Barca-louder

Olympique Lyonaise play Barcelona Femeni in the Champions League Final at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao

We are in Spain for the last game of our season and it's the end of our Champions League journey. It’s a shame that it's not Chelsea that we are cheering today. Instead, we are behind Wendie Raynard and her Lyon team today. Lyon beat PSG in dramatic style to get here and we know Baca's route only too well with them beating Chelsea at The Bridge 😠. The Lyon manager Sonia Bompastor will be Chelsea's manager next season as Emma has gone the manage Team USA. Lyon met Barca in the final 2 years ago and won that time 🤞. Last year they were knocked out in the quarter finals by Chelsea after THAT penalty shoot out. Barca have won 2 of the last 3 beating Wolfsburg in Amsterdam last year. We were expecting a good number of Lyon fans to turn up but the seem to be out numbered more than 50-1 by Barca. It was all Barcelona shirts on the river prom and in the Guggenheim Museum There was a Lyon fan meeting zone at Indautxa Plaza but it was empty of Lyon fans. Just a corner flag to pose with 📷. Lyon have Wendie at the back, Ellie Carpenter is on the right and Selma Bacha on the left. In the middle is Daniella Van de Donk and Lindsey Horan. Up front a Delphine Cascarino on the left with Kadidiatou Diani on the right and youngster Melchie Dumornay in the middle. Barca have Lucy Bronze on the right with Fridolin Rolfö on the left. Kiera and Aitana are in the middle. Up front are Caroline Graham Hansen, Selma Paralleulo and Mariona Caldentey. The talent on the benches includes Alexia Putellas, Mapi Leon and Ada Hegerberg.

After all the fantastic build-up, it's time for get the match underway. The first chance goes to Lyon after a couple of minutes as Diani just manages to lob the ball to Cascarino who is waiting to pounce but Lucy Bronze gets to it first. Barca start to get into their stride as CGH is giving Bacha a very hard time down the wing. She is not fast enough to catch her once she inevitably gets past. Raynard is struggling with her too. Bacha makes a great goal-line clearance that that would probably have gone done as a Horan OG after Paralleulo's shot was saved. It's still 0-0 at the break.

The first chance of the second half goes to Lyon. It falls to Wendie but she volleys it just over. The Whites need to be more clinical. Rolfö and CGH are still causing problems down the wings but the first goal comes from some incisive mid field passing. The ball ends up with Aitana whose weaving run ends in the 6 yard box. Her shot deflects off defender Vanessa Gilles over Endler into the back of the net. Bugger. Great play but a lucky, or unlucky, result. Lyon's best chance comes on 87 as Bacha's cross finds the head of Ada Hegerberg. She can't get it on target and it goes over the bar. Will she get time for another chance. There are huge cheers aground the stadium as Alexia replaces Kiera a minute into the 4 minutes of injury time. Her addition means that the last 3 Ballon d'Or Winners are now on the pitch.  She scores 2 minutes later when she get the ball in the box and fits it into the roof of the net. 2-0. She gets booked as she does a Chloe Kelly with her shirt. The roar from the Barca fans is still going on when the whistle goes just after the restart.

Gutted about the result but a good game. Don't think the result was a reflection of the overall game. The margins were finer than the scoreline suggests. The difference was a couple of moments of genius, and perhaps a lucky deflection, from the last 2 Ballon d'Or winners. It would have been good to see hegerberg get more time.  She came on with just 10 minutes to go and barely got a touch of the ball.  Bringing her on after going a goal behind would surely have made more sense🤷🏻‍♂️.  The atmosphere was great and a lot of noise, mostly whistling, from the Barca fans who made up 90% of the crowd. There were some Lyon fans behind the goal with some big flags. There was also a brief appearance of a single Palestine flag that someone had smuggled despite the searches at the entrance. We though that flares were banned in the ground but the women in front of us were wearing flares that wouldn't have looked out of place on a Saturday night at the Hacienda in 1990.

POTM: Although on the losing side it goes to Selma Bacha for a very dogged performance up against one of the world's best wingers. CGH was the undoing off Chelsea last year but Selma played a part in keeping her off the score sheet today . Félicitations 🏅.

The ref today was none other than English top ref Rebecca Welsh. She got fooled by the Barca skulduggery for the first five minutes and then managed it well. She seems to lose her way in the last 10 minutes as they started rolling around again.

The Scran'O'meter was too busy chewing on the Pick'n'Mix to give comment🍬😶. Fair enough.

Our first foray into European football, if you don't count crossing the River Styx Severn to Newport County, and it's been really good fun. The whole town filled with Garnet and Blue shirts. The Spanish really do get behind their women's teams. Plenty of banter about our Lyon shirts and people talking to us in French. Hope to be crossing the channel again before too long. See you somewhere, much, closer to home next season.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

No pyro, no party

Stadium😍, wow

Beautiful in here

Flames and smoke

Huge Spider

Guggenheim 

Big flowery dog

Quiet fan park

Ride on the bus with Miles

Out in the Old Town with Miles

Lucia In The Sky With Diamonds

Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium

The Red Devils 👿return to Brent on a very warm day to try to heal the hurt of last year's defeat to Chelsea. This time the opponents are Tottenham so there will be a new name on the cup whatever happens. On the road here the Devils beat Chelsea and Brighton 😠, and Everton. Spurs beat Man City and Leicester. Both clubs have full squads except poor Grace Clinton who is on loan from Man Utd to Tottenham so can't play. The Reds back line consists Mary, Hannah Blundell, Mille Turner, Maya and Jayde Riviere. Captain Katie "eyelashes" Zelem is in the 6 with Lisa Naalsund in the 8 and Toooney in the 10. Lucia Garcia is on the right, Rachel Williams in the centre and Leah Galton on the left. A good mix of homegrown and imported talent on show. The Spurs side has a few names we know with Ashley Neville at right back, ex-red Martha Thomas up front with Captain Bethany England and emerging talent Jess Nas. There are fantastic fireworks, big flags and a dance off between the mascots that was won by the Cockerel. Expecting it to be a tight and nervous game as neither side will want to lose.

The Reds kick-off and are setting the early standards with Maya going literally head-to-head with Martha Thomas and leaving around the ground. There will be no quarter given today. In the second minute and Leah Galton forces a good save from Becky Spencer. Rachel Williams heads the resulting corner over the bar. They go close again with another corner on 12 as Rachel Williams heads over again. It's mostly one way traffic and another Reds corner sees Lucia Garcia's on-target header blocked on the goal line. Spurs are struggling to get any decent time on the ball. The red pressure is maintained and the fourth corner sees Millie Turner's header cleared off the line by Martha Thomas on 35. Toone gets a good chance on 38 from inside the box but she whips it just wide spurs. Spurs still struggling to keep hold of the ball as the Reds are pressing so high up. Beth England and Jess Naz upfront barely getting near the ball as Spurs best chance so far breaks down. The Red breaks and Ella Toone picks up the ball on the halfway line. She runs on unchallenged to just outside the box and then fires a rocket 🚀 into the top corner of the net on 45 + 3 . Tooooooooooone. What a goal. It's advantage Reds as whistle goes for the break.

There are no changes at the break other than the switch of Jess Nas from right to left wing. Leah Galton only lasts a few minutes and she has to go off as a result of having taken a knock in the early minutes of the game. On comes Lyon and France striker Malard. A deep free kick finds the head of Rachel Williams, who, finally, finds the net on 54. Spurs respond but Beth England blasts her shot way over the bar. Spurs passing round the defence goes horribly wrong as Becky Spencer's pass goes straight to Lucia inside the box. She doesn't need to be asked twice and makes no mistake on 73. nailed to the red devils change up front now, with Paris on, for Rachel Williams. A well-earned rest for the veteran striker entertained, can't make it for. Offer a good build up on 60s. 2 Spurs get their best chance on 66, when Beth hit as great cross onto the crossbar. Malard nearly gets on the score sheet on 72 but it's well saved. It's end to end for a while, the changes take effect. A Malard cross ends up at the feet of Garcia and she smashes it home for her brace on 74. Malard is starting to own the left-wing. Garcia is replaced by Geyse so no, hattrick for Lucia today. Tooney is replaced by Miyazawa, who is a bit more defensive. Riviera, is replaced by Republic of Ireland international Aoife Mannion. United are running Spurs ragged. Any attempt to play out from the back is punished by the high press and they are struggling to get back into the game. Playing direct gets more joy for them. Spurs get their first corner as their fans are starting to leave.  We can see you sneaking out.  At least they don't have far to go. The corner comes to nothing and the red tide rises again. Hannah Blundell gets the first yellow card of the game on 90 + 2. With a 4 goal lead well into injury time, that is real commitment to the cause. The Reds run the clock down with defensive possession rather than the corner flag at the other end. A clear win and silverware for the Red Devils they celebrate on the pitch. Leah Galton gets a piggy back from Rachel Williams as she's now on crutches. Well played the Reds, there was only ever going to be one winner after that goal from Tooney.

What a great game that was. Having seat in the gods helped with a great view of the play. The first goal being so good set the scene for things to come. Block 551 gives a great view of the pitch without being in the vertigo/nosebleed regions. The celebrations afterwards were good to watch, felt for Spurs a bit but that was United last year so is good progress for them when the hurt has subsided a bit. United were just too good for Spurs today, from the defence, the midfield and the quality and composure in front of goal. Their passing and movement was too much for spurs and a great mix up of patient build up and running onto long balls. Spurs looked a bit wobbly at the back too. There are times to play out from the back like you did in training all week and times to clear your lines when under pressure. The third goal was a time to hoof it. Bethany England deserved a goal for her efforts and was unlucky she hit the bar. Man Utd haven't had the best season but today looked like a statement that they are back in business. They have one game left in the WSL and that's a big title deciding game against Chelsea at Old Trafford. One to watch.

POTM: Tough call between a few honourable mentions. Ella Toone has had her best season but had a great game today and what a goal. Rachel Williams doing what she does, and everyone else really but award today goes to Lucia Garcia for her brace of goals to put the tie out of reach and we love watching her dancing feet as she runs with the ball.

The ref did very well and was hardly noticeable.

The Scran'o'meter missed the game as it stayed in the Spoons 🥄on Victoria Station and don't blame it for the value and quality of the food 🍳🌭🍄🍟🍅☕.

One game to go this season and it's a big one. Watch this space👀.✈

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Footie under the Arch💖

Pre-kickoff Fireworks 

Busy down Olympic Way

It's all over

Our Wembley hero -Chloe Kelly

Day out on the train

Warm in Brent

Lardy Army Dreamers

Horsham FC face Hastings United FC in the Sussex Transport Senior Challenge Cup at the AMEX Stadium

The Hornets 🐝 face the U's in the final game of the season and it's a warm may night at the home of the Seagulls. Up for grabs tonight is a historic piece of silverware as it's the 133rd edition of the Sussex Senior Cup. The Hornets last won this cup in 1974 and are looking to hoist the trophy again in their new era. It will show the huge progress they have made in recent years. The U's last won it in in 1998. The two sides finished close in the Isthmian Prem with the Hornets in 5th and the U's in 7th. The Hornets made the paly-ffs but lost in the semi-final away to Chatham on penalties. Chatham then lost to Enfield Town in the final. Dougie is on the bench tonight. It was 5 years ago yesterday that he scored the extra time winner to win the Cup here for Bognor. Would settle for a repeat of that tonight although maybe without the extra time. Certainly don't want penalties. Not seen the boys in green and yellow much this year but there are some familiar names on the team sheet. Jack Mazzone had a huge impact when he came on against Lewes. Expecting a close game tonight but also some goals.

The Hornets have some control of the ball from the start. The Green and Yellow seeing more of the ball than the Whites. It takes just 6 minutes for the scoring to start as Reece Meekums is fed the ball on the left side of the box and makes himself space to slot it past the keeper and inside the far post ⚽. Another 20 minutes and it looks like it will be 2 but both strikers try to play the ball at the same time and get tangled up without playing the ball. Doh 🤦‍♂️. It's an early sub on 30 as Sparks come off injured and is replaced by Philpot. A attacking great team move with a cross to the far post, headed back across the goal by nodded in by Shamir Fenelon on 33⚽. Advantage the Hornets and 2-0 at the break.

The second half starts with a Hornets chance when a great shot from wide skims the outside of the far post on 46. No sitting back on the lead here. Next goal will be crucial to either team. The Whites are playing better now and it's more even than the first 45. It's the Hornets to lose as Daniel Ajakaiye slots it home on 66 ⚽. Need to keep it tight now. The subs start on 78 as Shamir Fenelon goes off for Jack Mazzone. Danny Ajakaiye is replaced by Hester-Cook. Dougie comes on for Danny Barker and Rodrigues replaced by Price. Need to keep it tight now but the Horsham way is to replace the front line with fresh legs . The U's force Lewis Carey into his first save with about 10 to go. The Lardy Army start to cheer the passes and it must get to about 20 before the ball is given away. The Green and Yellow start to run the clock down heading into the corner as the 5 minutes of injury time are announced. The Lardies sing "Champions of Sussex, we know what we are" while waiting to the whistle to go. It goes eventually and they are Champions of Sussex for the first time in 50 years.

The Hornets were in control for most of the game and come out as well deserved champions of Sussex 🏆. Dougie has another winners medal and wasn't needed for the result. A great game especially the result and a good atmosphere with the 2000+ fans backing the Green and Yellow. The Lardy Army were in good voice, can't be a rendition or 2 of "Start spreading the lard" and something new to us about the evils of "low fat spread". Full marks the Horsham Man painted up in Green and Yellow. Met Howie the Hornet again, it was funny when he stole a kids flag and ran up and down the touchline with it. A good evening with a great bunch of fans and some goals to cheer. The U's fans were very vocal on the way in to the AMEX but have been quiet all game with one or two seen "Sneaking Out" early. Another season is almost done. A game or 2 left for the Women then a summer break.

POTM: The Hornet's left winger Daniel Ajakaiye had a good game and was great to watch his runs with the ball that the U's couldn't cope with. Oh and he got the important 3rd goal to finish the game off. Congrats 🏅.

Officials did a reasonable job and both sides will be equally upset and pleased with the decision making. They let a lot go but the game remained reasonably well tempered. Nice to see both captains the first to get booked and set the standards for others to follow.

The Scran'o'meter loves it here and the Spicy Vegan pie 🥧🌶 gets a yummy 8.5.

See you at Prenton Park South at the weekend.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

In the AMEX

Arrived at the AMEX

Howie The Hornet

Hornets are Champions of Sussex