Starting the season

A fellow Dulwich Hamlet supporter put on his Twitter feed last week that he would clump the next person who asked if he was looking forward to football starting on Saturday, assuming football was equivalent to the Premiership. It could also mean the speaker watches the EvoStik League, as the Division 1 seasons had no week free of distractions from the moneyed classes this year. It's grim up north.

A new manager means new players. Many like to approach the first game completely fresh, whereas others follow the pre season programme and have an idea what we are likely to see. I came to our game against Ossett Albion, feeling there was work to be done, but we had enough in place for a reasonable start.

Ciaran Gibson started in goal, a surprise for those who had seen more of Adam Reid, but justified on recent form. He has what at this level can be a worrying tendency to stray upfield: I am not sure if this comes from past involvement with England Schoolboys, as Tim Horn at Burscough has a similar habit.

Ciaran Gibson

Some players have been with us for a while - even the advertising points them out.

Joe "Evo" Evans

Others were making their first appearances, at least on the team sheet: my memory starts to develop when I see the names.

Liam Dodd

The kit is very similar to last year's, with PMB Tools as kit sponsors - they have supported the club with advertising and sponsorship for some years. Believe it or not, there is an advantage to this from the photographer's point of view. All sponsors are welcome, and you become familiar with all sorts of text and logos, but PMB have one of the best (particularly the size and weight of the word "tools") for checking focus, and the effects of grain and movement blur, even when only part is visible.

Mark McLaughlin

However you perform in the friendlies, there are always surprises, a team can spring out of the blocks like Harrogate Railway Athletic with five goals, only to find Mossley doing the same in reply. We had no goals, which is unusual for us. Although this was a game both sides regarded as winnable, we avoided starting with a defeat, and the clean sheet was particularly welcome.

Unfortunately, Ossett's Ryan Harrison sustained a serious knee injury when he appeared to put his leg down awkwardly in front of the dugout - it is never a good sight when Club Secretary Doug on the pitch making a telephone call, as it is usually for an ambulance. According to the Non League Yorkshire website, Ryan can only have a scan to assess the full extent of the injury when the swelling has gone down. In common with all at Prescot, this blog offers him best wishes for a speedy recovery.

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

Final score: Prescot Cables 0, Ossett Albion 0.