just apparently scored a cracker to equalise for the Smog Monsters against Spuds.

16:14 - The Boggies are now 3-0 up at Watford! What's going on there? Reading have equalised at Fulham and the scorer is a player I really wish Villa would sign, Kevin Doyle.

16:17 - QPR have certainly turned things around recently, they are 2-0 up against Hull, as have Walsall who are now also 2-0 up at home to Cheltenham.
And we have gasps of "phew" and "get in" on H&V so I think Villa might finally have scored.

16:20 - Yep! Martin Laursen, lethal from a yard out, 1-0 Villa.
Mansfield become the first team to hit 5, Macc Town being the stufees.

16:23 - H&V is well ahead of SkySports, they are saying 2-0 Villa, Ashley, I say Ashley Young the scorer.

16:26 - It was Luke Moore not our Ashley. Coventry winning 2-0 away at Stoke, there's a few surprises in The Championship.

16:28 - No it was Ashley after all! Ach, who cares?
Vauxhall have equalised against Wusster and Mick Hucknall has taken a shock lead at Stalybridge.

16:32 - DON'T PANIC!! Southport have pulled one back, 2-1 to Tamuff.
Carlisle 2-1 up against Dirty Leeds and Pompey have score four at Newcastle (couldn't happen to two nicer sets of fans!).

16:35 - Leigh RMI are level after pulling back from 2-0 down against Boston.

16:40 - Birmingham City keep picking up points - they have equalised at Everton. Coventry 3-1 up at Stoke.

16:44 - Just waiting for the flurry of last gasp goals that always seem to occur, I'd rather it stayed the same at Haig Avenue though, unless Tamworth nick another one. Stafford 4-1 down to Excreter, looks like they'll be joining us next season.

16:50 - Full-times starting to filter in.
Cambridge Utd have scored to take a late lead at Torquay, and Mick Hucknall is doing well, he's now 2-0 up at Stalybridge.

16:52 - Excreter now 5-1 up at Stafford and Solihull Poors have equalised in the last minute against Workington, 2-2.
HA! Everton win in injury time agains Birmingham!

16:55 - In fact Everton make it three. Kettering have beaten Blyth 1-0.
Oh, and what a flaming surprise, Southport have equalised, well b*gger me with a fish fork!

16:59 - Halesowen didn't get their first win for Big Fat Racist Ron, it finished 1-1 at Tiverton. Leaders of BS North Harrogate have lost 1-0 to Alfreton.
It fifnished 2-2 at Haig Avenue, so we couldn't hold on and we get yet another draw, too many draws this season might cost us a play-off place. Still, I would certainly have taken a point before KO but it's galling to be 2-0 up and not win, I'll await the reports from the faithful that went. Villa did win 2-0 BTW.

There you go, wasn't it fun?

Might do that again if I end up stuck at work when there's football on, it certainly passed the time quickly enough, Byeeee!!!