#wwfc 1 v 2 #afcb

It's been ages since my last away game so woke up ridiculously early feeling rough with a head cold

Doesn't sound much I appreciate but you have to study the logistics carefully - firstly, I'm today's designated driver for Eloise, Matt and Marco and secondly, when you have a nose the size of mine, one sneeze can wipe out the visibility of an entire windscreen.

We reacquainted ourselves with Cherwell Services en route which meant the day was back on track with our usual game of Matt-baiting

Well, if you go to footy and spend 7 quid on sushi for sustenance then quite frankly you get what you deserve

Traffic was kind to us though (except for an old guy riding a mobility scooter in the middle of the road) and we parked up at the Civic Centre (home of the tightest car park spaces in the world) and after we'd escaped through the sun roof we walked into town

This week all my pub plans were in uproar as every time I thought I found an away fan friendly pub, I received a tweet saying "I wouldn't try there if I were you"

Surely a place the size of Wolvehampton doesn't shepherd all away fans into 1 pub - what is this, the 1980's ??

Sure enough though, each pub we passed had signs for home fans only and although we weren't wearing colours so could have probably passed the surly looking bouncers, we feared once we had to ask for a pint, the veil of secrecy would be shattered

One thing we've learned in the past -  locals DON'T appreciate you having a go at the accent - which is fair enough, now I think of it...

So off to the Stonehouse we went to be greeted by airport like metal detectors / scanners 

The beeping from that door thing must have driven the locals mad because who now DOESN'T carry change or a phone or a nine inch blade...

Now I like being roughly frisked as much as the next man but to me, this did seem a little over the top

I figured, though, that at least inside this magical, mysterious, difficult to enter place there would be wonders beyond my wildest dreams

No, no there wasn't 

In a Basil-esque moment I wasn't expecting herds of wilderbeast sweeping majestically through the plains of Wolvehampton but a soul-less, windowless bar which refused my mate entry because he'd had the audacity to travel to the game with his 13 year old son (this IS the only pub we were allowed in) was, in fairness, a little disappointing

They did have a red and black upholstered ceiling, which was a nice touch, but I'm pretty sure that was incidental :-)

Yes I guess Robbie could have left his son at home, but he was wearing his lucky socks so that just wasn't an option - and oh yes, this is meant to be a family friendly event ...

So first impressions weren't great but that could not be said of the stadium

As we descended into the bowl in which it sits I have to say it looked really impressive

I do like the newer bowl type stadiums but there is something to be said for having 4 f*** off big stands where the corners aren't filled in

The only slightly weird thing was that we were given the lower tier of what was the equivalent of our East stand, so we were right on the half way line which is usually the expensive bit of the ground

That though, wasn't the really weird bit - it was the fact that the home executive boxes were above us (not ideal for them I can imagine) and then the upper tier was home fans

I think I can only think of QPR where away fans were above home when I've before wondered why everyone else separates the fans so much

There was no trouble - how every match should be

I'd also like to mention that the stewards were excellent and having stewards specifically to look after our fans with special needs was superb

They really looked after our guys and were a credit to the club

After a rather excellent steak and ale pie we found our seats in Row A

Brilliant

I blame Matt, because it was his fault

I did however gather a small amount of amusement as someone with the tallest wheelchair on earth sat right in front of him although having to restrain him from giving the guy a little "nudge" did become a little tiresome :-)

We had a good chat with Robbie who rose further in my estimations by pretending to be interested in NFL for Matt and I saw Neil from the North stand and the guy/son I speak with in the local chippie, post home games so I was starting to feel at home

The players came out to warm up and remarked that Ritchie's hair obviously didn't like the cold as it wasn't standing to attention as usual

The teams were announced and Pitman was in for Kermorgant 

I had a good think about that and decided it was tactical genius

Normally we start games like a train and finish poorly 

By starting him, we are guaranteed a good finish by dragging him off near the end and replacing him with, well, anyone :-)

It was starting to get cold now - I blame the flag bearers causing a draft

The game kicked off and Pugh immediately had a go at there tall left back, Lorfa

I thought Pugh was going to have a field day as the gangly number 33 looked like Bambi on Ice but I had badly underestimated him

Not only did he have blistering pace to make up for falling for any tricks but going forward he was so comfortable on the ball and when he attacked we wet ourselves

The problem for us though, was that all the home side looked great on the ball and when you couple that with a hard pressing game you get a torrid first half for the travelling Cherries

In the first 5 minutes it was obvious that Wolves had a point to prove as they poured forward and both wingers were rampaging

On 8 minutes thankfully I was blinded by the sun as it appeared between the stands - it was God's way of saying "Don't watch Elphick fanny about with the ball and give it away"

My eyes just recovered enough to see Boruc fly spectacularly to his left to save a fierce drive from just outside the box

We then ran down the other end and a smart move down the left had the ball rolled to Ritchie who had a low shot well saved near the bottom left corner

Wolves were harrying well and as we'd obviously decided not to challenge in the air, Wolves were taking a grip on the game

On 16 minutes (shortly after a Pitman shot to row Z) Lorfa cut in from the left and his low bobbly shot was fumbled by Boruc and their striker ran in, took the ball and fell over putting the ball into the side netting

Just 3 minutes later it was Arter giving the ball away and it was yet another fine save from a fierce strike that kept the teams level

I can't remember ever saying this - but we were being out-footballed 

On 21 minutes Elphick went from hero (cutting out a low right cross) to zero as it was his turn to give the ball away and rely on a poor shot to be picked up by our overworked keeper

Our midfield was sitting way too deep giving Wolves space and time to power forward so every tackle we made looked last ditch, the pressure was pretty relentless

When we did get an attack going we suffered from our usual shot-itis and wanted to walk it in but these attacks were few and far between

It seemed only Arter was prepared to roll his sleeves up and get stuck in but when he got his yellow after 30 minutes for a poorly timed tackle in the middle, even he had to start reining it in

A goal for the home side seemed inevitable and on 41 minutes it came

To me it seemed an inswinging cross from the left seemed to just sneak in the far post but I heard later that Graham had got the faintest headed touch

No more than they deserved 

All too often teams that perform this well are overlooked as a result of the other team being "under par"

True we looked tired but our play I believe was as a direct consequence of how well Wolves played

As half time was blown I sighed with relief - thank God it was only 1

HT 1-0

The second half started and the hair dryer treatment had obviously worked

We looked much brighter and when Pitman was felled just outside the box the ball was nudged to Ritche he smashed the ball low and the keeper made a fine save to his right

On 53 minutes Elphick decided on a play from the same decade as his haircut by jumping at a corner and bundling the keeper into the net

The ball did go in.....

We were getting much more of the ball but on 55 minutes the away fans decided that we'd given Wolves the advantage for long enough and started singing for Kermorgant 

The team was carrying Pitman today

What I don't get is his crossing delivery isn't great and yet he takes corners and free kicks

He's a striker - why isn't he trying to score?

Arter was starting to boss the midfield, spraying the ball both left and right but it was the Wolves striker, van la Parra that changed the game

A long ball was hoofed forward from the back and Cook went to cover it 

Van la Parra at no point looked at the ball, just saw where Cook was and jumped up as Cook jumped

I didn't see VLP lead with his arm but he did clash heads with Cook

I don't believe he meant to hurt Cook but you are not allowed to jump into a player which he did as he never looked at the ball and so what he did was dangerous 

It gave the ref a decision to make 

The blame is entirely with VLP

So, down to 10 men, Wolves committed the cardinal sin against us - they sat back

If they'd studied us they would have known that if they'd carried on harrying and changing to route 1 - this was a game they could still get something from

Sitting back is just like meat and drink to us and we all visibly grew in stature and confidence

So, with them down to 10 it's obvious what we needed - a defensive substitute 

Smith came on for Daniels

What???

Well it must be an injury

Nope - what it was was a substitution master-stroke 

As soon as he came on we were a force down the left despite Pugh having a very poor game

He was fast and direct and raised the tempo of the whole team noticeably 

On 67 minutes it was he that cut in from the left and fired into the side netting - finally someone not afraid to shoot

I wonder if he's put himself in contention....

Wolves now couldn't hold on to the ball and couldn't get out of their half

We were attacking at will from both left and right and Cook almost wrote his name into Wolves' infamy by chesting down a corner and poking it narrowly over

To be fair I'm not sure why he was getting so much - even if you thought it wasn't a foul he WAS still flattened

On 72 minutes the away crowd finally got what they wanted and Yann came on ..... for Pugh

This allowed Pitman to use his blistering pace down the left

On the other hand, they are down to 10, sitting back and we now have 3 strikers on the field - yeah ok - Pugh wasn't having a great game anyway

A minute later Wolves' heroic defence was finally breached

Good play down the right had the ball pin-balling all over the place with shots pummelling the defenders until the ball was slid to Arter who thumped the ball through the crowd and into the bottom left corner, almost under the keeper

The reaction was amazing

He sprinted over to the Afcb fans and knee slid while screaming at the top of his voice 1-1

You could see the Wolves heads drop then - when you are on a run like they are this often happens

They just looked like they were beaten - we just needed to ensure that we were more ruthless than we have been in the past

And so we were

Attack after attack from left right and middle saw some of the best blocking and challenges I've seen to keep the teams level - it was simply whether they could hold out as all ideas of going for a shock win like we did with 10 against Bolton were gone

With 5 minutes to go Yann was involved in yet another clash of heads and while the home players wanted retribution, a corner was given

From this corner I saw possibly the best save from a close range header from Wilson followed by the best goal line headed clearance I've ever seen, as the ball landed to Ritchie 15 yards out

He shin-shot to the far corner and it just had enough power to beat the man on the line to make it 1-2

His celebration was ok, but compared to Arter doing his Nobby Styles jig down the sideline (something I will take to my grave) it was just pitiful

The last few minutes were professionally seen out and even though they had yet another man sent off for a horrible looking lunge on Pitman deep into injury time - it made no difference

Summary : Wolves are a very good side and thoroughly deserved to go in 1 goal up

Good skill on the ball, great work rate without the ball

After the half time b*****king we looked a much improved side but in fairness the red card was the game changer

As much as it raised our confidence, it absolutely crushed theirs

They played the last 30 minutes all wrong by letting us build up a head of steam and when we are at our best, full strength teams are challenged - this game ended as a contest on that decision 

Star Man - Arter - he's going to have to get some weights' tips from Supa because he can't keep dragging the rest of the team back into life

Got any spare change?

#ncfc 1 v 1 #afcb

Having got up at 5am to do a run on Friday, perhaps staying up drinking until 2am Saturday morning wasn't the IDEAL way to prepare for an away trip to Norwich but hey, who needs more than 4 hours sleep anyway?

Matt was prompt at 7:15 to pick me an Eloise up and off we went to get Marco 

By all accounts traffic was going to be bad so the early start was the right move

Matt's magical sat-nav somehow also knew of the potential problems as it guided us off the M25 almost immediately to God knows where

The one thing we have all learned though is NEVER doubt the sat-nav

After 3 hours though my pea sized bladder was fit to burst as we seemed intent on travelling down services free roads

Finally we found one (I couldn't tell you where we were) and as the others scoffed Maccie breakfasts I sampled a pasta salad from M&S in the open air

Once you became acclimatised to the stench of silage / raw sewerage it was rather pleasant.....

Back in the car we made good time to Norwich we parked up and started walking to the Robbie recommended "Coach and Horses"

Half way there I stopped a guy coming the over way in a canary shirt and asked if we were going the right way

He said their were 2 ways equally good but the way we were going meant that we needed to go through the train station then go down the rude

This isn't a typo - best accent I've heard at an away game by a country mile

The irony was that as we got there this guy actually walked in before us

Why didn't he just say "follow me" ? 

I suppose I wouldn't have got to hear rude though.....

The pub was excellent with a brewery on the premises and despite Matt trying to get me steaming by claiming the beer he got me was the same a his and not the obviously stronger beer (Matt - no means no) all went well meeting Phil, Ryan, Craig, Robbie and son

We weren't quite sure how to get to the ground so I decided to follow a couple of canaries

I was just telling everyone how the last time we followed a home supporter was Watford and we ended up in Boots the Chemist

As I let that hilarious gem settle the 2 canaries stopped at their car in a random car park and put their bags in it

Oh, twice then

The stadium looked great on the inside and it looked like we'd turn out in numbers

The only slight fly in the ointment was all the pre-match music so loud and largely unnecessary - it wasn't as if it encouraged the crowd to sing....

Grabban got his first touch in the first minute as the ball was played up to him but he wasn't able to control it and the lines were cleared

Good to see that not everything had changed

AFCB then started to press and 5 minutes into the mar Francis reminded us what we'd been missing with a lovely run and cross down the right which had to be headed skilfully away

Gosling then had a shot over the bar and this good start had clearly rattled the hosts who committed foul after foul, including one on Stanislas that got the yellow it deserved as he was stopped from running clear

The travelling fans were rightly annoyed but it did make me think "are we too nice?"

Would we be clever enough to take one for the team / maybe they were just showing the necessary killer instinct

That instinct was put to good use on 14 minutes when, against the run of play, Norwich took the lead

Their speedy right winger made Daniels look like he was dragging Addison behind him as he swept past him and put a cross to the near post

There was Grabban to simultaneously raise both feet - yes folks, he jumped, and he headed the ball past Camp

Who knew Grabban could actually head the ball - he'd not shown that at dean court so perhaps that is why he was so unchallenged

Their crowd cheered but ours did a curious double take

Initially we groaned then a fair proportion gave a wincing smile as it was clear their bets had paid off - well, it was bound to happen, wasn't it?

We then tried to get back in the game by keeping hold of the ball which I admit looked quite pretty, but we had no guile or cutting edge to make anything happen

I understood why we'd gone with just Wilson up front but he received no accurate balls over the top and those hoofed to him were rarely held up for the rest of the team

It was like playing Wilson in the Kermorgant role - curious

This was how it went for the next 15 minutes until Norwich finally woke up and had shots from Grabban and Lafferty go wide and over respectively without us having troubled the keeper

Camp was forced into 2 good saves in 3 minutes from the 38th minute mark - first from a stinging near post free kick and then sliding at Lafferty's feet as he was through after Arter had been robbed

In 45 minutes Eloise's genetically small bladder could last no more and off she ran - only to miss AFCBs best move of the game

Good work in the middle was rewards by Francis being played in on the inside of his full-back and he slid an inch perfect low cross in for Wilson to smash home

In fairness, the keeper almost stopped it but the shot's ferocity from close range was too much

Upon returning we asked Eloise if she wouldn't mind staying in the loo for the second half as it seemed to help - she politely declined

Half Time 1-1

I thought Norwich would throw everything at us at the beginning of the second half but in fact the game was very even

Clearly the late goal had buoyed us

The only stat Norwich were leading in was fouls and some like the ones on Stanislas and Arter were bloody awful and got the cards they deserved, rather than the ones the away fans were baying for

Ritchie came on for Fraser on 60 minutes and that seemed to inject some purpose into the side with shots from both Gosling and Wilson going close

Pugh came on for Stanislas 5 minutes later and the game slowly changed to Norwich attacking and us counter-attacking

On 75 minutes an unnecessary Francis yellow card had Norwich pressing forward with the free kick and a number of corners and despite being better in the air than us they were unable to get the ball on target

With 10 minutes to go Wilson burst through and as he was tackled the ball fell to Ritchie who pinged the ball to Pugh on the left of the box

A slight mis control had the ball bounce up so he volleyed I at goal and the keeper saved but spilled it - a shame no-one in red was there to pick up the pieces

With 3 minutes to go an wen better chance went begging as Pugh again was put through to the byline and unselfishly pulled the ball back to Ritchie

As he was about to pull the trigger a brilliant last ditch slide nipped it of his toes and Norwich went in the attack

Arter ran back to cover and just outside the box he was adjudged to have fouled - much to his obvious displeasure

As we all held our collective breath the shot was powered in but luckily it was right above Camp's head and he was able to tip it over

Final Score 1-1

Summary : Lots and lots of lovely possession and pretty play but far too reminiscent of the Groves era - tippy tappy with no end product

Francis was a colossus at the back and showed what we had missed - Daniels was so far off the pace it just wasn't funny

Stacking the midfield seemed to work although I was a bit disappointed with Gosling - rather anonymous

Wilson worked tirelessly on his own but if he is to do that role regularly away from home I think he will need a few Kermorgant pills to beef himself up so that he can hold onto the ball better

Overall, the team's fitness and work-rate were excellent and they were very good slur for a point - but deserved no more

Star Man : Francis



Sent from my iPhone

#millwallfc 1 v 0 #afcb

Another day another ground. I love London away days - a chance to travel on the train and have some beers 

The only real disappointment was that it was an early kick off so getting up in time for the 7:07 was a real chore

Having read the Millwall vitals all week we'd decided on a "no colours" policy to try to "mingle in" as best we could

On the train, while Matt tried to chat up a little cracker the rest of us discussed setting up a sweepstake on when Grabban would be substituted

No way was he going to be on the pitch come the final whistle

We even thought we might see a mismatch of linesmen with the one furthest from the tunnel being built like Usain Bolt....

We had our first sight of a Millwall fan around Southampton as a tattooed, toothless, Lions' shirt wearing guy caught up with the buffet cart

Money was on Special Brew or Stella so we were all surprised as he asked for a half bottle of rosé

Just goes to show - never judge a book by its cover

Breakfast was a lovely fry up in Kapital Kebabs in Waterloo surrounded by police

It was nice that they'd listened to my request for a personal escort

From there it was short tube ride to London Bridge to Heeltap bar

That's what I like about London, you're surrounded by people and noise and yet you can still find a tranquil beer garden in the sun

The final leg of the journey was the train to south Bermondsey and through the famed "cage" to the ground

Actually that was so much better than I thought it would be - it makes sense to make a route for away fans and we were there in no time

Feeling hungry by now I was very disappointed to see the queues for food - I thought the NS was bad but this was far worse so I gave it a miss and went straight to the seats

We had a great view on the upper tier right behind the goal and it was the first time I felt truly safe from AFCB's practise shots - except when Pitman had a go - his angles of elevation were defying the laws of physics....

The team news was announced and there was no Grabban

It's the first time I've ever hoped that an AFCB player WAS injured because if he was missing because he'd bottled it then we'd just be an embarrassment of a side and Millwall had already won this game

The whistle went as the Millwall fans started an oooooooooo chant

No words just noise

Sounds like it should be shit but as all 3 sides joined in the noise got louder and louder building to an impressive crescendo 

True that apart from that and the usual no-one likes us song these were the only "songs" on offer but the volume and passion shown put these fans on the top of the list for home fan noise I'd experienced this season

Bournemouth had the first chance of the match as Smith (no, I've no idea why he played instead of the excellent Francis) tried a Beckham like shot from the half way line as their keeper had gone walkabout

Unfortunately the shot had the strength of Korma and barely made it to the box

Millwall had a big lump of a player up front (Maierhofer) so it wasn't hard to work out what their tactics were going to be

Knowing about them is one thing, countering them is quite another

He just would not be knocked off the ball and won just about every header

He wasn't alone with this kind of success as Millwall pressed hard and won more 2nd balls than I've seen at a game since the beginning of season

Our brand of tippy tappy football didn't help and we were constantly under pressure at the back

The game meant more to Millwall than us and it showed - very very disappointing 

Despite the pressure it's fair to say both sides were scrappy on the ball and it was Fraser that finally managed to control the ball enough to cause some panic

Gathering the ball on the left he charged at goal on 12 minutes and after ghosting past 2 he was cynically brought down from behind

A yellow was his reward and after AFCB had lost the argument for it to be a penalty, up stepped Kermorgant to take the free kick

He curled it low into the bottom right corner and it was brilliantly tipped round the post

Millwall then came much more into the game as it became a little more tetchy

The AFCB players clearly didn't want tan lines from any possible plaster casts as challenges got weaker and weaker until the phrase "challenge" was overplaying our part in it

The deadlock was almost broken on 21 minutes as a long ball was flicked on (again) and this time their striker HAD anticipated it and was there to crash the ball onto the bar

Very lucky

Biggest AFCB cheer of the day was reserved for Ritchie as he scythed Malone down - and when I say now that this was the highlight you start to guess how the rest of the game went...

Rantie was on instead of Grabban and was using his pace well to pull their defence from pillar to post

On 27 minutes he showed he also has some touch as he swivelled away from his defender and smacked the ball at goal

The keeper was behind the ball but seemed to fumble it and just managed to steer it past the post

A trademark Howe low corner had Smith run onto it and hit his shot just wide of the post

A minute later and Millwall's excellent pressing paid dividends

Ritchie was pissing about at the back and was robbed on our right 

They tore down the left and the cross was brilliantly flick-headed into the top right corner by Woolford as he ran to the near post

Millwall had the 1-0 lead and you know how well we do when we go behind....

Predictably the half then got more and more niggly with Smith getting the brunt of the pain

You could see the red mist rising and when he ran 20 yards just to kick someone in the air we all sighed as he was only yellowed

Half Time 1-0

For the second half Francis came on for Smith, presumably to save him being sent off and we saw the Francis effect almost immediately

On 47 minutes he tore down the right and crossed to Kermorgant. He headed the ball back and Surman followed up with a shot that was excellently blocked en route to goal

We hoped that this would be the catalyst to a sparkling second half but it was almost as if we thought - oh well, if that didn't work, nothing will

I've never known a side so dependent on confidence

When we score first we could get 4 - when we concede, we just seem to give up

Of all the games we lose I wonder how many of them we are bullied at because teams aren't going to let us play - and why should they?

We need to have a plan B that counters the "tougher" teams

For 15 minutes it was all Millwall with crosses into the box causing chaos and but for some woeful finishing and a fortuitous strike of the post, we could have been completely out of the game

In the past we've been this dominant and poor finishing has bitten us on the arse and it almost happened FOR us for a change

Cook launched a long throw in from the right and the ball was cleared back to him

He quickly fired the ball back into the box and MacDonald met the ball with a diving header which their keeper saved with great reactions

We built up a full 90 seconds of pressure but once we'd buggered up yet another short corner (I hate them with a passion) the pressure was off and it was back to defending

Elphick stretched that term to its limits by performing a howler of a back pass on 66 minutes, sending Jackson through on goal

Luckily for us he's obviously trained with Grabban and he failed to even hit the target

Malone then had a long range shot tipped over on 70 minutes and when you added up all the chances we could have been about 7-2 down by now

Surman had chances to make that 7-4 when he first forgot to make the keeper work when through one on one on 76 minutes then, 4 minutes later, forced a near post save after being put through by Pitman

I'm saying right now, though, that if bringing Pitman on is the solution, we are asking the wrong questions

Fair enough he'd come on for Fraser who was hands down the worst player on the pitch today so you'd hope for some improvement 

That pass apart, though, we might as well have gone down to 10 men

After Millwall had missed yet another one on one Rantie had the chance to go from zero to hero with 5 minutes to go

Another brilliant turn and close control in the box had him in front of goal and he drilled the ball - straight at the keeper

I'm starting to feel sorry for the guy - you can smell the desperation and now he bloody reeks

He needs something to go in off his arse or back just to relieve the pressure and the longer he goes without scoring, the harder it will be

In injury time we had the opportunity to laugh at Pitman's attempted 40 yard lob as it almost bounced off the subs' bench and thankfully it was all over

Full Time 1-0

Match Summary - terrible performance. Players looked like they were already sipping cocktails on a white sandy beach

One team had something riding on it, the other didn't and it showed

It was Yeovil and Sheffield Wednesday all over again with players failing to step up

We were far too slow getting forward with crab like sideways passes hurting no-one

In defence we dwelled on the ball and that's what cost us

Often you don't get what you deserve - today we did

Season Summary - Overall, this has been amazing - easily outperforming all expectations

We've seen the full range of performances from Watford away (lows) to Leeds at home (highs)

Since Kermorgant arrived we've looked a different side and there's an argument that says if we can add to the squad, who knows what we can achieve over a full season

The nagging fear, though, is with the calibre of teams coming up from 1 and down from the premiership, next season will be a lot tougher

That's before we look at the 2nd season syndrome where teams have had time to study what you do

For me it will take Max digging deep for a striker, midfielder(s) and another defender to take it to the next level

Star Player - Rantie - the only one who looked like he wanted to be on the pitch and close to breaking his dry (Sahara-like) spell

Bravest man alive

Matt scores

#afcb 4 v 1 #nffc

Normally I fear change but today I decided to embrace it with a 'spoons fry up and a bus and train to DC so that I could properly "get in the mood" for the game

We went to a pub called the Cricketers which I'd never heard of (more change) and was very pleasantly surprised by it being a proper old pub with decent ales

The wifi was a bonus (for my son) and had I noticed that they did decent portions of cheeseburgers and chips it would have been the perfect start

Matt, the most pretentious of pre match eaters, did, however, enjoy the chilli nuts and pickled egg I bought him to keep his weird eating record intact...

Amy was kind enough to give me a card at the game and after all the beers I think I did genuinely wear with pride the birthday 1D badge it came with...

The crowd started in fine voice and it looked like a sell out and Ritchie almost rewarded the noise in the very first minute but his daisy-cutter from the edge of the box was always going wide

On 9 minutes a clear pre match plan became clear as O'Kane attacked down the right and put a low cross in towards Kermorgant 

He volley passed it to Grabban on the right and Bournemouth's goal machine smashed it near post and their keeper made a great instinctive save

This was a game that Forest HAD to win, yet didn't press anywhere on the pitch

I can't remember a game when our players had so much time on the ball - weird??

My mate Steve had sacrificed his beer drinking as he had a 100 km bike ride the next day on behalf of the British Heart Foundation and the Forest fans were kind enough to contribute with a 20 minute sponsored silence

They finally did wake up then when McLaughlin finally created their first chance by cutting in from the left past two very weary looking tackles but his shot was so weak it almost stopped before rolling for a goal kick

Fair play to the away fans though, once they did wake up they made some proper noise, so much better than at the City Ground earlier in the season

What made the noise all the more impressive was that Forest were having to do so much running without the ball, chasing it from side to side as AFCB tried to pass the opposition into submission

Saying that, the keeper was largely untroubled which only goes to prove the point that it's not just about having the ball but what you do with it

A couple of half chances from Pugh and Grabban were the best the home side could muster and they were almost punished for their lack of cutting edge on 38 minutes

At that time, out of nowhere, a ball was slotted through the AFCB defence and Derbyshire was through on goal

Rather like an angry cat, Camp came out and tried to make himself as large as possible as the in-form striker weighed up his options

He elected for a low strike towards the far left corner but Camp was able to adjust his feet quickly enough to kick the ball away

Sure it would have been against the run of play but how often have we seen that situation this season

AFCB continued to press forward and with 2 minutes before half time the pressure finally paid off

A sloppy looking bouncing ball was flung out to the right and just as we were expecting Brazil to catch it, suddenly Francis was there to head it infield and run after it

The Forest defence were clearly caught still with their cigars and brandy in their smoking jackets and there was a mad scramble to catch him up but they simply didn't have the pace

Looking up, Francis dinked the ball to the far post and there was slinky-necked Kermorgant to power the ball down, heading it right into the bottom corner to make it 1-0

Half Time 1-0

The crowd were buoyant as the second half kicked off and it only took 2 minutes for AFCB to double their lead

A far more attack minded O'Kane found himself running at the ball and even though he never looked once like he had control of the ball, it kept sticking with him

Finally a tackle came in to relieve him of the ball but all it did was fall to Grabban just 6 yards out

It wasn't a one on one so instinct kicked in and he drilled the ball low at the goal

It must have been travelling at light speed cos no-one wanted to get in its way as everyone seemed to jump straight over it, including the keeper, and finally we had a goal at the North Stand!!  2-0

Just two minutes later, Kermorgant, still smarting from not being awards the player of the season (despite not being here for most of it) decided to throw his hat in the ring for goal of the season

The ball dropped to him just outside the centre circle and seeing the keeper off his line he launched and audacious 40 yarder

Back De Vries ran, jumped and caught the ball. His momentum had him landing well behind the line but he deployed his extendable gadget arms to ensure that ball itself never crossed - excellent thinking / keeping

Forest were clearly rattled. None more than Halford who, at another AFCB corner on 50 minutes confused the ref's whistle with a boxing bell and punched Kermorgant in the side

It was as clear as day but not for the first time this season it was missed by the officials - I don't think TV coverage will ever be allowed by the dinosaurs of the game past goal line technology but if ever there was an example of why it would be a good idea...

Five minutes later and the game was turned on its head

The ball was played wide left and as Francis turned he slipped and fell on the ball

Yes it hit his hand - but did he mean it?

A free kick was awarded and clearly our defence thought that as it wasn't a real free kick it didn't count

That's how I account for the fact that as the ball was zipped over there were 3 Forest players in a line attacking the ball

Two of them realised Halford was in the mix and not wanting to get the Kermorgant treatment they graciously stepped aside and he powered his header past Camp, who had no chance

Good delivery, good header - bugger 2-1

Just 10 minutes later it could have been even worse as a Forest corner bounced, 4 yards out, to the feet of Halford again but his conscience thankfully got the better of him and he smashed it into the car-park

A real let off and Forest were to rue that wasted opportunity just 2 minutes later on 69 minutes

The ball was played out to Pugh and as he cut inside Jara, he inexplicably just tripped Pugh up in the box

A softer penalty you will never see and as the North Stand stood expectantly, Grabban passed the ball into the right of net with the keeper diving the other way 3-1

Phew

Forest did try to press forward from then but were simply unable to keep hold of the ball and were always going to be at risk from the quick counter and so it proved in injury time

AFCB countered on the left and passed the ball to Rantie at the edge of the box, who had come on for the last 5 minutes for Grabban (much more sensible sub than bringing Pitman on)

What had preceded this move was a rousing chorus of "if Rantie scores, we're on the pitch"

I'm no psychologist but making him feel like the fat kid in the playground with a built up shoe and glasses like milk bottle bottoms that always gets picked last for teams, isn't going to improve his fragile confidence

Seeing the goal in front of him, he passed it wide (no surprise there then) to the free Kermorgant who smashed it across the keeper into the bottom left corner to make it a thoroughly deserved 4-1 final score

Summary - Not the best I've seen AFCB this season but still far too good for Forest

The passing and moving was excellent and the lack of chances I'm putting down to Forest's gobsmacking decision to park the bus rather than go for the win right from the first whistle

Next season I hope that we will see ourselves as contenders as others have clearly seen our qualities and are setting themselves up more and more to nullify them

I do think we have finally thrown off our small club complex and if we start the coming season as we have played since January, the rest of the league won't have the luxury of the head start we handed to them

Lastly, look out in the coming weeks for a link to a petition I'm creating to campaign for weekly pitch invasions

I could finally just get out of the stadium without people rushing to the steps then standing there for 10 minutes to have a good old sing song

Star Man - O'Kane - industrious throughout finally showing that he can compete for that Arter role of terrier in the middle whilst keeping the team going forward