Last train to Ossett Albion

It is not often you visit a ground knowing it will be for the last time. We often anticipate not seeing clubs for some time: because we or they are on the way up, down or sideways. However, we knew Prescot Cables' trip to Ossett Albion would be our last, as they are to merge with Ossett Town, eschewing the name of Ossett T'Albion for the more sensible Ossett United, and will play first team games at Ingfield. My first visit to Dimple Wells was ten years ago, when they were in the division below Prescot, the season before we were relegated to join them.

Ossett Albion v Bridlington Town 1st March 2008

This was also the end of an institution, the 1022 Liverpool to Scarborough. Our Train Crew has declined in recent years due to illness, moving away, work and family commitments, but the 1022 started of some of our more memorable away days. In May, the Liverpool to Leeds service becomes half hourly at 26 and 56, and, depending which split the league choose, we might not visit Yorkshire at all. Frank, Dr James and I assembled for the train to Dewsbury, with Frank disappearing for a few minutes to exchange the ticket he had been sold to Shrewsbury.

On arrival, we adjourned to the West Riding Licensed Refreshment Rooms, where I downloaded a bus ticket, and informed my companions a day saver was £4.80, forgetting the 10p discount for using the app. Scenes with loose change ensued when we got on the bus.

My Ossett pub of choice has been the Tap, but I have meant to visit the Old Vic, which looks quite a bit further away on the map, but is only about five minutes' walk. We found it furnished to the standards you expect from Ossett Brewery, and quieter than the Tap. There is a 50% chance I am a quarter Canadian (in 1941 their army was in Surrey fraternising with the locals), and I thought I would see the last ten minutes of Canada's bronze medal game in the Olympic ice hockey on the large screen, only for it to be switched to the national anthems for the rugby union.

Josh Klein-Davies

At the ground, a dilemma awaited. I have given up red meat for Lent, but this was the last chance for one of Albion's hot pork pies, a Yorkshire delicacy. I sent a quaeritur to my theologian friend Matthew to see if there were any exceptions for a final visit to a sports ground on the Second Saturday in Lent, but decided to be naughty and have one anyway.

This was not a game to set the pulse racing, with neither side looking able to create any meaningful chances. Afterwards Frank asked me how I would get any pictures. I referred to my second principle of sports photography*.

The quality of the pictures bears next to no relation to the quality of the action.

A tense game with inch perfect passes, runs timed to perfection, and the lead changing hands, on a wet afternoon in November, can leave me struggling with focus and motion blur. A game (from both sides) of runs that never quite go anywhere, passes intercepted by the opposition and the referee thinking dropped balls and free kicks are interchangeable, played under fine late winter sunshine, on the other hand ...

The shadow from the stand is smaller than at home, so I used shutter priority for most of the first half. Unlike the sports mode, which starts closing the aperture when the speed goes above 1/1000s, this keeps it open and the depth of field shallow, with a sharply focused player against a nice soft background.

Valter Fernandes

Being responsible for a number of profile pictures on social networks, the question arises, "quis photographiet ipsos photographes?". Albion's resident snapper caught me in action.

Harry Cain returned to the bench after surgery. The plan was to give him 20 minutes' play, but plans do not always survive contact with the opposition.

Harry Cain

For the second half, I used the sports mode.

Reece McNally

For the last quarter of an hour, I moved to the side of the pitch, and was rewarded with a few shots in the golden hour (the hour or so before the sun sets).

Jordan Southworth

On my way out, I snapped a couple of pictures as the sun dipped behind Emley Moor television transmitter.

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

Final score: Ossett Albion 0 Prescot Cables 0

* The first principle is, "If in doubt take a picture of it. Then take another picture of it, just in case".

Not quite so lucky blue

Over the years I have been watching Prescot Cables, the away kit has generally alternated between red and blue. We have recently taken delivery of a smart new all blue kit - and if you have one block colour, blue is the least problematic according to the FA guidance on colour blindness in football, red having a tendency to clash with the opposition or merge into the pitch for about 6% of your potential audience. We also wore the blue kit winning at Tadcaster and Trafford, so it was starting to look lucky - football people are a superstitious bunch.

With illness, work and other commitments, we have not mustered much of a turnout for our Train Crew over the last few months, but we gathered a reasonable number for our trip to Mossley, assembling in the Station Buffet at Stalybridge and the Fleece at Mossley. After the latter, some of our party also tried another pub, whose name escapes me, but I stayed put as it sounded like an establishment for the less discerning drinker.

Still being unaware of the precise etiquette for going pitchside, I went for a repeat of putting on my high vis and wandering through the gate looking as though I knew what I was doing, chatting to goalkeeping coach Garry Williams as I did so. He was hoping for some shots of the bench. I was able to oblige.

Louis Coyne watches Garry Williams demonstrate his ball skills

There had been heavy showers earlier in the day. As I walked round the pitch, there was a definite squelch from the part worn down by the linesmen, but the playing surface looked firm. I took up position in front of the wall at the Yorkshire end.

Yours truly in position - photo by Richie Brown

There was another heavy shower just after kick off. I caught a couple of shots managing not to noise reduce out the rain.

Baba Conteh

It stopped raining after about 10 minutes, so I was able to remove the wet weather gear, uncomfortably warm in mild weather, from both myself and the camera.

My position gives a good view of the dark arts of defending at set pieces.

Dominic Marie

We rarely do well visiting Mossley, and normal service was maintained when the hosts scored after 25 minutes.

For the second half I took up a similar position at the Lancashire end. In this location, the wall is low enough that I could probably sit behind it and gain the same effect. Our goal continued to be kept busy.

Marcus Burgess

The hosts make their win secure with a goal after 75 minutes.

Near the end of the game, an elderly home supporter took advantage of the low wall to engage me in conversation, asking where I display my photos as he was looking forward to one of their second goal. He asked how many I normally put online, and, when I replied it was usually 60 or 70, about 10% of what I take, he wondered if I include goals we concede. Hearing that I generally do not, he departed with an air of satisfaction at seeing a win mixed with resignation that he would not have a visual reminder.

Despite some aerobatics ...

Harry Cain

Alan Burton

... we were unable to make a reply.

This was the first time I have been pitchside in damp weather. I was therefore more than a little stiff for the walk down the hill to the Britannia Inn and the station.

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

Final score: Mossley 2 Prescot Cables 0.

Bridge the gap

Arriving for Prescot Cables' game at Tadcaster Albion, I quickly spotted the town's main claim to fame for the last couple of years. It spans the River Wharfe, one side in the West Riding proper, and the other in the Ainsty of York. The latter's agricultural revenue once supported the city but by the end of its existence as an administrative entity, it was a wild and lawless place. It is a lot quieter these days, as we were to find. The bridge, being the only practical route between the two halves, showed smooth new stone from repairs after it was partially demolished by a flood in 2015.

Give it 20 years of weathering and you will not be able to see the join. Looking up the story of the collapse, I see our hosts allowed their car park to be used for access to the temporary footbridge in place during the repairs.

A number of our train crew made a weekend of it in York, and, as is his wont, Dr Phil brought along some more Doctors (at least I think they all are). Our pharmacological expertise (nothing performance enhancing, most of them work on livers) was augmented by Benny, who has been to a few games, and Cables newcomers Tammy, Victoria and Amy. I was just there for the day, so it was a lot cheaper to travel via Leeds. Having grown up in the countryside, striding across fields with nothing in the way, but near enough to London to experience fast moving crowds, I often think that if places like Leeds had the number of people found in London, they would literally come to a standstill, with people gathered round train doors and no-one able to get on or off, and the streets blocked by people ambling along three abreast at a glacial pace. Dodging these obstacles, I made it to Leeds Bus Station for the Coastliner bus, which was not going as far as the coast, but that is Yorkshire economy for you, in the same way they lack trebles on their dartboards.

A Yorkshire dartboard, spotted by Dr James

I pottered around taking a few pictures before a pre match pint in the Howden Arms opposite the ground. I have had Samuel Smith's Old Brewery Bitter in London and not been keen, but either my tastes have changed or it really does taste better in Tadcaster.

Marcus Burgess

It looked as though every inch of the pitch perimeter was taken with advertising, although on closer inspection many of the boards belonged to the club - not necessarily a bad thing, as, when you see the photos, you know where you are.

Josh Dolling. Ee ba gum.

The weather was good for action photography, with about seven oktas of light cloud. In a week when I pulled the leg of my friend Matt from the Lost Boyos for dodgy geography where the lack of knowledge turned out to be mine, I can still remember the unit of measurement for cloud cover. It was a decent level of light for fast shutter speeds, and the cloud means an absence of distracting shadows.

Josef Faux - 1/1000s f/5.6 ISO500 300mm

We opened the scoring inside the first few minutes with a goal from Chris Almond.

Chris Almond shoots for goal ...

... and watches it go in.

It was an evenly balanced half, with the hosts equalising, Chris Almond scoring again, and the hosts once again drawing level.

Visiting the tea bar at half time, I got the end of a batch of chips - all the better, as there were plenty of the crispy bits near the bottom of the pan. The weather was more changeable in the second half, with some sun and a couple of light showers.

Andy Scarisbrick

A further goal eluded both sides, not for want of trying. With Goole losing, we restored another point of the cushion between us and them.

After the game, most of our party stayed for a couple of drinks, in the Angel and White Horse, where Samuel Smith keep their white dray horses, and the Coach and Horses next to the bus station. We were probably a bit noisy for the town, where most pubs seemed geared towards dining, and they may well have been relieved when we took ourselves back to the city.

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

Final score: Tadcaster Albion 2 Prescot Cables 2 (Almond 2)

Head for the Hill-Woods

There is often talk in English football of how we need a winter break. Those of us in the non League game know we usually have one, you just cannot predict when it will be. Prescot Cables' game at home to Burscough on the New Year bank holiday fell to a frozen pitch. About 90% of it looked fine in the pictures I saw, but one corner does not get the sun, and, if it has frozen overnight, air temperature is not usually enough to thaw it. Having not seen the game at Bamber Bridge on Boxing Day, it was three weeks since I had seen Cables play.

A lot can happen in that time, and three more players moved on, Rob Doran to Colwyn Bay, Michael Simpson returning to Runcorn Linnets, and Joe Nicholson joining his brother Josh in returning to Skelmersdale United, and also registering with Ashton Town in the Hallmark Security League. This blog wishes them all the best in their future endeavours.

Joe Nicholson

In the other direction, Marcus Burgess rejoins us in goal ...

Marcus Burgess

... Chris Almond joins us from Skelmersdale United ...

Chris Almond

... and Harry Cain from Altrincham.

Harry Cain is tracked by Pitchero's new video technology

Glossop North End's Twitter feed reported that another familiar face would be at the game, as Jonah O'Reilly had moved from Skelmersdale to our hosts. Jonah's father, a former regular on the Gasworks Side, was watching, although his dogs had wisely stayed at home in the warm.

Jonah O'Reilly

This was our Train Crew's first organised trip for a while, and Dr Phil and I joined Richie, our leader in beer and pub choices, in the Piccadilly Tap. We collected Phil's friend David, who was born in Glossop, where his grandfather had been the local undertaker. When we arrived in Glossop, I was about to point out the ground by reference to its neighbouring landmark (or blot on the landscape), but the large chimney has been demolished to make way for housing.

More supporters joined us in the Star, but I eschewed the chance to move with them to the Friendship Inn, preferring to read the paper before getting to the ground in time for a pie. Mettrick's pies are some of the best in the league, and have been sold at at the FA Cup Final, presumably due to the connection between Glossop and Arsenal through the Hill-Wood family. The pastry, unlike some, does not need a chisel to break the crust, and with commendable attention to detail, the hosts supply a spork, so you do not miss out on any gravy.

I am not sure whether the day was properly called foggy or misty, as different forecasters use different visibility criteria to distinguish them (at least on land, it is internationally agreed at sea). We could not see the hills, but there was no issue seeing the football. The hosts are in the playoff positions, and presented a strong challenge, despite losing two players to injury in the first few minutes, and were 2-0 up at half time.

For the second half, we were playing towards the former chimney end. As it was dark enough to have the floodlights on from the start, and they are in a side arrangement, I would not get much from the covered standing at the end, and would be better under a pylon. The pylon at that end is in front of the stand, the next is between the dugouts, so I found myself alongside our own half.

Danny Flood

The hosts scored a third shortly after the restart.

With Dominic Marie following up the form that won him the Warrington Motors Player of the Month award for December by scoring in this game, I was trying to get a decent picture where he was both recognisable and in action, but it can be pot luck with the light at this time of year.

Dominic Marie

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

Final score: Glossop North End 3 Prescot Cables 1 (Marie)

A traditional damp evening

"CTC members a bit thin on the ground", mused Paul of our Train Crew, posting from the Hop Vine in Burscough. Dr James and I arrived from Burscough Junction shortly afterwards to find three present: Paul, his uncle, and Frank, who came from Huyton via Wigan.

We have not had many evening games this season, but there are plenty to come, with 18 League games in ten weeks, plus at least one in the Liverpool Senior Cup. It was my first night game in earnest since I replaced my camera body, apart from one at Marine I attended more for a technical test. I was at Burscough a couple weeks ago, and knew we would be in for a tough game. I would have been satisfied with a good performance whatever the result.

James nearly caused a multiple pile up at the unfeasibly narrow turnstiles, as he tried to go through forwards wearing a rucksack. Once inside, I took a position by the covered standing along the side. It was showery, so it was handy to to be able to dart for cover without the need to wrap the camera. The floodlights are good, so I was happy with my exposures, particularly when play came close to me, even if I am still working out how the camera handles the relationship between aperture and sensitivity in shutter priority mode.

Joe Evans

Bram Johnstone had rejoined us, having made a few appearances in pre season.

Bram Johnstone

At half time I walked around the ground, past the substitutes warming up, checking the light at various points. As I did so, Connor Grainger sent a ball over the wall into the adjacent field, and briefly tried to climb over to retrieve it. Abandoning the attempt, he told me he was not built for climbing, which was just as well, as the notice on the wall warned of anti climb paint, so he avoided coming on later covered in the stuff.

During the second half I tried a few pictures from behind the goal, which I do not normally do in a ground with floodlights arranged on the sides. I was able to get some reasonable exposures, although when play was towards the touchline, players were in shadow with the rest of their surroundings not, and exposure correction on the raw file was only partially successful addressing this.

Lloyd Dean

I became more confident we would get at least a draw as the second half went on, and things got even better with a goal from Joe Nicholson. The Train Crew may have been a bit thin on the ground, but the cheer that went up showed quite a few people had made the short trip by other means.

Joe Nicholson

After the game the Train Crew divided in the traditional railway manner, with the front portion (Paul, his uncle and Frank) heading for the Bridge, adjacent to the eponymous station, and the rear portion, (James and me) returning to the Hop Vine, a minute or so closer to Burscough Junction, and, more importantly, a known quantity for working heating and decent beer. The former was essential after a traditional damp-getting-into-your-bones evening game.

For the second set in a row, there was a change to how I upload pictures. Google are retiring the Picasa application, so I need to migrate to Google Photos. The advantage is that pictures are uploaded at a higher resolution (some significantly so), the disadvantage is the "public on the web" sharing option has gone, so I cannot enable a viewer to follow a link to one collection and then browse the others.

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

Final score: Burscough 0 Prescot Cables 1 (Joe Nicholson).

'Appen us do like to be beside t'seaside

When Prescot Cables' fixtures were released, one point that jumped out was three trips to Yorkshire in January, including to Scarborough Athletic, playing at Bridlington Town. This fixture turned out to be useful with the weather, as the pitch, sitting, as the British Geological Survey tells us, on superficial deposits of sand with a white chalk bedrock, drains very well. Scarborough and Bridlington have largely escaped the postponements that have affected the rest of us.

I have never been a great fan of bucket and spade holidays, especially not in January, but a few of the Train Crew stayed over for a night or two, booking early to pay for the hotel with savings on the fare. I decided to wait to be sure the game was on, settling on a day trip. I met Dr James as he headed for the Liverpool to Scarborough train, and explained I would take the fast train to Leeds, buy a separate ticket and join him there, saving £15. I inspected the southern entrance to Leeds Station, whose pristine appearance and smell of fresh paint indicated it was recently opened, and which brings three or four Good Beer Guide pubs five minutes closer to the train.

In Bridlington we adjourned to the Telegraph, where I enjoyed an Anglers Reward from the Wold Top Brewery, making up in taste for what it lacked in punctuation. You cannot beat water filtered through chalk for making beer. We were concerned about the time to get to the ground, but we looked around and realised from the attire of the other customers that they were mainly the home support, and we just needed to leave when they did.

We were missing a couple of players. Team captain James McCulloch is likely to be out of action for some time due to ligament damage sustained in training. Marcus Burgess was suspended, replaced by new signing Tom Brocklehurst, returning to playing, having most recently been with Skelmersdale United.

Tom Brocklehurst

Andy Nugent also made a first appearance.

The hosts had an early chance, but we opened the scoring from a free kick by Rob Doran. We thought at the time this was from 25 yards, although looking at Scarborough's video and my pictures, it was some distance further than that. I was the wrong side to capture the kick very well...

... but I was perfectly placed to see the ball go into the net.

Returning from Skelmersdale United after a short spell with us earlier in the season, was Sam Staunton Turner, who wasted no time adding his name to the score sheet with a superb long range shot.

Sam shoots for goal ...

... and watches it go in.

With sunset in Yorkshire a quarter of an hour earlier than back at home, it was starting to get dark at the end of the first half. The floodlights came on for the second.

Our third goal came from another long range shot from Phil Bannister.

Phil shoots for goal ...

... and Richie updates the Twitter feed

A feature of these trips is meeting the locals. Leaving the ground, the rest of our party were some distance ahead. From around the corner I heard some sort of commotion. A local lady had asked the score, and on hearing that we won, loudly and colourfully expressed her satisfaction as a Bridlington supporter who had little time for Scarborough.

Back in Scarborough, the rest of the party headed for what by all accounts was an enjoyable evening, with some after effects in the morning, whilst I went for the train home. The journey is always improved by a win, although I have yet to find the scoreline that improves the comfort of TransPennine's buttock-numbingly firm seats.

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

Final score: Scarborough Athletic 0 Prescot Cables 3 (Doran, Staunton Turner, Bannister).

At least we did not need the points

There was a good turnout for Prescot Cables' final game of the season at Padiham, with the coach fully booked, eleven of us on our train with others following later. A couple of our party were making their first away trips, Dan, a regular attender at home games, and Thom, on placement from university in Nijmegen. Thom is working with Dr Jon, who thought that, in addition to places he plans to visit during his stay, such as London, Oxford and Cambridge, he might have an interesting experience if he were to visit somewhere less well known. Padiham is not well known even a short distance away: when we rang for taxis in Burnley, the person in the office claimed not to have heard of it.

Richie, our leader in beer and pub choices, was unable to join us, and would have disapproved of some of our beer, although the establishments in which we consumed them were pleasant enough. The entries on WhatPub were a bit dated: one pub was listed as serving cask ales, but looked as though it had lacked the facility to do so for some time. At least the Hare and Hounds had an excellent range.

The end of the season is a time for reflection, completing a journey that started being chewed by mosquitoes on a wet July day in Coppull. Neil Prince had to put together a team more or less from scratch over the summer. Not many from that day were still with us: Neil Prince himself, James McCulloch, starting a third century of appearances, and the reliable Joe Evans.

Joe Evans

Matty West has rejoined the side in the last few games.

Matty West

Sam Corlett deserves a mention too, he joined us in the second pre season game, and has been with us ever since.

Sam Corlett

We tried a couple of players from our excellent youth team, who did not falter when the call came later, with Ben Morrow being a fixture in goal for the last two months ...

Ben Morrow

... and Andy Harper making himself a first choice for his position since being called up to the first team over Christmas.

Andy Harper

We have had a young team: seven or eight games in I realised I had been watching the club since before most players on the pitch had been born. A substitute warming up at that first pre season game was among their number, although older than I first thought, having played in the Wigan Athletic Academy before being released in May last year.

Our first sight of Jack Phillips

I would not see him warming up very often again unless I arrived early, as he made an instant claim for a start, with a good line in nimbly outwitting much larger players.

Three quarters of those released by academies never play again, and many who try to carry on do not last very long. The transition from football as a full time occupation to combining it with work or education must be quite challenging: Jack has been one of the best I have seen at managing it. I have not talked to him his university course, but on the field he was the season's top scorer, and made a well deserved clean sweep of the Supporters', Manager's and Players' Player of the Year awards.

Jack sends a defender the other way

Amidst all this reminiscing, there was a game we were actually attending.

Er, not that one - that was the cricket next door. A six was not without its risks.

Howzat!

As for our game: we had secured what we needed, and the hosts were determined to leave the league on a high note, which they did, with a 4-0 win including a hat trick from former Cables player Daley Woods.

After the game, some left quickly to get back in time for the club's presentation evening. This included Dr Phil, which confused the remaining pharmacologists, who try not to leave one of their number behind on their travels.

A lot of us have an interest in more than one team, and life is easier if they do not play each other. At least our finishing clear of the relegation positions meant East Grinstead Town were not competing with Prescot for a reprieve from relegation. As for Dulwich Hamlet, the FA are still consulting the entrails regarding a points deduction for an ineligible player fielded by Enfield Town in January, which affects whether they finished in a play off place, resulting in Dulwich's semi final at Margate being postponed with less than 48 hours' notice.

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

Final score: Padiham 4 Prescot Cables 0.