Sheffield ‘sour grapes’ Wednesday 1:1 Forest

You know you’re on to a good day when you’re in the pub for 10:30 for a 3pm kick off. A JD Wetherspoons to start the day wasn’t the plan we had in mind to start with, but after perusing the new 2010 CAMRA Good Beer Guide we realised that pub no.1 wasn’t open until Saturday evening. D’oh. Ah well, never mind.

One each in the Red Deer, Bath Hotel & Wellington before a couple in the Crown Brewery tap, the Hillsborough Hotel, to finish off the pre-match quenching. Nice.







Like the Derby game two weeks ago, no sooner had the game started than we scored, Dexter Blackstock with the glanciest of headers unmarked six yards out. That’s what you go to away games for, that feeling of elation when a ball hits a net 120 yards away and you’re surrounded by 5,000 fellow trickies. Heaven. 1-0 should have been 2-0 within 20 minutes, but this time Dexter’s touch was too heavy and the ball skewed wide. Sheff Wed were always in the game, but their finishing was snatchy and baloony. All good words these, feel free to use any of them.

Their equaliser came from a period of sustained pressure, but for the second season running owed more to luck than judgement. Wes Morgan was a rock all afternoon, throwing himself in front of every shot, but on this occasion his touch was the telling one as Lee Camp lunged one way only for the ball to be diverted the other.

The second half was fairly even, Paul Anderson bringing a good save out of Lee Grant, but a draw was overall a fair result. It looked better on the BBC1 highlights.

Brian Laws didn’t see it that way, bemoaning Forest’s time wasting tactics. Admittedly, I remembering mentioning during the game that the Sheff Wed players did themselves credit by not rolling around on the floor as you tend to see on Match of the Day every Saturday night, but I don’t see why Forest players should be in any rush to get the ball back in play just because the opposition prefer it that way. Fair play to you.









After the game we waited for a tram, and waited, and waited ……





The Kelham Island Brewery's tap, the Fat Cat serves some nice beer, but beware the Cherry Perry, dangerously drinkable at 7%. The Kelham Island Tavern round the corner is CAMRA’s pub of the year, but I’m not sure why. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very nice, but I can name you three pubs within walking distance of my house that are better. To be fair I can name you three other pubs within walking distance of my house that I wouldn’t drink in without having my knacker in a vice.

A train home with some, ahem, Forest fans at the lower end of the evolutionary scale before a quick last one in the Vat & Fiddle.



Castle Rock beers are, on the whole, very nice. Pyramidal Orchid certainly isn’t.