Hopping into the sunset

From what I could gather, before Prescot Cables scheduled game against Lancaster City at the weekend, an early pitch inspection found standing water, with the referee allowing the volunteers time to see if they could get it to drain. Unfortunately, whilst they were successful, like Noah found when the ark came to rest, only the surface of the ground was dry, and the pitch was too soft to play. A delay in the referee arriving for the second inspection meant that we only knew at 12.45, which would have left the visitors tight for time if the game had gone ahead.

A game off means an opportunity to hop, but the rain and the time meant other options were limited. Marine were at home to Stafford Rangers, which I could not describe as a hop, as I must have been there getting on for 50 times over the years. Their sandy bedrock and well drained topsoil meant it was one of the few local games to survive, and no inspection was required.

To find the best combination of buses to the ground I tried the new version of the Arriva Bus app, to find that the journey planner still needs some work. The first attempt, starting at "current location" told me the journey was not possible (it is, by about five combinations) and the second, starting at my nearest stop, suggested going half way to town, crossing the road and taking two buses to 50 yards from where I started. Traveline, fortunately, proved more helpful.

The visitors were playing in orange - there was a time when it was a good colour for an away strip as it did not clash with anything, and the league thought along similar lines when they chose the colour for the substitutes' bibs.

The shorts and socks were more unusual. Undershorts are supposed to match shorts, but I am not sure if they are available in grey, so common sense probably prevailed in allowing black.

The visitors' goal was under pressure from the start.

I did not capture it, but Marine scored what turned out to be the only goal after five minutes.

The clouds cleared as the game progressed, with the coastal sunshine allowing for excellent shutter speeds even at the opposite end of the pitch.

1/1600s f/6.3 ISO400 300mm

Half time presented the opportunity to be arty.

The sun was now low in the sky, and, having had the full advantage of its being behind me in the first half, I was now looking directly into it.

Having checked the time of sunset, I knew the sun would drop behind the houses in Crosender Road after about ten minutes.

Two substitutes would be familiar to Prescot Cables supporters. Sean Myler has been with the club for some time ...

... and Michael Grogan (of the 95th minute equaliser in the Liverpool Senior Cup semi final at Tranmere Rovers in 2012) had been mentioned in that morning's transfer list.

With the assistance of the floodlights, I was able to maintain fast shutter speeds to the end, at least when the action was immediately in front of me.

1/500s f/4.8 ISO3200 135mm

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Marine 1 Stafford Rangers 0