Post by notsorecentconvert on Dec 30, 2014 11:12:01 GMT
So, 2014 was my first 'full' year supporting the Saints, a year in which I went to 37 games.
Here are some of my highlights. I'd be interested to hear others.
Jan 25 Saints 5 Arlesey 0
Three goals in the last minute (and injury time) turn a routine 2-0 win into a 5-0 rout against Arlesey.
Jan 28 Burnham 2 Saints 3
I knew my Saints addiction had taken hold when I found myself with 149 others at Burnham on a cold Tuesday night. In my defence I had a meeting at Heathrow that afternoon, but still. We were 2-0 down after five minutes (including a Tom Ward own goal) and I was questioning my sanity. On a dreadful pitch, Comley scored on half-time to give us hope. The second half was brilliant, as 30 or 40 Saints fans willed the comeback to happen. James Kaloczi's curling winner from distance was my vote for goal of the season.
Feb 4 Arlesey 2 Saints 3
Another Tuesday night away trip. Another nerve-jangler. Darren Locke got a nasty face injury. Twice we led, twice Barry Hayles equalised for Arlesey. We took a 3-2 lead and there was a very worrying moment when Paul Bastock let the ball roll across his six yard box only for the gusting wind to take it rather too close to the line for comfort.
Mar 8 Stourbridge 0 Saints 1
I was on a Eurostar train to Paris for a work trip while the Saints were playing at Stourbridge. I followed the game on Twitter, eating up the data roaming as soon as we got through the tunnel. I involuntarily kicked the passenger opposite me when I saw news of the final whistle and a 1-0 win.
Mar 22 Bashley 0 Saints 2
I persuaded my Wealdstone-supporting mate to join me on a trip to the New Forest to see Bashley v Saints. We made the worst team in the division look good but came away with the points. It was on this afternoon that I had a bit of sympathy for Davymac's insistence that the Southern League Premier Division was a pub league!
Apr 5 Hemel 0 Saints 0
A cracking atmosphere at Vauxhall Road for a very tense game and a great advert for non-league football, even though it ended 0-0. There was plenty of fight, perhaps a bit too much between one or two supporters at half-time.
Apr 19 Banbury 1 Saints 5
At half-time a fella came round with a clipboard asking for my vote for Banbury's player of the season. The list went on for two pages and he admitted Banbury had used almost 60 players.
Apr 30 Cambridge City 2 Saints 4
A brilliant, brilliant night at Histon for the play-off semi-final against Cambridge City. We went 1-0 up very early (Frendo), then Steve Wales scored and it all looked rosy. Cambridge got back into it and we led 3-2 going into the final 10 minutes. Sam Corcoran's goal was a beauty, as were the celebrations.
May 5 Chesham 1 Saints 3
The play-off final. A great afternoon. A couple of beers in town, a few nervous moments fearing we'd left it too late and might get locked out such was the length of the queue. We went behind early on and it seemed a season's hard work might go up in smoke. But either side of half-time we were at our clinical best.
Aug 12 Staines 2 Saints 3
Another cracking away game. We went behind just before half-time, then Staines doubled their lead early in the second, but we mounted a brilliant fightback, inspired by Steve Wales.
Sept 13 Saints 4 Maidenhead 1
A brilliant Lee Chappell hat-trick got us back on track after a run of one point from 12.
Sept 20 Wealdstone 0 Saints 3
Felt a bit sorry for my Wealdstone-supporting mate because we made them look very poor. At that point I couldn't see them getting out of relegation trouble but they got their own back in the Trophy replay.
Oct 6 Boreham Wood 2 Saints 1
We didn't win but we put up a heck of a fight after Lockey got sent off for blocking the ball on the line with his hand. Sean Shields gave us hope that we might nick something. Humorous moments when the Saints fans sung the EastEnders theme.
Oct 25 Saints 0 Concord 1
Not the finest moment of the year. A bumper crowd turned up to see a Frendo-less Saints lose in meek fashion when a place in the FA Cup first round was within grasp. Then it turned out he'd been to El Clasico...
Dec 6 Saints 1 Bath 0
An injured linesman, 13 minutes of added time and a narrow win made for a decent pick-me-up after the shambolic defeat at Wealdstone a few days earlier.
Here are some of my highlights. I'd be interested to hear others.
Jan 25 Saints 5 Arlesey 0
Three goals in the last minute (and injury time) turn a routine 2-0 win into a 5-0 rout against Arlesey.
Jan 28 Burnham 2 Saints 3
I knew my Saints addiction had taken hold when I found myself with 149 others at Burnham on a cold Tuesday night. In my defence I had a meeting at Heathrow that afternoon, but still. We were 2-0 down after five minutes (including a Tom Ward own goal) and I was questioning my sanity. On a dreadful pitch, Comley scored on half-time to give us hope. The second half was brilliant, as 30 or 40 Saints fans willed the comeback to happen. James Kaloczi's curling winner from distance was my vote for goal of the season.
Feb 4 Arlesey 2 Saints 3
Another Tuesday night away trip. Another nerve-jangler. Darren Locke got a nasty face injury. Twice we led, twice Barry Hayles equalised for Arlesey. We took a 3-2 lead and there was a very worrying moment when Paul Bastock let the ball roll across his six yard box only for the gusting wind to take it rather too close to the line for comfort.
Mar 8 Stourbridge 0 Saints 1
I was on a Eurostar train to Paris for a work trip while the Saints were playing at Stourbridge. I followed the game on Twitter, eating up the data roaming as soon as we got through the tunnel. I involuntarily kicked the passenger opposite me when I saw news of the final whistle and a 1-0 win.
Mar 22 Bashley 0 Saints 2
I persuaded my Wealdstone-supporting mate to join me on a trip to the New Forest to see Bashley v Saints. We made the worst team in the division look good but came away with the points. It was on this afternoon that I had a bit of sympathy for Davymac's insistence that the Southern League Premier Division was a pub league!
Apr 5 Hemel 0 Saints 0
A cracking atmosphere at Vauxhall Road for a very tense game and a great advert for non-league football, even though it ended 0-0. There was plenty of fight, perhaps a bit too much between one or two supporters at half-time.
Apr 19 Banbury 1 Saints 5
At half-time a fella came round with a clipboard asking for my vote for Banbury's player of the season. The list went on for two pages and he admitted Banbury had used almost 60 players.
Apr 30 Cambridge City 2 Saints 4
A brilliant, brilliant night at Histon for the play-off semi-final against Cambridge City. We went 1-0 up very early (Frendo), then Steve Wales scored and it all looked rosy. Cambridge got back into it and we led 3-2 going into the final 10 minutes. Sam Corcoran's goal was a beauty, as were the celebrations.
May 5 Chesham 1 Saints 3
The play-off final. A great afternoon. A couple of beers in town, a few nervous moments fearing we'd left it too late and might get locked out such was the length of the queue. We went behind early on and it seemed a season's hard work might go up in smoke. But either side of half-time we were at our clinical best.
Aug 12 Staines 2 Saints 3
Another cracking away game. We went behind just before half-time, then Staines doubled their lead early in the second, but we mounted a brilliant fightback, inspired by Steve Wales.
Sept 13 Saints 4 Maidenhead 1
A brilliant Lee Chappell hat-trick got us back on track after a run of one point from 12.
Sept 20 Wealdstone 0 Saints 3
Felt a bit sorry for my Wealdstone-supporting mate because we made them look very poor. At that point I couldn't see them getting out of relegation trouble but they got their own back in the Trophy replay.
Oct 6 Boreham Wood 2 Saints 1
We didn't win but we put up a heck of a fight after Lockey got sent off for blocking the ball on the line with his hand. Sean Shields gave us hope that we might nick something. Humorous moments when the Saints fans sung the EastEnders theme.
Oct 25 Saints 0 Concord 1
Not the finest moment of the year. A bumper crowd turned up to see a Frendo-less Saints lose in meek fashion when a place in the FA Cup first round was within grasp. Then it turned out he'd been to El Clasico...
Dec 6 Saints 1 Bath 0
An injured linesman, 13 minutes of added time and a narrow win made for a decent pick-me-up after the shambolic defeat at Wealdstone a few days earlier.