The Beast from the East

In the week prior to Prescot Cables' game at home to Goole, we had been frustratingly inactive due to a weather system called the Beast from the East, with temperatures well below freezing postponing games against Everton and Bamber Bridge. We had been active off the field, with a successful, if cold, AGM, with Doug Lace addressing us for the first time as Chair, generally encouraging ground and financial reports, and a good question and answer session with Brian Richardson.

Elsewhere, the situation was more critical. Dulwich Hamlet received notice their ground tenancy had been withdrawn for breaches of onerous conditions the club accepted under duress a few months previously. There are also accumulated bills from when the landlords, Meadow Residential, were running the club as the agent of the majority shareholder, including back rent they had carelessly omitted to pay to themselves. In a further effort to intimidate the club, the landlords registered trademarks relating to the club name, a move that brought down widespread derision on their heads. Building crowds and community work has paid dividends, as the club now has the support of the local council, Members of Parliament, the Mayor of London, community and football organisations. Amongst the political support, Lord Kennedy of Southwark has been patrolling Westminster armed with a pink and blue scarf, the resulting tweets spreading news far and wide.

Many clubs find themselves in difficulties, but Dulwich's situation could affect any club that does not own the freehold of their ground. A viable club (treat anything you hear to the contrary with a large basin full of salt), part of whose site can be used for social or affordable housing, retaining the club and still producing a return on investment, is being forced out to make a larger profit for the landlords and their hedge fund owners. If they get away with it, it could be your club next.

Turning to the game I was attending, I had been delayed by traffic for Anfield so kitted myself out with waterproof trousers and hi-vis on the bus. I arrived in a dead heat with the teams coming out, and took up position by the side of the pitch. I am not sure if we have renewed the bulbs on the floodlights, but the pictures on my monitor were better illuminated than usual, even at the other end of the pitch.

Ben Barnes

James McCulloch returned from suspension. When I started watching the game, a card that would attract a three match suspension in the Football League attracted 35 days at our level. This was addressed some years ago, but in the recent bad weather, the three games worked out to 28 days, the gap between the card and his next opportunity to play adding up to 45 days.

James McCulloch

Harry Cain had an also weather delayed return from surgery.

Harry Cain

The visitors opened the scoring after 10 minutes, with Josh Klein-Davies replying 10 minutes later.

I swapped sides about half way through.

Valter Fernandes

For the second half, I used the new gate to access the pitch. It was resisting opening, and Dave "The Monster" was trying to attract my attention. Having squeezed through, I stopped to listen to what Dave was trying to tell me. He pointed out I was trying to open it the wrong way.

I stopped for a few minutes behind the goal, and was able to get a few pictures, which I have generally not been able to do, which turned my attention again to floodlight bulbs.

Chris Almond

Josh Klein-Davies secured the result with a second goal, just at the moment I was having a spot of bother with damp air condensing on the front of the lens. I had cleared it in time to catch the celebration.

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 2 (Klein-Davies 2) Goole AFC 2

Up the wall

As this blog is unlikely to be called upon to photograph a fixture in the Eton Wall Game, Dulwich Hamlet's game against Leatherhead seemed the next best thing.

There are many reasons why animosity can arise between clubs, some shrouded in the mists of time. Visiting Mangotsfield United in 2002, we found a shared dislike of Gloucester City, in our case arising from their only visit to our ground nine years previously. Relations between us and Leatherhead deteriorated last season, after part of their pitch perimeter wall collapsed in the 85th minute of our League fixture. Their officials tried to blame the dozen or so of our schoolboy supporters who were leaning on it celebrating a goal. Their players crowded round the referee as he inspected the pitch for debris, and celebrated the abandonment as though they had won the game, in which we had been leading.

Having secured the Championship despite losing the replayed game, we were not expecting to meet them again for a while, but we reckoned without the draw for the FA Trophy.

Peter Adeniyi

Although the day was mainly dry, there was a heavy shower whilst I was on the way to the game, so I headed in to Sainsbury's. This was not just for the driest sausage roll I have had in a long time, but I had forgotten to pack the rain cover for my camera (serves me right for being so smug in midweek), and the plastic bag might have been needed as an emergency replacement.

A few minutes before the game (thirteen to be precise), a smartly dressed gentleman scurried past me carrying a large kit bag. I believe clubs are fined if they arrive less than 45 minutes before the game is due to start: I am not sure if anything equivalent applies to the match officials.

The sun was shining for the first half, where we were attacking the Greendale end. The sun is behind this end in the afternoon, and there are three tall trees behind the ground.

These ensure that, when the sun is shining, we can encounter just about all lighting conditions, usually within a few yards. We go from full sunshine ...

Billy Crook

... through mixed shadows ...

Nyren Clunis

... lit foreground against background shadow ...

Matthieu Boyer

... and vice versa ...

Erhun Öztümer

... although the low angle of the sun meant few shots were completely in shadow.

This was my first sight of the club's new kit. The shade of pink is better for the camera than on the previous kit, which sometimes came out nearer to purple. I would have preferred the player's number on the front of the shirt or, as with the previous kit, on the shorts (although the latter makes more work for the kit man matching shirt and shorts). In their absence, I rather hope I have got the captions right on the pictures above.

By the second half, the sun was almost completely below the trees, so the light was more even.

Dean Lodge, immediately before he was fouled for a penalty

We finish after sunset at this time of year, especially as the second half did not start until 4.10, which seemed late, with only a couple of minutes delay to the start and another couple added on in the first half. The floodlights became more significant for the lighting as the game went on.

Lewis Gonsalves

The end result was a satisfying progression to the next round, in front of the lowest crowd for a Saturday game this season, although I still got some decent crowd shots.

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

Final score: Dulwich Hamlet 3 (Daly 2,Öztümer) Leatherhead 0.

No walls were harmed in the making of this report.

Penalties saved, denied and scored

This weekend's Sir Bobby Robson National Football Day saw Dulwich Hamlet's first Ryman League Premier Division game for 12 years, against Lowestoft Town, the turf accountants' favourites for the championship. I have followed football at Premier Division level more recently, as, since Dulwich were relegated in 2001, Prescot Cables have been both promoted to and relegated from the Northern Premier League Premier Division.

Lowestoft are known to some as the Trawler Boys, in recognition of the town's fishing industry. At the turn of the 20th century, railway companies issued fishworkers' tickets, from Scottish ports to Yorkshire and to Lowestoft, with a return about 6 months later. These were for skilled onshore fish workers following the boats as they worked down the coast during the herring fishing season. I am not sure whether this explains one of the visiting supporters' flags, proclaiming themselves as Yorkshire Blues.

Lowestoft were awarded a penalty in the first few minutes, which, if they had scored, may have given them confidence to dominate the game. However, a save by Phil Wilson ensured that advantages remained even.

Phil Wilson plays the ball as the chap behind him texts home about the saved penalty

I rarely capture a good picture of our own goalkeeper saving a penalty. Although it is one of the spectacles of the game, with the penalty taker and goalkeeper lined up against each other, the  other players on the edge of the penalty area usually get in the way.

This took place whilst I was still walking round to the end we were attacking. I took up position behind one of the flags, indicating that we are a South London club.

Spectators have a part in catching or retrieving balls that have gone out of play. Doing so without spilling your pint is a useful skill.

When Harry Ottaway was brought to ground in the penalty area, many of us looked to the match officials ...

... and I lowered the camera in anticipation of a penalty. This is a dangerous time for the attacking side: if the referee adjudges there was no foul, the defending side often take advantage of the lapse in attention to make a break. Fortunately, Ellis Green played to the whistle, and, when it did not sound, put the loose ball in the net. Not that I saw it, as I was still looking at the referee.

Ellis Green

As an aside, I wonder if Harry Ottaway is any relation to the first England captain, Cuthbert Ottaway (not a descendant, as Cuthbert had only one child, a daughter): it is after all not a common name.

Having seen a penalty against our side, and a denied appeal, the match provided a useful opportunity for the writer and photographer - a penalty awarded to us. Some people use continuous shooting mode for a penalty, but I forget which button to press, the kick would be taken by the time I had gone through the menu, and I have enough practice to shoot almost as quickly manually. I generally photograph from my normal position, rather than moving directly behind the goal. On this occasion I captured the sequence quite well, with Erhun Öztümer placing the ball (keeping a straight back, best practice even with something as light as a football) ...

... taking the kick, with a couple of defenders in the background getting ready for any rebound ...

... and the ball heading towards goal.

We can see Erhun has a head down style, concentrating on the ball, rather than looking up and trying to second guess the goalkeeper's movement - a sensible approach, the movement of the goalkeeper is a variable you cannot control, best to concentrate on getting a powerful shot on target, which you can.

This was the best possible start to the season for Dulwich, for team morale and crowd retention: a crowd of over 500 treated to a win over one of the favourites for the title, and a good collection in the 12th Man bucket, building funds for Gavin Rose to use to strengthen the squad later in the season, or offer a contract to a player attracting attention from Football League clubs, allowing the club to collect a fee if the player signs professional terms.

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

First day back

The first match of the pre season programme can sometimes seem like the first day back at school. Of course, at school, there was less mystery about who would be back. Non contract players' registrations terminate at the end of the season, so they are under no obligation to return. The manager will be keen to keep his cards close to his chest before the first game, as he will not want to attract other clubs to players who have not yet signed a registration form.

It was a desire to see who had returned, and the excellent pubs in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, that took a small but select group from the Cables Train Crew to Prescot's first pre season game at West Didsbury & Chorlton. Despite being the first to arrive in Manchester, I was the last to make it to Chorlton, due to a misunderstanding over where we would catch the tram replacement bus. I made it in time to enjoy a pint of Ginger Marble in the Beer House.

The Train Crew arrive at the ground. Photo by Chorlton's gate steward.

A few years ago, West Didsbury planned to merge with East Chorlton. This did not happen, as East Chorlton folded, selling their ground, on a large parcel of land, to West Didsbury, who added Chorlton to their name in recognition. The ground is fairly basic, but they are taking methodical steps to upgrade - land cleared for covered standing, planning permission for junior pitches, and the clubhouse built with room for expansion. The clubhouse had an impressive display of their history, which made you feel you are in a football club, something often lacking in modern grounds.

We were pleasantly surprised how many players had elected to remain. The starting XI was substantially last year's team, with a start for Connor McCarthy, after a number of substitute appearances last season, and two promising new players, Phil Williams, who completed 90 minutes in the heat, and Isaac Kosoluka, who scored the second goal of the day.

Phil Williams, watched by Warren Jones

Isaac Kosoluka

I find the weather in Manchester to be characterised by humidity and a lack of breeze, so on a hot day it was going to be a test for everyone. As there was no shade at the end we were attacking, I took up position by our dugout, where the covered terracing is to go. Not that I am sure it would have helped, prefabricated terracing is often delivered painted black. This was a slightly unusual position for me, and I got more pictures of central defence and midfield, but only one usable picture of Enzo Benn at left back.

Enzo Benn

Despite an unobstructed view of Ged Murphy, I missed his goal, due to checking the team sheet at the time!

Ged Murphy

For the second half, a number of more experienced players went off. For me, conditions improved, as we were attacking the end with the shade. The disadvantage was that a team with a good finish to last season was effectively replaced by one playing together for the first time, so West Didsbury had a lot more of the play.

Second half goalkeeper, Connor Backhouse

Prescot maintained the habit we formed last season of playing to the end, and were rewarded with a 90th minute goal from a Dave Dempsey free kick on the edge of the area. Phil the Pharmacologist got it on philm, so you can judge for yourself whether it went in directly from the free kick, or if Connor McCarthy made the decisive finish (you might need to be on Facebook to view it).

Dave Dempsey

Connor McCarthy

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

At this time of year, there will be those who are not back with us, having passed away in the close season. One such this year was stalwart Dulwich Hamlet supporter Pat Mitchell, who ran the Supporters' Club for many years with her late husband Ron. Pat had been too frail to attend matches for some years, but she always enthusiastically telephoned Bill Azzi for a report at the final whistle. When I started watching Dulwich, she was selling programmes, helping Ron with the "goals-a-plenty" sponsorship scheme, and encouraging the team (with the emphasis on sound defence, a regular call was "mark up Dulwich") accompanied by her traditional wooden rattle. My thoughts are with the Mitchell family, who suffered a further loss when Pat's son John died suddenly a couple of days after her funeral.

Sit down Shepherdson, I can't see

Thus said the famously taciturn Sir Alf Ramsey as his assistant jumped up to celebrate England's 4th goal in the 1966 World Cup Final.

Cup finals and league championship deciders are not really there for people to see. In years to come, we will probably not remember much of the play, just that we were there. My activities involve tracking the game, although with Dulwich Hamlet, this is less of a responsibility than with Prescot Cables. I am something of an occasional attender (even more so this season), so if I come up with pictures the club or my friend John from the Southwark News can use, then that is a bonus.

Crowds at Dulwich have been increasing steadily over the last couple of seasons, brought in largely by the attractive football played under the manager Gavin Rose. My friend Richard commented on the forum recently that a couple of seasons ago, if he saw someone in pink and blue, he would probably know them, at least by sight; now he sees colours being worn by people he does not recognise, often some distance from the ground. I first noticed how the support base was widening about a year ago, when I went into a pub 5 minutes' walk from the ground, and found 5 or 6 tables occupied, every one by people wearing items of pink and blue clothing, or with club scarves across the back of chairs.

The crowd for this game was 1137, a majority of whom were wearing scarves and other colours, which suggests people who have come to Champion Hill before and been interested enough to buy something, rather than being people who wandered in because there was a big game. Flags were much in evidence.

The home support was distributed around the ground, as some people like to stand at the end they came in, so I had no trouble finding a bit of railing on which to lean. Playing this way means the light is right for the photographer: even when operating slightly on auto pilot.

Danny Carr plays his last game for Dulwich before joining Huddersfield Town

I do not generally go for many crowd shots, apart from a few people I know, or on a day out with the Cables Train Crew. However, on an occasion like this, the crowd become part of the event, much more than at a "normal" game, so I stood back a few times and snapped a few of the crowd too.

Shaun Dooley, joint organiser of the 12th Man scheme, gets some pictures

Dulwich needed one point to secure the Championship ahead of Maidstone United. A clean sheet would guarantee success, like in 1992, my first season watching Dulwich, when we needed one point from our final game at Hitchin Town to secure a promotion place (no playoffs back then) ahead of Boreham Wood. On that occasion, we created a buffer on 3 minutes, when Jon Egan found the net.

Nerves were not so soothed on this occasion, with Burgess Hill scoring after 29 minutes. Supporters' mood was dampened further at half time when "the Highest gave his thunder: hail stones and coals of fire". Well perhaps not coals of fire, but it was an impressive hailstorm for April. There was talk of how a team losing a commanding position on the final day almost always go on to lose in the playoffs.

From the reports I have been getting, however, Gavin is good at motivating the team to come back from a poor first half performance. I was therefore still optimistic when I squeezed into a place at the Champion Hill end, where most of the standing supporters had gathered. We were rewarded with a goal from Xavier Vidal at 65 minutes.

Xavier Vidal shoots for goal

It is not the best of photos, but the most important goal of the season is the most important goal of the season. There was an ice cream van in the ground, doing a good trade as, apart from the half time storm, the weather was quite sunny. The proprietor was clearly a supporter too, and sometimes ice cream has to take a back seat.

The ice cream vendor pauses mid-cornet to celebrate the goal

Now we were back in control, and "just" needed to prevent Burgess Hill scoring again (still keeping up pressure for an extra goal). Nerves meant attention in the crowd was starting to wander.

Attention seems elsewhere as Ethan Pinnock takes a throw in ...

... but people are looking again when the ball is back in play

The final score of 1-1 meant that Dulwich had secured our first championship since 1978. Winning the Championship at your own ground means the celebrations can get into full swing without an audience of bored home stewards wondering when you will go away.

Lifelong supporter Malcolm Bateman, looking relieved

The League official with the trophy, whose duty we assume was to spend the afternoon following the scores in a layby in the Swanley area, must have set his satnav for Dulwich once Xavier Vidal scored, as the trophy was ready to be presented a few minutes after the final whistle.

Regular goalkeeper Phil Wilson celebrates with Chico Ramos, signed with 12th Man funds when injury ended Phil's season

After that, it was some noisy celebrations in the club bar, the Cherry Tree, back to the club bar, then Goose Green roundabout (for the more fleet of foot). I left at this point, but I understand the East Dulwich Tavern was followed by more dancing on the roundabout, in some cases with less clothes.

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

Grew amid the island-dwellings

I do not often find myself called upon to attend cup finals. The only one to which I made it before this week was the North West Counties League Cup final in 2002, won by Prescot Cables. On that occasion, at Bury's Gigg Lane ground, I looked for a seat, and walked past a steward holding open a gate without being challenged. After a couple of minutes, I realised I was sitting in the blazers' enclosure, so, this being before I started taking pictures, I sat tight and enjoyed the best view of the game. There was no chance of a repeat at the Ryman League Cup final at the Gallagher Stadium, home of Maidstone United, as their directors' and press facilities are completely separated from the hoi polloi. My friend John from the Southwark News eschewed the gallery, and enjoyed the game from the terraces - not the first reporter from the paper to be a supporter too.

The main stand, with fully segregated press and directors' box

Dulwich Hamlet were playing Concord Rangers, who are challenging for the playoff places in the Premier Division, and who are named after a beach on Canvey Island. I know little of Canvey Island, apart from its having storage facilities for large amounts of flammable liquid and only one road out, and that flapjacks are required to be square, not triangular.

Walking to the ground, I was examining the satnav and about to proceed by the long way via the road, when a helpful passer by pointed out it was quicker by the riverside path. At the same time, I was joined by a Maidstone supporter for the remainder of the journey. He expressed his desire for the game - a Dulwich win, and, given that at the time of the game, we were level with them on points at the top of the table, a well fought game with extra time and penalties.

When I arrived, there were supporters ready to pose for a picture. Having the 70-300mm lens already attached, taking a picture involves retreating an almost silly distance.

The flag Michael is holding is from Altona 93, a club at a similar level to ours in Hamburg, a coach load of whose supporters visited London last month for a music and football weekend and a return match against the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' Team.

I am not sure to what standard Maidstone's floodlights were installed: the original planning application, including floodlighting plan, was submitted in 2004, before Maidstone Council digitised their planning documents, so it was not available online. However, I think may be to the Football League Division Two standard of 350 lux. They were the best lights under which I have worked since I started writing these pages.

I started the first half, when there was still some daylight left, using shutter priority at 1/320s. With 9 heads per pylon, all working, there were none of the dark spots you normally see, which matters when our kit is two thirds dark blue from the front, and wholly so from the back. When photographing Dulwich, I always have trouble getting the pink to come out with the right shade, and had the same trouble under the lights.

Luke Hickie takes a throw in in a normally dark area of the pitch, Peter Adeniyi in the background

Man of the Match Ellis Green shoots for Dulwich's first goal

With all this light, you may have thought everyone would be able to see what was going on. However, when Ellis Green scored the first goal for Dulwich, a superb shot into the top corner, Concord's goalkeeper vociferously protested that the ball had entered the goal through a hole in the net, regardless that no-one else had seen anything irregular, and his team mates were all back in their own half without protest for the restart of play.

The Dulwich supporters make full use of the metal modular terracing to make some noise

For the second half, I dropped the shutter speed down to 1/250s, with surprisingly crisp results.

Ethan Pinnock

I was even able to get a couple of shots of Dulwich goalkeeper Chico Ramos in action from a vantage point behind the goal we were attacking, something I do not normally expect to be able to do under floodlights.

Chico Ramos makes a save

The main lighting challenge was the mist for most of the game, which is to be expected in a riverside location. Maidstone's 3G pitch means they do not have the same problems as other clubs with postponements due to rain, although it is not proof against the sort of snow we have had this season, and I wonder whether they have more of a problem with fog than some.

The Maidstone supporters got their wish for extra time, although not penalties, as Concord's Premier Division experience told in the end, and they took the Cup back across the water. The extra time did not have the desired effect in the League, with Dulwich bouncing back at the weekend to win 5-0 against Walton Casuals on Saturday and Maidstone losing at Faversham.

There was news during the week that Danny Carr, who had attracted interest from a number of clubs, including Liverpool, signed terms with Huddersfield Town. He is a contract player, so there will be a fee, and I suspect it strengthened the position of our manager, Gavin Rose, negotiating for Danny to remain with us until the end of the season. This was made possible by funding from the 12th Man scheme, which allows supporters to donate regular amounts by standing order or one off amounts at home games, with all money being ring fenced to allow Gavin to augment his playing budget as he sees fit.

Danny Carr (right) with Erhun Öztümer

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