Changing a lightbulb

Prescot Cables continued their pre season programme with a visit from 1874 Northwich, who we met in last season's F.A.Cup. This was another evening game, with cooler and cloudier, but drier, weather than against Charnock Richard the previous week. This meant we would be unlikely to complete the game without the floodlights. The positive side was that the mosquitoes that had liberally populated the Gasworks Side last week had gone home for an early night.

The light was a bit gloomy, which often does not work well with the automated creation of jpeg files, saving them on the camera, or using the batch conversion in ViewNx. However, I was able to fix everything in editing without needing to adjust the lighting in raw.

Joe Nicholson

We went ahead with a goal from Andy Scarisbrick, included here on the "goal is a goal" principle. We will not see him wearing that number very much, but for these games players seem to be putting on whatever number is at the top of the laundry basket, which makes sense when most are substituted at some point.

Snapping from the side gives the chance to catch those pictures of a throw in that give exposure to the shirt back sponsor.

At half time, it was time to capture the shots Paul, the programme editor, wanted to use for this season's cover. There was the obligatory view of the stand (not many clubs have anything like it) ...

... and a view of the gates and smart new sign promoting the ground sponsor, Volair, Knowsley Council's organisation for leisure services, who are providing training facilities at the new Prescot Soccer Centre.

The floodlights came on for the second half, which the software seemed to like - this was my first use of ViewNX with images from under our own lights.

Sam Staunton-Turner

We continue to see players progressing from the Youth team, with last year's goalkeeper and Manager's Player of the Year James Burke taking his turn in goal - so much for my being unsure of his age when he made his début for the First team away to Northwich Victoria.

James Burke

The visitors pulled a goal back, with a group of their supporters singing that they had not come to mess around - an attitude confirmed by both sides with a competitive second half.

As I walked round to the clubhouse towards the end of the game...

Make  people think you are a hopper by taking a picture of a corner flag

... I spotted an outstanding job had been completed. Soon after the current floodlights were installed, the bulb went in one of the heads between the stand and the Safari Park End, which has rendered that corner unavailable for photography. It has now been replaced, no small undertaking. I cannot remember if the column unscrews at the bottom, but either way the equipment and skilled personnel required costs more than the bulb. Play seems to have been unaffected: I mentioned it to Jonah O'Reilly, who had not noticed.

James McCulloch, illuminated by the repaired floodlights

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen on the club website here, and on Google Photos here.

Final score: Prescot Cables 1 (Scarisbrick) 1874 Northwich 1.

Second chance

Whenever anyone refers to being on the road to Wembley in the FA Cup, I would be better equipped to make a witty response if I were to keep abreast of whether Wembley FC are still in the competition. Still, as a result of very much playing to the final whistle, Prescot Cables were still in, with a replay at home to 1874 Northwich, if not for the Cup, then for an away fixture at FC United of Manchester in the next round, the attendance for which is likely to provide a welcome injection to club funds for the winner.

We probably had a slight advantage: it is often said the best way to defeat opponents from a higher league is to kill the tie off at home. However, Northwich would not be giving us an easy ride.

They were playing in claret, not a popular first choice colour at this level, so it makes a logical away colour. It is not the brightest of colours under lights but at least it is not dark red.

Jack Phillips

It had been a sunny day, so we started brightly enough, although the sun soon went down.

Jack Hont

Our visitors contributed to a healthy crowd of 291, so there was unaccustomed company for those of us who frequent the gasworks side.

The crowd pays close attention to James McCulloch's options for a free kick

Most people thought the first half had been fairly even, although I thought the visitors had the better of it, based on an unscientific assessment of the time my lenses were trained on our end of the pitch.

For the second half I was a bit slow going round to the gasworks side, so I was behind the goal when Rob Doran advanced for our first goal. In normal light it would have been a great picture, but it did not work with all the light coming from the side, even with the "goal is a goal" principle.

Rob Doran

We might need to establish a "penalty save is a penalty save" principle, with the honours this time falling to Ciaran Gibson.

Ciaran Gibson maintains our lead

With the visitors drawing level shortly afterwards, extra time was looming, when, in the last minute, Rob Doran struck again, another goal with no picture. Having got out of jail in the first game, we were through to the next round.

Of course these games are not good for the nerves. They are not good for the mental faculties either. On the way to the Sun for a drink with the pharmacologists, I was buttonholed outside the Hope & Anchor by one of our players, who had not been in the squad, and to whom I had spoken earlier in the ground, who wanted to refresh his memory of the correct name of our opponents. For some reason, I felt the need to tell him the score and competition as well.

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

Final score: Prescot Cables 2 (Doran 2), 1874 Northwich 1

The Posh Spice reunion

Off the field, the draw for the Preliminary Round of the FA Cup looked a good proposition - a game away to local, well supported opposition, 1874 Northwich, which gave the prospect of some gate receipts being left over to share without being eaten up by travel costs. Our hosts were formed when Northwich Victoria left the town, by supporters who felt the club now playing at Flixton were unlikely to return to Northwich, or to be an adequate continuation of the history and tradition of Northwich Victoria. Currently they play at Winsford United.

The walk from the station is through a residential area. There was evidence of an Oddfellows' Arms, converted into a convenience store, which seemed not to have been convenient, as it in turn had closed. The only pub on the way was the Prince's Feathers, a friendly establishment, somewhat lacking in its beer range, but with some.decent bottled ciders.

On the field, we were expecting a tough game, with Northwich having made a good start to their season. The.ground once had a greyhound track round the pitch: I remember the track lights still being there when I last visited for a pre season game a few years ago. I took up position in line with the goal we were attacking.

Stephen Milne

One of the home stewards, having confirmed I was photographing for the club website, invited me to go on the pitch side of the rails, on the old track, but I opted to stay put.

Having commented in pre season that not many clubs play in green, once again we encountered the second opponents in a row in the colour.

James McCulloch

There was some co-ordinated singing from the other side of the ground, which we tend not to do much, only when we have a full turnout for an away game. Eventually I recognised a group we had last seen in our relegation season of 2008-9. For ease of reference, we will call them the Posh Spices, after one of their more memorable songs, a scurrilous rhyme about which of our players Mrs Beckham may have had in mind when spending time with her husband. They were students then, and picked our FA Cup game at Congleton Town out of a hat, then came to five or six other games that season, including having a Celebrations tin they were using as a makeshift drum at Witton Albion confiscated on the grounds it was not a proper instrument. With our first Saturday foray into Cheshire in the FA Cup since then, they were having a reunion.

The Posh Spices watch Mark Kilroy - as does a supporter who happened to be standing next to them

I was standing next to the group for the second half, which was an amusing way to spend it, although I was at risk of not being able to hold the camera steady. Being 1-0 down at half time, and Northwich scoring almost immediately after the restart, things did not look good, although Charlie Stoker restored hope with a goal shortly afterwards. I sent this shot to the Merseymart as being his heading for goal, although at this point he has some distance to go.

Charlie Stoker

A third goal from Northwich seemed to have put the game out of reach as the rain started.

Jack Hont

A welcome return by Rob Doran made a difference, with one of his shots being put wide for a corner which led to a bundled goal from Liam Dodd.

Rob Doran

Liam Dodd

The game still looked to have slipped away, until a long range shot from Assistant Manager Neil Black secured a replay when we would have had no cause for complaint if we had been knocked out, and kept the Posh Spices still singing when I left a few minutes later to catch my train.

Neil Black

The team celebrate having another chance on Tuesday

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

Final score 1874 Northwich 3, Prescot Cables 3 (Stoker, Dodd, Black)