The week had been a long one, having done some 700+ miles down in the midlands and south east, very exhausting. I’d had to stay a couple of nights in Bedford this week, and managed to get a room in a hotel overlooking the river and town centre, very pleasant. A very welcoming lobby and bar / restaurant area, but the room, as with many hotels like this, was just shabby – with very little money spent on it over the last few years. People think its great swanning round the country staying in hotels etc etc – but its not a great life, I can tell you.
I hadn’t geared up to a game because I thought we were away at Long Eaton following appeals to fill a mini bus for that game on the forum. It wasn’t until the lad came in at 2 to see if I was ready f or the game, as he was going as ball boy. I told him he was talking rubbish and that there was no game on. At this point I was having a game of poker on-line and doing very well. It was a $30 game with 800+ contestants ad I’d already made the money (at this point guaranteed $58 return and a top prize of $4,000+). 80 something people left and I get the ultimate starting hand of Ace Ace – cool. I put all my chips in and one of the chip leaders calls and he duly flips a 10 and a queen – great, I’m a 75% favourite at this point and could be in for a fair wedge of the prize pool. But alas the dickhead gets 2 queens on the flop and knocks me out. I think the neighbors three doors down could hear my volley of sexual phrases as I immediately decide to go and watch the game.
It was cold but sunny at Queensgate for the arrival of one of our “local” rivals Selby. They were also doing well in the league, so hopefully a big crowd would be there for the game. 3 points would be vital. We were going to have to do this without Ash Allanson, Chib, and one or two others who were out injured. Things didn’t start too well, Selby were very quick with the ball, good passing and good movement. they got two goals in a minute, the second in my opinion came from good movement and slick passing, with a thunderous shot into the top right hand corner of the goal (which I was stood behind with the lad). Plenty of stick for the keeper but not much he could do on that one.
The lads were missing some sort of spark today with only one or two getting up for it. At 3 zip down we got a small lifeline when Craig Palmer was upended in the box and Frank Belt blasted the home the pen. But we gifted them one a few minutes later.
In the end, only 153 were there, and our crowd was a as apathetic as the players. There was little atmosphere in the place, apart from a few noisy Selby fans. I can’t remember the last time we got a mauling like this at home, nobody likes it and I hope I don’t see something like it again.
I did accost one of the management who had just finished shopping at Asda’s after the game and had a nice chat with him, he too was as down as the rest of us (thanks for the chat !).
A quick word for my mates team Leamington, who are in the British Gas Business League Div 1 Midlands (Unibond 1 equivalent), who after 23 games this campaign have won 20 and drawn 3, and are strangely enough, top of their league.
