Damage in the Box!

EVERTON (Goodison Park)

Okay. okay. Indulge me, I had to sneak the 'old lady' in somewhere didn't I? Goodison Park, through my rose tinted specs, is simply the greatest ground in the league. You can shove your modern stadia, for atmosphere there is no better place to be when 'she' is in full battle cry.

For those of you who don't know, I am actually an Evertonian by birth and used to follow them religiously. I had had a season ticket for roughly 18 years (84-86, 87-91 and 94-06) and in the seasons I didn't have a season ticket, I got to well over half the home games. I also used to follow them to at least a dozen away games per season.

I gave my season ticket up in 2006 when, to be honest, I simply began to lose interest in Premier League football (ironically as Everton's star began to rise again under David Moyes). By the this stage i'd given up on the away games and started groundhopping in earnest, now it was time to hop full time, so to speak. Don't get me wrong, Everton's result still has the power to dictate my mood regardless of my presence or not.

I can't completely cut the ties that bind and do try to get to a few games a season, now having the luxury of picking and choosing my games. For the 2011/12 season I opted for the opening game against newly promoted Queens Park Rangers.

I have to confess I don't particularly like QPR having been traumatised by some drubbings at their hands in the early 1990's, when such luminaries as Bradley Allen, Andy Impey and, err, Les Ferdinand used to rip us apart with alarming regularity.

It had been a summer of discontent at Goodison, with the club financially on its arse and no new signings on display but, at the moment, no major departures, so at least that is a small crumb of comfort. Despite QPR being beaten by Bolton 4-0 the previous week, I still approached the game with some trepidation.

My worst fears were confirmed as QPR grabbed a 1-0 win with their only shot on target, Tommy Smith scoring on the half hour. In truth, Everton looked absolutely clueless when trying to break down a stubborn Rangers rearguard. Leighton Baines hit the crossbar from a free kick and Tim Cahill missed a header which he, given his track record, should really have buried.

Otherwise it was pretty awful from the blues, the only bright moments coming from a 17 year old kid, Ross Barkley, making his full debut. QPR defended magnificently and throughly deserved their win. Everton, for some reason, always start sluggishly and i'm hoping that it is the case once again, however I believe it's going to be a long hard season.

Leighton Baines hits the crossbar with a free kick

The TV people hard at work on the gantry

The Park End

The Gwladys Street

Main Stand

Ross Barkley, the only bright spot on a dark day

David Moyes contemplates his next move

Saturday 20th August 2011
FA Premier League
Everton 0-1 Queens Park Rangers
Attendance: 35,008

CONNAH'S QUAY TOWN (Dock Road)

Today was a long and arduous trip to Connah's Quay for the Welsh Cup tie between Connah's Quay Town, from the Welsh Alliance Division 2, and Kerry, from the Mid Wales League Division 2.

Connah's Quay Town play at Dock Road, which, as the name suggests, is right on the banks of the River Dee. The club was only formed as recently as 2009 when, as the match programme explains, the players and staff broke away from Connah's Quay Nomads.

Prior to that they made up the junior teams of the Nomads and the nucleus of the side has been together since under 8's. The team finished runners up in the Clwyd League in its debut 2009/10 season and gained promotion to the Welsh Alliance for 2010/11, where they finished a creditable 3rd.

The ground is also used by the Nomad's academy, so the links have not completely been severed, and is a pretty basic set up. The pitch is fully enclosed by some sort of plastic panelling but there is no hard standing or any cover from the elements, though there is a refreshment portacabin in which you could shelter if needs be. I imagine on a cold winters day it would be a very bleak setting.

The pitch looked very uneven but both teams managed to cope admirably with it and a good match was produced. Kerry took the lead after 16 minutes when Chris Carroll sprung the offside trap (incidently, there were no proper linesmen today) and was left left one-on-one with the goalkeeper, who he had no problems in rounding before rolling the ball into the empty net.

This was as good as it got for Kerry as Town played their way back into the game and began to dominate. Just after the half hour mark Phillip Killa hit the post with a fierce shot and Robert Raggett blasted over with the goal at his mercy. Town weren't to be denied much longer and on 43 minutes Raggett cut in and played the ball into the feet of Carl Wilson who fired home the equaliser.

In stoppage time at the end of the half, Town grabbed the lead when a cross into the box was bicycle-kicked into the goal by Ben Howarth, an absolutely superb finish. You could visibly see the Kerry heads drop.

The second half was a case of how many would Quay score as it was virtual one way traffic. They only added one more goal in the 67th minute when Howarth blasted home a free kick from 25 yards. Kerry did have a golden chance to drag themselves back into the game with 5 minutes to go but Dyfrig Rees side footed wide with an open goal at his mercy. This summed up Kerry's afternoon but overall there can be no complaints with the result.

I thought I was on course for my lowest attendance today as 20 minutes into the game the crowd consisted of 9 people. However, maybe thinking it was a 3pm kick off, a further 5 turned up, then another two at half time. That means my lowest still remains 13 (which was at Furness Rovers).

The Flintshire Bridge which features prominently on the club badge

Ben Howarth (8) heads wide, but he will make up for it with a superb brace

Substitute Jed Rodway on the attack for Kerry

Goalscorer Carl Wilson fires another shot at goal

Look, no flag!

Saturday 13th August 2011

Welsh Cup 1st Qualifying Round

Connah's Quay Town 3-1 Kerry

Attendance: 16 (h/c)

SPARTA ROTTERDAM (Het Kasteel)

My first foreign excursion of the season led me to Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, for Sparta's opening game of the 2011/12 season. After spending Saturday sampling some of the delights Amsterdam had to offer, it was down to the serious business of getting a game in!

Rotterdam is an hour by train from Amsterdam and Sparta are one of the three senior teams in the city, the others being Feyenoord and Excelsior. Sparta are actually the oldest professional club in Holland, having been formed in 1888 but are now playing below their city rivals in the Eerste Divisie following relegation from the Eredivisie in 2010.

Their home ground Het Kasteel or, in English, The Castle is in the Spangen district of Rotterdam and is quite splendid. The ground was redeveloped a decade ago but has still retained its magnificent entrance.

Sparta's opponents today were Fortuna Sittard, which may be what, subconsciously, drew me to this game as the last time I seen them play was 1985 as Everton marched towards the European Cup Winners Cup.

The game itself, well it was played at quite a slow tempo and Sparta just about deserved the win, given to them through a Toni Varela penalty after 13 minutes. There was some decent football played, lots of pretty triangles and close passing, and the best of the chances that were created fell to the home side. Sparta should've been more than one goal to the good at the break.

The second half was really a non-event in terms of goalmouth action as neither side really carved out any clear cut chances but continued with the neat inter-play. Sparta comfortably held on for the points.

A few names noted today which may be familiar to a few people were Fernando Ricksen, the Fortuna defender who played for Glasgow Rangers, and Michel Vonk, the Sparta coach, who played for City, Oldham and Sheffield United in the mid 1990's.

All that was left then was to get the tram into town to sample a couple of Jupiler beers before boarding a train for Schipol Airport. Another great European weekend over!