PONTEFRACT SEASON 2018.
Tuesday 3rd April.
Welcome to our opening meeting of this season.
Update -- Meeting has already been Abandoned due to a waterlogged track.
And we are back again for another season here in West Yorkshire for Pontefract Races. There are usually 16 fixtures across the season on the turf this meeting also includes the first leg in the 2018 Stayers Championship which was won last season by TUSCAN GOLD. We will look forward to getting underway on Tuesday where the first race will be off about 2.10pm.
As always we count ALL results for this meeting returned to a level stake at SP, and will also show any forecast results too in the daily results but these do not count for the profit / loss figures.
The forecast going is currently reported as 'Soft - Heavy in places' the weather for Tuesday afternoon is for a partly cloudy day with some showers due and a forecast maximum temperature around the 13-14C mark, Could be better I guess for April, it'll surely improve throughout the spring and summer months.
Here are our selections for the 8 races on Tuesday afternoon, remember it's a very simple selection process of stalls 1 and 2 in every race;
2:00 1m 6yds Handicap.
(1) -- CHISWICK BEY.
(2) -- FRANKSTER.
2:35 1m 4f 5yds Novice Stakes.
(1) -- UNWRITTEN.
(2) -- ROCKY SHORES.
3:05 6f Handicap (3yo).
(1) -- MR TOP HAT.
(2) -- FEEBS.
3:35 2m 2f 2yds Phil Bull Trophy Conditions Stakes.
(1) -- SAHKEE'S CITY.
(2) -- HIGH JINX.
4:05 1m 2f 5yds Handicap.
(1) -- STAR OF THE EAST.
(2) -- SWIFT EMPEROR.
4:35 6f Fillies Novice Stakes.
(1) -- NORTHERN ANGEL.
(2) -- RAGGS AND RICHES.
5:10 1m 2f 5yds Apprentice Handicap.
(1) -- RAIN IN THE FACE.
(2) -- JOHN CAESAR.
Staked -- 14 points.
Returns -- xx Points
Last season might have been a bit of a blowout compared to recent years, but we start the season with another clean slate, and results from today will be updated later on at the end of the meeting. MEETING ABANDONED.
Our next meeting will be on Monday 23rd April. Keep following us throughout the season.
Update -- Match has been called off just after 11am Monday.
Off the back of a terrible 0-1 reverse to Fleetwood Town on Friday we travel up to Doncaster to play mid-table Rovers who themselves beat Blackpool Town 2-1. It's beginning to look bad, thought we were making moves away from the drop zone and now we are only one place above Oldham and two points better off. Even the scummy franchise outfit have moved above us and that really is a bitter pill. Three points are urgently needed, maybe being on the road will help us, the addition of Lloyd Sam might help too, anything since the Harry Forrester experiment (on loan from Glasgow Rangers) hasn't worked out and I can't see how he will continue for us next season.
FORM GUIDE
(Last 6 league matches, starting with the most recent)
AFC Wimbledon -- LLDWLD
Doncaster Rovers -- WWDLWL
LAST TIME OUT
AFC Wimbledon 0 Fleetwood Town 1
Blackpool 1 Doncaster Rovers 2
Our narrow defeat last weekend against a top of the table team in Shrewsbury might have been viewed as decent however since we are now only two points off the bottom four in 19th place (42 pts) so need some points from the Easter campaign, failed miserably against Fleetwood on Friday, and now need something from this afternoon or we will almost certainly be in the bottom four and next weekend would face Scunthorpe so this begins to look like a must win.
Doncaster claimed their first away win since December as Tommy Rowe's brace secured victory over Blackpool (2-1) at Bloomfield Road and sitting neatly in mid-table 13th place but will be dangerous with potent goal scorer James Coppinger almost certain to score against us again.
Updates will be published with team news and more news as and when it comes through.
Line Ups (To Be Confirmed);
AFC WIMBLEDON
Odds -- 9/4 (William Hill)
Long (GK), Fuller ©, Meades, Oshilaja, Nightingale, Parrett, Soares, Kaja, Trotter, Forrester, Taylor
Subs – McDonnell (Gk), Robinson, Francomb, Abdou, Barcham, Kennedy, Sam
DONCASTER ROVERS
Odds -- 6/5 (William Hill)
Marois (GK), Blair, Wright, Baudry, Mason, McCullough, Houghton, Rowe, Beestin, Marquis, Coppinger ©
Subs – Lawlor (GK), Kongolo, Williams, Whiteman, May, Boyle, Ben Khemis
H/T Score – 0 - 0
First Half Comment;
MATCH HAS BEEN CALLED OFF DUE TO A WATER LOGGED PITCH.
F/T Score – 0 - 0
Match Summary;
.
My Man of the Match – .
Referee – Our referee for this important League One fixture has been confirmed as John Brooks who hails from Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire.
Attendance – x,xxx.
Next match:
Saturday 7th April vs Scunthorpe United (Home)
League One 3:00pm
Coming around to the last few weeks of the season and we're still not safe so every point will be priceless, starting with today's match at home against Fleetwood Town. Our form is a little patchy to say the least and will need to improve from it's current 'Win One, Lose One, Draw One' sequence if we want to retain our status in this division. A similar tale can be told for our opponents as they are in 17th place and only 3 points above us in the league table.
FORM GUIDE
(Last 6 league matches, starting with the most recent)
AFC Wimbledon -- LDWLDW
Fleetwood Town -- WWDDDL
LAST TIME OUT
AFC Wimbledon 0 Shrewsbury 1
Fleetwood Town 2 Northampton Town 0
Our narrow defeat last weekend against a top of the table team in Shrewsbury might have been viewed as decent however since we are now only two points off the bottom four in 19th place (42 pts) so need some points from the Easter campaign.
Fleetwood are currently 17th on 45 points and should be looking to move up too having secured a first home win against Northampton Town since October. The Dons should also be buoyant by the news that the work on the new stadium in Plough Lane is underway now and whatever else happens this season that is a big plus in our journey. Need a strong showing here against fellow strugglers, and time for Lyle Taylor to hit the back of the net again.
Updates will be published with team news and more news as and when it comes through.
Line Ups (Confirmed);
AFC WIMBLEDON
Odds -- 5/4 (William Hill)
Long (GK), Fuller ©, Meades, Oshilaja, Nightingale, Parrett, Soares, Kaja, Trotter, Forrester, Taylor
Subs – McDonnell (Gk), Robinson, Francomb, Abdou, Barcham, Kennedy, Sam
FLEETWOOD TOWN
Odds -- 12/5 (William Hill)
Cairns (GK), Coyle, Eastham, Pond ©, Dempsey, McAleny, Bolger, Diagouraga, Madden, Hunter, Sowerby
Subs – Neal (GK), Burns, Jones, Biggins, Grant, Hiwula, Glendon
H/T Score – 0 - 1
First Half Comment;
As the game kicks off in heavy rain the tackles already flying in and Lyle Taylor goes sliding in but times it well. Could be interesting if someone gets one of those wrong later on this surface, referee is card happy too. Plenty of possession but little end product in the opening twenty mins to speak about hopefully it will improve soon.
Typically a bad pass on this heavy ground was picked up by Fleetwood player who took it on and scored 0-1 Fleetwood (Jack Sowerby 22 mins).
The Dons try and fight back following that set back and have a few shots without troubling the Fleetwood keeper Cairns much, need to find our range soon. A few more tackles and a yellow card for Tom Soares and that's us one behind at half time.
F/T Score – 0 - 1
Match Summary;
Piss poor effort. Barely a shot on target to speak of, we look dire and are going down. Awful. Ardley must be on his last legs and we need some change.
My Man of the Match – George Long.
Referee – Our referee for this important League One fixture has been confirmed as Charles Breakspear who hails from Surrey and is fairly card happy so going to back the overs in the bookings markets and the Red Card shown too, he's a good lad though as he proved when sending off FIVE franchise scum players and officials in a match last December - well done.
Attendance – 4,378. Well done to those brave souls that turned up to witness that.
Next match:
Monday 2nd April vs Doncaster Rovers (Away)
League One 3:00pm
