However upon checking the website today it was back on for 7pm. And then about ten minutes later, joy of joys, my class was postponed due to the G20 demonstations. The instructor has to come through Liverpool Street and didn't fancy it. Thanks anarchists. I don't agree with what you're doing but I appreciate you letting me go to football.
So after a very boring week and a half when not much happened other than Jimmy Salad revealed we are facing major challenges, Elton's latest strop came to an end and the FA bought some dodgy rip off football shirts and declared them as the new national kit, I was back watching the Golden Boys in action.
I couldn't think of a nicer place (other than the Vic) to watch it either. A perfect early spring evening and a great view as Marlow's ground must be the only non-league stadium to have a stand that height wise is on a par with the lower bits of the Upper Rous.The crowd was the usual odd mix at a non first team game of anoraks (of which I proudly include myself), families, WAGS, footballing professionals and old blokes on whom clubs like Marlow must survive. Tonight the old blokes were employed as both turnstile operators and occasional ball boys.
Even odder still was the presence of Peter Taylor, former England caretaker manager and Sven's No.2, who was just four rows in front of me. Okay, maybe not that odd or surprising given that he is Wycombe's manager. Even so, I couldn't help thinking that if things had turned out very different for him he might have actually been managing the national side tonight against Ukraine in front of 87,548 rather than watching a Combination match in a crowd that probably didn't number 87.
It was a young team put out by Sean Dyche and the only ones I felt I knew were Jordan Parkes, Liam Henderson and Lewis Young who looked taller than he does at the Vic and a giant compared to brother Ashley.
Estonian's Andrei Stepanov made his first start in a yellow (well actually red) shirt and did well, proving himself to be another no nonsense Mike Williamson type of player.
Sean Dyche was vocal throughout although not in the menacing kind of way that he played, but encouraging his mainly young squad all the time. He didn't seem that keen on the sideways football we played a lot of in the first half though and at one point shouted 'forward, forward, forwards'. He cut an impressive figure as a coach and I would think he'll eventually make the step up to first team management.
The only goal of the half came right at the end. To be fair our defence couldn't do much with the wicked cross that came into our box which Jordan Lumsden (great name) got his head on to sending the ball arcing over keeper Stuart Searle to put Wycombe one up.
In the second half we were much better and dominated throughout. Within 10 minutes of the restart we were level when a cross caused confusion in the Wycombe defence and Matthew Whichelow, who looked a bit Nordin Wooter-ish, forced the ball home from a couple of yards out. We had plenty of attacking possession after that and produced a few promising chances but never really had the necessary killer instinct to get what we deserved out of the match.
Peter Taylor disappeared during the second half persumably to watch the England game and think of what might have been. I managed to get back to see the second half, but it wasn't a patch on what I'd seen earlier in the evening. I'll always hate international weeks (parly because they are actually fortnights) but a bit of reserve football helped made the wait for Donny on Saturday a bit more palatable.
