All fields round here

I had thought the North West Counties League Division 1 playoff at Barnton would be my last game of this football season. I trundled off to the rugby union County Championship the following week, and had no Saturday plans after that. However, Matt from the Lost Boyos tweeted that his 100th game of the season would be Sandbach United's Cheshire League game at home to Greenalls Padgate St Oswalds and issued a general invitation. Sandbach have been accepted into the North West Counties League, so it would be interesting to see their preparations.

I arrived in Sandbach intending to take a few pictures and have a pint before walking to the ground. As I was inspecting the Saxon Crosses in the Market Place, a cheery wave from the beer garden of the Lower Chequer told me I had found Matt. I joined him and his travelling companions: Emil, the Secretary at Atherton Collieries, whose father admired the Czechoslovakian runner Emil Zátopek; and Joseph Gibbons, universally known as Gibbo, who combines being part of the Atherton Collieries media team with York based ground hopping.

I selected a pint of Joule's Shropshire Hop, and was concerned about breaking the Geneva Convention.

Joule's red cross is one of the oldest registered trade marks in the world, and is covered as an existing trade mark in the legislation that brought the Convention into UK law.

A consensus emerged that we would go to the ground in the town's taxi (we can offer no evidence of the existence of any others). We therefore visited the Saxon Grill, where the barmaid told us that, as they were mainly a food establishment, we would find a better beer range in the Market Tavern, along with a more eccentric landlord, although she did not mention that.

The club play at the Sandbach Community Football Centre, a large facility on the edge of the town, with five or six pitches. The main pitch sits on the highest ground, which should help with drainage, and has a wooden perimeter fence. Opposite the clubhouse and the entrance, the ground slopes away at the edge of the pitch, giving a good low vantage point for the photographer. The ball can travel some distance out of play, so spectators need to be nimble.

Gibbo returns the ball

Hard standing is in place behind one goal, with neat, new wooden cover. The unusual barrier at the front made me think of shooting butts, but use as such might make it difficult to clear up the gizzards, or whatever the inside of a clay pigeon is called, ready for a game. Still, I could not get rid of the image of gentlemen in flat caps shooting away.

Matt tries the covered standing

Seats have arrived, from the Britannia Stadium, and I assume a modular stand to accommodate them is on its way.

Once, and possibly future, Prescot Cables players were represented by the visitors' Lee Novak, who I understood from a brief snippet of conversation after the game is returning to playing after some time being unavailable due to work commitments.

Lee Novak

Ground grading regulations specify that the ground perimeter should be designed to prevent the viewing of the game from outside the ground. The reverse is not required, so we were surrounded by greenery, which might feel a bit open on a wet Tuesday night in November.

I have always been puzzled by the tendency of some players in contact sports to stick their tongues out in play, although I have never seen anyone left with an inability to pronounce their Ls as a result of an accidental collision. The habit is spreading to the match officials.

I do not think the result had a great deal of consequence, as the hosts had been accepted for promotion regardless of position. I was confused by what I assumed to be final the table on the League website. Knutsford were in top position with 43 points from 18 games, but others had played anything from 15 to 29 , with no suggestion of allocating position by the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Back in Manchester, I made a first visit (for me, not for my companions) to the Piccadilly Tap which has appeared in Piccadilly Station Approach since I last had need to leave the station. The beer was in tip top condition, on what looked like electric dispense, but they may live to regret not having anything to open at the back of the bar for through ventilation.

The rest of the pictures from the game are available here. Matt's account, in which I appear as a well spoken hipster, is available here.

Final score: Sandbach United 1 Greenalls Padgate St Oswalds 2.

Returning friends, departing friends

"We need to silence that drum", a visiting supporter said to his friend at the beginning of Prescot Cables' game against Droylsden. I was concerned that the drum's owner, Rod, might be about to be upended in the bushes at the Safari Park End. Fortunately, they had in mind to drown him out with noise, an endeavour in which they were not successful, but it made for a decent amount of noise at both ends.

Supplying decibels from the dugouts was Droylsden's Assistant Manager, Ged Murphy, who left us to return to his local club at this time last year. It looks as though he has stopped playing to concentrate on coaching, but he was still in full voice. I am not sure about that jacket though.

Ged directs operations

Also with the visitors was Sean Myler, who scored some useful goals for us a couple of seasons ago.

Sam Corlett is challenged by Sean Myler

After rain at the last two games, it was a relief that it was dry by the time the game started, with low sun. At Hope Street, this can give problems with backlighting, particularly against the lighter advertising boards. Using the normal tools for the whole photo does not quite do the trick, or will leave the background washed out, so we have to lighten the player a bit more as with this picture of Danny Flood.

Here is the end result - I think Danny was happy, as it is now his Twitter profile picture.

Danny Flood

The first half was fairly even, until Liam Dodd scored in injury time. It is another picture in the "goal is a goal" category - as a stand alone photo there is too much space in the middle, of which Liam is neatly taking advantage.

Liam Dodd shoots for goal

Droylsden have been top scorers in the division by some distance, although, until our defeats in December they had also let in more than us, so I was sure we had not seen the only goal. My prediction was confirmed on the hour when Andy Fowler, sporting positively Finnish facial furniture (they like to keep their faces warm in the winter), scored for the visitors.

Andy Fowler

We are used to seeing Jack Phillips starting, but having him on the bench paid off, his pace and agility, combined with fresh legs, came at just the right time.

Jack Phillips

Both sides had further chances, but Prescot held on for a hard earned point, a credit credit to all the team and holding Droylsden to their first draw of the season. The Walloper's Way man of the match poll was won by Ciaran Gibson, not least for a save in injury time described by Neil Prince as "world class".

Ciaran Gibson

Although Rob Doran was not playing, our visitors liked him so much they took him away with them. Rob has been one of our best players and team members over the last season and a half, our top scorer last season, and this blog wishes him success in his future endeavours.

Rob Doran at our fixture at Droylsden earlier in the season

The rest of the pictures can be seen here.

Final score: Prescot Cables 1 (Dodd), Droylsden 1

Sports jacket weather

On the way to the game last week I had some random thoughts about the utility of the sports jacket. Some will know that I am rarely seen out of such a garment, wearable with anything from jeans and t-shirt to collar and tie, and with plenty of pockets for programmes, golden goal tickets, lens caps, and the other paraphernalia of the match day photographer. I thought of finding a picture of a match official of the 1950s so attired, but I subsequently found they usually wore blazers, so I had to make do with yours truly, snapping a Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' game on a warm, sunny morning in ... er ... November.

Ideal wear for photographing sport. Photo by Tony Squires, crop by me

On that occasion, I was talking to Mishi, a member of the Supporters' Team and Club Committee, and of the Grounds for Concern blog, which he has not had time to update for a while, but which has meticulously detailed views of an impressive range of grounds. The conversation went something like this:-

"Call me old fashioned ..."
"You're old fashioned Mish."
"Well, what about you - sports jackets and rugby shirts, how bloody old fashioned is that?"

Well, I never said I was not ...

Prescot Cables' were at home last weekend to Buxton in the First Qualifying Round of the FA Cup. The structure of the draw means it is unlikely that a club starting in the Preliminary Round will make it to a shot at glory in the First Round Proper where the Football League clubs come in, but the prize fund provides a welcome addition to club funds for the winners of each round.

Good weather in September means the sun is low in the sky, and at Prescot that means shadows from the side, particularly in the first half, when we were attacking the Safari Park End. A lot of tweaking of the light was required on the computer, although half in light, half in shadow can make for a good picture

Jonathon Lynch

Sometimes the players are not only half in light, half in shadow, but light is reflected off the grass, and the advertising boards are in shadow.

Mike Smith competes with Buxton's Neil Stevens, with James McCulloch ready to collect the stray ball ...

... but Mike is first back on his feet (and back in the light)

The lighting was much better in the second half, with most of the action front lit.

Ged Murphy goes for a header with Buxton's Jack Broadhead

This meant that, unusually, for the slideshow I used more pictures (by two) from the second half than the first. The selection is a mixture of pictures of competition for the ball, and individual shots that the players like for showing to friends and family and profile pictures on sites like Facebook and Twitter. Normally, for the latter I use the first decent shots I come to, so I get a lot of what I need from the first half.

Even the goal net caught the sun for a pronounced light effect.

Rob Doran and Buxton's Charlie Johnson

Buxton, being in the Premier Division, were the favourites, and the only goal of the game came for them in the 76th minute. My view was obstructed, but this was originally recorded as an own goal from Antony Shinks, although the record was subsequently updated to correctly credit the latter. It is quite clear on Buxton's video (at about 14 minutes) that Antony did not have contact with the ball, but I can see how it may have looked more uncertain from some angles.

Antony Shinks and Leon Osborne in the first half

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

The green(ish) grass of home

This Tuesday saw Prescot Cables play their first home game of the pre season programme, against Droylsden. Our visitors' badge, like our own, is adapted from the arms of their town, with a change of colour.

The pitch looked looked well covered with grass, following the improvements achieved with funds raised by the Supporters on the Pitch scheme, with new growth in places that were looking bare at the end of last season. Unfortunately, it has not rained for 3 weeks, which has been very good for my friend from Chile on a tour to England and Ireland with his daughter, but as they have headed home, there is no reason not to have some showers to get the grass growing again.

I am not just concerned about the health of the greensward, it is playing havoc with my exposures.

James McCulloch

With a background that under normal conditions would be a more verdant hue, the players' kits seem more vivid than you might expect, although it was cloudy, which may have contributed to that. I should probably adjust the white balance, rather than rely on the camera's auto setting, but I am a bit lazy about this: firstly, I could spend all game adjusting it rather than capturing the action, and secondly, I tend to forget to change it back, so it would probably affect the next set of pictures.

Although we have done well retaining the bulk of last season's squad, there are always new faces at this time of year. Some go as quickly as they came, but some make a claim for a place at the start of the season.

Rob Doran watches his shot head towards goal

There are those who would wish to move non League football to a summer season. I tend towards not making a change, but one advantage would be summer evening games. The first half was played in natural light, and the Gasworks Side is more hospitable in July than on a wet Tuesday night in November, a pleasant breeze rather than a howling gale.

The floodlights were turned on for the second half, serving to augment rather than replace the declining natural light as in this shot of Isaac Kusaloka.

I think I now have the correct spelling of Isaac's name - it is an advantage of social media, once we have seen the player's accounts he has created himself, we can assume the spelling is correct. A similar exercise for Antony Shinks tells me I have been giving him an extra "h" for the last half season, and indeed for posterity in the 2009-10 season montage.

The close season is a time for maintenance, and the pitch perimeter fence at the Safari Park End has had a coat of paint. The new colours could help us with the light at night games, with white along most of the length ...

Dave Dempsey

... and yellow behind the goal.

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

At least it's proper Yorkshire

Thus said our Church Treasurer, a Yorkshireperson, when I said I had been at Harrogate Railway Athletic the previous day. I am not sure what he counted as proper Yorkshire: he disdained places such as Halifax (we do that too), but he cannot have been casting aspersions on the whole West Riding, as Harrogate is in it - parts of the West Riding ended up in North, West, South and East Yorkshire for local government purposes.

The small but select group of independently travelling supporters took our pre match refreshment in the Montpellier Quarter of Harrogate. This hosted a number of establishments advertising themselves as a brasserie, which I thought is what they call a cash machine in Yorkshire. The first establishment we visited has a sporting link, Hales Bar having featured in Chariots of Fire. The bar has working gas jet cigar lighters, although they now just contribute to the heating, as it would be illegal to light a cigar, even to take outside before puffing away, as possession of lit tobacco comes within the definition of smoking for the smoke free legislation.

This being Lent, and my having given up meat for the duration, the selection at the tea bar can be somewhat limited - no horsey tastiness of a pie or burger for me. However, these days you more or less make up your own Lent regulations: I just avoid anything that is identifiably meat, so gravy on my chips was still in. Back when Lent regulations were more rigid, one odd exception in Germany was that beaver tails could be eaten, as they looked like fish. I am not sure whether Harrogate was ever well populated by beavers (Beverley in the East Riding derives its name from the semi aquatic rodents), but they seem to have found their way on to the club crest, and as the mascot.

I have mentioned in previous posts how sometimes we need to use the background to adjust the picture to get it straight. In this picture of Liam Hollett taking a header, we might look at the crossbar and think it is a candidate for adjustment.

It was: on the camera, there was not enough of a slope. Harrogate competes with Clitheroe for the steepest side to side slope in the division. The crossbar is 8' above the ground along its length, so sloping ground correctly means a sloping crossbar. We can just about see the breeze block wall in the background, which will usually be level (in the case of Leatherhead a bit too level). To get the angle right, I started with a wider crop, so I could line up against the houses behind the ground.

When we visited Harrogate last season, they were building a new clubhouse adjacent to both the main and training pitches, financed by selling their old clubhouse for development as a nursing home. As well as providing excellent facilities, the new developments have an unexpected bonus for the photographer, as they provide handy walls, windows and drainpipes against which to align a shot, at the end where it used to be quite difficult to get the angle right. Take this shot of Carl Furlong.

Having used the buildings, they have served our purpose, so we can crop them out.

Unusually, I had something to send to the Merseymart for each of Prescot's goals, although in each case the final shot before the goal went in did not capture the image I wanted. For the second goal from Jon Bathurst, it looks as though the defender is about to get the ball.

Although I correctly captioned this as goal no 2 on the slide show, I thought this one from a second or so before, showing Jon leaving the defenders in disarray, would be the better image for the paper, and it was indeed the one they used.

Similarly, I captured Sean Myler's debut goal for Prescot's third.

However, a shot of the featured player's back does not really work, so I again used one from a second before, not quite such clear action, but at least we can see the player's face.

Finally, Liam Dawson's first goal was scored from a few yards away from this picture, but it was close enough to go in with the caption "Liam Dawson avoids his marker for Prescot's first goal".

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

Planet Farsley is blue

Last weekend saw another small but select group of Prescot Cables' independently travelling supporters making the journey to Farsley AFC. This can be reached via Bradford or Leeds, the former being cheaper and the latter being quicker. I usually look at the fares, as Richie, our leader in pub and beer choices, worked for British Rail back in the day, so last needed to pay a train fare in about 1976. With only 4 travelling, 2 of whom joined at Warrington, we went for convenience over cost, and were rewarded with a good beer selection at Mr Foley's Cask Ale House, my first visit since the York Brewery took it over. I like a dark beer, but eschewed the Saint Petersburg Imperial Russian Stout, I do spend the afternoon operating precision electronic equipment.

It was announced recently that the 2014 Tour de France will start in Yorkshire. Leeds Town Hall was getting in to the spirit.

Bicycle races are coming to t' town

To get to Farsley, we took the train to New Pudsey, but we could have got a ftr, a bus that pretends it is a tram, running between Leeds and Bradford. I was not able to ascertain whether they have anything to replicate the days of the original trams, half a mile or so from Farsley's ground, where the tram passed over a clever contraption to change the gauge of the wheels from the 4' 8½" of the Leeds system to the 4' of Bradford.

Farsley's pies maintained the high standards of previous seasons, and, although the steak pie was a little on the pricey side at £2.20, peas and gravy at 20p each made a reasonable price for the lot.

Before the game, a minute's silence was observed for George Hayward, our Club President, who died last week. This would normally be (and will be) observed at our next home game, so for Farsley to observe it too was a fitting tribute to George's contribution to his club and town.

When the game got under way, we attacked from the start, with a goal on 5 minutes from Ryan Grattan. When we score from a run towards goal, it provides the best opportunity to capture it, and I had a sequence of shots, which I put into the slideshow.

When I capture a goal, I include it in my pictures for the Merseymart, usually the last shot before the ball goes in the net, in this case including the other members of the day's independently travelling support in the background, in what is sometimes called soft focus. They used it, although not as the main picture, for which they took one of Anthony Shinks. I was a bit surprised, as the picture tends to illustrate the words, the main event for us was the goal, and the article reported Dave Powell talking about strengthening his attacking options.

We can see from the pictures above one feature of Farsley's ground - a large amount of blue paint, of a similar shade to the players' kit. I used the shutter priority mode throughout, and, especially when the floodlights come on when there is still daylight, that can make the pictures off the camera look a bit washed out, which is easy enough to fix by adjusting the lighting in Photoshop Elements. The Farsley players were blending in to the background a bit, and I thought they may have problems picking out their team mates, although the interceptions they were able to make suggested the problem may be for the visitors.

With Farsley's predecessor club having played in the Conference, the floodlights are among the best in our division. There was one issue: on the pylon nearest the goal we were attacking in the second half, two of the five bulbs were out, so I decided to take up a position between the two dugouts, where I found the lighting to be most satisfactory.

Danny Lambert, voted Man of the Match by the players and supporters on the coach

Matty Taylor

A good second half performance meant we were able to keep the high flying Farsley to one goal, and returned home with a much needed point.

I usually make my own way home: having worked with the camera all afternoon, I like to relax with some quiet refreshment. As my ticket was valid both ways, I decided to return via Bradford. I arrived at about 5.45 to find the city centre deserted - the shops still close at 5.30, and on Sundays, and people do not hang around in the evening. This has advantages: it is easy to find a seat in a pub; 24 hour binge drinking seems unknown; and you can get to your chosen establishment (in this case the Sparrow Bier Café - Yorkshire is getting very continental these days) without dodging groups of lairy youths and scantily dressed young ladies falling off their heels.

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

Wakey Wakey

Prescot Cables' trips to Yorkshire for the county's excellent real ales and, hopefully, a point or three, seem to be coming thick and fast. The public houses of Goole, Ossett and Garforth have taken revenue from the small but select band of Cables public transport users. Well, not Garforth, that was just me, and I took my refreshment in Leeds.

The rail travelling supporters watch Luke Edwards take a high ball

Last weekend was the turn of Wakefield, travelling out via Sheffield, where we learnt the Sheffield Tap's ban (I assume on Police advice) on football shirts extends to bar scarves and Cornish rugby union shirts. Fortunately I had a plain t-shirt underneath, and a bag for the offending items. They could have been challenging my right to wear the latter garment: I claim through my grandmother, who I know was born somewhere near the Tamar, but, as she died before I was born, I have never completely established which side.

After this, it was off to Wakefield, and the Bull & Fairhouse, the tap for the Great Heck Brewery, a couple of junctions along the M62. My first pint was chosen for the name.

Well, it would have been rude not to.

Wakefield continue their peripatetic existence, being back at Belle Vue, in the town of their name, if not their foundation. Spectators could access all sides, often not the case when a ground belonging to a larger club in another sport is used for a game at our level.

Jonathon Bathurst - play is overlooked by the bar

The first half presented a lighting challenge - low winter sun, behind three or four terraced streets giving an uneven shadow, and against a reflective bright blue base to the main stand. At this time of year, I try to stand in the sun for some warmth, but this time it was too bright, so I had to wrap up and take to the shade. The things I do for a picture.

Davidson Banda

Access to the toilets was through the bar. This is a problem on a cold day: taking the camera into a warm bar, full of people breathing (I would be less than keen to go in if they were not) is a recipe for condensation, the inside of the lens will steam up like a pair of glasses, but will not clear as quickly, affecting the pictures for the second half, and, in extreme cases, damaging the equipment. I was saved from having to put it in the bag by Jack Webb's father kindly, if nervously, agreeing to hold the camera while I went inside.

Jack Webb

A number of clubs in the lower half of our division, including us, have a better record away than at home. Wakefield are the most extreme, with near play off form away, and yet to gain a point at home. There was a risk this would be reversed when Wakefield scored, but as the second half wore on, they were clearly flagging. I did not capture either of Prescot's goals, although I caught Danny Lambert celebrating his.

Danny Lambert celebrates scoring

I thought the quality of the image may not have been sufficient for print. I think the Echo may have agreed, as they went for one that looks spectacular instead: this shot of a cross by Anthony Shinks.

Anthony Shinks

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