From the Terraces: Groundhog Day cancelled as Town spark into life

Groundhog Day: ‘A situation in which a series of unwelcome events appear to be recurring in exactly the same way’.

It was half-time and Town were 1-0 down, it may have been two, to a team in blue and white. Just as I thought things couldn’t get any worse, I glanced down at my feet to see that I’d turned up to the match in my slippers.

Then my alarm went off and it was 8am on Sunday morning.

I wasn’t sure whether to be happy that the nightmare was at an end, or sad that I’d never know whether we managed to turn it around.

One thing was certain though, losing to Dagenham & Redbridge in the unlucky manner that we did was thoroughly playing on my mind.

The trouble is, here I was watching the nightmare repeat itself on a bitterly cold Tuesday night at home to Barrow.

It had all started so positively. I’d made sure I had my shoes on before leaving the house with Molly, and Town had torn into the Cumbrians with all the intent of a team keen on erasing the bad memory of the weekend.

Unfortunately this lasted for all of three minutes, as the visitors snapped at our midfield and grew into the game, while previously composed Town players resorted to long balls up field to the opposition goalkeeper and passes back to James Belshaw.

When we went one down, I felt the same sinking feeling and wondered whether I really was stuck in Groundhog Day.

This time though, it was Town that woke up. Oh to have been a fly on the wall in the dressing room at half-time.

A completely different team came out for the second half, playing a high pressing line against a team that liked to play out from the back and getting in behind the visitors’ defence time and time again.

Town were completely unplayable for 15 glorious second-half minutes and four goals.

Joe Leesley was again slinging in undefendable crosses from the left, and I was thrilled to see Mark Beck get on the end of one and ripple the net this week.

Two years ago Town were the underdogs when drawn at home against Barrow in the FA Trophy.

The club gave the entire Wetherby Road stand to the visiting fans that day and only a couple of hundred turned up.

This time, the visiting fans were given the quarter of the stand in which the vocal Town support stands when attacking the 1919 end of the ground.

This led to the unusual sight of the Kop decamping en masse to the tiny ‘Shed End’ outside the club shop for the second half.

It was a great atmosphere, but I’m not sure how many people will have seen the goals go in!

Don’t you just love this rollercoaster game of football.

Print deadline met, it’s now time for bed, and no work tomorrow. I think I’ll set my alarm for 8.45am.