Football recap of the month - February 2024

February 2024 proved to be a megamonth of football for me, as I went to nine matches. This is the most I've ever been to in February.

Game 37: Caerau Ely 3-2 Llantwit Major

Reason for going: This was a late decision, when my friend Steve suggested we go. It was a Friday night game and set me up for a 3 game weekend. 

Point of interest: Llantwit Major came back from two goals down but were only level for a couple of minutes. 

Game 38: Barry Town 0-3 Pontypridd Town

Reason for going: Barry's first game of phase 2 of the Cymru Premier season. 

Point of interest: The first goal of the game was calamitous from the home team's point of view. The goalkeeper rushed out and failed to clear the ball leaving the striker free to fire home from the edge of the box. 

Game 39: Barry Town Ladies 1-3 Cardiff City Women

Reason for going: I'd been to watch Barry Town Ladies the week before and enjoyed it. So decided to go and watch them as they were hosting the table-toppers. 

Point of interest: This was the penultimate game of Phase 1 of the Adran Premier League. Cardiff City were unbeaten up to this point and it was easy to see why. They were a good team. (They lost the following week, though.) This was also the third day in a row I'd been to a football match. 

Game 40: Penybont 2-2 Barry Town

Reason for going: Penybont is one of the closest away trips for me.  

Point of interest: This was my 100th Barry Town game. I got a Futbology badge.

Game 41: Newport County 1-3 Notts County

Reason for going: My friend Paul is a Notts County fan. Although, for reasons of restricted ticket supply, I ended up in the home end with Paul's wife, Val, instead.

Point of interest: We caught the train to the game. Unlike last time I tried to watch Newport County, this time the train from Cardiff to Newport thankfully didn't go via Reading!!

Selfie with Val

Game 42: Llantwit Major 1-0 BK Skjold 

Reason for going: This game was in the Fenix Trophy, which is an international competition for amateur and semi-professional clubs founded in 2021. Skjold, from Copenhagen, were the holders. Llantwit Major were the first Welsh team to compete in this competition and bigged this game up as their first ever European tie. So there were a lot of reasons to go!

Point of interest: Llantwit's ground is known as Windmill Lane and there is a disused windmill next to the football pitch. It provided a vantage point for a couple of hardy souls during the game!

Game 43: Barry Town 1-1 Haverfordwest County

Reason for going: At this point, I think it's a more a case of hope than expectation. 

Point of interest: Former Barry player Rhys Abruzzese scored a very late equaliser for Haverfordwest - clocked at 90+6 minutes. Also Mike Lewis, the Barry goalkeeper, saved a penalty.

Game 44: Cardiff City 2-1 Stoke City

Reason for going: My friend Andrew asked me to act as "football sherpa" because his son, Ben, wanted to go to a football match, so we went and sat in the family stand. Andrew's nephew, James, joined us as well.

Point of interest: Because we were in the family stand, we got a visit from Bartley Bluebird, the Cardiff City mascot, in the second half. 

Game 45: Caerau Ely 1-0 Taff's Well

Reason for going: this was a chance to set a new personal record for February with a ninth game within the month.

Point of interest: Caerau Ely scored what would prove to be their winner after just 40 seconds!

Theatre review - Keenor: The Original Bluebird

This week I was privileged to attend opening night of Keenor: The Original Bluebird, a one-man play written and performed by my friend, Rhys. Here's a review. 

Before I start I have to say this isn't going to be a very objective review. I met Rhys through going to Barry Town matches around the country. Last Saturday I was chatting to him in the Barry club shop. He has talked about this play almost every time I have seen him for months. So I know the hard research he put in to writing it, and the effort he put in promoting it. The phrase 'passion project' comes to mind - and I'm always impressed when people have an idea and then go on to actually make it happen.

Fred Keenor was the captain of Cardiff City when they won the FA Cup final of 1927 - which remains the only time the FA Cup has been won by a team outside England. It was Keenor's second cup final after Cardiff had narrowly lost in 1925. And the play starts with that, incorporating Pathe footage of the defeat before 'Keenor' made an entrance onto the set that was decked out as the Wembley dressing room.

My friend Sara, who is a Cardiff season-ticket holder came to the play with me. The venue was upstairs at Tiny Rebel Brewing in Cardiff. 

The play was in a room next to the kitchen, which wasn't sound-proofed, and occasionally we could also hear passing traffic outside. However, I didn't find the ambient noise a distraction - in a way it added to the performance because it the Wembley dressing room would not have been an isolated, tranquil place.

Rhys's research included talking to Fred Keenor's grandchildren alongside the biographies. The details added authenticity to the scenes set in Roath where he grew up, at Ninian Park where he played, and on the Western Front. Fred was in the 'Footballer's Battalion' and was wounded at the Somme. The contrast between the hollow 'victory' at the end of the War, and the triumph at Wembley a few years later was thought provoking. 

It's difficult to watch plays when you know the person acting - you tend to see them rather than the character they are playing. Perhaps the greatest compliment I can pay Rhys is that it wasn't long before I forgot it was him up there because I was absorbed in the story he was telling. 

Keenor has finished its first run now. However, there is another chance to see it next month if you want to see it too. 

Five Saturday February - a footballing mission

It was a rare one. A February with 5 Saturdays in. I decided I wanted to try and see a game on all 5 Saturdays and I'm delighted to announce I made it!

Saturday 1 February

Game: Grange Albion v Merthyr Saints, South Wales Alliance Premier Division

Score: 1 - 1

Grange conceded a late penalty to blow the chance of a third home win on the trot. This game also saw me achieve the status of number one fan on the Futbology App and the number one for their ground as well. 

(OK, it was a low bar, but hey....)

Saturday 8 February

Game: Barry Town United v Connah's Quay Nomads, Cymru Premier League

Score: 0 - 1

The evil battle giants of North Wales benefited from having the most one-eyed ref I've seen in a long time. A ridiculous red card for Barry striker Kayne Maclaggon got overturned on appeal and the ref was subsequently demoted from the Premier League list.On the plus side, David Cotterill (pictured), former Wales international, made his debut, and hit the post when he took a free kick with his first touch of the ball. 

Saturday 15 February

Game: Cardiff City v Wigan Athletic, EFL Championship

Score: 2 - 2

My friend Sara offered me her ticket as Storm Ciara was wreaking havoc, and Wigan weren't exactly a great proposition. Cardiff found themselves behind twice and then missed a gilt-edged chance at the end to seal the win.

Saturday 22 February

Game: Barry Town United v Caernarfon Town, Cymru Premier League

Score: 1 - 1

Another weekend, another storm, this time Storm Dennis. All the action happened in about 60 seconds of the second half as Barry finally converted their pressure into a goal, only to concede almost straight away from the restart. I went with my friend Mehmet, who is originally from Turkey and who I met in my Welsh class. It was his first game he had attended since moving to Wales.

And finally...

Saturday 29 February (Leap Day!)

Game: Bristol Rovers v Shrewsbury Town, EFL League One

Score: 0-1

The Memorial Stadium is an odd place. Last year my friend Stewart observed that it looks like it's been built out of all the bits left over from other stadia. The executive stand looks like it's been stolen from a race track, and it was advertising Chepstow race course as well. 

I sat with a new footballing acquaintance called John in the "permanent temporary" away tent. The alternative is the away terrace which isn't covered.

It looks OK if the sun is out. We had icy rain just before kick off, and intermittently throughout the game. However, Shrewsbury won! And I think it's the first time they have ever won on a Leap Day, so a little bit of club history there.

And some personal history too: a Futbology badge when I checked in!

So that was my 5 Saturday February! I managed it, despite the best attempts of the weather. The next February with five Saturdays is in 2032. Hopefully football will still be around by then. If Shrewsbury and Bristol Rovers are in the same division 12 years hence they will probably be playing at the Mem on one of those Saturdays - this was the third year in a row they had met there in February.

August 2019 football round up

A record-breaking 7 games for me in August. I've already blogged about the opening weekend, but here are some more bad photos and comments where I try to be amusing.

The newly rebranded JD Cymru Premier league kicked off on a wet Friday night with Barry away at neighbours Penybont. It was a ground I hadn't been to before and fortunately there was space in one of the stands so I could stay out of the Biblical rain.

It was relatively restrained rain at kick off.

Barry won 2-1, after going behind to a penalty. The winning goal was an absolute belter from Jonathan Hood, who later got sent off for messing around on the substitutes bench. Afterwards the players came over to salute the fans who had been raising the roof all night.

And then had a post-match huddle in front of us.

A week later and it was another Friday night game for Barry, this time at Jenner Park, against Aberystwyth Town.

My Mum was down for the bank holiday weekend so I took her along. She really enjoyed it.

Barry won 3-1, although they didn't look as comfortable as the scoreline suggests, particularly after the sun went down.

On the bank holiday Monday, Barry were at home again, this time playing Bala Town.

It was a much tougher game, ending 2-2. The weather was glorious, with barely a cloud in the sky. The clouds we did have were rather lovely.

Next up was a midweek game in the South Wales Alliance, Premier Division where my most local team, Grange Albion, were playing Cardiff Draconians. The Dracs are the Manchester City of the division apparently, and even pay some of their players. They have the fancy warm-up routines you would expect.

It was a game played with unofficial linesmen and plenty of banter between the ref, the players, the crowd and the managers. This is a level where referees can answer back.

The Dracs were 4-0 up before Albion got on the scoresheet to make it 4-1  at half time. Given their ground is right next to the bus depot (do you remember when I went to the bus depot?), it's a shame Cardiff Bus just repeatedly drove their buses past the back of the Albion goal instead of parking one in front of it.

The game finished 4-2 to the Dracs with missed chances aplenty in the second half.

And so to my final game in August, and my fourth in eight days, when I went with my friend Sara and her extended family to watch Cardiff play Fulham, in the other stadium on Sloper Road in Grangetown.

Cardiff's warm up was a bit different to the Dracs'. But I'm not sure what ring a ring a rosie will achieve.

The game was still 0-0 on 42 minutes and then was 1-1 at half time, which was also the full time score. It wasn't the most memorable game, although I did see a player, Harry Arter, sent off after getting booked for diving. It was his second yellow card and he had a long trudge off the field with a chorus of 'Cheerio! Cheerio! Cheerio!' for the duration of the trudge. I think that's the first time I've ever seen a player dismissed for diving. There's always something new to see at a football match.

2018-19 Football Season Review - breaking records again

I feel embarrassed that I'm only publishing my 2018-19 review after my 2019-20 season has already started, thanks to Barry Town's appearance in the Europa League Preliminary Round on 27 June!

Last season I went to 30 matches and made much of that in my season review. But I went between 16.6% and 20% better this year, depending on whether we count the 15 minutes of an abandoned match as a game. I've been told that if you've turned up, paid for your ticket and seen the game kick off then it counts, although the goal that was scored doesn't officially count for anything. What an anomaly.

So, let's say it was 36 matches. As per previous seasons, here are the overall stats:
Season: 2018-19
Total games: 36 (includes one game abandoned after 15 minutes)
Most goals in a game: 7
Fewest goals in a game: 0
Total goals seen: 104
Number of football grounds visited: 12 (2 of which I’d never visited before)

So, what games did I go to?

15 of the games I saw featured Barry Town. I went to 12 at Jenner Park, two away games and the Welsh Cup Semi-final at Latham Park in Newtown.

Jenner Park - a magical place

All the way to Connah's Quay

Semi-final line ups

I loved following Barry this season. It's friendly, affordable football at a better standard than most people expect. They also have brilliant programme covers.

Barry's season went beyond expectations as they finished third and qualified for the Europa League. At the end of the Welsh Premier League first phase they were topping the table.

The team I saw the next most often were Cardiff City. My friend Sara is still trying to convert me. I saw City 8 times last season, including an away game at Arsenal. That worked out because I had a meeting in London that day and I saved £88.50 coming home on the supporters coach instead of getting a return train ticket. I should have put my match ticket on expenses really as my employer would still have been in pocket. But I didn't.

I love The Emirates as a stadium. I was very tempted to buy Cathy a Gunnersaurus Rex.

I think this is the first time Sara has featured on my blog. (It's also her photo)

Cardiff had a tough season, a long drawn-out relegation scrap limited their Premier League sojourn to a year. Given the hype there is some desperate football played in the Premier League. Newcastle United were abject in the extreme, and with Cardiff served up my only 0-0 of the year.

Talking of abject, desperate football, Shrewsbury had a really disappointing season with several weeks in the relegation zone. I saw one game under manager John Askey, and they won. I saw 4 games under Askey's replacement, Sam Ricketts, and it was a real mixed bag. A good away draw in Bristol (as part of my failed attempt at a 'twofer'), a lucky home win against Wycombe, and a couple of pathetic losses.

I did get some photos of the Shrewsbury mascots having a dance off, though.

I also made it to three Newport County games, including their fabulous, famous win over Leicester City. Beforehand Spytty the Dog didn't look very optimistic.

Newport had a decent fist of a season with a cup run and a play-off final. I saw them three times and they won all three games. Shame I didn't make the effort to go to the play-off final, really.

And then there are the other games, that get collected up in the "randoms". My first game of the season was The New Saints versus Midtjylland of Denmark in a European game held at Cardiff City Stadium. I also went to see my friend Ben play for Goytre AFC, except at the last moment he was benched, which was disappointing for both of us. I saw Wales get beaten by Denmark in the UEFA Nation's League.

And then in January I went to see Telford versus Kidderminister Harriers in a game that has taken on poignant significance for me. It turned out to be the last game I went to see with my Dad before his unexpected death a few weeks later. Now I have mixed feelings seeing pictures of Benny the Buck.

Funny story. We'd parked up and were walking round to the turnstiles at the Buck's Head. As he always did, Dad felt the need to talk to anyone we met on the way and explain who we were and why we were there, so he loudly told a Telford fan that "Really, we're Shrewsbury fans, but we've just come over to watch the game..." He saw no reason at all why telling people we were fans of their local rivals could have been a problematic announcement to make. Bless 'im.

And then I finished the season with a rare June game. Wales women against New Zealand women at the Cardiff Athletics Stadium across the road from the Cardiff City Stadium. New Zealand had qualified for the World Cup and this was a warm up game for them. Wales won with a very late goal, having saved a penalty in the first half.

I really enjoyed going to the Women's international and it was a great way to round out the season.