At least we did not need the points

There was a good turnout for Prescot Cables' final game of the season at Padiham, with the coach fully booked, eleven of us on our train with others following later. A couple of our party were making their first away trips, Dan, a regular attender at home games, and Thom, on placement from university in Nijmegen. Thom is working with Dr Jon, who thought that, in addition to places he plans to visit during his stay, such as London, Oxford and Cambridge, he might have an interesting experience if he were to visit somewhere less well known. Padiham is not well known even a short distance away: when we rang for taxis in Burnley, the person in the office claimed not to have heard of it.

Richie, our leader in beer and pub choices, was unable to join us, and would have disapproved of some of our beer, although the establishments in which we consumed them were pleasant enough. The entries on WhatPub were a bit dated: one pub was listed as serving cask ales, but looked as though it had lacked the facility to do so for some time. At least the Hare and Hounds had an excellent range.

The end of the season is a time for reflection, completing a journey that started being chewed by mosquitoes on a wet July day in Coppull. Neil Prince had to put together a team more or less from scratch over the summer. Not many from that day were still with us: Neil Prince himself, James McCulloch, starting a third century of appearances, and the reliable Joe Evans.

Joe Evans

Matty West has rejoined the side in the last few games.

Matty West

Sam Corlett deserves a mention too, he joined us in the second pre season game, and has been with us ever since.

Sam Corlett

We tried a couple of players from our excellent youth team, who did not falter when the call came later, with Ben Morrow being a fixture in goal for the last two months ...

Ben Morrow

... and Andy Harper making himself a first choice for his position since being called up to the first team over Christmas.

Andy Harper

We have had a young team: seven or eight games in I realised I had been watching the club since before most players on the pitch had been born. A substitute warming up at that first pre season game was among their number, although older than I first thought, having played in the Wigan Athletic Academy before being released in May last year.

Our first sight of Jack Phillips

I would not see him warming up very often again unless I arrived early, as he made an instant claim for a start, with a good line in nimbly outwitting much larger players.

Three quarters of those released by academies never play again, and many who try to carry on do not last very long. The transition from football as a full time occupation to combining it with work or education must be quite challenging: Jack has been one of the best I have seen at managing it. I have not talked to him his university course, but on the field he was the season's top scorer, and made a well deserved clean sweep of the Supporters', Manager's and Players' Player of the Year awards.

Jack sends a defender the other way

Amidst all this reminiscing, there was a game we were actually attending.

Er, not that one - that was the cricket next door. A six was not without its risks.

Howzat!

As for our game: we had secured what we needed, and the hosts were determined to leave the league on a high note, which they did, with a 4-0 win including a hat trick from former Cables player Daley Woods.

After the game, some left quickly to get back in time for the club's presentation evening. This included Dr Phil, which confused the remaining pharmacologists, who try not to leave one of their number behind on their travels.

A lot of us have an interest in more than one team, and life is easier if they do not play each other. At least our finishing clear of the relegation positions meant East Grinstead Town were not competing with Prescot for a reprieve from relegation. As for Dulwich Hamlet, the FA are still consulting the entrails regarding a points deduction for an ineligible player fielded by Enfield Town in January, which affects whether they finished in a play off place, resulting in Dulwich's semi final at Margate being postponed with less than 48 hours' notice.

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

Final score: Padiham 4 Prescot Cables 0.