Long Ball Sally

Brighton & Hove Albion Women host Arsenal Women in the Subway League Cup Quarter Final at the Broadfield Stadium

The Seagulls play host to the Gooners for a place in the semi-final of the cup formerly known as the Conti Cup. We are hoping for a bounce back from losing to Liverpool away on Friday. It’s our first Seagulls game of 2025 after the very late postponement of the Durham FA Cup game 12 days ago due to a frozen pitch. The pitch has defrosted and the pizza 🍕 van has arrived so things are looking good. Melina Loeck is in goal with Baggers on the bench. Dotti is back from injury so starts alongside Guru. Poppy and Rachel are out wide. Vicky, Marisa and Jelena are in the middle, Kiko, Maddie and Bruna are up front. Nikita and Pauline are on the bench. Michelle can’t play against her home club so is not in the squad. It’s not the strongest line up but it is the Fast Food Cup. The Gunners line up is formidable even with a few big names resting on the bench. Zinsberger is in goal so we are expecting a break in the play at some point as she takes a nap. We have 62 minutes in the Zinsberger Nap Sweepstake. Last time the Seagulls met the Gunners, we showed way too much respect and suffered badly for it. We need to start on the front foot tonight.

The Albion hold their own at the start and are getting plenty of possession in the Gooners half. We seem to keep passing until we lose the ball and without ever actually getting round to taking a shot. The Gooner are more of a threat. The Seagulls insistence on playing out from the back nearly costs them as Lotte pounces on a mistake and for Melina into a good save. The visitors are putting a bit of pressure on the hosts now. The Seagulls get a good chance on the break but Kiko’s shot is wild and miles off target. It’s a shot though. The Gunners get some more chances but the Seagulls hold on until the break. 0-0. Take that. Big half to come.

There are some early changes. Walti is replaced by Little on 48. Katie Ried, who has had a good game, is replaced by Emily Fox and Meado by Mariona on 57. The Seagulls join in a Parris replaces Cancovic and Maisie replaces Bruna. Dotti is recently back from injury and is replaced by Caribali. The Gunners come close as Mariona hits the post from range. That’s a warning from Mariona. She then dispossesses Vicky and assists Russo to break the deadlock on 65. Between them, they create another for McCabe on 68. A fantastic shot from Cooney-Cross on 70 takes it to 3-0. The result seems inevitable now. The Seagulls final changes are Dejana for Vicky and Pauline for Maddie. Maddie has put in a great shift and gets a good round of applause 👏 as she walks past the stand. The Gunners show their depth by bringing on Stina for Leah for Leia. Mariona caps off 2 assists with a goal. It comes after the Seagulls fail to clear the ball and it’s a fantastic chip from the corner of the box. Can’t save that. The Seagulls have been well beaten by the supersub Gooners with 3 goals in 5 minutes in the second half delivering the fatal blow. The 4th was just salt in the wounds.

The Seagulls played well in the first half but were ground down by the quality that the Gunners were able to bring on from the bench. Mariona had an amazing game and undid all the Seagulls hard work. It was a much better game than the 5-0 thrashing in North London despite the similar looking scoreline. Our prediction of penalties was a possibility for the first half at least. The Seagulls put in some good performances particularly Poppy and Keke on the left. Dotti was playing well but Carabali has had better games. Still love her though ♥. Maddie played well and looked knackered when she was subbed. A tough night up against McCabe. We had been expecting a Zinsberger nap at some point and were very disappointed it didn’t happen. We had our own supersub at halftime as Sally joined our gang. The Seagulls need to regroup ready for Man Utd away on Sunday. We’ll see them back here for Durham on Wednesday. We are hoping to tp summon up the courage to get to Swindle to see Tranmere on Tuesday,

POTM: Goes to our favourite left back, Poppy who had a great game linking up with Kiko and dropping back into defence when needed.

The officiating could have been better. Maddie got no protection and took a bit of a battering tonight.

The Scran’O’meter is back to it’s best with the wood oven Margarita pizza 🍕 and garlic dip courtesy of the Dough Shack 🚚.

See You soon. Love tranmerekat 🐾.

New coat at the Broadfield 

Well hello Sally

2 Storey Love Song

Newhaven FC away to Saltdean United in the SCFL at Hill Park

The Dockers visit the Tigers in the second league game of the new era. This fixture was postponed from last year due to a waterlogged pitch between Christmas and New Year. It’s a chilly night at Hill Park but it’s stayed dry and the wind has dropped. Hopefully a good game will follow. We have paid £2 for the programme which is a 100% price increase and something we really approve of. Anything that keeps printed programmes going is fine by us. Saltdean are just above the relegation spot with just 2 wins to their credit. They have started to draw some games so will hopefully pick up enough points to stay (just). Just not tonight of course. You can’t have rivalries without rivals so we would be disappointed if they went down. The building work for the new club house and stand has started. The stand still has wooden benches but is much longer and already in use. The club house is only a single storey peeking over the hoarding. Team new now. Reedy has moved up to fight wing. Behind him is a new face, Richmond Osei. Related to Kwabs? Hope he’s as good. “Inset short fanfare here” because Little is getting his first start for a year following a few sub appearances including a late goal at the Withdean on Saturday. “Big” is in the crowd as he’s under the weather. There are two new faces on the bench. They are Dexter Lambert and Liam Osborne. No familiar faces in the Tigers. Aaron is in the crowd and there is no sign of Marley so he must have moved on. The teams change ends after the toss so the Dockers are attacking the south end.

The Dockers get plenty of the ball and get the first chance but Bailie’s header is well saved. There are a few more chances but then the first goal comes from nowhere. Literally! The Dockers are pressing just inside the Tigers half when the ref blows the whistle. What for? Who knows? Not us or the lino. It turns out that the ref has given a penalty for a foul on Jake off the ball. Saltdean are livid. We’ll take it though, or rather Jake takes it and smashes it home ⚽. 0-1. There are some more odd decisions with pushes on jumping players going unpunished and 50:50 tackle resulting in free kicks. We can almost hear the Monty Python music playing in the background. He is certainly making it up as he goes along. The half finishes with no more drama. 0-1 to the visitors.

The second half starts where the first left off. There is a comedy of errors from the ref. The crowd is baffled. The equaliser comes on 60 and it’s a great goal. The ball is turned over in the middle of the pitch and lumped forward. The Tigers No.9 runs under it, pulls it down with his first touch and gives Josh no chance with the finish. All very James Norwood circa 2019. The game starts to get a bit niggley Tucky is booked as seems to be usual these days. The Robinsons combine as Little blocks a Tigers defensive clearance. It lands at the feet of Jake who fires it at the goal from about 35 yards. The keeper is caught unawares and it’s 2-1 to the Dockers on 67 ⚽. Saltdean have been better this half but they have had a shocker there. It’s time for some Dockers changes with Kwabs on for Tuck who looks injured. Little is working back to match fitness and is replaced by Dexter Lambert. It gets more niggley now and there are some bizarre decisions. Reagn and Bailie both booked for something or other. There are a few more subs. Kieron is shouting a lot to try to motivate his boys to get back into the game. It’s almost working as they have the Dockers pinned in. There are some late subs with Orbourne for Reedy and Warwick for Radley-Martin. Jake wanders over to the touchline as the number 10 is held up. He’s not 10 today and he knows it. He wanders back to the centre circle as Warwick who is the 10 leaves the pitch. The number 9 is held up now and Jake wanders slowly back to the touchline where he is replaced by Mo, our favourite supersub on 90+4. Top time wasting from Jake. Eventually the ref decides he wants a cup of tea and blows the whistle. Victory on the road for the Dockers.

That was fun and bizarre at the same time. The Dockers huffed and puffed a bit but had quality that the Tigers couldn’t match. The Tigers are organised, Kieron does his best, but are 2nd bottom for a reason. It will be a surprise, and very disappointing, if they get relegated. It’s back to back away wins for the Dockers who are starting to creep back up the table. Fingers crossed for some consistency building through the rest of the season. It's exciting to see the building work started. We like the bigger stand already. Wondering how they are going to level the pitch for the 3G and what they might find buried under it 💰🦴🤷. Looking forward to seeing the progress next season.V

POTM: Performance of the day goes to Jake 🏅. Great energy, fantastic goals and top time wasting.

The Scran’O'meter enjoyed the hot chocolate and rated it 8/10.

The officiating was bizarre at times tonight. The decision making was very strange and “he making it up as he goes along” has rarely been more accurate. No-one saw the foul on Jake for the pen but we’ll take it. Lino on our side was a bit bewildered by what was going on.

Three points heading back along the A259.

See you soon.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

In the new stand

Back at Hill Park

Twix and Shout

Newhaven FC away to Eastbourne United in the RUR Cup Semi-Final at the Oval

The Dockers are away to the U's in the Rifles Cup at Channel View Road. It's a new era for the Dockers, so maybe Dockers 2.0. There is no pressure, just a semi-final. The other semi-final has been postponed due to a frozen pitch but we're on the posh new 3G so none of that here. The Dockers were here just 2 weeks ago and lost 4-1 so we're expecting a tough game today. There has been a huge upgrade at the Oval since we were last here a year ago. It’s taken us that long to thaw out. It was so cold. Apparently the upgrade cost £1.2 million but it is very nice. Josh Tuck is back in the starting 11 replacing Henry. It's still hard to get any real idea of the shape that the Dockers are playing. Warwick is wearing the 7 but not playing on the wing. The U's have squad numbers which is unusual at this level. Pretentious Moi? Don't think that would work with the ever revolving Dockers.

The U's are straight at the Dockers defence. We could easily have been a goal down in 30 seconds. It doesn’t go in but the Dockers remain under pressure for a while. Jake creates a chance but no-one meets his low cross. Jake is involved again after a great move down the wing but he is denied by the post. The U’s breakthrough is denied by some last ditch Dockers defending. We get a bit of excitement as we think that the Tigers keeper, James Broadbent, has handled the ball outside the box. It’s not clear cut and the ref gives him the benefit of the doubt. He is probably a big Bridget Jones fan. Or maybe it’s Paddington. The Tigers are kept at bay until 20 when a fast break ends with the ball in the Dockers net. 1-0. They are made to wait until 38 for their second goal. It’s still 2-0 at the break. The Dockers need a good second half to take it to penalties now, And we need to be thankful that the deficit is not 6 or more. It could easily be over already. Hopefully the ref will change ends at half time and we’ll get a few decisions after he’s had a quick nap and a cup of tea.

There is a substitution at the break as Kobi is replaced by Kwabs. The Dockers are putting up a better scrap this half. It's a much more even battle. The U’s no. 16 is probably the most shouty player we have ever seen. He just won’t shut up. No leadership like that in the Dockers. Tuck tries to give the ref some polite feedback, gets booked and sent to the sin bin for his troubles. But he doesn’t leave the pitch. Very odd. He is very wisely for subbed for Clarke-Salter on 64. The Dockers make some more changes to try to get back into it. Connell replaces Rohilla. Another ten minutes and Lee is replaced by Dexter-Lambert on 74. The last change is Johnson on for Ben Royall. on 81. The changes have the wrong effect as the U’s score on 85 (3-0) and 86 (4-0) to finish the Dockers off. We think we have a consolation goal scored by Warwick as his diving header puts Johnson’s cross into the net only for it to be ruled out for offside. We are hoping that the mist gets heavier so the match is abandoned but it doesn’t and it isn’t. 4-0. Bugger.

Gutted to have got so close and not make it to the final but it wasn’t close tonight. The new era starts with a battering with the 4-0 scoreline flattering the losers. It should have been more. It was an ok performance at times but the defending was dreadful. Becoming a bit of a habit! Perhaps the defence is missing the motivation of incurring the wrath of Bussy to keep them on their toes. The U’s were 10 times as vocal as the Dockers and it paid off tonight. Well organised and loads of leaders on the pitch sees the U’s through to the final. At least it wasn’t Baltic tonight as losing always makes it feel a bit colder. It’s back to league action for the stumbling Dockers. We’ll hopefully be at Saltdean on Tuesday for some more ups and downs.

POTM: Hard to pick with such a poor performance but Jake gave us hope so gets the prize 🏅.

The refereeing was not the best. Very inconsistant except when it came to giving everything to the host and nothing to the visitors.

The Scan’O’meter loved the Nachos 7/10 and the hot chocolate was great too 8/10.

Will we be at Plough Lane on Saturday, probably not after the ridiculously aggressive stewarding there last time.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

The Oval

Cheeky Nachos

The boys

One Last Time

Newhaven FC host Petersfield Town FC in the SCFL Premire League at Fort Road

The Dockers host the Rams on a cold January afternoon by the Ouse. Newhaven are mid table having lost the last 3 games. Petersfield are fighting for a play-off and have won 4 of the last 5 scoring 16 goals in the process. It’s the end of an era today as it’s 508 and out for the dynamic duo Cooky and Breachy. After 10 years, the pair are retiring. They have brought great times to the Dockers but have struggled for consistency this season with a huge turnover in the squad. There is a guard of honour from both teams as they enter the pitch. Probably get something in their eyes later. Let's hope the boys do them proud today. A new face Ben Royall is playing on the wing. Little is on the bench. Billy is in the crowd in an airboot.

The ferry is early and has already docked by the time the players come out. Must be out of respect for the bosses’ last game. The Dockers start slowly and it takes until 22 for the 1st goal. Lee runs into the box, is clipped from behind and crumples in a heap. Penalty to us. Lee smashes it home ⚽. 1-0. The score is level on 41 as the Rams break at pace and put the ball past Jack. 1-1.  It is still even at the break.  Hope the second 45 has a bit more action.

Hoping for some more action in this half. Ben Royall gets his head to a low cross but he doesn’t get quite enough on it and it skims just wide. He is clearly gutted. The next chance goes to Jake on 55 but it’s saved. Reedy is replaced on 62 with Johnson taking over right back duties.  Newhaven are now dominant and are back in the lead on 73. Lee is again fouled in the box but before the ref can blow his whistle, Jake puts the ball in the back of the net ⚽. 2-1. The Rams start to get a foothold and come close to an equaliser as they hit the bar. There is a huge cheer 🎉 from most of the 403 crowd as Little Robbo 🏃 comes on to replace Ben Royall. We get one more chance on 90+4 but Jake’s shot is saved. It’s all over on 90+6 and it’s now time for everyone to hit the bar.

A great win for the Dockers shows that they can still do it. And a great way for Cooky and Breachy bow out with 3 points and 2 Robinson goals. Not quite a classic Dockers performance that we have become used to but there are no points for style. Top marks to the 2 Rams fans and their 6 flags. They made plenty of noise, “is this a library” and really getting behind their team. The Dockers had the “Tannoy”, aka the 5th official, giving feedback to the players and officials.

POTM: A different one for today but it has to go to the management duo Cooky and Breachy. End of an era. Thanks boys .👏👏👏👏

The officiating must have been OK as we haven’t moaned about so well done.

The Scan’O’meter loves the hot chocolate here and it was the usual 8/10.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

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