Author Archives: laurencereade

It Ain’t Necessarily So

17 Thursday May 2012

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Thursday 17th May 2012 ko 6.30pm

Oxon Senior League Premier Division

AFC HINKSEY 1 (Lawrence 50)

O.U.P. 4 (Hedger 46 72p Pepperall-Gray 60 Lockhart 70p)

Att 35 (h/c)

80 minute game at Pitch 2 Westminster College, Botley

Another day, another OSL game at a ground other than the host team’s home. AFC Hinksey play at Brasenose College’s sports ground along the Abingdon Road in Oxford, but since the students are now playing cricket our game got moved to the home of Westminster FC of the North Berkshire League. Having visited less than a month ago, I really couldn’t raise much enthusiasm for this one, but its a game, and on arrival there was the usual gaggle of hoppers and they were playing on a different pitch to Westminster!

If points win championships then Hinksey have won the league easily. A league official commented that they are the best side in the OSL by far. The problem with them became apparent when I asked them for their line-ups. They were friendly enough but the smell emanating from their bench reminded me of student days. The league official also admitted that Hinksey’s admin was far from up to scratch. “They didn’t send us a result card for 3 months!” He also admitted that the league had charged them with 2 counts of fielding ineligible players, and were worried about the contents of their last result card. Add to that more items of poor administration and he let slip that 12 points could be on the line. And OUP, or to use their full title Oxford University Press, are in second place, just 6 points behind…..Mind you the official did also state that the league wanted the league settled on the pitch, so read into that what you might!

Both teams treated the first half as if nothing depended on it, so lets draw a line overt that 40 minutes. Everything changed when Paul Hedger fired home after 46 minutes, and Hinksey were shaken into life as Triston Lawrence powered home a header from a corner. The trouble is that they soon dozed off again as a defensive howler allowed Andrew Pepperall-Gray to run through and score.

The moment of controversy happen on 70 minutes when Pepperall-Gray looked yards offside when he raced through to score. As he did the referee whistled, and everyone assumed it was for the offside. It wasn’t as he’d blown for a challenge by keeper Martyn Clark, so as the ball had been in play when he’d blown he had to award the penalty. Fortunately justice was served as Neil Lockhart scored from the spot.

Within 2 minutes it was 4, as Lockhart was crudely chopped down in the box by Toby Webster, and this time Paul Hedger took the penalty, sending Clark the wrong way.

So, in the end an easy win for OUP, but the destination of the championship won’t be decided on the pitch, more the smoke-filled rooms. That’s typical of the OSL.

The Cutteslowe Wall

16 Wednesday May 2012

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Wednesday 16th May 2012 ko 6.30pm

Oxon Senior League Division One

RIVERSIDE 11 (Green 14 Woodward 16 59 Howard 23 Haines 34 Andrew 56 77 O’Callaghan 40 50 Foot 54p Harriet 56)

LONG CRENDON 1 (Duke 71)

Att 5 (h/c)

Played at Cuttleslowe & Sunnymead Park, Oxford (North Oxford FC)

Entry FREE

Nothing for Sale

When aiming to watch a game in the OSL it does pay to be adaptable. The Football Traveller Guide has Riverside playing at Margaret Road, the home of the now defunct Quarry Nomads. That ground’s a short stroll from home, but I had quick dash back home to jump in the car when I found out that the game had been switched to Cutteslowe Park, home to North Oxford FC. From talking to the Riverside manager, it transpires that the club have now relocated to the pitches adjacent to the athletics stadium on the Horspath Road. That makes them virtually opposite to the Rover Cowley Ground, in Romanway. But, with the council having taken down the posts they were forced to switch the game.  I also discovered that goalkeeper Chris Harris, sent off for spitting at an opponent in the OSL President’s Cup Final, is now serving a 9 game ban. We agreed that was an appropriate penalty.

As a small boy growing up in East Oxford, Cuttleslowe Park was a rare treat at the end of the number 2 bus route. There’s the paddling pool, the aviary, and the miniature railway, but the abiding memory was the feeling of space, the place is huge! I was completely unaware in those days of the presence of tennis, cricket, a measured mile, and at least 4 football pitches serviced by 2 pavilions. There is however a dark side to the area. When in the 1930’s council housing was built in Cutteslowe, the private estate to the west developed by Clive Saxton of the Urban Housing Company took great exception.

Saxton was afraid that his housing would not sell if so-called ‘slum’ dwellers were going to be neighbours, so in 1934, walls over two metres high and topped with spikes were built to separate them. In fact, the council tenants settled in well and soon raised a petition asking for the walls to be demolished. In 1938 the council pulled down the walls but had failed to take legal advice, and were sued by UBC, and the walls were soon rebuilt. Amazingly it took until 1959 for the walls to be finally demolished after the land on which the walls stood was bought by a compulsory purchase order.

At last I was able to attend a game without a coat, and enjoy the end-of-season sun. The game was played on Pitch 3, the furthest from the Lower Pavillion while a U16 game took place on Pitch 2. With Long Crendon as the visitors, rock bottom with only 4 points, and Riverside chasing the championship, a nil-nil draw was never likely. And yes the goals rained in as Riverside passed Crendon to death.

But here’s the thing, Crendon weren’t quite as bad as I’d expected. I’d watched them lose 4-10 on May 2nd and they barely functioned as a team. Here, with players unavailable and no sign of their manager, they stuck to what most players know 4-4-2, and went down fighting. And frankly I’d rather watch that, than the shambles I saw 2 weeks ago. Surprisingly, my man of the match was Crendon keeper James Bartington who made several fine saves. There was a moment of humour when his opposite number Darren Kinch put in strong bid to take the penalty but was quickly overruled!

The match was unobtrusively refereed by Tim Siret, who has the dubious distinction of being the last ref to book me. I’ll always be grateful, as I’d have sent me off for the challenge in what proved to be my last ever game.

With a 10 goal lead, Riverside eased off and Crendon gained small consolation with Kieran Duke’s fine long-range effort. This roused the hosts to force home the eleventh and soon after I was able to stroll through the park, remembering childhood visits.

A Boult from the Blue

16 Wednesday May 2012

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Tuesday 15th May 2012 ko 6.30pm

Oxon Senior League Premier Division

MANSFIELD ROAD 1 (McGillycuddy 64)

MARSTON SAINTS 2 (Payne 5 Hallatt 12)

Att 46 (h/c)

Played at Boults Lane, Old Marston, Oxford (Marston Saints FC)

Entry FREE

Nothing for Sale

If you’ve visited Oxford City FC then you’ve been within a couple of hundred yards of this place. Just opposite the main entrance to Court Place Farm is a small grassed area that used to be the home of Headley Hawks cycle speedway team. It’s now used for children’s football but beyond the hedge at the back is the sports field that is home to this small club.

If you want to drive there, it’s a good mile away, through Old Marston, a suburb of Oxford that to all intents and purposes is still a village, seemingly untouched by urbanisation. The village played an important part in the English Civil War. While the Royalist forces were besieged in the city, used by King Charles I as his capital, the Parliamentary forces under Sir Thomas Fairfax had quarters in Marston, and used the church tower as a lookout post for viewing the enemy’s artillery positions in what is now the University Parks. Oliver Cromwell visited Fairfax at what is now known as “Cromwell House” at 17 Mill Lane, and the Treaty for the Surrender of Oxford was signed there in 1646.

Boults Lane is the kind of place you wouldn’t know existed unless you’d been there. The ground is tucked away at the back of the cul-de-sac, and shares the limited space with the HQ of the 43rd Oxford Scout Troop. My last visit was over 25 years ago for a First Aid badge! The huge John Radcliffe hospital provides a striking backdrop to the whole area.

Mansfield Road have their roots as the Oxford University College Servants club. Their ground has the most wonderful 4-storey clubhouse/hotel/gym/restaurant, with a glass roof. It’s adjacent to New Collage and Balliol’s grounds, so its worth checking if there’s an Oxford University Middle Common Room game on a Saturday morning, then strolling over for the afternoon game. It’s also a complete pain to park, use the Park & Ride to St Giles. Don’t try what I did, park at the Faculty of International Relations, and when someone whinged suggest that they negotiate with me! With the Mansfield Road ground now devoted to cricket, this tie was switched, and I noted that the OSL Mitoo page managed to misspell “Boults!”

The game had something riding on it too, with Saints needing a point to avoid relegation. They made a remarkably quick start too, with two decent finishes in 12 minutes. With Manny forced into using their one substitute early, then watching centre half Simon Dickie pull his hamstring, forcing him to swap places with keeper Stuart Whigham I wondered how many Marston would get! Its didn’t happen as Marston eased off, and allowed Manny back in, and when Louis McGillycuddy’s excellent snap-shot reduced the arrears, there were palpable and completely unnecessary nerves, but Manny’s renaissance was short-lived and so Marston can breathe more easily. Mind you, this is the OSL so anything can happen at the AGM!

Just Nod If You Can Hear Me

15 Tuesday May 2012

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Sunday 13th May 2012 ko 3.00pm

FA Vase Final

DUNSTON UTS 2 (Bulford 32 79)

WEST AUCKLAND TOWN 0

Att 5,126

At Wembley Stadium

Entry, Programme & Team Sheet- Complimentary (Many Thanks to Dave Morrall of the Northern Counties East League)

I really hadn’t planned on doing this one, but when Chris Berezai phoned me to say Dave Morrall, chairman of the NCEL had offered us complementaries for the final, well who’d say no to that?  So my suit and tie travelled up to Chris and Jenny on Sunday morning, and the two of us must have looked like we were off to church, as we left Long Eaton!

It was easy enough to park at Stanmore Tube station, and we passed The Hive, home to Barnet FC’s training facilities, and potentially their new stadium too, between Stanmore and Canons Park. It’s just 4 stops to Wembley Park, so there was plenty of time to collect out tickets, and enjoy a local chinese meal. After that it was a short walk to beneath the Bobby Moore statue to the hospitality entrance. Our tickets gave us access to the Bobby Moore lounge, which gives you a large bar and food area behind the seats directly below the Royal box. We got a free programme and team sheet, and noticed that food and drink prices were just as stupidly expensive as everywhere else in the ground. £8 for a burger is way beyond a joke.

Our seats were just to the right of the dugouts, a few feet from where the “Wally with the brolly” once forlornly stood, and on a sunny day I did notice there wasn’t much roof over our heads. However padded seats and armrests are not to be sniffed at, and there was a little clip in front of you for your programme!

What was utterly lacking was a half decent attendance. With this being an all Northern League final, that league’s policy of not taking promotions due to excessive travelling was borne out by the 85,000 or so empty seats! In these straitened times though the FA should take most of the blame. This is a competition for clubs a minimum of 5 promotions from Football League status so to ask people to spend £25 a ticket (no concessions) plus £4 for £2 worth of programme, plus the cost of getting there, is at best insensitive and at worst crass. Surely charging £10 each would have produced a better crowd and more revenue. The alternative would be to move the final to somewhere more suitable, although one hopper’s idea of Hartlepool was I think a little wide of the mark. I did comment though that it would have been a darned sight nearer for both sides to have played at Hampden Park.

The game saw Dunston take on the World Champions as West Auckland famously won the Thomas Lipton Trophy representing England in 1909 and again in 1911. On this occasion West Auckland were undone by the predatory Andrew Bulford who completed the feat of scoring in each tie. While West Auckland had far more possession, they created few chances and once Bulford latched on to a Stephen Goddard flick-on, he opened the scoring with a neat lob over keeper Mark Bell.

The second half carried on in much the same vein, and when West Auckland switched to 3 at the back in search of a goal, it was inevitable that there would be more space for Dunston to exploit. And exploit they did. Bulford hit the post, and soon after strike partner Goddard did exactly the same. The two combined nicely for the winner, Goddard again flicked on, and Bulford capitalised on hesitancy in the West Auckland defence to fire past Bell, taking his Vase tally for the season to 15.

 

The Neds and the Pie Stand

14 Monday May 2012

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Saturday 12th May 2012 ko 3pm

Scottish Football League Division Two Playoff Semi Final Second Leg

ALBION ROVERS 2 (Gemmell 62 Chaplin 89)

ELGIN CITY 0

Agg 2-1

Att 827

Entry £12

Programme £2

So, picture the scene. Its 1882 and there are two sides in the North Lanarkshire town of Coatbridge who want to merge. One called Albion the other called Rovers. Now you’d have thought the new side would have had “Coatbridge” in the name? Clearly not!

The town, 10 miles east of Glasgow comes with a rough, tough reputation. No Rangers shirts on show here, this is a former industrial town, built on Irish Catholic immigration in the 19th century. Continue reading →

Cathkin

13 Sunday May 2012

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Saturday 12th May 2012 ko 10.00am

Glasgow Colleges League Division One

HAMPDEN 2 (Addison 34 Walker 52)

ST DAVID’S 3 (G Rankin 3 Taylor 25 58)

Att 16 (h/c)

@ Cathkin Park, Glasgow

Entry FREE

Nothing for Sale

So, why would anyone drive from Long Eaton to Glasgow to watch a low grade game on a council pitch? Well this is no ordinary council pitch. From 1872 from 1967 this was the home of Third Lanark AC. The club went bankrupt a mere 6 years after finishing third in the Scottish League, amongst allegations of huge financial mismanagment and corruption. There’s still more to Cathkin though, as prior to Third Lanark moving in it had been home to Queens Park, and known as Hampden Park, the second ground to bear the name. Queens moved a few hundred yards to the third Hampden Park in 1904, and its that’s the Hampden of today.

It wouldn’t mean so much if Cathkin wasn’t so atmospheric. The huge banks of terrace still remain, albeit overgrown in many places, and the open side is where the huge main stand once stood. I’d visited around 15 months ago, and when Chris Berezai suggested it, and with a little change in my pocket going jing-a-ling, I jumped at the chance. The great Scottish football writer Bob Crampsey used to live in Myrtle Park, just beyond the open end, and the there’s been moves afoot to renovate the place a little. The Scottish actor Simon Weir, whose great-grandfather John Weir played for the “Hi-Hi” in the 1910’s has been gradually clearing debris, and has painted the remaining crash barriers Third Lanark red.

There is a revived Third Lanark playing in the amateur ranks, and they did start their existance playing here. Sadly they’ve moved elsewhere, rather defeating the point of their existance, but a club called Hampden strikes me as the next best thing, although I did find the Hibernian-style green kit a bit odd!

So what about the game. Well, this is the top division of a league that started life as a churches league then became a colleges league, when there weren’t enough church sides. Nowadays the participating clubs have little of nothing to do with Colleges, and there are moves afoot to rename the league again. St Davids are this year’s champions, and Hampden third. (The term Third doesn’t half crop up!). The St Davids manager told me about the time former Falkirk, Albion, Arbroath and Brechin midfielder Hugh Hill signed for the club. League rules stipulate that a photo must be provided, so Hill simply handed over his Panini Sticker! His son, also a Hugh, played in our game.

I really wasn’t expecting much of a game, but we were surprised at how good the quality was. Two good sides, on an obviously boggy pitch passed and moved beautifully. At no point did the champions look like losing, and two of the goals were sublime, the passing move that led to Nicky Taylor’s first, and his second a cushioned lob. Both were worthy of a far greater attendance, at a ground I couldn’t decide was either a shrine or a graveyard. What it definately is, is an icon, and one I’m pleased to have seen a game on.

As we left we found an inscription set in the terrace. “Life is short; art long; opportunity fleeting; experience treacherous; judgement difficult.” That aphorism is attributed to the Greek Physician Hippocrates, and I’m not sure its an original feature, but its a fine comment on the demise of a once proud club.

So folks, there’s the league, go find the website, and visit this amazing piece of football history.

Reversal

10 Thursday May 2012

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Thursday 10th May 2012 ko 6.30pm

Northants Combination Premier Division

WELDON UNITED 1 (Fraser 64)

RINGSTEAD RANGERS 3 (A Wells 10 Tarr 17 Coles 83)

Att 23 (h/c)

Played at Ringstead Rangers

Entry FREE

Nothing for sale

To do this hobby well, you do need a good support group, and a lot of “Plan B’s!” This evening proved the point well. Plan A was Didcot Casuals at their Upper Thames Valley League ground, but Peter Hack phoned to say that was off. Then Chris Garner told me Lee West had found something in the Northants Combination, and it was Lee who’d discovered that Weldon had switched their game to Ringstead due to their own ground being waterlogged. Even as I headed north, Rob Tyler contacted me to tell me of another UTVL game at Saxton. James Rennie also let me know that he’d had a no-show at City Colts.  So, its a big thankyou to all of you, without your help I wouldn’t have chalked up ground 1,300 tonight.

Ringstead is about a mile from Raunds. If you’ve ever visited that town, and travelled there on the A45 you use the same junction, but travel in the opposite direction. The village was once a home to a large gravel works, that’s now been turned into lakes, which must set off the local flower festival rather nicely. I doubt if anyone noticed when local resident Alf Roberts left his birthplace to set up a grocer’s shop in Grantham. I would imagine they might have, many years later when his daughter Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister!

The ground is found at one end of Gladstone Street, and is functional. There’s just the one pitch, but there are signs that cricket may have been played too at one point. There’s a changing room block rather touchingly built by, “Players, Committee and friends.” The pitch is roped off and cover is provided by was looked to be a shed!

It was obvious that Weldon are a Corby side, judging by the Scottish accents, and names! On this occasion they looked second best to a side that lost their keeper to a dislocated shoulder after an hour. At that point they’d done well to get back in contention after being blown away in the first 20 minutes, with a well taken goal from Sean Fraser. However they failed to force a single save from stand-in keeper Glenn Turner, and with all substitutes used, the 10 men of Ringstead went up the other end to score a third, David Coles forcing in at close range.

It was, in truth typical end of season stuff, rather lackadaisically refereed by Scott Dempsey. What he couldn’t keep up with he didn’t see, and what he did he often didn’t give. How he failed to give Ringstead a penalty early in the second half I’ll never know.

So, Ringstead joins my group of 100th’s. Amongst these are, Holbrook MW (500) Darlaston (800) Cardiff City Stadium (900) Newbridge (1000) Dobwalls (1,100) and Blackstones (1,200). Wonder where 1,400 will be?

4 Feet Down….In Concrete

08 Tuesday May 2012

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Tuesday 8th May ko 6.45pm

Midland Combination Division One

KNOWLE (Johnson-Bereday 86p)

WEST MIDLANDS POLICE 1 (Hitchmough 82) Nurse missed penalty 53

Att 21 (h/c)

Entry FREE

No Programme

Tea 60p

The village of Knowle is pretty much adjacent to Solihull, on the fringes of the West Midlands conurbation. It really is a classic case of leafy suburbia with its smart houses, pretty church and library in a Tudor built house. The club is in Hampton Lane, and has the usual problem of clubs in these environs; they cannot get floodlights. The latest set of plans are there to be seen in the clubhouse, an Abacus 6 pole set is the plan, but the club are already hearing the lame excuses, ” Green Belt” “The neighbours” and so on. You wouldn’t think that this country had an obesity problem would you?

This division is the highest that clubs in the area can compete in without lights, and the club took voluntary relegation when the costs of a groundshare with Studley became too high. Not that a return to Hampton Road was too much of a bind, as there’s much to love here. All accommodation, save for the dugouts is on the far side, and this backs on to a cricket ground behind, There’s a homely clubhouse, where this evening a young lady was working on a photographic project on Olympic Sports. She got her equipment hit by a stray ball on arrival, but worse still was her choice of guinea pig for a test shot!

I was far more interested however in, of all things, the goalposts. I’m no connoisseur of such things but these were obvious non standard. I asked a club official, and it turns out they’re well over 40 years old, and better still are sunk 4 feet into the ground, and concreted in! As he put it, ” Try nicking them!”

It all rather made up for the game which was typical end of season fayre. On a difficult pitch neither side made much impression although the Police had marginally more possession. They forced a penalty, given on the insistence of the linesman when keeper Shaun Edwards brought down Richie Adams. However he did well to save Ste Nurse’s spot kick. Police did score, after I’d long since written off this one as a nil-nil, substitutes Danny Hitchmough and Rob Gray combining well for the former to fire home from 6 yards. As is so often the way Knowle raised their game and Jonathon Jackson-Bereday dusted himself off to level up the game from the penalty spot after being hauled down.

Honours correctly even for this one, and a club and ground I’d recommend to anyone wanting an antidote to bland identikit stadia. Just get their early and explore, including those goalposts!

 

 

Powerwalking

07 Monday May 2012

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Monday 7th May 2012 ko 2.30pm

North Berkshire League Charity Cup Final

ARDINGTON & LOCKINGE 0 James sent off 70 violent conduct

BERINSFIELD 2 (Ingram 40 Saunders 74)

Att 195 (h/c)

@Abingdon United FC

Entry and (8 page) Programme £3

It’s only about a mile from Abington Town to United, so I was in plenty of time for this one. In the car park I found a salutary reminder of the fact that no-one remembers a loser, a discarded runners up memento from the previous day’s Upper Thames Valley League Alan Alder Memorial Trophy.

If Abingdon Town has the cover, then United have both the clubhouse and the pitch. With only two areas of cover and a crowd over double that of my morning game, it was fortunate that the rain ceased, and the crowd could make use of all of the surround.

As is always the case, the committee was there en masse; why can’t other leagues do that for their blue riband events, and I witnessed the high levels of administrative efficiency as they made sure each player’s name did correspond to the number they were wearing.

And while all this was happening one person cut a nervous figure. Whilst Berinsfield’s AJ Stockford oozed confidence, club secretary Jackie Cullen paced nervously. Before the game, she kept busy putting up red and black balloons, during it she powerwalked round and round the pitch. So many finals, so many miles covered.

The game saw Berinsfield take on another Division 2 outfit more than capable of scoring goals. Ardington & Lockinge may be better known for racehorses, but they’re making their way back up the NBFL after spell away from the league. They made the brighter start too, Jonny James’ cross-cum-shot took a slight deflection and hit the bar. Berinsfield hit back as David Murphy fired  just over the bar after his intial effort was blocked by Ardington keeper Andrew Burt.

And as the half wore on Berinsfield worked out what would work for them. Captain Mark Ingram got an iron grip in midfield, and he fed AJ Stockford on the right who regularly outpaced his marker Ian Marshall. However, it was a different combination that created the opener. Brian Rawlings’ glorious cushioned lob bisected the Ardington defence and Ingram headed in, running through for a goal that would grace any stadium.

After the break Berinsfield made a fast start with Chris Murphy’s low drive grazed a post before the normally prolific David Murphy beat the offsite-trap to toe-poke the ball towards the goal. Burt somehow stretched behind to claw the ball away  then smother the loose ball just as Stockford was about to pounce. All the while Jackie paced…..

Although Berinsfield were very much in the ascendancy at 1-0 anything could have happened. The pivotal moment cam on 70 minutes when Jonny James chased a through ball, hugging the right touchline. He received close attention from Mark Ingram who shepherded him over the line none too gently. James’ reaction was to swing a punch at him. That missed, but it was not lost on either referee John Barlow, or linesman Adam Dewar, and James quickly was dismissed.

Luke Saunders replaced an exhausted Stockford and within 5 minutes he got Berinsfield’s winner. Again it was Rawlings who was the provider, his cross taking a slight deflection before finding Saunders who prodded the ball past a beaten Burt. The same combination saw Saunders’ bullet header hit the crossbar, before Burt saved brilliantly as Shane Harris followed up.

So the third trophy of the season, and as the final whistle went, the fans cheered, the players hugged, and Jackie finally stopped walking. She’ll have to go through it all again though, its the League Cup final. Same time same place, would you bet against Berinsfield making it 4?

Muddy Waters

07 Monday May 2012

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Monday 7th May 2012 ko 11.00am

Oxon Senior League Presidents Cup Final

MARSTON SAINTS 1 (Payne 75p)

RIVERSIDE 2 (Green 25 87) Green missed penalty 87 Harris sent off 73 (spitting)

Att 83 (h/c)

Entry & (4 page) Programme £3

@Abingdon Town FC

The Culham Road home of Abingdon Town is one of the County’s best grounds, in fact with Oxford United back in the League, I’d have thought it was the best non-league ground in Oxfordshire. The only problem is that in football terms, you’re in Berkshire, pesky pre-1974 boundaries still apply! There’s so much to like with cover on 3 sides, and 2 areas of seating. The clubhouse doubles up as a nightclub, and the offices as a campervan business, judging by the sheer volume of them parked up.

The ground does have issues though, and its clear that the ground is beginning to reflect the clubs lowly status these days in the Hellenic League. Turnstiles have been removed and some of the roofs are leaking. Not good on an appalling wet morning, on a riverside pitch, notorious for its propensity to flood.

The game saw two Oxford based sides go head to head. Marston Saints play at Boults Lane, in Old Marston. That’s just a stone’s throw from Oxford City’s Court Place Farm ground, and the John Radcliffe Hospital. Riverside are new to the OSL this year and are yet another reincarnation of Headington Quarry, using the Margaret Road ground that the now defunct Quarry Nomads called home. Their kit even had a “Quarry” badge on it!

The game was extremely one sided. Riverside dominated throughout, and should have won this far more easily than they did. They spurned an early penalty, given for handball, but continued the press until Ben Green atoned for his poor spot kick by being at the right end of a goalmouth scramble to open the scoring. This pattern continued through the rest of the first half and well into the second, with Riverside asking all the questions and Saints keeper Dave Newbold keeping them out.

All that changed with around 15 minutes left. Riverside keeper Chris Harris, bizarrely sporting a woolly hat dashed out to collect a ball but had to challenge an onrushing Ben Green. Green caught him, but play continued briefly only to be stopped as the linesman was frantically flagging. There was a brief conflab, then referee David Stanley dismissed Harris for spitting. Harris later claimed he shouted, “And spit came out.” Unsavoury to put it mildly. Riverside captain Arron Armstrong went in goal, but was unable to stop Tom Payne’s penalty.

For a brief time it looked like Marston could steal an unlikely and undeserved victory. Armstrong saved well down to his right, but the crisis was soon dealt with and normal service resumed. Green collected his second, as Marston quickly ran out of ideas in the mud. There was a little tension as a lot of injury time was played, due to the dismissal, but as the trophy was presented, I felt most sorry for the two sides arriving for the afternoon final, the pitch was a mess.