In the end Shrewsbury just didn’t deserve the victory as a meagre crowd turned out to witness their best ever chance of a cup final appearance. Perhaps the opposition just weren’t big enough for them? February was a brilliant month for the London Branch. It started with twenty-nine members travelling down to Bristol on the Friday before the Bristol Rovers game to meet John Courtenay and Roddy Collins at the players’ hotel. Also staying there were the Leicester Rugby team, so it was a case of spot the star at breakfast on Saturday morning. The players on the pitch then matched Courtenay’s brilliant performance at the forum, as United rounded off the day with an excellent 2 – 1 win. Last month I mentioned that we would be playing Oxford Supporters Club on the morning of the match and as it happened we did. On a perfectly playable pitch that only got softer and muddier as the morning wore on (we kicked off at 10.00 am!) we forged ahead to a 4 – 3 lead only to see victory snatched from our grasp by a dodgy penalty given in the final minute of ‘time added on for the opposition to score’. It was a hell of a surprise then to get to the pub only to find that United’s game had been called off. It seems that it only take three sides of a ground to prevent the strong sun and warm air from reaching the pitch at Oxford. To add insult to injury they wasted no time in closing the ticket office to prevent away supporters who had paid in advance from claiming their money back. Our February meeting was a lively one with a lot of discussion about the plans to get to Cardiff if we should get past Shrewsbury. The logistics of getting London Branch members spread all over the south of England to the Welsh capital should not be underestimated, but we have a crack team on the job and are expecting to offer an excellent package for our members. March is going to be another busy month as trips to Boston and Swansea have been arranged and then we are sponsoring the home match against Cambridge Saturday 22nd March. The following week sees us travelling back up to Shrewsbury again before Oxford on the Tuesday night and then the big game in Cardiff on Sunday 6th April. There has never been a better time to be a London Branch member so don’t hesitate to get in touch or visit our website if you want to learn more. Malcolm Fawcett |
