New balls please

With the summer we have had this year, I am in danger of forgetting what to do when the sun comes out. On Saturday, as I gave a cheery greeting to Dave from Football Editorial, he remarked that it was almost too bright. He had a point, at Prescot the sun shines across the pitch, so players running directly towards goal will be half in shadow. To reflect even more light, our visitors for this FA Cup fixture, Ashton United, were playing in their traditional red and white halves.

Jack Webb with Ashton's Danny Coldecott, and someone whose number, and therefore name, escapes me

We are familiar with using the levels and lighten shadows to adjust for the effects of sunlight, although the adjustments required were larger than I expected, and sometimes to the detriment of lighter parts of the picture.

James McCulloch, before adjusting the lighting ...

... and after

There now seems to be one ball to be used for the FA Cup, even in these early stages.

I noticed AFC Liverpool in the previous round were using this Umbro ball instead of the Chryso ball we normally use, but this was no surprise, as it was their home game: it was only when the same balls appeared in this game that I noticed the change. Previously, if I remember correctly, ties would be played using the ball approved by the home team's league. The Southern League has a colourful little number, seen here on Dulwich Hamlet's visit to VT (now Sholing) for a FA Cup tie in 2009.

I can see the point of having the same ball for use throughout a competition, within the specifications in the Laws of Association Football, different balls will have different aerodynamic characteristics. I remember the controversy about the ball at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and thinking that a lot of the problem would have been avoided if the teams had played with it in the qualifying competitions.

Having said that, with a number of team changes forced on Dave Powell by injuries in the first few games of the season, getting used to a different ball is quite low down the list of priorities. In any event, unless it is to be used for the FA Trophy as well, it will be going back in the cupboard until next year, following our exit from the competition.

Gary Williams returns from injury

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