CARLISLE UNITED (Brunton Park)

FA CUP 4th ROUND, CARLISLE UNITED 0-3 EVERTON, ATTENDANCE: 17,101

After Wednesday nights capitulation in the League Cup against Manchester City, the last chance for Everton to rescue their train wreck of a season lies with the FA Cup so, along with 3,600 other Blues, I made my way north to Brunton Park where Carlisle United were hosting The Toffees.

Carlisle has been in the news massively in the last couple of months as the town, and ground, was battered by storm Desmond in the run up to Christmas.

The Brunton Park pitch was left 7ft underwater and damage was caused throughout the stadium. In the meantime the club have played their 'home' games at Preston North End, Blackburn Rovers and Blackpool. Carlisle finally returned home last week when they played out a 1-1 draw with York City.

Carlisle beat Yeovil on penalties, after a replay, in the last round and were rewarded with a home tie against Premier League Everton. The pitch was relaid at a cost of around £150,000 in order to be able to host the game today. However other parts of the ground remain out of commission, indeed the showers for the players were actually outside the main entrance. Credit must go to the club for just getting this game on. Hopefully the TV money and gate receipts wil help a little to getting the club back on it's feet. Everton fans also contributed a small amount via a just giving fundraising effort.

I parked up just off the M6 and walked down Warwick Road and it was just awful to see the devastation the storm had caused. There were skips full of water damaged furniture and you could see the watermarks on the windows. It really hit home and I genuinely felt for the people of Cumbria.

 As the two nearest drinking establishments to Brunton Park were shut, there was no chance of a beer before the game (the 'fan zone' at the ground was for Carlisle fans only) so I made may way into the ground . The stadium looked in fine fettle from my place on the terrace.

The Foxes mascot!

The game was effectively over after 15 minutes thanks to goals from Arouna Kone (2) and Aaron Lennon (14). I was surprised at Carlisle's tactics as they allowed Everton the time and space to pass the ball with ease.
It was far too comfortable for the Toffees.

Everton legend Peter Reid
working for TV

The rain started to fall during the first half and at half time the DJ showed the Cumbrians still had their sense of humour by blasting out James Bay's  'Hold Back The River'.

Carlisle had a couple of half chances in the second period but a fine Ross Barkley (60) effort sealed Everton's passage into the last 16.

NUNEATON GRIFF (The Pingles Stadium)

FA VASE 5th ROUND, NUNEATON GRIFF 0-3 SALISBURY FC, ATTENDANCE: 870

The business end of the FA Vase drew me to the West Midlands as the lowest ranked team definitely in the fifth round attempted to win through to the last eight. Midlands League Division One (step 6) Nuneaton Griff were hosting Wessex League (step 5) Salisbury FC. I clearly wasn't the only football fan attracted to this game as Nuneaton Griff's record crowd of 870 passed through the gate.

Nuneaton Griff was founded in 1972 as Nuneaton Amateurs but a dispute resulted in many members moving to the Nuneaton Griff and Coton Miners Welfare Ground. The club played in various Coventry league until 1999 when they joined the Midland Football Combination.

Nuneaton are currently fourth in the league table and I did actually see them play earlier this season when they were very impressive in dispatching Bolehall Swifts by 7 goals to 3.

The Pingles Stadium is also the home of Nuneaton Harriers
Athletics Club.

The last time I watched a Salisbury team play was on the final day of the 2013/14 when a 2-2 draw at the Deva Stadium relegated Chester from the Conference. However Chester were reprieved when Salisbury City were unable to meet their financial obligations, after the club was sold to two businessmen with no money, and removed from the Conference. The club were placed in administration and it's assets were bought by a consortium and a new phoenix club, Salisbury FC, rose from the ashes. Steve Claridge was part of the consortium and he is also the manager of the new club.

Sam Wilson scores from the spot for Salisbury

On a bobbly pitch, and in very windy conditions, Salisbury won through thanks to a hat-trick from Sam Wilson, but that scoreline doesn't reflect the game.

For the majority of the match there was hardly anything between the teams though, as you would have expected, Salisbury enjoyed most of the possession.

The game hinged on two penalties. Salisbury were awarded a penalty after 31 minutes, after Calum Brockway was tripped in the box. Sam Wilson duly dispatched the spot kick.

Griff's Ashley Wilks sees his effort saved

After 52 minutes Nuneaton were awarded a spot kick themselves after Brockway unceremoniously ended Ben Ashby's run, but Ashley Wilks effort was saved by Charlie Searle in the Salisbury goal.

Salisbury played out the last 20 minutes or so with 10 men after went off injured and all their substitutes had been used.

However as Nuneaton chased the game they were caught out and Wilson (83 & 90) ensured it would be the Whites who went through to the quarter finals and a home tie with Dunston UTS or Ashford United.

MANCHESTER CITY (Etihad Stadium)

LEAGUE CUP SEMI-FINAL SECOND LEG, MANCHESTER CITY 3-1 EVERTON (Agg 4-3)  ATTENDANCE: 50,048

As Gomez did in their famous hit single 'Whippin' Piccadilly' I decided to take a day out in Manchester for this Semi-Final second leg. Fortunately though I never fell into the Union. I booked the day off work and headed over to Manchester early doors, letting the train take the strain.

This gave me ample opportunity to revisit some of my favourite drinking establishments in the Northern Quarter of the city including the Piccadilly Tap, the Crown & Kettle, Port Street Beer House and the Soup Kitchen. There was also time to pop into Piccadilly Records to purchase the new album from Suede, Night Thoughts. I am listening to the CD as I write these words and it is well worth getting hold of if you want my opinion.

I met up with a friend and we had a late lunch before making our way, via tram, to the Etihad Stadium. The stadium has been the home of Manchester City since 2003, when they left behind their iconic Moss Side home, Maine Road

The view from my seat in the upper tier of the South Stand

The ground was built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games and was originally an athletics stadium with a capacity of 38,000. The stadium was then converted to a football stadium when the athletics track was dug out and the pitch level lowered to incorporate the additional seating. This took the capacity of the ground to around 48,000. The latest expansion of the ground took place in 2015 when additional seats were added to the South Stand to take the capacity up to around 55,000.

It was in the South Stand where I took my seat for the game. Everton had completely sold out their allocation of 7,200 tickets and it made for a great atmosphere in the away end. It could not be said about the home end, with many empty seats to be seen around the ground, but there were a huge amount of inflatable bananas, obviously.

The Toffees held a slender lead going into this game, after winning the first leg 2-1 at Goodison Park three weeks ago. I have to confess I travelled here in hope rather than expectation, especially after the Blues' dismal performance against Swansea last Sunday.

However after 17 minutes Everton found themselves with a 3-1 advantage in the tie when a superb run and 20 yard shot from Ross Barkley gave the blues the lead. This joy was short lived as just five minutes later Fernandinho levelled the score on the night when his shot took a huge deflection off Leighton Baines to give Joel Robles in goal no chance of saving.

Chasing the game, City upped the attacking ante, missing some decent chances, but Everton were just about hanging in there, whilst looking threatening on the break. Gerard Deulofeu had a great chance to put the Blues 2-1 up but Everton's luck though finally ran out in the 70th minute when a cross from Raheem Sterling, after the ball was clearly out of play, was turned home by Kevin de Bruyne to level the tie an aggregate.

Six minutes later and it was all over as Sergio Aguero headed home to seal City's place in the final. Once again Everton's achilles heel under Roberto Martinez, the inability to defend, had proved their undoing. No doubt people will go on about the ball being out of play but in the first leg City should have had a penalty, swings and roundabouts. The simple fact is Everton were 3-1 up in the tie and threw it away. That is not bad luck.

I will leave the last word to a tweet I saw after the game from‏ @FourthOfficial_  "When I die I want the Everton squad to lower my coffin so they can let me down one last time"

Onwards Evertonians.........

The photographs of the Ethiad Stadium (below) were taken by my good self on 19th April 2015 when Manchester City played West Ham United in the Premier League, prior to my visit to the new City Football Academy....

CHARD TOWN (Dening Sports Field, Zembard Lane)

WESTERN LEAGUE DIVISION ONE, CHARD TOWN 3-1 CORSHAM TOWN, ATTENDANCE: 80

After an aborted attempt on the first Saturday of 2016, I made my way down the M5 to Somserset to take in a visit to Chard. Once again the wet weather was playing havoc with fixtures and many games in the area were postponed, with the Western League's twitter feed in meltdown as the games dropped, but luckily Chard Town's home game with Corsham Town survived.

The football ground on Zembard Lane is part of the Dening Sports Field (Dening being a famous local ironmonger and manufacturer of agricultural implements) along with the cricket and tennis clubs. 

This meant I got the chance to see the (in)famous Zembard Lane slope before the club relocate to pastures new. As it stands, this is set to the last season for Chard at Zembard Lane as the club have fallen foul of the FA's ground grading rules.

The FA rules state that pitch slopes at all levels of FA competition have to be within a gradient of 1:41 and Chard’s exceeds that (this rule means that Chard are prohibited from entering the FA Cup and FA Vase). Their programme notes that there is a 12ft difference between the goals.

The ruling has always been in place but it wasn't until a couple of years ago that that the FA actually started to turn the screw.

The FA's decision to effectively force Chard from their home, and possibly the league, took place last season but Western League clubs rallied behind Chard Town and unanimously supported their bid to stay in the division.

All 41 member clubs voted in favour of Chard Town FC to remain at Zembard Lane. Chard were given 12 months dispensation in order to try and find an alternative home.

The club did announce plans for a new 3G pitch that will be located at Holyrood Academy, across the road from their current ground, but these appear to be a no go at the moment, so it would seem a groundshare is the only viable option to remain at their current level in the pyramid.

The club have been members of the Western League since 1976 and have flitted between the divisions ever since. The club have played in the First Division since 2010 but this season are enjoying a fine run, currently sitting top of the league.

The Robins, kicking down the slope in the first half, ran out comfortable winners in this encounter thanks to goals from Scott Holland (25) and a brace from Luke Woodland (56 & 58). Corsham did pull a goal back courtesy of George Pawley, in what proved to be the last kick of the game.

This result keeps Chard at the top of the table but what the future holds remains to be seen. I wish them good luck.

There were some worrying moments in the second half when the
floodlights on one side of the ground failed but credit to everyone
for finishing the game in the fading light.

CRUSADERS FC (Seaview)

NORTHERN IRELAND FOOTBALL LEAGUE PREMIERSHIP, CRUSADERS 4-2 GLENTORAN, ATTENDANCE: 2,433

Welcome back to my humble little blog, a (belated) Happy New Year to you!

The weather has been playing havoc with football matches over the last few weeks, with many, many postponements, so for my first trip of 2016 I crossed the Irish Sea to watch the Belfast derby between Crusaders and Glentoran.

There was absolutely no danger of any call off today as Crusaders' Seaview home has a 4G artificial pitch, which was installed in 2009. This little fact was at the back of mind when I originally booked this trip last November. Good job too as quite a few games in the province were called off due to waterlogged pitches.

It was an early flight into Belfast, allowing plenty of time for one to tuck into a large Ulster Fry before heading up the Shore Road to the stadium. The ground is about a 30 minute walk from the city centre and has been the home of Crusaders since 1921.

You can actually see the ground as you head into the city, as Seaview is clearly visible from both the Larne to Belfast train and also the M2 motorway, from where I first caught a glimpse from the top deck of the bus taking me from the airport to the city. However walking up on foot, the first thing you notice on arrival at the ground is the mural painted on the wall on the corner of St Vincent Street.

Crusaders were formed in 1898 and played intermediate (amateur) football until 1949 before joining the senior ranks. The club have five league titles to their name and are the current champions. The Crues are currently top of the table and look on course to defend their title.

This Belfast 'derby' was billed as the game of the day in Northern Ireland and it did not disappoint.

Crusaders Jordan Owens broke the clubs goalscoring record last weekend, when he netted his 157th goal for the club and he should have added to the total after just 2 minutes when he had an effort blocked on the line, when it was probably easier to score.

However it was Glentoran who struck first after 7 minutes when a Barry Holland shot from 35 yards was parried by Crusaders goalkeeper Sean O'Neill into the path of Curtis Allen, who tapped home from inside the six yard box. On 33 minutes Allen doubled the Glens lead when he latched onto a long ball, shrugged off the defender and produced a fine finish, lobbing the ball over the advancing 'keeper.

Despite being two goals down, the Crusaders fans kept backing their team, especially the lady who was sitting near to me who was urging her team to "Go on, go on" I did wonder if her surname was Doyle? The home fans in the stand behind the goal also belted out a fine rendition of Erasure's 'A Little Respect' which is the song that The Crusaders run out to.

Colin Coates had a goal disallowed for the Crusaders but they finally got on the score sheet after 43 minutes when Jordan Forsythe fired home a low free kick from the edge of the box. Less then sixty seconds later they were level. The Glentoran defence failed to clear their lines and the ball fell to Matthew Snoddy on the edge of the box and his curling shot found the bottom corner.

Crusaders took control in the second half and their comeback was completed when Billy Joe Burns smashed home from 25 yards in the 62nd minute and Owens finally got his goal when he headed home after 74 minutes. Inbetween the goals Glentoran's Ciaran Caldwell was shown a second yellow card when he kicked the ball at a player who was down on the ground.

A fine afternoons entertainment at Seaview. Match highlights can be found by clicking here