It's Thursday, it must be the Cup - part 2

Prescot Cables' Liverpool Senior Cup Final against Marine was a difficult game to predict. Marine were a division above, but we were in a play off position. We had our eyes on the league, but Marine had to play at Altrincham the previous evening amid continuing bad weather and the FA's determination at all costs to complete the season by the end of the week. That fixture was a case in point, Altrincham were assured of the title and Marine mathematically safe, so it could have been mopped up the following week. Any thought Marine had of resting players probably had to go out of the window in favour of taking whoever could extricate themselves from work and family at less than 12 hours' notice.

Many county and league cup finals are played at a Football League ground, and for the players it may be the only chance they have to play there. The Liverpool FA's practice of drawing it at the home of one of the participants probably makes a virtue out of a necessity. Anfield and Goodison are unlikely to be available, and a crowd of 750 would rattle in Prenton Park or the Halton Stadium. In the Marine Travel Arena, however, it made for a lively atmosphere with two sets of enthusiastic supporters.

Having the match ball on a stand seems de rigeur these days. Another photographer, with commendable attention to detail, made sure the Nike swoosh was the right way up.

The referee giving the ball his total, undivided attention ...

... phew, no accidental comedy moment.

Pictures look better with a crowd in the background, and the compact nature of the ground means that with a decent number in they are fairly close together.

Valter Fernandes

Well, apart from one side.

Harry Cain

Those familiar with the ground may find it hard to believe, but there are pictures from the 1940s with spectators on the fourth side, so I dread to think what width the pitch must have been.

The first half an hour was a cagey affair, with neither side looking to take risks early on. We opened the scoring with a penalty, dispatched by Chris Almond.

Chris Almond scores from the spot

Many of our supporters stood on the open terrace at the Crosender Road end, in the unaccustomed position of being behind our goal.

Ben Barnes

James McCulloch was unavailable due a school trip to Llandudno, where I hope he was making the pupils pay for it attending to the students' fitness by having them run up and down an Orme. Lloyd Dean was captain in his place. He added a second just before half time ...

... and a third just after. The corner arrangement of floodlights meant I took up position behind the goal, with satisfactory results.

The definitive use of a shiny advertising board for reflecting a goal celebration

With seven of the hosts' team having played the previous day, they were tiring, and it was clear we would maintain our advantage. About ten minutes from time, I started to make my way to the College Road end, as I assumed that was where the cup would spend its brief time out of its case.

As I was behind the goal, I heard the steward briefing our supporters on the logistics - giving the players five minutes' rest after the final whistle, and then bringing the supporters on to the pitch to watch the presentation in the stand. I missed Josh Klein-Davies completing the scoring.

Josh Klein-Davies

Heading towards the cup ...

... I realised I was heading away from the imminent celebrations, so retraced my steps.

Scenes

The second rule of getting a good image is to reconnoitre the territory*, but I had little opportunity to do so, as I had not appreciated the value of Marine's stand for trophy presentations - not quite 39 steps, but enough to be going on with. The crowd had an excellent view, the photographer less so, with strip lighting immediately behind the players.

It was easier to get an image pitchside.

Unlike last year, when the County FA seemed keen to rescue their silverware from all those people with their collapsing fences, the trophy was allowed in the dressing room.

After a rather anxious looking chap popped his head round the door fifteen minutes later to ask if we had finished with their cup, the management took their turn in the more restrained atmosphere of the board room.

After this, the pictures needed to be processed - first up were a couple of the presentation, then the game. I had to disappoint the players, when pictures from the dressing room went in the queue behind those from the next game, although they had plenty of their own selfies to keep them going.

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

Final score: Marine 0 Prescot Cables 4 (Almond pen, Dean 2, Klein-Davies)

* The first rule is to remove the lens cap.

Shine a light in the corners

Feeling like a game in the absence of a Prescot Cables fixture , I attended Marine's game against Corby Town. The hosts are in a  similar position to us, just above the relegation positions in the Premier Division, and the visitors were one point below them. I hoped to catch Jack Phillips once he had his international clearance after playing in Wales (for a club playing all its away games in England) but he was injured in his first appearance, and will be out for quite some time. Former Cables interest would be represented by Jamie Menagh, who had also been awaiting international clearance after joining from Airbus UK Broughton of the Welsh Premier League, so I took my camera.

Jamie Menagh

Marine have a corner arrangement of floodlights: I used their application for planning permission as the basis for my diagrams illustrating lighter and darker parts of the pitch. Unfortunately, there were some bulbs out. Fixing them involves more than just getting a seppblatter, and will probably need to wait until the close season. So, the corners had respectively six, five, four and three bulbs illuminated, with the six and five at one end, and the four and three at the other.

The hosts were playing towards this end in the first half, so I would be better placed just into the visitors' half, rather than going all the way to the terraces.

Adam Hughes

Any moves out from Marine's half looked a bit backlit.

James Short

The visitors had the best of the first half, going in a goal ahead.

For the second half, I took up position in the most illuminated part of the ground, where I was joined by Dr James, who had encountered a spot of bother with the train service. I would say it is much less fuss when you go by bus, but unfortunately it often isn't, so I won't.

Marine drew level with a goal from captain Daniel Mitchley, and took the lead from the same player, for which I managed a double, capturing both the foul ...

... and the successful penalty.

It looked as though Marine would have to settle for a draw to maintain their one point advantage when the visitors equalised in the last ten minutes. However, the hosts took all three points with a goal from Alfons Fosu-Mensah three minutes from time.

Alfons Fosu-Mensah

Regular observers of the game in these parts will know that Marine's Assistant Manager, Tony Sullivan, is not a man to let a goal go uncelebrated.

Tony Sullivan

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

Final score: Marine 3 Corby Town 2.

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

Los Marineros

Although I am not a fan of televised sport, I followed a decent chunk of the World Cup, and supported Chile when there was not much English interest left in the competition. So, that was more or less from the start, then. In a World Cup year, the football I can go and watch starts in the last week or so of the competition. I wanted to get back into practice taking and editing photos (reflexes can go rusty surprisingly quickly), which is easier with no-one expecting output, so I went to watch Marine entertain Chester FC. I was not the only person who had been following the Chileans.

I took up position behind the goal Marine were attacking.

Believe it or not from the pictures, Chester were playing in purple. I always have trouble with this colour on the camera - there are many times I have taken pictures in the countryside or a park and spotted an attractive lilac flower, only to find when I have got it home it has turned out blue. I could shoot in Raw format and tweak the colour grading, which is all very well for a single bloom, but not so practical for getting 60 sports pictures out whilst people still remember the game.

In the early pre season games, team sheets are not as regularly handed around as in the normal season. Managers may not want to alert the competition that they are trying out a player who has not yet signed registration forms. Not that such things are exactly a secret for long, this is an environment where everyone knows everyone else, and we are a gossipy bunch.

Marine have a new manager after last season's brush with the relegation positions, and anyway, I had not seen them play for 18 months, so I was not expecting to find anyone I recognised. I did, however, recognise the visitors' Jamie Menagh, who played a few games for Prescot before signing for Chester.

It looked as though the match officials were from the Conference panel, so they were wired for sound, although the can of foam has yet to reach this level.

In the past referees tended to avoid giving cards in pre season games, asking for a player to be substituted, therefore not attracting fines and suspensions. However, the authorities are more strict these days, and Chester's second half goalkeeper Jon Worsnop was sent off for handling outside the area.

The report on Chester First indicated that this will not attract a suspension, which is fair for a technical rather than violent offence. Former Scottish international Chris Iwelumo went in goal, after a few minutes of amusing attempts to find a suitable shirt and gloves.

Not many grounds provide the opportunity for the players to line up with the advertising boards, although I am not sure this ball would clear the bus.

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

Final score: Marine 2; Chester 4.

The neighbours' floodlights, part 2

I posted a few weeks ago about Marine's new floodlights. Having a free Tuesday with no Prescot fixture, I thought another visit was in order now the nights are starting to draw in. It is also a good chance to watch some of the players who have stepped up a division from playing for Prescot.

Ryan McMahon - previously of Prescot Cables

As an aside, is it my imagination, or have the League fixtures this year been a bit floored by the earlier start to the FA Trophy? Prescot's game last week against Mossley was only arranged when someone noticed both clubs had byes in the Trophy; and most clubs in our division had fixtures last Tuesday, but we did not, even though our bye meant we would not be involved in a replay. Dulwich Hamlet were given a fixture on the weekend of the First Qualifying Round against opponents who had a bye in the Preliminary Round, and were therefore in no doubt they would be unable to play us.

I was not alone in the desire for midweek football, as I spotted a few Prescot supporters around the ground. James and Phil had taken up position under the cover at the side of the ground (James is a Marine supporter, but since he has been working with Phil, he has been to more Prescot games than Marine), so I joined them and took some pictures from this side.

I have posted on the best vantage point for different floodlight arrangements, and I found the pitch to be well lit in the areas I expected. I had not expected how deep a shadow would be cast by the lights near the corners - a problem with players running away from the lights. Here is an example, before I tried to adjust the lighting.

We can try to lighten the shadows, in the same way we do on a bright sunny day.

However, I was still not happy with the results, as the player's face is almost completely obscured, so I did not include this in the final collection.

The results when the players are partly facing the lights can be quite striking.

I then tried shooting from the end of the pitch, about half way between the goal and the corner. My suspicion that this would prove to be a better vantage point proved correct, making use of the lighter spots, and I was more likely to capture players running towards the lights.

Paul Lundon - previously of Prescot Cables

Marine's floodlights are designed for a luminance of 350 lux (and are new, so are giving a bit better than that), as opposed to 180 lux at Prescot. This made a big difference - using the f4.5-5.6 70-300mm lens under the 180 lux lights, I am slightly underexposing, even at a shutter speed of 1/200s and ISO 6400 equivalent, whereas I did not need to do this under these lights. Indeed, I was even keeping my thumb on the shutter speed wheel to alternate between 1/200s and 1/250s as players moved in and out of the lightest areas.

Marine very considerately score their first goal from the well lit edge of the penalty area

Marine's club shop has an impressive stock of programmes, and as James pointed out some from Dulwich Hamlet, a couple overheard, and introduced themselves as Merstham supporters, in the area on holiday. They pronounced the name as written - the local pronunciation, never extending much beyond the North Downs, adding an extra r (Merstrum), seems to be dying out. I worked with a friend in Manchester who had played for Merstham's Youth team (like me, he came north to University and stayed). He climbed the footballing ladder to appear on to Match of the Day last season - as the camera captured him on duty with Lancashire Constabulary. As he works in Blackburn, his potential appearances this season will be on the Football League Show.

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

Auto focus with a limited attention span

This weekend saw what has become in recent years Prescot Cables' traditional last pre season game against Marine. There has been competition (not to mention regular movement of players) between the clubs for many years, although for most of the Pyramid era, they have been a division or two above us.

Prescot's pre season programme seems to have been very much about exploring options, discovering combinations of players that work well. The squad is therefore still quite large, and I suspect likely to remain so to have cover for all positions. Very few players have played in all of the pre season games, so I am still not sure who will start the season. A couple of players have been in most of the games - top scorer in pre season, James Thomas (who features more in a moment), and James McCulloch.

James McCulloch

There was still the opportunity to bring in new faces.

Joe Fielding

I think most would agree that auto focus is a wonderful thing, especially for fast moving sports like football and rugby, as it works much more quickly and accurately than anything the photographer can do manually. However, it sometimes seems to have the attention span of a gnat. Take this free kick for Prescot's goal.

The ball is in nice sharp focus as James "Smiler" Thomas takes a free kick ...

... keeping a close eye as it goes over the wall ...

 ... still sharp as Marine goalkeeper Ryan McMahon makes a move ...

 ... but he cannot get to it and ... ooh, there's Dave from Football Editorial - wonder what camera he is using ... what do you mean "goal"?

Still, as the principle remains on this blog, a goal is a goal, and this is just the sort of goal for which we keep Smiler on the books, getting us back from a goal down, which would be a valuable point in a league game.

For Dave Smithson's view of the game and some comments from Cables Manager Dave Powell, click here.

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