Bell Inn out of County Cup but stay top of the league

The Bell Inn faced two of the toughest sides in their short history in the last fortnight and came out of it well.

Last weekend saw the Bell Inn go down 4-1 to Premier League leaders AFC Wanderers in the County Cup after a battling performance.

Wanderers took the lead after 30 minutes but the yellows (even though we play in red and black now) bounced back just before half time through a Josh Farrow bullet.

There were chances for both teams in the second half but with a couple of injuries, the Bell Inn fell just short and conceded three in the last 15 minutes to go out.

A few AFC Wanderers players commented after the match that we were the best team they have played this season.

Final Score – AFC Wanderers 4-1 Bell Inn

(Josh Farrow)

Man of the match – Jesse Payne Wilkins – out of position at left back and up against their best player but did a decent job.

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Yesterday the Bell Inn travelled to Easton College to take on unbeaten PL Rangers on the 3G Pitch.

With most of the squad sober and a total of 4 subs, things were looking decent.

Jordan Rocastle was the danger man for the hosts as we put Luke Appleton on him to man mark.

However, he did manage to score early on with a ridiculous 35 yard strike.

This was against the run of play and the Bell Inn drew level through Calvin Butler, who finished a nice through ball from Reece Ashman.

With the wind causing chaos, PL Rangers once again took the lead through an unstoppable strike.

Half Time – PL Rangers 2 v 1 Bell Inn.

The wind was now with the Bell Inn and they brought on the usually AWOL James McCloy at half time to boost their attacking options.

PL Rangers made it 3-1 though half way through the second half as a near post shot squeezed past debutant Anthony Howell in goal.

This seemed to spur the Bell Inn on as they went all out attack to try and get back into the game and cut the deficit as Josh Farrow smashed home a trade-mark free kick.

Jesse Payne-Wilkins was pushed into a rear appearance up front as Adam Brown was pushed forward into the hole.

With 10 minutes remaining, Brown’s ‘3 at the back’ formation took centre stage and the Bell Inn brought it back to 3-3 after Dale Simpson headed home a superb Jamie Butler corner.

Without playing 3 at the back, this corner would not have been won.

Brown really is a genius.

So is Neil Anderson for letting Brown do this.

Brown did suggest to Anderson to go ‘3 at the back’ after 30 minutes but after a short discussion of ‘NO’, this didn’t happen.

Simpson’s late goal still means that when on the sidelines together, Brown and Bean have only ever lost two games, both in the County Cup.

Final Score – PL Rangers 3 v 3 Bell Inn.

(Calvin Butler, Josh Farrow, Dale Simpson)

PLAYER RATINGS

Ant Howell – 7 – Steady debut

Jesse Payne Wilkins – 8 – Good defender

Jamies Butler – 8 – Always good

Luke Appleton – 9 – MAN OF MATCH – Marked Rocastle out of the game for long periods.

Danny Bland – 8 – His best hungover performance for a while.

Reece Ashman – 7 – Started slow but got better.

Adam Brown – 7 – Did well considering injured.

Jack Tarrant – 7 – Hungover but put in a decent shift.

Calvin Butler – 9 – Unplayable in the first half.

Josh Farrow – 7 – Wind affected his delivery at times.

Dale Simpson – 7 – His quietest game for a while.

SUBS

James McCloy – 6 – Liked the ‘sleeves over hands’ style.

Danny Moore – 6 – Solid

Credit must go to Liam Ward and Jonny Page who came along and we unused substitutes.

Also, nice to see a bit of the Bell Inn fan base back in force with the Appletons, Big Phil, Michelle ‘Dale’ Simpson, Gaz Barker, Danny Cullum, Will Farrow and Jamie Alison all in attendance.

And nice to see us still sitting top of the league. To get promoted and be sitting top in November in the league above is no mean feat. Lots of work to do but after playing almost every team, I think we can win this.

No game next week. Thank the lord.

Kind regards.

Tom ‘come on then….’ Brown.

Bell Inn go top of the league

The Bell Inn pulled off a miracle comeback to beat Earlham United and over take them at the top of the table.

After a strange week, the Bell Inn rose from 6th to 2nd in the table after Rose Tavern pulled out.

Everyone above us had smashed them but them withdrawing meant these teams all lost 3 points and a lot of goals, pushing us level with leaders Earlham, making the game massive.

The Bell Inn started slowly as usual and found themselves 2-0 down within 20 minutes. Sloppy defending and the inability to wake up properly before 11am was the reason.

Josh Farrow pulled a goal back after an exquisite dummy from Saggy Brown put him through and he smashed the ball into the bottom corner giving the keeper no chance.

Getting in the way of one of Farrow’s shots is never a good idea. They hurt. Trust me.

Despite waking up, a third goal was soon conceded but Farrow scored a second just before half time, almost identical to his first with good build up play from Joe Pattison, Reece Ashman and Saggy again.

Half time – Bell Inn 2 v 3 Earlham United.

Liam Ward came on for Danny Moore as the Bell Inn looked to come from behind yet again.

Richard Donovan made his first appearance of the season, albeit on the sidelines. He looked very fresh faced and was heard mumbling about poor defending from time to time.

Also on the sideline with WAGs Laura and Michelle (owned by Robbie Stone and Dale Simpson). They were heard comparing their boyfriends manhood.

Managers Tom Brown and Neil Anderson were reunited and were having a laugh on the sideline, only to then realise that there was only 15 minutes left and the Bell Inn were still losing.

To make things harder, Joe Pattison got himself sent off. I am not sure why to be honest. He got a yellow in the first half which was barely a foul. Then a second yellow for, well, absolutely nothing.

This sprung Brown into action as he launched his ‘3 at the back formation’, despite only having ten men.

This led to new signing Marc Garrod telling Brown to f*ckoff (which he later apologised for).

With Jamie Butler now up front, he played through Dale Simpson who won a penalty with just 3 minutes left.

Farrow smashed it home to complete his hat-trick.

The Bell Inn then reverted to a safer formation and aimed to see out a draw. Apart from Simpson that is…

Last season’s top scorer picked the ball up on the half way line, held on to it for a total of 30 seconds, skipped past about 15 challenges and was finally hacked on the edge of the box.

The free kick had Farrow’s name all over it but to everyone’s surprise, Saggy stepped up and curled it into the back of the net in true Tom Brown style.

Full Time – Bell Inn 4 v 3 Earlham United.

(Josh Farrow 3, Saggy Brown 1)

PLAYER RATINGS

Robbie Stone – 7 – Made one (in his own words) ‘world class save’. Did very well considering the state he was in.

Danny Moore – 7 – Made one mistake but was his usual solid self.

Jamie Butler – 8 – Kept there ’35 goals in 5 games’ strikeforce quiet.

Marc Garrod – 4 – Swearing at the manager is not tolerated. Apology puts his rating up from a 1.

Danny Bland – 8 – Probably our best defender in this game.

Reece Ashman – 7 – Worked up and down tirelessly and unlucky people didn’t get on the end of his crosses.

Jack Tarrant – 8 – #BadPlayer but reminds me of Flamini. Crucial.

Saggy Brown – 8 – Quiet throughout but played a part in the goals and scored a brilliant winner.

Josh Farrow – 9 – MAN OF THE MATCH – Stepped up when it mattered.

Dale Simpson – 8 – One of his quieter games but like Farrow, did damage when he needed to.

Joe Pattison – 8 – Our best player in the first half.

SUB

Liam Ward – 8 – Came on at 3-2 down, won 4-3. Nuff said.

Bloody brilliant performance from everyone. That is all I have to say.

Sunday we face Premiership leaders AFC Wanderers away in the cup. This will be a real challenge and we will see how good we really are.

Kind regards

Tom ‘3 at the back wins’ Brown

 

TOP SCORERS LIST

Dale Simpson – 8

Joe Pattison – 6

Josh Farrow – 5

Adam Brown/Simon Freemantle – 3

Reece Ashman/Jesse Payne Wilkins/Will Farrow/Jamie Butler/James McCloy – 1

It’s been a while…

Firstly I would just like to apologise for the lack of blogging. I haven’t actually done one for four games. I blame alcohol and illness.

THREE WEEKS AGO

Anyway, 3 weeks ago we went to Heartsease who had won their first two games. We beat them 4-1.

Joe Pattison came off the bench to score an impressive double to add to Dale Simpson’s and Jesse Payne-Wilkins’ earlier goals.

Robbie Stone made his first appearance in goal and the 343 formation continued to work to good effect.

TWO WEEKS AGO

I didn’t actually turn up to this game due to a heavy birthday night out the night before. Nor did Adam Brown or Robbie Stone, who both woke up in my house mid afternoon, hours after the game had finished.

Despite most of the squad being hungover, 12 of them made it to the County Cup First Round game against Rose Tavern and recorded a 7-1 victory.

This included hat tricks from Joe Pattison and Dale Simpson. Reece Ashman also scored.

Neil Anderson donned the goalkeeping gloves and everyone went home happy.

ONE WEEK AGO

I’d rather not talk about this game. Neil Anderson went on holiday, took Danny Bland with him and left me on my own.

The result, a 6-2 defeat by St Faiths.

We had two sober players and one of them (Josh Farrow) was in goal due to an injury.

This didn’t help but even so, it was an embarrassing performance and word on the street was that as soon as Bean arrives home, Brown is sacked.

TODAY

On his own again, suffering from severe man flu, Brown took the team to second place Sprowston and was ready to retire from management at the early age of 27.

The Bell Inn went 2-0 down early doors so on came Pattison and Payne-Wilkins. Pattison scored a header. 2-1. Half time.

Arguments at half time over formation and other stuff occurred as usual. Brown’s 343 is starting to fall out of favour after such a successful start.

The second half saw Dale Simpson step up and save the manager’s career. A quick fire hat-trick (all top quality goals) turned the game around and Adam Brown sealed the win with a ridiculously good dinky chipped scoop (something his brother taught him to do many years ago).

So thanks Dale. Without you in my squad the last season and a bit, I would have been f*cked.

GENERAL NEWS

Very pleased to welcome Will Farrow and James Hyde back into the squad. Both were major players last season and left the management heartbroken when they quit. But they are back, hopefully for good, and are needed.

Both have bulked up and are stronger players this year. They are still pussies off the pitch though. Especially Will.

And James picked up a new nickname on Saturday – Beak.

Harsh if you ask me as my nose is probably bigger but there you go. So is Jack Tarrant’s actually. And Saggy’s.

Luke Appleton made a rare appearance today. This season Luke is only playing in the ‘big’ games and it was great to have him back. We have missed him.

Also, despite this killing me to say it, we also miss Richard Donovan.

Ok, maybe I am the only one who misses him but Richard COME THE F*CK BACK.

Same applies to Simon Freemantle. You are now banned for Mulbarton so play for us instead.

That is all for today. Well done today for the squad of 13, bloody brilliant.

Regards

Tom ‘He is a dreadful manager but I will be pleased to have Bean back’ Brown.