Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Saturday 15 November 2003

15 November 2003

Still no sign of that tremendous series of table-ascending victories Paul and the players keep taking it in turns to promise us, as a miserable 1-1 draw with Stockport keeps the Mariners in lower mid-table. A 72nd-minute header from substitute Darren Mansaram balances out Robert Clare's effort that had put the Hatters ahead five minutes earlier in front of the second division's smallest attendance of the day.

Over in Moscow, meanwhile, Darren '20 Caps' Barnard does the Mariners proud in Wales' excellent goalless draw with Russia for the first leg of their Euro 2004 play-off, minimising the eastern Europeans' chances on the Welsh left and contriving to provoke the Russian goalkeeper Sergei Ovchinnikov into a yellow card-worthy rage. The GTFC left-back again plays the full 90 minutes for his country (no, not Germany) while John Oster, incidentally, fails to get off the bench.

And thanks, Sue. I'm told dried banana skins can be surprisingly potent, by the way.