RAMSGATE 1 HORNCHURCH 1 - reports and stats

[Dagger03]

Tuesday 4th December 2007

RAMSGATE 1 HORNCHURCH 1 – report and stats

ABANDONED – FLOODLIGHT FAILURE – 33 MINS.

 

Mega traffic jams on every single road leading into Ramsgate – Sat Nav useless. On approach to the ground, a local was sitting outside his front gate offering a Sat Nav for only £20 – he said someone had chucked it into his front garden, it had hit his wife, and as soon as he raised the money, he would pay for her taxi fare to the hospital. Late arrival means no Ramsgate line up but the Urchins, in blue and white, line up as follows –

 

Dale Brightly --Jordan Bostock - John Purdie - Jimmy McFarlane - Des Boateng - Dean Green - Steve Wales - Donny Barnard - Simon Parker - Richard Goddard

Subs - Harry Elmes - Amos Foyewa - Mark Janney - Richard Halle -Frankie Curly

 

About 250 in the ground, mainly from Margate, with 100 Urchins and a handful of homers, huddled in sheer terror along one corner. Gate came forward but there was little of note for the first twenty minutes, apart from a lone voice shouting ‘Sat Nav for sale’. Ramsgate look the livelier but little penetration. There have been a lot of niggly free kicks but the ref seems on top of it all. Floodlights are a bit dim, and Urchins are kicking up the steep slope which resembles the face of the Eiger.

 

And then it happened – Urchins had a strong penalty appeal turned down when Des Boateng was scythed down in the area but the ref waved 'play on' and indicated the defender had got to the ball first. The resulting corner was cleared but we are applying more pressure now. But disaster followed, as the home side went one up, when a soft free kick and the ball deflected off the wall into the net. Scorer STEFFAN BALL direct from the free-kick.

 

On the restart Dean Green brought down in the area and ref waved 'play on' again. Seems that not all the homers were on the terraces. Des Boateng had a superb 25 yarder just saved by the keeper. Then Dean Green brought down yet again in the area with the ref giving nothing. On 32 minutes, SIMON PARKER won the ball, carried on and scored with a mega volley from just outside the area. He had to shoot from outside the area, in case he was brought down inside the area and the referee would have waved play on again. Just a minute later, with Urchins now in total command, there was a floodlight failure and play was suspended.

 

Players and everyone from the dugouts retired to the pavilion. An announcement was made saying a decision would be made within 15 minutes on whether the game will be abandoned.

 

Unc asks if anyone knows if the rules allow a shorter first half. When / if they come back can they start the second half or must they play 12 minutes, go off for half time and then play the second half? The answer is that each half must last the full duration. But no refunds as the match has gone on for over thirty minutes. It dragged on and on but the supporters remained in the dark.

 

For Jim McFarlane, not only was it his return to Urchins action, but it was also his second floodlight failure in a row, as his previous match, for Concord at Enfield, was also abandoned, at half time, when the floodlights failed. A mass brawl followed, and Jim simply pushed his way through the melees and started his warm down exercises. What a professional. What a magnificent example to those around him. Shane Oakley also played in this match and by all accounts did very well.

 

Over half an hour now gone, and there is still no news. Players from both sides have now got cold and there is a risk of pulled muscles should play restart.

 

Treeboy is furious – he said – ‘ramsgate should put the players and all the fans up overnight in a plush hotel and replay the remainder of the game during daylight. they should also phone up everyone's boss tomorrow and come up with an ace excuse why they're not in.’ This makes it very difficult for those who have taken the day off sick to go to the match though. A well known Urchin – name withheld for fear of reprisals – actually phoned in sick this morning, and then suddenly remembered that he had no need to do so, as it was his own business and he could do as he liked. And – Treeboy – how can Ramsgate do this anyway – there are no plush hotels in Ramsgate.

 

It’s now 9pm and the excuses begin - These things happen be it Ramsgate or The Nou Camp, we`ve all had fllod light failure, especially in Margate when at least 6000 homes where caught all using the same power supply. Not only is the excuse pathetic, so is the spelling.

 

 

9.05 pm - Game has been abandoned. Supporters will be able to use their ticket to gain free entrance to the replay. Everyone files out the ground, apart from the three Ramsgate supporters, who are already home and in bed. A solitary figure stands outside the ground calling – Sat Nav for sale, all proceeds to the wife’s convalescence.

 

A few quotes were obtained I left the ground, now a dark dreary desolate deserted desert.

 

Nette says - I know and can get to every fuse in our stadium and can change them, maybe all Non League Clubs should be run by women....... Pathetic

 

And here comes the lame excuse from a local - Why does everyone think that an electical problem must be a fuse.Running a football club maybe , being a sparky never.

 

Treebau says - indeed ian, quite often floodlight failures are the result of sabotage, especially after an equaliser...

 

Ian says – Night all

 

 

[Serious Sid]

Glad to see plagiarism is alive and well.

[BlueGate Alan]

Great stuff Dagger

[I am Spartacus]

You forgot to mention the plush surroundings.

 

Oh sorry this was Ramsgutter there are not any .