The End Is Nigh - Weekend Matchgoing

[Third rate Leszno]

Arrived a bit early at Southport Hesketh and there’s a Mid Lancs league div 2 fixture between Southport & Ainsdale reserves and AFC Sherwood on the adjacent pitch - bonus!

[Third rate Leszno]

I’ve no idea what the score was, but AFC Sherwood won, and have just celebrated promotion to Mid Lancs div 1 with bottles of fizzy shit and a team photo. Meanwhile, Southport Hesketh lead Slyne with Hest 2-0 at the break. It’s a decent game for an end of season nowt to play for encounter.

Edited to add: it was 8-0 to AFC Sherwood.

[longeared]

Prestwich Heys 1-4 Cammell Laird 1907

Right result but a bit of a misleading scoreline, the last pair of goals came in the final 10 minutes when the home side went chasing the game. Cagey affair for a lot of time, Prestwich's number 11 was impressive but when his supply lines got cut they seemed to have no plan B.

Big crowd, had a bunch of hoppers smelling away next to me in the first half. One of them proudly said he'd got there at quarter to two to get some photos and a programme. Sweet jesus. The ground is adequate for its needs and has the pleasure of the M60 next door.

Now back in Manchester and sat leaning at an angle in the excellent Marble Arch Inn.

[Patrick Thistle]

Cardiff Met are leading 3-0 at half time. I think I've seen my first own goal of the season. A great looping backwards header past a goalkeeper's despairing dive.

[Third rate Leszno]

As I’m sure you’re all waiting to find out, the final score was Southport Hesketh 4-1 Slyne with Hest, enough to keep the hosts above their visitors in 7th place in the West Lancs Prem.

[Southport Zeb]

Steeton's game was off as Wakefield City couldn't raise a team, so I headed a bit further into Yorkshire to watch Pool v Horbury Town in the West Yorkshire League. Pool are battling against relegation and were the better team in the first half but couldn't score. Early in the second half Horbury took the lead but the hosts were soon level, before taking the lead through a penalty that the visitors spent a couple of minutes complaining about. Pool could not hold on though and Horbury equalised towards the end. Nice ground, with cricket being played on the adjoining field.

[Patrick Thistle]

Cardiff Met won 4-1 in the end. Barry scored last with a well-taken penalty. Their number 4 was giving his team mates loads of aggro for not doing their jobs properly. If the Met beat Cefn next weekend I might go see a Europa qualifier there in July.

[Patrick Thistle]

Just caught up on the Sgorio coverage. I made it on the telly, folks.

[Baptiste]

Prestwich Heys 1-4 Cammell Laird

WasnÂ’t expecting this after Prestwich won the Div 1 cup final in the last minute against Lairds on Wednesday.

But a bloody fantastic day for Birkenhead and Saints winning at Cas adding the cherry on the cake.

[longeared]

Surprised me too, I spent a fair chunk of the game thinking "how the hell did Heys finish third?" It also pleased Laird's noisy assistant manager, he ran down the touchline shouting "FUCK OFF YOU COCKY BASTARDS" at the crowd when they scored their fourth.

Quite pleased I didn't go to the game at Grimsby, they didn't finish until almost half six thanks to extra time and waiting for an ambulance after a player broke their leg.

[imp]

Nice ground, with cricket being played on the adjoining field.

Ah, that strange seasonal overlap when one sport fades into irrelevance and you feel like football's being played out of time. The fields should be invaded by armies of posh ladies bearing trays of sandwiches, handing them out while politely but firmly suggesting to the footballers that they should maybe pack up their trade until autumn.

[Uros Predic]

Millwall Lionesses 0-1 Doncaster Rovers Belles

Not quite the tense title decider it might've been, after Durham beat Brighton in a midday kick-off, which meant Belles were already champions before they took to the field via a guard of honour from the home side. Still, the two sides offered up a closely fought end-to-end game which could've gone either way before the Belles took it, fifteen minutes from time with a deflected strike from the edge of the box after Millwall had cleared a header off the line.

It's a shame this Belles side won't get to go up and test themselves in FAWSL1. Neil Redfearn has helped a good young talented squad really kick on this year to win this title. They deserve a shot at representing Doncaster in the top tier - it's not their fault there isn't the money in the town to match the FA's expectations of instant professionalism.

On the FA, this match took place at Fisher's St Paul's Sports Ground; a pleasant but compact stadium for a 10th tier men's side, with just two of those Meccano stands - one seated, one standing. A couple of times in recent seasons Belles have tried to play matches at Rossington Main's ground; also a 10th tier men's club, albeit with better facilities than Fisher - more seats, more cover, more room, an actual PA system and a tv gantry. The FA have refused each request as the ground apparently isn't suitable for the level. Just another example of how the FA seems to govern the women's game on a whim; with rules applied however they see fit from one week to the next.

[jameswba]

Zilina 6 Spartak Trnava 0

An occasion that started all celebratory descended into violent disorder. Zilina players clapped Trnava's title-winners onto the pitch, then there was a fond farewell to Zilina coach Adrian Gula, who is leaving after 5 years (coaches in the Slovak league are usually happy to last 5 months) to take over Slovakia Under 21s.

Trnava's 700+ fans seemed happy enough, and were certainly loud enough, till it was 5-0, then some of them started breaking down the perimeter fencing and hurling seats at the stewards. Police and armed security units then moved into completely clear the away section. This is now standard procedure in Slovakia when there's trouble in one part of the ground - eject every man, woman and child from there.

On the pitch, Trnava never switched on, allowing Zilina to totally dominate.

Viktoria Zizkov 0 FK Trinec 4

Much more civilised, but no less one-sided. Zizkov had just about secured their Czech 2nd tier survival with a tense win over Usti Nad Labem a couple of weeks before. Trinec, a steelworks club from the opposite end of the Czech Rep (Slovak and Polish borders) were top of the league at one stage, then a 9-game winless run at the start of spring saw them shoved down to 5th. They are still a big, strong, organised side, and luck was with them in the first half, as an own goal and a deflection put them 2-0 up. Zizkov made two half-time substitutions, which seemed to make them worse rather than better, and Trinec easily picked them off for a couple more goals.

Still, not sure there are many better things than stepping off a night train into Prague sunshine, in readiness for a 1015 kick-off at Zizkov. It's one of central Europe's most characterful venues. The TV tower is visible from within the ground, if you sit in the main stand or away end, but I was on the opposite side. I had a look at the part outside the away end, where BB&F took his pic of construction work, and I'm not sure they've done anything there at all, other than (perhaps) some resurfacing work on the pathway through the turnstiles.

[Snake Plissken]

After setting up the stand in the NQ and spending a couple of hours serving the punters, a quick dash to t'Turf in bright sunshine to see the Clarets finish off a remarkable season. Long term servants and crowd favourites Dean Marney and Scott Arfield are off to pastures new and the club had a nice touch where the fans could choose from a programme cover with one of them on. The sun shone on the Turf, the sellout crowd were in good humour.

Clarets have a bit of a habit of not turning up to meaningless matches and nothing of note happened for the opening twenty minutes. Nick Pope made some solid saves and then Burnley grabbed the opener, Ashley Westwood slicing a shot which bounced off Chris Wood and into the net. Bournemouth were typical Eddie Howe stuff in these parts - pretty but ineffective. Burnley could, perhaps should have got a second. Then Howe chucked a few more attackers on, Clarets defence decided to play the ball out for the first time all season and got punsihed for it. Then in injury time, Kevin Long fell over, leaving Bournemouth 2 on 0 against Pope and Wilson slotted in a meaningless but undeserved winner.

All the talk in the stands was of the forthcoming European Tour. I never thought I would see Burnley play a competitive European fixture in my lifetime. I don't care if it a comparative minnow, the occasion will be worth it.

[ChrisJ]

Town are going to Wembley. Bright start, oddly disjointed 25 minutes in which Charlton dominated but didn't really create much. Second half, there was only one outcome I thought. For about 20 minutes Charlton virtually collapsed, and Shrewsbury really should have scored 3 rather than the one they did. The Addicks pulled themselves together to press in the last 10 but didn't ever look like scoring.

Lee Bowyer is a bitter, one-eyed twat with all the tactical insight of the lovechild of Stevie G and Jordan Henderson. I have no evidence that he is still a racist bitter one-eyed twat with all the tactical insight of the lovechild of Stevie G and Jordan Henderson; but none to suggest he isn't.

[Patrick Thistle]

I thought Bowyer was reasonable post match. He looked and sounded incredibly gutted.

The atmosphere looked amazing on the telly. Must have been great to be there.