August 2022 - squeezing the most out of summer

August was a very full month. I've already blogged about our week on holiday in Shropshire and our trip to the Shrewsbury Flower Show. It was also a 'decamonth' of football matches and I had time to see some model trains as well. 

The Cardiff Model Railway Exhibition was on the weekend after we got back from our week in the Shire. It was held in the ice rink around the corner from our house. There were an array of impressive model railway layouts and other stands there. As is usually the case with model railway exhibitions, there was a mix of detailed attempts to recreate real life in miniature, along with more whimsical 'fun' layouts.

However my favourite trains were the miniature live steam engines that were just running around a simple circle at the back of the room. There was a clever use of foreshortened scenery to make it look interesting, and something for the kids as well!

Speaking of 'for the kids', the new series of Bluey is now on Disney Plus. Cathy and I have got really into this lovely cartoon show. She went into town one day and brought me back a present.

(I posted this on Facebook in a group about Bluey and got hundred of likes and comments from other grown ups all saying "WHERE CAN I GET THIS?!?")

As I mentioned, on the football front, August was a 'Decamonth'. I went to ten games. I also had a small article published in When Saturday Comes. It's the September issue and will still be in the shops if you want to go and read it.

The article provoked some discussion among Barry Town fans as to whether that was the right shirt or the player named in the article. I did explain that the image choice was an editorial decision!

My footballing adventures began right at the start of August with a trip to the Port Talbot sea-side to watch Afan Lido v Barry Town. The ground is so close to the beach there were little piles of windblown sand in almost every nook and corner. 

The Barry goalkeeper didn't have much to do as Barry won 4-1 to get their first points in the JD Cymru South this season. 

I also saw my first ever 4-4 draw, at Cardiff Draconians v Brecon Corries in the second qualifying round of the Welsh Cup. The Dracs were winning 4-2 with only a few minutes to go, then conceded two goals. There was no extra time - it went straight to penalties. Almost inevitably, the Dracs lost the penalty shootout 8-9. It was very disappointing for them. 

I went to two Shrewsbury Town games during our week in Shropshire, and added a third before the end of the month. On Bank Holiday Saturday I drove to Bristol and met Ken, a family friend who lives in Bristol, for Shrewsbury's game at Bristol Rovers.

Ken is a season ticket holder at Aston Villa but he didn't mind slumming it with me in League One for the day. It was the first time I'd been to watch Shrewsbury play at the Memorial Ground since leap day in 2020. It's an easy away day for me, and this was the fifth time I'd been to a game there since 2017. It was also the tenth time I've seen Bristol Rovers, so when I checked in on Futbology I got a badge.

I also went to my first two Grange Albion games of the season, sadly both defeats. The second game was on Bank Holiday Monday at the ostentatiously named Ocean Park Arena.

Albion were playing Clwb Cymric, a Welsh-speaking team who have been on the rise recently. This game was the last one on the South Wales Groundhop, which meant there was a programme available. It's the first Grange Albion game I've been to with a programme!

I acquired a few baseball cards in the course of the month, including a set that arrived in a tube! 

I will be blogging about them on my baseball card blog sometime soon.

And as a final photo from the month - here's one from the honey tent at the Shrewsbury Flower Show. I don't know why I didn't include this in my round up, because it really amused me. 

Reflecting on 2021 - allowed back to football

In lieu of going to a football game on Boxing Day, here's a review of 2021 from a soccer perspective.

I didn't attend any football matches in the 2020-21 season, meaning it was the first season in over a quarter of a century where I didn't attend a single game. I missed out on my annual trip to see Shrewsbury play Bristol Rovers in Bristol, and then Rovers got relegated so Shrewsbury won't be playing them this season. At the end of the season I blogged about how it didn't really feel like it had happened. 

Just about the only football that I had in the spring!

In the summer of 2021, the delayed European Championships were held. They were still called Euro 2020. Originally I was going to go to some games - in the before times. But then had opted for a refund. I had to console myself with watching on TV, collecting the stickers and completing the wallchart that accompanied an issue of When Saturday Comes. It was the first time I had ever completed a wallchart for an international tournament. A small achievement. 

Just before England fluffed their chance

England had a glorious chance to win the competition - helped by playing most of their games at home in Wembley. Other countries (cough*Wales*cough) had to schlep all over Europe with fans unable to travel to support them. Despite all the advantages they were afforded, England were beaten by Italy in the final, which was made more memorable by ugly violent scenes as ticketless louts kicked their way into the ground.

But in July, a new season kicked off. I went to see Barry play a friendly in Bristol (so I have seen one game in Bristol this year!) and then the games started to rack up. I went to 11 games in August -  a new record for games in a month. 

I watched Barry play away games in Aberystwyth, Cefn just outside Wrexham, and Flint, where I think I might have seen a picture of my paternal grandad on the clubhouse wall. I also saw several Grange Albion games, in one of the local leagues, watched Poole Town three times with my friend Steve, and went with my brother and nephew to watch Shrewsbury earn a creditable draw at Hillsborough against Sheffield Wednesday. 

For many clubs in Wales, the season had started earlier than normal - a precaution in case restrictions came back into place in the winter. That has proven to be prescient as just before Christmas the Welsh Government mandated a ban on spectators at sporting events. The FAW responded by putting the top three tiers of Welsh football on hiatus until January. I had reached 31 games for the season just before the spectator ban came in, which neatly took me to a total of exactly 400 games recorded on the Futbology App.

At this point it is impossible to know when the restrictions on supporters will be lifted and when I will be checking in at matches on Futbology in the New Year. Shrewsbury have a big game in January 2022 - a third round tie at Anfield. However, I feel it's unlikely I will go given the current infection rates. It may not even take place when scheduled, because covid is causing a lot of postponements at all levels of football at the moment.

And, it's not as if I'm missing out. I have seen Shrewsbury play at Anfield not too long ago. This time when the teams meet there will be no replays, so if Liverpool aren't as lucky as they were last time, with the own goals and dodgy VAR decisions, it could be memorable. 

Marking football history on my doorstep

With Barry Town not playing on Saturday, I took the opportunity to see my hyperlocal team Grange Albion play in the South Wales Alliance Premier Division. 

Albion were away at local rivals Canton Liberals so it was a chance to chalk up a new ground as well. Literally! The game was the first match to be played on the brand new pitch that has been built for Cardiff and Vale College behind the athletics stadium near the Leckwith interchange.

The ground wasn't registered on the Futbology App, so I tweeted them the details and they added the ground and switched the match details. I feel I did my bit for the global accumulation of knowledge by sharing the information with them.

I set off early to find the new pitch. I knew it was near the giant dome that houses an indoor football pitch, just visible at the end of the road here.

The building work on the right is for the new Fitzalan High School building. The plans look really nice.

My first view of the pitch was over the top of a scrubby pond.

I could see the back of the two little stands and beyond them some players warming up. The A4232 elevated ring road is behind the screen of trees on the far side. 

They don't have changing rooms - they have a changing pavilion! (oooh)

The pitch looked incredible, worth every penny of the £1 million I was reliably told it cost. 

The match kicked off and Canton Liberals raced into an early lead. They were 3-0 up within 15 minutes and had missed a penalty in that time as well. They were a mix of goals - capitalising on a corner for the first, flowing moves for the second and third. The pick of the first half goals was the fifth one, which the scorer celebrated by doing a couple of back flips. 

Grange Albion, in their all-red away strip managed a couple of forays into the Canton half, but it really was one way traffic. Whoever was updating the Cymru Football scores app got a bit excited though and added an extra goal so the half time score on the app was erroneously claiming the score was 6-0.

The sun came out and it got surprisingly hot for mid-October. I'd worn a big coat and ended up taking it off as I was sweltering in the west-facing stand. At the half time whistle, the players headed for the shade of the trees. Completely understandable because they must have been baking. 

The half time team talk must have helped a bit, because Albion raised their game second half. The Libs added one more goal, to actually make it 6-0. But the damage had been done in that first 15 minutes. The Albion team looked very tired as they trudged off at the end.

The Libs are second in the table and unbeaten so far this season, and it showed. They were a disciplined and purposeful team that played high quality passing football. Having a fantastic pitch is going to be a real boon for them if they continue playing like that. 

It was a disappointing result for the Albion, who are struggling now at the bottom of the table. On a personal note, the disappointment was tempered by checking in on Futbology and getting a 'badge' for being at the opening match.

Because I'd been the one to tweet Futbology about the ground being opened, I feel I didn't just earn this badge - I made it happen!

I also got a bonus 'badge' for this being my 75th ground registered on the app. I have been to 9 new grounds this season (two of them with Grange Albion!). 

Getting a 'two-badger' was pretty cool. But I would rather have seen Albion win, of course. 

A footballing visit to the Valleys

Back-to-back weekend football action for me after so many months away. I had planned to watch Grange Albion play Grange Allstars in the FAW Trophy. I'd already planned my blog title for this - El Grangeico! However, the Allstars couldn't muster a team so my footballing compadre, Tom, and I had to choose somewhere else. 

I floated the idea of another Barry Town friendly, but Tom said he would prefer a competitive match. So we looked at the other Trophy games on offer and settled on Aberdare Town versus The Butcher's Arms.

Just a few seasons ago Aberdare were competing at the top end of the Welsh League, but they have sunk a few levels recently and now play in the same league as Grange Albion, the South Wales Alliance Premier Division. Their opponents, The Butcher's Arms, were from Mountain Ash, 2 miles down the Cynon Valley, and recently were winners of the Aberdare League Division One. 

The ground is neatly kept, with turnstiles on the road leading down to the back of the stand along the side of the clubhouse. They produce a programme, which had a lot of content and was only £1.

In the clubhouse is a photo of Alf Sherwood, who came from Aberdare and played for Aberaman Athletic, one of the forerunner clubs of the present-day Aberdare Town before signing for Cardiff City. There was also one of the 41 caps he earned for Wales. I love history like this on the walls of clubhouses. 

The main stand (seen here from across the pitch) is a decent size and offers a great view due to its height above the playing area.

We settled into our seats ready for kick off. Tom humoured me with a selfie. 

From the stand you can also see the back of the dug outs. I was struck by how much the visitor's dug out seemed to have been kicked to bits. 

Aberdare had most of the early running, forcing chances and hitting the bar.

It was blazing hot and soon the players were taking a much-needed rehydration break.

Then, The Butcher's Arms caught a break, with the ball falling to one of their strikers as he drove into the penalty area and he blasted home to give the visitors a shock lead. The team in the eyecatching pink kits then had a little purple patch with two more good chances before Aberdare steadied themselves. However, Town still trailed 0-1 at the half time break.

(Half time was when I went down pitchside to get a photo back of the main stand. It was painfully hot down there. I also got a chance to talk to one of the Aberdare coaches, Daley, who is a Barry fan I've got to know in the last couple of years. He had been running the line on the far side of the pitch in the full heat of the sun and he looked like he was about to melt.)

The second half kicked off and Aberdare forced an equaliser, another shot lashed in from almost the same place where The Butcher's Arms had scored. Aberdare continued to push and were denied a winner for a debateable offside call after the ball took a deflection and ended up squirming past the goalkeeper.

It might have been because of the heat, but the game dragged a bit as the half wore on. Tom and I were kept amused by the lads behind us discussing the relative merits of Greggs and Tesco suasage rolls. (Greggs were "too crispy" apparently.) We also laughed about one of the silliest yellow cards I've ever seen when one of the Aberdare subs was ordered off the pitch because his socks were infringing the rules. 

Speaking of subs, it was only when I was reading the programme before the game that I realised I knew one of the squad. I've known Sam for a long time and I was delighted when he got onto the pitch towards the end of the second half. Here he is surrounded by defenders. This picture really showcases the opponents bright shirts. 

However, Aberdare were unable to get a winner. At 90 minutes the game went stright to a penalty shoot-out, which was taken at the end where both goals were scored. The keepers trudged down to that end.

Meanwhile their team-mates waited nervously on the halfway line. 

Aberdare had crashed out of the Welsh Cup First Qualifying Round on penalties the week before. Surely, history wouldn't repeat itself? Well, their first taker missed. Their second taker missed as well, but got a reprieve because the goalie moved before making the save, so he got to retake it and scored.

Meanwhile The Butcher's Arms takers were putting them away with aplomb. Sam scored his, which I was pleased about. Then the visitors missed their fourth penalty. This would tie everything up. 

The fourth Aberdare taker stepped up and blazed the ball over the bar. The next kicker made no such mistake, ripping it into the net and winning the shoot-out for The Butcher's Arms 4-2.

I don't know if this is the biggest scalp in The Butcher's Arms history, although I suspect it was. Certainly it was a bitter one to take for the home side. At least they have the league to look forward to and having seen a few South Wales Alliance games recently I suspect they have a very good chance of success this year. 

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.

From a field to Anfield

This is just a silly football-related blogpost highlighting the extremes of watching football. On Saturday 1 February I was at Coronation Park, off Sloper Road in Cardiff watching Grange Albion of the South Wales Alliance Premier League play Merthyr Saints.

Merthyr set up to defend a corner

It was a decent game played in blustery conditions. Grange scored early then failed to score a number of really good chances. A couple of minutes before the end of the game, they conceded a penalty, which was duly converted, and the game ended in a draw.

Coronation Park is a football pitch next to the bus depot (site of a fun day out in times past!). I've given up making jokes about parking the bus, because my friend Tom who I go with didn't think it was funny the first fifteen times I said it. The rest of the ground backs on to houses and an abandoned playpark where the swings have been removed. I walked across the pitch and it's got daisies growing on it. It is literally a field.

Three days later I was watching Shrewsbury Town play Liverpool in the FA Cup replay at Anfield, one of the most famous grounds in football. There had been some controversy about the game because Liverpool were only going to play their under-23 team. Still, this was the first time Shrewsbury had ever played at Anfield and the universe, for once, conspired in my favour because I had some work booked in North Wales the following day, which had been in my diary for weeks before the fixture was announced. So I had a good reason to be in the vicinity.

It's fair to say Anfield was a bit different to Coronation Park.

A blue and amber huddle in a sea of red

8,000 Shrewsbury fans made the trip to Anfield, packing out the away end. It was the first time Shrewsbury had played with a Video Assisted Referee (VAR) and, as you would expect, after Shrewsbury scored, the officials rewound the tape until they found a reason to disallow the goal. What's the point of having VAR if it doesn't prevent one of the biggest clubs in the country going out of the top cup competition, after all? LiVARpool eventually went on and won the game, thanks to one of the Shrewsbury defenders panicking and heading the ball into his own net.

Shrewsbury will never have a better opportunity to win at Anfield than this game, and to lose it to an own goal is such a quintessentially Shrewsbury Town fan experience it almost beats losing for the fifth time at Wembley.

For me the contrast between where I was watching football on the Saturday and the Tuesday was the most amusing aspect. Football is football, whatever the surroundings look like. The game is still the game; the drama is still the drama; the disappointment is still the disappointment.