Another Grey day at the Gulag

Another trip to Chelmsford, another drab game.  The Clarets Melbourne Park home has been dubbed "The Gulag" by the locals and its one of those grounds where even a 5-5 draw might not be much fun.  This is mainly due to the athletics track which means even the sizeable crowds attracted to the ground do not feel as big as they would at York Road.  The Ro Ro campaign for a roof over the terraces behind each goal seems to be bearing financial fruit, certainly the Chelmsford fans deserve the chance to stay dry whilst getting as close as they can to the action.

Yesterday the biting wind of previous seasons was replaced by grey drizzle, with the climatic conditions conspiring with an over fussy referee to spoil the game despite the best efforts of both teams.

Chelmsford look as solid as ever, perhaps their attacking players had an off day for if they were on form then there seems little to stop them building a promotion campaign at fortress Melbourne Park where City have won every game thus far this season without conceding a goal.

Yesterday's win came courtesy of a goal at the end of either half, the first seeing Stephen Reed's shot squeezing under Steve Williams' dive whilst the second came in the 95th minute when Ricky Modeste and Takumi Ake took advantage of the Maidenhead team fully committing themselves to scoring an equaliser at the other end.

In between both players lost a man to a red card, the second being Chelmsford's Sami El-Abd who pulled down Sam Collins as he burst clear.  As I left the ground I heard a Chelmsford fan say that the ends of a win justified the means of a professional foul which is difficult to argue with.

Highlight of the day was the excellent programme which with 100 full colour pages stands fair comparison with those I have bought from Premiership clubs in the last twelve months (Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, Spurs).  One wonders at the time taken to produce it, let alone the cost, but unlike many other clubs at this level its well worth the purchase price and a credit to its editors.