Peace-haven Queasy Feeling

Newhaven FC host Peacehaven & Telscombe FC in the SCFL Premire League at Fort Road

Happy BRUT and new gloves day. It's Havens derby day as the Dockers host south coast rivals, the Tye on Boxing Day. The Dockers are improving after a very patchy run of form The Tye are in the unusual position of being above the Dockers in the table. It's not the usual bright and cold weather of Boxing Day, it's mild, overcast and drizzling. There have been a few changes to the line up since we last saw the Dockers 6 weeks ago. Jack Shonk has joined Bexhill and scored a brace to beat the Dockers last time out. There are lots of injuries, both long and short term. A new face for us is Johnson Adesanya who is playing in the no. 7. Lee and Jake up front. The Ryans are in the middle. Jack is between the posts with Tarun Rohilla and Kwabena Osei in front of him. Wide of them are Billy on the right and Bailie on the left. 'Little' is still working up to full fitness and helping the coaching team. The bacon rolls are being munched round the ground by the big crowd. The ferry leaves just before kick-off and were ready to go.

The first chance goes to Captain Lee but it's off target. The Tye get a great chance next. Somehow Billy gets in a massive thumping tackle at the edge of the box. He's down for a while and is helped off the pitch to be replaced by Harry Reed. What follows is a lot of scrappy football with neither side getting any decent possession. Warwick's shot from range goes wide. One of the Tye players comes up with a great new way to delay a free kick. Stopping next to Tye 🤣your laces right in front of the ball. The Tye no. 10 breaks the deadlock on 39 as he volleys from outside the box into the top corner. No keeper is saving that worldie. 0-1. The Dockers are under a bit of pressure and get a couple of yellows. Jack makes a great save after 5 minutes of injury time to keeps the deficit to 1. Relief for us as the whistle goes for the break.

Charlie Connell is replaced by Tristan Jarvis at the break. The first chance goes to the Dockers as Lee picks up a through ball and passes it to Reedy be can't get it under control as he runs out of space and it ends up in the side netting. A minute later down the other end and it's a different story and the second goal for the visitors. 0-2. The Tye are making their few chances count. The Dockers first shot on target comes after almost an hour although Jake's shot is well saved. The next shot is from Warwick. It's a scuffed effort from the edge of the box that rolls slowly towards the goal line. It just crosses the line before the defender gets back to clear it ⚽. We get close to a second but Bailie's header from a corner hits the post. The equaliser won't come and the visitors extend their lead on 73. The ball is given away cheaply and despite a good save, the rebound is put into the net. 1-3. It would probably have been given as a penalty due to a late lunge in the box had it not ended up in net anyway. The Tye keeper is given a very loud and deliberately public final warning about time wasting from the referee. Top man👍. The Dockers make 3 changes and gain some momentum at last. The chances suddenly come thick and fast. They go: Bailey header (over), Jack (wide), Reagan (over), Bailey (over again) and finally Jake (over). It’s not going to go in is it? The whistle goes and it ends with a loss. The points and the bragging rights heading west down the A259. We'll be there on Easter Sunday to get those bragging rights back.

A scrappy game between two sides , neither in consistent form. Loved it😍. The Tye just edged it on the efficiency of the chances converted but the Dockers were very wasteful at the end. Might have been a bit more composed if it wasn’t for the 2 goal deficit. They didn't use the wings as well as they can do but hopefully a few personnel will be back from injury in the new year. Neither side really matching their levels from last season. We were really impressed with the Tye-m wasting techniques and hope to see that copied elsewhere. It was a jumbo 🛫crowd of 747 packing into Fort Road for bacon rolls and 9th division football. Although some of the Tye fans may have been a bit annoying reaching a heady 8.5/10 on the Whitehawk scale. We did have to move to the other side of the ground. The Peacehaven fans in the stand did make a lot more noise than the Dockers who were barely heard today. Perhaps they are still in bed.

POTM: No real stand out performances today but the award goes to Ryan Warwick 🏅for work rate and the goal out of nothing to keep us in the game.

The ref had a good game generally and especially loved his earbashing of the Tye keeper with a very public and final warning for timewasting 🤣. He got the yellow cards right. Also credit to the lino on the park side for admitting he didn't know which way a contested throw went rather than guess👍.

Ferry ⛴watch: It left spot on time before the kick-off which was 2 minutes late.

The Scran'o'meter scored the hot chocolate a yummy 8.5/10 ☕.

Last game of the year in a year of 53 games and 162 goals. What a year it has been. Wonder what 2025 holds. See you there.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Ferry about to go

The teams

Boxing day at Fort road

Quiet in the Skatepark

A busy year!

Kaptein Of Industry

Chelsea Women host Celtic Women in the UWCL Group Stage at Stamford Bridge

We're back at the Bridge to see the Blues hosting the Ghurls, who are in the group stage for the first time, for their first visit here. The away game finished 1-2 after Celtic took an early lead. In Group B, Chelsea are unbeaten and Celtic have yet to win a game. It's still going to be a difficult game for the Blues and they will have to stay focussed against an opponent that will put up a tough scrap. The bad news is that Kadisha Buchanan has an ACL injury so French youngster Mpone will keep Millie company at the back. Kat is up front and Zecira in goal. It's a chilly one so we are hoping for some goals to warm us up. A bit of Liquidator and the Champions league Anthem and we're off.

Rinse and Repeat. Kaneryd is bombing down the wing causing chaos. The result is a Guru corner. It's taken short and the looping cross is volleyed in by Lucy. The keeper gets a hand to it but can't keep it out and it's 1-0 to the Blues bang on the minute mark. The hosts get a few more chances but the target proves elusive. The early energy tails of a bit. Another short corner and Kaptein heads it in on25 from a Guru cross. Four corners and 2 goals. 2-0. There are more corners and more chances but the ball stays out of the net. There is no added time in a half that has been as frustrating as it has been good for Chelsea.

Sonia makes a change at the break with Mayra replaces Kat up front. Mayra does her thing and holds the ball up well as the Blue continue to dominate. Lucy and Johanna are causing the Ghurls problems down the right. Their defence holds strong despite though despite the pressure and more corners. The Ghurls do seem to be throwing themselves to the floor in frustration and getting free kicks from the ref. Time for the changes to start and Eve replaces Guru. Ashley Lawrence moves forward but is soon replaced. On comes U17 England winger Lola Brown who only signed her first Pro contract just 2 days ago. Huge cheers from the crowd as she get her first touch of the ball but she's not at all phased that her debut is in the Champions League. There are 4 minutes of injury time and at 90+3 the ref gives a Chelsea penalty for handball. Eve makes no mistake from the spot. It finishes a comfortable looking 3-0.

A tough but deserved win for the Blues. They could and should have scored a bucket load more goals but it's job done as they have now qualified for the Quarter Finals. Celtic never looked like scoring with Zecira barely touching the ball with her gloves. The Blues support was a bit quiet tonight but it was very cold. Even basil struggled to get the crowd going. The funniest chant of the night goes to "Just like London, your city is blue!" Harsh but funny. One of the biggest cheers was for 17 year old Lola who seemed at home at the Bridge. Job done for the Champions League for now as it the League cup up next before the international break.

POTM: Wieke Kaptein 🏅 for her dominant performance in the middle and the goal. I, I Kaptein.

The ref had a reasonable game but lacked consistency, booking nothing fouls and ignoring dangerous play like Erin getting pushed in the back while in the air jumping for a header.

Basil watch: He was spotted outside trying to get all his flags through security. He tried to get the crowd going but for the first time his batteries seemed to run out There was some singing for him near the end, "We're only here for the Basil" but everyone was too cold to make much noise by then.

Bottle top update: All bottle tops entered the ground unmolested.

See you in Crawley.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

West Stand Rules

Almost at the Bridge

Up the Chels

We Don't Need No Drummer

Lewes FC host Bognor Regis Town FC in the Isthmian Premier League at the Dripping Pan

It's Sussex derby time again as the Rooks host the Rocks at the Pan Sero. Lewes have flatlined in 6th after 3 consecutive draws while Bognor are sitting bottom after a poor run. Dougie is back in the squad and is on the bench. Malaki has left the Rooks but a new striker, Gianluca Botti, makes his home debut tonight. One last playing (of a recording of) the last post and it's time for battle to commence although a little late at 7.50 not 7.45.

First impressions count and the new No.9 made a good one, Gianluca gets his first home goal for the Rooks after just 36 seconds ⚽. Hoping there aren't any Brentford scout in the crowd. If he disappears suddenly, look for him at a London bus stop. The Rooks level on 10 after a bit of a defensive howler by the Rooks No. 1. There is a brief appearance of the Rocks drummer helping them sing a bit but not much to sing about at the moment.  Neither side really has any control of the game although the Rocks are making better use of their possession. No more goals though. Still 1-1 at the break.

There are no changes at the restart. The Rooks start to control game a lot more and are putting some good moves together. The Rocks are solid at the back though and getting are some joy with their route 1 approach. It gets less effective as the Rooks get wise to it. It's still a bit of a stalemate. Harvey Whyte goes off on 63 and his mate, Dougie comes on at 75. The Rooks only change Elechi replacing Enkh on 81. We have to wait until 87 for the important 3rd goal. It's a screamer from outside the box by Rooks No. 4, Matt Warren  ⚽. 2-1 to the hosts. "2-1 on your big day out is sung towards the silenced Rocks. It's very soon replaced by "3-1 on your big day out" as some great work by Gianluca secures his brace ⚽. He is immediately replaced by Antonio. Another minute and the chant changes to "4-1 on your big day out" as Bassett hits the net on 90+5 ⚽. "We want 5" is the new chant. We don't get our wish and it ends 4-1.

A great day at the office for the Rooks and one to forget for the Rocks. They had no real answer when it was pointed out. no so politely. that they were "going down with the Whitehawk". They played well at times but were predictable. Dougie helped a bit with the creativity they were not good enough at the back. The Rooks were ruthless at the end and got their reward for the second half improvement. Up into the playoff places. Always a good day out at The Pan and it deserves a bigger crowd than 590. It's our international break now before we return to the Champions League.

POTM: The award was already going to Matt Warren 🏅before his goal for great running on the right and getting the ball into the box. Always being available out on the wing when an out ball was required from the congested midfield. . If your speedy wingers are going to play narrower, like Marcus Sablier tonight, then you need a speedy fullback. Goal of the night as well.

The ref had a strange night but was very laid back considering the amount of abuse he took. Another ref would have filled up the sin bin but this guy just laughed it off. He let a huge amount go and was largely consistent.

The Scran'o'meter loved the creamy hot chocolate. Needed sweetening but still gets a stocking 9/10. There was the catastrophe of the broken fryer and hence no chips so a shocking 0/10 for the chips that weren't.

Parking does usually get a comment but we would like to thank whoever locked us in the College Car Park. It was great fun.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

It's Pantastic to be back

When The Gooners Get Tough

Brighton & Hove Albion Women face Arsenal Women in the WSL at the Emirates Stadium

The Seagulls first trip to the Emirates with high hopes but moderate expectations. North London Forever and a rendition of the Last Post set the scene. Worst case scenario is 3rd place as the Gunners are 4 (yes, 4) point below.

Brighton look confident and have good possession but the defending is woeful. Arsenal are 3-0 up after 25 minutes with goals from Beth Mead (13), Caitlin Foord (22) and Frida Leonhardsen Maanum (25). Bugger. Efficient striking from the Gunners.  Baggers makes a great save from Beth Mead deep into injury time. With the clock ticking down, the Gunners decide to take a short corner and the ref blows the half time whistle before the ball can go into the box. Much moaning at the ref on the pitch but lots of laughing in the away end🤣.

The second half starts with Dotti getting injured and being replaced by Rachel McLauchlan on 50. The are a few Gunners chances but the ball is kept out of the net. The Seagulls find the energy for a brief surge and Kiko gets a couple of good chances, forcing a good save and hitting the cross bar. Nearly.  Lina Hurtig heads in a McCabe corner about a minute after coming on to replace Catlin Foord🙄. Dario finally makes his changes on 87 ⌚ and we see Masaka for the first time. Rosso gets round Caraballi then goes over in the box. Lessi just beats Baggers from the spot on 90+4. 5-0. Aisha Masaka starts to make an impact, threatening the Gunner goal. She is felled in the box and has to be stretchered off with gas and air and a shoulder injury. She isn't replaced and the last minute is played out 10 players.

The Gunners have found form at just the wrong moment for the Seagulls. They were outclassed all night. Not what we expected, although it was always on the cards. Great teams are still great teams even when they are playing badly. Still, we are a point above Arsenal in the table seven games into the season. Haha. Seagulls have a huge amount of credit in the bank so just have to put tonight behind them and think about West Ham on Saturday. A consolation goal would have been nice but there wasn't much of a goal threat tonight. It wouldn't have made much difference to the scoreline if they had Gunnersaurus in goal. Lots of lessons need to be learned and to work out what has changed since the Everton game but that's for tomorrow. Hope Masaka is OK and looking forward to seeing more of her playing in the near future. Time to leave North London (Not Forever, just until next time) and head back to Sussex By The Sea.

POTM: Not a great team performance but a couple of good sliding tackles from Jorelyn Carabali so she get the award again🏅.

Bottle top news: Normal service resumed and all bottle tops remained intact following the bag search.🍾

The stewarding was great and they had a good laugh at some of our songs.

Scran'o'meter learned from previous trips to the Emirates and took food from home so the concourse could be avoided. Special mention goes the Sweet Man at £1 a bag outside the stadium.

The ref was inconsistently inconsistent. Felt a bit like the hosts got the benefit of the doubt for every foul although off-side looked well officiated.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Clock End

Seagulls at the Emirates

Olislagers Corner

Here again

Sparks Fly

Newhaven FC v Oakwood FC at Tinsley lane in the RUR Cup 2nd Round

The Dockers finally make it to Tinsley Lane to face the Oaks in the RUR Cup after the postponement a couple of weeks ago. It's Bonfire night so we are expecting fireworks all around us but hopefully not on the pitch. The Dockers lost 5-0 away to Hassocks on Saturday . Hoping for a nice quiet win. Bussy back in goal is a good sign. It starts badly for the Dockers when the Oaks score from nowhere on 9. There is lots of protest about off-side and Bailie ends up booked. Lee levels the score a minute later. A couple more Dockers goals from Bailie and Luke Donaldson sees the half finish 1-3.

The second half sees a few more chances but no goals for the Dockers. The Oaks get a late second and the momentum is with them. Thankfully is not going to penalties as the Dockers hold on for the win. 2-3. WemberleeeeEastbourne.

A good win for the Reds but it was too nervy at the end (again) although they did hang on for the win this time. Newhaven are through to the Semi-finals and will be away at Eastbourne United in January. Hope we find a bit more form by then. And a few more return from injury.

POTM: There will be some tired legs out there after that shift but it goes to Koby for great work in attack and defence.

The ref will have had better days. He didn't protect the young lino who got 'Roger'd' And booking Breachy at the end to give us all a laugh.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Nice new ground

The Oaks

Dario Ga Ga

Brighton & Hove Albion Women face Leicester City Women in the WSL the Peoples Pension Stadium

We're at the Broadfield for the first time this season to watch the on-fire Seagulls take on the struggling Foxes 🦊. Brighton are 3rd and Leicester back in 7th. Dario was Manager of the Month of October🏆.  It's mild but feels like it's getting dark already. It's our remembrance game so the managers lay wreaths and the last post is played.

Brighton have great possession and dominate the ball from the start. The breakthrough comes on 20 when Nikita ⚽ heads home (again) from close range. The score board doesn't update and we start to wonder if it has been disallowed for some bizarre reason. The screen goes black and when it comes back on with the correct score, there is a big cheer. There are more chances and plenty of corners but it's a single goal advantage at the break.

It's business as usual with the Seagulls dominating the ball. The Foxes gradually start to get back into it a bit. The Leicester manager makes changes and they are more effective than those made by Brighton. They have 10 minutes of constant pressure as the Seagulls sit back and weather the storm. It's a big relief when the whistle goes.

It was never in doubt until it was. The Seagulls need to be more ruthless when dominating early in games. It would save a lot of nerves in the last 10 minues of games. Leicester defended well but didn't really look like scoring. It was great to be back at the Broadfield but a shame the 2082 attendance wasn't higher. Up next, the Gunners on Friday.

The ref was a bit of a useless article. Must not have been aware that he could book either side. The Seagulls got 3 yellows (4 if you count Dario) and the Foxes got none. Bonkers. 🤡

POTM: Goes to a top defender for keeping it all safe and organised at the back, Guru Bergsvand 🏅.

The Scran'o'meter was back at it's favourite place with the wood fired Pizza only getting 9 as it was downgraded by 0.0 for making us wait so long.

See you soon.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Back at the Broadfield

Carnaval de Parris

Brighton & Hove Albion v Manchester United in the WSL at The AMEX Stadium

The Seagulls are at thier second home to host the Red Devils on a very changeable late autumn day. The monsoons have been replaced by sunshine and it is lovely and warm in the East Stand. It's the second outing in 7 days to watch the seagulls. We're hoping for another 3 points today but this will be a tougher test. The Reds have won 3 in 3 this season. The two sides played out an exciting 2-2 draw at Crawley almost a year ago with the Reds needing some Official assistance to save the point. Hope they don't get that sort of assistance today. Both teams have had a good start to the season and whoever wins will go top of the league overnight as it's the only Saturday game. There is just one change to the Seagulls starting line-up as Cankovic is replaced by the returning Poppy. It's the usual 3 at the back with Olislagers moving into central midfield with Vicky. Fran, Nikita, Pauline and Bruna make up the front 4. Maisie and Michelle are on the bench today and have both been selected for the England U23 squad for the upcoming international break. Fran has made the senior squad but Poppy and Nikita miss out this time. There are some familiar faces and some new names in the Man Utd team. Their new striker, the strangely familiar, Terri someone, seems to be settling in nicely, unfortunately. They have a new keeper to replace Mary Earps who left for PSG in the summer. Also gone is our favourite, Lucia Garcia, who is playing in Mexico now. Grace Clinton is back from loan and Celine Bizet has also joined from Spurs. Sussex By The Sea plays as the players come out, the words are displayed round the pitch side advertising for those of us that are still learning them. There are a few hundred of the Toone army in the corner to the left. Good to see alot less red shirts in the home stands. Just a few youngsters with their Brighton shirt wearing siblings. There are no wheelie bins of fire today🔥. We have noisy blue and white smoke bombs. Pyro done 🧨, time to party🎉.

The Reds are giving the Seagulls a hard time form the start. Baggers makes a great save from Miyazawa on 7. Bizet puts a cross in from a good way out and a Baggaley comes to collect it, Grace Clinton flies through to bundle the ball into the net on 10. Bugger. The Spurs connection working there.  Utd are dominating and camping out in the Seagulls end. Terri gets her first shot on goal but it's easy for Sophie to catch. Brighton are still playing out from the back but it's looking really risky against the high pressing Reds. Nail may be bitten.  Nikita is fouled running down the wing but skips over the sliding tackle and the ref waves to play advantage. When the ball comes back the other way, Dotti is booked for a bad foul but the ref ignores that fact that Nikita was nearly taken out at full speed. She must have forgotten her red 🖍️crayons today. Convenient 🙄. Half an hour has gone and Bridgton finally get to the other end of the pitch and win a corner. It never goes in the box, just backwards and forwards in front of it🤦🏼‍♂️. Pauline goes down injured and heads off down the tunnel after treatment on the pitch . Hope she is alright but she has looked a bit off the pace all game. She is replaced by Maddison Haley on 41. Fran turns over the possession in midfield giving it to Maddison who charges forward to get the Seagulls best chance so far. It's well saved and the resulting corner comes to nothing. 0-1 at the break. Big half coming up for Brighton 🤞🏼.

There are two changes for the Seagulls at the restart. Olislagers is replaced by Maisie and Bruna by Agyemang. A bit more physicality in the middle and on the left. Brighton suddenly look much better.  They can get and keep the ball at last. They level the score on 52 ⚽ when Maisie's low cross is put in by a diving header from Nikita. 1-1. Whoop. Brighton are getting good possession and get a couple of corners but can't find the finish they need.   Agyemang is making great runs down the wing, interchanging well with Poppy. Things you like to see part1: Tooney sitting on the floor waving her arms in the air after the ref waves away a foul 🤣. Things you like to see part2: The Reds keeper sitting down for a Zinsberger break, I mean treatment on 72.   At 75, it's time for some United changes. Aoife Mannion comes on for Miyazawa and Simi Awujo on for Lisa Naalsund. Not big guns then. Baggers makes another great save, this time it's from Grace Clinton. Baggers then makes catch fractionally ahead of Terri getting to the ball. She flattens Sophie then rolls around claiming penalty. No. Get up, Brighton reject. We've got Nikita now. Toone has been really quite , apart from moaning at the ref, but gets a shot in on 84 although it's tame and an easy catch for Sophie. Fran gets in a great shot on 87 but it's just about pushed wide. It looks like it's gone out for a corner but United just carry on playing. Terri forces Sophie in to a good save on 90. Five minutes added but the Seagulls are still hanging on. Tooney makes way for Rachael William (gulp) on 92. She always scores from the bench but hopefully it's too late today even for her. A couple of minutes more pressure then Maisie shields the ball out for a goal kick and we all breath again. There's no more action and it finishes level. A well fought point for the Seagulls in front of a record crowd of 8369. 👏🏼

A great game and a good result for the improving Seagulls. Very much a game of 2 halves though. United could have put it to be in the 1st half but they weren’t clinical enough to beat an on form Baggers. Dario had a Plan B for the 2nd half and it worked really well. The sun came out as we watched the Albion go toe the toe with the biggest club in the World (their claim - not mine).  There was a good atmosphere in the ground although it wasn't as noisy as Crawley.  At least the stands weren't full of red shirts screaming/screeching every time Toone got near the ball.  It was also good to see Nikiti get a goal and not Terri 😉. We got the better end of that deal. The shared points means the Red go top overnight as the reminded us loudly on the way back to the car. The Seagulls are 2nd and worse case scenario will be 4th tomorrow.  Settle for that. 10 points from 5 games when it took 11 games to reach that point last season. In other news, Tranmere won away at Bromley with goals (whatever they are) from Omari ⚽ and Saunders ⚽. Well done to the Whites and the travelling SWA.  Are we Wrexham is disguise. It's the international break now so we will be seeing the Lionesses and hopefully Fran on Friday at Wembley. Can't wait but might have to as it's the RUR Cup 2nd round on Tuesday.

POTM: Nikita comes close but Sophie Baggaley stepped up before 🧤and after 🧤 the break so she bags 🤦🏼‍♂️the award🏅. Well done Baggers.

We would like to thank the PGMufcOL for providing the officials for the match today. I think they earned their money.

Bottle top news: Oh, dear. AMEX Stadium, NIL POINTS. The Pepsi lid was confiscated outside the stadium by the steward who had to wrench it from it's tether. Grumpy. The spare Coca Cola lid smuggled in didn't fit the Pepsi bottle. Double grumpy. Damn you AMEX stadium and you too, Pepsi. Irony alert: they sell Coca Cola in the stadium. Doh 🤦‍♂️.

Scran'o'meter: Excellent chips 🍟 from the Fish & Chip van outside. 8/10

See you soon.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Back at the AMEX

Trying the kit for size

Super Fran

The Seagulls Have Landed

Brighton & Hove Albion Women face Crystal Place Women in the WSL at the VBS Community Stadium

The Seagulls face the Eagles at Gander Green Lane in the first Women's edition of the A23 derby, the derby that never was. It's a new ground for the Seagulls but it's familiar to us as the home of Sutton United. There is a new hybrid pitch ready for the arrival of the WSL in Sutton. It's our first outing to watch the Seagulls this season after the disappointing end to last season. There is a new manager, it's Aussie Dario Vidosic, g'day' . He was brought in some new faces and got the girls 6 points from 9 so far with the first outing being a four nil thumping of Everton in which Kiko scored a hat trick. It leaves them 3rd in the table going in to today 😁. There have been a few leavers including Ziggy to PSG, Sarri to Everton, Katie to Villa, Terri to Man United, Lee to Birmingham City, Emma to Juventus, and Pinto to Atletico Madrid. There are a host of replacements and there are some big names amongst them with no less than 2 lionesses. Nikita Parris joins from Man Utd and Fran Kirby from Chelsea. Really showing the Albion's intent on a better league position this season. There are a few more incomings to note. Michelle Agyemang from the young lionesses joins on loan from Arsenal. Cankovic joins from Chelsea and youngster Bruna Vilamela joins on loan from Barcelona. Not forgetting Japanese international and hattrick hero, Kiko Seike who joins from Urawa Red Diamonds, She's shining like a diamond already. We will get to know some of the others better as the season goes on. Poppy has had a great start to the season. She has been playing as a wingback to the new back 3 formation but is suspended after picking up 2 yellows against Villa last time out. The only name we know in the Eagles is England youngster, Lexi Potter. We know the ref, it's Kirsty ,who we have seen a few times, lastly being at the loss to Everton at the Amex back in April. Sutton were relegated at the end of last season so it's a pleasant surprise to be back at Gander Green Lane. It's a new ground for CPFCW who have moved from Hayes Lane, home of Bromley. The vacancy has been filled by London City Lionesses. We're in the Sutton United home end terrace. Excited? Let's get started.

The Seagulls start with their new dynamic style but the passing isn't up to scratch to carry it off. The Eagles are up for the challenge. There are a few half chances each way before Nikita heads over from Bruna's cross. Bruna is in the thick of it again on 35 as she taps in from close range ⚽. Cankovic goes down injured on 39 and is replaced by Maisie. The Seagulls get another good chance on 42 but Fran's shot is saved. Katie Stengal's blocked shot is the last action of the half. Eagles 0 Seagulls 1.

The Eagles get the first chance but it's wide. Vicky forces Jessica Yanez into another good save. Dario makes his first changes on 61. Pauline is replaced by Michelle Agyemang. Bruna by Kiko and Dotti by Rachael McLauchlan. Kiko is lively down the right wing but her team mates seem more interested in cutting in than overlapping. They are coming back into the game a bit now as Michelle's shot goes over and Kiko's is saved. The next Seagulls sub is Marit Auee replacing Nikita on 94. The last chance goes to Palace and the whistle eventually goes on 90+6. Another big 3 points.

Seeaaaguuuuuulllls. A tough game that saw them struggle to break down the Eagles, who, in turn were effective on the break. Two very different playing styles with the Seagulls playing out from the back although too ponderous and sloppy. The Eagles were happy to sit deep and were very effective on the break with crisp passing in front of runners. The Seagulls were constantly passing behind runners. Stopping the forward momentum. Fans were frustrated by that and constantly overplaying the ball. Too many ineffective shots from range after failing to break down the defence. It was great that the youngster Bruna got her first goal, hopefully a few more to come. Only some great defensive work and a few good saves kept the clean sheet and the 3 points though. But a win is a win and the Seagulls are 4th with 9 points already. It was a great atmosphere with a good noisy group singing. Even if the singing had to pause while the page on the songbook was turned. It was all positive, getting behind the girls with no sign of the supposed rivalry. There were some Palace fans singing "seaweeds" but they were completely ignored. Here for the positive👍🏼, not the negative👎🏼. Although we did laugh at their "1-0 to the referee", "how much did you pay the ref" and "You're not fit to ref the game". Don’t sit on the fence, tell us how you feel. We sneaked in, with tickets, through the home end and so got to enjoy the new fan park. They certainly had a lot more going on than Sutton. That's it from Surrey 😉.

POTM: The defence was amazing today so the award 🎖️ goes to Jorelyn Caraballi for her part in that.

The ref had a great first half but lost her consistency in the second as the frustrated Eagle started falling over at the slightest touch. Overall she did well though.

The Scran'o'meter hit a fantastic 8.5/10 for the veggie breakfast at Tim's Café on the high street. Cok iyi.

Bottle top news: No news. No fuss about bottle tops as is becoming more normal now.

See you at the Emirates in the week.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Back at gander Green Lane

Attacking

Romance in Naranja

Chelsea WFC v Real Madrid Femenino in Group B of the UEFA Champions League at Stamford Bridge

The Blues are back in Champions League action with the first of their group games being Real Madrid at home. On paper it looks easy for the Blues as they have beaten Real Madrid at the group stage for the last 2 years. Also in the group are Celtic and FC Twente who are both on their first group stage adventure. Hope they have fun but are eventually unsuccessful. Chelsea have started the season well and have maximum points after a narrow win against Villa and then putting 7 past Palace at GGL. Their sold out WSL game against Man Utd was postponed at a weeks' notice on the grounds of player welfare. The biggest change is that Emma has gone to manage USA, oh yeh, and she won the Olympics with them this summer. Emma just being Emma. The Blues now have Sonia Bompastor who we last saw as Lyon manager in Bilbao. This is an easy banana skin for the Blues tonight. Las Blancas, seen here in a very Dutch  Orange , still have Linda Caicedo, Caroline Wier, who has escaped the ACL gang, and signed Melanie Leupolz from the Blues in the summer. There are a few new faces for the Blues.  French winger, Sandie Baltimore has signed from PSG. Sandie is at left back and on the right is familiar face, Lucy Bronze , fresh from winning the Champions League with Barcemoana. In the centre of defence are Millie and Natalie. Hannah is behind them in goal. Joining Nusken in the middle is new signing Wieke Kaptein who arrives at Chelsea after signing from Twente a year ago and spending the season there on loan. LJ is the 10 so will be drifting everywhere or no-where and taking the place of Fran who has gone to Brighton along with Cankovic👍🏼. Up front are JRK, Guru and Mayra. Las Blancas have lost Hayley Raso to Spurs so no ribbon to watch for tonight. Linda C is on the bench thankfully. Let's get on with it.   

The Liquidator starts up and the crowd are on their feet ready to go. Only the players don't come out and the music stops. A couple of minutes go by and were off again. This time the players come out and line up. It's Zecira in green and not Hannah who must have had an issue in the warm up.  After the false start, it finally underway. JRK is full of beans and wins a corner in the first minute. It's not cleared and JRK's cross ends up in the back of the net. There scorer is not announced so it must be an O.G ⚽.  Goal is a goal. Need some more beforetMadrid find their feet. The high energy press lasts for about 5 more minutes. Wieke Kaptein has a nasty clash with the pitch side advertising. She seems OK after a while. The visitors get a chance on 16 but Maria Mendes heads over from the corner. The rain starts to gets bit heavier. A orange shirt shot is easily caught by Zecira. The rain gets even heavier. Chelsea get a corner on 30. Nusken is fouled in the box and the ref gives a pen. Gura does her thing ⚽. 2-0. A double save from Zecira on 32 keeps the lead but the pressure on the hosts is building in the pouring rain. There is a scramble in the Blues box on 39 and Redeondo blasts home. I think the Blues are happy when the break comes. 2-1.

Chelsea are back up to speed and starting to apply pressure again. Weike's shot is deflected and saved as the Blues dominate. Some good wing play leads to LJ ghosting into the box and her cross finds the head of Mayra. It goes high and looks like it over the bar but it drops just under and into the net⚽. 3-1. The Whites respond by bringing on Lida Caicedo. She might be a handful, depending on where she plays. LJ is fouled by Teresa Abelleria. It's not a booking but she then reacts and gets booked for opening her mouth. Big cheers from the crowd. Guru and Mayra both have good chances from LJ crosses. Sonia makes some changes on 66 with Lawrence replacing Baltimore and Hermano replacing Kaptein. Into the last 15 and the important 5th goal could go either way. Feller comes on for Castillo and is an immediate threat. JRK is replaced by OJF for the Blues. It's been a great shift from the Swedish winger. It's the Spaniards applying the pressure now. A cross into the Blues box is not dealt with and Caicedo prods it home on 83. 3-2. Oops. A tough last ten minutes ahead. The Blues soak up the pressure though and see out the win. Aaannnd breath. Glad those Madrid subs came on so late. Phew.😰

A first Champions League win for Sonia but it was far from convincing. The early energy faded quickly but the side has been depleted by a sickness bug in the week so not all are at their peak. It turns out that Erin, who is just back from injury, got a knock in training. Cat Macario and Megan Fox were also unwell. With no keeper on the bench, it was apparently decided which outfield player would go in goal. We don't know who it was and probably never will . If we had to guess, and we can't resist, it would be Natalie Bjorn. She looks a bit like a keeper. The Blues performance was lacklustre on the whole but there were a few moments of brilliance. They sat back too much and it became difficult to get down the wings with any success. The penalty looked a bit soft but we'll take it, or rather Guru took it and she doesn't miss those. The weather was awful for parts of the game and there was some slipping and sliding. We were over on the far side so couldn't hear Sonia instructions. She's not Emma 📣.  Saying that, no-one could hear much over the Madrid keepers constant screaming. We like a shouty keeper but it was a bit too screechy. There was some good noise from the Stamford Bridge crowd, mostly at the back led by Basil but there were other small pockets of fans giving the girls support from the stands. It's a good start and 3 points on the board. FC Twente top the group after match day 1 as they beat Celtic 2-0. Their first time in the group stage but they could be tough opposition for the Blues when they head there next Wednesday. Sure Chelsea will get a warm Dutch welcome. And any tea drinkers need take their own milk as they drink it with lemon over there. Or just drink coffee like normal people. That's it for us in London this week.

POTM: Goes to JRK 🏅 for her ridiculous level of energy. Blew the Spaniards away from the first whistle.

Ref: All the officials had a good game especially considering the conditions. They intervened only where necessary and didn't fall for any of the Spaniard's theatrics.

Basil watch: Met him at the main entrance and heard him for most of the game.

Bottle top news: All bottle tops were left intact.

See you on Saturday

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

West stand rules

Two little ducks, Lucy Bronze

Stamford and Bridget

We're only here for the Basil

Enjoying the train to London