Crown green goaling

I took advantage of the connection times between trains to do a little church hopping on my way to Prescot Cables' game at Clitheroe. In Preston, I had been to St Walburge's Catholic Church for a First Communion a few months ago and felt I had missed something as I was whisked in and out as a guest: this was my third attempt to visit to appreciate the sheer scale and the detail of the place, my previous two changes at Preston being disrupted by waiting for pitch inspections. St Walburge's is very much back in use after being on the verge of closure a few years ago. Moving on to Blackburn, the Cathedral and the Borough Council have created the Cathedral Quarter, a vast improvement on the windswept bus shelters that greeted visitors arriving by train previously, and which matches the clean lines of the interior, although I have to admit that as cathedrals go, as I looked around I did not see many opportunities for arty photos.

We had sent some players out on loan up the road in Padiham to get some game time: Marcus Burgess returning after injury, Josef Faux returning from travelling, and Tunde Owolabi, who seemed to be doing well enough getting back into the team, but felt it would be of use to him. Marcus is already familiar with the surroundings.

Marcus Burgess visits Prescot with Padiham in 2014

Once in Clitheroe, I went straight to the ground to reconnoitre the territory. I have taken enough pictures from the terraces, but had not considered the vantage point from pitchside. There are some interesting gradients, not just a side to side slope.

During the warm up, the referee was looking suspiciously at how well Ben Barnes was filling the goalmouth, wondering whether the crossbar was the regulation eight feet above the ground for all of its length. It is not an uncommon situation, but I suspect the pitch may be due some work in this area over the summer.

Ben Barnes

I then turned my attention to our  players warming up. It is a little known fact that cones have a life independent of the clubs that procured them.

I was looking out for a couple of new members of the squad, and was able to catch Matthew Hamilton, who came on as a substitute in the second half.

I took up position at the lower side of the slope, behind the goal we were attacking. A couple of boys expressed concern that I might get accidentally clattered in my position, and recommended I retreat behind the barrier. I thought it was middle aged types like me who were supposed to be concerned about 'elf 'n' safety.

Chris Almond opened the scoring after twelve minutes.

Chris Almond

Ben Barnes was called into action several times, culminating in a penalty save just before the half hour. Unfortunately, we undid the good work a minute or so later when we left a gap in the defence for Alexander Newby to exploit. Josh Klein-Davies restored our advantage five minutes later.

Josh Klein-Davies celebrates his goal

For the second half, I decided to stay the same side of the pitch, to get the half of the team I missed in the first half. With the nets attached to the pitch perimeter, I was committed to this side if I did not want to start climbing over fences, and I am built for comfort rather than manoeuvrability. Having scored individually in the first half, Josh Klein-Davies and Chris Almond teamed up for a third.

Josh Klein-Davies forces Chris Thompson to commit himself ...

... and Chris Almond puts the ball away

I was quite happy with the lighting conditions.

Reece Fishwick

Having chosen to be the side of the dugouts and the linesman, I would need to stay behind the goal whether I liked it or not - as it happened it worked out quite well.

Valter Fernandes

The hosts made a determined push during the last 10 minutes, but some solid defence ensured we retained our lead.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen on the club website here, and on Google Photos here.

Final score: Clitheroe 1 Prescot Cables 3 (Almond 2, Klein-Davies)