If you haven’t been paying attention this January, it’s either been raining its arse off or the English Channel is now 20 miles larger than it was. Most of southern England is no longer there – submerged and no more than a British version of Atlantis, except with more Tesco Locals and rusting pimped-up Citroen Saxos. And this weekend, Boro’ are off to one of the newest islands to join the British Isles – the Isles of Crawley and Three Bridges.
The rain that has blighted us this month has done more than just see insurance premiums anywhere south of Croydon go through the roof. Yep, it’s caused at least two wasted match previews from us already. You can now understand why we’re curious to know whether we will be playing this weekend. We don’t want this carefully crafted prose to become another victim of the weather. This sort of thing never happened to James Joyce y’know.
But perhaps this weekend might be different. Take note of the tweet below from one of the local hacks – someone who we don’t think is related to our own Hollis. But maybe…? That is beside the point; these good vibrations coming out of the former West Sussex are backed up by the club itself. Look! They have covers for their pitch! Could we actually be seeing an actual game this time? We don’t want to jinx it, but will do the honours regardless.
In the three games we’ve met the Islanders at this level, they’ve never kept a clean sheet. A handy record to have when you’re struggling for points and goals, wouldn’t you agree? The hosts have scored the fewest number of goals in the first half out of anyone in this division; we have scored the fewest in the second half. Yep, it promises to be that exciting. Just four goals have been scored in Boro’s last three games, if you needed to clinch the deal?
Team-wise, we’re at full pelter if you take Steve Arnold out of the equation – because he is currently borked. Michael Doughty has had an extra few days to get over his injury, so will be a strong candidate to start this one. Akins and Zoko is the duo we’d have up top, so that means Darius at left back for us. And if there is any standing water on the pitch at kick off, we might have to bring on the subs nice and early. Get it? Subs? Ah forget it…
[expand title=”WE’VE MET BEFORE…”]
| 26 Oct 2013 | H | Sky Bet League One | 2-0 |
| 29 Mar 2013 | A | npower League One | 1-1 |
| 15 Dec 2012 | H | npower League One | 1-2 |
| 27 Mar 2010 | A | Blue Square Premier | 3-0 |
| 06 Mar 2010 | H | Blue Square Premier | 2-0 |
| 13 Apr 2009 | A | Blue Square Premier | 2-0 |
| 25 Aug 2008 | H | Blue Square Premier | 1-1 |
| 01 Mar 2008 | H | Blue Square Premier | 3-1 |
| 11 Aug 2007 | A | Blue Square Premier | 1-2 |
| 31 Mar 2007 | A | Conference National | 0-3 |
| 19 Aug 2006 | H | Conference National | 2-3 |
| 17 Apr 2006 | H | Nationwide Conference | 2-1 |
| 17 Dec 2005 | H | FA Trophy R3 | 0-2 |
| 29 Aug 2005 | A | Nationwide Conference | 2-1 |
| 19 Apr 2005 | A | Nationwide Conference | 2-1 |
| 21 Mar 2005 | H | Conference Cup QF | 2-1 |
| 16 Oct 2004 | H | Nationwide Conference | 1-0 |
| 17 Mar 1988 | A | Knights Floodlit League QF | 0-1 |
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[expand title=”REFEREE WATCH”]
The referee who might well find himself conducting a pitch inspection this weekend is the man commonly referred to as Iain Williamson. And when we say commonly referred to, it’s only with the belief that at some point he’s been called “that wonker in the black”. But that’s what often comes with being a referee, so enough with all the who-called-who-what – here’s the lowdown on Mr Williamson and things and that…
We’ve taken a look through the BoroGuide vaults and found just three games in which Mr Williamson has been in charge. The most notable thing, however, is that there was nearly a decade between the first two – Margate in March 2002 and Gillingham in January 2011. In total, our record with him present is the proverbial mixed bag. We’ve won one and lost one, which means we’ve also drawn one too. You see? Mixed.
This season for Iain Williamson:
Games: 16 — Yellow: 44 (2.75pg), Red: 1
Our record under Iain Williamson:
P3 W1 D1 L1 F3 A2 — Yellow: 4, Red: 0
[/expand]
[expand title=”FIFA14 VERDICT”]
Team:
Day; Jones, Ashton, Hartley, Charles; Morais, Doughty, Heslop, Freeman; Akins, Zoko
Each time we take to the PS3 these days, we seem to dominate the opposition in the first half but not score. We then go and concede a stupid goal in the second half because we’re unable to defend long punted free kicks. Not this time! After a fruitless first half, we went ahead in the second half as Lucas Akins headed home a corner on 58 minutes. And Akins wrapped up the points with a delicate finish in stoppage time. Boomsticks!
FT: Crawley Town 0-2 Stevenage (Akins 58′, 90′)
[/expand]
[expand title=”BOOKIE BASHING”]
With 72 markets, Titan Bet is giving you plenty of options to use a risk-free £10 wager they are currently offering new sign-ups. The away victory is priced at 59/20 and the stalemate is 12/5. There has been a tendency for both teams to score in this fixture, so you can get on that one at 4/6, with Over 2.5 Goals coming in at 17/20 and Goals in Both Halves yours at 8/11. Otherwise, you can explore the alternative options if you wish.
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