Greeting old friends

Prescot Cables' game at home to Burscough was something of a reunion, with a number of our former players - Ben Morrow, Jonah O'Reilly, Phil Bannister, Josh Nicholson and Rob Doran - appearing for the visitors. There were former players in the crowd too, including Joe Evans, who has been trying his hand (well, both hands) at boxing with some success, and Jack Phillips, who looks to be out for some time with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Also joining us was Jack's brother Anthony, who completed a 10k walk the previous weekend to raise money for the Seddon Unit at St Helens Hospital, where he received treatment following his stroke this time last year. Not having seen him for a few months it was great to see for myself the progress in his recovery he has reported online.

Jonah O'Reilly

Phil Bannister

Rob Doran goes for a header with Joe Herbert

The game would have consequences for both clubs. Failure to win for Burscough would confirm the relegation that has looked inevitable for some time, whereas a loss for us would considerably increase our chances of joining them.

Marcus Burgess has been selected for the England Universities squad, who I think are playing in April, so I was concerned which games he would be missing. I need not have worried, as we have secured the services of Nosakhere Aghayere, who impressed me in our games against Colne.

Nosakhere Aghayere

We were also without James Doyle and Jordan Wynne, representing Knowsley Youth in the Dallas Cup. Chris Almond carried on where he left off at the weekend with a goal after half an hour, and a second just before half time.

Chris Almond with Josh Nicholson

We had taken a firm grip on the game, but we had seen against Goole a few days previously what could happen to a two goal lead against determined opposition, so I felt we could do with a third. Dale Wright duly obliged on the hour.

A few minutes later, James Edgar was brought down for a penalty, with Dale Wright stepping up to take it. Ben Morrow's first touch in Senior football was to save a penalty, but he was without luck this evening. To cap it all, the picture I thought I had of a rather good save he made later came out too blurred to use.

Ben Morrow

Unfortunately, towards the end of the game, Dominic Reid sustained an ankle ligament injury that looks as though it has ended his season, so we hope he makes a full recovery over the summer.

Dominic Reid

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 4 (Almond 2, Wright 2 (1 pen)) Burscough 0

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.

New Mills, old hills

I was unusually gung-ho this weekend about the prospects of Prescot Cables' game away at New Mills going ahead: with not much rain having fallen during the week, I had no inkling there would be a pitch inspection shortly before midday, by which time I was on a train climbing towards the Derbyshire hills.

I decided to make the best of the scenery, so I got off at Strines, and walked to a pub I had found on the CAMRA WhatPub site, the Fox Inn in the hamlet of Brookbottom.

The Fox Inn - 50 yards outside Greater Manchester

The entry suggests the pub is close to a railway station, which is true, it is about half a mile, although one needs a modicum of fitness to make the trip, up a steep bridleway. Once inside its foot thick walls, I enjoyed an immaculately kept pint of Robinsons' Dizzy Blonde, in what I might also describe as immaculately kept surroundings. I may have been sitting in one of the regulars' seats, as an elderly couple came in, and the gentleman was casting rather confused looks in my direction until his wife chose a table.

Had the weather been less pleasant, I would have stayed for a while, but I decided exercise was in order, and walked to the Pack Horse, a mile away up and down another hill, then on to the ground, another mile or so, involving descending to the level of the River Sett, and up another hill. I was glad to reach the town and its pavements: whilst I am used to walking country roads, I am used to a hedge in which to shelter from any passing cars that get a bit close, whereas dry stone walls look a bit less yielding.

I arrived five minutes before the scheduled kick off to find warming up still in progress. The match referee had not been happy with some areas of the pitch, and was minded to call the game off, but was prepared to accept sand being spread on the affected areas. Unfortunately, there was no sand on the premises, and a trip to the nearest builders' merchants in this part of the world is not as quick as you might at first think. Still, at least I got pictures of Manager Dave Powell and Assistant Manager Carl Furlong taking training.

Dave Powell

Carl Furlong

The original date for this fixture was the first of January's postponements. Quite a few of our Train Crew planned to travel on that occasion, but our numbers were depleted this time by some of our regulars jetting off on foreign holidays, and some taking the train to what might be a foreign holiday next season - in Scotland.

Not that we were short of supporters who travel on the coach or by car.

Dave, Cliff, Ken and Peter keep a close watch on Dave Dempsey

Players move between clubs all the time, so it is no surprise to encounter former players in the opposition line up. Mike Smith moved to New Mills earlier in the season, and was as energetic, and appeared as much in the frame, as he did when playing for us.

Connor McCarthy gets away from Mike Smith

With so few games over the last few weeks, we have not experienced the gradual extension of daylight, instead jumping from a dark second half to full daylight in a couple of jumps. Even with the delay for purchasing sand (kick off eventually occurring at 3.25), there was a decent amount of daylight right to the end.

The floodlights were on on one side for the first half, and both sides for the second. As is often the case, this gave some pictures a blue cast, which in the more extreme cases I tried to remove, you can judge for yourself how natural the end result looks.

Robert Gilroy - colour not adjusted

Phil Bannister - colour adjusted

We were disappointed not to come away with the first away win of the season, although, when we had not been able to score downhill in the first half, I thought we might find it even more difficult to do so uphill in the second. Still, all points are useful, and we kept a clean sheet and therefore avoided a defeat that would have improved the hosts' position at our expense.

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

Final score: New Mills 0 Prescot Cables 0

Not an entirely happy return

Players moving clubs is common at all levels of the game, probably more so at our level than amongst full time professionals with their contracts, transfer fees and transfer windows. So, former players often return to play for the opposition. Some go into management at other clubs, such as Simon Garner, recently appointed manager of Prescot Cables' visitors, Clitheroe.

I was away for the game earlier in the month at Clitheroe, where we lost 3-1. The scorer of our goal on that occasion, Connor McCarthy was injured for this match, as were James McCulloch and Dave Dempsey, with Antony Shinks also absent through illness. So, prospects were not good on paper, but our home form has been considerably better than our away form this season.

At least, I thought, as I caught the bus, the sun will make for good exposures in the first half. This was not to be, as a lot of high cloud had appeared by the time I got to the ground. I arrived a couple of minutes late to find us also a goal down. With those who would normally take the captain's duties unavailable, the task fell to Enzo Benn.

Enzo Benn

The visitors had the most of the play in the first half.

That's my Lottery numbers chosen - numbers on the front of shirts make sense in so many ways

Clitheroe went in two ahead at half time, after which the sides came out to the high cloud producing a fine sunset, much reproduced on Prescot Online and other local websites during the evening.

A half time substitution, bringing on Isaac Kusoloka for Sean Breen seemed to improve matters, as he was able to disturb the Clitheroe defence, which we had not really been able to do in the first half.

Isaac Kusoloka (no 16)

Isaac posted this picture on his Facebook page: a comment from one of his friends indicated I was not the only one who thought his gloves (so far there has not been anything in the Laws of the Game relating to what part of the kit their colour must match, but it can only be a matter of time) made it look as though he was jumping with his hands in his shorts.

This effort was saved, but Ged Murphy opened the scoring shortly afterwards.

Ged Murphy (no 4) scores our first goal

Isaac added the  equaliser a couple of minutes later, sealing a performance that earned him the Man of the Match award, and ensuring Clitheroe's returning manager took a point from his visit. The only snag for me was that I did not have a print quality picture of Isaac from the game to send to the Merseymart - there is a certain amount of pot luck involved in what you get from the second half at this time of year.

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

Final score: Prescot Cables 2 (Murphy, Kusoloka) Clitheroe 2