And pre-booking for a pub: is this now default?
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Overgrown foliage may be an attempt to promote insect life. No-Mow.Originally posted by Uros Predic View PostLlandudno Junction 1-1 Mochdre Sports
North Wales Coast East Football League Premier Division
Tier 4 football at The Flyover, so called because it's near a flyover (when does a bridge become a flyover?) I had a nosey in the ground last summer and thought it was a shame that with the lack of football due to Covid it had fallen into a bit of disrepair. No, turns out it just looks like that. There's overgrown foliage on the pathways, and several of the panels from the fence they enclosed the ground with when they made the 2nd tier a few years back are either missing, or strewn around the ground. As such, though I paid £2 many watching didn't.
As for the game, Junction missed a sitter early on, and from then on Mochdre (in green and white hoops with massive dragon on the side) had the bulk of possession, played out largely in Junction's half. This was a local derby, as Mochdre is only a couple of miles away from the Junction, but there wasn't really any needle, largely because most of the squads seemed to know each other. The Mochdre right-winger and Junction left-back spent the last few minutes of half-time chatting to the same spectators, before resuming their on-pitch head-to-head.
Clear chances were few and far between and it looked like they'd run out of footballs (hoofed into gardens or just overgrown bushes) before I saw a goal. But then Junction's number 7, who's only contributions to that point had been the cross for the missed sitter and a booking for somewhat mild first offence dissent (f**king hell, ref!), thwacked in a free-kick from 30 yards. The lead lasted a whole minute before Sports' equaliser; a low shot deflected (see below) past the 'keeper at the near post. Mochre forced a few late corners but never really threatened a winner. Full-time and a walk from The Flyover, over the flyover into Conwy for a nice pint... would've been ideal, but the pub was full and I hadn't pre-booked.
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I used to work with a now long-retired chap who, in between talking about Coronation Street and Debbie McGed, would wax lyrical about Crook's 1976 tour of India.Originally posted by Sunderporinostesta View PostComment
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Tour of India? This deserves a bit more investigation.
I used to work with a bloke from Sutton who moved to Crook from London for six months back in the late 80s. He’d heard there was a lot of construction industry work about and property was cheap. Madness.Comment
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Bridgend Street 2 v 0 Grange Albion
South Wales Alliance Premier Division
Bridgend Street play on a sports field attached to a school in the shadow of an old steelworks / metal reclamation plant. The home team had almost all the pressure in the first half. I lost count of how many corners they had before they eventually forced an own goal to take the lead just before half time.
Second half was more evenly matched with both sides having chances before a Bridgend Street sub took the ball past an Albion defender and hammered home an excellent shot. Albion rallied but lacked oomph in front of goal.
An enjoyable evening out and a couple of ticks for me. A new ground, and my first Grange Albion away game.Comment
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Rhos Aelwyd 4-5 Cefn Albion
Ardal North East
A local derby in a league whose clubs form a rough triangle with Aberystwyth, Welshpool and Wrexham as the corners. Rhos play a few couple of miles outside of Wrexham at Ponciau Park. A good number of spectators, many watching from grass banking along one side. At the top of the bank is a stand, seemingly converted from a shipping container.
Albion scored twice in the first fifteen minutes and looked a much better side for the first half, without being able to add to their score. The home side showed more fight in the second half, scoring with their first attack and then equalising a few minutes later. The visitors retook the lead on seventy minutes; a long range shot that arced high into the air finding the small gap between the crossbar and home keeper. Three further goals followed in a rather hectic five minutes or so, Albion extending their lead to 4-2 before Rhos pulled one back, only to see the visitors regain their two goal lead almost straightaway. The home side kept going and scored a fourth from the penalty spot. However this was a couple of minutes into stoppage time and there wasn't enough time to make another attack.Comment
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Redbridge 2-2 Athletic Newham
Essex Senior League
A contender for game of the season, and only in the first week. This was was Essex Senior League slapstick at its best.
Both teams had won their season opener at the weekend, and when Newham started with ten men, and were 2-0 down after ten minutes, it looked like there'd only be one winnner.
Redbridge's first was a neat finish after a poor back pass, and the lead was soon doubled with a superb first touch and finish from a long clearance.
Newham were up to their full complement by now; their missing player was an absolute giant of a man, who, standing at well over six foot, was almost as wide as he was tall. He was comfortably their best player though, and nothing got past him all evening.
Newham gradually came into the game, and should have had at least a goal back before half time.
Redbridge looked content to sit back and invite pressure, but a brilliant volley with the keeper off his line made it 2-1, and not long after the Redbridge keeper was forced off with an injury sustained saving a one-on-one. His replacement's first call to action came about 30 seconds later when, unchallenged, he punched a routine cross into his own net.
The Newham keeper then injured himself after air-kicking a clearance, and he could hardly walk for the remainder, let alone kick the ball. Redbridge showed their inexperience, allowing him to roll the ball out to his choice of defenders and putting him under absolutely no pressure at all.
The last 15 minutes was proper end to end stuff and Newham thought they'd nicked it in injury time, but offside was the call. There was even time for bench-clearing handbags at the final whistle. The final score of 2-2 was probably about fair.
There's something about the Newham badge I can't quite put my finger on...
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Bacup Borough 3-0 Ilkley Town
NWCFL First Division North
A red card for a Baht'atters (apparently so) defender for hacking down a striker through on goal and a bender into the top corner from the resultant free kick all but ended this one as a contest after 20 minutes. It was 2 by half time and although Ilkley never gave up, hitting the post and keeping what I'd have to say was a very ordinary Bacup team out again until the dying seconds, they never looked like getting back into the game.
The game was only the half of it though. This was a perfect evening for football - and for midges - at a wonderful old ground - all ramshackle stands and dry stone walls - set amidst glorious rolling Pennine hills and it was a delight just to be there, so hopefully you'll forgive the indulgence with the pics.
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Is that a private house there in the middle photo?Comment
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Bearsted 2 Crowborough Athletic 2
Southern Counties East Premier
My first competitive match of the season.
Family circumstances mean that I'm doing a lot of motorway miles so this one just off the M20 on the outskirts of Maidstone was ideal for me. I thought the satnav had misdirected me by sending me through some ultra-narrow country lanes and the long gravel entrance to the Otham Sports Grounds made me fear for the safety of my tyres.
On Saturday, Bearsted had lost their opening home game 5-0 but gave a spirited performance taking an early lead only to be pegged back almost immediately. This scenario repeated itself in the second half when what looked like a late winner for the home team was cancelled out by a 90th minute penalty equaliser. In the end, I think both teams were happy with the point.
I liked both teams kits, particularly Bearsted's blue diagonal sash and the fact that Crowborough's reminded me of the Macedonian flag. The low point of the evening came when trying to retrieve the ball for the Crowborough keeper from behind his goal, I slipped and fell flat on my arse.
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Atherton LR 1 Bury AFC 3
A comfortable enough win in a lovely setting. I went by train and as I was walking down the steps to the platform at Victoria, I could hear a group of lads behind me singing “Allez Allez Allez-oh”. It had been a while.
The ground was easy to find from the station and was filled with Bury fans. It’s so great to see so many familiar faces again. Being an unconscious snob, I’m still struggling a little to get my head around the fact that this is now where we are and the game wasn’t a pre-season friendly, but it was enjoyable.
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I'm not sure, it seems to have a single front door so I'd guess so but it also seems to have a series of roofs so could be a short row of terraces.Originally posted by Sporting View PostComment
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Is that 2 wins from 2 league games Giggler ?Originally posted by Giggler View PostAtherton LR 1 Bury AFC 3
A comfortable enough win in a lovely setting. I went by train and as I was walking down the steps to the platform at Victoria, I could hear a group of lads behind me singing “Allez Allez Allez-oh”. It had been a while.
The ground was easy to find from the station and was filled with Bury fans. It’s so great to see so many familiar faces again. Being an unconscious snob, I’m still struggling a little to get my head around the fact that this is now where we are and the game wasn’t a pre-season friendly, but it was enjoyable.
Sadly the Bury Times, which was always a great local paper, haven't quite got their website up to speed and comments on the AFC articles soon deteriorate into catcalling.Comment
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Yes, two wins from two. Hoping for three from three on Saturday against Bacup, whose manager has been very vocally anti-AFC in the past. Their head coach is also Dave Felgate, so fully expecting to hear a rendition of 'Let's all do the Felgate, na na na na' for the first time in years.Originally posted by Foot of Astaire's View Post
I stay off the BT website. Twitter is bad enough at times.Comment
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Out of curiosity, why are your games the only ones to have been played so far?Comment
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They’re not, there’s been a few. I don’t know where that table is being pulled from.Comment
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Well I was going to congratulate you and wish you well but after reminding me of the Felgate song, you can sod off!Originally posted by Giggler View Post
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The lad with whom I was on Pointless is a Wanderers fan and I spoke to him on the phone last night. I told him about Felgate and he told me about his experience of going to Southampton in the cup when, I think, the song was born out of Barry Horne's first goal. All that way and back in a Bedford Rascal with nine others and a story that obviously ends "And I was still up for work at half six the next morning!" It's why we do it.Originally posted by Foot of Astaire's View Post
Well I was going to congratulate you and wish you well but after reminding me of the Felgate song, you can sod off!Comment
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Off to Stamford Bridge tonight so we'll see how well the COVID vaccination/negative test restrictions to entry work in practice. The club is also insisting that masks are worn in all indoor areas of the stadium, so function rooms, stand concourses and the traps, amongst others.Comment
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You bastards. I've had the sort of day where I wanted to look it up.Originally posted by Uros Predic View Post
Apparently a bridge connects two naturally occurring points, a river, valley etc. A flyover is a high level bridge that connects two points that can also be reached by man made constructions such as a road. So basically a bypass in the sky.Comment
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That can't be right. Wouldn't that make Tower Bridge, for example, Tower Flyover?Comment
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