Crawley 1 County 1
A point closer to promotion, but potentially another couple of points thrown away in the title race
Tuesday 19 March 2024
NEXT HOME GAME: MK Dons – Saturday 23 March, 5.15pm
NEXT AWAY GAME: Forest Green – Friday 29 March, 3pm
If you’d like to write an article for The Scarf My Father Wore, share a few snippets or photos, or advertise your business, please email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com.
Dear County fans, Stopfordians, Crawley supporters, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Tuesday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.
John K Bilsbury sent me a message from the Fingerpost Flyer after the game last night, saying his match report would be with me in the morning. He’s a top bloke, and sure enough his words were in my inbox just after I’d had my breakfast. I usually like to speak to a rival fan who’s been to the game as well. Dan Jones wasn’t at the Broadfield Stadium last night, but I enjoy hearing from him too, and I feel it would be unfair to exclude him from taking part simply because he’s decided to go to university in Leeds. So you’ve also got Dan’s thoughts on last night’s game in West Sussex, even though he was playing darts (with a County fan!) in West Yorkshire.
Our first live event of 2024 is taking place next month. ‘Flynny at the Finger’ – an evening with County legend Mike Flynn – is at The Fingerpost on Wednesday 17 April. Start time 7.30pm. Over 60% of the tickets have now been sold. If you’d like to join us, please email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com. Tickets are £10 (or £5 for paid subscribers plus anyone who’s written an article for The Scarf My Father Wore). That includes a full colour souvenir programme, and even a little bit of stand-up comedy!
Today’s edition is sponsored by Colourtone. As always, a big thank you to Paul.
Finally, I’m currently walking every street in Stockport to raise money for mental health charity Mentell. If you’d like to make a donation to help me reach my target, please click here.
Total distance so far: 136.36 miles
Total steps so far: 217,174
Total raised so far: £1,666
Total completed streets so far: 271 (Click here for the full list, which includes reports and photos from every day of the walk.)
Further information on the walk can be found by clicking here.
Des Junior
✍️ Monday’s match in one word
Dan: Nervy.
John: Frustrating.
🤔 Pre-match thoughts
Dan: The feeling around the club was good after five wins in six and I was hoping that we might be the fresher side after you'd played on the Thursday, but I was also aware that you'd be very organised with some quality players who could hurt us.
John: Apart from “Ye gods, that’s a long way on a Monday night!” you mean? I was far from confident. We haven’t really looked convincing for a while now, so I had no idea how it was going to pan out.
🧐 Post-match thoughts
Dan: We can consider ourselves very lucky to have taken a point from that. First half felt quite edgy – obviously Camps hit the post and we forced a couple of decent saves out of Hinchliffe but otherwise I didn't think there was much in it. Second half you upped your press significantly and we really struggled to live with it. You could easily have had two or three before you went ahead through some horrible set piece defending on our part (my darts doubles partner for the night who happened to be a County fan was very quick to let me know that you usually never score from corners). I think the substitutions blunted you somewhat and allowed us back into the game for the last 15, but I still think that your period of dominance probably warranted three points.
John: It feels like two points lost rather than one gained.
🔴 Verdict on Crawley
Dan: I thought for the most part we definitely looked like a side who knew that a win would take us into the play-off places. We were never really at our fluid best in terms of creating chances and for large parts of the second half we struggled to get out of our own half. For the last few games, though, we've relied on individual brilliance to get results, and Klaidi Lolos (although I thought he had a quiet match) is probably our best source of that.
John: You can see why they’re so high in the form table – they’re quick, skilful and persistent. Much easier on the eye than the anti-football we’ve seen in our last couple of games.
🔵 Verdict on County
Dan: The first 30 minutes of the second half was one of the best performances we've seen against us this season and certainly the best at our place. If you'd have kept those levels up to the end I have no doubt you'd have won the game easily and I question whether some of the tactical choices played a part in that not happening.
John: We just about had the better of things until the substitutions late in the second half, which seemed to kill our momentum and invited them onto us.
😈 Top Red Devil
Dan: Corey Addai single-handedly kept us in that match, which has been the case fairly often recently. It's really great to see someone who had often been a figure of derision here grow in confidence massively of late and prove that he can be one of the best goalkeepers at this level.
John: A toss-up between Laurence Maguire and Will Wright for me, with Wright just shading it.
🎩 Top Hatter
Dan: Rico Richards was a constant menace and I think him and Bailey going off was probably the biggest reason why we were able to get back into the game.
John: Callum Camps looked a threat and (unless my eyes deceived me from the other end of the pitch) hit the post in the first half.
👂 Atmosphere
Dan: I was sat in a pub in Leeds, so the atmosphere was mainly one of confusion that one bloke was going mad at the League Two football on the telly.
John: Crawley seemed surprised that any County fans were turning up. They were late opening the turnstiles and the refreshment bar nearest the seats was firmly shut. I was in our small seated area in a glorified gazebo with very few home fans close to us so it was pretty quiet. Our contingent behind the goal made a good noise in support of the team, although I’m not sure how inspiring “Arthur Brownlow” and “Nobby” are for those on the pitch. Still, I’ve never started a chant so not really my place to criticise. The home fans behind the goal weren’t too noisy until the equaliser.
🙏 Hopes for the rest of the season
Dan: That result leaves us one point off the play-offs with two games in hand, so on paper things are looking pretty optimistic. Those games are very tricky ones against Wrexham and Barrow though, and we have an already thin squad that's been hit by key injuries and international call-ups. I wouldn't be putting money on us making the top seven but the fact that we're in the conversation at this stage of the season is a brilliant achievement in itself.
John: I don’t see us catching Mansfield now so I’m clinging to the hope that we can keep the pack at bay and finish second or third. Getting some first choice players back will help but may come too late to influence things enough.
😀 Best part of the day
Dan: Played a fairly nifty leg of darts (by my standards at least).
John: I’m always happy when I get a pair of seats to myself on the Flyer, so I can set my stall out properly, and it’s tempting to go for that. We were there for the football, however, so I’m going to say our goal was the highlight.
😡 Worst part of the day
Dan: Had to have a blood test done at 8am. Not the ideal start to a day.
John: The equalising goal was a kick in the teeth when it looked as though we’d done enough to win.
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 1-1 draw at Crawley Town on Monday 18 March 2024, as told from his County-related WhatsApp groups…
8.33pm: Pretty pleased with that half overall. Ebbed and flowed a bit but we played some good stuff at times. Final ball letting us down, need to create more, a draw won’t do tonight I don’t think. But we are being positive. I like that.
9.04pm: 1-0! Sarcevic header.
9.06pm: Completely unmarked at the back post.
9.26pm: Poor, poor goal to concede.
9.30pm: Not just Touray's high clearance at fault – we've got to do better with the loose ball instead of letting it bounce and failing to get another touch before it ends in the net.
9.38pm: Another game tossed away.
9.40pm: Two hard away games in five days. Need a win on Saturday though.
5 questions with Paul from Colourtone
What was the funniest moment with your business in February?
A customer wanted a freebie, so we sent him a box full of stupid things!
What’s your plans for the business this month?
To keep busy as we always are, especially from March onwards.
What would you like to promote to our readers in March?
Now’s a good time to get your car looking great again. Get in touch with us for a touch-up or a polish.
As it’s Easter at the end of this month, what’s your favourite chocolate?
Cadbury’s Buttons egg. Still love them from being a kid.
Have you booked your summer holiday yet?
Yes, going to Paxos in Greece for the millionth time as I absolutely adore the place.
Visit colourtone.com for further details.
Photo of the day
Broadfield Stadium, Crawley
Super Harry Bruckshaw gets a photo with Super Odin Bailey after last night’s game in West Sussex.
Today in SK
🎬 Cinema
One film at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) tonight. The Zone of Interest (12A) at 8.15pm. Click here for tickets.
🍺 Food and drink
The Nelson Tavern (SK1) have a great range of offers throughout the week, including £4.50 for drinks off the Doubles Bar, a comprehensive range of shots for £2, and 3 for £6 on Jägerbombs.
If you’re in Stockport tonight, pop into The Petersgate Tap (SK1) for a couple of pints.
There’s a new craft stout at The Dog & Partridge (SK2) this month. Euphoria is a 4.5% ABV dark, easy drinking kegged stout with a subtle punch of coffee, chocolate and a deep, rich malt flavour.
Fish Meal Deal at The Friary (SK3). Lite bite fish and chips with peas, curry or gravy. Plus tea or coffee. £9.75. Open till 7.30pm.
Random County fan of the day #75 – Adam Warwick!
One final thing before you go… if you’re in need of any of these products or services this month, get in touch with our brilliant bunch of sponsors!
🎨 Art & Gifts: Kate O’Brien Art
🪟 Blinds & Shutters: Bauhaus Blinds & Shutters
📚 Bookkeeping: Eleven Accounts Services Ltd
🧱 Builders Merchant: MKM Manchester South
🍰 Cake Maker: Claire Green Bespoke Cakes and Catering
🧽 Car Valeting: Rub A Dubz Detailing Ltd
🏠 Carpets & Flooring: Kingsway Carpets & Rugs Ltd
🐈⬛ Cat Sitting: The Crazy Cat Ladies Cheshire
👶 Child Health: The Sleep Nanny
🤹♀️ Children’s Entertainment: Stockport Hero Hire
🧹 Cleaning: Beespoke Cleaning
🚙 Coatings: Colourtone Ltd
🗣 Counselling: Time and Space Counselling
🦮 Dog Training: Paws High Peak Dog Training
🚘 Driving School: CFN School of Motoring
💷 Financial Services: The Mortgage Mill
🔥 Fire Protection: Radial Fire And Security Limited
🍸 Gin: Hatters Gin
🛁 Grout Refresh & Recolour: GroutGleam Stockport
💇♀️ Hairdressing: C West Hairstylist
🛠 Home Improvements: Menzies Develop & Build
💻 IT Services: Bridge Computer Services
🪚 Joinery: SAW Contracts Ltd
👨🍳 Kitchen Appliances: SW Appliances
🔑 Locksmith: APL Locksmiths Ltd
🚐 Minibus Hire: Westfield Minibuses
🧤 Oven Cleaning: That Oven Girl
🖌 Painter & Decorator: BGM Decorators
🎈 Party Supplies: Step Into Fun Events
🚑 Personal Injury: Parkers Solicitors Ltd
📸 Photography: Holly Dwyer Photography
🎹 Piano Tutor: Sophie Grace Piano and Keyboard Tuition
🚰 Plumber: GTG Gary the Gasman
🦶 Podiatry: SK Podiatry
📕 Publishing: Victor Publishing
🛖 Roofing: ADM Roofing Services Ltd
☀️ Solar Panels: Malbern Solar Ltd
👨💼 Solicitors: B.J. McKenna & Co
⚽️ Sports Coaching: UK Sports Coaching Ltd
🪨 Stonemason: LM Stone Creative
🖊 Tattooist: Heatons Tattoo Club
🪵 Timber Supplies: Portwood Timber Division of Illingworth Ingham (Manchester) Ltd
☀️ Travel Agent: PTF Travel Ltd
👨💻 Web Design: SITEZO
⚖️ Weight Loss: Slimming World Reddish & Bredbury with Shlean
🪟 Window Cleaner: R ‘N’ B Window Cleaning
🏋️♀️ Women’s Fitness: Sophie Pavey Fitness
🧘♀️ Yoga: Greenshoots Yoga