Double pie, double peas

In London pie and mash shops, the ordering convention is "double pie" if you want two, and "double mash" for two portions of potato. On arrival at Farsley Celtic for our FA Trophy game, I headed to the tea bar, which was serving fresh local Growler's pies. I only had toast for breakfast, so, having had the steak before the match, I have to admit to also having the pork at half time. This being Yorkshire, the traditional accompaniment is peas rather than mash. The food and drink offering was completed by Wadworth's Dirty Rucker, advertising an event in a different sport, on hand pump in the bar. The name will have had people in these parts wondering what a ruck is.

The hosts made four changes from the league game the previous week. We made one, replacing Sam Staunton-Turner, who has returned to Skelmersdale.

I travelled on the team coach, so, unusually for me, arrived well before kick off. Whilst books talk about taking time to find a suitable position, in football the location of the goals and and stand, and where the sun is shining are the main considerations. I have been to Farsley enough times too know the ground well, and I was mindful of my observations last week about moving around, so I decided to experiment. I started in front of the tea bar.

Rob Doran

This was not the best place, as it was one of the more populated parts of the ground. I prefer less crowded areas, as you avoid somebody leaning in front of you for a better view at the crucial moment.

After some time in the conventional position behind the goal, I moved to the far side and worked my way along.

Phil Bannister

I went beyond the dugout and alongside our own half and was happy with the results. Farsley's performance was stronger than the previous week, so I was rewarded with some closer pictures than normal of our defence.

Marcus Burgess

I captured some movement forward from the queue for the second part of lunch. We went in at half time a goal behind.

Lloyd Dean

I decided to move around around again for the second half. This was complicated by the sun's being out. The first half had been cloudy, with the mist from the morning only fully lifting just before the start. We were playing with the sun behind us. I started on the stand side where I was mainly shooting across the sunlight.

James McCulloch

I then worked round behind the goal we were attacking, ending up between the dugouts.

George Lomax

The sun appeared to bring some moisture out of the ground, so, looking into it, the mist had returned. It is possible to remove this almost completely on the computer, but I tried to keep the effect.

Jonah O'Reilly

Unfortunately, the result was not as good as the pictures: Farsley came out stronger after half time, and their second goal probably sealed the result, with our looking unlikely to come back, and in the event being unable to prevent two more goals.

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

Final score: Farsley Celtic 4 Prescot Cables 0