Yes, it’s raining again — it’s rained seemingly constantly since I got back from America, it feels like. And yes, it’s football again, though several levels below what I saw on Saturday — tonight, I was on assignment at Stalybridge Celtic v Buxton in the Northern Premier League. On a night like this, it was not a glamour posting. I doubt the linesman would think it was, either.
Brighton and Hove Albion’s players celebrate the third goal in today’s 3-1 win over West Bromwich Albion, their first win of the season and first in the top division of English football since 1983. And Joe and I were there to see it. Much fun was had by all.
The FA Cup — the world’s oldest and still one of its largest football competitions. 737 teams this season, these take a lot of winnowing down so things start early in the season, namely this weekend, with 185 games in the Extra Preliminary round including this one — Wellingborough Whitworth (in that salmon-pink gear) v. Desborough Town. Yes, I picked the game to go to because of the name of the club, but hey, surely all Whitworths should feel obliged to give them some support. They needed it today anyway — losing 4-0. Desborough win thirteen more Cup ties this season they will be at Wembley…
Dialogue from Red Dwarf, season 3, episode “The Last Day”… I may paraphrase slightly:
Rimmer: I didn’t agree with my parents’ religion. But I wouldn’t have dreamed of knocking it.
Lister: What were they then?
Rimmer: Seventh-Day Advent-Hoppists. They believed that every Sunday should be spent hopping. They would hop to church, hop through the ceremony, and hop home again.
Lister: What’s that all about then?
Rimmer: Well, they took the Bible literally. Took it word-for-word. Only their version had a misprint. It all stemmed from 1. Corinthians 13, where it said “Faith, Hop and Charity; and the greatest of these is Hop.” So that’s what they did. Every seventh day.
With no desire to go out tramping on the fells again today, it was time to turn to the other thing I have started collecting lately, obscure football grounds: we looked at the map to see what games were being played and the selection was Annan Athletic FC v Ayr United in the Scottish League Cup. It paid off in terms of goals, with the visitors winning 6-1 (not that it seemed that Annan, or their fans, were particularly bothered by this). The local radio commentators were the most excited people in the ground it seemed, perhaps explained by the fact that the guy third from the left must be all of about sixteen years old. But I guess this isn’t a bad job to have: hanging around obscure football grounds on Saturday afternoons is increasingly appealing to me, so this may well be me in a few more years’ time, at least in some form.
No walking today. Instead we made our way up to Rydal Park for the annual Ambleside Sports, an event where you can watch runners yomp up the fellsides, hounds follow tracks of aniseed around the same terrain, cycling, running and Cumberland wrestling, where strapping lads (and women, too) lock their hands round each other and attempt to get their opponent onto the floor first — best of three. While wearing natty velvet shorts, if you’re doing it in the full traditional manner.
My 2017-18 football season opened at Salford City FC and a pre-season warm-up game against local rivals FC United of Manchester. The hosts won 2-1. You can read what I thought about the game, and see photographs of the day taken by someone much better at that kind of thing than me, if you purchase the next issue of When Saturday Comes (advt.). Salford City have big plans but their stadium, for all its recent renovations, is still pleasingly non-league in many ways. I like this catering van, its garish and gratuitously sexist decoration, and the worshipful posture of the customer.
After last weekend’s semi-final victory over Salford, Halifax Town duly beat Chorley 2-1 (after extra time) to get promoted back to the fifth tier of English professional football. 7,920 people were there to see it, an amazing crowd for the level of football (and a record for the National League North apparently). Sam Johnson, Halifax keeper, here clears a flare off the pitch. I’m telling you it was all happening at The Shay this afternoon….
A benign one I can assure you. FC Halifax Town fans express their feelings about the scoring of the winning penalty in the shoot out in the (take a deep breath) National League North Play-off Semi-Final 2nd leg at home to Salford City (whose players really should practice penalties more). Second trip to the Shay stadium this season, after New Year’s Day, and there’ll probably be another one next Saturday seeing as we might as well go to the play-off final now they’ve made it.
In my own way I am a collector, mainly of places, and this football season have made more of an effort to get around some of the nooks and crannies of the game around England and (once) Scotland. Today saw a visit to King’s Lynn Town FC of the Evo-Stik Premier League, the seventh tier of English football. The thirteenth game of my season sees its seventh different competition, which is a decent return, though one I can better next year with some effort. The thing worth noticing about English football is just how deep down it goes. 554 people came along today to this game: in almost any other country this level of the game would hardly exist. I like this shot of the home fans behind the goal their team were attacking in the first half — after half-time they go to the other end. The last game of their season ended well for King’s Lynn as they beat Chesham 3-1.
Being 42 