AFC
BOURNEMOUTH Division
3 Play-Off Final AFC
Bournemouth 5 - 2 Lincoln City Main culprits: Aided & abetted by: Special thanks to: 08:30 - The Initial Masterstroke
Having set my alarm and got up early I had an irresistible urge for a fried breakfast so I collect Ian and head to the Little Chef for an "Early Starter" - the perfect beginning to a perfect day! 09:30-11.30 - Go East, Go North, Go West
Lee is waiting for us when we roll-up and we head off to Cardiff via the M27, M3, A34, M4 and stop-off at Leigh Delamere services for a comfort break and lovely double espresso that really got the buzz going. Large numbers of AFCB fans are present and the mood is excitable. There are also various dodgy characters selling flags, hats, scarves, etc - manage to resist the temptation to buy which turns out to be a good one as it happens. 11:30-12:30 - Enter The Dragon
The traffic is heavy and stop-start, Burkie calls to gloat that he's in a bar in Cardiff already, followed by my sister who's caught a train and got there as well - nightmare! We struggle across the new Severn Bridge and head into Wales. 12:30-14:00 - Who Dares Wins
We totally miss the park & ride signs and head into central Cardiff. We snatch a glimpse of the stadium and in an inspired move Lee parks the car up immediately. God knows where we are but as it happens only about 15 min walk from the ground. So we eat our sarnies (thanks Rosie!), don our football attire and walk to the ground where we meet my sister. 14:00-15:00 - Big Match Build Up
I buy a program and we head for our seats. I am really looking forward for my first glimpse of the inside of the stadium and I am not disappointed. The stadium is awesome. I went to the Nou Camp last November (here's the link to that story) but this IS SPECIAL - the now defunct SOUTH END has been transported - for one day only as Geoff Barker puts it - to South Wales. The childish chanting games we are encouraged to join in with get on my nerves but soon it is time to start! 15:00-15:45 Half Way To Delirium
It is instantly obvious that AFCB and Lincoln are like chalk and cheese, brains versus brawn, us passing the ball around, them kicking/throwing the thing as hard and far as you can. Fortunately AFCB find themselves 2-1 up at the break with the "Fletcher Boys" (good name for a gay disco tribute band maybe??) grabbing one apiece. 16:00-16:45 - Secundo Tiempo
I cannot believe my eyes - we score two of the best goals I have ever seen us score in the space of ten magical minutes. I feel like I am dreaming looking at the 4-1 scoreline. Then a thought pops into my head - this is like the England game where we beat Germany 5-1. A late goal in stoppage time at the end of the first half gives us a 2-1 lead, then we go mad and can't stop scoring in the second half. I happen to mention this to Ian who indicates that a) "Does that mean that Big Fletch = Heskey"? mmm interesting thought that one - its debatable who you'd rather have and b) "Remember this is AFCB and we are very capable of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory". So I shut up and watch the Imps grab a second - maybe I had spoken too soon. Twenty minutes to go, only 2 up, looking a bit dodgy at the back - reminded me a lot of the Bury game now and we were biting our finger nails that night I can tell you. Then 2 things happen that mean we are being smiled upon - first a streaker arrives on the pitch and that disrupts things for a minute or so. This takes a lot of the tension out of the air at the AFCB end and I'm sure it helped the lads get their heads straight after conceding. Then immediately we get a free kick wide, Garreth swings it in and Little Fletch grabs his second. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE EXCELLENT MOVIE THAT CAPTURES THIS PRECISE MOMENT (4.7M) Its in QuickTime Movie format. Yes I am totally delirious at this point - the rest of the game is a cakewalk and we play out time. Final whistle blows, several laps of honour pickup the trophy, wave bye bye to the Imps and then head to the nearest pub - after saying goodbye to my sister who's off to catch her train home.
17:00-18:00 Time For A Pint I had managed not to touch a drink up until this point - but now was the time to celebrate. We found a great place on the path on the opposite bank of the Taff across from the stadium. Not busy at all and with a nice crowd of mainly AFCB fans. Chatted with a couple of Imps and they couldn't believe that we'd put five past them. Anyhow we wished each other well and shook hands and then I went off to gloat - LINCOLN "AVE IT" as Steve texted me. 20:00-21:00 Nice Finish
A couple of hours later (after chatting to a group of sheepish looking and somewhat foolhardy QPR fans checking into a B&B in Cardiff) we head off to Bath for supper. Lee knows a place and we draw up, order some Kingfisher, poppadoms, chicken tikka whatever, naans and reflect on what a great day we'd had. The place - which is called the Pria Balti by the way - is great, nice food, nice atmosphere and not too expensive. We round off the night with a pleasant chat on the way back, Warminster, Salisbury, Fordingbridge, Ringwood - they all whizz by and then finally back home, its goodbye to my friends and I sit in front of the telly to watch the game all over again and dream of stuffing the THE SEAWEED in Div 2!!
PS - I must credit Andy Steggle of ITV Meridian football
show fame for the naming of this web site - there I was watching the
highlights of the game again this afternoon when at the end he describes
AFCB - |
