(After Extra Time 2-2 at 90 minutes)
Premier League Cup Round of 16
Monday 7 March 2022
Played at Loughborough University Stadium
SUFC 2021/22 Game #60
The Loughborough University Stadium, home tonight of Derby County U23s is the 229th different ground I have seen a Sheffield United XI play on. (And my 388th Ground Tick).
Monday afternoons, man. Poor day for a game. Some of the main pub & bar targets hang the "Closed Mondays" signs up. We decided to go conservative, just to make sure we made the best of our valuable time. That turned out to be;
The Organ Grinder
4 Woodgate, Loughborough LE11 2TY
Part of the Blue Monkey Brewery (Giltbrook, Nottinghamshire) chain. Nice place. Very welcoming. Seven of their own on Cask. And one guest. I was slightly amused. As they've obviously hit on & honed down some key beer recipes & developed the brands. To mine that seam, they go to the variants.
So, they've got an IPA called Infinity, and they soup that up as Infinity Plus 1. They've got a Stout called Guerrilla, and they pimp that up as Chocolate Guerilla. I went…
Blue Monkey Brewery, Infinity, IPA on Cask at 4.6%
Brewed with Citra Hops. Indeed, packed so full of Citra, it doesn't taste of Citra. That's a Hot Take. It had most of what I want in a Cask beer. Bright & refreshing. Not too sweet. Full of flavour. Gentle bittering. But a tingle on the tongue.
Blue Monkey Brewery, Infinity Plus 1, IPA on Cask at 5.6% (or … 4.6+1% … if you prefer)
While we're just doing beer by equations
Infinity > Infinity+1
Blue Monkey Brewery, BG Sips, Pale Ale on Cask at 4%
Great beer. Clear as two bells that have had windowlene on 'em. Bit of nice soap. Hint of ginger bitter.
And, just like that, our 21/22 Premier League Cup campaign comes to a halt. The best way of summing it up is - typical cup game. A valiant & battling display by the underdog, (us v a Cat 1 Academy). A more controlled & patient display by the Cat 1 Academy (them). But we went ahead 3-2 ahead 7 minutes into Extra Time. And I'm here to testify, Derby weren't fucking controlled & patient after that. They knew they had to chase it. They did chase it. Successfully. Typical Cup Game.
A large part of the blame for how the evening unfolded falls on the hunched shoulders of one of the Carrier Bag Firm Grandees. Remember this is U23 football, and not the "main league competition" either. This is a "format changes every season" Cup competition. Twenty minutes in. Twenty fucking minutes in. Twenty.
"Does this Cup go to Extra Time Phil?"
Well obviously it fucking does now you've jinxed it, mate.
Sure enough, last minute of normal time, two one down, everything bagged up, bus times checked, train times checked, Will Osula heads home a great ball from Ange Cappello to equalise.
My reaction does not show me in a good light…
"Oh what the Fuck has he done that for?"
So. You get the drift. Ding Dong cup game. Sachdev, Freckleton & Gomis as a three in front of Hiddleston. Starbuck out right. Buyabu out left. Peck, Arblaster & Brooks across the middle. Ange & Will Osula up top.
Hassan Ayari one of the benchers. Maybe a bit unfair. But, I'm going to say it. One of the players who has not continued the breakthrough he made. Even more unfair, Sydie Peck not running & dominating games like "he was". Sydie is making the step from U18 to U23. So, it's a bigger ask.
I thought Cappello was the pick of our bunch. In the second half, Theo Williams replaced Buyabu. Meaning Ange moved more to Left Wingback. Up top. Wingback. Either way, constantly driving with the ball. Providing crosses for the similarly lively Osula.
Oli Arblaster scored on 40 as we took the lead. But, The Rams equalised just on half time. And then they went ahead five minutes into half deux. Osula missed a penalty on 80. Before that last minute FFS equaliser.
Extra Time saw Will's second on 97. So, one nil up, missed a pen, last minute equaliser, three two up. I mean, as I write it down, that sounds good dunnit? But, goals on 110 & 118 brought it home for Derby. Typical Cup Game.
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I have now Blogged from 1,075 games in 2,757 days
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