Last exit to Brighouse

It seemed appropriate for what we thought might be our last trip to Yorkshire for a while that I should pay my fare to Brighouse Town by ee-ticket*, using the Trainline app (still saving a couple of quid splitting tickets myself). These pages like shiny new railway infrastructure, so, when I noticed my train to Halifax started from Manchester Oxford Road, I joined it there to travel on the new Ordsall Chord. It is not actually shiny, being constructed of weathering steel, a clever engineering thing that should not work but does, using a layer of rust to provide up to 120 years' protection against ... er ... rust.

I completed the trip by bus from Halifax, with the First ticket app. I was not so convinced by this, it generates a QR code, which is very small on a 5" screen, and I had trouble getting the machine on the bus to read it.

I remembered I would need a yellow high vis rather than my usual orange.

James Edgar

Brighouse's video operator had a dedicated platform, with a flaw in the access arrangements - having taken his pie up, he had to come back down for his pint.

For still photography, such structures are of limited use, we want to be low on the ground. The higher you can get the player in relation to the background the better.

Lloyd Dean

Joe Herbert opened the scoring.

This was probably the high point, the team were not having the best of days, especially after MJ Monaghan had to go off after an accidental clash of heads. We were able to go in at half time still in the lead.

By then, I was having a spot of bother. I grew up in the countryside, and was fairly immune to pollen and dust. The longer I have been away, the immunity has faded. For about 15 years, passing through my childhood home in Surrey has been rewarded with an hour or two of itching eyes. In the last couple of years this has extended to all countryside. As the ground has farms on two sides and a wood on one, for the first ten or fifteen minutes of the second half I was operating with one eye closed (fortunately the left) and the other half open. So, that will be eye drops in the bag next season.

Some dressed to blend in in a farming area.

I thought I would be looking directly into the sun, but it clouded over a bit, making my task easier.

Valter Fernandes

It did not make the team's task easier, with the hosts scoring twice in the first fifteen minutes. Although our response was energetic, and came close a couple of times, we could not co-ordinate a response. A defeat should have dented our chance of keeping fourth place, except Bamber Bridge, the only team who realistically could deprive us of it, had an even worse day, losing 4-0 to an Ossett Albion side determined to bring down the curtain at Dimple Wells with a flourish.

In Halifax after the game, I visited the Grayston Unity, an excellent micropub and intimate music venue (capacity 18). It was a bit full, so I used their tables and chairs outside the Town Hall to drink my pint and read my paper. I am not sure what they do for space in the winter, although hardy Yorkshire folk probably just use a beer mat to keep the snow out of their drinks.

The Blogger dashboard tells me this is my 400th post, having started in 2011 with a few photo hints and tips (I still manage some now and again). I do not really cover issues, but I have been flying a flag for a few months.

I am far from archetypally gay, just ask my church friends, but on inclusion in sport, I am fully on board. Using the lowest population estimate (2% identifying as LGBT in the last census), we could expect to find about 90 gay players across Steps 1-4. We know of one. A fortuitously timed and worded tweet at new year (thanks Owen) nudged me to decide it was time to do my bit, and time for you to know. As someone fairly well established, if that helps a potential player, coach, match official or volunteer to feel the game is for them too and stay around, it will serve its purpose.

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

Final score: Brighouse Town 2 Prescot Cables 1 (Herbert)

* Technically they were m-tickets, but I am not letting facts get in the way of a Yorkshire joke.

Man of the match - eventually

For Prescot Cables' game at home to Brighouse Town, we were joined by Dr Phil, continuing to recruit to the Cables interest, and his friends from Edinburgh, Drs Benny, Tammy and Victoria (at least I think they are all PhDs). Benny had a full day of sport, having risen early to watch the Australian Rules Premiership semi final, where his West Coast Eagles lost 19.11 - 9.4 (I have no idea what that means either, but it sounds grim). He was looking to Cables to redeem the day: not generally a course of action I recommend. Checking the AFL website, I noticed a team nicknamed the Pies, but was disappointed this was short for Magpies, rather than a celebration of pastry encased comestibles.

My photographic day started with some of the players at Poco Coffee, sponsors of the player of the month award and official suppliers to yours truly when the tea bar cannot cut it. As we shot at the outside seats, an elderly couple at a window table looked as though they were thoroughly enjoying photobombing.

We played the first half towards the Safari Park End.

Lloyd Dean

Whilst we had chances, even the photographer with the flimsiest grasp of tactics (that would be me) will notice when most of the play is in your own half. Only a bit more than a third of the collection came from the first half.

There was welcome news at half time, when Danny Flood reported he was back on both feet. I took the chance to get his squad photo.

Danny Flood

Things picked up in the second half, with lots of pace on the wings from Tunde Owolabi and Harry Cain.

Tunde Owolabi

Harry was rewarded with a goal on the hour. When I told him later that I had not got a picture as there were other players in the way, he replied that it was not a particularly good one anyway. That may be the case, but there are no points for style, any goal will do. In any event, I got something.

That is Harry Cain's foot, honest

Although I like the way everyone is looking as the ball goes in, being able to identify the scorer is a requirement for the collection. However, I caught the celebration.

Our Australian visitors (Drs Benny and Tammy) were represented on the field when Joey Faux joined the fray.

Joey Faux

When you have your own banner, it is always good to get a shot with it in the background.

Andy Scarisbrick

Dogs are a regular part of the non league game - there are those who keep a close eye on the action when their human is playing.

Marcus Burgess under observation

We were able to keep some late pressure at bay to secure all three points.

Valter Fernandes applauds the crowd

We had an excellent performance from both wings, but consensus emerged that Harry Cain had earned the man of the match award by virtue of his winning goal. So far, so good, but there was less consensus on who would do the presentation, with my being advised there would not be one. The alternative view prevailed after I had gone that as Harry had won it, it was only fair to present it, which I found out when I was safely settled on the premises of our sponsor, the Sun Inn.

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

Final score: Prescot Cables 1 (Cain) Brighouse Town 0

Eek, more Fish

I was once talking to a Lady Mayoress of Liverpool, who grew up in Dublin. She regaled me with the tale of a summer in the Connemara Gaeltacht, a school prize for her Irish language skills. She had enjoyed it, but there was a downside - "It was fish for breakfast, fish for dinner, fish for tea - by the end when the boats went out I was praying they would not catch anything." I feared we might have a similar weariness with Fish, when we heard Michael of that name, having scored four goals against us for Mossley before Christmas, had signed for our hosts, Brighouse Town.

I thought on the way that, had I known what the weather would be like, I would have set out earlier to enjoy walking in the Calder Valley. As it was, we needed to wait to find out how much rain there had been overnight. When the hosts started tweeting the playlist for music on the tannoy, I assumed there had been no need for a pitch inspection. I had some time in Halifax before catching the bus, so I went to the Minster and purchased a photography permit.

Discussing the weekly player movements at Halifax Minster

Arriving at the ground, I made a dead heat with my friend Roger, who first recruited me to the Cables interest, and his partner Angela, who had driven up from Hampshire for this game and for London Broncos' fixture at Swinton Lions the following day. Also watching were new local residents Stephen and Jill, the owners of Ged the Giraffe, an inflatable familiar to those who saw Dulwich Hamlet's championship winning season in 2012-3 .

For my pre match pie, I could have taken a metal fork, but I thought I might wander off and have to keep hold of it until half time, so opted for plastic. Not that everyone was as considerate: I spotted a home official fishing metal cutlery out of a bin where someone had dumped it in the same way as they would plastic items.

It was a bright, sunny day, and we were playing with the sun behind us, which was not without its challenges ...

Joe Herbert

although I was happy with some arty effects.

Ronnie watches the action

I managed some decent shots of Marcus Burgess in action without anyone in the way, which is not always possible.

Marcus Burgess

I remember Roger telling me that he visited a number of clubs when he first came to Liverpool, and returned to Prescot after winning the raffle on his first visit. He won on his first visit to Brighouse too.

My gold standard for a vegetable raffle is from Seaford Town (at home to East Grinstead Town in about 2004): a large basket, with the centrepiece of an enormous cauliflower. This one lacked the cauliflower, but was beating the vegetable shortage and the plastic bag charge, requiring six free carrier bags to take it away.

The shadows were lengthening by the second half.

James Edgar

The game had been evenly balanced until Valter Fernandes was controversially dismissed on the hour. You can see the video here: I have watched it a few times and eventually worked out why the referee reacted to a rather aimless swing of the arm, although he was shielded by the players from seeing the elbow that provoked it.

Valter Fernandes

As we had feared, Michael Fish made the most of the opportunity by scoring twice in ten minutes.

I do not think Brian Richardson likes making substitutions for the sake of it, and had made none until after 80 minutes. However, we needed to try to salvage something, so he then used all three at once. This brought an almost immediate benefit from Dominic Reid to our goal difference and goals scored.

Dominic Reid

After the game, I joined Roger going to Bradford, where I was entrusted with the Good Beer Guide and Mr Google's maps. We started with the excellent Corn Dolly, then Jacob's Beer House were encouraging popular devotion to St Blaise, the patron saint of wool combers, whose feast had been the previous day, by offering an eponymous Armenian style ale (I am not sure what was distinctively Armenian about it) from Salamander. To cap the weekend of catching up with friends, on my way through Manchester to the Swinton game, I caught up briefly with Matt from the Lost Boyos before he flew home from his own weekend sporting tour.

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

Final score: Brighouse Town 2 Prescot Cables 1 (Reid)

Ins and outs

Prior to Prescot Cables' game at home to Brighouse Town last week, we had news of a couple of transfers. After Dale Wright's return, another popular former player, Rob McIntosh, rejoined us from Skelmersdale United, the website also reporting that Jonah O'Reilly was going the other way. I would have been tempted to make more of this part of the news (and as I am writing here, I shall). An attraction of playing for Prescot for an ambitious young player is the opportunity to attract the attention of clubs higher up the pyramid, so a player moving up can only reinforce that.

Some of us have been mystified as to why Jonah has not featured much in the team this season, but my first thought in this situation (without taking away from those who have been picked) is what Jack Charlton reports Sir Alf Ramsey as saying when he expressed surprise that he had been picked for England: "I have in mind a pattern I want to play, and I pick the players I think will best fit that pattern, not necessarily the best players on paper".

Andy Paxton identified in his programme notes that consistency comes with experience, and recruiting Dale Wright and Rob McIntosh looks like it is intended to fill that gap. In the meantime, Jonah has the well earned opportunity to play in the next division up, so this blog wishes him all the best for the future.

Jonah O'Reilly

Players moving on often means families and pets moving to their new home. The pets are usually dogs, but I have seen a picture from a Northern League game where someone brought a horse, not as surprising as it sounds, as I have seen with my own eyes a man out walking his horse in County Durham. I shall miss being carefully inspected by this mother and son pair as I arrive on the Gasworks Side.

We had won our F.A.Trophy replay at Ossett Albion in midweek, breaking a run of over a month without a win, but Brighouse were top of the league, so this would be a challenge.

We defended well, including James McCulloch making a superb clearance off the line. This is the sort of thing players naturally like to see captured, and I quite often have to disappoint them, mostly due to other players in the way, and I have usually been following the goalkeeper. Still, aerobatics make for a decent alternative picture.

James McCulloch

Tom Brocklehust was kept busy.

Brighouse's Leon Osbourne takes avoiding action as Tom Brocklehurst gathers the ball

We had a chance shortly before half time, when we were awarded a penalty, with Dale Wright unfortunately finding Brighouse's Tom Taylor, and our being unsuccessful attempting to put away the rebound.

Jack Phillips was celebrating a birthday, and the opposition seemed keen to get to grips with him to offer their best wishes.

Jack Phillips

Rob McIntosh had been named on the bench, so I snapped him warming up at half time in case he was not used. It was as well I did - although he came on about 15 minutes into the second half, I quickly remembered that, due to a combination of his position and his own style of play, the number of decent pictures I was able to get of him last time he was with us fell somewhat short of his contribution to the game.

Rob McIntosh

A solid performance in defence ensured we kept a welcome clean sheet, and picked up a point.

There was welcome news from Winsford, as Danny Flood, on loan to regain match fitness, reported that he had completed his first 90 minutes since being sidelined for the last few months for medical reasons.

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

Final score: Prescot Cables 0 Brighouse Town 0.

A word from our sponsors

Before Prescot Cables' game at home to Brighouse Town, I was buttonholed by our new commercial manager, Steve Garnett. He asked if it was possible to take some action shots in front of the advertising boards: whilst I occasionally crop a picture so the board is included, I had not thought of sending them to the advertiser. Our commercial activity has increased recently, including new advertisers, and a Cables Commercial Twitter feed, forwarding our advertisers' tweets, so we see their names even when we are not at the game. We are benefiting from new contacts Steve has been able to bring to us, and ideas to give them extra value for money. I would not set out to concentrate on the boards, it would be a quick way to miss out on pictures of play. However, there are a few pictures I have identified where I can make a slightly different crop for the sponsors.

We also have a new Pitchero website, which has been in the pipeline for a while. Our former website, created a few years ago by our webmaster Geoff was a definite improvement on what was available at the time, but the Pitchero template has improved, many other clubs use it, and we really need the facility to have more than one administrator. I can upload photos directly, without having to try and embed a link, for which Geoff and I made several attempts, with the method of creating the link in Picasa seeming to change every week.

The game started with the weather bright and dry, with the shadows falling in the usual parts of the pitch.

Jonah O'Reilly

During the first half the visitors probably had the better of play, which was taking place more in our own half. However, we went a goal ahead, courtesy of a penalty. There was some doubt about what it was for, but a consensus emerged for dangerous play by Brighouse's goalkeeper.

Phil Bannister scores from the spot

The weather was a bit cloudier for the second half, which assisted one of our spectators, Mike Bayly of When Saturday Comes, visiting for his book 100 British Football Grounds to Visit Before You Die, due to be published at the end of the year, who captured this picture of the main stand.

A new starter was Jacob Jones, on loan from Atherton Collieries.

Jacob Jones

We had the better of the second half. I did not capture Joe Evans' header from just in front of me (play can get too close for the 70mm minimum length of my lens), and he might have intended for someone to get on the end of it rather than for it to go in directly. Still, there is no requirement for intention when it comes to a goal.

Joe Evans

The visitors pulled a goal back late in the game by getting a free kick round our wall, but never looked like taking a point.

Loading the photos to the website was straightforward, if slightly annoying when you have wait for the photos to load before saving, which, on a standard broadband connection takes some time, as there is no tool to compress the files. Once they are online, the site displays them in a square format. Plenty of sites do this, but not generally in a square of the short side. You can click though to the full photos on a desktop or laptop, but not on a mobile, where they remain resolutely square - Marcus Burgess flagged up to me that even downloading, he looked like this.

Here is the picture as it should be.

I posted the link to the club website first to push traffic towards the site - and our sponsors - but still linked to the Google+ collection later for a mobile friendly display, with better resolution for downloads.

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

Final score: Prescot Cables 2 (Bannister pen, Evans) Brighouse Town 1.

Clashing colours

For the last few seasons, Prescot Cables have reached the point at around mid April when we have enough points, and others have run out of time to accumulate them, to make us safe from the risk of relegation. This year, it came when our visitors for the weekend, Brighouse Town, beat New Mills in midweek, meaning the latter were confirmed in the bottom two positions.

Brighouse were wearing an uncommon combination of colours.

Matty West

The League website shows their away colours as all green, so the decidedly non matching blue shirts and socks suggests a shortage after a season's wear and tear. I was surprised the referee did not insist on their borrowing socks from us: their navy and our black looked closer in colour with the naked eye than they do in the photos.

Since I have been writing these posts, I have made a bee line for the team sheet to ensure I am not left captioning a picture here, or worse, for the paper, as "some bloke I saw for the first time today", such was the rate of turnover in the squad. The second half of this season has been different: we have not always been able to field a settled team, but the pool from which we have been choosing has been fairly constant.

Liam Hollett's prospect of recovery from his injury at Warrington were not as pessimistic as he thought, so he was back in action.

Liam Hollett

The ground has passed its grading inspection, with only minor improvements needed, the most visible being some netting on the bar on the perimeter that allows access to the pitch in the fortunately rare event of an ambulance being needed. I am not sure whether this is to keep the ball on the pitch or domestic pets off.

Sam Corlett spots the new netting whilst preparing for a corner

Following her incursion a couple of weeks ago, Jazz was once again enjoying the freedom of the gasworks side. I am not sure whether she appreciated the significance of the occasion, James McCulloch's 200th appearance for the club, an increasingly rare landmark. Many players today follow three M's - matches, managers and money: playing at the highest level they can achieve, or dropping down to fit in with work or family commitments; following a manager with whom they enjoy working, or moving when a new manager has a clear out; and taking the opportunity to earn from their skills. James has given us welcome stability through, according to my calculations, seven managers, and leads by example on and off the field, so we hope for many more appearances to come.

James McCulloch

The game had an end of season feel, with fine weather and little at stake, although I subscribe to the view that, whatever the circumstances it is always better to get a result than not. Ben Morrow kept a fourth clean sheet to match Ciaran Gibson's tally for the season (the ninth for the team, away to Spennymoor, being a joint effort).

Ben Morrow

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

Final score: Prescot Cables 0 Brighouse Town 0.