More goalkeepers than games

If I get behind updating these pages, sometimes events conspire to pinch a perfectly good gag. We will look at that later, but I arrived early for our Non League Day game in the FA Trophy at home to Trafford to catch a couple of players for their squad photos. I found Marcus Burgess, suspended after a dubious red card the previous week, assisting his replacement, Charlie Whittingham from Chorley, to acclimatise to his new goal.

Charlie Whittingham

The programme marked James McCulloch's 300th game for the club in midweek.

The Youth Team secured a superb victory in the FA Youth Cup in midweek, 3-1 against FC United of Manchester after extra time. I had been on hand aiming to capture the occasion, but the rain was the fine swirling type that gets under the camera cover and everywhere else, and has a worse effect even than fog on the pictures. Having drowned a camera in similar conditions a couple of years ago, I was not keen to repeat the experience, so I gave up after 20 minutes. The results of my limited efforts can be seen here.

FA Youth Cup v FC United of Manchester

As the rain started to fall this time, I feared I might have the same problem. However, this turned out to be a good honest downpour. With little wind, the rain was coming straight down, and a lot bounced off the camera cover and my clothes, although I must visit a waterproof trouser emporium. It is weather you can see.

Valter Fernandes

Baba Conteh opened the scoring after ten minutes with his first competitive goal for the club. I got what would have been quite a good shot, if he had been facing the other way!

Baba Conteh shoots for goal

The visitors came back and equalised through James Dean. However, more concerning events occurred a few minutes later, when Charlie Whittingham was injured in a collision. Although he carried on, as he limped off at half time we were concerned, justifiably, whether he would be able to play the second half. Reporting Lloyd Dean's spell in goal last week, I lined up a comment that I was surprised it was not Andy Scarisbrick, as he had played more or less everywhere else. My turn of phrase was overtaken by events when Andy once again demonstrated he is the man to send for when you need a gap filled without fuss, taking up position as our fourth goalkeeper in three games.

Goalkeeping coach Garry Williams briefs Andy Scarisbrick

With another goalkeeper getting used to the position, attack was the best form of defence, and we put ourselves ahead with a goal from Josef Faux twenty minutes in.

Josef Faux celebrates his goal

Lloyd Dean marked his 100th appearance with a goal four minutes later.

Lloyd Dean celebrates his goal

Solid work in defence and what Gareth Roberts of The Anfield Wrap called "some predictably unorthodox - but effective - goalkeeping" kept a clean sheet.

Defending in numbers

The Roanza Mercedes Truck and Van Man of the Match award went to Harry Cain for a tireless performance.

Harry Cain

I was a little confused as to whether we would also present the Player of the Month award, but no-one knew how to access the result, which is probably just as well, as voting was still going on.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen on the club website in reverse order here, and on Google Photos the right way round here.

Final score: Prescot Cables 3 (Conteh, Faux, Dean) Trafford 1.

Light and angles

We were joined for Prescot Cables' game at home to Trafford by the match and ball sponsors, the Rotary Club of Prescot. I was asked to try and catch a few shots around and about, but as they were in the crowd for the game, I did not manage to do so, and they brought a photographer anyway. They did, however, present the man of the match award.

Baba Conteh receives his award

At the previous evening game, I retreated behind the perimeter barrier once it got dark, but I decided this time I would see what results I would get staying pitchside for the whole game.

Tunde Owolabi

We were attacking the Safari Park End for the first half, so I went to my usual position. I was still on the way when James McCulloch opened the scoring. The time was given as three minutes, but it felt a lot quicker. Not only did I not catch the goal, but I did not get much of the celebration either.

James McCulloch

I worked my way around, first crossing to the other side of the goal, where I did not capture much at all. With the linesmen working on the opposite diagonal to normal, I then took up position a third of the way down the Gasworks Side. This gave the best results, with an angle I had not had before. You cannot get the stand in the background in the same way when you are standing up: having the camera three or four feet lower makes all the difference.

Valter Fernandes

I put the raw images through the Nikon ViewNX software, but I was not satisfied with the results, as the black in the kit was coming out grey. I therefore converted the raw files manually in Photoshop Elements, lowering the setting for the black until it was just starting to lose definition. It works with the sky too, and sitting underneath a throw in gives a striking angle.

For the second half, I started behind the goal at the Eaton Street End...

Jordan Wynne

... and worked my way round to the side. I added a new starter to the photographic record.

Reece McNally

Because of the diagonal the linesmen were using, I needed to shoot from the side just beyond the half way line, alongside our own half. I was happy with the results.

Harry Cain

Joey Faux made the result secure with a goal after 72 minutes.

Joey Faux celebrates his goal

Despite an injury time goal for the visitors, we ensured we would collect all six points for the season from a Trafford side who looked as though they had made progress since we beat them away at the beginning of the month.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen on the club website (placed in reverse order by the Pitchero uploader, grrr) here, and on Google Photos here.

Final score: Prescot Cables 2 (McCulloch, Faux) Trafford 1.

A clean sheet at Trafford

Despite a respectable performance over the bank holiday weekend, I was apprehensive about Prescot Cables' visit to Trafford, with good reason, as we had shipped more goals than I care to remember on our last two visits. Arriving in good time, I was still unsure of the precise etiquette for admission to the side of the pitch, so in the end I popped my high vis on, and wandered out onto the pristine turf just before the teams came out of the dressing room, with a vague general air that I knew what I was doing.

Shawe View has a wide border between the pitch and the perimeter fence, so I took up a position near the corner flag. A lot of photographers working pitchside have a stool, but as I have only just started, and want to keep cost and weight to a minimum, my seating arrangement of choice is a simple polyethylene cushion pad, £3.99 from the camping section at Clas Ohlson.

Lloyd Dean

When propping yourself up against the fence, always keep an eye out for what may be balanced on top.

The sun was shining, but I was in the shade of the fence so I did not have any distracting light from the side.

Louis Coyne

As at Tadcaster the previous week, we avoided conceding in the first half, and were not without opportunities to score. Our first goal, a good one from both playing and photographic perspectives, came from Jordan Southworth.

Jordan Southworth traps the ball ...

... shoots ...

... and celebrates his goal

Next to present a photographic challenge was a penalty for the hosts at what was probably a key moment a couple of minutes later. Marcus Burgess pulled off a save to maintain our advantage and the confidence that comes from going ahead. I often use the "a goal is a goal" principle to let a picture that does not quite meet quality control through the net - I also have a lesser used principle  of "a penalty save is a penalty save" for when I do not catch fingers and ball in actual contact.

It is a save - honest.

We had one new starter.

Aaron Turner

Tunde Owolabi came on a few minutes from time and looked dangerous, so much so that he was almost immediately fouled just inside the penalty area.

Tunde Owolabi

Realising that a lack of spectators in the way on my side of the barrier meant I could move to a better position for the penalty (ensuring I did not distract Jordan Wynne as he prepared to  take it), I moved closer to the goal.

Jordan Wynne scores from the spot

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

Final score: Trafford 0 Prescot Cables 2 (Southworth, Wynne pen)

That's more like it

Following Prescot Cables' poor performance on the road at Ossett Albion, we were not sure what to expect entertaining Trafford, who were in third place. Spectators seemed not to be deterred, as we attracted a crowd of 249 on what had threatened to be a wet night, although the rain left off in time for the game. It has been the case for some years that our position in the attendance table is better than that on the field, and this season has been no exception, as we are in sixth in home attendances.

With Lloyd Dean serving a delayed part of a suspension, Dominic Reid and Harry Cain started. The most surprising change saw James Edgar and Chris Almond, who we expect to be be further forward, in the full back positions. Garry Williams told me after the game that this had been something of a gamble. We would soon see if it paid off.

James Edgar

Chris Almond

Dr James and I made our way round to the Gasworks Side. A noisy crowd had gathered behind the visitors' goal, and had fixed their attention on their goalkeeper.

Dominic Marie takes a shot

Plenty thought he should have been relieved from them after 20 minutes, when he brought down the advancing Dominic Reid to concede a penalty, in circumstances many thought was a goal scoring opportunity. The video of the penalty, taken by Dale Wright, can be seen here, and we can hear that confusion between 6 and 8 on our shirts affects our people too. Some people have wondered why there has been a spate of tweets at away games crediting action to "Unknown Player". This comes from the Pitchero video app, which, as well as showing clips, also generates tweets. It happens when the camera operator has uploaded the action without identifying the player. We do not have many on our own feed, which shows how well Glyn has got to grips with the system.

The changes looked to be paying off, with a much better attacking performance.

James Doyle

We had a scare when Marcus Burgess did not spot that one of our players had played the ball that was rolling towards him - I thought as soon as it was played that he was going to pick it up - conceding an indirect free kick 8 yards out. Strength in numbers dealt with the threat.

Our second goal came a few minutes into the second half from Dominic Reid. I do not need to dredge my memory to describe a goal I did not catch, as I can direct readers to the video. Once again I caught the celebrations.

Dominic Reid

We had the better of the half, with noteworthy performances (at least from my side of the pitch) from Dominic Reid earning his Rogues & Rascals Barbershop Man of the Match award, and Harry Cain making a claim for a continued starting place.

Harry Cain

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 2 (Wright pen, Reid) Trafford 0.

Work to do

On previous visits to Trafford, I have found the lighting conditions a bit challenging. It seemed a lot brighter when Prescot Cables travelled there last week, so I am not sure if they have replaced the bulbs, or I am better at handling the conditions after almost a year with my D5300. I started my journey near Moorfields station in Liverpool city centre, from where the whizzy algorithm at National Rail Enquiries told me I could leave at 17.41, with one change. On closer inspection, this involved walking to Lime Street, so I applied some fuzzy logic and caught the Hunts Cross train one minute earlier, with a cross platform change.

I arrived with plenty of time to spare, so I watched the players warming up. Brian Richardson had not had the opportunity to see the players in training, so I was not expecting significant changes.

The corresponding fixture last year was the last before Andy Paxton took over, where we lost 8-0. The fifth goal going in was probably the closest I have come to leaving well before the end of a game, being discouraged by the distance of the gate from the station and the 9pm train. On this occasion, I was speaking to Bram Johnstone's parents before kick off, and they kindly offered me a lift home, so I was there for the duration.

Having looked at grain and lighting at Lancaster, I took a couple of pictures using the sports mode with auto ISO (a maximum of 3200 - you can set it higher, but it will then be fixed at that value, which is not what I want).

1/60s f/4.5 ISO3200

I took up position by a pylon. I was hardly in place when Trafford scored their first. Two more (which were admittedly good goals) in the next quarter of an hour did not bode well.

Whilst I was looking for the opportunity to drop the shutter speed where I thought it might work, I mainly stayed at 1/200s. I once again found that sensitivity (ISO) seemed to bear little relation to grain.

James McCulloch, 1/80s f/4.8 ISO4000

Bram Johnstone - in a fairly similar pitch position to above, 1/200s f/5.3 ISO12000

A further goal from the hosts just before half time dampened spirits further.

Things looked better in the second half, despite a fifth goal from the hosts. Under pressure from Lloyd Dean, Luke Pilling held on to the ball for too long, and was penalised with an indirect free kick. A short pass enabled Nathan Quirk to put the ball in the net, only for the goal to be disallowed. The only reason we could think of was that the referee had not been ready.

We then descended into farce, when the linesman flagged for pushing and shoving in the goalmouth as we tried to get the ball for a quick restart and the hosts protested. The referee issued a red card ... to Rob McIntosh, who had been on the half way line. I am not a big fan of the style of numbers on our shirts, opposition announcers have confused 6 and 8 when crediting goals on at least two occasions, and I would add 3 and 9 to that mix, although 4 has never struck me as having a problem.

Ben Cartwright - the 4 is one of the clearer numbers in the set

Rob McIntosh

Our pressure paid off when we were awarded a penalty, converted by Nathan Quirk for a consolation goal, the final score giving plenty for Brian Richardson to think about.

Nathan Quirk

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

Final score: Trafford 5 Prescot Cables 1 (Quirk pen)

Cup preliminaries

Everything was ready as I arrived for Prescot Cables' FA Cup Preliminary Round game against Trafford. The teams were arriving, the bar was stocked, and our Chairman's lucky FA Cup suit (which is only intermittently lucky) was pressed and ready. As the visiting coaching staff arrived, Andy Paxton lent them a couple of poles for their goalkeeping warm up to save their going back to the car to get theirs ... just as one, not observing this transaction, went back to the car to get theirs.

I was early as I had been commissioned to take the team photo. Last year's was a rushed affair, but I made a careful note of how we came to have a rather lopsided lineup, and had plans to avoid similar pitfalls. The only obstacle was rain, and that held off for a while longer than forecast, so there was no problem. Unfortunately, communication had gone wrong, Andy Paxton only found out in the morning, so had not been able to brief the players, so we postponed it for a week. All was not lost, as coach Roy Grundy knew he would be away next week, so posed for his individual picture.

Roy Grundy

Having arrived before the turnstile opened, I had not had to pay to get in. I therefore headed to the bar.

There were a couple of changes from the last two games, with Jack Phillips and Phil Bannister making their first starts of the season, and Neil Weaver making his first competitive start for the club.

Neil Weaver

The weather was changeable, as was my camera position. I went out into the open into a few spots of rain...

Nathan Quirk

... then put the cover on as the rain got heavier, retreated to the Gasworks side to avoid the wind blowing rain on to the front of the lens...

Lloyd Dean

... only to find the gusts were coming from more than one direction, once again retreated to the Safari Park End when the sun came out and I was looking into it...

Jacob Jones

... then went back under the stand when it started to rain again.

Trafford had a strong side, with reports suggesting they had recruited a number of those of last season's Warrington side who did not want to commit to the travelling in the higher division. They scored what would prove to be the only goal of the game just before half time.

For the second half, it looked as though it had stopped raining, so I went outside to cover the same side of the pitch as for most of the first half (and therefore the opposite side of our team).

Josh Nicholson

However, the rain drove me back under the cover.

The Management watch Jack Phillips. The visitors have recruited Mr Baxter from Grange Hill.

I was happy with the ViewNX software, minimising grain, but not noise reducing out the rain.

Phil Bannister

The Rogues & Rascals Barbershop Man of the Match award was won by Bram Johnstone. I am making progress on the quick processing for this, converting to jpeg on the camera (much better quality than on the phone), uploading with the Nikon WMU at full size, and then a quick crop with the phone's built in editor.

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 Trafford 1