The Double Header on the weekend of 21st & 22nd September 2019...

This was a weekend of contrasts; contrasting journey’s, contrasting weather, contrasting standards of football and contrasting levels of entertainment – however, I would describe it as a banger!

Saturday – Men’s 2^nd Qualifying Round

Rushall Olympic V Gainsborough Trinity

Let’s begin with my trip to Dales Lane in the midlands on Saturday. My Sat Nav had originally said that the journey would take 1hr 52mins. I checked again on Friday night and this had gone up to 2hrs 10 minutes. On the day as I set off, this had gone up to 2hrs 20 minutes. I set off at 12.10pm with plenty of time. However, the further I drove, the longer it was going to take. After an hour, the Sat Nav was still saying 2hrs 40mins.

An accident on the M6 meant huge delays between Junctions 14 & 15. If I didn’t change plan, then I wasn’t going to arrive until 15:40! This was all quite stressful, and I became ‘that guy’ who drove past long queues and nipped in to come off the motorway at Junction 15. This has made me appreciate that when people do this, perhaps they are in a rush and need to be somewhere (sometimes, somewhere even more important than a football game).

After a massive diversion I arrived with 3 minutes to spare.

To put this into perspective with hindsight, this was a minor inconvenience for me as it only added 50 minutes to my journey, and I hope that the accident didn’t seriously injure anybody.

Sunday – Women’s 1^st Qualifying Round (the women play one Qualifying Round less than the men, as there are fewer teams).

Sunderland West End Ladies V Mossley Hill Ladies

My trip to Herrington Recreational Park had far less incident. The Sat Nav estimated 2hrs 23mins and it took me, 2hrs 23mins. The only slight issue was that it was pouring with rain when I set off and parts of the journey were wetter than Tom Daley’s trunks – however, I arrived at 13.40 and all was dry.

Saturday

It cost £10 to get into the ground, plus £1 for parking. The temperature was 22 degrees and very sunny. As soon as I walked through the turnstiles, a guy with a Midlands accent greeted his friend with a smile and the words, ‘Alright fuckface.’

I bought a program for £2 and a can of Vimto for £1 (the weather was hot). The attendance for this game was 249 and the ground reminded me very much of Avro FC’s (from our Extra-Preliminary Round game), including the artificial pitch.

Sunday

It was free to enter the park and it was free to park. The pitch I thought the game was going to be played on was empty. I had an initial panic, before deciding to investigate further.

There were another couple of pitches deeper into the park and one had a women’s team kicking a ball around. There was no information, no toilets and I took an educated guess that this must have been my game. It was 17 degrees, and quite pleasant.

Obviously, there were no programs available to buy.

Saturday

I took my GKA corner flag photo…

Sunday

I took my GKA corner flag photo…

Saturday

At 15.03 the game kicked off…

I found a nice spot, drank my Vimto and soaked up the sunshine and the chilled atmosphere. As with most football fans there was banter; one guy turned up 10mins late and his friend lied to him by saying that Rushall was already 2 nil up.

At 18 minutes they were 1-0 up. By which time Manchester City were 4-0 up against Watford and this score line was echoing around the stadium like a game of Chinese whispers.

The atmosphere reminded me of the sunny Sheffield FC game. It was hot, the crowd was quiet and there wasn’t much swearing. Perhaps, as I’ve mentioned before, increased crowd size = more ‘anti-social’ behaviour. Everybody here seemed pleasant and smiley.

The pitch had a rubbery smell (like a cycle shop) and you could see puffs of black dust as the ball bounced across the surface.

It appears that the new handball rules are still confusing to many. During a Rushall free kick, a Gainsborough defender checked with the referee if it was okay to stand with his hands covering his ‘vital’ parts! The ref said ‘yes.’

This game seemed a step up in class from the previous game I’d watched between Sheffield FC and Litherland Remyca. A few of these players looked like real athletes. The attackers for Rushall were fast and displayed great balance. This was matched by excellent Gainsborough defending. 1-0 seemed like a fair half-time score and there were only four fouls committed throughout the whole first half (all by Gainsborough).

Sunday

The game kicked off at 14.08 and I counted 54 fans plus a dog.

The standard of play in this game was not as high as the Rushall game. The fact that women’s football is not on a level playing field (both literally and figuratively) could be seen.

We had a female referee and two male assistants. The crowd was mixed, in terms of men and women, and they were mostly quiet and relaxed. West End Ladies juniors were dispatched at both ends of the pitch, as ball girls (ball people?).

Most of the noise was coming from the West End coaches as they shouted, harassed and encouraged their players throughout the whole game – and what a game it turned out to be. A better standard of football does not necessarily equate to a more entertaining game, as this match had more twists and turns than a trip to Alton Towers.

At 30 minutes Mossley Hill went 0-1 up and they soon doubled that lead on the 33^rd minute. This was probably against the run of play because Mossley started well, but after about 15 minutes West End seemed to settle into more of a passing game. Too many Mossley players were ‘over-dribbling’ and kept getting caught with the ball.

West End had a fast, aggressive and talented striker (no 23) who was driving her team forward and causing all sorts of problems. Her problem in the first half was that she kept drifting offside.

However, on the 43^rd minute it was 1-2.

And this ref confirmed that West End equalised to make it 2-2 as his watch vibrated to confirm 45 minutes. This was a highly entertaining game.

Half time – Saturday

I visited Pics Pantry...

And bought this hot dog for £2.50. It was very nice, but the sausage appeared to be a chip shop sausage (Saveloy) rather than the traditional Frankfurter.

Half Time – Sunday

This tent was the shop…

And I bought this coffee for £1. I was told it was a ‘fancy’ cappuccino. The only food on offer was chocolate bars.

Half time – Saturday

I went for the usual GKA wonder around the stadium for an explore. I came across the sponsors lounge in which there was a round table and some men sat eating ‘corporate cheeseburgers.’

I saw this sign and wondered if the GKA should have access to the media room? (I didn’t really).

And this press tower.

This was the Press Tower smoking zone that had people using it at half-time.

I took this picture of the floodlights and as I wondered around, in the sunshine, ‘Lazing on a Sunny Afternoon’ by the Kinks was playing on the PA. It could not have been a more appropriate song for that moment.

There was a semi-cheer, by some fans, at the Birmingham 0-1 Preston North End score line when the half-time football scores were announced over the system.

Half time – Sunday

The West End Ladies team stayed on the pitch for their half-time team talk and I took my GKA wonder.

Around the stadium….

I’d earlier bought some raffle tickets but didn’t appear to have won…

And no matter how many times I tried to take a picture of this excellent dog, he turned away as I snapped (he must have been camera shy).

Second half – Saturday

The second half of the men’s game took a familiar pattern to the first half.

Rushall were the better side and created the better chances.

Rushall doubled their lead on the 76^th minute and then went down to 10 men after one of their players pushed over a Gainsborough player.

They still held on to a deserved victory and won 2-0.

I got into my car and I checked the sat Nav - it estimated 1hr 52mins to get home. The sun was shining, and ‘Love is the law’ by the Seahorses blasted onto the radio as I drove out of the car park – a fine end to a lovely afternoon.

Second half – Sunday

This half had more incidents than an episode of Crime Watch.

The second half kicked off at 15:12 and after a few minutes, one of the Mossley girls remembered that they’d left their medical kit back in the changing rooms – she rushed off to get it.

At 60 minutes, a dog invaded the pitch (a different dog) and this lively Border Collie bounced around for a minute before being escorted out of the stadium.

On the 69^th minute it became 3-2 to West End and they deserved the lead.

There was a large period of injury time as the Mossley Captain went down on the 73^rd minute, in her own box. Someone asked for a stretcher and as predicted, this was not available. It brought back memories of a Women’s Championship game being abandoned last year because there wasn’t enough oxygen to cover injuries. I wondered, are there any Oxygen tanks here?

Number 11 came running off the pitch for Mossley Hill shouting, ‘I forgot to put my shinnies on’ and then she proceeded to tuck some shin pads into her socks.

I witnessed the first women’s yellow card of the GKA, after a late challenge, and as the time ticked it looked ominous for Mossley Hill.

They’d struggled to keep possession and spent large periods of the game stuck in their own half…

On the 90^th minute they made it 3-3 and the final whistle blew.

The assistant linesman jokingly complained that his dinner was going to be late and we moved into an extra 30 minutes of play. However, the ball girls had already quit before full-time arrived.

On the 105^th Minute, West End made it 4-3.

As they switched sides, one of the West End players shouted, ‘I can’t wait to read this match report from the ‘Killing Man’, or whatever he’s called.’

I presumed she meant me! Unless there is a killing man out there.

As I stated earlier, high quality football does not always equate to high quality entertainment. The game on Saturday was played at a high standard, but it was not as entertaining or thrilling as this one.

On the 112^th minute Mossley Hill made it 4-4 and then spent the final 8 minutes pinned in their own box.

The final whistle blew, and this was my second Mossley Hill penalty shoot-out.

West End banged in their first penalty but unfortunately their number 23 hit the bar on their third penalty and they lost the game 4-5 on pens.

The Mossley Hill Ladies celebrated their victory…

Another great afternoon and a 2hr 23min drive before I arrived home in time for my dinner…

Thanks Sunderland West End Ladies for such an entertaining game and I wish you luck throughout the rest of the season.

our geeky stats…

Rushall Olympic wins £6750 in Prize Money and Mossley Hill wins £375

Route Men’s

Avro Fc 3	4 Litherland Remyca
Sheffield FC 2	1 Litherland Remyca
Rushall Olympic 3	1 Sheffield FC
Rushall Olympic 2	0 Gainsborough Trinity

Route Women’s

Mossley Hill Ladies	Burnley Belvedere Ladies (No show)
Curzon Ashton Ladies 2	2 Mossley Hill Ladies (2-4 Pens)
Sunderland West End Ladies 4	4 Mossley Hill Ladies (4-5 Pens)

RIP Team and Stadium

Avro FC	Vestacare Stadium
Burnley Belvedere Ladies	Belvedere & Calder Vale Sports Club
Litherland Remyca	Litherland Sports Park
Curzon Ashton Ladies	Failsworth Sports Campus
Sheffield FC	Home of Football Stadium
Gainsborough Trinity FC	The Northolme
Sunderland West End Ladies	Herrington Recreational Park

Highest Number of Fans

Rushall Olympic	259 (1^st Qualifying Round)
Rushall Olympic	249 (2^nd Qualifying Round)
Sheffield FC	184 (Preliminary Round)
Avro FC	150 (Extra-Preliminary Round)
Sunderland West End Ladies	54 (1^st Qualifying Round)
Curzon Ashton Ladies	44 (Preliminary Round)

Prize Money Leaders

Rushall Olympic	£11,250 (1^st & 2^nd Qualifying Rounds)
Sheffield FC	£2890 (Preliminary Round)
Litherland Remyca	£2250 (Extra-Preliminary Round)
Mossley Hill Ladies	£1,035 (1^st Qualifying Round+ Preliminary Round + Extra Preliminary Round)

GKA League Table

Team	Won	Drawn	Goals F	Goals A	GD	Points
Mossley Hill Ladies	3	0	6	6	0	9
Rushall Olympic	2	0	5	1	4	6
Litherland Remyca	1	0	5	5	0	3
Sheffield FC	1	0	3	4	-1	3
Sunderland West End Ladies	0	0	4	4	0	0
Curzon Ashton Ladies	0	0	2	2	0	0
Avro FC	0	0	3	4	-1	0
Gainsborough Trinity FC	0	0	0	2	-2	0
Burnley Belvedere Ladies	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Penalties and Cards – Men v Women

Penalties - Men 1	0 Women
Yellow Cards – Men 11	1 Women
Red Cards – 1	0 Women

1976

Brian James followed Tividale in their home game against Telford United. This was an interesting match for a few comparison reasons.

Firstly, it only cost 30p to get in and an extra 10p for a seat. That is only equivalent to £2.14 now for a ticket and 71p extra to sit. Cheap, but still more expensive than the women’s game.

Tividale only had one sheltered area, with a capacity of 150 people.

Geoff Hurst played 49 times for England and scored 24 goals for his country. In 1966, he became the only player to score a hat trick in a world cup final.

10 years later at age 34, he was considered way past his prime, so he was playing for Telford United (a non-league side). This is the equivalent of Wayne Rooney playing for Rushall and Hurst’s arrival to Tividale boosted ticket sales to the extent that they had 1007 people crammed in to see their side lose 0-3.

This set up an away tie in the 3rd Qualifying Round Telford against Hednesford Town.

Route 1976

Hinckley Athletic 0	1 Tividale
Oldbury United 0	4 Tividale
Tividale 0	3 Telford United

All away victories so far…

1976/77 League Table

Team	Won	Drawn	Goals F	Goals A	GD	Points
Tividale	2	0	5	3	2	6
Telford United	1	0	4	0	4	3
Hinkley Athletic	0	0	0	1	-1	0
Oldbury United	0	0	0	4	-4	0

Next up in the GKA

Another double header for the weekend of 5^th and 6^th October

Men’s North Draw Number 10 – Belper Town or Witton Albion V Rushall Olympic

Women’s Draw Number 9 – Mossley Hill Ladies V Stockport County LFC

More information about these games to come…

All this of talk of equality reminds me that I’m organising a mixed gender futsal competition as part of a fund-raising event at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston…

Get in touch if you are interested in entering a team.