The Spirit of Radio

Stevenage 1 Crewe 1

First missed game of the season for me. As predicted I was too knackered and a bit too skint to afford to travel to Stevenage. I was also put off by the fact that the unofficial supporters' coach left Nantwich at 07. 15 of the a.m. and there was no way I was going to be able to make that! Was almost tempted to hop on the train, but a price approaching £70 for a return ticket dissuaded me. So it was me and trusty Radio Stoke on super-crackly Medium Wave.
To be honest, I'd forgotten what a frustrating experience it can be listening to someone else describe a game that you wish you were at. Especially when one of the commentators has a habit of shouting "Goal!" somewhat prematurely. Still, with a couple of bottles of Batemans XXXB to help me I managed to get through it.
The first half didn't sound particularly inspiring for either team, with the highlights on the commentary being the continual chuntering about the referee forcing Crewe to wear Stevenage's yellow away kit to avoid a clash and then more chuntering after the referee blew for a free-kick to Crewe as Shaun Miller was lashing the ball in to the top corner. (Watching the highlights on the Interweb later, it was clear the Stevenage keeper had heard the whistle and made no effort to save it.) Other than than there was the amusement of Graham McGarry's apparent inability to pronounce the name of Stevenage striker Yemi Odubade. Oh-dee-bayou was what he finally settled on... Of course, old Oh-dee-bayou popped up in the last minute of the half to knock in a rebound and give Stevenage the lead.
Second half sounded much better - Crewe were apparently throwing men forward and all over the Stevenage boys and one slick passing move ended with Westwood picking his spot and curling a right-footed shot into the far corner. 1-1 and all to play for. Stevenage were reduced to ten men just after the hour mark when Stacey Long received his marching orders for a second bookable offence. Then Crewe's Shaun Miller was lucky not to follow him after a rash challenge. Manager Dario Gradi subbed him straight away and the 417 travelling Crewe fans got to watch twenty plus minutes of Nick Powell demonstrating that he'll be the next star off the Crewe production line. According to the radio commentary, Stevenage players were bamboozled by his tricks and pace and resorting to fouling him. The lad even nearly opened his goalscoring account on more than one occasion too. Have since heard plenty of good, and enthusiastic, reports from people who went.
In the end though, Stevenage held on for a point and although many Crewe fans have grumbled about not being able to beat ten men, I think most people would have settled for a point away from home before the match.  Besides the last time we faced ten men away from home, we managed to throw away a 3-1 lead and lost the game 4-3...
The fact that I spent most of Saturday evening and a large part of Sunday dozing in front of the television justified my decision not to go to the game. I really would have been cream crackered if I'd gone and had a few pints too. I didn't really enjoy the radio experience though and am looking forward to being back watching it through my own eyes next weekend. Home to Bury. Think it'll be a tough one, but we shouldn't fear any team in this division. Just need to make sure we hit form, like we did against Barnet, rather than struggle like we did against Hereford.