Heswall v Heswall

Prescot Cables' pre season programme continued at the weekend with a visit to Heswall FC of the West Cheshire League. The only Good Beer Guide pub is in the village, some distance from the ground, and further from the station, so our small group took our pre match refreshment near the ground. Both pubs were rather food oriented, and I would have preferred to take the Great Grey Owl, the Butcombe Brewery's summer seasonal brew, from the Devon Doorway and drink it in the beer garden of the Glegg Arms, but I suspect at least one establishment would have raised an objection.

The Train Crew arrive at the ground - photo by a random person outside the ground

One notable absence was Liam Hollett, who has moved to Cammell Laird. Liam has served the club well in the 6 or 7 years since he came through from the youth team, always giving his all on the pitch, and setting a good example off it. He has almost always been present at games, supporting the team, even when he has known he will not be playing, and has always had time to speak to the supporters and put the players' point of view on the forum. There had been some confusion the previous week whether he was still with us, as word had been put out (not by Liam) that he had signed for Cammell Laird, when he had not at that point put pen to paper. This blog wishes him well for the future.

Liam Hollett in action against West Didsbury & Chorlton last week

Heswall have a compact ground, well shielded on all sides, in an area where golf is probably the dominant sport: indeed, the Open was being shown on the television in the clubhouse. They could probably make the improvements needed for North West Counties football without physical difficulty, although I suspect they may face objections to planning permission for floodlights.

The trees provided good cover at the end Prescot were attacking. The start of the game had echoes of the 1974 World Cup Final, as the corner flags came out with the players.

Antony Shinks places the corner flag

Prescot were playing in Heswall's blue kit, which seemed strange. We had brought some kit, even if Norman and Paul had been delayed getting to the ground, they had arrived by 2.30. The substitutes' black shorts suggested we had brought the amber and black, so if Heswall had already put on their yellow kit, it was easier for them to lend us their blue.

Like most grass at the moment, the playing surface looked as though it would welcome the rain forecast for later in the week: a few showers should have it quickly looking green again.

Scott Thomas

For the second half, I could have squeezed behind the goal, but this is not part of the official spectator accommodation, and I would have been standing in the hedge, which would have been one way to keep in the shade.

Jordan Smith (I think) competes in front of the hedge

Instead I took up a position near the dugout under more trees, which partly overshadowed the pitch, and caused a spot of bother with the lighting when the sun came out. It had been mainly cloudy earlier, so it was cooler than the previous week, although Jon Bathurst confirmed when he came off that the humidity more than made up for it. That was one of those planned substitutions made slightly amusing by the player scoring immediately beforehand, so it looks as though being brought off is the reward for scoring. I remember for one such, one of my fellow supporters muttered, "Now, don't score any of those goals again".

Jon Bathurst

Although the first half ended goalless, and Heswall scored the first goal in the second, the training and experience of the higher placed team started to tell about 20 minutes from the end with Prescot running out 4-1 winners.

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

Finally, this blog is not immune to the current enthusiasm for new babies, so I would like to extend congratulations to my friend John from the Southwark News, whose wife has been safely delivered of their second son. I believe they are entitled to a commemorative coin, as they just made it on the same day as the Royal baby.