Shocks, Snow and Smashing Pumpkins

Shocks, Snow and Smashing Pumpkins– Sat 19^th January – Fri 25^th January

Topics of the week

Snow – Snow falling most of the day on Friday 18^th Jan caused havoc in Sussex with the usual school closures and bus services stopping. It did, however, mean we could use the sledge we brought back from France up on the Downs the following day! More snow came at the weekend which didn’t really lay on the ground and after a couple of days most of the snow had gone. Another load of snow later in the week failed to materialise in Southwick but we heard reports of lots of snow in the hills around us. The snowman we made in the garden is still holding on though but the carrot and stones are strewn across the ground.

Bradford City – An amazing result for Bradford City winning 3-1 at home to Premier League Aston Villa and then holding onto a 4-3 aggregate win in the second leg at Villa Park. The Bantams become the first fourth tier side to reach the league cup final since Rochdale in 1962 and it’s their first final in over 100 years. They now meet Swansea in the Capitol One league cup final who themselves reached their first major final after beating Chelsea 2-0 with the only casualty a 17 year old bellboy.

10 biggest league cup upsets

1. Manchester United v York City 0-3 (3-4 on agg) Second Round, 1995.
2. Liverpool v Grimsby Town 1-2 Third Round, 2001.
3. Queens Park Rangers v West Brom 3-2 League Cup final, 1967.
4. Swindon Town v Arsenal 3-1 League Cup final, 1969.
5. Southend United v Manchester United 1-0 – Fourth Round, 2006.
6. Bradford v Arsenal 1-1 (3-2 on pens) – quarter final, 2013.
7. Liverpool v Northampton 2-2  (2-4 on penalties) – Third Round, 2010.
8. Bradford v Aston Villa 3-1 (4-3 on agg) – semi final, 2013.
9. Chelsea v Burnley 1-1 (4-5 on penalties) Fourth Round, 2008.
10. Luton Town v Arsenal 3-2 League Cup final, 1988.

Questions of the Week.

What’s your biggest league cup giantkilling?

Will a fourth tier club ever reach a major final again?

and the rest……

Quote of the week:  “I think it’d take some doing for anyone to do this again” Phil Parkinson – Bradford Manager.

Track of the week:  Smashing Pumpkins – Try, Try, Try

TV Highlight of the week: A year in the yellow jersey – Bradley Wiggins (On Sky Thursday promotion)

 

Sports Diary 2013 – Week 2

Saturday 12^th January / Sunday 13^th January 2013.

Football: In the Premier League Chelsea win 4-0 at Stoke City helped by two own goals from Jon Walters to move up to third in the league. Tottenham draw 0-0 at QPR while Everton are held to a scoreless draw at home to Swansea City. At the foot of the table Reading come back from two down scoring three goals in the final ten minutes to secure a 3-2 home win over West Brom. Southampton also gain a 1-0 win at Aston Villa while Wigan draw 1-1 at Fulham. Elsewhere Sunderland beat West Ham 3-0 at the Stadium of light while Norwich and Newcastle draw 0-0 at Carrow Road. The following day Man United overcome Liverpool 2-1 at Old Trafford while Man City win 2-0 at Arsenal.

Darts: In the BDO World Championships at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green 4^th seed Tony O’Shea makes it through to his third final after a 6-4 victory over 8^th seed Wesley Harms. 3^rd seed Scott Waites also reaches the final with a convincing 6-1 win over unseeded Richie George. In an all English final Waites overpowers O’Shea winning 7-1 to gain his maiden title and consign O’Shea to his third loss in a world championship final.

Rugby Union: The fifth round of group matches in the Heineken cup sees a number of clubs progress to the quarter finals. In Pool 3 Harlequins secure a quarter final place after a beating Connacht 47-8 and they are joined by Ulster who qualify from Pool 4 after beating Glasgow 23-6. Toulon are also in the last four after a 45-25 victory over the Cardiff Blues in Pool 6 and the fourth side through to the next round is Clermont Auvergne in Pool 5 following a 46-3 win over Exeter.

American Football: In the divisional play-offs the Atlanta Falcons beat the Seattle Seahawks 30-28 and will now meet the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game after they overcome the Green Bay Packers 45-31. In the AFC games the New England Patriots beat the Houston Texans 41-28 while the Baltimore Ravens win 38-35 at the Denver Broncos.

Monday 14^th January to Friday 18^th January 2013.

Cricket: The second one day game between England and India in Kochi sees the hosts make 285-6 with captain MS Dhoni (72) and Ravinda Jadeja (61no) adding 96 in 60 balls for the sixth wicket. In response England begin well on 57-1 but then collapse to 158 all out with Kevin Pietersen top scoring on 42. India win the international by 127 runs to level the series at 1-1 with three to play.

Tennis: The Australian Open starts in Melbourne and third seed Andy Murray begins his campaign with a straight sets victory over Dutchman Robin Haase and goes on to beat Joao Sousa from Portugal in the second round. British Number two Jamie Baker makes it through to the men’s main draw but loses in the first round to Czech Lukas Rosol. In the women’s draw Laura Robson and Heather Watson both win their first round ties. Robson then beats 8^th seed Petra Kvitova 11-9 in the final set in a three hour marathon to make it through to the last 32. Watson comes from one set down to beat Ksenia Pervak of Kazakhstan but loses to 4^th seed Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets in the third round.  Elsewhere there are other surprises as home favourite 9^th seed Sam Stosur loses to Jie Zheng of China while 7^th Seed Sara Errani is also knocked out by Spaniard Carla Suarez-Navarro.

Football: In the FA Cup third round replays Championship side Bolton win 2-0 at Sunderland while QPR overcome West Brom 1-0 in an all premiership clash. Elsewhere Stoke beat Crystal Palace 4-1 after extra time while Fulham also need extra time to beat Blackpool 2-1 and Wigan win 1-0 at Bournemouth. The following day an early Wayne Rooney goal helps Man United to a 1-0 home win over West Ham while a late Jack Wilshire volley secures a 1-0 home victory for Arsenal over Swansea. In the Premier league Chelsea are held to a 2-2 home draw by Southampton.

Basketball: In a regular season NBA game the New York Knicks beat the Detroit Pistons 102 -87 at a sold out O2 Arena in London. Carmelo Anthony scores 26 points in a dominating performance in the third regular NBA game to be played in England.

Golf: Irishman Paul McGinley is named the Ryder Cup captain for the 2014 tournament in Gleneagles, Scotland. McGinley will be facing American captain Tom Watson in next year’s event.

Giantkilling, Gaming and Gooners

Giantkilling, Gaming and Gooners – Sat 5^th January – Fri 18^th January (Two week review due to holiday)

Topics of the week

Skiing – Lovely week in Montgenevre on French / Italian border which really hooked us on Skiing again as it had been six years since we last went to La Thuile in Italy. Took Daniel screaming and kicking to Ski School and by the third day he loved it and even managed to ski down a small slope by the end of the week (before falling at the end). He also had to go to bed with the curtains open so he could watch the lights of the snow “bashers” on the mountains.

FA Cup third Round – Great day of TV with Brighton knocking out Premier league side after beating Newcastle United 2-0. Also looked like a perfect day when West Ham were 2-1 up against Man United but an injury time winner from Robin Van Persie rescues Man United and delivers a hammer blow at the end of the day. Good to see two non league sides make it through to the fourth round with Luton overcoming Wolves 1-0 while Macclesfield come from behind to beat Cardiff City 2-1. Sussex side Hastings United don’t fare so well losing 4-1 at Middlesbrough but a great run for them and it seems ages since I went to see them play Hitchin Town in the third qualifying round back in October. Brighton now meet Arsenal in the fourth round after the Gooners win their replay against Swansea in what should be an electric record crowd at the AMEX.

Final Reviews of 2012 – In terms of films I think Skyfall (My first cinema trip in a long while) and the Dark Knight rises have to be the best of the year. Prometheus probably scrapes into third place as quite enjoyed it. In terms of games I’ve played on the Playstation 3 over the last year these have been my favourites;

Games of the Year 2012

1. Dishonored
2. Far Cry 3
3. Sleeping Dogs
4. Max Payne 3
5. Hitman Absolution
6. Metal Gear Solid 3 HD
7. Metal Gear Solid 2 HD
8. Resistance 3
9. Assassins Creed: Brotherhood
10. Syndicate

Questions of the Week.

What are your films of the year 2013?

What are your games of the year 2013?

Can Brighton beat Arsenal in the FA Cup?

and the rest……

Quote of the week:  “I see the anger in people, betrayal. It’s all there. People who believed in me and supported me and they have every right to feel betrayed and it’s my fault and I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to earn back trust and apologise to people.” Lance Armstrong during the Oprah Winfrey interview.

Track of the week:  Taylor Swift – We are never ever getting back together (On the basis it seemed to be playing everywhere we went in France)

TV Highlight of the week: The return of Stella

 

Sports Diary 2013 – Week 1

Tuesday 1^st January to Friday 4^th January 2013.

Football: In the Premier League New Years Day games Man United win 4-0 at Wigan to remain seven points clear of Man City who gain a 3-0 home win over Stoke City. Tottenham come from behind to win 3-1 at home to Reading while a late equaliser helps Swansea City to a 2-2 home draw with struggling Aston Villa. Elsewhere Arsenal draw 1-1 at Southampton, West Ham secure a 2-1 victory at home to Norwich City and Fulham win 2-1 at West Brom. The following day there is a surprise as bottom of the table QPR win 1-0 at Chelsea while Liverpool win 3-0 at home to Sunderland and Everton win 2-1 at Newcastle United.

Darts: Phil “The Power” Taylor beats Dutchman Michael Van Gerwin 7-4 in the PDC World Championships final at the Ali Pali to secure his sixteenth world title. Taylor had been 4-2 down but came back to win five straight sets to regain the title he last won in 2010.

Saturday 5^th January / Sunday 6^th January 2013.

Football: In the FA Cup Third Round two non league sides make it through to the fourth round with Luton overcoming Wolves 1-0 at Kenilworth Road while Macclesfield come from behind to beat Cardiff City 2-1 at Moss Road. Ryman Premier League side Hastings United don’t fare so well losing 4-1 at Middlesbrough. The only Premier league sides knocked out are Newcastle United who lose 2-0 to Championship side Brighton at the AMEX stadium and Southampton who are thrashed 5-1 by Chelsea at the St Mary’s Stadium. In the tie of the round a late equaliser from Robin Van Persie rescues Man United as they draw 2-2 with West Ham at Upton Park in the televised evening game. Elsewhere Tottenham overcome Coventry City 3-0 in a repeat of the 1987 cup final while Man City beat Watford by the same scoreline at the Etihad Stadium. The following day Swansea and Arsenal draw 2-2 at the Liberty Stadium while Liverpool win 2-1 at Non league side Mansfield in a tight encounter.

Darts: The BDO World Championships start at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey and there is a surprise as two times champion and second seed Martin Adams loses in the first round to Dutchman Jimmy Hendricks 3-2. Reigning champion Christian Kist is also knocked out losing to 5^th seed Robbie Green while another former champion John Walton loses to 4^th seed Tony O’Shea meaning there will be a new winner of the title.

Monday 7^th January to Friday 11^th January 2013.

Football: In the Monday night live FA cup third round game Everton thrash League two side Cheltenham Town 5-1 at Waddon road. In the Capitol one league cup semi finals there is a major shock as league two side Bradford City beat Aston Villa 3-1 at Valley parade to take a two goal lead into the second leg. Swansea also spring a surprise winning 2-0 at Chelsea to also take a two goal lead into the second leg at home.

Darts: The BDO World Championships continue at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green and top seed Stephen Bunting loses to fellow Englishman Darryl Fitton 4-2 while 6^th seed Ross Montgomery loses 3-1 to Paul Jennings. Last year’s runner up Tony O’Shea secures his place in the last four after beating Robbie Green 5-3. He will now meet Wesley Harms in a repeat of last year’s semi final after the Dutchman overcomes 16^th seed Darryl Fitton 5-2. Third seed Scott Waites also makes it through to the semi finals with a 5-2 victory over unseeded Paul Jennings and he will now meet unseeded Richie George son of legend Bobby who overcomes 7^th seed Dutchman Jan Dekker 5-4.

Cricket: The first one day international between England and India takes place in Rajkot following the Christmas break and after winning the toss England make 325-4 with captain Alastair Cook (75) and Ian Bell (85) making an opening partnership of 158 runs. In response India stay on course with Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina all making half centuries. However the hosts fall short by 9 runs on 316-9 with James Tredwell gaining figures of 4-44. The tourists take a 1-0 lead in the five match series with the second match taking place next week.

Match 13: The Chequers (H) 13/01/13

Ashcombe 1 v 3 The Chequers

 By Duncan Milham

Can’t be bothered doing a long report as we lost.  Solid first half, 0 v 0 at half time.  We lost it with a 15 minute poor spell in the second when they scored 3 and probably could have got 4 or 5.  After that we were OK again and Joe’s 25 yard piledriver into the bottom corner was a lovely goal.  Shame we didn’t test their goalie more really.

Top of the league to play next week but I have a sort of feeling…..

Match 12: In Pulse (A) 06/01/13

In Pulse 1 v 2 Ashcombe

By Duncan Milham

The trip to Woodingdean is always a bit of a gauntlet run.  Sunday morning, thankfully, is usually a fairly quiet time with the teenage single mums still sleeping off their hangovers and the schoolkids likewise.  We were able to get to the bomb shelter that they call a changing room without anyone trying to beg fags off us or throw stones at our cars.  The changing rooms, since they put big old bolts on the doors and bars AND corrugated iron on the windows, are quite nice inside and put me in mind of a Swedish sauna. My favourite kind of sauna.

So we kicked off going uphill and kind of did OK.  They probably had more possession but Liam B had two or three great chances where he got around the back but couldn’t beat the goalie from a narrow angle (twice).  Their striker was a bit odd.  He berated Mark saying “are you going to follow me around all game”.  Mark carefully explained that yes, as a defender he would indeed be following the guy around.  The striker then threatened Mark with violence “I’m going to clatter you” which the ref heard and called him and Mark in.  Mark was immediately waved away again (why bother) and the ref had a word with their numpty.

They did take the lead after about 20 minutes.  The ref let a two footed challenge on Nick go by but gave a debatable free kick to them on the edge of the area.  We lined up a decent wall but their guy his a powerful shot just inside the post.  1 v 0.

We plugged away and won a free kick just inside their half.  Paul put a ball in and Liam G won a header to retain possession in their box.  It fell to Ian on a foray forward and he made a decent connection to put it into the corner of the goal past a flat-footed goalie.  1 v 1 and half time.

The second half began and we were industrious without conceding or constructing any clear cut chances.  After an hour things were still all square and a slightly odd only-on-a-Sunday-morning incident occurred.  The ball looked set to go, and might have done, for our goal kick. It took a weird bounce though- possibly on a divot or possibly (probably more likely) on the outside of the goal line (why does the line form a furrow anyway?) and with the slope bounced back into play.  I thought it was either out or, you know, near enough and stuck my flag up. Goal kick.

Their striker- you know the one- decided to berate the ref over this.  Possibly he thought it hadn’t gone out. Possibly he thought an offside had been given.  Either way he must have sworn at the ref who called him over with the intention of booking him.  Instead of trying to charm his way out of it, however, NumptyBoy decided to give his name in a silly voice.  It was the voice that people who don’t quite understand sarcasm think is sarcastic- with a hint of pretending to mimic someone with physical and mental disabilities.  Classy.  The ref, to his immense credit, decided to allocate a separate yellow card to each type of dissent and sent the guy off.  For sarcasm.

Brilliant.

He took the time to swear at me as well and accuse me of not being up with play- I think he was still arguing that it was not offside.  He had a point.

Soon after we made a breakthrough.  Paul again played a key ball and Liam B got to a straightforward through ball just in front of the oncoming goalie.  A toe pushed it under the goalie who slowed the pace of the shot but it rolled in anyway. 2 v 1.

They had a fair bit of pressure but we stayed resolute and Liam B had chances to make it safe as they pushed forward.  He didn’t but no matter as we won anyway to put ourselves among the mid table pack.  Well done all.

Match 11: The Cricketers (A) 09/12/12

The Cricketers 4 v 1 Ashcombe

By Duncan Milham

Very disappointing this week.

After beating this lot when we only had 9 men a few weeks ago we thought we would do OK but, alas, they improved a bit. A long shot into the top corner settled their nerves at 1 v 0 and when we failed to clear shortly after the ball fell to an unmarked player for their second.  A penalty won and converted by Liam gave us a way back in just before half time but we created little second half and they put two more chances in. Annoying.

Rivers, Reviews and Road Trips

Rivers, Reviews and Road trips – Sat 29^th December – Fri 4^th January 2013

Happy New Year!

Topics of the week.

Ipswich Away – The first day of 2013 after a quiet New Years Eve involved a road trip up to Ipswich to watch Brighton play their first game of the year. Highlights included seeing the Brighton bus turn up at the ground with Liam Bridcott waving at us and being amongst the hardcore singing section. The fantastic 3-0 away win was allegedly the biggest Albion away win in the second tier for 27 years! We even saw Brighton score from a corner!

Music Review – With 2013 upon us it’s time to review my albums and singles of the year in 2012. After reading the Q magazine and NME reviews of 2012 a late entry was Tame Impala which I hadn’t heard until recently but have started to really enjoy. Another album entering the top spot at the last minute is Dry the River after receiving the album as a Christmas present from my brother.

Top 10 albums of the year 2012

1. Dry the River – Shallow Bed
2. Tame Impala – Loneliness
3. Alt J – An Awesome Wave
4. Django Django – Django Django
5. Lana Del Rey – Born to Die
6. Two Door Cinema Club – Beacon
7. Little Comets – Life is Elsewhere
8. Marina & the Diamonds – Electra Heart
9. Ellie Goulding – Halcoyn
10. Jake Bugg – Jake Bugg

Top 10 singles of the year 2012

1. Gotye feat Kimbra – Someone that I used to Know
2. Carly Rae Jepson – Call me maybe
3. Alt-J – Something Good
4. Dry the River – New Ceremony
5. Tame Impala – Feels like we only go backwards
6. Django Djnago – Hail Bop
7. PSY – Gangnam Style
8. Django Django – Default
9. Little Comets – Worry
10. Alt-J – Tesselate

Questions of the Week.

When was the last time Brighton got a better away result than 3-0 in the second tier?

What is the best away trip as a football fan?

What is the album of the year?

What is the single of the year?

Are 3D films really that much better?

and the rest……

Quote of the week: Roberto Mancini talking about Mario Balotelli “I will give him another 100 chances if I think it’s possible he can change. I give him another chance, sure, because he is 22 and he can make a mistake.”

Track of the week:  Dry the River – New Ceremony

TV highlight of the week – The final two episodes of Merlin.

Sports Diary 2012 – Week 52

Saturday 22^nd December 2012 / Sunday 23^rd December 2012.

Football: In the Premier League a last minute goal from Gareth Barry helps Man City to a 1-0 home victory over Reading as they close the gap with leaders Man United to three points. Arsenal move up to third place with a 1-0 win at Wigan while Spurs are held to a goalless draw by Stoke City at White Hart lane and Liverpool thrash Fulham 4-0 at Anfield. Elsewhere West Brom continue their good form with a 2-1 home win over Norwich City and Everton win 2-1 at West Ham. At the bottom of the table QPR lose 1-0 at Newcastle while Sunderland beat Southampton 1-0 at St Marys. The following day Chelsea thrash Aston Villa 8-0 at Stamford Bridge while Man United are held to a 1-1 draw at Swansea City.

Cricket: In the second Twenty20 International in Mumbai England win the toss and elect to field as India eventually make 177-8 with MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli both scoring 38 runs. In response England gradually chase down the total with Michael Lumb (50) and Alex Hales (42) sharing a partnership of 80 runs. With three runs needed off the last ball Eoin Morgan (49no) fires a six to seal the victory for the tourists who finish on 181-4. England win by six wickets and the two match series is drawn 1-1

Darts: In the PDC World Championships second round matches there are a couple of surprises as 11^th seed Welshman Mark Webster loses 4-2 to 23^rd seed Colin Lloyd while 9^th seed Justin Pipe loses 4-2 to 22^nd seed Mark Walsh.  Elsewhere all the top eight seeded players make it through to the third round.

Monday 24^th December to Friday 28^th December 2012.

Football: In the Premier League Boxing Day games a seven goal thriller at Old Trafford sees Man United overcome Newcastle United 4-3 with Javier Hernandez scoring a last minute goal. The victory sees Man United go seven points clear as rivals Man City lose 1-0 at Sunderland. Chelsea remain third in the table with a 1-0 win at Norwich while Tottenham win 4-0 at Aston Villa with Gareth Bale scoring a second half hat trick. At the foot of the table Reading draw 0-0 at home to Swansea while QPR lose 2-1 at home to West Brom and Wigan lose 2-1 at Everton. Southampton stay just above the bottom three after a 1-1 draw at Fulham while Stoke City beat Liverpool 3-1 at the Britannia Stadium.

Darts: In the PDC World Championships third round the main surprise is 13^th seed Raymond Van Barneveld thrashing 4^th seed Gary Anderson 4-0 while all the other top seven seeds make it through to the last eight. In the first two quarter finals Van Barneveld beats Australian 5^th seed Simon Whitlock 5-1 while Phil “The Power” Taylor overcomes last years runner up 8^th seed Andy Hamilton 5-0.

Cricket: In the traditional Boxing day test between Australia and tourists Sri Lanka Michael Clarke scores 106 runs to become the highest Australian international run scorer in a year with 1595. He surpasses the record of Ricky Ponting and is now fourth in the all time list headed by Mohammad Yousuf (1788)

Saturday 29^th December 2012 / Sunday 30th December 2012 / Monday 31^st December.

Football: In the Premier League Arsenal thrash Newcastle United 7-3 with Theo Walcott scoring a hat trick as the Gunners remain in 5^th place. Man United remain seven points clear as they beat West Brom 2-0 at Old Trafford while Man City secure a 4-3 win at Norwich City. Tottenham stay in 4^th position after a 2-1 win at Sunderland while Swansea City win 2-1 away to Fulham. At the foot of the table Reading secure a 1-0 home win over West Ham, Southampton draw 3-3 at Stoke City and Wigan Athletic win 3-0 at Aston villa. The following day Chelsea win 2-1 away to Everton with Frank Lampard scoring twice while Liverpool gain a 3-0 victory at QPR with Luis Suarez scoring a brace.

Darts: The final two PDC World Championships quarter finals see reigning champion 2^nd seed Adrian Lewis lose to the Dutchman Michael Van Gerwin 5-4 while James Wade overcomes 6^th seed Wes Newton by the same scoreline. In the last four matches top seed Phil Taylor beats Dutchman Raymond Van Barneveld 6-4 in a repeat of the 2007 final. Taylor now meets the 7^th seed Van Gerwin after he overcomes 3^rd seed James Wade 6-4 in the other semi final.