We bundled into my "tank" as it was christened and picked Matt up. This was the same trio as for the West Ham match - surely a good omen? If we didn't believe that then the fact my Stoke supporting mate suggested we park in Wilson Road....what could go wrong?
Just so we're clear, I hate being the driver but it WAS my turn so the best I could hope for was a smooth ride and thankfully was blessed with that
Just a combination of sat nav malfunction and poor map reading in the last half mile slowed us down but after 4 hours we were parked up
Later my Stoke friend, Daryl, asked if I'd driven up in a big car and once admitted he confirmed I'd parked on the wrong side of the road and would have annoyed EVERYONE else parking there - oh well....
From the parking space we had to walk down an overgrown path, across a field, along a canal path and over a bridge - think Dora the Explorer rather than Bear Grylls.
We managed the first 3 obstacles with only a small amount of head scratching but were flummoxed at the bridge - there were 3
Of course we picked the wrong one and had to sniper up a steep, muddy embankment and over a fence but we managed it with only our pride a little battered
The harvester pub was just next to the ground and it was a good job we were there early as queues quickly formed as we smugly sat in the beer garden
There we were treated to rare form of Morris Dancing from Phil and although his movements were strangely sporadic it was a captivating performance and drew much admiration
Who knew he was that scared of wasps
Onto the ground and after Matt insisted that he be frisked while Phil and I walked through I enjoyed a steaming hot steak and ale pie while Phil fumed at the sign claiming no beer would be served at half time
The match kicked off and the first 10 minutes were even in that both sides were as scrappy as each other
Then, the pivotal moment of the game, and perhaps the season
Under the challenge of Wollscheid, Wilson went down in agony clutching his leg.
All AFCB fans held their breath - it can't be serious - surely we've had more than our fair share of injuries ? He was treated for several minutes but thankfully it looked like he'd recovered
That relief lasted less than 2 minutes as he tried a quick movement and just collapsed, only to be stretchered off with Murray taking his place
Bugger
Wilson scores goals, and although obviously important for me that isn't the bit of his game that means the most to us. He pulls defenders all over the place which creates space for others and he is our outlet ball
Without him, we just didn't look the same team we've all enjoyed over the last couple of seasons.
Despite this, though, something quite magnificent DID happen. The fans, already out-singing their illustrious counterparts, went to a decibel level that seemed to be double than before
It was a hair rising moment and rarely dipped below this for the rest of the game - something that many Stoke fans have commented on since
While still good in defence and midfield, we just didn't seem to know what to do with the ball after that. It was almost like our style of play is now so hard-wired we couldn't comprehend what we had to do now
At 30 minutes it got a whole lot worse as an attack down our right had Francis on his arse and when the ball was pulled back' Walters was there to nudge in the easiest of goals
No recriminations from me - it was a good goal
The good thing was this seemed to wake us from our post Wilson stupor and we started to come back into it and we should have gone in at half time level but for an extraordinary decision and a great block
Brilliant work down the left between Daniels and Pugh had the ball at Tomlin's feet about 8 yards out. A striker, 8 yards out, ball at feet - just thought I'd recap that
So, instead of the shot we were all expecting, he passed it sideways to Ritchie who smashed it first time, only to see his effort brilliantly blocked.
Looking back, if Ritchie scores we'd be praising that vision but I do think that with Wilson looking like he's out of the picture for a while, I really do think we need to cut down on the walking-the-ball-in play
Halftime did have me smiling though as apparently the sign for beer wasn't right but by the time Phil realised this, queued and got to the front, the closed the till - hahaha
Half Time 1 - 0
Second half started and clearly Howe had managed to convince the team that there WAS life after Wilson as we looked a completely different side
Confident in possession and a threat going forward. Coupled with this growth was Stoke's crumbling of confidence as befits a team yet to register a win and we were by far the more confident team.
Murray had had a couple of stinging shots well saved and although King still looked ineffective with the ball, at least we did have some pace up front when he replaced the impressive Tomlin
Just 5 minutes after the swap, Gosling burst forward and after a pin-ball set of ricochets he shot from just outside the box and into the bottom right corner
Our fans erupted. Even me scraping my shins down the chair in front couldn't spoil the moment. The feeling reminded me of the last minute goal for Pugh against Forest a couple of years ago - but alas, this wasn't the last minute and there was a sting in the tale for this game
A quick free kick was worked down the Stoke right, a simple cross put over and Diouf slotted home
I could argue that the free kick looked so harsh against Murray, and the resulting free kick was taken from the wrong place - but that would be churlish at best
Fact of the matter was, for a 20 second period, Stoke switched on while we switched off - simple as that
The last 5 minutes had us having a go, but it just wasn't to be our day
Final Score 2-1
Summary - For the game itself, I think we deserved a point and could possibly have taken all 3 but we didn't get either.
We have played 7 games now and of the 4 we've lost, with the exception of Norwich, we've come away thinking we've been hard done by
Quite frankly I'm getting bored saying that - it almost seems like I'm saying it just out of habit. Teams generally get what they deserve and for the games we have lost we haven't scored a high enough % of the chances we've created
Brilliant that we are still creating but we have to become more clinical and without Wilson, the likes of King have to stand up and be counted
This was always going to be a backs against the wall season and with the cruel, cruel luck we've had with injuries it does seem that someone up there doesn't like us. As long as we gave it our best shot, I really wouldn't have been disappointed with this season no matter how it went, but at the moment we aren't being allowed to show what we are capable of
Our destiny is still ours to make, though, and if we can create a Wimbledon-esque style spirit, who's to say we can't overcome it ?
Howe's got us further than we've ever dared to dream - maybe he's got that one extra rabbit to pull out of the hat
If he does, no manager would have done a better job in all of the Premier league years
I don't want to look back at potentially (hopefully not) our one season in the sun thinking I moaned all the way through - I am, and will continue to enjoy this season and the roller coast ride it promises
