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Time and Tideswell - Matchgoing 20th - 26th May

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    Time and Tideswell - Matchgoing 20th - 26th May

    So my original plan was a trip to Northwich tomorrow where Winnington Avenue are hosting Vulcan in a crunch game at the top of Cheshire League One. Winnington only need a point to secure promotion behind Whalley Range whose second successive promotion was confirmed last weekend. A win for Vulcan will put them 3 points ahead of their hosts and will leave Winnington - whose goal difference should be enough - needing a win at Blacon in the division's final game next Saturday to reclaim second place. Blacon themselves would still have been in with a chance of stealing promotion at the season's death but an unfulfilled fixture a few weeks ago has cost them dear.

    Anyway I've subsequently discovered that Winnington play in a cage with viewing down one side only which - crunch game or not - is really not for me so all of the above is a very long-winded way of saying I'm off to the delightful Peak District village of Tideswell this evening to see Furness Vale and Bradwell vie for the Lawrence Shield in the Hope Valley League instead.

    #2
    To Turf Moor, for two hours of buttock-clenching terror.

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      #3
      Rhuddlan Town vs Llanfairfechan Town; the very last game of the season in the North Wales Coast East League Premier Division.

      The visitors were this week docked six points for failing to fulfil fixtures, leaving them adrift at the foot of the table. I'm presuming this was one of the fixtures they failed to fulfil (as it was called off at short notice the other month whilst I was halfway there) so I'm not all that confident of actually seeing a match.

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        #4
        Dalymount Park tonight for Bohemians v Sligo Rovers. We're away to St Pats on Monday but not going , owing to my dislike of Monday night football and Richmond Park ( worst sight lines in the league )

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          #5
          The football fixtures are so scarce near me that I couldn't find any that grabbed me and would likely be able to get tickets for.

          I could have gone to the Conference South Play-Off Final but didn't fancy a second consecutive Saturday at Dorking Wanderers. Pondered London's final PL games on Sunday but on principle won't pay for membership to get tickets for random matches and have left it too late to use my usual short cuts to get in to such clubs. Didn't fancy the schlep to Wembley for the Trophy/Vase Finals Double-header or D3 Play-Off Final.

          So instead I'm probably going to Hertfordshire v Cornwall in English rugby's horrifically-named Bill Beaumont County Championship, if only because I have to be in Hertford anyway dropping off my mother who has been visiting us for a few days and is going on to my brother's. Cornwall are the only county to take the competition seriously (Surrey had to cancel their last fixture as they couldn't raise a team, shamefully) and usually bring a big, boisterous following so it should be worthwhile.

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            #6
            I am hoping that Brentford v Leeds will provide a fitting end to a wonderful season.

            By Thursday, for the first time in almost three years, I should be back in Brazil just in time to see how Vasco da Gama are coping with their second season running in Série B in their match against Brusque.

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              #7
              For the first time since I started posting on OTF in 2020, I can actually partake in one of these threads. Small niche match at Wembley Stadium.

              I'm not really bothered about the result right now, though that might change when Sunderland start their trademark time wasting. I think I've got that right, as I said, it's been a while...

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                #8
                Mrs Thistle and I are deliberating whether to cancel our weekend with family so I might go to a match tomorrow. The Ardal Southern Cup semi-finals are on.

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by Artificial Hipster View Post
                  I'm off to the delightful Peak District village of Tideswell this evening to see Furness Vale and Bradwell vie for the Lawrence Shield in the Hope Valley League instead.
                  My parents lived in Tideswell for several years. It is idyllic. Though they lived on the "top" which is considerably less sheltered (consequently freeze your nuts off cold in Winter) than most of the village.

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                    #10
                    Furness Vale 2-0 Bradwell
                    Hope Valley League Lawrence Cup Final


                    I wouldn't go as far as to say my nuts were in danger of freezing off but I was glad I doubled up with a hoody under my raincoat. Tideswell's is a tidy (sorry) little ground up a hill from the village centre and it's magnificent parish church - the 'Cathedral of the Peaks' which is well worth a visit in itself.

                    Having done my usual photographic circuit of the ground I settled upon the perfect vantage point to watch the game, atop the steep grassy bank behind one goal where I fell into conversation with a bloke who turned out to have played in the first ever game there - a 9-0 defeat by Sheffield United in front of 2,000 fans packed mostly onto the same raised bank which curves almost to the half way line on the far side of the ground. Having played for the club he then went on to manage it during it's 2 and a bit seasons in the Central Midlands League. It was, he explained, losing player after player unable to cope with the travelling involved which made their tenure a brief one and which eventually led to them joining the Hope Valley League themselves.

                    My contention that this is a league incapable of producing a dull game remains unchallenged. This one had less goals than I'm accustomed to but it wasn't down to a shortage of goalmouth action. Twice an offside flag denied Bradwell a goal before half time and twice they struck the woodwork. Both keepers made decent saves and also of course watched countless other efforts sail high over their crossbars.

                    A goal in either half sealed what was ultimately a well deserved victory for a Furness side comprised of a nice mix of athletic youth and giants carved from limestone crags. 150 or so were there to enjoy it - I think it's safe to say that most of them enjoyed it a lot.

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                      #11
                      Only one place to be today. Don't mind telling you, my stomach is in knots. Is this to be the first positive step forward on the field for a decade? Let's give it a lash...

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                        #12
                        I'm going to the Vase/Trophy final double-header on Sunday. One of the local teams I watch pretty regularly, Newport Pagnell Town, have got themselves into the Vase final - without much doubt the greatest ever achievement by a football team from north Bucks. The feeling is they're likely to get a bit of a battering at the hands of Littlehampton Town, who've won promotion to Step 4, but still an exciting occasion and I'm looking forward to it. Will probably stick around for the Trophy final but will see how it goes.

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by Furtho View Post
                          I'm going to the Vase/Trophy final double-header on Sunday. One of the local teams I watch pretty regularly, Newport Pagnell Town, have got themselves into the Vase final - without much doubt the greatest ever achievement by a football team from north Bucks. The feeling is they're likely to get a bit of a battering at the hands of Littlehampton Town, who've won promotion to Step 4, but still an exciting occasion and I'm looking forward to it. Will probably stick around for the Trophy final but will see how it goes.
                          Miss TMT is from Rustington near Littlehampton so I'd have gone tomorrow to cheer them on if we hadn't been on holiday. She would describe Littlehampton as a 'sunny seaside resort'. I've always found it a bit rough around the edges.

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                            #14
                            York City 2 Boston United 0
                            NL North play off final (att:7,500)


                            Struggling a little to take it all in, but wow, our first upward advancement for a clean decade. Another packed out raucous crowd seemed to rattle Boston and John-Lewis poked in an early goal. After an awful lot of cageyness, and unfortunately serious looking injury to our wonderful left half Scott Barrow, we finally found a second goal as Boston legs wilted and our Afghan superstar Maz Kouhyar lashed the clinching goal into the roof of the net. The team were presented with an incongruously enormous trophy.

                            Best bit has been this evening though, walking round town, a city that supposedly doesn't care about football, and every other little group of blokes you passed wanted to start up a City song. It feels like something is happening...
                            Last edited by Jobi1; 21-05-2022, 22:10.

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                              #15
                              Originally posted by Artificial Hipster View Post
                              Furness Vale 2-0 Bradwell
                              Hope Valley League Lawrence Cup Final


                              I wouldn't go as far as to say my nuts were in danger of freezing off but I was glad I doubled up with a hoody under my raincoat. Tideswell's is a tidy (sorry) little ground up a hill from the village centre and it's magnificent parish church - the 'Cathedral of the Peaks' which is well worth a visit in itself.


                              Some interesting kit designs there - black and white gradient checked front with black back and black shorts with a white band, black socks with white hoops. Against light blue/dark blue striped body, blue sleeves, also with black shorts and black socks. An over-officious ref could have had the Tideswell kit man having a rummage.

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                                #16
                                Cardiff Draconians 2-0 AFC Llwydcoed
                                Ardal Southern Cup semi-final


                                Explanatory Note: The Ardal Leagues are the four divisions at the third tier of the Welsh system. There are 2 divisions in North Wales and 2 in South Wales. This cup is played between the teams in the two Southern divisions - and this is the inaugural season.It was supposed to be completed before the end of the league season but got bumped to compete the quarter-final, semi-final and final after the league campaigns finished.

                                Also of note, the Dracs lost in the second round but then their opponents were done for fielding an ineligible player and the Dracs were reinstated. Now they are in the final with a chance to be the first ever winners of this cup.

                                It was a very even, competitive game. Dracs hit the bar in the first half but it was scoreless at the break. A well-worked free kick led to a goal in the second half and after that the Dracs had several more chances, eventually netting a second to kill the game with a few minutes to go. Before that, however, Llwydcoed had a golden opportunity to equalise only for the forward to blaze high over an almost open goal.

                                I'm hoping to get to the final on Wednesday evening.

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                                  #17
                                  Mountain Rangers 2-3 Caergybi (North Wales Coast West League Division One Cup QF)

                                  Mountain Rangers live up to their name, playing in the village of Rhosgadfan, high above Caernarfon. It appears that considerable work has been done to prepare a flat pitch - spectators watch from well above the playing field, whilst the far side of the ground is elevated above the adjacent fields. There are good views down to Caernarfon Castle, the Menai Strait and along the Anglesey Coast (at least when the rapidly changeable weather is cooperating).

                                  The home side took the lead against the run of play after quarter of an hour, aided by a big deflection. They didn't need any such assistance for their second, which followed a couple of minutes later. The visitors, who take their name from the Welsh for Holyhead, looked like they weren't at the races as a good chance was tamely wasted, but shortly after a much trickier chance was converted. Just before half time they equalised. After the frantic first half, the second half rather drifted, not helped by a lengthy stoppage for an injury. Caergybi completed their turnaround with fifteen minutes remaining, a good effort from outside the area. The last action of the day saw a visiting player sent off for stupidity - I suspect his manager would have accepted the yellow he received for a foul, but probably not the second he received immediately for his complaints about the first.

                                  Caergybi now take on Bethesda Athletic in the semi final on Wednesday, with the winners to play Llanerchymedd, presumably next weekend.

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                                    #18
                                    Originally posted by jwdd27 View Post

                                    Some interesting kit designs there - black and white gradient checked front with black back and black shorts with a white band, black socks with white hoops. Against light blue/dark blue striped body, blue sleeves, also with black shorts and black socks. An over-officious ref could have had the Tideswell kit man having a rummage.
                                    A referee so under-officious he could wave away claims for a penalty after the clearest of trips arguing, "He didn't mean it!" on the other hand..

                                    The kit designs are another of the many charms of this league with black shorts paired with either striped or two tone shirts abounding. Bonus marks for Tideswell having nets in club colours incidentally.

                                    Comment


                                      #19
                                      Sunderland 2 - 0 Wycombe Wanderers
                                      Third tier play-off final


                                      An afternoon out at Wembley was the enticement, to watch Wycombe's biggest ever (attendable) match since the FA Cup Semi-Final. Wembley remains rather 'meh'. An admirable engineering achievement in cramming a shit-load of people into one place, but all the pagentry (super-loud speakers, VTs, the national anthem) and commercialism (£3.75 for a 500ml fizzy drink, £10 per programme) make it seem quite hollow. Alex Neil seemed to embody this by walking onto the pitch in full suit and tie, then changing into a tracksuit top when back on the sideline. Gareth Ainsworth, to his credit, kept to the same outfit throughout.

                                      As for the match itself, Wycombe started nervously and continued nervously. We started time-wasting from the off and had already had a few lucky escapes before allowing Embleton a clear run from half-way, a clear shot from 20 yards, and then clear arms from Stockdale allowed the ball to hit the net after just twelve minutes. At this stage it was clear Wycombe needed to change something tactically. Sunderland were finding massive gaps between the defence and midfield and creating regular chances, whilst Wycombe were barely getting the ball over half way. Inexplicably, it seemed to be Neil who changed things around, sitting back rather than take the opportunity to put the game to bed. At it was, the second half fizzled out with a few half chances for both sides.

                                      The second half showed a bit more impetus from both sides, and the miss from Sam Vokes around the hour mark seemed, to me, to be "the" chance that needed to be taken. Sunderland then seemed to dominate proceedings again, and it was only when Akinfenwa came on that Wycombe woke up. It was actually quite heartwarming to see the impact that Bayo can still make. Then Ross Stewart ruined the illusion with a ridiculously smart finish.

                                      It was the right result in the end. Congratulations to the Sunderland fans, except the one guy who, before the game, felt it appropriate to pat my brother's chest and say "You'll be crying tonight". The rest of the crowd were admirable and loud, a much more pleasing audio note than those eminating from the speakers.

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                                        #20
                                        Commiserations, lambers.

                                        Does "clear arms from Stockdale" contain a typo or is it a term I'm previously unaware of? Genuine question!

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                                          #21
                                          Hertfordshire 24 Cornwall 50
                                          English County Championship
                                          Hoe Lane


                                          A much more competitive game than I expected and the scoreline conveys but an unanswered hat trick of Cornish tries in the third quarter settled it. With the first half very close and the score 19-21 at the break, the hosts had played the more open, running rugby but the visitors superior fitness and organisation told in the second period.

                                          Hertford RFC is a lovely club & set up and a typically large, noisy travelling Cornish support made it a great afternoon, they were rewarded with a trip to Twickenham for the final.

                                          Last edited by Ray de Galles; 22-05-2022, 12:45.

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                                            #22
                                            I hope Furtho enjoyed the Vase final, it's been on tbe telly. Newport Pagnell Services won.

                                            There's been a few in my lifetime who've gone all the way from the Vase to the Football League, including Fleetwood Town and Forest Green Rovers.

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                                              #23
                                              Originally posted by Ray de Galles View Post
                                              Commiserations, lambers.

                                              Does "clear arms from Stockdale" contain a typo or is it a term I'm previously unaware of? Genuine question!
                                              No typo, just me attempting some sentence structure humour. Basically, Stockdale misjudged the flight of the ball and it almost seemed to go through a flailing left arm.

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                                                #24
                                                I've just passed the home ground of U.S. Savoia 1908 from the Eccellenza Campania league, which seems to be a regional league at the fifth level of Italian football. The location in Torre Annunziata is between Herculaneum and Pompeii.Their best ever season was in 1924 when they finished runners-up to Genoa following the north v south league playoff to decide the league champions (in the days before Serie A). They did finish sixth in Serie B in 1947 before financial collapse and having to restart in Serie D. Capacity an ambitious 10,750. Sadly no chance of me getting permission for a sneaky game detour at a nearby club on this holiday...

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                                                  #25
                                                  One of 28 regional leagues at that level

                                                  The club's name gives an indication as to its roots with capitalist industrial pasta magnates, as the House of Savoy was not particularly popular locally.
                                                  Last edited by ursus arctos; 22-05-2022, 16:09.

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