Sunshine after rain

A couple of weeks' steady rain meant Prescot Cables' game at home to Ramsbottom United was our first competitive fixture since Scarborough at the end of January. Skemersdale United have not been able to play on the pitch either, and it looked as though it had benefited from three weeks' rest and from the grass starting to grow again.

As well as the pitch having had chance to dry, I anticipated being dry too, as no rain was forecast. There was even sun, which at this time of the year means it is tricky to sit behind the goal line at the Safari Park End. The light is mainly from the side for pictures, but the sun is low enough to dazzle, and bright enough that I cannot see the camera screen. I therefore sat in the shade of the side perimeter. An issue I did not have a couple of years ago is boards on the Gasworks Side giving a strong backlight - a product of our success selling advertising. The D5300's sports mode automatically uses matrix metering,  so I experimented with shutter priority and spot and weighted metering. The latter had some advantages, although I am not sure it outweighed the disadvantage of having to manually adjust shutter speed as play went into the shade.

Reece Fishwick

We quickly imposed ourselves when Reece Fishwick was brought down for a penalty converted by Chris Almond.

One of  the more ominous sights in a game is a player going down with no-one near him, and this proved to be the case when Josef Faux landed awkwardly after jumping for the ball, injuring his knee. Sadly, early reports suggest he may be out for some time.

Josef Faux

The resulting substitution meant James Edgar returned from injury somewhat earlier than he expected.

James Edgar

A lot of sports photography involves techniques you can learn - looking at published photographs to see what works, mastering camera settings, cropping and lighting. However, there is something, that we can call 1/10s (probably less than that) that separates professionals from those of us in the amateur field. It is the difference in reaction time between getting the fingers making contact with the ball and getting it a foot away flying off to safety.

Ben Barnes

It is also the difference between getting the ball on the head of the player and ... well you see the pattern.

Chris Almond heads for his second goal ...

... joins Ernie in watching it go in ...

... and celebrates.

To access the pitch for the second half, I used the smart new gate installed by our sponsors Joseph's Joinery - the only snag being that with a bolt at the bottom as well as the top, I need someone to close it behind me. The cover at the Eaton Street end gave me some shadow to work in. Ben Barnes was sensibly wearing a cap, but I do not recall ever having seen a linesman wearing one, even though in this case he was looking straight into the sun for most of the 45 minutes.

The linesman watches Reece McNally

We had taken the opportunity presented by the weather to play friendlies against Southport and Chorley, and made a new signing, Junior Dos Santos, who has played with West Ham's youth setup and recently relocated to the north. Some tweets telling us he was enjoying training and looking forward to playing for the club went a long way to ensuring an enthusiastic welcome when he came on.

Junior Dos Santos

The visitors' goal came when Ben Barnes made one of those howlers that keep goalkeepers awake at night - an innocuous free kick came in his direction, he had the options of gathering it in his hands, stopping it with his feet or falling on it. A moment's hesitation meant he did none, and the ball trickled into the net. It is the goalkeeper's lot that talk after the game was of whether I had a picture of the miss rather than one of the acrobatic save I have published above.

For the last quarter of an hour, the shadow of the stand was long enough to let me take position by the side of the pitch.

Matthew Hamilton

We were joined for the afternoon by some friends from Larvik, Norway, the home town of the father and son Norwegian internationals Gunnar and Hallvar Thoresen. The Thoresens made their names with Larvik Turn, whereas our visitors support the town's older football team but younger sports club, IF Fram. They have sponsored some shirt numbers in the name of the town for a couple of seasons, and were making their first visit to Prescot.

Bjørn Nilsson from Larvik presents Baba Conteh with his Man of the Match award

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 (Almond 2 (1 pen)) Ramsbottom United 1.

Blood and diesel

My trips to Ramsbottom United usually involve a detour between the tram and the bus for a Chadwick's black pudding from their stall on Bury Market. The final stage never seems as smooth as it looks on the timetable, this time featuring two buses arriving at the advertised time, only for both drivers to announce they were there for the next service 15 minutes hence. In Ramsbottom, they had been doing something that seemed a terrible waste of blood based comestibles.

The main event in town this weekend was the East Lancashire Railway Diesel Gala, causing a queue at the level crossing as I arrived. I paused briefly to listen to a Class 33 setting off, disappointed that the train was not heavy enough, nor the line speed high enough, to give the sound I remember from my local line as a child.

We played downhill in the first half. I intended to go the side away from the clubhouse, but took one look at the rigging holding up the net and decided against going behind it. Successful action photography needs to be unobtrusive, which is not achieved by demolishing the goal or being suspended in the net wearing orange high vis (also from Bury Market).

I therefore sat down in front of the wall. Legendary supporter Dave "The Monster" was behind me, paying close attention to our goal. "Clear it Angus!" "Good save Angus!" When I pointed out he should be referring to Marcus, he replied "same difference", which is probably not true if you are trying to attract his attention.

Marcus Burgess gathers at the feet of Tom Brooks

The standing on the cricket club side is quite narrow, with the fence close to the pitch, which makes the crowd appear particularly in focus, with everyone in a neat row. This is accentuated by my low photography position.

Josef Faux

The hosts retweeted my collection, and a few home supporters enjoyed picking themselves and their friends out in the crowd.

Chaps called Harry were well represented.

Harry Cain

Ramsbottom, like Mossley, is becoming one of those places where many of us enjoy the surroundings, but usually come away less happy with the result. Normal service was maintained when the hosts scored what proved to be the only goal of the game.

For the second half, I again decided not to navigate the assault course of the net rigging, and positioned myself to look downhill on the cricket club side.

Valter Fernandes runs down the wing for me - well, up really, it's quite a slope

Whilst the half was not without action, this was a game both sides would regard as less than classic.

I have neglected my photography of towns and surroundings for recent games, so, finding myself at the station when a couple of trains were due, I decided to get a few snaps, taking in the town, and back to the station to see the last service of the day, the final whistle (seriously nerdy railway joke).

40 145

Having then visited the Irwell Works Brewery, the buses were as unreliable as earlier in the day, so I got home an hour later than planned, which, if I had known could have been better spent in the pub.

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

Final score: Ramsbottom United 1 Prescot Cables 0.

Fog lights

Prescot Cables entered their game against Ramsbottom United needing all the points we could get. The previous week's results left us in a relegation position, behind Goole on goal difference. The league is so tight that one more goal would have put us ahead on goals scored, and a not unrealistic 5-1 would have taken it to results in games between the clubs. Ramsbottom started the day three points ahead with poor away form, but we have usually struggled to obtain a result against them.

The day started clearly enough, with sunny spells.

Joe Herbert

However, as the temperature dropped, the fog started to form.

Valter Fernandes

It was patchy in places, and very much rising from the ground, with the air above about twenty feet looking clear.

The visitors had scored first, after seven minutes, with Rob Doran levelling the scores after half an hour.

Rob Doran

By half time, we were completely fog bound.

Jordan Wynne

Were I a betting man, and allowed by the FA to be so, I would have been tempted to open a book on whether we would be able to finish, or if I would encounter my second weather related abandonment of the year, having escaped such an outcome for the previous twenty five.

My photographic activities for the afternoon were more or less at an end, with the action only clear right in front of me. I could see our substitutes warming up on the opposite touchline, but would have been hard pressed to identify them with any certainty. Ramsbottom scored again, then Jordan Wynne was brought down for a penalty, converted by Rob Doran, three minutes later. The point slipped out of our grasp in the last 20 minutes, with the visitors scoring twice without reply. Those who saw it through the mist suggested the third goal was quite a good free kick.

With Goole losing 3-1, we remain level below them on goal difference, but with two more goals scored. Burscough are a distance away at the bottom of the table, but looked as though Dave Powell's meticulous approach to looking out for players was starting to pay off with results. Of particular concern was that he had secured Marcus Burgess in goal. However, for reasons best known to themselves, the club decided to part company with Dave, with the result that both he and Marcus were watching us, with the latter being available for us once the formalities have been completed.

With a change in management, it is inevitable some players will move on. Phil Bannister, who has been an excellent servant of the club in over 100 appearances in two spells with us, has been snapped up by Burscough.

Phil Bannister

Josh Nicholson, who has been a useful member of the squad in the last year, clearly impressed Ashton Town in our Senior Cup game, as he has joined them, as well as registering back at Skelmersdale United in our league.

Josh Nicholson in action against Ashton Town

This blog extends its best wishes to both Phil and Josh in their future endeavours. There are more arrivals and departures, but I will save those for the next game.

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

Final score: Prescot Cables 2 (Doran 1 + 1 pen) Ramsbottom United 4

Brian will be concentrating on the League this year

Travelling on campaign, it is a good idea to send out an advance party to reconnoitre the territory. Ramsbottom is not a difficult expedition, but Facebook updates from a fellow supporter who was combining our game at Ramsbottom United with a trip to the East Lancashire Railway told me that, due to late notice engineering works, there was no fast train to Manchester Victoria, and trams to Bury were off. The notice for the latter on the Metrolink website was posted on Thursday for a weekend closure, which is good for them, if not so handy for those who like to plan well in advance, I once turned up in Manchester to find the closure of the whole southern half of the system was not worthy of any mention.

Although the replacement bus had fewer stops, the normal 135 has a direct route, and, as I would be on a bus either way, I decided to pay a bus fare rather than the premium fare for the tramp, er, I mean tram. From the number of people on the ageing bendy bus, others had the same idea.

After stopping for blood based comestibles in Bury Market, I arrived in Ramsbottom just in time for the game, or would have if the referee had started on time. As it was, I heard the start from the bus stop, and reached the ground at exactly 3pm, with four minutes completed.

There was a light drizzle, so I took up position under the cover at the uphill end, behind the goal we were attacking.

Phil Bannister

We had announced in midweek that our new manager was to be Brian Richardson, the Assistant Manager at Skelmersdale United, so this would be Andy Paxton's last game in charge.

Danny Flood made a welcome return, having spent the last couple of weeks at Winsford United for game time.

Danny Flood

Captaining the hosts was Gareth Seddon, who received national attention playing for Salford City in the BBC's Class of 92 documentary.

Tom Brocklehurst gathers from Gareth Seddon and confirms his order for a dozen slices of Emmental and a quarter of  Shropshire Blue

We were not without movement in the right direction, but the hosts had the better of the game and scored their first after 30 minutes.

We were playing downhill for the second half, which usually makes for better pictures. The rain had stopped, but the sky was darker, and the speeds the sports mode was offering were dropping, so I switched, for the first afternoon game this season, to shutter priority at 1/320s.

Joe Nicholson

Gareth Seddon scored Ramsbottom's second after 65 minutes, and was almost immediately substituted, having completed the task his employers had in mind.

It was dark enough for the floodlights to spring noisily into action - I cannot remember whether Ramsbottom's lights have always been powered by a generator, or if their mains supply was damaged in the flood they suffered at the beginning of the year.

James Edgar under the lights

The most worrying aspect of recent performances is the trouble we have had scoring. In some games, there seems to have been a sense that when we have gone behind, it is as good as over, which goes some way to explaining our heavier defeats. It was therefore some encouragement that we improved in the last few minutes. James McCulloch was rewarded with a consolation goal, unfortunately with too little time for the chance of a second.

When we go out of a cup, I usually text my friend Roger, who first recruited me to the Cables interest in 1991, with the comment, "Concentrating on the league this year, Brian", because I like a good cliché, and Brian is actually his middle name. With the change of management, I felt the need to change the wording - "Brian's concentrating on the league this year".

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

Final score: Ramsbottom United 2 Prescot Cables 1 (McCulloch).

Variably focussed

I wondered how well I would see Prescot Cables' game at Ramsbottom United. This was not because of visibility problems at the Harry Williams Riverside Stadium, or an unusually large crowd blocking the view. I had instead succumbed to age by getting my first pair of varifocals, having heard horror stories from people who had not taken to them. I had no problems, but I can see why they are not for everyone: the distortion in peripheral vision was disconcerting the first time I turned my head and found a bus shelter taking a step towards me.

The leg of the journey from Manchester to Bury was on a single, rather crowded, tram. When Manchester United are at home, the line to Old Trafford snaffles everyone else's trams, which is all very well, but there were still plenty in the depot as we passed. Bury is the home of the black pudding, so I stopped at the market for a Chadwick's Original, with the decent sized pieces of fat.

A train from the East Lancashire Railway's diesel gala was passing as I arrived in Ramsbottom, using one of the last manually operated level crossings in the country, now with lights to stop the traffic before the gates are closed.

The Rammy Ultras banner always brings out my inner Finbarr Saunders.

Fnarr, fnarr

In goal for the hosts was Jack Cookson, who, it is fair to say, did not enjoy the best spell of his career with us at the beginning of last season. Unfortunately for us, he is having a bit of a better time at Ramsbottom, although their match report commented on their defensive frailties.

Things were looking up for us when the hosts conceded an own goal after about 15 minutes. This was to be our only score of the game. Whilst I would not entirely agree with the hosts report commenting that this was our only sustained attack of the game, we are currently having a worrying inability to find the net from open play.

There was some flying on display.

James Edgar takes to the air

Ramsbottom scored shortly before half time, and we were lucky that a second effort a couple of minutes later was disallowed for offside.

By this time I was getting used to the change in my eyewear. It matters what part of the lens you look through, so I was learning to move my head rather than my eyes following the ball. It also matters that you have the glasses on straight and in the same position on your nose every time. That has never bothered me before, and as I tend to pull the camera in to my face, unbalancing my glasses, every time I took it away I found myself with different focus in each eye.

The second half looked destined for stalemate, and so it turned out, with both sides successfully holding the other at bay.

Tom Brocklehurst

Rob Doran

I had planned to visit the Irwell Works Brewery before the game, but my stop for blood based comestibles meant I would have had to rush my pint, so I saved it for after the game. On my last visit, the just opened bar had a whiff of new construction, which has happily cleared up with time. The weather was still pleasant enough to sit on the balcony, where the adjacent group, taking a break from the diesel gala, included one chap who thought the trees were taking over. As he was talking about the lineside on the main line railway, he may have had a point.

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

Final score: Ramsbottom United 1 Prescot Cables 1 (og)

Goals, unfortunately not ours

Many of us approached Prescot Cables' game against Ramsbottom United with some apprehension. Our visitors had scored 84 goals in their League campaign prior to this fixture, 12 more than any other club, although there was some hope, in that they had conceded 42.

We also received the news that Connor McCarthy, our top scorer, had signed for Skelmersdale United. This was not unexpected, as it was clear his talent would attract clubs at a higher level. Skelmersdale expressed an interest after our Doodson Sport Cup fixture in November, but Connor delayed his move until now, hoping to contribute to securing our league position. Weather related postponements meant there is still work to do, but it is evidence of his character and commitment. He will find strong competition for a place at Skelmersdale, Manager Tommy Lawson maintains a squad to keep his options open, but I am confident Connor will rise to the challenge. This blog wishes him well in his future career.

Connor McCarthy gets away from the opposition at New Mills

Playing for Prescot gives the opportunity for young players to put themselves in the shop window for clubs higher up the pyramid and those in a position to pay more than expenses. The best players understand that the way to impress visiting managers and scouts is to perform well as part of our team, so we benefit too. A player progressing in his career creates opportunities for others, and a start at number 10 went to Luke Robinson.

Luke Robinson

Also starting was Franny Foy, who has been with the club for a while, mainly in the reserves, with some first team appearances, and who scored his first goal for the first team at Ossett Albion in midweek.

Franny Foy

This was the first game for some weeks that had not been threatened by rain. There was even some sunshine, which makes life considerably easier, particularly producing pictures of print quality.

Jordan Shirley- in one of the pictures I submitted to the Merseymart

James McCulloch - in the picture they used

The visitors showed their scoring prowess with two quick goals on half an hour, and finished the game as a contest with a third just before half time. There was a general consensus that Ramsbottom were the best side we have seen at Prescot so far this season, and that they have a good chance of getting themselves into a play off place.

After the game, we held the AGM of the Community Interest Company that runs the club. The most significant football announcement was that our Reserves will be playing at Hope Street next season, following AFC Liverpool's departure to Marine. Whilst this means a reduction in revenue, it also means a reduction in costs, and will hopefully make the Reserves more integrated with the first team.

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

Final result: Prescot Cables 0 Ramsbottom United 3

Rambananas

This blog likes a good old fashioned double entendre as much as the next man, although a mildly diverting sports blog does not offer many opportunities to slip one in. Indeed, I was pleased to see that the expression "fnarr fnarr" has, according to Wikipedia, recently been added to the Oxford English Dictionary, even though I thought the Dictionary was for words, rather than phrases, and I last read Viz a good few years ago, when the comic was new, and I was in the young adult / overgrown teenager age group at which it is aimed. Finbarr Saunders seems alive and well in Ramsbottom.

Whilst, like many clubs these days, Ramsbottom United's supporters had an ultras flag, they did not seem to have any ultras attending it.

Over the last couple of months, we have made a bit of a habit of taking unexpected points off teams looking at finishing in the playoff positions. This game was another, with Prescot scoring from Karl Bergqvist and Jack Webb. I managed to get a full sequence of pictures leading up to the second goal.

Jack Webb sends goalkeeper Grant Shenton the wrong way...

...he then avoids Mark Ayers ...

... gets clear (the defender accidentally collided with the goalkeeper at this point, he needed some treatment on the field and a bag of ice from the bar at half time) ...

... steadies for a shot ...

... and puts it away before Ramsbottom's Jordan Hulme can get to him.

This raised the question of which picture to send in to the Merseymart. My choice would have been the second one, when Jack has decisively beaten the keeper, but before the keeper has (unseen by Jack) been clattered by his own defender. However, a quick enlargement will illustrate the deficiencies of this picture, the light was beginning to fade, so it is rather grainy. I therefore went for the final photo (which they used), cropping it with just Jack and the goalkeeper.

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

The valley of the rams

Last Friday, England played San Marino at Wembley. I have been to San Marino, when Dulwich Hamlet Supporters played in a tournament in Rimini, the nearest town in Italy. I bought a shirt as a souvenir, and was planning to wear it to Prescot's game away to Ramsbottom United if San Marino had scored a goal. As they did not, it stayed in the cupboard.

The town of Ramsbottom is about half the size of the Republic of San Marino. The town is in the valley rather than on the hill, and they only have one tower on top of their hill, rather than San Marino's three.

Peel Monument, Ramsbottom

The three fortress towers of San Marino represented on their shirt

Ramsbottom also has a church that started life in the Church of Scotland, but was removed from that denomination following a dispute, and is now part of the Church of England. The tower has pinnacles straight out of Gotham - if they do not have bats in their belfry, I want to know why.

St Andrew's Church

Ramsbottom United's ground is next to the East Lancashire Railway, so a few supporters were looking forward to going to the game by steam train. I had been there when we were in the North West Counties League, so I was looking forward to getting some pictures of the action with a train puffing away behind. We were thwarted, as it was the weekend of the railway's Diesel gala. Fortunately the Railway's Trackside bar at their Bury Bolton Street Station operates regardless of the traction, so we obtained suitable refreshment there, and at the Irwell Works Brewery Tap in Ramsbottom.

I would not have got my photos anyway, as the trees at the railway end had grown in the last 10 years, and now blocked the view of the trains. Whether they now suffer from wet leaves on the line is not recorded.

Stephen Longrigg

In the first half, the sky was fairly overcast, giving an even light, but the trees were to cause more than a little bother when the sun came out in the second half.

They cast a shadow up to about the half way line, so most of the action in Ramsbottom's half was in shadow. This is not a problem in itself, unless the background provided by the other half is in bright sunlight, not dissimilar to the problem when Prescot played a post season friendly at Goodison Park. Take this example, with Anthony Shinks. This is how the shot came off the camera.

I was a surprised this was in focus, as most of the action is in the left of the frame, but I think the focus point is just about over Anthony's arm. With a static subject we could sort out the framing and lighting before shooting, but that luxury is not available, we have to rely on the camera to do it for us. We can crop the image, which if anything makes the underexposure of the players more pronounced.

Of course, we can adjust the lighting, but even then, there is only so much we can do - I decided I had better pictures of the player, so it did not make the final collection.

As the shadow was cast by trees, the edges were of course not straight, which gave some better lighting effects when the players were partly in shade.

Jack Booth

I have joked that I do not recognise players when they have had a haircut, and regular followers of Prescot Cables will agree that Jack Booth has had a rather drastic one. Taking a picture of the team sheet, rather than copying it out on to paper makes it more difficult to consult during the game, and I was wondering who was playing at number 15, not recognising Jack until I got the pictures home.

For some, it is more than a matter of recognition. After a game last season, when Liam Hollett had not had one of his best afternoons, and was also sporting a particularly severe haircut, match day announcer David Williams (who has been supporting the club since 1945) approached him with the words, "Liam, you're like Samson, you've had your hair cut and all your strength has gone".

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