Archive for February, 2026

Middlesbrough v Norwich City, Saturday 31st January 2026, 3pm

February 27, 2026

It was just Harry and I for this one as Tom cried off sick at the last-minute. Leo Castledine was missing too, maybe with sickness, maybe an injury. On the other hand, Riley McGree made a welcome return to the side. McGree made a difference. He usually does and he combined well with Hackney, creating the opportunity for the skipper to put the ball into the top corner from distance.

There were plenty of other chances, many of them created from slick passing moves. If only we had a lethal finisher to get on the end of them. There was a brief appearance from new signing Jeremy Sarmiento, who may well end up to be a Marco Branco or Gaston Ramirez type signing, who plays a big part in getting us over the line. He was popular with the crowd and his name was sung before he had even entered the pitch. I’m not too sure and my first impression was that of a ‘ten-bob Tuncay’. Time will tell.

The atmosphere kicked up a notch when news came through that both Coventry and Ipswich had fallen behind. Norwich finished strongly, but the addition of Dael Fry at the back and some focused defending sealed the win. That’s five in a row and the three points took us level with Coventry on points at the top. It seems as if the momentum is with us.

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Middlesbrough v Preston North End, Saturday 24th January 2026, 12.30pm

February 26, 2026

The early start for this one was a bit of a nuisance as I was picking Jen up at Ferrybridge Services beforehand. It was doable though, or at least it would have been if I hadn’t taken the wrong turning at the roundabout coming out and set off on the M62 towards Manchester instead. I didn’t realise my error until Saddleworth, which meant that I’d be pushed to make the Riverside in time for kick-off.

I messaged Tom and Harry to tell them to make their own way there and that I’d meet them inside. I parked up near the University just as the teams were coming out. Surprisingly, the strains of Pigbag carried that far.

As I reached the ground ten minutes in, there was a roar that signalled our first goal. I popped into the ticket office and within a minute or two had a replacement paper ticket in my hand. I was in my seat with just twelve minutes gone.

We barely got out of second gear in the remainder of the first half, but still went in at the break, three-up. Preston had a man sent off just after the restart and by the time Tommy Conway had notched his second and our fourth goal of the afternoon, it was all over with half an hour still to play.

Coming out of the ground in daylight at full-time was a novelty and the mood was good after out fourth win on the trot. The result left us in second place, three points behind Coventry and, perhaps more importantly, five points ahead of third placed Ipswich. It’s starting to all get real.

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Manchester United Women v Burnley Women, Sunday 18th January 2026, 2pm

February 21, 2026

Jen was heading off to a retreat with some of her writing friends and so I dropped her off at Hartshead Moor Services and then continued on to the Leigh Sports Village stadium. It was the venue for a women’s FA Cup fixture between Manchester United and Burnley. If I remember rightly, the stadium was used as a venue in the 2022 Women’s Euros.

It’s also a rugby league ground and there was a statue of former Leigh player John Woods outside. I’m not very knowledgeable about League but was surprised that I hadn’t heard of someone famous enough to get a statue.

Leigh Sports Village doesn’t have much of a capacity, but it didn’t need it for this fixture. I had a ticket in the main stand. Two of the stands were closed and occupied only by flags. I got a burger before kick-off and took my seat among a crowd of mainly families. A large proportion of the women were wearing those dry robes. Maybe they had just been for a wild swim.

It was a fourth-round tie with a couple of divisions separating the sides. Burnley put out a full-strength team but Man Utd took the opportunity to field a few fringe players. The gulf in ability was clear though and after the hosts took the lead in the opening minutes the outcome was never in doubt.

Burnley defended well to go in just the three goals down at the break and the eventual scoreline of five-nil was a fair reflection of the afternoon. As I felt no real need to applaud the winners at the end, I was able to get quickly out of the car park and then head back to the North-East.

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AFC Newbiggin v Durham United, Saturday 17th January 2026, 3pm

February 15, 2026

AFC Newbiggin are new to the Northern League, having made the step up from the Northern Alliance last summer. I’d not been to their Newbiggin Sports Centre ground previously and so this was an opportunity to tick off one of only two outstanding Northern League venues.

Newbiggin is just the other side of the Tyne and an easy trip through the tunnel. It is so much simpler now that you can have an account with them and don’t have to remember to pay before midnight each time.

It was five quid admission and I bought myself a programme from the kiosk on the way in. It’s an improving set up with trees planted along two sides of the ground and some new fencing around the pitch and the ground perimeter. There was a small stand. It must be expensive bringing a ground up to standard when moving up the tiers, particularly for requirements such as hard standing.

The game kicked off to a chorus of various motivational phrases such as “Start fast” and “Switch the fuck on”. It’s the sort of nonsense that made me quickly tire of playing Sunday League all those years ago. Visitors Durham United may well have switched the fuck on better than Newbiggin, taking the lead five minutes in.

The home keeper was interesting to watch. He persistently drifted from his penalty box and got involved in the play. It was as if he resented being stuck between the posts and wanted to play out. Rush goalie would have suited him fine.

There weren’t any more goals in the first half and I took the opportunity to visit the café in the library hub for a cup of proper coffee. It was only a pound thirty, which seemed a bargain when compared with the usually higher prices for a spoonful of instant.

The intensity increased after the restart and there were a few yellows. As we entered added time Durham were still holding on to their single goal lead. With seconds to go Newbiggin won a corner and their keeper went up. It was the moment he had been waiting for all match. The corner was swung in towards him and with the goal at his mercy he glanced the header just wide. So close.

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