Writer's Block

Previous Weight: 20 stone, 12.5 pounds. New Weight: 20 stone, 12 pounds . Weight Loss: 0.5 pounds . Total 2015 Weight Loss: 5 pounds . I was convinced that I was staring down the barrel of another 4 pound gain this week, so to have lost anything at all is a considerable surprise. In the past week, I have eaten (amongst other things) 2 Krispy Kreme doughnuts, 3 packaged sandwiches, a whoopie pie (the most troublingly named of all the cakes), 2 scones with jam and creme, 6 waffles, 6 pancakes and a not unconsiderable amount of burgers and steak. I would not be surprised if there was some sort of hangover to next week's weigh in. But this seems to demonstrate precisely how much progress I could be making if I genuinely applied myself. In other news, England avoided what looked like yet another narrow defeat to Italy courtesy of a cracking strike from outside the area by Andros Townsend. An improved second half performance will no doubt prove to be another false dawn in t...

I mostly spent today gearing up for my final accountancy exam on Wednesday. It would be terrific to get it out of the way so I can focus on the next phase, whatever that might involve. But it's a different format to the other exams and I need to successfully demonstrate that I know how to use a computerised accounting system that I'm still getting to grips with. It's stressing me out a bit but as a friend of mine always says, "Stressed is just desserts spelled backwards". That saying doesn't help in any meaningful way with the alleviation of stress. But it's vaguely relevant. In any event, it's probably not a maxim I should take to heart. One of the reasons I'd quite like to get it out of the way and move on is that I've not been going to the gym enough recently or focusing on my diet as much as I should. I expect to post another significant gain tomorrow which might completely erode any progress I've made since the start of the year. My ...

Last night I went to the Royal Albert Hall for the first time to see Frank Turner headline the last of this year's gigs in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust. The arena standing at the Royal Albert Hall is actually relatively small, with the stage closer than you would anticipate. But if you look to your left or right, you see 6 tiers of seating and standing areas. The effect from the floor is that the gig seems both curiously intimate and unfathomably vast. Opening the show with a 15 minute set was singer-songwriter Will Varley. Despite the short stage time, it's a memorable set with Varley's strong vocals commanding the arena. He's something of a protest singer, ending with an almost comedic song featuring David Cameron, Nick Clegg, the GameBoy Advance and a promise of riches from a faraway prince. Intriguing enough to warrant further investigation, I reckon. I was aware of Idlewild's position in the indie rock pantheon but unfamiliar with their music. Their set ...

Last night, I headed to The Garage in Highbury to see Hidden In Plain View. The band were formally on Drive Thru Records, a label whose output I followed religiously during my teenage years. Having broken up in 2007, the New Jersey post-hardcore/pop-punkers have reunited for a tenth anniversary tour of their debut full length "Life In Dreaming". Opening band Doubt say it's their first ever London show and it shows. The Medway rockers seem to lack a clear identity at this point in time. The highlight of their set is a competent if unspectacular cover of Jimmy Eat World's "Bleed American". I suspect it's still very much early days for them. Next up come Alvarez Kings from Rotherham, who play indie rock reminiscent of the likes of Kings of Leon. They know how to craft an anthem and it's not difficult to imagine these songs filling larger rooms than the 600 capacity Garage. Very promising. We were then treated to 45 minutes of William Beckett playi...

As I said, last night I went to see Still Alice. I can't remember the last time that a film had such a large impact on me. The story concerns 50 year old Dr Alice Howland, who works at Columbia University as a professor of linguistics. We discover that she's a woman with the ambition to have it all who succeeded, with an impressive academic career and a strong family unit. After spells of forgetfulness, she sees a neurologist who later informs her that she has early onset Alzheimers Disease. Julianne Moore won Best Actress at the Oscars last month for this role and it could not feasibly have gone to anyone else. I'm not very good at describing why I think certain acting performances are strong. Here, it's because I believe entirely in Howland's character, the depth of her anguish and her battle to retain her sense of self. At one point she informs her husband (Alec Baldwin) that she wishes she had cancer and we entirely understand why. Cancer would not entail th...

I passed my penultimate accountancy exam with what I was informed was something like a 98% mark. The dream of starting a new career is therefore still on. At least until Wednesday when I have my final assessment based on computerised accounts which is something of a different kettle of fish. But the past three months have pretty much been building up to this moment, so it would be a good idea not to balls it up. Hopefully I can resuming job searching with a few more options available to me. After my triumph, I headed to the Stratford Westfield Vue to see Still Alice which I shall review in tomorrow's blog. Just the 17 screens there, seemingly in keeping with the sheer vastness of the place. Shopping in the real world doesn't hold much appeal to me but it's an undeniably impressive facility. Post regeneration, it's a stark contrast from the occasion a few years ago when I did a gig at the Theatre Royal and died on my hole. Returned for the final half hour of England ...

I spent four hours holed up in Bromley Library (Central, I believe they call it) this afternoon. 67 questions on control accounts and the banking system later, I am a gibbering wreck. But I have prepared for tomorrow's exam about as much as I realistically can. Fingers crossed that will be enough. Subject to success, I will have a fun weekend in prospect, with pop-punk/post hardcore merchants Hidden In Plain View playing The Garage on Saturday and a first trip to the Royal Albert Hall for Frank Turner on Sunday. Turner has just released a typically rousing life affirming new song entitled "Get Better" that I shall look forward to hearing on the Sabbath. EDIT (03/10): Frank Turner subsequently released "Positive Songs For Negative People", which I have reviewed elsewhere on this blog. It was kept off the top spot in the UK albun charts only by Dr Dre's new album, which gives you some idea of how far Mr Turner has come. He was also very helpful when I emai...

Such is my desperation to see Sunderland win a match, I tuned into BT Sport this evening to watch the opening fixture of the Women's Super League season. It saw the newly promoted Sunderland travel to Liverpool, or rather to Widnes where they play. Liverpool had won the title last season so it was something of a shock to see Sunderland snatch a 2-1 victory courtesy of a header from Beth Mead and a penalty from new signing Brooke Chaplen. I'm delighted for them, it was thoroughly deserved. They managed to exhibit the passion and defensive structure that have been completely absent from their male counterparts of late. In other news, Jeremy Clarkson has been sacked from Top Gear, Zayn Malik has left One Direction and I am unable to escape all of the terrible jokes about those two things. Or indeed the seemingly endless desire for people to amalgamate the two in the vain hope of being topical. EDIT (03/10): It is the final day of the Women's Super League tomorrow and Sunde...

Previous Weight: 20 stone, 13 pounds. New Weight: 20 stone, 12.5 pounds . Weight Loss: 0.5 pounds . Total 2015 Weight Loss: 4.5 pounds . Practically at the end of the first quarter of the year and I've lost 4.5 pounds in total. I'm doing super well guys. Super well. Last week's considerable gain did wake me up a bit, although I've still made some poor eating decisions this week. Mostly involving cheese. The woman weighing me said "I used to be a school teacher, so I'm going to draw a little smiley face and write 'More next week please'". The temptation to reply "I used to not tolerate fools, so piss off" was sizable. By this time next week, I will hopefully be done with my accountancy qualification which is continuing to take up most of my time and can head back to the gym. For the moment, I'm buried under bank reconciliations and suspense accounts.

After Chiswick, I headed to the Battersea Arts Centre for a preview of Daniel Kitson's latest show "Polyphony". Not for the first time Kitson was cutting it fine, having informed us that the show was due to open in Melbourne on Wednesday and he'd already put his flight to Australia back to address some technical issues. When your show hangs on recording 20 separate tracks of dialogue to be played on 20 separate cassette players, such issues seem more likely to arise than not. The conceit is that these cassette tapes are played, each providing a voice for Kitson to interact with during the course of the hour. It reminded me of his not entirely successful theatre outing "As of 1.52pm GMT on Friday April 27th 2012, This Show Has No Title", a show ostensibly about writing a show. Polyphony is a show about performing a show. Starting with some characteristic ruminations on the nature of loneliness, Kitson proceeds to play the voices (through a Mac on this occas...

I went to Chiswick House yesterday with my friend Dasha. It's an English Heritage property. In the past I feel like English Heritage have given me too much of a hard sell with regards to membership when visiting their places. Fortunately their staff were somewhat more restrained yesterday. I also committed the same sin of many National Trust visitors that I've seen, which is not giving myself enough time to see and experience everything that a site has to offer. Having said that, we arrived 40 minutes before closing time and saw pretty much all there was to see in the house. I prefer heritage properties that possess a sense of atmosphere. While you get some idea of the history of Chiswick House, as a gallery space it feels a little soulless. There are items of interest (such as the ceiling painting in the Blue Velvet Room) and for those who are interested in Italian art and its depiction of mythical figures, it's certainly worth a look. But for me, there wasn't eno...

I'm in a fretful mood. Turning 27 recently has seemed to amplify all of my issues, concerns and worries. I've touched before on my employment situation, or rather my lack of employment situation. It seems completely ridiculous to be 27 years old and never to have had a full time job. I'm sure I'm not the only 27 year old in the United Kingdom who has never had a full time job, frequently struggles to muster the desire to get up in the morning because of depression, then wonders whether they are actually depressed or if their current situation is a damning indictment of their personal failings. But I'm the only one that I know. Another is the notion of comparison and how much worse it makes me feel to know that there are teenage entrepreneurs, happily married couples and twentysomething millionaires in the world. Most of the people I've talked to tend to discourage me from doing this, "When I compare myself to others, I destroy myself" etc. It's s...

Me: I came across London for this. Andy: Well, you're a fucking idiot mate. I ended up at Up The Creek for a second Thursday in succession for The Blackout. This time as a punter, as my friend Andy had informed me via text that he was performing there. I hotfooted in from Highbury & Islington to Cutty Sark via Shadwell, a change from the Overground to the Docklands Light Railway which involves far more steps than I had expected. Nonetheless, I made it in time for the second half, keen to witness Andy's 2-5 minute set. Andy is a funny young man with an offbeat sense of humour who performs poems as part of his act. Unfortunately, as I mentioned last week, The Blackout can be a cruel mistress. As MC Dan Schreiber pointed out afterwards, it appeared Andy had fallen victim to some sort of practical joke on the part of the audience. Andy: I'm going to do a poem now. Punter: We don't want to hear it. Andy: *consults row of lights behind denoting number of cards...

This is my daily blog. I have absolutely nothing to say but it might be the only opportunity before tomorrow that I get to sit in front of a computer and write it. I refuse to give up on the task of a daily blog. I'm currently learning how to do SAGE on a laptop, as I have been since 10:30am. I am tired. I might amend this later. Maybe. NOW DON'T YOU WORRY WE'LL ALL FLOAT ON, ALRIGHT EDIT 24/12: I didn't "amend this later". But I'm amending it now. I am revisiting all of my blogs that are too short in the hope of getting them to the minimum word count by the end of the year. Will I succeed? Probably not.  Anyway, I successfully learned how to do SAGE and passed all my Level 2 accountancy exams. I am yet to do anything with the qualification*, but there's time. I might pursue Level 3 next year. But it depends.  As my frenzied use of capital letters suggests, I had the song "Float On" by Modest Mouse in my head at the time this blog was w...

I've very little to write about today, so I thought I'd go through some things I've been listening to recently on Spotify. Criminally underrated indie rock heroes Tellison will release their third record this year, much to my delight. They recently debuted the first single off that album "Tact Is Dead", a brooding look at the quarter life crisis and a fine addition to their discography. I'm very much looking forward to seeing them play at Oslo next month. I have never been there so I can't comment on the venue. While I'm sure the gig will be great, a venue in Hackney called "Oslo" seems like the height of hipster bullshit to me. I've greatly enjoyed the second series of Uncle on BBC3 which came to an end last night. What sets it apart from a lot of sitcoms (amongst other things) is the use of original songs, occasionally in the form of a power ballad of some kind. Nick Helm's character is a natural extension of his wild, depressiv...

Previous Weight: 20 stone, 9 pounds.   New Weight: 20 stone, 13 pounds . Weight Gain: 4 pounds . Total 2015 Weight Loss: 4 pounds . Apparently it's unacceptable to go into Slimming World, register a weight gain and say by way of explanation, "I've had a lot on my plate this week". I wrote the following joke earlier today. Little did I realise as I approached Slimming World this evening, there would be more than a kernel of truth in it. I've not had a good week in terms of my diet since the turn of the year and last week my binge eating reached a peak. Add that to a heavy drinking session last Wednesday and you've got yourself a recipe for disaster. In particular, I've been indulging my sweet tooth far too frequently. If the informal Krispy Kreme review section wasn't sign enough of that. Must knuckle down. Must arrest the decline. Elsewhere I've spent most of the day attempting to comprehend principles of accountancy with varying degrees o...

Today saw the not particularly surprising news that Sunderland manager Gus Poyet had parted company with the club. The defeat to Aston Villa at the weekend was the straw that broke the camel's back for many people, myself included. A total of 4 wins from 29 matches tells its own story about Sunderland's season and the Uruguayan had lost the fans with his persistence in using negative defensive tactics. The news that Dick Advocaat (who has managed something like 400 clubs in the past 20 years) was being sought as a short term replacement has led to a number of groan worthy jokes among Sunderland fans. Whether or not Dick will be able to stimulate Sunderland remains to be seen. But he's only got 9 matches left to save them from the drop and this change feels like it's too little too late. I also finished House of Cards today in something of a binge watching session. It's been another compelling season with Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright continuing to excel. There...

Back to work today after a short break. The main piece of news to report this week concerns the fact that 37 of Sir Winston Churchill's paintings have been donated to the nation in lieu of inheritance tax . A number of my colleagues have been working very hard behind the scenes to make this happen, so well done to them. What this means in practical terms is that we will retain our current collection to display to the public and I will continue to have items of interest to gesticulate towards. I believe I'm right in saying we're going to have one more painting added to our current crop. Mother's Day had brought people out in spite of the poor weather, with just under a thousand coming through the gates. They were largely a well spirited lot, although we had an additional visitor in the form of Frankie the cat. Frankie is owned by my line manager and had snuck into the studio through the back door and positioned himself on a couple of large photo albums owned by Sir ...

There's very little to report today other than more footballing woe. The combination of Sunderland losing a must win game at home to Aston Villa 0-4 and Burnley getting a shock 1-0 victory over Manchester City has pushed us closer to the trap door. We've been hugely fortuitious over the past couple of seasons and I think today's debacle will ultimately consign us to the second tier. The Guardian's excellent Football Weekly podcast described us as "playing Russian Roulette on an annual basis but adding an additional bullet to the chamber each year". Our luck has run out. It's the humiliating manner of these defeats that gets to me. Aston Villa have been absolutely dreadful all season. Prior to today, they had scored four goals away from home all season. This afternoon they managed to match that total within a solitary half of pitiful defending. People were throwing their season tickets at Gus Poyet and frankly I'm unsurprised. Burnley meanwhile, showe...

Right, The Blackout then. Taking place at Up The Creek in Greenwich, The Blackout has a "gong show" format. Three audience members are given cards to hold up. Each act gets a two minute grace period. Following that time, if they dislike the act on stage, they can show the card. When all three cards go up, the lights go out and the act is required to leave the stage. If the act lasts for 3 minutes beyond the end of the grace period, they are adjudged to have beaten the Blackout. This can be something of a chaotic format affected by a sizable number of variables, including slot on the bill, choice of material and plain vindictiveness on the part of those with the cards. I was convinced last night that I was going to be gonged off. My mind wasn't in the right place for a gig and I had selected material that I was uncertain about, but hadn't performed at the club before. During the largely unsuccessful stand up reality series "Show Me The Funny" on ITV, they s...

An evening of drinking in Brighton last night has left me feeling physically and emotionally delicate today. It took a rather unexpected turn and subsequently it's been a day of introspection up to this point. I shall say no more*. I'll imminently have to get that out of my system and focus on all things stand up, as I'm heading out to Beat The Blackout at Up The Creek in Greenwich. It's sometimes difficult to know how to approach a set that requires you to keep the audience onside so you're not ejected from the stage early. I'll elaborate further in tomorrow's blog**. Earlier this afternoon, the passing of Terry Pratchett at the age of 66 was announced. It largely goes without saying what a sizable loss to the world of literature this is. Since his diagnosis with early onset Alzheimers in 2007, he has also done a great deal to raise awareness about the disease and the issues surrounding assisted suicide. We've been losing far too many great peo...

Co-headline shows are a pain in the arse. If you only like one of the bands involved, you're deprived of a full length headline show. If they're on second, you have to sit through a band you have no interest in for an extended period of time. If they're on first, the band going on second are playing to a portion of the crowd for whom the main event is already over. It's problematic. That should not be the case for me as I'm a huge fan of both Yellowcard and Less Than Jake. Regrettably tonight I also have to sit through the French pop-punk act Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!. I'm aware their name is a reference to The Goonies, but it doesn't make it or them any less awful. They play for half an hour, as fast and as loud as they can, throwing in post-hardcore screams at random intervals for no particular reason. A cover of Smash Mouth's "All Star" might be the single most naff thing I've ever seen at a gig. Absolute bobbins. Thank goodness then...

Previous Weight: 20 stone, 9.5 pounds. New Weight: 20 stone, 9 pounds . Weight Loss: 0.5 pound . Total 2015 Weight Loss: 8 pounds . After the week I've had, any sort of loss is a minor miracle. I suppose it's encouraging to an extent as it suggests that I might actually lose some weight if I properly applied myself and stopped visiting Krispy Kreme on a weekly basis. On that subject, their Vanilla Cappuccino variant is a strong one but I was underwhelmed by their Reece's effort. A peanut butter doughnut should theoretically be a winner but there wasn't enough chocolate to balance it out. Elsewhere, Manchester United's defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup Quarter Finals really really hurt. I've touched upon Millican's Law before, the idea of needing to let go of the positive or negative feelings surrounding a stand-up gig by 11am the next day. A similar thing applies to watching my teams play football. Watching the match in a pub near Shoreditch, last night...

I caught Good Vibrations last night. The film follows Terri Hooley, who establishes the titular record shop on Great Victoria Street in Belfast (nicknamed "Bomb Alley") during The Troubles. It provides an interesting insight into a period and subject I don't know an awful lot about. One night, Hooley attends a show from a punk band called Rudi, who sing "We Hate The Cops" when the Royal Ulster Constabulary arrive at the performance. As Hooley notes, they ought to have other things to be concerned about. The gig proves a life changing experience and he offers to record the band's single. His new life as a music impresario doesn't impress his communist father who describes the business as "the most rotten industry there is". As the impulsive risk taker who is later dubbed "the godfather of Belfast punk", Hooley is a likeable character. To an extent though, the film glosses over the consequences of his actions, particularly the impact ...

To celebrate the band's 20th anniversary last year, Bowling For Soup crowd funded two greatest hits records, asking fans to select their favourite tracks to be re-recorded. The first instalment "Songs People Actually Liked Volume 1" covers the first decade, from the bands early days to their breakout record "Drunk Enough To Dance" in 2002. This was in part a response to their record company releasing an unauthorised "Best Of" in 2011. Reel Big Fish previously found themselves in a similar position, releasing "A Best Of Us For The Rest Of Us" after Jive Records produced the cruelly titled "Greatest Hit....and More". The tracklisting here demonstrates that BFS' fans have good taste. All of the hits are present and correct ("Girls All The Bad Guys Want" is still a great pop song) but minor gems like "Pictures He Drew" and the ska tinged "2113" also make an appearance. Sensibly, the band have tightene...

Happy birthday to me, I suppose. I have reached 27, "the age of rock star death" as my friend Joanna put it the other day. Not being a rock star, I can only assume I will evade the icy grip of the Reaper for the time being. It's not something I particularly wish to dwell upon. Birthdays provide another invitation for me to reflect on where I'm at and how much I believe that I've failed. Through my CBT last year, my therapist encouraged me to identify patterns of rumination with a view to helping combat them in the future. That hasn't stopped me thinking at some length today about being a 27 year old singleton who still lives with his parents. But I'm overwhelmed by negativity a lot less than I used to be. What can one do, except to continue trying to push on? I've had a nice day despite all that though. I've just come back from a meal at the recently opened Miller and Carter Steakhouse in Bromley/Hayes where we had the nicest meal out in a long...

Last night, I went to see It Follows at the Camden Odeon with some friends. The film centres on 19 year old Jay, who finds herself the victim of a curse which spreads through sexual activity. The curse involves being followed by a figure moving towards the victim at walking speed to kill them. The only means of ridding oneself of the curse is to have sex with someone else. However, if they are subsequently killed, the curse reverts to the previous person in the chain. Jay with the support of her friends is constantly on the move, attempting to escape the effects of the curse. And that's about it really. On the BBC's flagship film programme last week, Mark Kermode spoke eloquently about the film and how it plays with a number of horror conventions. As someone with no grounding in horror this is something I can't really comment on. I think it's reasonable to assume that there will be people out there who will get more out of this movie than I did. Someone wrote in to sa...

I have to write a blog today in order to continue the dubious ambition of being a daily blogger. This is the only window of time I have today to write one. I have nothing to write about. It is currently lunch break on my accountancy course where today I have started the fifth and final module, computerised accounting. Or learning how to use SAGE as most people understand it. At the moment it's like I'm playing an accountancy simulator video game. I suspect such a concept would not catch on. There's not a tremendous amount else to say. Manchester United were bobbins again last night, waiting until the 89th minute for Newcastle to practically give them a goal for a 0-1 win. With Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal coming up, I expect their deficiencies to be fatally exposed and that it will eventually cost them a place in the Champions League*. I've also taken the plunge on a ticket for Simon Amstell at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in June. I went there to se...

I've been listening to Andrew McMahon's music in various incarnations for the past 12 years. Having previously written and performed with Something Corporate and Jack's Mannequin, he's now moved on to a new solo project, Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness. Saturday saw him play London for the first time since 2013 in the intimate, civilised environs of the Islington Assembly Hall. AMITW has more of an electro pop/indie pop feel than his previous work and support band Sykes also fit into this category with a keyboard and electric drums on stage. It's a pleasant enough half an hour, but none of their songs are especially memorable. McMahon takes his seat at a Baby Grand piano a short time later and delivers a captivating 90 minute set spanning his entire back catalogue. It's a testament to the huge number of great songs in his repertoire that he can dispense with huge Jack's Mannequin hit "Dark Blue" early on. He's a hugely likable stage presen...

To employ a cliché of film critique, Whiplash is not a film about drumming. Well, it is, but it's also about desire, obsession and sacrifice in pursuit of greatness. It follows Andrew Neiman, a 19 year old student at the Shaffer Conservatory in New York who practices obsessively on the kit. He attracts the attentions of conductor Terrence Fletcher who recruits him for his band.  Fletcher's methods are unconventional to say the least. He attempts to motivate Neiman by amongst other things, slapping him across the face, throwing a chair at him and in one particularly memorable sequence, instructs him to keep playing until his hands bleed. J.K Simmons recently won Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars and it's difficult to see how it could have gone to anyone else. It's a brilliant, monstrous performance as the conductor from hell. Miles Teller also impresses as the young man who eats, sleeps and breathes the drums at all costs, even to the detriment of a promising relat...

Previous Weight: 20 stone, 8.5 pounds. New Weight: 20 stone, 9.5 pounds . Weight Gain: 1 pound . Total 2015 Weight Loss: 7.5 pounds . Yes, it's one step forward, two steps back again. I think I should turn this bit of the blog into a foodie section, where I proceed to review the foods that have resulted in me gaining weight. Three Krispy Kreme doughnuts probably didn't help. Of my KK taste testing so far, I think the caramel variants are probably the best, alongside a strong lemon meringue entry that provides a solid imitation of the pie of the same name. Waitrose also do a good falafel and halloumi wrap. So once again, this isn't a surprise to me. I was going to do a blog about Manchester United and Sunderland playing each other this weekend and the terrible internal conflict that that always causes me. That desire has been overtaken by the big news story of the day surrounding a Sunderland player. At best, it destabilises the club ahead of an enormously significa...

Having taken advantage of Charlton's "Football For A Fiver" offer, I returned to The Valley yesterday for their Championship fixture at home to Huddersfield Town. Things have changed since my last visit in January. Guy Luzon was appointed to the managerial position later that month after Bob Peeters was sacked. Luzon was previously manager of Standard Liege, a team also owned by Charlton chairman and Belgian businessman Roland Duchatelet. Conflicts of interest aplenty then, for a team now on its third manager in ten months. It was an emotional return to The Valley for Chris Powell, the Huddersfield and former Charlton manager ousted by Duchatelet a year ago. Powell, who played over 200 times for the club, received a warm welcome as you would expect. Both teams traded blows early on without carving out much in terms of clear cut chances. Midway through the first half, it seemed destined for a stalemate.  The match was badly in need of a goal and Johann Gudmundsson o...