Unfortunately, it appears that most of last night's Carling Cup 3rd Round Events has become overshadowed by the inexcusable violent clashes of so-called "fans" before and during the tie at Upton Park between Millwall and West Ham. However, on we press; football goes on, so I'll get on with a blog post with regards to my Carling Cup evening to show that I feel there is no room for this behaviour in the beautiful game.The lads and myself were to make the 2 hour trip north up the M5 to the black country, Wolverhampton to see Danny Wilson's men face Wolverhampton Wanderers. If you read my earlier blog post you will have seen that supporter and manager alike had a lot of confidence that we had the ability to cause an upset last night - and a path to the 4th Round came within touching distance as we held Wolves to a draw over 120 minutes.
We made the journey north at 3:30pm, belly full of Mum's Roast Dinner and a few tinnies for the road. The expectation of 1000+ Swindon fans making the journey became more realistic as we saw increasing numbers of decked out Robins' cars, scarves flapping and horns tooting the further up the M5 we got. Unfortunately, our journey came to a halt as the tinnies took effect and Will's bladder became the size of a small baby. A parked van just off the services slip road was the toilet of choice for Will - it was either this or an empty can and those of us who watched The Inbetweeners all know how that ends. Once our body's were rejuvenated we realised we weren't the only ones who had picked the Frankley Services as the piss-break - everywhere you looked were fellow Swindonians in their Reds, Whites and Blues. Suddenly, it hits me. "The Buzz" has struck and I'm ready for whatever this evening can throw at me. What I forgot was that when your a Swindon fan, the proverbial shit that hits the fan changes to an enormous steaming pile of rotting feces hitting an industrial warehouse hangar air-conditioning fan. Believe me that's messy.
We arrived at our destination at just after 5:30pm, found a parking space then swiftly made our way to the nearest pub - "The Goalpost". I'm sure on a Premiership Saturday Afternoon this is a hovel for Wolves followers, however on a lowly Carling Cup mid-week fixture against League 1 opposition, the Swindon boys are able to take over. 3 or 4 chilled beverages later (bearing in mind Badge was pissed when he got out of the car), kick off time is upon us so we made our way to the Molineux away section, took our seats and prepared ourselves once again for the madness to ensue on the pitch. The atmosphere was buzzing, I'm not completely sure how many travelling fans we took away, though heard from a steward after the match that it was close to 1400. Now then - on to the nitty gritty.
Swindon's line up looked a familiar site, Wilson ringing only 3 changes from our brave 2-2 draw away at Oldham 3 days earlier. Whilst Wolves apparently made 11 changes from their defeat at Man City - most notable players being summer signings from our local rivals Reading in Marcus Hahnemann between the sticks and striker Kevin Doyle.
Town shot-stopper David Lucas had to be on top form throughout 90 minutes and gracefully stepped up to the task making some fine saves and a couple of spectacular ones to keep the scores level. Kevin Doyle and 17-year old debutant Nathaniel Mendez-Laing thrived on Marcus Hahnemann's direct style, picking up the keeper's long punts up-field on various occasions but struggling to work David Lucas. Mendez-Laing did force a superb save out of Lucas on 16 minutes when a fine shot destined for the top corner was tipped over by the outstretched Keeper who appeared to be thriving in this underdog environment. Half-chances at both ends ensued but no team really looked like breaking the deadlock.
Captain Gordon Greer donned the ever familiar head bandage that we've seen a few times already this season just after 20 minutes, but the captain led by example and continued to boss the back line despite his injury.
On 36 minutes Town nearly stunned the premier league outfit by coming close to taking the lead. Anthony McNamee cut into the left hand edge of the box and with his weaker foot, curled a shot around and over Hahnemann but was denied by the crossbar as the ball deflected off and was cleared away.And minutes later the Swindon fans had their head in their hands again as Wolves were once more saved by the woodwork. Tope Obadeyi accelerated past Wolves defender George Elokobi and unleashed a powerful left footed shot, beating Hahnemann but the ball rebounded off the post into the path of front man Billy Paynter. Paynter poked the ball home as the away section erupted but celebrations were halted early thanks to the linesman's flag signalling offside.
After the break there were few chances and we resulted in amusing ourselves with the Paul Chuckle-brother lookalike steward and an over-zealous ball boy looking to steal his colleagues thunder. Interest was renewed in the game on 78 minutes as Swindon picked up a free kick. Jon-Paul McGovern's cross was over hit but picked up by Mark Marshall. The youngster fired a shot away from a tight angle, only again to see the frame of the goal shake as the goalpost put the ball out for a goal kick.
In the closing stages of normal time, Wolves' Andy Keogh could and probably should have put the game beyond doubt and given me an early night as he met a long-ball over the top of the defence. As Lucas rushed to meet the striker, Keogh's lob fell the wrong side of the bar and onto the roof of the net. As 90 minutes came to a close there was an air of optimism that maybe this was our chance to steal a win as extra-time was confirmed. A quick toilet break saw us back in our seats just in time for kick off.
The further 30 minutes was played at lightning speed and was truly nail-biting antics. Wolves started the brightest as Lucas was brought into action to deny substitute Andy Edwards from giving the hosts the lead.
At the other end, big Kevin Amankwaah unleashed his speed as we've seen so many times already this season. He found youngster Lloyd Macklin to his right who managed to whip in a cross but Marshall could only head it wide.
Andy Keogh then forced another smart save from David Lucas who throughout the game had made this goalkeeping malarky look simple!
In the second period of 15, pacey winger Alan O'Brien made his way into the fray to replace Billy Paynter who received a standing ovation for his efforts. And it wasn't long before O'Brien made his mark on the game. A sweet through-ball allowed him to zoom past the back line and tap the ball away from the onrushing Hahnemann who subsequently brought down the ex-Newcastle Academy youngster. Hahnemann's tackle incensed the travelling supporters and he received a yellow card for his efforts but Swindon were unable to make use of the position and the referee soon brought 120 minutes of play to close. With the scores still level at 0-0 the dreaded lottery that is the penalty shoot beckoned and my heart was well and truly in my mouth.
It may have came as a shock at the lads who stepped up to take the Swindon penalties. I'm not sure how they were picked but I have a lot of respect for the lads if they stood up and decided they would be taking one. Our first 5 takers consisted of:
- Full back Callum Kennedy - 19 years of age
- Winger Mark Marshall - 23 years of age
- Centre half Craig Easton - 30 years of age
- Striker Lloyd Macklin - 18 years of age
- Goalkeeper David Lucas - 31 years of age
Unfortunately David Lucas wasn't able to keep out any of the Wolves penalties so sudden death would be the order of the day, a final way of separating Premiership outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers and League 1 Swindon Town, a whole 2 divisions below.
Wolves' Neill Collins converted his penalty, to pile all the pressure onto the next Swindon taker who had to score to keep Town's Carling Cup dreams alive. Up stepped 28 year old captain Gordon Greer, a true rock at the heart of the Swindon set up. As someone you would expect to convert, his spot-kick shook the right-hand frame of the goal as Swindon were once again denied by the woodwork and dropped out of the cup.
The travelling fans, totally gutted at being unceremoniously dumped out of the cup after watching a performance as we did, serenaded the heartbroken Greer and teammates with a chorus of "We'll never die" and "We love you Swindon" to show our gratitude towards the attitude and effort of the players. I for one am proud of the lads wearing our colours. Not once were we outplayed by Premiership boys Wolverhampton and once again it took the heartbreak of penalties to destroy the dreams which came so close to becoming a reality.The journey home seemed a short one as I drifted in and out of sleep thanks to the terrible singing of the inebriated Badger, but this morning I woke with my feelings once again intact. The lads showed a good account of themselves and we were unlucky not to be in the hat for the next round this Saturday, and I cannot fault one thing from last night.
Onwards and upwards! We'll take the FA Cup instead!!
And there's always the Johnstones Paint!
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