Showing posts with label craig davies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label craig davies. Show all posts

Thursday, 20 January 2011

League Two Results 15th January 2011

Barnet 1-1 Shrewsbury Town
Not even a defeat would have put Barnet back in the bottom three but Hereford United are now just a point behind them and Lincoln City have lots of games in hand. So Barnet’s 90th-minute equaliser – and fifth away point - was particularly welcome. Shrewsbury drop out of the play-off zone but only on goal difference.
Tom Bradshaw started for Shrewsbury. He didn’t score but the Shropshire Star seemed very happy with him.

Bury 1-1 Aldershot Town
Aldershot’s new manager Dean Holdsworth was very happy to see his team draw at Bury but Bury are badly missing a certain Welsh goalkeeper they signed on loan. They remain in the play-off zone but are now five points from the automatic promotion places.
Darren Jones played the full match for Bury and there was a substitute appearance for Aaron Morris.

Cheltenham Town 1-2 Accrington Stanley
A late goal for Accrington gave them their second away league win of the season – and their fourth successive game without defeat. They are now just three points behind Cheltenham.
Josh Low, who had just recovered from a hamstring injury, was a 60-minute substitute for Cheltenham. But he still had enough time to get an assist.
Joe Jacobson played the full match for Accrington.

Chesterfield 1-0 Stevenage
Stevenage found Chesterfield a bit more trouble than their last opponents, Newcastle United. Chesterfield haven’t lost in the league since mid-November and although they only scored one goal in this match, it’s their 35th at home in the league. And not every team scores against Stevenage in away matches. They’ve only conceded eight away goals this season.
Craig Davies returned from a hamstring injury for Chesterfield. It might take him a while to find his shooting boots (he is a man, men never seem to know where their shoes are) but he’s probably well in credit as far as goals are concerned.

Crewe Alexandra 2-1 Port Vale
Crewe are three points from the automatic promotion places after beating fellow promotion contenders Port Vale. If they still count as promotion contenders. With just one win in their last five league matches, they probably don’t want to know what position they’re in in the form table.
Rhys Taylor conceded a harsh penalty and for once he didn’t save it but he it probably helped keep things exciting and he still made enough saves to ensure that Crewe won the match.
Lewis Haldane played his first 90 minutes of the season for Port Vale. Gareth Owen also played the full match. Lewis thinks Port Vale’s problem is a lack of confidence but he says they’re eager to learn from new manager Jim Gannon.

Hereford United 3-0 Stockport County
Hereford hadn’t won at home at all this season before this match (except for that time they beat Hythe Town in the FA Cup). Then when it finally did happen, it wasn’t some measly little 1-0 victory, they did it in style (Stockport had just drawn with Rotherham United so it’s not like they’re complete rubbish). Now Hereford have won the same number of home games as Stockport.
Stuart Fleetwood started for Hereford. Ryan Green served the second and final match of his suspension.
Guess where Owain fon Williams was Stockport’s bench.

Rotherham United 1-2 Southend United
Rotherham seem to be a bit confused. They beat Port Vale 5-0, as in promotion contenders Port Vale, then they draw with Stockprt County and lose to Southend United. That’s just not how it’s supposed to be. Have they got the league table upside down or what?
Mark Bradley was missing from Rotherham’s squad again as they try to arrange a loan for him.
Peter Gilbert was back in Southend’s starting line-up for the first time since returning from what is probably one of the longest suspensions ever. He got a 3-match suspension almost two months ago and completed it in early January following several postponements and an abandonment but this was the first time he’s not been on the bench.

Saturday, 15 January 2011

League Two Fixtures 15th January 2011 (Part 1)

Barnet v Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury lost their last two home games and in theory away games are harder. But maybe not so much when they’re played against Barnet, who are probably only out of the bottom two because Lincoln City have four games in hand over them. (Yes, I am being mean about them. They terminated Grant Basey’s contract.).
Tom Bradshaw could start for Shrewsbury again but I kind of hope he doesn’t because he’s got such a great strike record when he comes off the bench.

Bury v Aldershot Town
Bury haven’t won since the 23rd November but that’s not as bad as it sounds as they haven’t played many games this season. All the same, they’ll be anxious to put this right against Aldershot. But four of Aldershot’s six wins came from away games..
Darren Jones should start for Aldershot. BBC Sport says Aaron Morris ‘could start ‘after returning from a loan spell’ and that’s not wrong, his loan spell at Newport was in the past so anything that happens now happens after he returned from the loan spell. But it sounds like he was on loan there last week and it was actually last season. But anyway Aldershot’s new boss Dean Holdsworth managed him at Newport so hopefully he likes him a lot and will want to start him all the time.

Cheltenham Town v Accrington Stanley
Cheltenham are only outside the play-offs on goal difference but maybe after this match they’ll be back in the top seven. Accrington are in a respectable mid-table position but they’ve only won one match away.
Josh Low has recovered from a hamstring injury and is likely to go straight back into Cheltenham’s starting line-up. Josh hopes to redeem himself after playing poorly in his last match (although the poor man was hobbling, what do you expect?).
Joe Jacobson should have started for Accrington anyway but his late winner against Bury last week should have made sure.

Chesterfield v Stevenage

Chesterfield are four points clear at the top of the table, having won nine of their thirteen home games. But they’re probably not as good as Newcastle United and Stevenage had no problems with them. Stevenage have struggled in the League though. Apart from their two most recent wins, which which were both against Barnet, they haven’t won in League Two for nearly three months.
Chesterfield haven’t lost any of the matches which Craig Davies has missed due to his hamstring injury. Or the match he missed last week when he was ill. But it’s hard to imagine him being left on the bench for this match.

Crewe Alexandra v Port Vale
A win for Port Vale could take them up to second in the table if other results go their way. But Crewe are in fifth despite losing to Torquay United in their last match.
Rhys Taylor will be in goal for Crewe.
Gareth Owen should start for Port Vale and maybe Lewis Haldane will as well after that assist he got in their last match.

Wednesday, 12 January 2011

League Two Results 8th January 2011

Accrington Stanley 1-0 Bury
It looked as though Accrington would have to be content with a draw – despite the loss of Owain fon Williams, who has returned to parent club Stockport County, Bury were looking very strong in the goalkeeping department.
Luckily for Accrington, they had Joe Jacobson on the pitch – he scored the goal and gave Accrington the win they deserved. But manager John Coleman thinks he should take some of the credit because he told Joe to go up for the corner. Joe has extended his loan spell initially until 29th January but Accrington are hoping to keep him for the rest of the season. Yes, I can see why!

Aldershot Town 1-2 Oxford United

Oxford won for the fifth time in sixth games, with Aldershot their latest victims. Four of Aldershot’s last six matches have in a 2-1 away win (including their last three matches) – unfortunately Aldershot were only playing away in two of them.
Darren Jones played the full match for Aldershot. Aaron Morris was on the bench.

Bradford City 1-3 Barnet
Barnet recorded their first away win of the season – and moved out of the bottom two as a result. A win for Bradford would have put them a point behind the play-offs.
Barnet don’t seem to be missing Grant Basey, who was released by the club. But Bradford probably wish they’d been able to extend Jason Price’s loan deal.

Crewe Alexandra 3-0 Wycombe Wanderers

Crewe moved into the play-offs following a big win over rivals Wycombe, who remain in the top three.
Rhys Taylor was in goal for Crewe – but they will only have him for this season. They can’t afford his wages anyway and he wants to play at a higher level next season. And I’m sure he’ll have plenty of offers.

Northampton Town 1-1 Cheltenham Town
Northampton missed out on the chance to go into the top half of the table, despite an excellent first half. Cheltenham are outside the play-offs only on goal difference.
Paul Walker was on the bench for Northampton.
Cheltenham were without the injured Josh Low (hamstring).

Shrewsbury Town 1-3 Morecambe
Shrewsbury dropped out of the play-offs when they failed to win for the fourth consecutive match. Morecambe are eight points clear of the relegation zone. Maybe they won’t be in the play-offs this season but they’re only seven points away so you never know.
Tom Bradshaw was given another start but the striker has never scored in a match he’s started. Of course, he only started three matches.

Southend United 2-3 Chesterfield
Chesterfield would have been top even if they’d lost this match but a hard-fought win means they are now five points clear. But they had a bit of help from Southend, who conceded two penalties.
Peter Gilbert was on the bench for Southend. He was hoping for a starting place but he didn’t get one.
Chesterfield are still without the injured Craig Davies.

Stockport County 1-5 Gillingham
Gillingham win their fourth successive away game – which isn’t a sentence I expected to write this season. Stockport fail to win for the third consecutive match.
Just a tip, Stockport. As Owain fon Williams did such a great job on loan at Bury, don’t you think he might be an option in goal?

Saturday, 8 January 2011

Welsh Players Christmas-New Year matches 2010-11 (League Two, Part 2)

Chesterfield
Craig Davies was in and out of the team with a hamstring injury but when he played, he scored.
Stockport H 4-1 (Y unsporting 27, G4 90, played all)
Accrington A 2-2 (out, injury)

Robert Page finished 2011 with another appearance on the bench.
Stockport H 4-1 (unselected)
Accrington A 2-2 (bench)

Mark Crossley
hasn’t been named on the bench since September.

Crewe Alexandra
Rhys Taylor has the option to move to another club in January and considering that he’d actually pretty good for a Chelsea goalkeeper, I would certainly have forgiven him if he did just that (although I’m not so sure about the Crewe fans). But the good news is that he hasn’t been corrupted by Ashley Cole and he does know what the word ‘loyalty’ means.
Northampton H 2-0 (played all)
Shrewsbury A 0-1 (played all)

Hereford United
Ryan Green returned from suspension to play Hereford’s final two matches of the season, in which they were unbeaten.
Wycombe A 2-1 (suspended)
Torquay H 2-2 (played all)
Aldershot A 1-2 (played all)

All the same, Hereford probably missed Ryan Valentine, who is still sidelined with a stomach injury.

Stuart Fleetwood made the most of his final two starts of the year by scoring in each of them.
Wycombe A 2-1 (starts, off 64)
Torquay H 2-2 (starts, G1 32, off 79)
Aldershot A 1-2 (starts, G1 3, off 78)

Macclesfield Town
Have Macclesfield Town actually superglued Sam Wedgbury to the bench or do they just not want him to play? I don’t know which is more ridiculous. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that they didn’t win any of their last three games.
Oxford A 2-1 (bench)
Bury A 2-2 (bench)
Rotherham H 0-2 (bench)

Northampton Town

Paul Walker remains Northampton’s second-choice keeper despite apparently being too young to play in League Two.
Crewe A 2-0 (bench)
Lincoln H 2-1 (bench)

Oxford United
Rhys Day was destined never to play with Oxford in the Football League. He spent the first part of the season absent with a knee injury before being sent out on loan to former club Mansfield Town. He has now signed for Mansfield permanently.

Friday, 17 December 2010

League Two Results 11th December 2010 (Part 1)

Barnet 2-0 Accrington Stanley
Barnet remain in the relegation places on goal difference but they do mean business and could move ahead of Accrington if they win their next game too.
Grant Basey helped Barnet to keep a clean sheet.
Joe Jacobson was probably trying to do the same for Accrington but he was less successful.

Bradford City 1-0 Hereford United
It was all going so well for Hereford but now the confidence has gone (and if they keep this up, the physio manager could be going too). Bradford end a run of four matches without a win.
Jason Price didn’t score Bradford’s goal but I’m sure he would have done if he hadn’t been put in a defensive role when he finally came off the bench.
Due to suspension and injury, Stuart Fleetwood was Hereford’s only Welsh representative and even he didn’t make it onto the pitch until the 72nd minute.

Burton Albion 3-1 Southend United
Southend’s five-match unbeaten run came to an end when they were overcome by Burton, who moved into the top half of the table.
Tony James has a hamstring problem and wasn’t in Burton’s squad.
Southend were without Peter Gilbert due to suspension.

Chesterfield 1-0 Torquay United
Chesterfield moved back to the top of the table after beating Torquay.
Craig Davies didn’t recover from injury in time for this game.

Macclesfield Town 2-4 Gillingham
Gillingham are just showing off now. This was their third consecutive away league win. They’re only a point behind Macclesfield now.
Sam Wedgbury was on the bench for Macclesfield.

Morecambe 1-0 Port Vale
Morecambe moved two points clear of the relegation zone with an impressive win over former league leaders Port Vale.
Gareth Owen started for Port Vale but left the field after just half an hour with a back injury. Lewis Haldane was a 59th-minute substitute.

Saturday, 4 December 2010

League Two Fixtures (and Postponements) 4th December 2010

Accrington Stanley P-P Shrewsbury
This match won’t happen as apparently there’s something wrong with the weather.

Aldershot Town P-P Bradford City
Aldershot have a frozen pitch so this match has been postponed.
Bradford’s loan striker Jason Price gets what is probably a welcome break from the rough and tumble of League Two. Michael Flynn is at least two months away from a return.

Bury P-P Chesterfield
Bury have a frozen pitch too. There’s a lot of it going around.
Owain fon Williams says Bury v Chesterfield is a massive game – but depending on when the rearranged fixture is, he might not get to play in it.
Craig Davies has a hamstring injury so I bet Chesterfield are quite glad they (probably) won’t have to play such a big game without him.
Robert Page says he’s ready to wait for his chance to play in the first team as he is getting on a bit.


Cheltenham Town P-P Lincoln City

And another frozen pitch.
Josh Low says Cheltenham have come a long way in the last twelve months. I’d say they’ve come a long way in the last six months too. At the end of last season, they were fourteen places lower than they are now.


Crewe Alexandra P-P Wycombe Wanderers

Crewe have one fewer match to show Rhys Taylor why he should stay for the whole season. Centre back Danny Blanchett certainly seems to like him.
Rhys wants to stay with Crewe for the rest of the season. Wales might be short of players who can score penalties – but here’s one who can save them.

Gillingham P-P Rotherham United

Gillingham’s pitch is a foot deep in snow so this match is off.

Hereford United P-P Morecambe

Hereford’s pitch is frozen but at least it’s theirs.

Northampton Town v Stockport

Northampton have only won once away while Stockport have only won once at home. Both teams will be glad it’s not the other around.
Paul Walker will be on the bench for Northampton.
Anthony Pulis should start for Stockport after extending his loan deal to 4th January. Highlights of his loan spell so far include a debut goal and three 5-0 defeats. But I’m sure that’s not Anthony’s fault.

Oxford United v Barnet
This match is still on but there will be a pitch inspection tomorrow to check it’s not too cold. Barnet have only two points from away matches this season but a first win would lift them out of the bottom two.
Oxford defender Rhys Day still wants to join loan club Mansfield Town full-time despite a change of manager. Rhys has recently been Mansfield stand-in captain.

Port Vale P-P Stevenage
How many ways are there of saying ‘the pitch is frozen’? I reckon I’ve got most of them.
Lewis Haldane believes he’ll struggle to get back into Port Vale’s starting eleven.

Southend United P-P Macclesfield Town
For the reasons for this postponement, see above.
Peter Gilbert would have been suspended for this match after Southend made the decision not to appeal against his red card on the grounds that it might be deemed frivolous.

Torquay United P-P Burton Albion
I’m not even going to tell you why this one’s off.
Garyn Preen has joined Stafford Rangers on loan from Burton.

Thursday, 2 December 2010

FA Cup Results 27th November 2010 (Part 1)

Burton Albion 3-1 Chesterfield
In the league, Chesterfield are on top while Burton (like every other team in League Two) are further down. But Cup matches can go either way even when the two sides involved are in different divisions so this probably shouldn’t really be a surprise. Even though it is. Burton’s next opponents are struggling Championship side Middlesbrough.
Tony James was on the bench for Burton. I like to think he was rested but the truth is he isn’t really first-choice anymore.
Craig Davies didn’t have the best day. After spending the first half being booed by the Burton supporters (he was born in Burton which was hardly his fault, I blame the parents), he then suffered a hamstring injury. Chesterfield aren’t sure how serious it is but they seem pretty hopeful.

Bury 1-2 Peterborough United
Bury killed one giant in the first round but Peterborough were just a little bit too much for them in the second. Next time, Peterborough could be the giant-killers as they face Fulham.
Loanee Owain fon Williams was in goal for Bury. His loan runs out at the end of December but he’s not sure what will happen then.
Arron Davies was a substitute but he didn’t come on until the 94th minute so he might not have actually kicked the ball or anything like that. Despite being left on the bench, Arron believes manager Gary Johnson will take Peterborough back into the Championship.
Lewin Nyatanga was not given permission to play in this match by parent club Bristol City but most reports suggested his loan had already come to an end by the time this match came around. But he’s definitely back at Bristol City now.

Carlisle United 3-2 Tamworth
Tamworth will feel disappointed to go out but the non-league side played well and didn’t look like minnows. Not that I’ve ever seen a footballer who does. The score was 2-2 with minutes still to play and it looked as though Tamworth had forced a replay but then Carlisle scored which spoiled things a bit. Carlisle will need to up their game just slightly when they face League Two Torquay United.
Scott Barrow played the full match for Tamworth.

Colchester United 1-0 Swindon Supermarines
Swindon Supermarines bowed out of the FA Cup after another great performance against one of the best teams (according to League place) in the competition. They couldn’t quite equalise but they must have given Colchester’s players a few scares. Colchester’s next opponents are a few more stops down the train line from Swindon – Swansea City.
Lee Beevers and Lloyd James were unused substitutes for Colchester.

Darlington 0-2 York City
Two former League sides battled for the right to face a Premier League side in the third round and it was York who went through, with Bolton Wanderers their reward.
Danny Parslow missed out for York after suffering from larynx damage which is an unusual one for a footballer but as an ex-singer I can tell you it can be pretty bad. Levi Mackin is being brought back slowly from a knee problem and wasn’t in the squad for this match even though he did feature in the last round.

Saturday, 27 November 2010

FA Cup Fixtures 27th November 2010 (Part 1)

AFC Wimbledon v Stevenage
AFC Wimbledon would have played MK Dons if they’d managed to beat Stevenage in the replay – but MK Dons just weren’t good enough.
AFC Wimbledon’s Reece Jones missed out in the last round as he was on loan at Lewes and it looks like he’s still there.

Burton Albion v Chesterfield
The last time these two teams faced one another, Burton got their first away win of the season. In theory, it should be even easier at home.
Tony James could be back in the starting line-up after being dropped to the bench in Burton’s last game – he’s on standby to replace an injured player.
Chesterfield striker Craig Davies will be hoping to add to his goal tally.

Bury v Peterborough United
Bury have already knocked Exeter City out of the Cup. Now they face an off-form Peterborough.
Bury keeper Owain fon Williams, who is on loan from Stockport County, is able to play for Bury in the FA Cup. They’ve actually already cup-tied him so Stockport
Arron Davies should play for Peterborough. Lewin Nyatanga has returned to parent club Bristol City after his loan spell came to an end but he couldn’t have played anyway.

Carlisle United v Tamworth
Tamworth knocked League Two Crewe out but now they’re up against a League One side.
Scott Barrow will hope to play for Tamworth.

Charlton Athletic v Luton Town

Not very long ago (but longer ago than I remember) this was a Premier League tie. Not anymore.
Alex Lawless has joined Luton on loan from York City but he won’t be able to play in this match as he is cup-tied.

Colchester United v Swindon Supermarine
Swindon Supermarine are hoping for another giant-killing after despatching Eastwood Town in the last round. A win for Supermarine could see them facing Swindon Town, who will need a replay against Crawley Town.
Lee Beevers and Lloyd James will hope for a run-out against the non-league side.

Tuesday, 23 November 2010

League Two Results 20th November 2010 (Part 1)

Aldershot Town 0-2 Chesterfield
Chesterfield stay two points clear at the top of League Two after beating Aldershot – who are now just three points away from the relegation zone.
Darren Jones and Aaron Morris played the full match for Aldershot.
Craig Davies scored another outstanding goal before helping to set up Chesterfield’s second.

Barnet 4-1 Northampton Town
I wasn’t even sure Barnet had scored four goals this season so to get four in a match, even against struggling Northampton, is amazing. Barnet move ahead of Hereford United and are now just a point behind Northampton.
Grant Basey got his first Barnet goal two minutes after the re-start from a free kick.
Paul Walker was on the bench for Northampton.

Bradford City 0-1 Macclesfield Town
Bradford have been doing well lately but so have Macclesfield – this was their sixth successive game without defeat.
Jason Price was a 59th minute substitute for Bradford.
Sam Wedgbury was on the bench for Macclesfield.

Cheltenham Town 1-1 Morecambe

A late penalty for Morecambe gave them a very useful point – not to mention an impressive one – against play-off hopefuls Cheltenham.
Josh Low scored Cheltenham’s goal two minutes before half-time. They say it’s good to be 1-0 up at half-time. But it’s not half as good as being 1-0 up at full-time.

Crewe Alexandra 0-1 Rotherham United
Rotherham continued their promotion push with a 1-0 away victory over Crewe.
Rhys Taylor struggled to deal with a ball from his own team-mate, which sadly ended up in the back of the net, but a Rotherham penalty from Adam Le Fondre caused him no problems at all and that's not something every goalkeeper can say.
Mark Bradley forced Rotherham into scoring an own goal. I’m sure he’d rather have scored it himself but as long as it goes in somehow.

Saturday, 20 November 2010

League Two Fixtures/News 20th November 2010 (Part 1)

Aldershot Town v Chesterfield
Chesterfield have only lost once away this season. However, they have only won twice – the same number as Aldershot have won at home.
Darren Jones and Aaron Morris should both start for Aldershot.
Craig Davies will probably think he’s due a goal for Chesterfield after only scoring about two in his last four games.

Barnet v Northampton Town
Northampton manager Ian Sampson seem to think the toughest thing about Barnet is their sloping pitch. Barnet are probably grateful for it. It’s the only pitch they’ve won on in the league this season. But Northampton have only won on two pitches – their own and whoever they were playing in their solitary away win (and if I had my spreadsheets with me I could tell you who it was but I haven’t and I’m too lazy to check).
Grant Basey should be in defence for Barnet
Paul Walker will probably be on the bench for Northampton.

Bradford City v Macclesfield Town
Both these teams were looking like potential relegation fodder but both are looking fairly comfortable, with Macclesfield just two points from the play-offs and Bradford four points.
Jason Price hopes parent club Carlisle United will allow him to remain at Bradford for a bit longer. Michael Flynn will be out for some time with a groin injury.

Chelteham Town v Morecambe
Cheltenham have only lost one match at home this season and Morecambe are only two points outside the relegation zone.
Josh Low should start for Cheltenham.

Crewe Alexandra v Rotherham United
A win for Crewe might put them in the top six. But it might not happen. Rotherham are pretty good and we all know what Crewe’s drawing habits are like.
Rhys Taylor will start for Crewe but perhaps he won’t be there for much longer. He has a clause in his contract saying he can move to another club in January if he wants to. Crewe manager Dario Gradi hopes he doesn’t want to. And if Rhys wants to stay, he will play.
Mark Bradley has got a couple of starts for Rotherham recently after recovering from injury. Maybe the goals will come soon.

Tuesday, 16 November 2010

League Two Results 13th November 2010 (Part 1)

Bury 0-1 Stockport County
BBC Sport described this as a shock win over Stockport but I’m not so sure. Bury have been doing well lately but they were forced to play without their goalkeeper, Owain fon Williams, as he is on loan from Stockport.
Robbie Williams (not the famous one, by which I mean not the one at Altrincham who played for Wales) is credited with the assist for Stockport’s goal but it sounds like Anthony Pulis’ free kick was a very important part of it.

Chesterfield 1-2 Burton Albion
Chesterfield lost at home for the first time this season while Burton won away for the first time. But Chesterfield are still top of the table so things aren’t too bad.
Craig Davies didn’t score for what I believe is the second time in three matches. But I don’t think that’s anything to worry about.
Tony James was in Burton’s starting line-up. Tony says he’s happy to have found himself again after being lost on the bench.

Gillingham 1-3 Crewe Alexandra
Gillingham lost again even though they need all the home points they can get but the manager was happy. Why? Because he had 12-14 players out through injury or suspension. Manager Andy Hessenthaler used to be a footballer so I think we can forgive him for having trouble with counting to fourteen.
Rhys Taylor was in goal for Crewe after recovering from an ankle injury (it seems to be Goalkeeper Injury Curse month – Rhys, Danny Coyne, Lewis Price and Tony Roberts have all been injured) and his presence was probably another reason why Gillingham lost. He did actually do them a big favour at one point but luckily Gillingham didn’t score.

Hereford United 1-1 Cheltenham Town
It’s a bit unfair when you’re unbeaten in six whole games and you’re still in the bottom two. Even if you do have an aversion to winning at home. But Hereford are only there on goal difference and if they can win the next game they should move ahead of Gillingham who are playing away.
Right back Ryan Green has been playing in central defence for Hereford and he says he likes it which is always good. He and Ryan Valentine played the full match for Cheltenham but Stuart Fleetwood was suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season.
Josh Low played the full match for Cheltenham. He thinks Cheltenham are playing a bit like Spain.

Monday, 8 November 2010

FA Cup Results 6th November 2010 (Part 3)

Gillingham 0-2 Dover Athletic
Dover were out for revenge. Gillingham had taken two of their managers, their youth team coach and one of their best players. But it was Dover who went through to the second round of the FA Cup.
Adam Birchall has scored no fewer than nine goals in the FA Cup this season. I didn’t see the first eight but his ninth was spectacular.

Guiseley 0-5 Crawley Town

No giant-killing here but we still have another non-league side in the second round of the FA Cup. The winner came from Torres. Liverpool must have been jealous. But only for twenty-four hours.
Glenn Wilson wasn’t in Crawley’s squad due to a hamstring problem.

Harrow Borough 0-2 Chesterfield

Chesterfield are at the top of League Two for a reason and, unlike many clubs, they weren’t about to be caught out by their non-league opponents. But the fact they only scored two probably means that Harrow did a pretty good job.
Substitute Craig Davies made the game safe only in the 93rd minute.

Hartlepool United 0-0 Vauxhall Motors
And another non-league side force a replay against League One opponents. It could have been a lot worse for Hartlepool but luckily when Vauxhall scored, it was offside.
Rob Marsh-Evans wasn’t playing for Vauxhall Motors because he’s gone back to parent club Southport.

Havant & Waterloovilw 0-2 Droylsden
No dazzling Cup run for Havant this season – not unless Droylsden made the same mistake as they did against Chesterfield two years ago.

Hereford Town 5-1 Hythe Town
Hythe, the lowerst-ranked team in the first round proper, became the second team in three matches to concede five against Hereford. But the difference between Hythe and Stockport County is that Hereford didn’t keep a clean sheet aganst Hythe.
Stuart Fleetwood finally got the start that he should have got weeks ago. He got the assist for the third goal, then scored the fifth. Ryan Green played at centre back but Ryan Valentine was unselected.

Macclesfield Town 2-2 Southend United

Macclesfield and Southend prepare for the second of four meetings between these sides this season.
Sam Wedgbury was on the bench for Macclesfield.
Southend were without Peter Gilbert, who was suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card. He was disappointed about missing this FA Cup match but Southend kindly ensured he would be playing in the first round after all.

Mansfield Town 0-1 Torquay United
Mansfield were very disappointed to lose after holding League Two’s Torquay at bay for 87 minutes.
Rhys Day couldn’t play for Mansfield following a red card in a previous game. Matt Somner also couldn’t play as he seems to be on loan at Altrincham.

Notts County 2-0 Gateshead
Gateshead might have harboured hopes of taking advantage of Notts County while things were in disarray following the shock sacking of one manager and very quick appointment of another.
Unfortunately, Notts County had other ideas. Ben Davies scored the penalty to put them 1-0 up.

Plymouth Argyle 0-4 Swindon Town

Swindon looked more like the play-off finalists they were last year than a team not all that far above Plymouth and the relegation places.
Carl Fletcher is still out for Plymouth with a leg injury.

Saturday, 6 November 2010

FA Cup Fixtures 6th November 2010 (Part 3)

Forest Green v Northampton Town
Forest Green have lots of injury doubts but the manager won’t say who which is no help at all. Brothers Mike Fowler and Lee Fowler and also Curtis McDonald are on Forest Green’s books. Mike seems to be a regular starter and Curtis has recently returned from a calf injury but Lee will be out for about three months due to a knee ligament injury.
Paul Walker will probably be on the bench for Northampton.

Gillingham v Dover Athletic

Adam Birchall could play for Dover against their Kent rivals. He was released from his last club, Barnet, by manager Ian Hendon, who is now the assistant manager at Gillingham. Adam has just signed a two-year contract extension after being linked with a move to... Gillingham.

Guisley v Crawley Town

Glenn Wilson could play for Crawley Town. Guiseley are unbeaten in 16 matches in all competitions.

Hartlepool United v Vauxhall Motors
Rob Marsh-Evans played for Vauxhall in the FA Cup whilst on loan from Southport but he’s returned to his parent club now. Vauxhall are unbeaten in nine.

Harrow Borough v Chesterfield
Craig Davies will hope to continue his excellent scoring record against Harrow – but only if he’s played. Mark Crossley could play in goal for Chesterfield. Robert Page could also be in contention.

Havant & Waterlooville v Droylsden

Two of the most famous giantkillers (in my time as a football supporter) go head to head in the first round of the FA Cup. The home side will be remembered for romantic reasons but the Droylsden story was more a comedy. Of more than a few errors. (Neither of them seem to have any Welsh players at the moment but these are two of my favourite football stories ever.)
Havant knocked out York City, Notts County and Swansea City before taking the lead twice at Anfield. Liverpool went on to win the game 5-2 but it should have been 4-2. One of those goals was offside. I bet Havant would love another go at Liverpool this season.
Droylsden knocked out Darlington in the FA Cup two seasons ago and then faced Chesterfield.
The first fixture between these sides was abandoned due to fog (Chesterfield were leading 2-0).
The second match was drawn 2-2 in controversial circumstances. Droylsden kicked the ball out of play to allow an injured Chesterfield player to be treated. Chesterfield didn’t return possession and following the throw-in, they accidently scored a goal. The Chesterfield manager solved the problem by telling his players to stand aside and let Droylsden score.
In the replay, Chesterfield went two goals ahead but the match was abandoned due to floodlight failure.
When the replay was replayed, Droylsden won the match and knocked Chesterfield out of the Cup.
Except they didn’t because they’d accidentally fielded an ineligible player (he was banned for a fifth booking but because of all the replays all over the place, Droylsden got confused). And not only did he play, he scored the two goals to knock Chesterfield out.
So Droylsden were thrown out of the competition, with Chesterfield progressing in their place.
Chesterfield went on to lose to Ipswich Town and therefore became one of I’m sure comparatively few teams who have played in the first two rounds (proper) of the FA Cup without actually winning a game.

Friday, 5 November 2010

League Two Results 2nd November 2010 (Part 1)

Barnet 0-3 Stevenage
Barnet remain bottom of the table but they’re only two points behind Hereford. And things can’t be too bad if you’re two points behind a team that’s had back-to-back 5-0 wins.
Grant Basey returned to Barnet’s starting line-ip after recovering from an ankle injury and nearly scored from a free kick.

Burton Albion 0-0 Port Vale
I thought Tony James would be back at Burton for this match but I messed up, he wasn’t, he was still at loan club Hereford United. Burton decided not to let Burton extend his loan because they need Tony to cover for injuries. Small problem: Tony has a thigh injury.
Port Vale seem to have forgotten how to win away. It’s a shame they’ve already played their home tie with Gillingham really.
Gareth Owen kept a clean sheet for Port Vale.

Bury 0-1 Brasford City
When I looked for Bradford in the League Two table, it took me ages to find them. I wasn’t looking high up enough. They’re now up to tenth after beating third-placed Bury.
Owain fon Williams conceded a penalty for fouling Bradford’s Jason Price. The penalty was scored (although not by Jason) which gave Bradford the win. But that’s good. It means Stockport County will be less likely to want Owain back and he can stay with his third-placed team instead of going back to his 21st-placed team.

Chesterfield 5-2 Accrington Stanley
Accrington are still without an away win this season after Chesterfield;s unbeaten home record continues.
Craig Davies returned to his goalscoring duties with a bang, scoring Chesterfield’s first and last goals, as well as getting the assist for the fourth. Chesterfield fans might have preferred it if he’d used one of his goals or assists for the previous match instead and got six points instead of four but you can’t have everything. Not even when you’re at the top of the league.

Crewe Alexandra 1-2 Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury are up to fourth despite having lost half their away games.
Rhys Taylor saved a Shrewsbury penalty but was unable to stop them from winning. It’s an improvement though. A few days ago, he was conceding penalties. Now he’s saving them. It’s by far the best way.
Tom Bradshaw was still missing for Shrewsbury due to an ankle injury he suffered whilst playing for Wales.

Thursday, 4 November 2010

League Two Results 30th October 2010 (Part 2)

Southend United 1-0 Rotherham United
Southend won for the first time in three matches with an excellent win over promotion hopefuls Rotherham.
Peter Gilbert got his fifth yellow card of the season for Southend.
Mark Bradley was back on the bench for Rotherham.

Stevenage 0-0 Chesterfield

Chesterfield have been going well so some would have been surprised to see them drop points against league newcomers Stevenage. But it extends their unbeaten run to six games and Port Vale couldn’t quite knock them off the top of the table.
Craig Davies had a break from scoring for Chesterfield. Unfortunately, so did the other strikers.

Stockport County 0-5 Hereford United

Being thrashed 5-0 at home would have been bad enough if they were playing Chesterfield. When it’s Hereford United, a team who were at this stage still in the bottom two, it’s just embarrassing. No disrespect intended to the goalkeeper but maybe Stockport are beginning to regret sending Owain fon Williams on loan to a team in the top three.
Anthony Pulis played 90 minutes for Stockport.
For the second consecutive match, Stuart Fleetwood came off the bench and scored. Defenders Ryan Green (who had some good moments at both ends of the pitch… or possibly at one end, depending on when they changed ends), Ryan Valentine and Tony James helped Hereford get a clean sheet. But it wasn’t Tony’s last match with Hereford, I messed up again.

Tuesday, 2 November 2010

League Two Fixtures 2nd November 2010 (Part 1)

Barnet v Stevenage
The Barnet manager has named an unchanged squad. Grant Basey wasn’t in the last squad. So I cam only assume he’s not in this one either.

Burton Albion v Port Vale

Tony James has returned to Burton after his loan spell at Hereford United came to an end.
Gareth Owen should start for Port Vale but Lewis Haldane is still out.

Bury v Bradford City
Can’t get a game at struggling Stockport County? No problem, promotion contenders Bury are still interested. Owain fon Williams will hope to keep his place.
Jason Price will start if Bradford’s appeal against James Hanson’s red card is unsuccessful. Michael Flynn is still recovering from groin surgery.

Cheltenham Town v Southend United
Josh Low should start for Cheltenham.
Southend’s Peter Gilbert is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season.

Chesterfield v Accrington Stanley
Craig Davies has scored four goals in his last three games for Chesterfield but none in his last time. I think he’s due another goal.

Thursday, 28 October 2010

League Two Results 23rd October 2010 (Part 1)

Barnet 1-0 Macclesfield Town
Barnet were without new signing Grant Basey, who has an ankle injury.
Sam Wedgbury was on the bench for Macclesfield.

Burton Albion 3-0 Bradford City
New loan signing Jason Price got his first start for Bradford.

Bury 1-0 Southend United
Peter Gilbert played the full match for Southend. Nathaniel Jarvis made another late substitute appearance.

Cheltenham Town 0-0 Port Vale
Josh Low played the full match for Cheltenham.
Gareth Owen was in defence for Port Vale.

Chesterfield 4-3 Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury came back from 4-0 down and almost got a draw.
Craig Davies scored twice and it was a good thing he did. The first time he scored, he got a yellow card for unsporting behaviour. I’m not sure exactly what he did but it’s a good thing he didn’t repeat it.

Wednesday, 20 October 2010

Welsh Player News 16th October 2010 (League One, League Two, Scotland)

League One
Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale was impressed with the performance of his 37 year old assistant manager Rob Edwards when he made his third start of the season against his former side Carlisle United. Rob’s defensive partner Billy Jones also had some good words to say about Rob and Vital Exeter City agrees that Rob has still got it.

Daniel Nardiello had a feeling Exeter could beat Carlisle – it’s just a shame he stayed on the bench and missed the whole thing. But as he says, it just shows how strong Exeter are up front.

League Two
Chesterfield striker Craig Davies has been nominated for the PFA Fans’ League Two Player of the Month award.

Stuart Fleetwood says Hereford United need to stop making so many errors. He can’t come off the bench and inspire a fightback every week. But other than that, he was delighted with the 4-3 victory over Northampton Town.

Rhys Day was thrilled to get an ovation from Mansfield Town supporters when he returned to his former club on loan from Oxford United. He also hinted that the move could become permanent. He nearly marked his debut with a goal but unfortunately Mansfield could only draw when home side Darlington scored a late equaliser.

Gareth Owen says that in order to end their winless run, the Port Vale players must stick together. But maybe the fans’ expectations are just a tiny bit too high.

Scotland
Joe Ledley was delighted when Celtic won their eighth successive game of the season against Dundee United.

Rhys Weston speaks of his personal devastation following the likely demise of his club Dundee.

League Two Results 16th October 2010 (Part 2)

Port Vale 0-0 Gillingham
Port Vale won’t be very happy after playing a third consecutive game without a win but they’re probably still happier than Gillingham. While a point at the home of the former league leaders is actually pretty good, equalling a club record for number of games without defeat is slightly less good. Especially when the number of winless games is 33.
Gareth Owen helped Port Vale to their clean sheet, by both earning the Man of the Match award and supported his central defence partner Ritchie Sutton through his first league start.

Shrewsbury Town 2-0 Lincoln City
Shrewsbury won for the first time in six matches but the run can’t have been as bad as it sounded. Shrewsbury are 5th in the table, four points from the top of the table and unbeaten at home.
Tom Bradshaw was on the bench for Shrewsbury.

Southend United 0-2 Crewe Alexandra
Crewe’s run of five consecutive draws came to an end – and luckily their unbeaten run didn’t end with it. This was Crewe’s first away win of the season.
Peter Gilbert was dropped to Southend’s bench and Crewe took full advantage. Nathaniel Jarvis came off the bench late on and tried to help but he couldn’t get past Crewe goalkeeper Rhys Taylor. The good news is that Wales have a great goalkeeper waiting in the wings. The bad news? He plays for Chelsea.

Stockport County 2-1 Barnet

Stockport won at home for the first time since February. Admittedly it wasn’t against the best team in the league – Barnet have only one point from away games this season - but Stockport got the same number of points as they’d have got if they’d been playing Chesterfield.
Loanee Anthony Pulis again showed he’s not as bad as people think when he got the assist for the winning goal. Owain fon Williams was on the bench for Stockport.
Barnet loanee Grant Basey missed out with an ankle injury.

Wycombe Wanderers 1-2 Chesterfield
Chesterfield move to the top of the table after beating Wycombe although part of the credit must go to Gillingham, who held Port Vale to a draw.
Craig Davies scored both Chesterfield’s goals. Robert Page was back on the bench.

Saturday, 16 October 2010

League Two Fixtures 16th October 2010 Part 2

Port Vale v Gillingham
If Gillingham don’t win this match, they’ll have equallsed a club record of 33 away games without a win.
Gareth Owen will be in defence for Port Vale but it’s likely to be a while before Lewis Haldane has played for Port Vale’s reserves but he’s not ready for the first team yet.

Shrewsbury Town v Lincoln City
Tom Bradshaw will be hoping to make another supersub appearance for Shrewsbury.

Southend United v Crewe Alexandra
Peter Gilbert should be in the starting line-up for Southend with Nathaniel Jarvis probably coming off the bench again.
Rhys Taylor will play in goal for Crewe.

Stockport County v Barnet

Anthony Pulis will be hoping for another start for Stockport after his goalscoring debut. Owain fon Williams will be on the bench.
Grant Basey has an ankle injury so he might not play for Barnet.

Wycombe Wanderers v Chesterfield
Craig Davies will be hoping to put the ball in the net again for Chesterfield – except this time ideally it won’t be disallowed. Robert Page might be on the bench but he might not.