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.