Sunday 4 June 2023
NEXT HOME GAME: Huddersfield - Saturday 22 July, 3pm
NEXT AWAY GAME: Lincoln (in Spain!) - Friday 7 July, 12pm
Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and anyone else joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Sunday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.
Today, Sarah McKibbin and Dave Philbin look back at the play-off final for us. (I’ve put this off for a week but we do have to reflect on Wembley I’m afraid.)
Finally, a big thank you to Lucinda and all the team at Portwood Timber for sponsoring today’s edition.
Des Junior
Sunday’s match in one word:
Sarah - Tense.
Dave - Devastating.
Pre-match thoughts:
Sarah - It’s been a long time in League Two for us and last season we nearly got relegated, so to simply reach the final was amazing for us all. Obviously we wanted the win, and knew we were more than capable of doing it. The build-up to the final was great with County fans being extremely friendly and positive. It’s been a very bizarre experience I’ve never personally had before in football. We’ve all had respect and mostly been nice to each other. So pre-match, I suppose there was anxiety because we’d come so far we just wanted it so badly, but if we were going to lose we’d have taken it on the chin more given it was against County. We were also knackered having been up since 3am for the journey!
Dave - I thought we’d do it. Given we had our best players out on the pitch in the second half of the semi-final, I thought we’d be all guns blazing and get the job done. Barclay was a miss for Carlisle and I’d hoped they’d struggle with having to put someone else in there.
Post-match thoughts:
Sarah - Much the same as before the match. County were classy and gracious which made it nicer for everyone, even down to your social media congratulating us. It could have gone either way right until the end which made it a great match to watch. Both sets of fans did their teams proud and were as noisy as could be given how few of us were able to travel down to London for many factors.
Dave - A missed opportunity. At 1-0 up we were coasting and if Wright had scored that header we’d be a League One club now. Not putting the blame on him mind, the last 10 minutes really weren’t good enough. As soon as Knoyle cleared it off the line, I knew they were going to equalise. Thought the subs weren’t the best to make at the time, but have since learned that some players didn’t even train in the build-up so now they make more sense. Carlisle showed what they have lots of times this season in fighting to the end. Their subs won them the game, and I think the right team won on the day.
Verdict on Carlisle:
Sarah - Sometimes we can worry which Carlisle will turn up on the day but they really turned up on Sunday, especially after such a long journey for the fans. That’s all we could have asked for. They did us proud.
Dave - They were very good. Soaked up pressure when they had to and got forward whenever they could. Once we went to extra time I fully expected them to win it in that 30 minutes. After they equalised the rest of the game is a bit of a blur to be honest – my brain has chosen to forget.
Verdict on County:
Sarah - They played well. Fully went for it, and had more overall shots than we did so they weren’t just sitting back. I think they’re a great team and I’ll be rooting for them next season for automatic promotion.
Dave - Started well enough, and played well for much of the game. Tanto is really showing why he was brought in now. I thought before the game the pitch would suit us in the way we play and I think it did for large parts. The story of our season has been switching off too early and we did it again. Special mention for Hinchliffe who’s ageing like a fine wine; that save in extra time was unbelievable.
Top Cumbrian:
Sarah - The 6ft 9in Czech wall, Tomas Holy. Being a goalkeeper is often a thankless job but he had one of his best games for us. He was absolutely incredible, especially during the penalties. I had no doubts about his capabilities if it did go to penalties as he’s so meticulous as a person anyway.
Dave - Moxon. He was good at their place and even better at Wembley.
Top Hatter:
Sarah - Olaofe.
Dave - Sarcevic. He’s a big game player isn’t he? Arguably one of his best games in a County shirt.
Atmosphere:
Sarah - The atmosphere was electric. I went to a lot of Carlisle games last season and the turnaround in atmosphere has been crazy. Last season we were disheartened week after week with low numbers (although still decent given the circumstances) so to feel the buzz in the air from Carlisle fans is indescribable. When you’ve been through the bad times with the club, you appreciate these moments so much more.
Dave - Crap! We were behind the goal to the left and the drum was miles away. We gave it our best effort as did everyone around us but the songs just weren’t carrying. Wembley is a great occasion for players and fans, but I feel the atmosphere would be better at grounds we could sell out.
Hopes for next season:
Sarah - Don’t get relegated! I hope there is more money put into the club, so we can hold on to some of our key players such as Dennis and Feeney. But if not I (along with others) wish them the best and know Simmo will have great things planned for the club. I think hope is the key word when it comes to Carlisle now Simmo is back. He gives us hope we haven’t felt in a long time, and with him anything is possible.
Dave - It has to be promotion. We’ve got the spine of an excellent team now and we won’t need to sign as many players as we did last year. We’ve improved every season for the last nine years, and if we do that next season then we’re going up. I do think League Two is a tougher proposition than League One would have been. Not saying we’d have gone up, that wouldn’t have been the aim, but it would have been easier to hit targets there than in a much stronger League Two.
The British Library receives a copy of every single book published in the UK. In the same fashion, Des Junior believes a detailed record of every County game should be preserved for the history books. So here’s the full story of our play-off final defeat against Carlisle United at Wembley on Sunday 28 May 2023, as told from his three County-related WhatsApp groups…
1.03pm: This should have been played at Old Trafford or anywhere north of Watford Gap.
1.16pm: Just as well there's some banging tunes otherwise we'd all be sat here in silence...
1.25pm: You can’t beat the experience of paying a shitload for a ton of overpriced drinks then getting back to your seat only for your youngest daughter to tell you that the drink she said she liked a week ago she no longer likes, meaning you have to queue up again and miss the players come out. The Wembley experience.
2.05pm: Get the fuck in!!!
2.33pm: Happy overall with that. We've been the better team despite them having more of the clear chances. Come on County!
2.48pm: I hope we don’t regret Wright’s miss. Looked easier to score.
3.14pm: Bollocks. 1-1. Challinor’s fucked this up I think.
4.02pm: How did Ben save that? Incredible.
4.24pm: We just weren't good enough today.
4.25pm: Feel bad for Rydel.
4.26pm: Let’s go and win this bastard league next year!
8.06pm: Ultimately a slow start in the first two months of the season, and Wootton missing the last two months, has cost us automatic promotion.
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Today in SK
☕️ Food and drink ☕️
It’s been an incredible week at Bask (SK1) with their first birthday celebrations, and it’s wrapped up this afternoon with Mrs Boon’s Bottomless Brunch. Sandwiches, cakes and bottomless drinks, with chilled out house music from Chateaux. 12pm - 1.30pm. Tickets £35.
Simply Sunday at TRUNK (SK7) including face painting and colouring competitions.
😆 Live comedy 😆
The Heatons Comedy Evening (SK4) have a fantastic line-up at Heatons Sports Club tonight. MC Mick Ferry introduces football author Eddy Brimson (who we spoke to the other day) and Live At The Apollo star Ignacio Lopez. 7.45pm. Tickets £12.
Photo of the day
Burnley Leisure Centre
The locals enjoy a swim after Burnley Council open their new £10m leisure centre in the town.
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