If you're Aggie and you know it

England Women host Portugal Women in the Nations League Group Stage at Wembley Stadium

The Lionesses 🦁 host the Navigators 🧭 at Prenton Park South. Let’s hope the Navi’s lose their way tonight. It’s matchday 5. These 2 met on match day 1 back in February when they played out a draw in Portimao . We have beaten Spain since then but a win and a loss against Belgium leaves us 2nd in the group behind Spain. England need to win tonight to stay within touching distance of the semi-finals. That loss away to Belgium could prove costly. Spain are building form as Portugal and Belgium are dropping away. The Lionesses also need to start building some momentum going into the Euros. There is some good news on the team front. LJ, Georgia and Alex are back from long term injuries. Hempo gets a start but the others are on the bench. The biggest news (shocking even) is that Mary Queen of Stops, announced on Tuesday that she was retiring from international football with immediate effect. The news shocked everyone including Serena who now has a squad of only 26 instead of 27 tonight. Millie has also dropped out to allow her long term recovery. Take care Millie. Hope to see the fully functioning Milliedozer back soon. She is replaced in the squad by Lotte. Lessi is also missing due to an injury picked up as Arsenal beat Barcelona 🤣 in the Champions League Final 🏆 in Lisbon last Saturday. Ella Toone has also dropped out due to an injury sustained in the football 7’s at the weekend. She missed the final which they lost to Bayern Munich. Not sure if her injury was sustained in the football or the pre-match “displays”.  So the 27 squad is down to 23 for this fixture. Hoping that Tooni and Lessi are back for Tuesday. Inevitably, Hannah is in goal.  Leah and Esma Morgan are central with Lucy and Jess Carter are out wide. Kiera, Grace and Jess Park are the 6, 8 and 10. Up front are Beth, Aggie and Hempo. Brighton duo Nikita and Fran are on the bench as is loanee Michelle. Hope we see all of them later. Ex-Seagull and midfielder Tatina Pinto starts for the Navigators. The Navigators have never beaten the Lionesses.  Long may that continue. It’s nearly time to start. There are fireworks and wheelie bins of fire. We hold up our to make the St Georges flag for the national anthem. We clap the players as they take the knee then we are underway. The cards are quickly rolled into clackers to make some noise.  Come on Inglund

The Lionesses are aggressive from the kick-off. They press high. Jess Park ‘liberates’ the ball and Aggie shoots across Pereira to score in the 3rd minute ⚽. 1-0. Take that. We have barely stopped cheering when Hemp gets clear down the left. The ball is scuffed by Aggie but Beth’s shot bounces up and Lucy is on hand to head it in ⚽. Five minutes gone and 2-0. The third goal is going to be a big one.  Jess C and Hempo are causing havoc down the left . Serena has found a good combo there. Portugal finally get a chance but it skims off the outside of the post after a corner. We haven't seen much of Serena. She pops out every now and then. Working on a pint at the bar? It calms down a bit now but England are still fully in control. A Lucy Bronze cross finds the head of Aggie and it’s 3-0 on 26 ⚽. Portugal are struggling to defend and England have their tails up. It’s Beffy’s turn to score as she pickpockets the defence and slots it home on 29 ⚽. It’s done now. England ruthless and Portugal helpless. Aggie’s first Wembley start results in a first half hat trick as she makes it 5-0 on 33 ⚽ with some great play after a long ball from Leah. We are excited and exhausted. The Lionesses have been devastating. It’s so close to 6 as Beth puts in a great cross but Lauren launches herself at it but doesn’t quite reach it. It’s Lauren who now turns provider as she puts in a great cross but Grace can’t quite get to it. Into 3 minutes of added time. Enough for another goal or 2. Portugal get a sniff of a chance but it’s still 5-0 at the break.  Aaaand breath.

Are we are going to see Serena make some early changes to rest legs or will she stick to the usual plan and make the changes at the hour mark? It looks like the latter as the starting 11 come out for the restart. Hope we will see more ruthlessness (and goals) but are expecting Portugal to be a bit more organised now. It turns into a more even game as the Navigators finally discover some composure. There are chances at both ends before the changes start. Lucy, Lauren and Esme make way for Maya, Chloe and Alex. It’s all like for like with Maya back in her old Brighton job of right back. Alex’s left foot will help with long balls out to the right. We don't see why but Chloe seems to fall out with the Portuguese no 21 Ana Capeta. It’s not going to end well. Portugal in a rare foray forward and earn a free kick about 30 yards out. She goes for goal but it goes just over. Alex’s left foot pays off with a long pass to Beth. Chloe heads home from the resulting cross on 62 ⚽. 6-0. Chloe loves a goal at Wembley apparently 👕🏃. There are more changes on 67 as Super Fran Kirby replaces Jess Park who has had a fantastic game in the 10. We nearly get a 7th but Alex hits the bar and Chloe can’t head the rebound on target. There are big cheers on 75 as Georgia is welcomed back to replace Kiera who has also had a good game. The changes have taken the fluidity out of the Lionesses but it will be some good minutes for the returning players. We get just one more chance. Beth and Aggie are involved. Two starters still full of energy and creativity. Only a good save prevents Aggie’s 4th and England’s 7th. There are only 3 added minutes but the scoreboard clock stops at 90 for some reason. It’s soon over and the Lionesses have sealed 3 back to back home wins in the Nations League scoring 12 goals and conceding zero. It’s time for Sweet Caroline as we head for Wembley Park and the Metropolitan line.

Wow. What a performance and result. We've not seen the Lionesses perform like that for a while and never at Wembley. Really needed that. Us and them. Unbeaten at home since that awful Germany game. Everyone played well and worked really well together. The changes disrupted things a little but Serena will have learnt a lot from that. We wanted a Norway style 8-0 but there are big names missing and she quite doesn’t have the super-subs option that she would like. Grace was the least fantastic but charging the defence with the ball at her feet was maybe her assigned role although she did keep running into roadblocks. No moaning though. Fantastic team performance. It was, in reality, all over in 5 minutes. Done and dusted in 30. And a first half hat trick for Aggie was something special to watch. Serena may have lost her headache over her choice of goalkeeper but she now has serious competition for the no. 9. Nice problem to have. She will be pleased to have Alex and Georgia back and Hempo straight back in and on fire. The crowd was about as expected tonight at 48531 which is a little over half full but that seems normal for a Friday evening. It’s time for a summer break now after what has been a mixed season. There have been good times and not so good but it’s ended on a bit of a high. Time for some R’n’R now before the Rover coaster starts it’s journey all over again.

POTM: can only go to one player and it’s the first half hat trick hero, Agatha Beever-Jones ⚽⚽⚽.

The ref and officials did well, kept it flowing and the players safe. Thanks

Basil watch: We were early so no sign outside the stadium. Saw him at a distance inside but couldn’t find him for a selfie.

The Scran’O’meter loves the Victoria Station Spoons and gave the BBQ burger 🍔 a 7/10. We’ve also got the hang of bottle tops here as we took an empty bottle in with the lid hidden under my hat.

See you next season.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Fire and Smoke

Heading for the Arch

A win at Wembley

(Your Lard Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher

Horsham FC play Littlehampton Town FC in the Sussex Chalenge Cup Final at the AMEX Stadium

One last outing to the AMEX this season for the Sussex Senior Cup🏆 . It’s the Hornets 🐝 again. This time their opponents are the Marigolds 🧤. We’re in the south end of the West Stand with the Lardy Army 🧈 supporting the Hornets who have just been crowned 👑 the Isthmian Champions 🏅. Up to the NLS for them next season. They are also the holders so looking to retain the cup tonight. The Marigolds (I’m glovin’ it) finished 18th in the Isthmian South East after an unremarkable season leaving them 40 places below the high flying Hornets. We haven’t seen the Hornets this season but remember some of the players. We also recognise Ole O from Lewes who moved as part of a recruitment raid on the Rooks by Horsham last summer. No Dougie this year as he has gone back to Bognor. Some season he has had, leaving the Hornets who get promoted ⬆, to join the Rocks who got relegated ⬇. Coincidence? Or is he still on the Hornet's payroll to sink their rivals. Probably not, he hasn’t played much and isn’t that influential on the pitch these days. There are no fireworks or taking the knee tonight. There are lots of photos as it’s a big occasion for non-league players. Let’s get going as it’s 5 minutes late for kick-off already. Blood and guts non-league football incoming. Hopefully 🙏🏼.

The Hornets are on the front foot and put the ball in the net in the 3rd minute. It’s disallowed for off-side to zero protest. There follows lots of scruffy football with the Hornets trying to play their passing game and the Golds trying to play long. Most notable event of the half is the Gold keeper collapsing in pain and having to be replaced. It’s level at the break. 

The Hornets looked a little leggy or maybe hungover from the league win in the first half. Need to step it up now. They do for a while and get a series of corners. It’s the Gold who look the most up for it though and their tackling becomes even more spirited.  The Golds keeper looks to be injured as he sits down, Zinsberger style. Are we going to see another keeper change? He recovers and we start. Wonder who would have gone in goal? The Golds have their tails up and look full of energy. They need to be careful of the outlets for that energy as their rate of bookings goes up as well. The ref is filling up his little black book but is being mostly fair with it. Although he does miss a big 2 footed tackle on one of the Hornets. They are applying all the pressure as we go into 6 minutes of injury time. The Gold fans have started to make themselves heard but it’s limited to “Your support is effin shit” (which it most certainly isn’t) and “we hate Horsham” although they play in a different league. Weird, predictable and boring. The Lardy army haven’t stopped singing with old favorites like “Start spreading the lard” and “The Yellow and the Green” despite looking second favorites to win it from here. The Hornets break out of the Golds press but are stopped by a challenge within sight of the Golds goal. Into the last minute as Hammo steps up to take the free kick. He hasn’t scored from a direct free kick all season but no-one will remember that because he sticks this one in the top corner ⚽ with just seconds left on the clock. Unbelievable scenes in the Lardy end. It’s still chaos in the stand as the whistle goes straight after the restart . Some last gasp win for the Yellow and Green.

Wow. That’s 3 big wins for us in 6 days. The Hornets retain the Cup 🏆. Littlehampton must be broken 😭 to lose that so late on. They looked most likely to score as the clock ticked down but a free kick shattered their dreams with almost the last kick. Made up for the Lardy Army who have got behind the Yellow and Green for the whole game. We could hear them still singing in the ground from the Bridge car park. The Hornets looked slightly off the boil tonight. Too much celebration after their promotion or a bit of complacency from the holders. Makes no difference now. The Golds were certainly up for it and a little bit too committed in some of the tackling. They tried to apply some level of dark arts but were fortunately beaten by a side focused on quality football. We are made up for the Hornets. They have been building to this for years and to do the double is amazing for them. The Lardy army certainly played their role in the season and tonight. Hope the Hornets are back next year to beat another opponent. This is the last of 4 visits to the AMEX this season. Hope to get to a few more next season. The U23 final was also tonight and Newhaven lost to the all conquering Hassock who have won everything this season. Congrats to the Robins.

POTM: There can only be one winner here. It goes to James ‘hammo’ Hammond for the goal. He won the game with that kick. Congrats. That won’t be forgotten for a while. 

The officials had a mixed night. Missed a few fouls and offsides. It was certainly busy for them and they managed to upset both sets of fans. Ref will need to add some pages to his little black book after that. 

The Scran’O’meter downgraded the Veggie pie 🥧 from 9/10 to 8/10 due to the temperature or lack of. Bottle tops were removed as usual for fortress AMEX.

That's it for men's football now. See you in Birmingham for the last game of the WSL season.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

AMEX under the lights

Winners again

Let's Sway Together

Tranmere Rovers face Newport County In EFL 2 at Rodney Parade

The White's last game of the season is away to the Exiles. Hoping we get a welcome that’s as warm as the Welsh weather. The Rovers finally secured their place in the Football league next season with a win against Crewe last Saturday. Been a while since the Kop has seen scenes like that as it was bouncing for 90 minutes with white smoke at the end ushering Andy Crosby as the new Pope. Prenton Park is our church after all. A win today would move us away from the relegation zone and give history a very different view of how close we came to going over the cliff edge. Today we can climb to a heady 20th or 88th in old money. That needs Accrington to lose which is something we always like to see. We're certainly up for it today, hope the players are too. The team is the same as Andy has settled on with LOC ,Tom and Jordan as a back 3. Sam Taylor makes a rare appearance but it’s nice to see him as wing back opposite Cameron Norman. Jake Garrett gets a start alongside Merrie in the middle. The front 3 are Dennis, Morris and Patrick. No idea what music they are playing at Rodney Parade, maybe they need to invest in a better sound system. It’s a dead rubber game with both teams safe but both are also hurting after poor seasons. It could be really flat as the players' minds start to head for the beach but we remain hopeful that the boys want to go out on a high after last week's euphoria.

There is no taking the knee here or fancy fireworks here. Straight into the football. The Exiles get in the first shot in but Luke saves it from range. The football is not great. It’s scrappy and broken up with a few half chances either way. Neither set of fans is generating much noise. The first decent chance comes on 23 as Newport score from outside the box through a host of bodies. Not what we want but we don't rollover these days. There is a tussle between Cameron Norman and the Exiles no. 14 Kai Whitmore on 27. Cameron ends up on the floor and Whitmore stamps on him. The ref is the wrong side to see it and so gives a yellow card. The fans are warming up a bit. And some, it’s sweltering in the stands 🥵. The SWA are in good voice and the Exiles chipping in now and then. The Lino on the far side is missing some howlers of offsides. Tranmere's first decent chance comes from Sam Taylor but it’s high and wide. Lee O’Connor is marking their striker Kyle Hutlin. It is comical as Lee is getting the best of the ball, even in the air, despite being 5’9” to the Exiles 6’ 9”. The Rovers equalise on 41 ⚽ as Jake Garrett's speculative long range shot is deflected and loops over the keeper. The SWA can smell blood and are bouncing behind the goal. The Whites are pushing for a second but it’s still level at the break. Time to cool off in the shade 😎.

There’s a change for the Rovers at the break as Josh Davison replaces Sam Taylor. It’s all Tranmere now. Morris sees his shot blocked. We finally take the lead on 51 as Kristian Dennis ⚽ volleys in from a Norman cross. It’s a great shot. 1-2 to the Rovers. The Tequila 🍸 is flowing in the away end.  Dennis is replaced by Harvey Saunders on 63. That injects some energy 🏃‍♂️. The Exiles No. 14 poleaxes Jake Garrett on 66. It’s an easy second yellow and off he goes. Bye👋. Saunders has an impact as he sets up Omari Patrick to score from just outside the box on 70 ⚽. Josh Davison has to drag him across to celebrate with the SWA. Newport can’t cope with the Rovers attacks. Their fans start to stream out of the ground. “Is this a fire drill?” echoes round Rodney Parade. Wood comes on to replace Omari on the left. He starts to get some great crosses in. There are more changes on 77 as Josh Hawkes replaces Cameron on the right and Connor Jenning replaces Garrett in the middle. There is an immediate impact as Josh Hawkes sets up Josh Davison who blasts into the bottom corner on 78 ⚽. The SWA have shown great restraint, waiting until we’re 3 goals clear to start singing “We’re winning away” . Very sensible 👍. The Exiles Kyle Hudlin is subbed off on 81. It’s a shame as we were enjoying watching Lee humiliating him. It’s all Tranmere as we try to inspire Kieron Morris to score with his new song, “When the Tranmere rhythm starts to play…”, as he runs past us down the wing. The crowd are baying for more, singing “We want 5”. The fifth doesn’t come and it’s still 1-4 at 90+6. That’ll do. The home end is already empty but there is no-one leaving the away end. it’s bouncing as the players come over. There are a few lucky recipients of shirts and gloves. Andy Crosby is the last to leave the pitch to huge applause. Love him.

That was fantastic. What a day out and what a performance from the Whites. They never looked out of it at a goal down and the equaliser kicked off a momentum that never stopped. Not sure that Newport got another decent shot after the goal. Losing a player can’t have helped, ha-ha, but he was lucky to be on the pitch that long as he was as the first yellow should have been a red for stamping on Norman right in front of us. Today was very different from the football played under Adkins. Who knew that this team of players could actually play this well. Unbelievable Jeff. The SWA were awesome today too. There were a lot of empty seats but people probably migrated to the stand behind the goal to sing with their mates. The count is in. There were 811 in the away end out of a total of 5,465. That’s a fantastic turn out with nothing at stake at "not the best" of awaydays venues. The home end emptied long before the away end had finished singing. It’s new to us but we are loving Sway the Tranmere way. “When the Tranmere rhythm starts to play….” The subs worked well today. Well, as much as we love Harvey Saunders for his energy and endeavour, he isn’t the best with the ball at his feet. But he did play his part today running the backline ragged and getting an assist to boot. There will be a few in this group that we won’t see again. Connor Jennings must number amongst them. He has been a great servant to the club, twice, and a shining light in dark times. Hopefully they can find room for him next season. There are a few more that we would like to see again including Omari, Dennis LOC and Merrie. There are also a few (and some) that we would happily pay for a taxi to come and collect. The news from elsewhere is that Accrington lost 🎉 so we moved up 2 places to 20th 📈. Deceptively clear of the trap door. So it’s goodbye to the 24/25 season in League 2. Definitely one to be filed away as “Don’t go there again”. Will Andy Crosby be with us next season? We hope so if he’s not too busy being Pope. And then there's the impending takeover to come. Fingers crossed 🤞.  Will the new shirt sponsor be Fenty or maybe Rihanna be designing the 3rd shirt. It’s not going to get dull in the world of Tranmere any time soon!

POTM: goes to Cameron ‘Storming’ Norman,🏅 creating loads of space and putting in loads of great crosses including 2 assists. Well done.

The officials were generally OK. The ref couldn’t have seen the stamp on Cameron so was never going to give a red. He did the right thing and the yellow got the job done in the end. The lino at our end must have forgotten his contacts as he couldn't see the Exiles players even if they were yards offside. Useless. Can’t remember any offsides at all so maybe the one at the other end was no better. Or they were waiting for VAR to do their jobs for them. Mike Dean was spotted in the ground so maybe it’s the league 2 VAR pilot.

The Scran’O’meter has decided that the yummy Greggs was out of scope so is unable to comment on the catering today. Except to moan about the bottle top police who confiscated the bottle of water that we took to Stamford Bridge last week and have taken to Wembley a few times. Bastards. Bottle in the ground had the tops removed. Good job we had some spares. 🤣

See you at Crawley.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Sunshine in Wales

Downing St, no thanks, Newhaven please

Fast train to Wales

Rodney Parade

97 Tears

Brighton & Hove Albion Women face Chelsea Women in the WSL at the Peoples Pension Stadium

It’s the Seagulls 3rd game in the big playground this season. Today, Liverpool are the opponents in the penultimate home game. It’s a six pointer as the Albion are 5th in the WSL with the Reds just a point behind. Man City are 13 points clear in 4th so this is the battle to be the best of the rest. Since we last saw them play, Maddie has been injured against Man City and will miss the rest of the season. Big loss that. And during the international break, our Michelle became a national hero scoring a worldie for the Senior Lionesses against Belgium in Belgium. It was her first senior goal after just 53 seconds on the pitch. She was with the U19 squad when she got a very late call up to replace the injured Russo for the trip to Belgium. The rest is history, literally. She gets a rare start today. Also starting from the Lionesses squad are Fran and Nikita. Maisie starts after her first senior Lioness call up too although she didn’t get to play. At least her talent has been recognised👀. The Liverpool news is that Matt Beard 🧔 was surprisingly sacked 💰 in February. Acting in his place is Amber Whiteley. She took them to the FA Cup semi-finals last week but they lost to Chelsea. They took the lead in that match through an Olivia Smith goal with her trademark fast break and diagonal rocket into the net. Hope we don’t see that today but she is lethal. We were a bit surprised to see her today as she went off injured last week. We have yet to see the Albion win at the AMEX but we are hoping to break that duck 🦆 today. We lost to Everton here at the AMEX a year ago today. Hopefully we’re not completing the Merseyside double today. It’s a very sunny ☀ April 🌧 day and it’s toasty 😎 in the front row of the East Stand. There has been a bit of a wheelie bin malfunction and some have been taken away. The remaining display is a bit half-hearted. It’s time for “Sussex by the Sea” and then we’re off.

It’s a horrible start. Olivia Smith is straight down the wing and smashing it in from an angle. Identical to the goal at Chelsea last week 😡. A week to prepare for that exact danger and we’re behind in a minute. Mustn't swear, we are in the Family Stand 😶. Drat, Damn and Whops. It restarts and we make some noise to get behind the team. They can’t keep the ball though. It’s all Liverpool with misses from Fisk, Kiernan and Fisk again. The Seagulls manage to get a shot in but Nadine misses her chance. There is an impromptu drinks break as Olivia receives treatment on 31. Rinse and repeat on 39 except the play doesn't stop this time so she is left rolling around on her own. The Seagulls get caught playing out from the back and Kiernan makes it 2-0 to the visitors on 43. Long way back now. A goal before the break would be nice. Olivia Smith, having needed treatment twice, is flying down the wing. This time Poppy keeps up and absolutely flattens her 🥊. Well in, Popps. More treatment is required and after wasting loads more time, she is replaced by Kapocs on 45+6. Poppy is booked which is fair enough. The half ends after 8 added minutes, mostly due to Olivia Smith sitting down. The is a brief relief from the heat as we get a lovely cooling spray at the halftime sprinklers.

Brighton need something now. Dario makes 3 changes. Rachel, Poppy and Nadine are replaced by Dejana, Kiko and Marisa. Maisie drops into the left centre back roll vacated by Poppy. It is better! There is more aggression in the midfield and the ball is moving forward. We start to get chances.  Nikita gets caught offside. Michelle puts Kiko’s cross in the net on 48⚽. 1-2. A good start. We can’t get any momentum built and it is scrappy for a while. Fran misses from another Kiko cross. Nikita is booked for a late tackle. Michelle is injured and there is another drinks break while she gets treatment. It's now Frans turn to get booked. Michelle takes a shot from the corner of the box, it’s well high and wide as it curls into the stand but Rachel Laws was still injured in the action 🤷. More work for the physios who are earning their money 💰 today. Liverpool get a corner and Bonner is injured in the action. On come the physios again. The clock is ticking down as Bruna replaces Jelena on 81 to big cheers. She is back from Barcelona after treatment for an injury. Melina makes a good save from Holland. Bruna misses down the other end. It’s all Brighton now. Laws is booked for time wasting. Albion get a string of corners but no goals. Auee is replaced by Charlize on 90+7 as play restarts. It finishes on 90+10 with a 1-2 loss.

Not a good day for the Seagulls. Another goal for Michelle. Shame we couldn’t get more. Albion had a week off to train while Liverpool played an big FA Cup game yet it was the opposition who looked well organised and full of energy. Not having a plan for Olivia Smith and being caught out in the first minute is unbelievable. Disappointed that we underperformed when it mattered and now Liverpool have moved above us in the table as we swapped 5th and 6th places. West Ham drew so at least we didn't drop any lower but need to buck our ideas up or we will be dropping rapidly down the table. Three games to go including Arsenal at Crawley. Enough moaning.  It was a nice day out and we got to test out the new fan zone which is very much a work in progress. We did get excellent value today as we got an extra 15 minutes for the same price although Liverpool players were sitting down for most of it. They are a bit fragile on the wrong side of the Mersey. We do wonder if Smith was fit having gone off injured last week and the needed treatment 3 times today before being subbed. Maybe she is just being massively over dramatic. Who knows? They were a bit of a one player team without her. Full marks to Poppy for putting her out of her misery today. 

POTM: Is awarded to Melina for some great saves and trying to distribute the ball quickly even if no-one wanted it.

The ref got played by the Reds today with all their falling over and rolling around. She got a few names for her collection as well.

The Scran’O’meter tested out “The Terrace”, the new fan zone. The Ultra Cheese Melt toastie was nice getting 8/10. The ordering system needs sorting out though. The catering on the concourse was very slow at half time. Not Arsenal slow but bad enough. And the AMEX stewards and staff are the last remaining outpost for removing bottle tops 🍾.

See you on Monday if it's not too foggy on the Tye.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

In the AMEX with Sally

Smokey in here

Checking out the new fan zone

Travesty in Blue

Brighton & Hove Albion Women face Chelsea Women in the WSL at the Peoples Pension Stadium

It’s great to be back at a packed Broadfield for the Seagulls hosting the Blues on a cold but sunny afternoon in Sussex. The Seagulls haven’t won in ages but are unbeaten at Crawley this season. Long may that continue.  Chelsea have drawn 1 and won 26 this season. They have a busy month of March coming up with this the first of the 8 games which include 4, Four, Quartro..in a row against Man City. They won’t want a tough test today. Shame. The Seagulls will be up for it. Sally is back in good form too. Scooter 🐩 has recovered from his tail surgery and in our row in the stand. We haven’t seen Basil yet but we are sure we will make himself known at some point. The team news is out. The Seagulls have 3 at the back with Poppy, Dotti and Guru. Playing as wingbacks are Rachel and Merisa. Vicky and Nadine sit behind a front three of Maddie, Nikita and Fran. Looks like Nikita on the left and Maddie on the right. There’s still no Maisie as this is the last game of her ban. The Blues have Hannah in goal as the good news is that Zecira is pregnant. Congratulations. There are a few big names on the pitch. There is a new record signing, Naomi Girma in defence with Millie, Lucy Bronze and Sandy Baltimore. Also new girl and previous record signing Kiera Walsh (fresh off the plane from Spain) joins Nusken and Kaptien in midfield. Up front are Aggie, LJ and Johana. There is a scary amount of talent on the bench. Not sure if we want them to stay on the bench or that Chelsea are under pressure and need to use them. The latter probably. There are some quick fireworks, a rendition of “Sussex by the Sea”, a bit of “Right here, right now" and it’s time to take the knee. Be fearless Seagulls.

Chelsea kick off but Brighton are soon in possession and very much in control. Fran and Maddie both get shots in the first minute. The Seagulls keep the Blues pretty much pinned in for about 10 minutes. Chelsea eventually get a chance to attack after about 15 minutes. It results in a great goal as LJ’s looping cross is volleyed home by Sandy. 0-1. Oops. Harsh on the Seagulls but a great goal. We need a quick response now. The Albion don’t wait long to equalise as Marisa scores from a tight angle on 16 ⚽. Get in. We come close again but Nikita’s shot is just over. The ref (it’s Kirsty today) suddenly wakes up and books Rachel for a minor tackle having let Chelsea foul and foul again for the first 30 minutes. Mostly on Maddie. There are chances both ways before Vicky converts Rachel’s low cross to score on 45+2. In the lead at the break. Come on you Seagulls.

The Ska band arrive in front of the West Stand at the break and entertain us with a few tunes. They have a new guitarist and a louder guitarguit🎸. A January signing perhaps?

Big half ahead for the Seagulls. Chelsea make a change bringing on Oriane Jean Fransois to replace the largely anonymous Keira Walsh. Chelsea start the brighter. Oriane is making a difference and gets a shot in. The Chelsea fans in the North Stand are counting as Melina holds the ball waiting to kick it. The counting gets to about 20 before she kicks it. Refs don’t enforce 6 seconds any more. They do it for the next one but as they get to 20, the ref stops play to allow Girma to get treatment. It’s now the Seagulls fans turn to count the wasted seconds. Girma can’t be fixed with the “magic spray” and is replaced by Natalie Bjorn. In other not so good new, Mayra Ramirez replaces Sjoeke Nusken. Not what the Seagulls defence wanted to see. The changes have their impact as after just 2 minutes on the pitch, Mayra’s close range shot is saved but falls to Lauren James who taps home. The Seagulls have a good spell but Vicky is fouled and injured. She is replaced by Dejana. We expected that change about now anyway. Chelsea get a period of good possession although they struggle with the off-side trap. They eventually get through and get a couple of corners but the Seagulls dig deep in defence. It’s Fran’s turn to get fouled and injured next. After treatment, she is replaced on 76 by Pauline who goes to the right. Dario uses the break to make another change with Rachel making way for Kiko who plays on the left. Into 9 minutes of injury time and Chelsea are still pushing for a winner. Aggie (forgot she was on the pitch) shoots over. They get a free kick just outside the box. LJ hits it with a curl, like she does, but it misses the top corner. Phew! She has been fairly anonymous most of the game but gets another shot that forces Melina into a good save. Marisa goes down injured again after the earlier foul and has to be replaced so on comes Caitlin Hayes. There is a bit of re-organisation at the back which frees up Poppy to roam forwards a lot more. LJ is less anonymous as she is booked for a foul off the ball. It’s almost the last action of the game as the whistle goes at 90+10. And breath and cheers the girls. What a performance.

That was fantastic. Still unbeaten at the Broadfield and the performance of the season against the league leaders. The energy in the first half was amazing and although it dipped at times in the second, the commitment level never dropped. There were some very good saves, loads of blocks and some great attacking football. The Seagulls looked like a different team. Vicky was further forward, more like an 8 than a 6. She was much more influential in that role. The formation was just right and everyone had a great game. Hope Dario can remember the cheat code he put in tonight. He didn’t do bad with the changes either. The big crowd of 4491 made for a good atmosphere. Well, the Brighton fans made a good noise. Basil struggled to get much going down the other end despite him being in good form. We have a few Chelsea fans in the West Stand but they were mostly of the young variety. The Seagulls are still in 5th in the league and the gap below hasn’t changed although Liverpool have replaced Spurs in 6th. We have a break now as it is the FA Cup next weekend and we got knocked out.

POTM: Today’s recipient is Maddie 🏅for a great performance for 100 minutes despite getting continuously flattened. Dario found a great role for her holding the ball up with her strength 💪.

The ref had a poor game and favoured the big team on the telly. No one wants to preside over Chelseas’ first loss. A ridiculous yellow card for a first foul by Rachel but nothing for the constant fouling by the Blues. Lino missed a clear offside for the second Chelsea goal. Sun in her eyes. Not really a good enough excuse. Moan over 😶.

The Scran’O’meter is back to it’s best with the 9.5/10 Dough Shack pizza 🍕 and 8.5 chips 🍟. Yum.

Basil watch: No sign of him outside but he was very vocal and lively down the other end for most of the game.

See you soon.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Blue sky to welcome the Blues

Ska break

Stand By Your Stan

QPR host Sheffield United in the EFL Championship at Loftus Road

We are in the Loft at Loftus Road to watch the “R”s, Hoops, etc, host the Blades on a sunny afternoon in W12. We’re here for a speacial reason and some Championship football. At half time there will be a tribute to Pauline McCarthy. There’s is a bit in the programme too. Big “R”s fan and much missed. It’s a full house of over 17,000 and we’re behind the goal in the safe standing with the big banner. We don’t know either team but are in the home crowd so hoping for a few goals to cheer for the Hoops. It’s going to be tough as the “R”s are on a poor run in mid-table, The Blades, whose fans are in the upper tier at the other end and 2nd to Leeds and in the automatic promotion spots so a big game for the visitors. They won’t want to leave without 3 points today. A tough task for the “R”s to come away with anything today so will need the 12th man to spur them on. "London Calling" blares out as the players come out. There is no taking the knee or fireworks so it’s straight into the football. 

News from Tranmere is that Nigel Adkins has stepped down as Tranmere manager after last weeks home defeat so good luck to the boys today. Hope there’s a boost now the shackles are off. UTFW🥊.

It’s fairly even in the early minutes. The “R”s are getting some joy out wide with the winger Yang looking good on the right but the Blades start to get on top and dominate for a while. Their pressure pays off as a headed goal gives them the lead on 10. 0-1. There is a big noise from the other end who have been quiet until now. They continue to dominate. The Hoops hit them on the break and put the ball in the net on 35 but it’s ruled off-side. Booo. The Blades dominate some more but it remains 0-1.

At half time there are lots of birthdays announced before the tribute to Pauline. There is then an announcement that Stan Bowles family are here because there was private ceremony this morning to scatter his ashes on the pitch. They wanted to score one last goal for him so came on the pitch and kick the ball into the net in front of the Loft. Good job there is no VAR. He was well off-side. Joking aside, RIP to Pauline ❤ and Stan. 

It starts fairly even again. The Blades double their lead on 54 from a fast break and a shot outside the box, The are a few chances both ways. The changes start and there are some very high numbers going on and off. Come in number 58, your time is up. QPR are awarded a penalty for handball just inside the box. The important 3rd goal goes to the “R”s. They are inspired and dominate, coming close with a few chances. Dembele has come on and is causing problems on the right so they keep fouling him. Gets nothing for it though. They get more good chances in injury time and some so close to the equaliser but it doesn’t go in. It ends with a 2-1 loss at 90+8.

An entertaining game of football. Not the best quality but plenty of passion on display. The result wasn’t a surprise, we thought the “R”s put up a good scrap and were unlucky not to level it at the end.. The crowd certainly got behind them and showed their dislike of West London “rivals” Chelsea, whoever they are? The Hoops could have done with Clint Hill in defence today. The atmosphere was the highlight. And the tributes to Pauline and Stanley Bowles. The best team won but the “R”s fought hard for a point.

POTM: Goes to speedy winger Yang Min-hyeole. Love a speedy winger playing on the correct foot.

The Scran’O’meter would normally rate a post match meal but as it's a special occasion so the Pizza Express Fiorentina Pizza was a very nice 9/10.

The ref got some abuse from both sets of fans and struggled for consistency. He could just as easily have not given the penalty for the "R"s goal. We all had a good laugh at the linesman who was running up the pitch. He was later hit on the head with a lighter which is totally out of order to a man just doing his job. Besides smoking kills.

Bottle top news: Bobble tops remained unmolested during the bag search.

See you tomorrow.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

In the Loft

Packed in here

There's only one...

Shepherd's Bush Meerkat

RIP Pauline

Here Come The Spain Again

England Women host Spain Women in the Nations League Group Stage at Wembley Stadium

The Lionesses host La Roja at Prenton Park South. It’s matchday 2 of the Nations League. England are in a tough group with Spain, Belgium and Portugal. They need to start well tonight. A draw away to Portugal on matchday 1 last Friday was not the start the Lionesses needed. They need a big step up in tempo and efficiency tonight. This is the first meeting between the two teams since THAT World Cup Final. There have been loads going on since then including the Rubials trial which has just finished. Jenni Hermosa is not in the squad. Hope she is doing OK. There are some big names missing from the Lionesses with Georgia, Alex and Hampo all absent due to injury.The squads have been announced and Hannah is the keeper with Mary on the bench. Millie and Leah are on guard duty in front of her. Out wide are Lucy and Niamh. So 4 of the 5 at the back are from Chelsea. Kiera, Grace and Ella make up the midfield. Russo is up front with LJ and Jess Park alongside. Plenty of attacking quality in there. Speaking of attacking quality, La Roja have Pini, Paraluello and Lucia Garcia up front. Aitana is in midfield but there is no sign of Alexia. Mariona starts as does Ona Batlle. There is an England fan wearing an Arsenal ‘Mariona’ shirt near us but at least there are none of the Ona Batlle Barca shirts in sight. The crowd looks small but it’s a Wednesday night in February. England need to be on it from the whistle tonight. Hopefully Spain will be distracted by the on-going fallout from the behavior of Rubiales. With the Euros this summer, we need to get Spain accustomed to losing. Tonight is the launch of the new FA campaign “Made for This Game” to unlock equal opportunities in football for women and girls. There are lights and fireworks. We hold up our cards for the National Anthem. And we’re off. Come on Ing-ger-lund.

Spain start well and control the game for 10 minutes or so. The Lionesses then start to gain some control back with both teams making chances. It's LJ looking most likely as she comes very close. There is a big penalty shout for a foul on Leah but it’s waved away. The deadlock is broken on 30 when some good play from Grace and Lessie lands near Jess who toe pokes it home ⚽. Now we need a second to settle our nerves. Spain get some chances to level it from Parallelo and Pina but Hannah is having a good night after a very quiet start. The ref shows her colours (Red maybe?) or not, when she doesn’t book Pina for a clear shirt pull on Kiera. Advantage the Lionesses at the break. 1-0.

It’s all Spain for 5 minutes with Selma Paralluelo and Lucia Garcia causing problems for Hannah and the defence. It’s mostly pot shots fortunately. England are slowly coming back into it with Grace wasting a good chance after some good play by Lucy and Jess. All of a sudden the flood lights go out. The teams have team talks in dark as we all light up our phones to help out. It takes a couple of minutes for someone to find 50p 🪙 for the meter and the lights come back on 🕶. The Lionesses get more chances from LJ and Jess as do Spain with Aitana. Serena starts to make her changes on 63 with Nikita and Chloe replacing Lessi and Jess so it’s like for like tactically. Aitana learns first hand about the Milliedozer as she is launched into a low orbit 🛰 by the Chelsea captain. No love lost there. Nikita is booked for moaning at the ref. The Lionesses have to ride out an onslaught from the Spaniards. It seems to go on and on. Another change sees Tooney replaced by Jess Nas. Hopefully she can use her pace up front to give the Lionesses back line a bit of a breather. LJ has a good chance on 85 and Chloe can’t get hold of it either and the chance has gone. Chloe is booked for showing full commitment to the cause for time wasting on 89. It’s backs to the wall for another 5 minutes but they ride it out and suddenly it’s all over. There’s no real after party as it’s a school night and time to get the last train home 🚂.

That was finally a decent England performance. Could actually have scored more. Might have been less tense then. The Lionesses certainly matched them at times and kept them at a distance when they couldn’t. And got 3 big points. A big win with the Euros coming up and setting the world to rights after the World Cup. Let them know they’re not invincible. The lights going out was very funny and at least it wasn’t another Swindle as this time they came back on. Need to remember to bring some 50p’s next time. It’s a shame about the small crowd but it makes it easier to get out afterwards. The front 3 worked well with LJ and Jess feeding off Lessi’s workrate. LJ has hugely improved as a defender to add to her unreal attacking skills. Nikita is a good sub for Lessi, working the defenders and they start to tire. Portugal are top of the group with 4 to play. England have a double header with Belgium up next. We’ll see you at Wembley for Portugal on matchday 5. Up for grabs is a place in the Nations League final.  Failing that,we might see the return of the Arnold Clark Cup in the spring next year.

POTM: LJ had a great game creating chances from nothing. Just shame she couldn’t get a goal. And the new tracking back superpower.

Ref: She could have done worse. She did give a bit too much leeway to some of the big name Spanish players. She didn’t seem to enjoy the constructive feedback provided by Nikita.

Basil watch:  Met him at the bottom of the Wembley Park stadium steps.  

Scran’O’meter was pleased to seethe pick’n’mix price hasn’t gone up. Bottle tops can be taken in on empty bottles but Pepsi came with lids on. Some progress but no consistency🤷.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Got any marshmellows

Prenton Park South

Underneath the Arches

Basil on Wembley Way

How Soon Is A$AP?

Tranmere Rovers face Notts County In EFL 2 at The County Ground

The Rovers visit the Pies on a surprisingly sunny day in Robin Hood Country 🏹. We hope that it's the Whites pulling off a daylight robbery today. Tranmere are on a run of 2 draws but have not won away from home since December. We are hovering just above the trapdoor to the bin league😨. The Pies are up at the other end, pushing for automatic promotion. Big news of the week comes from a court in Los Angeles where A$AP Rocky, husband of Rihanna , was acquitted on gun charges. He and his lawyer, Joe Tocopina, are now free to get on with the takeover💰💰💰. There is a new face on the pitch. it’s Jake Garrett who is on loan from Blackburn Rovers. Hope he’s a proper Garrett head. Sam Mather, the young MUFC loanee, is on the bench. It’s a back 3 with Captain Tom joined by Lee O’Connor and Jordan Turnbull. Cameron Norman and Omari Patrick are wingbacks. It’s Sam Finley, Jake Garrett and Chris Merrie in the middle. Connor Jennings, in his 250th Rovers appearance, is up front with Josh Davison. We don’t recognize any of the Pies. New signing Pukka 🥧 must be injured. It’s a nice ground on the banks of the river Trent. Just a shame that we are not allowed to sit pitchside. There is a good crowd with nearly 500 of the SW Ahere having made the journey. We’re making a good noise. Let’s hope it spurs the boys on.

The Whites start well and are camped out in the attacking half. Within 5 minutes we have had a couple of shots blocked. It's the Pies turn for a shot then it’s straight down the other end again. Josh Davison hits it wide before Omari’s shot is saved. Tranmere running riot here. Where have these players been all season? Need to make it count though. Luke makes his first save on 20. Back down the other end again and the Rovers get their first corner. There are a flurry of chances from Jake, Omari and Josh. Still not clinical enough with the shooting. The Pies get their second shot on 44 but it’s saved by Luke. Into injury time and Careron’s header is saved. That’s it for the first half. It’s 0-0 at the break but Tranmere have had 12 shots and none of them wild strikes. Blimey. Unlucky not to have scored a couple there.

The Pies start brighter and dominate the first 5 minutes. The Whites start to get back into it and get yet another corner. Lee O’Connor is booked on 52 as the ref changes tack and stops letting things go. Jordan gets in shot in from the edge of the box and it goes for another corner. It’s the Pies turn to get in a few blocked and missed shots, We get another corner but Connor’s header is saved. Tom Davies gets ready to take a free kick just inside the Rover half. He delays it as Luke has decided to come up and take it. Tom is booked for something and has to retake the freekick himself. Bizarre from Rovers and the ref. Ref may be losing it here! Jake sees another shot go just wide. Nigel has waited until the 79th minute to make his first change. It’s Josh Williams that comes on to replace Sam Finley. A stray pass in the middle of the pitch gives the Pies a chance to break. IThe move ends in a well taken goal. Luke gets his fingertips to it but can’t stop it flying just inside the post on 80. Bugger. Need to get back into this quickly. Notts are still pressing and and Rovers fail to clear the ball. It’s chaos in the area and Jatta scores despite falling over and kicking while horizontal. 2-0 on 83. The consolation is that Jatta gets booked for over celebrating 🎉. Let the time wasting begin. And begin it does, as the County keeper suddenly finds himself immersed in treacle. Hope the Rovers can stay calm and not let it get to them. Nigel makes some more changes now we are losing. Josh (the invisible man) Hawkes replaces Omari. A claxon must have sounded somewhere to announce the arrival on the pitch of a striker as Davison is replaced by Dennis on 87. In a loanee exchange, Sam Mather replaces Jake Garrett who has had a great game. The Whites suddenly come to life and Kristian Dennis scores from a Merrie cross having only been on the pitch for a minute ⚽. The 4th official announces 7 minutes of injury time to cheering from the SWA. The comeback is on. Dennis’s next shot is saved then the keeper goes back into sloth mode 🦥 taking a minute to take the goal kick. Ref does nothing. Dennis' next shot goes wide. Keeper wastes another minute. Ref does nothing. Connor comes so close to the leveller as he throws himself at the ball but get get enough on it to direct it into the net, We get a good shout for a penalty for a handball in the box but the ref is not impressed. The County keeper does his sloth thing again and finally gets a booking. Such an amateur. Scotty Davies would have wasted more time and not got booked. The Pies manager joins in the time wasting as the ball goes out for a Tranmere throw. Instead of catching it, he flicks it over his head into the stand. Ref is wide awake now and give him a straight red. He eventually stomps off down the tunnel. It’s all getting a bit Minority Report as the ref appears to get the yellow card out to book Merrie before he has even made the late tackle. It’s the last action of the game as the whistle goes on 90+8. Aaaand breath.  Wow. What an end to the second half.

That was the performance of the season from Tranmere. Not the result it deserved though but we are a bit toothless up front. The SWA were fantastic too. Or as we have now rebranded ourselves, “A$AP Rocky’s Super White Army”. A new song for the Palios too with a bit of a reworking of “This is how it feels to be Tranmere”. Mark and Nicola won’t have enjoyed that. Maybe the performance was a buyout bump as the players can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Whatever it is, we’ll take it and hope we see a few more like it. Better results will come if we can bottle the passion from today. It could be improved. A bit more confidence to shoot from the edge of the box might see us get a goal or 2. Not that we didn’t have plenty of shots but we always wait too long looking for the extra pass and it’s blocked or saved. Not that there was any wild shooting today, there were some very near misses. Today exceeded expectations as we didn’t get the battering we were anticipating. It was close in the end and we weren’t outplayed at any point. Confidence is maybe the difference in the teams as this is our 10th consecutive away loss. Feel a bit sorry for the sub who came on after the game had gone. They made a really positive impact. Might have even turned it around if they have been given more time. It was good the see Dave Goat outside the ground selling the latest GUAR and if you’re reading this Dave, the Brighton manager we couldn’t remember was Gus Poyet 🤮. We'll have a read of GUAR on the tram back to the car. A long day and a long journey home but really enjoyed being back with the SWA. Hope to see you again soon. UTFW✊.

POTM: Todays award goes to Jake Garrett. Love a young loanee who gets stuck in and makes a difference. Well done 🏅.

The ref started off doing OK but didn’t cope well in the second half when the Pies started to push it. He’d completely lost the plot by the end. He didn’t bottle doing some unpopular things like booking the over celebration and time wasting x2. Three yellows and a red in injury time is a reflection of how inconsistent in what was OK and what wasn’t.

The Scran’O’meter gave the hot chocolate a 7.5/10. Cadburys but nothing special.

The stewards looked really fierce but were very friendly and told us they thought we deserved to win. Now we like them even more. See you next season maybe.

Breaking - Bottle top news - Pepsi sold with the lid still on. And it was a removable lid. What sorcery is this?

That’s us for today. Lionesses at some place in Brent up next.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

In the sunshine

On the Football Motorway

Tram ride

Robin Hood woz ere

At Meadow Lane

12 shots in 45 minutes