They read a lot of newspapers

Some Premier League supporters wax lyrical about the times when games started at 3pm on Saturday. Leaving aside that some of us remember non league kickoffs as a moveable feast during the winter, if they want football at 3pm on Saturday, we can help them find some. When their games are at the traditional time, they often impact upon our travel. Prescot Cables' game at Droylsden coincided with Manchester City, on the same tram line, playing Bournemouth. I wondered whether I should catch a tram at Deansgate-Castlefield to beat the crowds, but there was efficient flow management at Piccadilly, so I had no difficulty getting the first tram.

The weather was quite light, with sunny intervals, which was new, as it has been gloomy on my previous visits. I started next to the stand ...

Phil Bannister

... and worked around behind the goal we were attacking.

James Edgar

Our old friend and former Assistant Manager Ged Murphy was playing: a slight surprise, as I thought he was concentrating on coaching. Whilst he coaches well from the technical area, it sounded as though his team mates did not always find his on field instructions helpful.

Ged Murphy

We were quickly ahead with a goal from James McCulloch.

James McCulloch

The sun started to come out as I was working my way round the ground. By the time I was opposite the stand, it was behind our players. The home goalkeeper did not look as though he expected it.

This was a chance to see whether shooting in raw made any difference with back lighting. We can use the lighten shadows function in Photoshop Elements, which can make the player look faded. Using the exposure functions on the raw image gave a better result.

Lloyd Dean

The hosts scored towards the end of the first half, and we restored our lead courtesy of Rob Doran early in the second.

Rob Doran

Two quick goals from Droylsden ten minutes later handed the lead to them, and they added a fourth at 80 minutes. However, we continued to play to the end, and snatched a goal from a rebound falling to Lloyd Dean. This was too close to full time for another, so we were disappointed to lose despite scoring three away from home.

Joining us from the bench was Joe Evans, recently signed from Cammell Laird. We already have a Joe Evans: it would be simpler if players were like actors, and could not have the same name as an existing performer. We seem to have adopted this solution on a small scale, with the new Joe Evans being Joseph for these purposes.

Joe Evans

Joseph Evans

This blog likes to keep an eye out for quirky items, and I spotted something for the Facebook page Non League Bins. Not many grounds get through enough newspapers to need two bins reserved for recycling them.

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

Final score: Droylsden 4 Prescot Cables 3 (McCulloch, Doran, Dean)