|
Sucker Punch
|
|
What a bloody horrible feeling…
|
By:
Max Bygraves
|
19/10/2025
|
|
|
This article has been viewed 215 times.
|
|
I was hoping to make a triumphant return here having had a writing week off for Tranmere away. My colleague did a sterling job in his write up that really encapsulated what a fantastic day that was. A little hazy by the end, but all worth it. The good times of 2025 continue.
This one, however, had a few warning signs from the off. I sit in a row with three other season ticket holding mates, plus a number of tickets for various offspring or their friends. For the visit of Notts County, I found myself as the sole person amongst our eight seats attending. I quite literally couldn’t give them away. Even my son did a complete u-turn from very enthusiastically wanting to attend over breakfast in the morning to waving me off as I left the house for the game. I tried not to take any of it personally. Thankfully, on arrival, my pals in Block D also had an empty seat which avoided watching this one solo.
Next up, parking was an utter debacle. Where were you when we were shit, eh? Or even really good for most of last season. Mine and The Wardrobe’s fail-safe road no longer the case. After fifteen minutes driving around local streets, I took the hit on the club car park as kick off fast approached. Why this proved to be a bad idea to become apparent later.
The ominous beginning certainly faded a little upon hearing the tannoy at ten to three. All credit to the club for responding to the request to play Sway (Mucho Mambo) by Shaft. Anyone at Tranmere has had this tune in their head ever since. The suggestion was that this would continue the feel-good factor in front of a bumper Hive crowd.
There were certainly plenty of reasons to be cheerful in the early exchanges. Our growth in the past six weeks has been phenomenal. Across the team, individuals clearly playing with so much more confidence and cohesion. Besides a forced change to the goalkeeper, an unchanged side from last week’s dominant display very much fair and quickly validated by the positive start.
Barnet undoubtedly had much the better of the first half although chances were at a premium. Lee Ndlovu thought he’d continued his recent good form midway through only to be denied by a fine reaction save. Danny Collinge also struck the post with a well-drilled effort towards the break, though the club did go up on this one.
A quirky first half side note was the behaviour of the scoreboard. We moaned for a long time when we didn’t have them. In the near two years the jumbotrons have been in place, it’s all been very smooth. We had a period of blackout for much of the first half before a series of changes. Someone’s Windows screen popping up had the recipe for so much to go wrong. In the end, what we saw next was an innocuous but strange live score for Precioled CF 0-0 UD Almeria. I’ve looked it up on LiveScore and there is no team called Precioled. Who knows?
Half time came around and I had left it a little late to queue for a beer, but I put my faith in the pre-pour system. Two months in now, must be well established. Right? Sadly not. Massive queues at the bar and long waiting times. What appears to be the issue now, on days where there are lots in anyway, is the idea of pre-pouring most of the drink but then adding the last bit when people queue up. This is a nice idea to make it fresh, but honestly, I don’t think anyone would be complaining to get a beer that was poured at say 3:30pm en masse in full, so it sped things up at 3:45. Your half time pint at The Hive is not about quality of beer, it’s about the ritual and comfort of an interval drink with your mates. This very small tweak would make a massive difference. This system can easily work, let’s hope it’s not abandoned.
Early in the second half, Notts County showed their most intent thus far and rattled the bar with an effort. This however wasn’t a turn in the tide and we quickly went back to controlling matters.
I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the effectiveness of Lee Ndlovu but his inability to win headers. One reader via the OnlyBarnet Forum accused me of being “wilfully ignorant,” suggesting this. As a result, I’ve watched this extra closely in the last two games and very much stand by it. What he does do is win things with his back and just generally be a nuisance. But he doesn’t win headers.
The game dropped off a little as the referee got increasingly whistle happy. Both ways, so many incredibly soft decisions were given and it really did spoil the flow. A yellow card for Adam Senior for the least malicious foul ever a particular low point.
What was frustrating was despite everything else being given, the League 2 refereeing rule not to give fouls for Oli Hawkins having his shirt pulled continued. Some truly astounding stuff yet again ignored. Bizarre on this occasion with such a seeming stickler for the rules.
I’d made peace with the fact I thought it would be a 0-0 draw from about the hour onwards. It just felt like one of those days. Genuinely, it didn’t really cross my mind that Notts County could score.
Indeed, as they ventured forward late on I had just thought about writing something here about not losing and not conceding being positives. Both of those things taken in a moment of misery.
A kind deflection presented Tyrese Hall with a simple close range finish in the 94th minute. He poked past Owen Evans to send the sizeable away contingent into raptures behind the goal. We’ve not had too many moments like that to contend with in recent years. It was like a punch to the stomach. I felt sick. Absolutely daylight robbery. A smash and grab that must have been so joyous to be on the right side of but was just hideous for us.
There’s no way to say this without sounding massively bitter (well, I am, anyway as it goes) but other than the pandemonium for the goal, Notts County were the worst away support we’ve had visit us so far. 90% sat down and not a peep until the goal. Very strange that despite such a swelled support there seemed very little passion. Until that moment at the end. Fuck off with your broken wheelbarrows.
As alluded to by Dean Brennan in his post match, we did respond well in the dying moments after the goal. Evans in their box for two corners and the excitement of a late free kick but the goal was never coming.
A bitterly disappointing defeat to end our recent excellent run. There is absolutely no reason to panic or feel too down in light of it, but you’re always allowed a little wallow when you lose a game like that.
My day’s misery was compounded by a forty minute wait to get out of The Hive car park. Just what myself and many others needed. I’ll leave in better time for the next home game to get a street space.
As much as I’d like the Barrow ground tick next week, Tranmere was my long distance excursion for the foreseeable. The FA Cup treating us to a trip to Fleetwood meaning quite a gap until the next game at home on 8th November. I know we’ve got Cambridge at home on Tuesday in that other cup but if I said I’d be going to that, I’d just be Vertu signalling.
|
|
|
All Articles By This Author:
Other Articles By Category
|