Better light, not such good football

Prescot Cables' decisive win "away" to Skelmersdale United on New Year's Day placed us top of the table as we went into the first weekend of the year. We need to be realistic about the likelihood of staying there, we have played four or five more games than the teams around us, and most are in form that suggest they would win at least some of their games in hand. Of course, whether we stay in a playoff position at least will depend at least as much on our own form, and we had the opportunity to test ourselves against Colne, who were the last team to beat us in the league back in October.

After a few weeks of grey skies and rain, we had a clear day, much easier right throughout the photographic process.

Andy Scarisbrick

The better weather had brought out the crowds, and we attracted a healthy 478, second in the division only to Tadcaster hosting South Shields.

James McCulloch

Having made sure to capture the Dugout Irregulars a couple of games ago, it was the turn of the Gasworks Side Regulars.

Jazz McCulloch

The light was good to the end of the half.

Joe Herbert, time 15:43, 300mm f/5.6, 1/500s ISO 2800

This was looking as though it would not be a vintage performance, and neither side had been able to impose themselves by half time.

The light was holding up well, unlike the team, who were having as much trouble with co-ordination as in the first half. With Colne coming out stronger, they went ahead after three minutes. I had settled in front of the Roadshow End, where the most vocal groups of supporters had positioned themselves for a while, so there was plenty of noise.

Jordan Wynne is tripped ...

... and lines up the resulting free kick with James Edgar

Any hopes of this being a good day on the field, and keeping our top spot, slipped away with a second goal from the visitors after twenty minutes. Still, this was the first time for a few weeks the light remained good throughout, with the floodlights assisted by the last of the civil twilight.

Reece McNally

After the game, there were the usual awards, with the Roanza Truck & Van Man of the Match going to Valter Fernandes.

Valter Fernandes

The Fence End also presented their Pesky Bullon d'Or: I am not sure if there are any criteria for the award, but I think it was voted for on the @CablesNation Twitter account, the winner being Lloyd Dean.

Graham Nevitt and Mike Rice present Lloyd Dean with his award

A close up of the Pesky Bullon d'Or

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 0 Colne 2.

Up hill and down dale

The plans a number of us made for a day out for Prescot Cables' game at Colne were complicated by rain. We heard on Friday evening that there would be a pitch inspection at 10:15, and heavy rain was forecast overnight. As it turned out, it was not as heavy as expected, so the game was on, leaving less time than we had planned to get there. Dr Phil had an Advance ticket from Edinburgh, arriving in Colne at lunchtime armed with a list of pubs. Being able to delay our departure, and losing a minute at every station due to the guard taking his time to emerge to open the doors, Dr James and I went straight to the ground, which vies with Mossley for the highest ground in the Division, although the latter has the steeper hill.

The gradient of the pitch drew comment from many. I looked at the elevation of the corners on Google Earth - clockwise from the turnstiles at the south west corner it gave, in metres, 198, 201, 198 and 195. I am not sure about their accuracy: there is hardly any drop between the corners at the top of the hill, and there definitely is one from south west to north east. Based on the figures and the evidence of my own eyes, I would estimate a 10 - 15 feet drop into the south east corner.

Valter Fernandes - the south east corner in the background

Winning the toss, we chose to play uphill. Teams often play with the conditions in the first half, as they could change in the second, although if the slope were to move during the game, any advantage in the second half would be a minor consideration. Dr Phil made the observation that we were playing against 12 men, 11 players and Sir Isaac Newton. Sitting on the ground at the top of a steep hill gives the chance to incorporate players into the scenery.

Harry Cain dominates the landscape

Catering establishments are often named after local landmarks. If this one was paying by the letter for their advert, they should have some money back.

Even allowing for the slope, we were making hard work of the first half and went in 2-0 down at half time.

Brian Richardson makes representations to the referee

Goalkeeping coach Garry Williams told me he was a bit surprised the game went ahead, as the lowest corner was particularly soft, describing it with the single word "squelch". There were shallow channels to drain water on to the hard standing, which here is well below the level of the pitch. One or two channels were still carrying flowing water.

Again, the slope made for a good photograph.

James McCulloch

I followed my normal practice of staying on the same physical side of the pitch for both halves so I catch the players on opposite sides of the team, with this being particularly marked on this occasion, with Valter Fernandes and Harry Cain dominating the first half pictures, and James McCulloch and Josef Faux prominent in the second.

Josef Faux

The hosts were adjudged to have handled on the goal line about a quarter of an hour in, and Jordan Wynne stepped up to take the penalty. The hosts remonstrated at length with the referee, then made a substitution, which gave Jordan a long time to think about his kick, with a not uncommon result.

Lloyd Dean came on shortly afterwards, and pulled a goal back - I did not manage a shot, and we were keen to restart quickly, so celebrations were brief.

Lloyd Dean

Despite making good use of the gradient, we were unable to finish for the second goal we needed to secure a point.

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

Final score: Colne 2 Prescot Cables 1 (Dean)

Amongst the Hartleys

Some who know me from Surrey may be pleased to know that on visiting Colne, I found the name of Hartley is a distinguished one. Former residents include Sir William Pickles Hartley, who made his fortune by ignoring his name and making jam; and Wallace Hartley, the band leader on the Titanic, who is commemorated by a memorial and, possibly not entirely as a devout Methodist would have wished, a branch of J.D.Wetherspoon. Having arrived well in time for Prescot Cables' game, I caught my first sight of the ground, on top of the next hill.

I took a few pictures around the town, then adjourned for refreshment. I eschewed Mr Hartley's Wetherspoon's in favour of the East Lancashire CAMRA pub of the year, Boyce's Barrel, where a customer's friendly Golden Retriever carefully inspected me on entry before escorting me to the bar.

Approaching the ground, I heard our team being announced. The acoustic from outside was not very good, as I thought I had never heard of half the names. Once inside I saw that, whilst there were changes you would expect trying to arrest a run of heavy defeats, I knew everyone. Antony Shinks returned to the team, having spent the summer working in the United States.

Antony Shinks

I normally identify the opposition by boots and haircuts, so the chap with the red mohican would be easy enough to spot.

Colne's ground has an unusual slope, the side with the dugouts being more or less flat, but the stand side sloping steeply down into one corner.

Ben Cartwright throws in down the slope

This drops sharply beyond the pitch perimeter, with a normal height (about 3'6") fence on the pitch side reaching almost to my chin on the spectator side, almost the right side for a makeshift monopod. Books on sports photography suggest taking as low a position as possible, and the lie of the land provides one. I was happy with the results, directly in front of me ...

Jack Phillips

... and at the other end of the pitch.

James McCulloch

The sun gave the impression of mist at a couple of angles (for those who have seen other pictures, this was not drifting smoke).

Jonah O'Reilly

Colne gained the upper hand after about 15 minutes, when we conceded a goal and a penalty in quick succession. A third was added after half an hour. We have had difficulty at both ends for the last few weeks, with our last goal from open play scored by Joe Nicholson at Scarborough (our goals in the intervening period being from a penalty and an own goal).

Joe Nicholson

Joe's brother Josh broke the drought just before half time.

Josh Nicholson

Club Solicitor Peter Kneale told me the view from the dugout side was worth a look, so I followed legal advice and inspected it at half time.

The hosts restored their advantage early in the second half. Substitutions gave a more attacking formation, although this did not work out, not least as Lloyd Dean was only able to play for about 15 minutes before dislocating his shoulder.

Lloyd Dean

Having used all our substitutes, and therefore down to ten men, it seemed too good to be true not to concede again, with Colne's final goal coming in the last minute of injury time.

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

Final score: Colne 5 Prescot Cables 1 (Josh Nicholson)