Game Seventy Three - Histon v Torquay

4 May 2009

Third game in three eventful days and this time a trip to Cambridge to see Histon take on Torquay in the Blue Square Premier Semi Final 2nd leg. With Torquay two nil up from the first leg, Histon had it all to do but for one day only, they had the support of me and Samantha... what more could they want (other than two goals)?

After a really nice day looking around Cambridge, we headed over to Histon to pick up our tickets, just as the dark clouds started to gather over head.

The stadium itself is basic enough with terracing and seating areas (although for some bizarre reason, the seating area seemed to be closed to your average supporter. Even old folks who struggled to walk were turned away. Odd!)

The main stand is quite nice for non-league though and we had a little wander around before getting something to eat from the little hut and taking our position up behind the goal with the home fans.

We picked out Knight-Percival as the man to watch... just because we liked his name really... and waited for kick off nattering about all random bits and bobs. And look who turned up to join us...

.... Katy and Fez had had taken in both play off games that day, starting with Cambridge in the morning before heading over to this one and they joined us behind the goal just before the teams came out.

Four Leicester fans watching Histon v Torquay... crazy scenes.

Histon started brightly and looked eager to reduce the advantage held by Torquay from the first leg. There was no point in sitting back as they needed two goals and they needed them quickly. A couple of half chances came and went with little success, one effort in particular being fired clean over when at the very least should have made the keeper work. Then, on 16 minutes, the deficit was halved. A deep cross bounced around the box and Neil Andrews smashed it across the keeper and into the net. Game on.

Histon continued to apply the pressure and wasting chances, heading over and putting the ball wide of the target more often than not.

Knight-Percival's corners were proving difficult for the Torquay defence to deal with and in the swirling wind, a couple nearly found their way straight into the net without a touch.

Torquay's only real efforts on goal resulted in a brilliant double save from the Histon keeper to keep his team in it.

The score remained 1-0 up until half time when the heavens opened and with no roof over the area we were standing, we found ourselves getting more and more wet, which we all took in different ways. Katy decided to embrace it:

Sam didn't find the weather amusing at all:

And I just kind of accepted it as a factor of the job.... which also seemed to make my hair go very odd:

After the break, Histon again pushed forward and missed a glorious chance when a cross was volleyed over with the goal at the mercy of the striker. Awful miss and one that could prove costly.

From then on, Torquay shut up shop and the game turned into a dull midfield battle with chances few and far between with us just amsuing ourselves more than the game doing it for us.

The last 15 minutes proved very tense as Torquay continued to sit back and occasionally counter attack and a couple of times they nearly caught Histon napping to seal the game but the keeper was alert or the poor pitch resulted in miss-controlling the ball at crucial times.

As the game moved into stoppage time, we were almost praying for no more goals so we could head home out of the rain and dull game that we were having to stand through. But fate was almost against us as a blatant handball was missed in the Torquay area and from the resulting corner fell kindly to the Histon captain, 10 yards out, but his volley was brilliantly saved onto the crossbar by Poke to send his team through to the final at wembley. Brilliant finish, undeserving of the awful second half.

The Histon players fell to the ground at the final whistle, disappointed to miss out on the trip to the main stage and a possible place in the league. Another ground ticked off for me though and it also gave Sam a boost in her figures too. For once, I think getting another ground out the way was better than the game..... sad but true. At least I got another fun filled day with the girlfriend though so Histon can't be too bad can it?

And it's not over there..... two more games ahead before the end of the season. Two trips to Manchester to see how two of the biggest clubs in England can finish off their seasons... Man Utd v Arsenal and Man City v Bolton. Cannot wait.

Game Seventy Two - Alfreton Town v AFC Telford

3 May 2009

A day after our season ended and I was still hungry for more so me and Samantha jumped into the car and headed over to catch some non-league play off action. Alfreton was the destination for their play off semi final match with Telford, the away side holding a two goal advantage from the first leg.

We had a lazy start from Syston and ended up having a nice drive through the english countryside, passing through some pleasant towns and searching for a nice pub to get something to eat... unfortunately we found a few dodgy pubs on route before finding one that actually made us feel comfortable.
We arrived at The Impact Arena, home of Alfreton in good time and made our way straight into the ground in the bitter wind and bright sunshine. It was quite an odd ground but very pleasant and there was a slight buzz around the place, especially as the thousand or so Telford fans arrived in town. This was arguably the biggest game in Alfreton's history so it was nice to be a part of it.

We watched the teams come out while listening to people moan about the lack of programmes available due to the massive crowd that had come out compared to normal.... well over 4 times the normal crowd.

After nine minutes, the home side took the lead when a deep corner was headed in off the underside of the crossbar by Tony Butler.

One down, two more needed....

6 minutes, and three chances later, and the teams were level on aggregate as Alfreton raced into a two nil lead on the day. A scuffed shot deceived everyone and nestled into the corner off the post. A scruffy goal but a goal none the less and it really was a case of game on.

Needless to say the amazing comeback got the fans on side and they were starting to create a bit of noise having silenced the vocal Telford following behind the opposite goal.

The fans were in complete dreamland but were brought crashing back to earth two minutes later as Telford pulled a goal back. A powerful low cross saw the Alfreton keeper produce a brilliant reaction save but the rebound fell kindly for Edward to slot home at the far post. Disappointment but with over 70 minutes still to play we fel it could well go either way.

Alfreton pushed forward once more and twice hit the woodwork and had a clear penalty waved away but just before half time were hit with a sucker punch as on a rare break away, a cross from the right was tapped into the open net at the back stick to level the tie on the night and put Alfreton back with a mountain to climb needing two goals once more just to bring about extra time.

As the half time whistle sounded, we were really impressed with what we had seen - two teams fully going for it and it was more entertaining than much other stuff Ive witnessed this season.... sadly the port-a-loos didn't match the entertainment and neither did the weather - freezing cold it was and a real contrast to the day before in Crewe and we made sure we were wrapped up as best as possible.

In the second half, Alfreton started in the same fashion as they started the first, racing forward looking for an early goal.... and once again they found a way back into it. 4 minutes into the half and leading scorer Paul Clayton lashed in an effort from the edge of the area after a neat turn.

Still, Telford came roaring back and on 53 minutes, Rodgers found himself unmarked from a corner and bulleted a header into the back of the net. 3-3? What a game and it wasn't done there as Alfreton adopted a 4-2-4 formation and went for broke.

On 71 minutes, it looked like the gamble had paid off as Clayton went down in the area and Howell calmly placed the ball on the spot and fired home in front of the travelling hordes who tried to distract him. 4-3 up on the day, 5-4 down on aggregate.... the excitement was really taking hold. Telford were not prepared to give up though and a 30 yard free kick hammered into the woodwork which would have finished Alfreton off once and for all. The home side pushed further and further forward but every cross was just too high or too close to the keeper and after 15 minutes of huffing and puffing, the referee brought an end to an incredible match. Whilst disappointed about the result, the fans of Alfreton, new and loyal were proud of what they had witnessed. A real "give it a go" approach and a game to remember.

We headed out and back to the car (parked right by the turnstile - how conveniant!) and headed back home pleased with a good days work.
Next up..... Easter Monday and the third game in three days. The famous Histon Town, giant killers of Leeds in the FA Cup. Could they do the same to Torquay?

Game Seventy One - Crewe away

2 May 2009

And so here we are, the final leg of the league one tour. Nine months of hard work following the club around the country and I'm one step away from completing the acheivement of having attendance every step of the way in the 2008/09 season. Something that I have to say even I didn't think would happen when I set for the first game against MK Dons but here we are and what a season it has been too! Champions of league one, unbeaten for half a season, only one home defeat and a record number of away wins. I know it's "only" league one but which ever way you look at it, it's been one hell of an acheivement to bounce back in the way that we have. Just look at Leeds, Forest, Sheff Weds and even Man City who all struggled to get back to a more suitable level of competition but here we are, returning at the first time of asking having blown the competition out of the water. I won't go as far as to say that it has been easy but lets face matters, over the course of the season only one team has taken four points from us this season and it's hard to recall any teams that have outplayed us. What a year.

And what a way to finish the league one season off but with a day out in fancy dress away at Crewe. All the real milestones this season have been away from home so it seems fitting that that is how we will be finishing things.

I met up with Jodie at Leicester train station, her dressed up as a school girl and drawing funny looks from all those around us. I had wimped out though and had the change of clothes in my bag to sort out on the train. We quickly jumped on the train to Nuneaton and then while I got changed in the toilets ( a lovely experience I can tell you), she waited for the second train of the day to Crewe. In my hawaiian get up with the loudest shirt in the world and her as a school girl we had every pointing us out along the way.

We arrived in Crewe in plenty of time and whilst getting some more strange looks and getting my hand shaken by some random guy for my outfit, we waited for Helen, Colleen, Chloe and Bert to arrive. The Cators in Filbert Fox outfits and Chloe as a schoolgirl like Jodie but Bert stole the show in his complete Spiderman get up.


We went for a wander around Crewe watching everyone stare at us as we walked and headed into a random pub which drew laughter as we looked for Maybes and co to get the tickets for the others.

With plenty of time still to spare and the lack of decent watering holes in the near by area, we headed into the ground for the final time at a Leicester game this season.

With City fans taken up two of the four stands, we knew we would be in for a good day out, the only down side being that the odds were heavily stacked in favour of Crewe getting relegated today with them needing to win and have results go their way.

At least we looked cool though....

Oh yes that is an epic shirt!

Jodie seemed rather insistant on blowing up my beach ball (I don't think she gets that priveledge in Anstey!) and what seemed like four hours later, my outfit was complete.

... and just in time for Jimmy Bullard to arrive and get a snap of us for the Leicester website - ending the season as media whores. Happy days.

We hung around at the front watching the players warming up and getting the final few snaps of the season.... Maxi Gradel who has been a revelation in recent weeks.

More photos were taken as well.... what do that pair look like with their Weasel costumes. Mwahaha!

We made sure that Alan and Ken joined in the fun too if only for a few seconds but we were all in good spirits and very relaxed about things for the final game.

The players came out to a party atmosphere with the usual inflatables and stuff being thrown around the place. It was a good place to be, even if we did look like idiots!

Crewe started quite positively and looked to be up for the game as they knew nothing short of a win would be good enough to help them stay up. A long range free kick was the first effort they could muster but it didn't come close to troubling Stockdale in the Leicester goal. On ten minutes, Leicester created their first effort with a ridiculously impressive effort from Morrison from fully 30 yards had to be turned round the post by the Crewe keeper - since when could defenders shoot like that???

Howard also came close midway through the first half when King pulled the ball back from the byline but Big Steve lifted the ball clean over the bar with the goal gaping. Two minutes later and he came close once more with what can only be described as a "blockbuster" of an effort from 30 yards that just curled away from the top corner at the last second when we were already celebrating.

At half time, Smuts in his pirate gear and Lisa as Lara Croft popped over to say hello.... Foxestalk fancy dress is a bizarre experience!

Just after the second half, Crewe came closest to breaking the deadlock as a deflected effort struck the Leicester cross bar and from the replay, the ball was played back in and volleyed home only for the linesman to flag for a clear offside and we were let off.

A few minutes later and Crewe were made to pay for that miss when Bruno Berner picked the ball up 25 yards out and smashed a shot into the corner leaving the keeper with no chance. I don't know what he was doing shooting from that distance but fair play to the lad... even though he will probably never score a goal like that again.

On 65 minutes, it was 2-0 and game over for Crewe. Dyer saw his initial shot from the edge of the area blocked but he reacted quickest to toe poke the ball into the top corner for his 11th of the season - a fine return from a winger and probably equals every goal scored by a winger for about 10 years.

Three minutes later and City were in free for all mood. Fryatt was played in and he drew out the keeper before slotting it neatly between his legs and into the centre of the goal. A fine finish and it capped a brilliant season for the striker with an incredible return for the season.

Gradel came close with a free kick but from then on it was just a case of finishing the season off in comfort. There were no more goals to come and we were happy just to keep possession for time until the referee called a halt on our record breaking, championship winning season.

We made our way down the front to show our appreciation to the players on a lap of honour which even the Crewe fans joined in the applause on. They have taken their relegation with grace and been a real inspiration to how teams should be.

We responded in kind and waited for the Crewe players to come out again and gave them a round of applause for their efforts which was clearly appreciated. Such a contrast to how the Stoke fans had behaved when were relegated last season... and they wonder why we hate them so much now?

All that was left now was for a few photos of people in their fancy dress:

Ben / Lil' Dave - the cause of swine flu:

Katy as another school girl, I'm spotting a theme here. She clearly wasn't impressed that the season had finished!

Raj (as a twat) and Fez (as a Mexican):

And that was that. We made our way out, and applauded the Crewe fans that walked past the coaches, and me and Jodie made our way back to the train station and headed on home. Tired and still looking like fools but happy fools.

So that was league one. We were scared of it but there was nothing to fear in the end as no matter what was thrown at us, we dealt with it brilliantly and came out on top. The players have returned the faith to the fans and for the first time in many years, we are proud to be Leicester fans again. It feels like our team again, whereas the last few seasons have left us pretty flat and in some respects, ashamed of those players in blue.

Well.... that's that for the league one tour. There are still a few random games to report on that I will be adding in the next few days hopefully but if you're only interested in the Leicester games then I hope you've enjoyed reading my take on things and looking at the random pictures I've taken throughout the season. I never really expected to make it to every single game but it's been a brilliant ride and I wouldn't change anything about it (although my bank manager probably would!) A quick mention of thanks to everyone who has been a part of this brilliant experience, from the players and manager to the people that I have been priveledged to enjoy the ride with. The friends I've made are what I will remember this season for most and I have some amazing photos to look back on and remember a time of my life when things seemed to finally be going right in every aspect. In the past few months, I don't think I have ever been so happy thanks to the football and aspects in my personal life which have come about since the new year. 2008/09 - what a season.

For those departing the tour, I'm sure I will see you at some games next season, and I will write a season review on here at some point. For those still onboard, stay seated for Alfreton Town v Tamworth - I know how excited that will make you.....