Differently shaped balls

I am not sure whether I should describe my last weekend's sport as a double header or changing horses in mid stream. The former expression suggests going to one game, watching it to the end, then going to the other, whereas I was flipping between the two. Competitive rugby league at Thatto Heath Crusaders coincided with the beginning of Prescot Cables' pre-season programme. As the latter was a four team tournament, I attended the beginning, slipped out in the middle, and returned for the presentation of the cup, named after Dennis Bellairs, who died in December after nearly 50 years' service to the club.

I arrived to find the first game in full swing, between Rainhill Town and City of Liverpool. Whilst I was neutral for this, I concentrated more on Rainhill, as I they probably have less opportunities to get their players into pictures.

We have seen before that purple does not always reproduce well in digital photographs. I have seen the problem with some fabrics and some flowers, so I assume texture is a contributory factor. St Helens Law's advertisement is very a similar colour to City of Liverpool's kit, here worn by former Cables player Francis Foy, but the advertisement (and the sock tape) reproduces accurately, whereas the kit comes out much more blue.

This game produced the shock of the tournament, if anything in a pre-season tournament is a shock, when Rainhill beat City of Liverpool 1-0 to secure a place in the final.

The other semi-final was between Prescot and St Helens Town. It has been one of our most stable pre seasons for many years, and most of last season's squad were back, with some new faces, and a return for one of our own.

Connor Grainger

Goalkeepers never miss a chance to discuss strange goalkeeping things.

I saw the first half and a few minutes of the second, before I used the good offices of the 10A (all human life is there) to go to Thatto Heath. The hosts were ahead when I arrived five minutes into the game. Although many pictures I post are of tackles, it also makes for a good picture when a player sidesteps one and gains valuable distance - even better when the result is the opposition players managing to tackle each other.

The hosts dominated the first half, and had the game sewn up by half time, but, with the visitors playing mainly for pride, the second half was more of a contest.

That probably completed my work with Thatto Heath for the season, as I was mainly snapping for them during the football close season. Having got enough frames, and with the result secure, I left a few minutes early to get the 10A, giving a cheery wave to this chap on the way out.

Back at Prescot, Cables had hit a scoring streak in their semi final, going from 2-0 when I left to win 6-1.

I arrived at half time in the tournament final. Although there were rolling substitutions, Cables were playing separate teams in each half, apart from having Marcus Burgess in goal throughout. Having seen a full half with one team, I was able to see a full half with the other, so I could get most of the players in. Rainhill put in another good performance, but could not translate it into goals.

Andy Scarisbrick

Two goals secured the trophy for the hosts.

Harry Molyneux presents the cup

The end result of the afternoon was that Prescot scored eight goals, of which I was not there for four, and did not capture anything usable from the others, whilst Thatto Heath amassed fifty points, and I did not get a decent shot of any of them being scored. Dennis would have been most amused.

The rest of the pictures from the football can be seen here, and from the rugby here.

The colour purple

There are some things you see when you get to the ground that just make your evening.

Jack Phillips

When Jack Phillips went to Accrington Stanley last year, I did not expect to see him again, but he has joined us to watch his local club on a number of occasions. He spent the second half of last season recovering from an operation to remove a bone spur, and is about to take up a sports science internship at Everton, so is available to play. Having started the competitive season (more accurately completed the last competitive season) for Skelmersdale in the Liverpool Senior Cup, he has now rejoined us.

Prescot Cables' game against City of Liverpool FC, newly admitted to the Hallmark Security League, took on an unusual air, sandwiched between the Liverpool Senior Cup semi-final against Litherland REMYCA and the final against Everton. The list of those not playing gave an indication of who was likely to start in the cup final - with some of this game's starters being cup-tied.

Dominic Marie

The visitors play in purple, the City's corporate colour, and neutral between Liverpool and Everton. In many types of light, this is difficult to reproduce accurately with digital photography. This is not just true of football kits, even a flower in the garden can present a similar problem.

Lloyd Dean and former Cables player Daley Woods

The material can make a difference - the reproduction of the training top worn by City of Liverpool Assistant Manager and former Cables player Tom Spearitt is a lot closer to what you see with the naked eye.

Tom Spearitt

We were joined by local photographer Charles Green, who I first met when he was a student doing a sports module a couple of years ago. He is now working professionally, so check him out for your event photography requirements.

The match officials were wired for sound, which I have not seen at this level before.

I am not sure what the guidelines on radio communication are. When I have seen officials so equipped in rugby, the touch judge seems to speak in limited circumstances, drawing attention to a foul, or answering a question from the referee. The assistant on the gasworks side seemed to be keeping up a running commentary on anything outside the referee's field of vision, and a few things in it.

We had a strong first half, scoring two goals, as well as sending a couple of shots into the shrubbery at the Safari Park End that were probably only coming out with the assistance of gardening tools. We made a couple of changes for the second half, with the determined visitors pulling two back.

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

Final score: Prescot Cables 2 City of Liverpool 2