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Football: Wherever it may be

~ Laurence's football travels

Football: Wherever it may be

Tag Archives: Deane Smalley

Quality

16 Sunday Feb 2014

Posted by laurencereade in O

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

David Connolly, Deane Smalley, James Constable, League 2, Lefty Gomez, Lizzie Yarnold, Mansfield Town, Matt Rhead, Mickey Lewis, Nicky Wroe, oxford united., Tom Finney

Saturday 15th February 2014 ko 15.00

League 2

OXFORD UNITED 3 (Connolly 27 Wroe 53 Smalley 68)

MANSFIELD TOWN 0

Att 5,108 (365 away)

Entry S/T

Programme £3 (inc’ Oxford Mail)

Its been a good week to look at sport as a whole. I do enjoy the Olympic games, and like many others I watched agog as Lizzie Yarnold won gold for Team GB in the Skeleton Bobsleigh. I’m not sure why I enjoy watching the sports that I don’t know intimately, but there’s something visceral about throwing yourself down an ice tube on a tray with your chin an inch from the ice. Of course she won by just under a second over 4 runs, a massive margin, but it was the way she conducted herself afterwards that impressed me. Calm, collected and respectful she is a credit to herself, her country and her sport, and watching her interview you could imagine a legion of young girls taking up sport with her as their inspiration. I fact a few hours later I saw a tweet of a 5 year-old girl, face down on a skateboard wearing her brothers cycle helmet. It’s a powerful, positive message, and one I hope will be repeated many, many times. Continue reading →

51.714628 -1.205518

The Silver Bullet

29 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by laurencereade in O

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Asa Hall, Dave Kitson, Deane Smalley, oxford united., SCUNTHORPE UNITED

Thursday 26th December 2013 ko 15.00

League 2

OXFORD UNITED 2 (Hall 66 Nelson 88og)

PLYMOUTH ARGYLE 3 (Lavery 46 Reid 81p 97)

Att 10,049 (699 away)

then

Saturday 29th December 2013 ko 15.00

League 2

OXFORD UNITED 0 Smalley missed pen 83

SCUNTHORPE UNITED 2 (Burton 11 Syers 71) Burton missed pen 39

Att 6,009 (527 away)

Entry S/T

Programmes £3 each

Normally I don’t lump games together, but since the games, and results were so similar if seems daft not to do so.

On Boxing Day, the club pulled out all the stops to get a bumper crowd. The styled “Big Match,” saw an opera singer, and pyrotechnics to help create an electric atmosphere, and the cute marketing created a 5-digit crowd primed to watch Oxford United push on towards promotion. Except the team let down everyone by producing a performance so lack-lustre than all Plymouth had to do was wait for the defensive errors and pick United off. Asa Hall’s 30-yard blast was a brief highlight in a poor display. Continue reading →

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An Eye To The Future

07 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by laurencereade in A

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Alfie Potter, Ardley United, Castle, Dave Kitson, Deane Smalley, hellenic league, Kevin Brock, Max Crocombe, Norman Stacey, oxford united fc, Ryan Brooks

Saturday 6th July 2013 ko 15.00

Pre-Season Friendly

ARDLEY UNITED 1 (Brooks 74p)

OXFORD UNITED 2 (Potter 48 Smalley 90)

Att 670

Entry £5

Programme £1.50

There are several strands these days to my football watching, its long since stopped being just about the game alone, in fact I suspect that’s the case with many groundhoppers who’ve graduated from the easy-to-reach local grounds. Sometimes I want to travel, sometimes I’m looking for a location, others its the Vulture Job, visiting a ground before the bulldozers move in.

I am of course an Oxford United fan, and a fan also of the local football scene, and Ardley playing fields are just the one exit north of Oxford on the M40, lying virtually adjacent to Junction 10. With Oxford United sending the first-team squad to the Hellenic League Premier outfit for the both club’s first pre-season friendly, it gave me quite a few good reasons to attend. For one, my girlfriend and I were to visit Ash, my Uni pal in Twickenham in the evening so a long distance jaunt was out of the question. With the weather scorching I also knew Dad would fancy a trip out, so I threw a collapsible chair in the back of the car, my mind was made up.

Apart from being the other side of the motorway from Cherwell Valley Services the village of Ardley is now more or less fused with the village of Fewcott (they had a Oxon Senior League side until recently). The conjoined twins sit on a bed of Jurassic limestone, which apart from hosting a colony of Greater Crested Newts, also provided a good base on to build Ardley Castle. The edifice was a motte-and-bailey affair which is believed to have been built during during the civil war of the Anarchy between 1139 and 1154, fought between Empress Matilda and King Stephen.

Intriguingly these castles were Adulterine, or built without Royal consent, this one would have been built by Matilda, and perhaps its unsurprising that very little of it is now left, just some earth banking and ditches.

On arrival at the football club a few strands of my football watching were in evidence. Ardley’s normally attendances are the tens, not hundreds, and even getting everyone parked was going to be an issue. When I’m organising groundhops I dream of clubs like Ardley, who approached their day with a clear head, and so reaped the reward. It was in marked contrast to my first visit here, when I watched Ardley play Adderbury Park. The players changed in the cricket pavilion, and the only other “Facilties” were the pitchside rail and a set of dugouts. The club won Groundtastic’s “Most Improved Ground” award in 2005.

Cars were parked on the cricket field, at no charge so few opted to annoy the neighbours by parking on the road. The welcome at the pay booth was as warm as the ambient temperature, and I wondered if the club had used their experience in hosting a Hellenic League Groundhop game back in 2005. Mind you the crowd that day was 278; this was on another scale altogether. A temporary bar was set up to sell soft drinks, and somehow the burger bar kept pace with the huge demand.

Ardley chairman Norman Stacey managed to combine hospitality with stadium announcements and the needs of Radio Oxford broadcasting live commentary. That created a minor issue when it was discovered that the socket they were using for power was the one the club normally uses for the PA… It summed the afternoon up nicely that the plugs were rearranged, and everything worked perfectly.

For a pre-season friendly at a lower league to work well from a League club’s perspective two things need to happen. Ardley staged the game beautifully, but the team has play passing football without resorting to any rough play.

In the latter respect Ardley won the plaudits on the pitch on the pitch as much as they did off of it. They passed and moved well, and were good value for the goalless score line at half time. A complete change of team for the visitors saw Dave Kitson, a man who once commanded a £5.5 million transfer make his first Oxford United appearance. His impact was almost immediate, chasing a lost cause on the left flank and finding Alfie Potter for him to slot home for the first goal.

Ardley’s equaliser was rather fortuitous. Tom Newey’s contact with Jason Castello looked minimal and outside of the box, but former OUFC youth teamer Ryan Brooks put the penalty away well sending Max Crocombe the wrong way. But with seconds left Deane Smalley’s shot was brilliantly pushed away by Jack Harding. Danny Rose took the resulting corner and his curling effort found Smalley’s head perfectly to give the visitors the win.

Not of course anything much need be read into the result. This was about players getting to know each other, and the management to try new tactics and see who works best with who. For everyone else it was a hugely enjoyable afternoon out and one I trust will be repeated. If that does happen, I fully expect Oxford United to be re-visiting a Southern League club.

Norman Stacey on the PA, OUFC’s Chris Williams looks pensive

Nick Harris commentates for Radio Oxford
David Hunt jumops

Josh Shama carrying a slight knock

It’s not often that sun tan lotion is needed at a British football match!
The equaliser
The winner

Last Chance To See

05 Sunday May 2013

Posted by laurencereade in O

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Tags

Alfie Potter, Andy Whing, Damian Batt, Deane Smalley, harry worley, Jon-Paul Pittman, Josh Parker#], Justin Richards, Liam Davis, Luke McCormick, michael duberry, Oxford City, oxford united., Oxon Senior Cup, Peter Leven, Scott Davies, Simon Heslop, Tom Craddock, Tony Capaldi

Wednesday 1st  May 2013 ko 19.45

Oxon Senior Cup Final

OXFORD UNITED 4 (Ashby 48 Marsh 65 Pittman 96 Roberts 120)

OXFORD CITY 2 (Cook 25p Barcelos 69)

Att 901

At Oxford United FC

Entry & Programme £8

I usually treat anything organised by the Oxfordshire FA with caution, they have a reputation for poor organisation, for example the Oxon Senior league doesn’t even have a website! That feeling wasn’t helped when I went through the turnstile end someone in front of me asked whether he could have another programme. “Of course,” was the reply, ” It saves me putting the useless things back in my car!” The programme was an improvement on the usual poor effort, but the committee saw no need to publish a history of the competition, instead they plumped for 3 adverts of the Oxfordshire FA, 2 identical.

The reason for the somewhat inflated entry price was that for once the final was between the two clubs with the highest playing statuses in the county, namely League 2 and the Conference North. Perhaps it was the cost, or OUFC’s frustrating season, or Oxford City’s generally low following but only half of the South Stand Lower was opened, ample for the 901 present, but I did wonder if more imaginative pricing would have attracted more.

There are many depressing things in football, but one that doesn’t get much coverage is the one-sided rivalry. Oxford City don’t like Oxford United, even though this the only competition in which the teams ever meet. For United the rivalry has a strict hierarchy, its Swindon Town, followed by Swindon Reserves, then Swindon Youth and so on… City just don’t feature at all. There are several examples of this in football. Leyton Orient don’t like West Ham, but the Hammers hate Millwall, and I’m sure you can dream up a few more!

The added piquancy for home fans was the news that the retained list was due out at midday the next day. There are some advantages to writing this a few days after the event, and I think most present would have predicted that we were seeing the last appearances of Jon-Paul Pittman, Tony Capaldi, and Simon Heslop in an OUFC shirt. The real surprise was that non-playing substitute Deane Smalley got offered a new deal. Yes, he’s been unlucky with injuries, but his goals to appearances ratio is dreadful, and it looks unlikely to improve.

The lesson here wasn’t the established players on either side. I suspect that for Oxford City former United players Steve Basham, Chris Wilmott and Jamie Cook will also have made their last appearances at Grenoble Road, but City manager Mike Ford hit the nail on the head when he commented that United won the tie with clinical finishing. That’s not a comment often associated with United this season, and 3 goals came from either youth or former youth players. Josh Ashby fired home from just outside the box for United’s first, Tyrone Marsh’s shot from the right flank oozed the confidence gained from a successful loan spell at Staines, and those in the know have had teenage striker James Roberts in their sights for a while. He scores goals for fun at youth team level, the question now is how best to progress him?

Extra time was the last thing either time wanted, not least afterwards as Oxon FA organisation meant that the usual rambling over-long speech was attempted without the usual radio-mic. The official was quickly shouted down, the cup presented, and everyone could go home! I noted that neither Capaldi nor Heslop could be bothered to ever come out and attend the presentation. That spoke volumes for them, and what they expected to happen the next day.

But let’s have a closer look at that retained and released list. Andy Whing’s retention must be the most popular bit of news coming from OUFC for a while, and Alfie Potter’s year-long extension was entirely logical. Equally logical was the departures of Tony Capaldi, Tom Craddock, Simon Heslop, Peter Leven, Luke McCormick, Josh Parker, Jon-Paul Pittman, Justin Richards, and Harry Worley. Not one has set the world alight and in some cases the attitudes have been lacking even the bodies have been fit. I understand that McCormick is negotiating to return to Plymouth, who will have to weigh up his talent against a toxic past. In a similar vein, I understand Craddock is eyeing up a return to his native North-East in the form of Hartlepool. There the club will no doubt be weighing up talent against mind-set.

The attitude has been always there for Michael Duberry who defied a potentially career-ending neck injury to keep playing. I for one will miss his “Positive Vibes” but time waits for no man, and sadly that includes him.

The two controversial departures where undoubtedly Peter Leven and Damien Batt. When fit, Leven is easily the best midfielder in the squad, if not the division, but that caveat is a huge one. I’ve heard too many interviews referring to Leven’s injuries as having to be managed, and with a smaller wage bill the club cannot afford a passenger, however talented.

Batt can count himself to be extremely unlucky. For most he’s OUFC’s first choice at right back, and whilst he’s far better going forward than in defence, he had a good season. I can only assume Chris Wilder has a better replacement lined up. I for one will be sorry to see another of the Wembley Conference Play-off final heroes depart along with Adam Chapman, who I assume will join Mansfield.

If Damien Batt is unlucky and Deane Smalley extremely fortunate, then left back Luke O’Brien is the proof that being a good professional pays dividends. A solid full back, and no more, he may not end up even being first choice come the start of the season but will let no-one down when called upon.

Scott Davies is probably seen as Leven’s replacement. He came in as a free agent, with no security and impressed greatly. He’s local too (Aylesbury), which saves on the costs of relocation. Another good professional too, this game saw him fill in, completely out of position at left back. I think he’ll form a good partnership with the more combative Whing.

Of course the retained list isn’t even half the story.  There’s the small matter of who’s coming in, and how many of the youth team will step up to the first XI. Watch this space.

Take them off me….please!
OFA tie brigade
Marsh attacks

City’s penalty
Tony Capaldi, he didn’t stick around afterwards
Dubes

Roberts scores the winner
Winning squad minus a couple
Winners

Nights of Mystery

18 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by laurencereade in B

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Tags

Andy Whing, Barnet, Craig Beattie, Deane Smalley, Edgar Davids, Firoka, George Sykes, Gordon Strachan, James Constable, Michael Raynes, oxford united., Peter Leven, soccer, Tom Craddock, Underhill

Tuesday 12th March 2013 ko 19.45

League 2

OXFORD UNITED 1 (Raynes 90)

BARNET 0

Att 5,027 (165 away)

Entry S/T

Programme £3 (inc Oxford Mail)

1,400 or so grounds in, and I dread to think how many games, this game is still a complete mystery to me. Why was Scotland manager Gordon Strachan watching this? There are only 3 Scots in the two squads, Peter Leven for Oxford, Craig Beattie and George Sykes for Barnet. With Leven injured long term the most likely candidate was Sykes as he’s a member of Ricky Sbragia’s Scotland U19 squad. Trouble is none of the 3 Scots actually made an appearance.

What parallel universe do I live in when Dutch legend Edgar Davids plays for a struggling League 2 outfit? For many the second most noteworthy incident of the game was journeyman pro Andy Whing’s crunching tackle on him. The song from behind the goal, ” All we want is a team of Andy Whings,” was as erudite as it was heartfelt. And while I’m thinking of it why did Barnet play in a frankly ugly shade of lilac? With Oxford playing in all yellow this season, amber and black is no great clash.

Why oh why do a series of Oxford United managers reject good strikers and sign mediocre ones? Both Alfie Potter and James Constable smashed enough shots over the bar to convince me to stop parking my car in the car park at the open end of the ground. Just when you thought the striking options couldn’t get worse, Oxford United introduced Deane Smalley (44 appearances, 4 goals). He worked hard, as he always does, but does anyone think he’ll get you a goal?

Speaking of goals when will Firoka employ stadium staff that can purchase a half-decent set of goals, and get them to last for the duration of a football match? Watching the goal at the western end of the ground collapse twice is embarrassing, even if the added time gave enough time for United to score.

Did anyone visiting the stadium bookie put a pound on centre half Michael Raynes to score the only goal? His screaming header from all of an inch was just reward for a solid display in defence, but the headed ball back to the box from Scott Davies free kick came from Tom Craddock. When I watched Oxford United’s FA Cup tie at Barnet he was extremely conspicious by his absence. Now he looks destined to depart at the end of the campaign, lost and unloved by management, but why?

From a Barnet perspective what was goalkeeper Graham Stack doing collecting a booking for a foul on his opposite number? Yes, there were seconds left, but it was pointless, and silly bookings often have a habit of punishing struggling teams later on. I have connections to Barner and have no desire to see them back in the Conference.

Still a win is welcome even if it is against a struggling team, Davids or not. Where you place it in the season’s context? Don’t ask me I’ve no idea, it was another night of mystery!



Surrender to the will of the wind

09 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by laurencereade in O, T

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Tags

Andy Whing, ASM Stadium, Ben Thornton, berks and bucks fa, Chinnor, Deane Smalley, oxford united., Oxon Senior Cup, Simon Heslop, Thame

Wednesday 6th February 2013 ko 19.30

Oxfordshire Senior Cup Quarter-Final

OXFORD UNITED 1 (Smalley 69p)

CHINNOR 0

Att 151

Entry £5

Programme 50p

When you follow a League club, County Cup competitions tend to pass you by. That’s particularly the case in Oxfordshire, where there’s only one League Club, and some of the larger Non-League clubs are in the Berks and Bucks FA, as in this part of the world, football still follows pre-1974 county boundaries. Theoretically the ties still take precedence over league fixtures but the larger clubs have long since negotiated to play reserve teams, and away from any fixture clash. Continue reading →

51.746997 -0.974188

The Break Point

08 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by laurencereade in Uncategorized

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Tags

AFC Wimbledon, Alfie Potter, Byron Harrison, chris wilder, Deane Smalley, fenlon, Jake Forster-Caskey, Jim Fenlon, League 2, oxford mail, oxford united., ryan clarke, Steve Claridge, steve mcclaren, Wayne Brown, Will Antwi

Tuesday 2nd October 2012 ko 19.45

League 2

OXFORD UNITED 3 (Forster-Caskey 8 Smalley 55 Potter 81)

AFC WIMBLEDON 2 (Harrison 20 Fenlon 36)

Att 5,206 (274 away)

Entry S/T

Programme £3 (inc Oxford Mail)

Of all the statistics above, I suspect the important one may well end up being the attendance. Ok this was dull Tuesday evening, between 2 struggling teams, but 5,200 is low by OUFC standards. Its not difficult to understand why, Oxford United having lost 6 league games on the bounce, and with a quite appalling injury list. Nevertheless manager Chris Wilder found himself under more pressure than any other time during his tenure at the club and for the first time, it told.

You can always tell when the manager’s time is running out, the fight goes out of them. Remember Steve McClaren’s game in charge of England, standing forlornly under an umbrella, impotant as Croatia stopped England qualifying for the 2008 European Championships? When Wimbledon went 2-1 after 36 minutes, I watched Wilder, the head dropped, and I feared the worst for him. The comparison was obvious, and I felt sorry for the man who managed the club back into the Football League where others had failed.

They’d made a good start too, with Jake Forster-Caskey’s excellent free kick opening the scoring, but Wayne Brown, controversially selected in goal ahead of Ryan Clarke should have done better as Yado Mambo rose highest at a corner and although his header hit the crossbar, Byron Harrison was first to the rebound and scored from close range.

With less than 10 minutes left of the half, Jim Fenlon cut inside Alfie Potter, and fired home from 25 yards. He was in yards on space which speaks volumes for the defence and goalkeeper. All the while quietly sat in the press area was Steve Claridge. Wearing no club’s badge, there he sat with his assistant. Maybe he was scouting, maybe he was there for other purposes, who knows?

Whatever the truth, United found their way back into the tie. Deane Smalley stabbed home from close range to equalise before losing Wayne Brown to a groin strain a few minutes later. That gave a platform to Ryan Clarke, who didn’t disappoint, producing a quite wonderful diving dave to deny Will Antwi. By then United had taken the lead, as Tom Craddock’s erudite pass found Alfie Potter and he swept home from 10 yards. It proved to be enough for 3 points on the night, but it may well prove to be a pivotal night for Chris Wilder and his regime.

Chris Wilder & Mickey Lewis


Grecian 2012

14 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by laurencereade in O

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Adam Chapman, Alfie Potter, Deane Smalley, Exeter City, Grecians, James Constable, Jamie Cureton, John O'Flynn, michael duberry, oxford united., ryan clarke

Saturday 8th September 2012 ko 3.00pm

League 2

OXFORD UNITED 2 (Forster-Caskey 54p Potter 63) Constable sent off 81 (2nd booking)

EXETER CITY 4 (Cureton 11 50 Bennett 26 O’Flynn 72)

Att 6,405 (695 away)

Entry S/T

Programme £3 (inc’ Oxford Mail)

The day started with a fond farewell, but no the one it looked like being for the majority of the preceding week. Better-informed folk than I had linked OUFC manager Chirs Wilder with the vacancy at Coventry City, but on matchday nothing had happened, not even an approach, so the goodbye was to goalkeeping coach Alan Hodgkinson. He’s now 76, but the experience gained from playing for England, Sheffield United and Manchester United will be sorely missed.

It was two veterans that undid United, John O’Flynn, and particularly Jamie Cureton. I never did get to the bottom of why Bristol Rovers let Cureton go to Reading for a pittance, all those years ago, but wherever he’s been he’s scored routinely. Today was no exception, as with just 10 minutes gone, the defence let him run at them so he let fly from 20 yards, and the ball flew into the top left hand corner. A stunning strike, but one that should have been never allowed to happen.

It got worse, as the OUFC defence debated a decision to give Exeter a corner. It didn’t look over the line, but the concentration levels had dropped, and Scott Bennett headed home from the corner kick. It wasn’t that United were failing to create chances, it was just when they arrived they weren’t converted. Sean Rigg saw two efforts blocked and Simon Heslop shot wide as United attempted in vain to find a quick reponse.

I expected a change of tactics for the second half, but nothing was altered until Exeter got their 3rd. Michael Raynes will wonder how a 37 year old managed to but nutmeg and outpace him, but the former Norwich man’s finish was superb. In fact the warm applause from the home support as Cureton limped off a few minutes later, was as much a sigh of relief as it was appreciative.

United found a way back into the game when Damian Batt’s run into the box was crudely ended by Craig Woodman, and Jake Forster-Caskey made no mistake from the penalty spot, sending Artur Keysiak the wrong way. When Adam Chapman’s free kick was headed across goal by Jon-Paul Pittman for Alfie Potter to bundle home, there was a sense of belief. That was tempered by a missed header by Deane Smalley that looked easier to bury and blunted completely by Exeter’s other veteran Paul O’Flynn, who beat Jake Wright and fired home across Ryan Clarke.

If that was the door closing on OUFC’s chances, then the dismissal of James Constable was that door being bolted. Only on the pitch for 8 minutes, he picked up a booking for a marginal foul, then a minute later a booking which I couldn’t fathom, but was later put down to “Unsporting conduct,” saw the big man troop off furious, and United’s chances disappeared down the tunnel with him.

So, let’s go back to where we started. Will Chris Wilder go to Coventry? Who knows, but if he doesn’t, will that be because Oxford United want to keep him, or that Coventry aren’t interested? Given the current lack of information coming from Grenoble Road, I reckon we’ll find that one out from the Midlands.


Michael Duberry

Alan Hodgkinson
Jamie Cureton

Cureton’s second
Jake Forster-Caskey scores

 

Ghosts of Atkins past

18 Sunday Dec 2011

Posted by laurencereade in O

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Tags

Ade Akinfenwa, Deane Smalley, Firoz Kassam, Football, groundhopping, northampton town, oxford united., Tom Craddock

Saturday 17th December 2011

League 2

OXFORD UNITED 2 (Craddock 50 Smalley 87) Craddock missed pen 86

NORTHAMPTON TOWN 0 Akinfenwa missed pen 90

Att 7,517 (748 away)

Entry S/T

Programme (inc Oxford Mail) £3

There’s a mere 46 miles from the clubs’ stadia, but there’s no great rivalry between the two teams. Oxford hate Swindon, and Northampton hate Kettering and until recently Rushden & Diamonds. Add to that very little playing contact between the two clubs until the day Ian Atkins became Oxford United manager and took a fair percentage of his successful Cobblers team with him. While the football was awful to watch Atkins was the only succesful manager while Firoz Kassam was chairman.

Despite all of that there was little extra intensity to this game. Northampton brought and decent following to boost what would have been a depleted pre-Christmas crowd.

The first half was a forgettable affair, with United lacking an anchor on midfield, and Northampton looking a team in transition from the loose, losing passing side to a tighter, dare I say uglier outfit typical of new manager Aidy Boothroyd. At that point easily the best player on the park was the portly figure of Cobbler’s striker Ade Akinfenwa, whose vision and touch seemed lost on those around him.

After the break Northampton looked noticeably more direct, the ball being biffed down the channels a lot, not a bad tactic for League 2 but useless for playing to an immobile striker.

Oxford took the lead on 50 minutes when Johnson’s poor clearance fell straight to Potter. He passed to Craddock who was allowed far too much space in which to turn and shoot home from 12 yards. He ran to celebrate with the physiotherapist who treated him through a long spell injured.

On 85 minutes Johnson’s unfortunate afternoon continued as he tripped Craddock in the box. Craddock and Leven argued as to who should take the penalty, and Leven must have been seething as Craddock’s spot kick disappeared into the car park, damaging a wing mirror!

In the final analysis it didn’t matter as Constable found space on the left and looked up to see Deane Smalley at the back post. Smalley had the easiest opportunity to tap the ball in for his first goal at home. A long time coming for a man who a lot was expected.

Heslop’s miss from Tonkin’s cross defied belief but so did what followed, in injury time. Batt was penalised for handball, but if Craddock’s penalty was missed, then Akinfenwa’s was definitely saved, Clarke diving at full stretch to his left.

Progress of a sort for United, and Northampton will feel that there’s every reason to believe that the new regime will ensure League survival. That, perhaps is why there’s so little rivalry.

Timmy Mallet has entered the building

Andy Whing and Adebayo Akinfenwa
Porty but underestimate at your peril

If you want to see just how lousy Craddock’s penalty was -the ball is whistling past “O2”

Ryan Clarke dives to save Akinfenwa’s penalty

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