When the Fan is Away, His Teams Still Play

Instead of sitting down with a cup of tea and following my weekly matches, I did a running race this past Saturday morning and missed all of my matches completely.  A part of me always feels guilty when I ignore my teams, as if my fan support will make a difference.  Of course making matters worse, the season is winding down and the matches (for Newcastle and Oxford anyway) are becoming very crucial.  Here’s what I missed and what you may have missed as well – 

FC Nurnberg vs. TSG Hoffenheim –  Der Club continued to take a relaxed cruise to the end of the season with their match against Hoffenheim.  In their first meeting this season, Hoffenheim managed a 2-0 shutout victory so I was hoping for better out of Nurnberg in this match.  They would indeed score goals but so would Hoffenheim in what would become a back-and-forth goal-fest.  

Nurnberg opened up the scoring first in the 9^th minute with Tomas Pekhart shooting a rebound from Hoffenheim’s keeper into the net.  Hoffenheim would answer back in the 22^nd basically in the same fashion with their own shot from a rebound from Nurnberg’s keeper Schafer.  It looked like the match would go into the halftime interval on even terms but Nurnberg’s leading scorer Daniel Didavi poked the ball into the net from a cross just as the 45^th minute clicked on.  

In the second half, Nurnberg increased their lead as Pekhart tallied his second goal in the 71^st minute.  Pekhart again scored off of a rebound, but this time it was from his own shot.  Javier Pinola first took shot which rebounded back of the Hoffenheim keeper, Pekhart fired that back with a left-footed shot which rebounded off the cross bar, and finally Pekhart headed that back for a goal.  It had to be a crazy sequence to see live.  Hoffenheim managed to make it 3-2 in the 88^th minute, but it (thankfully) was too little too late and Nurnberg would take the 3-2 victory.

The win continues Nurnberg’s unbeaten run which is now at 5 matches.  They also propel up from 11^th to 10^th place in the Bundesliga standings.  

Oxford United vs. Southend United – Oxford had a difficult match to get back into the promotion playoffs, having to play 5^th place Southend.  In the week prior, things also became tougher as Oxford’s backup goalkeeper – who has been playing because starting keeper Ryan Clarke has been out injured – also picked up an injury.  The Yellows were able to do an emergency loan for a goalie, a 19-year-old keeper from Middlesbrough.  I think they did the best they could with the loan on such short notice, but still it was a younger player with very little time spent with the team.  

Southend didn’t make things easy either for the young keeper.  By halftime, Southend was up 2-0 having scored in the 19^th and 31^st minute.  It wasn’t for lack of trying on Oxford’s behalf, but nothing was making it past between the posts and into the net.  They Yellows outshot Southend taking 12 shots (5 on goal) compared to their 5 shots (2 on goal).  It was those two shots though that they made count.  Unfortunately, Oxford would never catch up and they would go down losing 2-0.  

The loss keeps Oxford in 8^th place in the League Two standings and out of the promotion playoffs.  Disappointingly they now have also not won a match since March 27^th.  The season’s injuries seem to be now catching up with the team.  The time could not be worse of course as next week is the final match of the season.  Mathematically Oxford still have a chance, but it’s very slim.  Crewe Alexandra sit in 7^th place with 71 points and a goal differential of 8 goals.  Oxford currently have 68 points and a goal differential of 14 goals.  They only way that the Yellows are in the playoffs are if they win and Crewe loses.  Looking at the fixtures, Oxford play at 15^th place Port Vale whereas Crewe is hosting 11^th place Aldershot Town.  It’s really a toss-up as Oxford play away but Crewe plays the better team.  Either way Oxford need to win.  COME ON YOU YELLOWS!!!

Newcastle United vs. Wigan Athletic – Of all three matches, this result surprised me the most when returning home from my race and checking the scores.  I’ll just come right out and tell you – Newcastle lost 4-0 to Wigan, a side flirting with relegation.  

Newcastle’s normally very solid defense was out of character and actually gave up all four goals in the first half.  Two of those came back to back in the 13^th and 15^th minutes, with the third coming in the 36^th, and the fourth coming in the 2^nd minute of the first half’s stoppage time.  Newcastle were of course trying to rally back but everything was either just wide or high of the goal.  Sharpshooter of late, Papiss Cisse, even hit the bar twice in the second half but just nothing would find its way into net.  

The loss moved the Magpies back down to 5^th and allowed Tottenham back into 4^th.  Both teams have 62 points in the table but Tottenham has a greater goal differential with 20 goals versus Newcastle’s 7 goals.  Chelsea won their match on Sunday, giving them 61 points and moving them closer to Newcastle.  However, Newcastle play Chelsea in a midweek Wednesday fixture which will not only decide those two teams’ current placing in the league but will most likely also prove to be decisive in Newcastle’s push for European league action.