Tuesday 1 May 2018

BFC 2-0 Brentford, Saturday 28th April 2018

‘Sees loads of Spanish lads.  Just goes to their room, does the business and leaves.  Most of ‘em good looking lads an’ all.’

For the final time this season...

I have no idea what happened on Satdy. No, I don’t mean  what happened was so unpredictable, so beyond belief (though it was) that I don’t know how it happened.  No, I was just so out of my tree the match spun by in the blink of an eye and I understood little of what went on.  The effects of alcohol. Having half a dozen pints pre-match (including a couple on the train), does nothing for the power of my memory, but I’ll give it a go.

The view from the East Upper.

Got to the Old Number 7.  Packed with Brentford, they’d done their homework on the finest hostelry in Barnsley.  Conversation revolved around our chances of staying up (nil) and telling Brentford not to worry about sending us down: it’s not their fault.  Had my photo taken with some of their lads, me looking suitably miserable to reflect the impending doom.

The West Stand v Brentford.

Had fish and chips. Marvellous.  Double thumbs up to Gary’s Fisheries.  Met up with my dad’s friend Diane and decided to go and sit upstairs with her.  Best view in the ground.  Handy when drunk.  Apparently Brentford had the better of the earlier exchanges.  All I’d say was we looked confident and strode up the pitch on a break.  Kiefer is on his own, wide left.  I could swear he even looked up, before delivering the ball in to no-one.  Thankfully, he’s yet to master the control of his own feet and the ball sails in at the far post, over the keeper.  ONE-NIL!

The Bees.

As I said, the rest of the game goes by in a blur. All I remember is how confident I was that we would not f*** this up.  Essence of Walsall away the other year, when I KNEW we’d hit that late winner.  Brentford simply looked so bad. Or were we amazing? Who knows?  I know Brentford looked nothing like a team chasing a play-off spot.  They looked more like us, after we’re safe.  We ran the second half.  McBurnie makes it two from a corner.  I thought the ball had been cleared, no idea how….but Ollie was off celebrating, the ball was cleared from behind the line.  Party time!

Fans and players celebrate the 2nd.


Thereafter, we had this bloke called Kiefer who endeavoured to keep the score down by missing simple chances.  One, if only he wasn’t there to tap in an open goal rebound, Potts was.  Shoulda, coulda, been 4 or 5 nil.  WTF happened????

Onwards and upwards!

I really am not best qualified to give a top 3.  I just remember the only player WITHOUT a claim was the keeper (see 'despatches')

Twitter MOTM: Hammill.  Although I’m a big fan, my first thought upon him being Twitter MOTM was ‘really?’  But hindsight says I have no clue what position Hammill played, nevermind him playing well.

Despatches:
Walton had NOTHING to do all game, save for a long shot straight at him.  I’m not sure whether he simply organises the defence better than Davies/Townsend (that can’t be hard) or whether the outfield were so worried about playing in front of a rookie that they did everything in their power to stop the Bees getting a sniff of goal.

The rest…err…..all played well.  Probably.

Oh, and well done OLLIE MCBURNIE.  Been here 3 months and wins Player of the Year.  Says it all, really.



Home fans celebrate winning a game of football.

In other news, I noticed a queue to renew season tickets after the game.  There wasn’t one of them beforehand!  Pre-match bookies odds on us going down…1/6.  Burton 1/5 and Bolton 2/1.  Now, Burton are 3/10, Bolton 11/17 (!?) and we’re 5/6.  Bloody hell, we’re actually FAVOURITES to stay up. I can feel the wolves at my door now, chasing me down for their tenners should our rescue become complete.  Fingers crossed their leader, Jonesy, will be rewarded for an entire season of optimism / delusion!*

*all we have to do is beat play off chasing Derby away, or hope Bolton fail to beat nothing-to-play-for Forest at home (and that Burton fail at Preston).  It promises to be a tense final day.

After match queue for season tickets.  'Let's wait and see what division we're in.'

Drink du jour: Erdinger on tap in the Old #7, Franziskaner the way up. JD and coke on the train…though I’ve found a bottle of Bacardi in my bag.  Great bants with Brentford on the way home.  Met the same lads who'd been in the pub.  They were keen to show me the pre-match photo of me/us.  Not a modicum of bitterness in any of them, just an obsession that we could send Brum down (16/1 if you fancy it), antipathy based on them nicking 3 Bees players.  We know that feeling…

Away: was it about 1400? I can’t remember what the announcer said.  The state I was in….

The Damage:
£28 train
£3 programme
£1 calendar
= £28

The Tunes:
Con Todo El Mundo (Khruangbin)
Countdown 1992-1983 (Pulp)

The Ponty v Brentford.






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