English CC League Midweek

[anothamug]

Hull v Ipswich sees a good home side against a side with a good win at the weekend in a crucial relegation match. Sheff Wed and Plymouth are two sides who seem set for a mid-table finish and interest and motivation are low. Norwich v Derby could be the pick of the championship, both sides have hit scoring form with eight goals between them at the weekend, back on it continuing with the over 2.0 goals at 2.1 Stan James, 10 per cent stakes.
Into League One Blackpool would have been huge value at 1.8 at home to Bournmouth, but the away side have shown a big improvement in recent weeks and the value looks better elsewhere. Doncaster look overpriced at Forest until you consider the horrendous injury list, Forest for their part are as always over-priced at home and this is also one to swerve. The League one bet of the day is Port Vale at home to Cheltenham, 1.83 general. Port Vale have played their way out of trouble in recent weeks and impressed in a 4-2 win over Yeovil at the weekend. They certainly know where the back of the net is while Cheltenham with 13 goals have the lowest away tally in the league. The verdict 30 per cent home win.
League two meanwhile features the loss of Shrewsbury v Wrexham, victim of the weather and Shrewsbury's scarily closeness to the riverbanks, not the best feature of planning ever. In the games that do go ahead Mansfield entertain Chester, Chester have drew their last two, while Mansfield have taken a massive seven points of nine against playoff hopefuls Lincoln, Wycombe and Milton Keynes Dons. Though with just two points between them and Chester's two recent draws this is one to swerve.
The value bet of the day in this and any league, and with a 40 per cent stake on the win/40 per cent stake on the draw, is the double chance on Bristol Rovers at Accrington. The Bristol side are on a high after a local derby success in the Paint Trophy while Accrington are sliding ever closer to the trapdoor of non-league football. Accrington are coming of the back of a performance their manager called the worst in his eight years in charge. Bet365 go 2.8 the away win, 3.2 the draw.

[rockshark]

two bets look good tonight in terms of value and recent form.

Bournemouth away to black pool looks a great value bet im on them at 4.55 which is overpriced and with loan saint mcgoldrick have a real goal threat.

Plymouth away to a frankly rubbish shef w side is another good bet.

port vale may not win tonight and have my doubts about derby away think they will settle for a point.

[GETT1NLOTS]

I fancy Forest very strongly tonight. The team news looks about neutral to me with both sides missing a couple of players although Forest should handle their ommissions better having the deeper squad in terms of numbers and quality.

Doncaster have failed to get any points away from home against the top 11 sides in the division with their best result being a draw at 12th placed side Millwall and a win against 13th placed side Port Vale. Their recent form away from home shows little promise after suffering three straight defeats.

Forest face tricky away games at Scunthorpe and Bristol City soon so their home games really are 'must win' affairs. I expect maximum effort from Forest tonight and confidently expect a home win.

Forest @ 1.71 (Betfair) - 7 point win

[Burt Saddo]

I have Forest as my evening's banker bet, I have looked at the 3 championship matches being played tonight and I really fancy all 3 to be draws so I am going to have them as 3 doubles and an accy.

[Burt Saddo]

I fcuking give up.

[thehandicapman]

Annoyingly didnt follow up any of my fancies and Blackpool, Donny and Bristol Rovers all did the business.

Gone with City for the game tonight though for the reasons given earlier

Bristol City to beat Chesterfield 2.38 with betfair

THM

[GETT1NLOTS]

Originally Posted by Burt Saddo

I fcuking give up.

Me too mate. A years profit down the drain tonight on those cunts. Absolutely nothing wrong with my reasoning apart from my staking plan being shit. I still give up.

[kompressaur]

Preston North End 3 - 1 Southampton
Preston North End snatched an important 3-1 win against Southampton at a very blustery Deepdale in front of the cameras and a crowd of 13,065.
Two goals in six second-half minutes won the game for Preston after the visiting Saints had produced a great battling performance.Gareth Bale had a chance after only three minutes but his 25-yard shot went well wide and a minute later Preston keeper Andy Lonergan saved Djamel Belmadi's 20-yard right-foot effort with his legs.

At the other end Neil Mellor brought a fifth-minute save out of Southampton keeper Kelvin Davis.

Belmadi forced another save out of Lonergan after 22 minutes and John Viafara shot narrowly wide of the keeper's left-hand post.

After Pavel Pergl fouled Andrew Surman, the resulting 20-yard free-kick was fired wide by Bale.Callum Davidson was booked for a foul on Viafara and Lonergan made another great save from Surman two minutes before the interval.

Preston made it 1-0 on the stroke of half-time. After a scramble in the Southampton penalty area, David Nugent won a header and forced the ball back to Mellor who scrambled the ball right-footed into the keeper's bottom right-hand corner of the net on his first start for the club.Chris Sedgwick had a bullet header from 12 yards which went wide before Southampton equalised in the 57th minute after Bale's left-wing cross had been only half-cleared by Sean St Ledger.Jermaine Wright's follow-up shot was saved before Grzegorz Rasiak headed home from five yards out, in off the bar for his 20th goal of the season.

Belmadi had another shot saved before substitute Patrick Agyemang came on for Mellor.

Preston made it 2-1 in the 75th minute when Nugent played a one-two with Agyemang before flicking a right-foot shot into the back of the net for his 15th goal of the season.

With nine minutes left Sedgwick's cross from the left hit Davis and rebounded into the back of the net off the unfortunate Chris Baird for an own goal.

Hull City 2 - 5 Ipswich Town
Francis Jeffers, on loan from Blackburn Rovers, started a goal riot that left Hull City deep in relegation trouble.
City manager Phil Brown urgently needs to sort out his shattered back four before Saturday's crucial home game against Preston.

But Ipswich, in contrast, now seem comfortably clear of relegation trouble.

There was no sign for most of the first half that Hull would slump to their tenth home defeat of the season and their biggest defeat so far at the KC Stadium.

With veteran Dean Windass providing plenty of class and Nicky Forster's non-stop running, Hull looked the more likely winners.

They were rewarded for incessant pressure midway through the half when Stuart Elliott headed Sam Ricketts' free-kick against the bar for Windass to prod the rebound home.

But Ipswich quickly equalised as Hull centre-back Damien Delaney failed to cover a long ball out of defence and was then completely perplexed by the close control of Jeffers, who slid his shot beneath Boaz Myhill.

It was the start of what became a nightmare for Delaney and his centre-back partner Danny Coles.

Just before half-time Gary Roberts took advantage of Coles' inability to clear and slid a square pass to the other side of the area where Jaime Peters' shot took a deflection off Ricketts and left Myhill stranded.

Hull returned to attack and Windass volleyed just over the top.

It turned out to be their last real chance of reward as Ipswich dominated the second half with Alan Lee soon scoring the third, racing 40 yards after Jeffers found him with a through ball.

Just after the hour Coles tried to head a free-kick from Owen Garvan back to Myhill but placed the ball wide of the goalkeeper, gifting Jason De Vos the simplest of openings.

Myhill then made an amazing one-handed save to deny Garvan.

Hull desperately tried to claw their way back from an impossible position and were repeatedly caught on the break by Ipswich's speedy raiders.

Sub Danny Haynes sped away to hammer the fifth before Windass casually converted a penalty awarded against Garvan.

Ipswich outplayed Hull in midfield during the one-sided second half with Garvan and Sylvain Legwinski always prominent.

Sheffield Wednesday 1 - 1 Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle boss Ian Holloway was fuming as Sheffield Wednesday stung the FA Cup quarter-finalists with a strange goal and a little help from referee Rob Lewis.
Lewis was the linesman who failed to spot Pedro Mendes' 'goal' at Old Trafford in 2005, when the then Spurs midfielder's long-range strike was two feet over the line before Roy Carroll scooped it away..

Lewis looked on in the 20th minute as Chris Brunt crossed, keeper Luke McCormick jumped to collect but dropped the ball as he was challenged by Deon Burton and, as the Plymouth players waited for the whistle, Steve MacLean almost apologetically stabbed the ball over the line.

Plymouth, who face Watford in their cup clash on Sunday, showed eight changes from the side which drew with Stoke on Saturday.

And they were in trouble after three minutes when Jermaine Johnson found space on the right flank as whipped the ball across the face of goal. MacLean, in for the suspended Marcus Tudgay, slammed in a low strike which was cleared off the line by Paul Connolly.

Plymouth, still harbouring hopes of a top-six finish, were foiled by Wednesday's on-loan keeper Iain Turner, who produced a spectacular stop to turn striker Bojan Djordjic's deceptive shot on the turn around the post.

Dangerman Johnson drilled a long-range strike from 25 yards over before the Hillsborough side snatched the lead in bizarre fashion.

Brunt pumped over a hopeful cross from the left flank, keeper McCormick jumped to collect but lost his footing and dropped the ball as he fell over Burton. Referee Lewis allowed play to continue as MacLean stabbed it over the line.

Plymouth were almost level in the 35th minute as David Norris' corner evaded the Wednesday defence and centre-back Hasney Aljofree thumped a fierce header against the crossbar.

Brunt was foiled by the Plymouth keeper minutes before the interval when his vicious in-swinging corner was plucked from under the bar by McCormick, before Johnson saw his deflected strike flash inches over the top.

Plymouth were level in then 56th minute when the hard-working Dan Gosling rifled in a right-foot shot from 16 yards after neat work by striker Rory Fallon.

Defender Richard Wood, back in the side after being sidelined through injury for 12 months, should have put the Sheffield side ahead again when he beat the offside trap but the big centre-back blasted the ball high over the target.

MacLean, battling to keep his place in the side, went close minutes later with a stinging shot from 25 yards but the ball flashed inches wide of the far post with McCormick scrambling across his line.

Norwich City 1 - 2 Derby County
Norwich City were ram-raided by a Derby County side who grabbed the points and then left early to catch a plane.
The Rams had David Jones to thank for two superbly-taken goals which took his tally to five for the season.

But Norwich were not helped by two controversial refereeing decisions. Darren Huckerby went down towards the end of the first half when Marc Edworthy clipped his heels but no penalty was awarded.

In the second half, Chris Martin saw his second effort ruled out by a dubious offside decision.

The first half was played in a competitive but sporting fashion. Unfortunately the second half turned out to be less so.

The visitors kicked off attacking the River End goal, but had their keeper to thank in the early stages when he stopped three shots in the first six minutes.Stephen Bywater saved shots from Dickson Etuhu, Lee Croft and Mark Fotheringham.

In the 12th minute, Andy Hughes saw his goalbound effort blocked by a defender.Giles Barnes had a shot saved by Tony Warner, while at the other end Darren Moore did well to halt Huckerby's run into the penalty area with a well-timed tackle.Craig Fagan's shot was saved by Warner before Youssef Safri curled a free-kick just wide.

Edworthy then marked his return to Carrow Road with a crude challenge on Martin which brought the first yellow card of the game.

Huckerby went down in the Derby penalty area when Edworthy tapped his ankle but referee Lee Probert awarded a goal kick.Arturo Lupoli brought a good save from Warner before Norwich took the lead. Martin's low right-foot shot from 18 yards beat Bywater's despairing dive to his right.Gary Teale made a significant difference to the game when he replaced Fagan just before the hour.

Jones brought Derby level with a 25-yard left-foot drive which beat Warner low to his right.

Martin then appeared to have put the Canaries back in front, but the celebrations were cut short by a late offside flag.

The decision seemed to lift Norwich, but it was the visitors who scored next to grab all three points.

Teale's left-wing cross was laid off by Barnes to Jones who gave Warner no chance with a fierce left-foot shot from 12 yards that beat the on-loan Fulham to his right.Dion Dublin came on for Etuhu and brought an acrobatic save from Bywater with a blistering drive and the Rams held on for the points which took them back to the top of the Championship

[kompressaur]

Nottingham Forest 0 - 1 Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster put another dent in Nottingham Forest's promotion hopes - and fuelled their own dreams of reaching the play-offs - as they claimed a deserved 1-0 success.Brian Stock rifled home a 44th minute thunderbolt from 35 yards to earn Rovers a deserved win, after Forest failed to reproduce their recent form.
Colin Calderwood's side were booed off the pitch by their own fans, after failing to add to their back to back wins over Chesterfield and Huddersfield.

After scoring five goals on Saturday, Forest were limited to a handful of chances by well organised opposition who attacked dangerously on the break.James Coppinger came close to powering the visitors into the lead with a curling free-kick that brought the best from Paul Smith, who did well to hold on to the powerfully struck shot as it arrowed under his bar.

Forest were furious at being denied a fairly blatant penalty moments later, as a Kris Commons ball into the box sent Junior Agogo charging forward, only for the striker to be felled by a clumsy challenge from Adam Lockwood.

Referee Taylor was not convinced however, allowing play to continue - and Doncaster to forge an attack that almost lead to them taking the advantage.

Coppinger was a key figure again as he crossed from the right for Mark McCammon, who dived in bravely to connect with a header, but saw Wes Morgan make an equally determined block.

Morgan had to defend well again, to throw his body into the path of a Sean Thornton shot, while Mark Wilson fired a half chance wide of the post, as Doncaster grew in confidence.

The game was delayed for several minutes as Doncaster were forced into a change, with McCammon picking up a shoulder injury in an aerial challenge with Julian Bennett.

It did not halt Doncaster's momentum however as they powered their way into the lead in spectacular fashion, with Stock striking a breath-taking 35-yard drive out of nothing, which simply flew into the top corner as Smith looked on helpless.

It took until the 66th minute for Forest to truly threaten, with Commons forcing a fine save from veteran keeper Neil Sullivan, who reacted superbly to palm a low, powerful effort around the upright.

Two minutes later and Forest really should have scored, only for Agogo to fire badly over from a knock-down from substitute Nathan Tyson.

Smith had to produce a smart reaction save to deny Bruce Dyer as he pounced on an under-hit John Curtis back pass.

Meanwhile Forest never really forced the kind of pressure that suggested an equaliser could be on the horizon.

Blackpool 2 - 0 Bournemouth
Blackpool got their play-off bid back on track with a comfortable 2-0 victory over a disappointing Bournemouth outfit.
Blackpool set their stall out as early as the first minute when Adrian Forbes cut his way through a static defence, only to see his 12-yard shot hit the inside of a post and bounce to safety.

The Seasiders kept up the pressure and Cherries keeper Neil Moss did well to hold on to a Simon Gillett drive and then Moss saved bravely at the feet of Ben Burgess, before scrambling a Shaun Barker header off his goal-line.

Bournemouth finally cracked in the 35th minute. A long and patient build-up by Blackpool saw them string together a dozen passes, before Burgess' final touch set Forbes free and the right winger, who had his best game since joining the Seasiders, made no mistake from 15 yards out.

It took Bournemouth 41 minutes before they finally won a corner but that was cleared with ease by the Blackpool defence in which Ian Evatt was outstanding alongside Latvian Kaspars Gorkss, who was taken off the bench just before the kick-off after Michael Jackson was taken ill during the pre-match warm-up.

Bournemouth rallied a little in the second half but most of their best moves broke down on the edge of the Blackpool box.

In the 50th minute Blackpool consolidated their lead. Again some good build-up work allowed David Fox room down the right and his inch-perfect cross was volleyed home by Burgess at the far post.

In the 60th minute the Cherries finally got a shot on target when Paul Rachubka was forced into a low save by Marc Wilson's free-kick.James Hayter, who came on as a half-time substitute for Bournemouth, tested Rachubka in the 75th minute with a long distance effort, but Blackpool got their act together and finished in style creating chances and dominating midfield.

Port Vale 1 - 1 Cheltenham Town
Port Vale's home form has been impressive of late with notable scalps against Yeovil and Oldham.
However, visiting Cheltenham proved tough opposition as they continue to fight for their League One status.

The home side seemed keen to take an early lead when some poor defending gifted Danny Whitaker the ball on the edge of the box, but his shot was straight down the throat of the goalkeeper.

The Valiants flirted with danger just before the half hour when loose marking by George Pilkington allowed Kayode Odejayi to shoot from 12 yards, but the underside of the crossbar kept the scores level.

The deadlock was finally broken three minutes before the break when Jason Talbot won back possession in his own half to supply Leon Constantine with a pass inside to kick start a Vale counter attack.

The Robins defence was stretched to breaking point when Constantine's pass out to the flank found Malvin Kamara arriving, who smashed a low shot on to Shane Higgs' right post and into the net.

Cheltenham almost levelled four minutes after the restart when Odejayi was presented with another shooting opportunity inside the box, but Joe Anyon got down well to palm the ball away.

Anyon was put to the test by the visiting striker once again when he attempted a long-range curling effort, but the young goalkeeper dealt with the threat competently once more.

Martin Foyle's men pushed on for a second in the 62nd minute when the ball bounced kindly for Kamara on the edge of the box, only for the winger to fire the half-volley inches wide.Craig Armstrong's 70th minute long throw proved to be a catalyst the visitors needed with Vale's defence failing to clear it, helping Michael Townsend to volley the ball into the roof of the net from four yards.

The home fans were forced to the edge of their seats in the dying minutes when substitute Steven Gillespie broke down the left to squeeze a shot in at the by-line, but a sigh of relief was breathed as Anyon saved.

Mansfield Town 2 - 1 Chester City
The sunshine of Barbados moved one step closer for the Stags as their slim promotion hopes - and the prize of a free holiday to the Caribbean if they reach the play-offs - were kept alive by a late winner.
New chairman James Derry had offered the holiday incentive just before kick-off in a bid to inspire Mansfield to extend their three-match unbeaten run.

But it was Chester who looked inspired as they grabbed an early lead through debutant Brad Maylett and went in search of their first win in four games to keep alive their own outside hopes of reaching the play-offs.

But Mansfield came storming back to stretch their unbeaten run to four games and move to within nine points of a play-off place - condemning Chester to only their second defeat in eight away games.

Mansfield central defender Alex Baptiste was the unlikely hero, heading in a corner eight minutes from time following Simon Brown's first-half equaliser.

Former Stags' favourite David Artell was ruled out of a return to his old club through a head wound, but Maylett, on loan from Boston, did make his full debut for Chester - and made an immediate impact with the opening goal.

A defensive error and a fine finish handed the visitors a ninth minute lead. The recalled Jon Olav Hjelde looked uncertain as he tried to shepherd the ball back to his keeper, and his eventual clearance fell kindly for Maylett to hammer first time into an empty net from an acute angle.

Chester looked dangerous on the break and Maylett should have struck again in the 12th minute when he raced clear onto a long goal kick, but his final tame shot was easily saved by Jason White.

Mansfield dominated possession though and threatened an equaliser through Brown, Barry Colon and Nathan Arnold, before Brown finally raced on to Conlon's perfect pass over the defence, raced clear and finished calmly to level in the 27th minute.

The home side might have taken the lead just before half-time, but keeper John Danby superbly dived low to cut out a deflected Bryan Hodge cross.

With the Stags still dominant, Chester survived a double scare in the 53rd minute. First Simon Marples raced back to prevent Hodge from converting a John Mullins cross.

Then, with keeper Danby struggling to reach a cross from the resulting throw, Jamie Hand threw himself in the way of Arnold's finish to again deny the home side the lead.

On a rare City counter attack, Laurence Wilson forced White into an acrobatic flying save as his 35-yard thunderbolt was tipped away from the top corner by the young keeper.

But the home side continued to dominate and another fine piece of defending, this time from Phil Bolland with a perfectly-timed clearance, stopped Conlon from heading in a cross from substitute Matt Hamshaw.

But the Stags could not be denied in the 82nd minute when another Hamshaw flag-kick was inadvertently flicked on by a Chester defender and Baptiste headed home via the underside of the bar.

Accrington Stanley 1 - 1 Bristol Rovers
Substitute Shaun Whalley saved Accrington Stanley from another damaging defeat with a 90th minute equaliser against Bristol Rovers.
Whalley had been on the pitch 19 minutes when he fired a left foot set-piece through a crowded box into the bottom corner.

It had looked as if the visitors would leave east Lancashire with all three points after Richard Walker had headed his side into the lead on 58 minutes.

But it all went wrong in the dying stages as captain Stuart Campbell was also shown a red card for what looked like a push on Whalley.

In all fairness to Stanley though, who are now three points above the drop zone, they weren't the inferior side. In fact, for most of it they were actually the better of the two sides.

Both clubs came into the game on runs of four fixtures without a win and it certainly showed in a forgettable first half.

Neither outfit seemed capable of creating any sustained periods of pressure in the attacking third.

The hosts started the better and with a bit more purpose. Rommy Boco and Andy Todd had some early success down the flanks, while Andy Mangan looked lively upfront.

And it brought them the first real chance of the game when Mangan cut inside from the right to fire a low shot that bounced awkwardly in front of Steve Phillips in the Pirates goal.

Even though Paul Trollope's side were not really in the game, they should have actually taken the lead when Rickie Lambert blazed a volley over from the edge of the six-yard box after strike partner Walker had flicked on at the near post.

The second period started exactly the same as the first, with Stanley looking the more likely.

However, on 58 minutes, they were hit with the ultimate sucker punch. Central midfielder Craig Disley picked the ball up on the right wing to hook an inch-perfect ball on to the head of Walker, who did the rest with a powerful finish into the bottom right corner.

But then the late drama started as Whalley smashed home to send the paltry 1,300 crowd wild with delight.

[Towers]

I bet on the following matches yesterday:

Mansfield vs Chester 1 Result 2-1
Altrincham vs Cambridge over 2,5 goals Result 5-0
Woking vs Stevenage 2 Result 0-1
Chesterfield vs Bristol City 2 Result tonight

Hopefully Bristol City will win tonight. I will be an angry man if not.

[jbgb007uk]

I hope for once all of us lose bets tonight, come on Chesterfield, we need to win. Worst result would be a draw, as it does nothing for us in the league and messes up a big Bristol City bet.

[rcgills]

Originally Posted by Towers

I bet on the following matches yesterday:

Mansfield vs Chester 1 Result 2-1
Altrincham vs Cambridge over 2,5 goals Result 5-0
Woking vs Stevenage 2 Result 0-1
Chesterfield vs Bristol City 2 Result tonight

Hopefully Bristol City will win tonight. I will be an angry man if not.

Would've been nice if you'd actually told us a bit yesterday about those bets, or why you chose them, Towers. Coming on here the day after and telling us that you backed them isn't really much good to people on here

Edit - Although I see you did mention the Altrincham overs bet on the Non-league forum.

[Towers]

I only had a very good feeling about the Altrincham game after I did study the statistics. I've had a very bad spell now, so I did not have a good feeling in my stomach regarding the other matches. The Bristol City game I chose because of what I read in this forum.

[Winrew]

Chesterfield are able to call upon influential midfielder Derek Niven following a suspension.

But forward Adam Smith requires a knee operation and is likely to miss the rest of the season.
Bristol City duo Jamie McAllister and Enoch Showunmi return to contention for the trip to Chesterfield.
Defender McAllister has missed the last four games with a calf injury while striker Showunmi has been struggling with a groin problem. <!-- E SF --><!-- E BO -->

[thehandicapman]

1-0 Bristol City