Nash Gnash

Approaching Prescot Cables' game away to Curzon Ashton, there were two probable outcomes. Either everything would go right, and we would pull off a surprise point against the league leaders. Anything less, and our hosts were likely to show the efficiency that had taken them to the verge of the championship with three weeks to go and inflict a heavy defeat. It was not surprising there were a few regulars missing - most who travel on the coach were there, but less who travel by car or luxury motorhome (a mode of transport of which I was unaware until Webmaster Geoff mentioned it after the Padiham game).

Doug, Peter and Norman watch Isaac Kusoloka

Only three of us took the train, gathering at Lime Street with crowds on their way to the Grand National in shiny suits that come out only for the races, weddings and christenings; almost as large crowds heading away; and the cleaners assiduously mopping the spot at which Mr Wenger was pictured a few weeks previously making a surprise landing on his Arsenal.

Given Curzon Ashton's form, I was surprised at the attendance of only 199. It is refreshingly transparent, if a little envy inducing, to see how they can afford to sustain a title challenge on relatively small crowds, with their modern function facilities and 3G pitch hire. They also have a decent junior setup, with the under 6s and under 7s playing exhibition games at half time.

I am not sure whether The Nash is a contraction of their name, in the way that in Middle English an apple was a napple (or so it is said, although it is strange that in all languages using the Germanic root, it begins with a vowel, never a "n"), or whether it comes form their former home of National Park.

I took up position behind the goal we were attacking.

Chris McGann (11) passes to Lloyd Balazs

With the home side trapping us largely in our own half, I moved to the large covered terrace at the side of the pitch. Fortunately, the forecast heavy rain did not materialise, as the roof is steeply angled, presenting a large jaw to the south, from which the wind is most often blowing when it rains.

Franny Foy in front of the covered terrace

Being a new ground, with extensive terracing, there are plenty of guides for the horizon - all the terraces are level (perhaps a bit too level, a one or two degree slope may assist water to run off and inhibit the formation of slippery mould), and all the railings are upright. This also makes for an unforgiving background: I had to re-crop a few pictures, and even then I think I was a degree or so out with some.

Craig Haynes

The seats were also good for lining up the frame.

Phil Bannister

Just as winning games against teams in a similar position to ourselves is the way to avoiding relegation, top places will often be decided not by how the top teams perform against each other, but how efficiently they dispatch teams in the lower half of the table, and on the basis of this performance, Curzon Ashton have done this very well.

There was some anticipation online of a championship party in Curzon's following game away to Harrogate Railway Athletic, in the justified anticipation of picking up the points they needed in these two games. It would have been interesting if Darlington had dropped points and the title come to Curzon a game earlier than expected, as there did not seem to be the excitement one would expect in such circumstances. The under 6s entered into the spirit, setting up a chant of "6-0" as I was walking round to the exit, even if they were largely addressing it to each other.

After the game, our group took the new tram into Manchester from the windswept Ashton West stop, where it will surprise no-one familiar with Metrolink to learn that we were among those who "may have to wait up to 24 minutes".

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

Final score: Curzon Ashton 6 Prescot Cables 0

The shortest daylight

Prescot Cables' game at home to Curzon Ashton the weekend before last was the one for which we have the shortest amount of natural daylight. I am not sure why, but although the day with the shortest time between sunrise and sunset is 21st December, the sunset starts to get later from about the 14th, and the sunrise does not start to get earlier until the beginning of January. I thought it might be something to do with longitude, but it happens on the Greenwich Meridian too.

At this time of year, the cloud makes as much difference to the lighting as the sunset, a bright day can probably be worth about half an hour's extra natural light, and this was anything but a bright day.

Isaac Kusoloka

We cannot see very well from the pictures, but Curzon Ashton's kit was a particularly unreflective shade of blue - it looks a lot brighter with lighting enhanced in the final images, but I suspect it had some effect on the exposures. The floodlights were turned on about 20 minutes into the game.

The game saw a return to action for Dave Dempsey.

Dave Dempsey

Dave was participating in Movember, and unlike many participants looks like he has decided to retain a hirsute appearance: I am surprised more people do not, it has after all the advantage of keeping your face warm. Not that the weather has been particularly cold so far this season, I would have expected to have had at least a couple of matches postponed due to frozen pitches by this stage. The rain also seems to have fallen in manageable quantities, we have only had one game postponed, and that was an unexpected pre match downpour at Ramsbottom.

The first half ended with Curzon Ashton 2-1 ahead with our goal having come from Isaac Kusoloka. With the lighting indistinguishable from an evening game for the second half, we drew level again with a goal from Phil Bannister.

Phil Bannister shoots for goal

When you are busily engaged in looking at details, you can easily lose sight of the bigger picture, and with a strong wind making the running and passing that make for good pictures difficult, the goal somehow did not fully register, and I was thinking we were still a goal behind, and when Curzon Ashton went a goal ahead I thought they had put the game out of reach, whereas our team were putting in a superb effort to try and gain another goal.

The game also saw a welcome return from injury by Connor McCarthy, who came on as a second half substitute.

Curzon Ashton goalkeeper David Carnell gathers from Connor McCarthy

After the game, it was off to drop my kit off at home and then in to town for the Cables Train Crew Christmas Dinner. Naturally there was only one way to get there ... er ... by bus.

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

Final score: Prescot Cables 2 (Kusoloka, Bannister) Curzon Ashton 3

The light takes its time to get brighter

The trouble with the light at this time of year is that unless the sun is fully out, it is not very strong, even when there is not much cloud. Still, at least the sun goes down 8 minutes later than at out last game, although the benefit of that depends on the referee not hanging about coming out for the second half.

This weekend saw Prescot Cables entertain Curzon Ashton. The corresponding fixture last season saw Curzon resting players for the last game of the season, knowing their playoff place and home advantage were secure. In mid season there are no such luxuries, with Curzon Ashton well within reach of the playoff places, and Prescot needing points to pull away from Goole, Ossett Albion and Garforth Town.

Ryan Gratton

The Met Office tell us last year was the 2nd wettest since records began. We do not currently have a major issue with fixture congestion, with only two games to be rearranged, which I suspect may have something to do with having a run of away games in November. Had we had more games scheduled at home, I suspect we would have had more postponements, as the pitch is definitely sufferng from the weather. In the remaining 17 weeks of the season, we have 12 home games still to play, and our tenants, AFC Liverpool, have 15. If there is one thing we can almost guarantee, there will be postponements in the next few weeks, either due to rain or ice, which should make for an interesting March and April. We can see some of the damage that the weather has done, undoing a lot of the hard work Doug Lace and Harry Molyneux have put in.

Danny Lambert

In the second half, the lighting advantage provided by the calendar was cancelled out by the half not starting until sunset at 4.07. I am not sure why, the first half started on time and did not have a significant amount of time added on. I therefore took up position on the Gasworks Side, opposite the stand. Fortunately I was not asked for evidence of my relation to any of the players: the players' fathers seemed to be extensively populating that side - I noticed Mr McCulloch, Mr Webb, Mr Fielding and Mr Rimmer of those I recognise from our side, and I was standing next to a gentleman who, judging by his directed encouragement, was probably the father of one of the Curzon Ashton players.

From this vantage point I did not capture the Prescot goal, a superb shot by Anthony Shinks from the touchline in front of the stand, under the second floodlight pylon. I was not expecting a shot from there, and would not have captured it anyway, given the light. Those on that side of the ground expressed the opinion that there was little doubt from the moment Anthony took it that it was going in.

Anthony Shinks

Every now and again you get a picture where a player is in just the right position to capture something behind him, as here, with Dave Owens unintentionally advertising the Cables 100 Club (renamed the 125 Club in our 125th anniversary season).

Dave Owens

I slightly cheekily included it in my selection for the Merseymart, as a free advert for our fundraising efforts on the back page would not go amiss. I was, however, not at all surprised when they passed it over for this one, to which they allocated 4 columns and about half the height of the page, so I am not complaining.

James McCulloch

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

World Cup winners and a record crowd

Sadly, no World Cup winners, nor a record crowd, were present in person when Prescot Cables visited Curzon Ashton at the weekend. Indeed, there was such a downpour about an hour before the game that I thought of calling the ground to see if the pitch was likely to be playable, or whether I was better off staying in the warm, dry Stalybridge Station Buffet.

Curzon Ashton play on the western edge of Ashton-under-Lyne, at the modern Tameside Stadium, part of what is becoming an impressive multi sports complex. In addition to facilities for athletics, cricket and football, a tarmac cycle track has been built since my last visit. The cyclists looked as though they had been riding for some time when I walked to the ground, and, as I left at the end, one of them called to his fellow competitors that they had 29 minutes to go.

The Tameside Stadium has also acquired a new statue outside the main entrance.

These are the three holders of World Cup winners' medals born in Tameside: Jimmy Armfield CBE (England 1966), from Denton, Simone Perrotta (Italy 2006) and Sir Geoff Hurst (England 1966), both from Ashton-under-Lyne.

And the record crowd? That is a more oblique connection, like those six steps to someone famous exercises. Before they moved in to the Tameside Stadium in 2005, Curzon Ashton played at National Park, about half a mile away. Before the Second World War, this was the home of Ashton National, a team linked with, and taking their name from, the National Gas and Oil Engine Company based in the town. In a similar way, Prescot Cables take their name from sponsorship by British Insulated Cables, at the time the largest employer in the town, in 1928.

Prescot's record attendance of 8122 came in a FA Cup preliminary round tie  - against Ashton National in 1932, with many of the Ashton supporters arriving on 4 special trains. A crowd like this was not altogether surprising. Prescot had been runners up in the Lancashire Combination the previous season, and had unsuccessfully applied for election to the Football League. Ashton National had just signed Alec Jackson, a Scottish international, from Chelsea - because Ashton could nearly double his wages, to £15 per week, instead of the Football League maximum wage of £8 per week.

105 people attended the game at the weekend, and pictures can be seen here.