Town’s away-day train keeps Blues firmly on those cup rails. We’re steamin’
Thu 26 Aug 10 by Alf
The resurrection of Town’s fortunes continued with a hard-fought win against a spirited Crewe outfit.
In truth Town weren’t at their best, but hey this was their 7th consecutive away game in Cup competitions, so let’s not be too picky.
So while the boys find themselves in the dizzy heights of round three, Alf’s scratching round his shed for an altitude meter and oxygen.
Once again the ‘luxury’ of extra time was needed and once again it was a goal from David Norris which broke the deadlock.
Alf took the scenic route to the railway junction capital of the world, stopping off at Alton Towers. But not long after downing a pint of Legend in the British Lion pub, he was soon regretting that extra ride on Oblivion.
Taking his seat alongside the 500 or so fellow travellers, Alf counted the ‘Scotland’ shirts and waited for the arrival Trinidad & Tobago’s latest export.
The man received a rapturous reception, but Alf guessed that he must have plumped for the XL shirt from the club shop.
Not running on a full tank, after a pre-season in the shadows at Wigan FC, Alf will have to wait a few games before he can judge the complete Jason Scotland package.
On paper, his record in the Championship is impressive – 45 goals in 90 appearances at Swansea. Alf witnessed the man demolish Town at The Liberty, so fingers crossed the man who took Scotland to this season’s World Cup will do the business for the Blues.
He even has his own song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pozydns5W8
Like Bovril and jumpers for goals, Crewe are amongst the righteous on Planet Football. Once again under the watchful eye of the old maestro Dario Gradi MBE, they are breeding a more than tidy side and Town had to ride their luck.
With Donaldson a handful upfront and with spirited approach play, The Railwayman proved a more than stern test for Town’s outfit
But with Brian Murphy reminding Alf that he is more than a useful deputy, with a string of fines saves and the much-maligned Tamás Priskin, (with one eye on the bench) putting in a creditable shift, Town managed to scrape over the line.
Maybe this was one game too many for Master Luke Hyam, who has taken to life in the first XI like the proverbial duck.
Once again Keane adopted the so-far so lucrative 4-1-4-1 formation with the versatile O’Connor replacing the suspended Townsend.
But come the second-half, with Town failing to break through the physical aspect of Crewe, Cork-man replaced Hyam with Scotland and went 4-4-2.
The much-heralded debutant had a decent first outing, but without getting many balls to feet and short on match sharpness was hardly likely to go pulling up trees.
This term one player to crawl from the wreckage of last season and show Alf his true colours has been Grant Leadbitter. Always wanting the ball, always available, the former Sunderland lad is proving a key cog in the Town engine.
With Town once again racking up the bookings, take out a Norris or a Leadbitter from the machine to serve a suspension could prove an Achilles heel.
With the wage bill trimmed further with the sad departure of Jon Stead, reinforcements are still needed to provide back-up.
The game was eventually won when the home side failed to clear their lines at a corner and ‘Chuck’ Norris dispatched his fourth goal of the campaign.
Town were never in the top gear against slightly unlucky opposition, but winnings a good habit and with their fourth away win under their belts, Alf’s not caring.
