Tomorrow - Mossley vs Warrington Town

So tomorrow it's back to Seel Park where the visitors are Warrington Town.

These clubs find themselves next to each other in the table, with Mossley in 14th and Warrington one place, and one point, above. However Warrington have two games in hand.

Ominous for Mossley is that Warrington have been strong away, in fact their away record betters everyone other than the top 3 in the table - the reason Warrington are mid table at present is because their home record is so poor, in a reverse of fortunes only the bottom 3 have a worse home record!

Mossley have won and drawn 2 both home and away - won 4, drawn 4, lost 7. Combined with dropping out of both the fa cup and fa trophy at the first hurdle, it's been a season that's given little for the supporters to feel enthusiastic about. And add to that them upping admission prices to 8 pounds, more than all but one other team in their league (top of the table Skelmersdale). Plus on Saturday Mossley snatched defeat from the jaws of victory as they threw away a 3-0 lead at home to Durham City to lose 3-4 - it's tough for any Mossley fan to muster up any optimism at present!

Kidsgrove Athletic 0 Bradford Park Avenue 2

Bradford Park Avenue deservedly booked their place in the FA cup 1st round draw in a tense and scrappy game watched by a crowd of 1,140 at the Seddon Stadium.

Kidsgrove Athletic started positively with early attacks that found gaps in BPA's defence. These petered out with either a poor final ball or scuffed or blocked shots, something that became a common them as the game went on.

Bradford had the first chance in the 7th minute as a looping cross from the left was headed towards the low right corner but saved. Kidsgrove seemed to retreat from this moment and BPA began to get frequent corners and crosses in, but a series of clearances and blocks stopped any of these really creating any chances.

The one big moment were they nearly broke through was in the 23rd minute - from another cross a shot was desperately blocked on the line in a mad scramble and the rebound was hit towards goal and agonisingly dropped down off the bar - both sets of fans held their breath but it didn't cross the line and a defender hit it clear. And it really was a mad scramble - two defenders were down holding their heads and needing treatment as a result, but after a couple of minutes they were up and fine to continue.

Kidsgrove continued to huff and puff but create very little - in truth for the rest of the half Bradford didn't have another big chance either, but a series of low crosses across goal either being narrowly missed, or the resulting shots being blocked with last ditch tackles, meant they looked the only team likely to get a goal. At half time it was 0-0.

The second half began with Kidsgrove getting a few opportunities from corners (one of which is pictured above!) and in the 52nd minute they had a chance as an effort on the left edge of the 6 yard box was turned wide by a defender as it headed towards the left corner.

But then Bradford got another corner themselves in the 56th minute, which was crossed in from the left and in a mass of bodies it was headed low into the net by Jimmy Beadle, who'd only just come on as a substitute a minute before.

Kidsgrove had their last major chance in the 60th minute, as a low cross/shot from the right from Walker went between defenders and keeper, and as it was rolling wide of the left post Kinsey raced towards it and had a last ditch attempt to turn it inside the post, but the angle was too tight and it hit the wrong side of the post and went out for a goal kick.

Bradford's defence held firm after this and they continued to create occasional big chances too. In the 68th minute a low close range shot from the left side of the penalty area towards the left corner was blocked, and the rebound from this was again lashed towards the low left corner, but this time brilliantly saved low by the keeper to keep Kidsgrove in the game.

Bradford had another chance inside the penalty area on the left side in the 83rd minute, this time the striker switching the ball to his right side and trying to curl it towards the top right corner, instead sending it both over and wide.

But the next and final big chance of the game finally gave Bradford the breathing space they wanted, and it was a super finish from Jimmy Beadle for his 2nd goal since coming on as a sub. He got the ball from a low cross from the right, and on the right side of the penalty area facing away from the goal he flicked the ball up, turned and looped a dipping shot into the far left corner of the net.

2-0 it finished and Kidsgrove's biggest game proved a step too far as a nervous and scrappy display gave them only a couple of decent chances in the entire match. Bradford showed nerves too and weren't always at their best in this match, but they piled on the pressure when the opportunities arose, and in the end the amount of dangerous crosses they were putting in was always likely to eventually lead to goals. So Kidsgrove's wait for the first time they get to the 1st round goes on, and meanwhile Bradford Park Avenue are eagerly awaiting the 1st round draw. 

The Seddon Stadium - Kidsgrove Athletic - ground info

The Seddon Stadium is a 2500 capacity ground including 1000 seats that's only recently been developed, with the ground only having both a clubhouse and floodlights in time for the 1992/3 season. Behind both goals are there are covered sections with a couple of rows of seats (which get peppered with stray shots before kick off and half time) and the other two stands are mainly standing space with a few small covered and seating bits.

The trees behind the stands as can be seen in the picture above look nice, unfortunately some parts of the ground are looking a bit run down and ugly but the FA cup prize money the club has gained from this season's run should give them the chance to patch up and redecorate.

For those getting there via public transport, the ground is fairly close to the train station with multimap putting it at a distance of 0.53 miles - but the route isn't at all direct and the walk itself ends up being about a mile. Those arriving in a car can easily park on a nearby street and walk up.

Admission is £7 adults, £4 concessions, £1 under 16s. I got a programme at £2, it's a basic paper one and a bit thin for £2 to be honest especially as this one was for arguably their biggest game ever so you'd think there'd be more content than usual. Again the FA cup money might give the club the chance to update to a glossy one with more content.

I didn't look at the food and drink so can't tell you prices - there's a small bit in the corner of the ground serving it and, given the huge crowd yesterday, didn't fancy the queuing!

Match build-up: Kidsgrove Athletic vs Bradford Park Avenue

This Saturday it's the 4th qualifying round of the FA cup - the final hurdle for these two teams, for which getting to the 1st round proper could be a massive boost, with the potential of a big draw, and all the resulting local and national attention and financial boost this would generate.

Bradford Park Avenue themselves have fairly recently made it this far, as in 2003 they entered the 1st round draw and got a home tie against Bristol City, a match finishing in a 5-2 defeat.

The press attention in the run up to that match, and in general for this club, centres around what the club once was. BPA are a re-formed club, established in 1988, after the original club went into liquidation in 1974. In their previous form they enjoyed huge progress in the FA cup, reaching the FA cup quarter finals in 1912-13, 1919-20, 1945-46. Famous victories for them in the FA cup including winning at Arsenal 1-0, at Newcastle United 2-0 and incredibly thrashing Man City 8-2 at Maine Road.

The club in it's current form have had recent ambitions of having a big push towards becoming a league team again, having originally dropped out of the league in 1970 in their old form. They've had ups and downs recently, with two relegations in a row in the 2004/5 and 2005/6 seasons sending them down from the Conference North to the Northern Division One North. They then went back up one in 2007/8 to the Northern Premier League (level 3 of the non league pyramid).

They're hoping to get promoted from here soon having got to the play offs last season, losing 2-0 to FC United of Manchester in the play off semi finals last season. They're in 6th place as it stands, one place below the play offs, with 2-3 games in hand on 4 of the 5 teams above them.

The history of Kidsgrove Athletic is a complete opposite - whilst Bradford Park Avenue were once hitting big heights in the league and FA cup and are much lower than they once where, Kidsgrove Athletic already find themselves in a position they've never reached before, and needless to say because of this they've therefore never reached the FA cup first round. Just getting this far has been a massive achievement for them, and with an attendance average of 160 last year the prize money alone from getting this far will be a boost for the club. If they get through to the 1st round and get a big tie, the resulting financial boost would be beyond anything this club has ever experienced.

Kidsgrove Athletic officially formed in 1952. In their earlier stages there was a concentration on players being purely from the area itself, which perhaps limited the club in their progress. Eventually they began getting regular promotions in local leagues until the point where they needed to make improvements to their ground in order to make any further progress.

Kidsgrove's ground was a converted farmer's field with basic facilities. To be able to continue moving upwards they built a clubhouse, and altered it over a number of years to meet the requirements of higher leagues. Finally in 1991, after 3 attempts, the club joined the North West Counties League. The next step was installing floodlights, and this allowed the club to join Division One in 1992/3. In 1995/6 they were entered into the FA cup for their first ever time, a whole 43 years since the club was officially formed, but they lost 3-1 in the first qualifying round at Hinckley Athletic.

In their first season the club narrowly avoided relegation before setting into mid table finishes in the seasons after this. Ambitions rose after this and they reached the FA Vase semi final in 1997/8 but were not allowed to be promoted. 4 years later in 2001/2 and this time they achieved promotion to the Northern Division One South. They struggled in their early years at this level and finished bottom in 2003/4 but avoided relegation due to restructuring.

They've stayed in this division since and have been in the upper reaches in recent seasons, finishing 4th in 2009/10 but losing at Glapwell in the play off semi final, before in 2010/11 finishing 2 places outside the play offs in 7th. This season at present they're merely 16th, but this FA cup run has left them with 3-4 games in hand on most clubs in their league, so the position may deceive as wins in the games in hand would put them outside the play offs once again.

Kidsgrove Athletic's furthest progress in the FA cup until now was reaching the 3rd qualifying round in 2006/7, losing 2-1 at Haverhill Rovers.

To get a round further this year they've won in 4 rounds so far. They beat Atherstone Town 5-1 at home in the prelim round, Gornal Athletic 3-0 at home in the 1st qualifying round, before a shock victory over Boston United from two divisions above, drawing 0-0 away before beating them 2-0 at home in the replay. Next in the 3rd qualifying round they got another home draw and beat Long Buckby 2-1.

Meanwhile Bradford Park Avenue have won in 3 rounds (as they're in the division above they skip the prelim round and enter in the 1st qualifying round). They beat Harrogate Railway Athletic 8-0 at home in the first qualifying round, then won 3-1 at home to Warrington Town in the second qualifying round. They too produced a shock victory, as in the 3rd qualifying round they were drawn away at Hyde FC, who were top of the table and unbeaten in the division above. But Bradford Park Avenue by all accounts were the better team, and finally took advantage of this with a 90th minute goal to go through as 1-0 winners.

With these two clubs in what is currently named the Evo Stik League (Bradford Park Avenue in the Premier Division (non league pyramid step 3), Kidsgrove Athletic a division below in the Division One South (non league pyramid step 4)) the league sponsors will be delighted that this game guarantees that at least one of their clubs is guaranteed to be in the FA cup 1st round. 90 minutes (or possibly also a replay) decides which team this will be.

Stalybridge Celtic 5 Altrincham 1

Stalybridge put themselves top of the table in emphatic style as they beat Altrincham 5-1 in front of a bumper crowd of 1,005 at Bower Fold.

This was a game that promised lots of goals as the highest scoring and second highest scoring teams in the division faced up, but in truth the opening 5 minutes was a non event. It was scrappy, both teams seemed to have begun expecting an early onslaught from the other, and there were signs of understandable nerves given what an important game it was for both teams. The early signs were this might be one of those games where two good teams cancel each other out.

Then out of the blue in the 6th minute a hopeful long ball gave Connor Jennings something to chase. He beat the defender to the ball, controlled it on the right side of the penalty area and smashed it into the net to give Stalybridge an early lead.

The game livened up after this and a couple of minutes Stalybridge had another chance as Lloyd Ellams had an effort from around 25 yards out heading for the top centre of the goal tipped over by the keeper.

Altrincham had spells of their own and nearly capitalised on a defensive calamity, Stalybridge’s keeper and defender both chased after a hopeful long ball as it approached the penalty area, and rather than one of them just clearing it into touch, the defender instead decided it’d be a good idea to kick the ball low towards goal.

This touch left Altrincham’s striker chasing the ball on his own, and Stalybridge were lucky that the touch had taken the ball wide to the left of goal, and by the time he got to the ball it was nearly out for a corner. He desperately tried to roll the ball towards goal before it went out but with the angle too tight he could only send it rolling in front of goal where a relieved defender cleared it away.

A couple of minutes after this they had another chance as 20 yard shot hit the top of the bar and went over. Straight after this Stalybridge had two good chances of their own as a close range shot from the right of the 6 yard box was tipped wide and then Ellams had a low shot from the edge of the penalty area caught by the keeper.

In a seesaw spell of play Altrincham were next to have another couple of chances, as a scrappy giveaway lead to a chance from wide left that was blocked for a corner, and from this the ball was headed just wide.

With all these chances being created it was a matter of time before one of them was converted. In the 37^th minute Stalybridge had an effort from outside the penalty area to the left that hit the post, bouncing out right into the path of Wilkinson who tapped in the rebound from little more than 6 yards out.

Altrincham responded immediately, a minute after the goal they earned a corner that was headed into the bottom right corner of the net by Michael Twiss to bring the score to 2-1. In a dramatic spell Stalybridge then raced up the other end, and in the 40^th minute Phil Marsh got the ball on the left edge of the 6 yard box and curled it into the top right hand corner. 3 goals in 4 minutes and suddenly it was 3-1 to Stalybridge.

Altrincham had one more big chance themselves before the half drew to a close as the ball was dribbled past 2 defenders before the shot from the edge of the penalty area went just wide to the left of the goal.

The second half began with Altrincham having a lot of the ball in Stalybridge’s half without really being able to create a major chance with it. Stalybridge were always looking to catch them out on the break, and did just that in the 55^th minute as they raced forward and crossed from the wide right. Altrincham’s defenders frantically chased back, and in the rush Williams slid in to try to block the cross, instead succeeding only in sliding it into his own net.

Altrincham continued to try to respond, a cross from the left leading to a low shot just wide to the right and a couple of minutes later another low shot this time from the left edge of the penalty area went just wide to the right.

Again they were sucker-punched in the 64^th minute, Stalybridge breaking forward and Jennings getting the ball inside the penalty area on the left side, curling a shot into the low right corner of the goal for his second goal, this making it 5-1.

Altrincham continued to see a lot of the ball after this, as Stalybridge were content to sit back and occasionally break when given the opportunity. Altrincham had a lot of corners, throw ins and free kicks in the Stalybridge half but for the last 20 minutes could create little more than occasional half chances, the game ending 5-1 to Stalybridge.

The 5-1 scoreline was harsh on Altrincham in a match that was end to end for large parts, particularly in the 1^st half. Stalybridge didn’t create a lot more chances than Altrincham, it was simply a case of Stalybridge finishing off a large amount of their big chances and Altrincham not being able to.

Altrincham will hope this was just a bad day where things didn’t go their way, and after a 4 match winning streak before this game they’ll hope to make sure it’s just a blip and not the start of a spell of further dropped points.

Meanwhile this win will reaffirm Stalybridge’s promotion ambitions. After their last home league game was a disappointing draw to Gloucester and they lost last week at Colwyn Bay, some may have wondered if the team was beginning to revert to the inconsistent results of last season. But from this evidence, this is a team that ought to be right up there at the end of the season.

Build-up: Stalybridge Celtic vs Altrincham

Next up it's Stalybridge Celtic vs Altrincham, 3pm on Saturday at Bower Fold.

As these two sides face each other in a Cheshire derby likely to attract a big crowd, this is also set up to be a promotion battle between two teams occupying play off places as it stands, with Stalybridge joint on points with top of the table Hyde having played a game extra and with a goal difference that's 3 less than the leaders.

Meanwhile Altrincham have recently risen to 5th in the table after a struggling start having been relegated from the Conference at the end of last season. The results of each team's opening 13 games were:

Stalybridge - WWWWDWWWWWDWL - 32 points
Altrincham - LDWDLDDWLWWWW - 22 points

A disappointing start for Altrincham coupled with a near perfect start for Stalybridge put a massive gap between the two, as after 9 games, with Stalybridge 2nd place, Altrincham were struggling in 14th position. But after winning the next 4 games Altrincham have caught up 5 points on their opponents and will be hoping to continue this run of form to catch up another 3 points on Saturday.

In the pre season title odds where Halifax Town were favourites, Altrincham were 2nd on 6-1 and Stalybridge joint with 3 teams in 6th on 12-1, so some will wonder whether Altrincham's improved form
coupled with Stalybridge beginning to drop points might be the beginning of a catch up.
From a neutral perspective the hope is this will be a game packed with goals - these are the two highest scoring teams in the league, Altrincham top scorers with 33 goals and Stalybridge just a goal behind on 32. In the winning run in the past 4 games Altrincham have scored an amazing 17 goals, that's over 4 goals per game.

Free scoring strikers for both sides have been one of the reason for all these goals - Altrincham have the league's top scorer, Damian Reeves, who's scored 14 goals in 13 games, including 8 goals in those last 4 games. Stalybridge meanwhile have the league's 3rd and 4th highest scorers - Phil Marsh on 12 goals and Connor Jennings with 9 goals.

Stalybridge were unbeaten in their opening 12 league games before losing 2-0 at Colwyn Bay last Saturday. Their last home league match was a 2-2 draw against Gloucester City (this blog's match report here) otherwise they've won all their home league games. Meanwhile Altrincham have been poor away having won 1, drawn 2 and lost 3. However their last away match was that 1 win, and it was a 6-1 win at Colwyn Bay who Stalybridge lost at last weekend.

Stalybridge fans will have half an eye on the score of their neighbours and main rivals Hyde who they're current joint on points with - Hyde also have a very difficult fixture as they're away at 3rd placed Guiseley, so the top of the league could be up for grabs. But on the other hand if Hyde were to win and 4th placed Gainsborough Trinity lose their game, Altrincham would move up to 3rd place with a win.

FA cup 4th qualifying round, which match to pick...

So the draw for the FA cup 4th qualifying round was made on Monday - the final hurdle for all the non league teams to getting to the FA cup 1st round. The Blue Square Premier (Conference) teams are entered into the draw for this, meanwhile some teams have now negotiated as many as 5 rounds already to get this far and would be rubbing their hands at the prize money won from each round and the prospect of a potential big tie against a Conference team.

Of course needless to say negotiating this round sets up the much much bigger prospect of maybe drawing a well supported league team - the money, attention and even possible tv coverage for this would be astronomical for those in the lower reaches of the non league pyramid.

I'm continuing to go to a match for each round until games are either too far away to consider/afford transport or ticket prices are too expensive. So with 32 matches drawn I whittled down the list to the games closest to where I am and those which can be got to easily enough (around 2 hours or less) from Mossley via public transport.

The list came down to 3 matches:
Droylsden vs Blyth Spartans
Kidsgrove Athletic vs Bradford Park Avenue
Nantwich Town vs Nuneaton Town

Now Droylsden vs Blyth Spartans is a game with two teams in the same division (the Blue Square North, or level 2 of the non league pyramid where the Conference is level 1). In the other two games it's a case of the underdog at home - Kidsgrove Athletic (level 4) vs Bradford Park Avenue (level 3) and Nantwich Town (level 3) vs Nuneaton Town (level 2). So I've ruled out Droylsden.

The other two I'm torn between, both look like nice enough places to go to, both involve away teams with supporter numbers bigger than most teams in their league and very big compared to the home teams they'll be visiting.

Kidsgrove or Nantwich, that is the question!

Manchester City under-19s 2 Celtic under-19s 4

 

Heavy rain lashes down as a Celtic fan fills half the stand with smoke after setting off a Green flare

 
 Manchester City's under 19s, aka their EDS (Elite Development Squad), are little more than a miracle away from being knocked out in the group stage of the NextGen Series, after an impressive attacking performance from Celtic's under 19s earned them a 4-2 away win in front of a crowd of 825.

Both teams had no points from 2 games before this match, and with Barcelona on 9 points from 3 games and Marseille 6 points from 3, and only the top 2 in the group going to the knockout stage after each team plays each other twice, this match was vital for trying to close the gap.

Conditions were dreadful as the teams walked out with very heavy swirling winds, and just a couple of minutes after kick off heavy rain also kicked in, which was to ultimately continue without remotely easing off for the entire match.

Both teams early on discovered that any long balls would be harmlessly blown out for a throw in or kick off, and this forced them to get the ball down and find a way through with low passing moves.

You'd think this would suit Man City's under-19s, who are likely to be trained to play in a style like the first team, but it was Celtic who seemed more up for this in the early stages as they repeatedly played their way into decent attacking positions and created a couple of half chances.

Then in the 10th minute, against the run of play, City took the lead with their first attack. A low short cross was blocked and by a Celtic defender, but he got the ball trapped in his feet and fluffed his attempt at clearing it, and Juan Angel Roman nipped in and easily tapped in from little more than 3 yards out.

Celtic nearly levelled things immediately as a shot from the right edge of the penalty area was pushed onto the right post and went out for a corner. They continued to dominate although City themselves nearly got a second as a low shot from the right went just narrowly wide to the left.

Celtic's equaliser came in bizarre circumstances in the 25th minute, as an overhit ball ran through for either the goalkeeper or nearest defender to deal with. The defender left it for the keeper, the keeper left it for the defender. As the defender in the confusion touched the ball and the keeper then dithered about whether he could now pick it up or not as the defender continued to leave the ball, Herron had sneaked in and smashed it into the net.

Around 70 Celtic fans celebrated, one of them setting off a green flare which half filled the stand behind the goal with smoke as can be seen in the above picture - the stewards didn't look too impressed!

Celtic continued to press forward and they took the lead in the 39th minute, a corner from the left and a powerful header from Paul George bulleted into the bottom right corner. And with half time approaching they nearly added to this as a low cross found a Celtic man from close range wide right, the angle proving too difficult as the shot rippled the side netting. 1-2 at half time.


Rain - lots of it!

With the rain continuing to be very heavy for all the half and throughout the half time period, it was a credit to Hyde and their groundsman in particular that the pitch stayed smooth and fully playable.


The second half started with City pushing forward to get a much needed equaliser, a 53rd minute low shot went just wide left, and a minute later a long range low shot also went just wide to the left.



Celtic responded with a 57th minute brilliant curling shot from the left not quite curling enough and just going the wrong side of the right post, and then in the 60th minute a quick break led to a low cross from wide right setting up Paul George to tap in for his 2nd and Celtic's 3rd.

The relentless rain was by now beginning to turn some bits of the pitch waterlogged, some players skidding on water and the ball barely bouncing in parts. Both teams continued to attack though and this game was surprisingly open given that they were restricted to low passing.

City made it 2-3 in the 65th minute as Denis Suarez curled a shot from the rght side of the penalty area into the top left corner of the net. They pressed forward straight after this sensing the chance to get an equaliser and a low shot went just wide to the right a minute later.

As City continued to press, Celtic countered with a lightning quick break, the ball fed to the right corner of the penalty area and finished clinically into the left corner by Watt for a 69th minute sucker punch.

Celtic were happy to mainly defend and look to counter when the opportunity arose as the 2nd half went on, and in the final 20 minutes City found it very difficult to break through this defence. This was summed up by their only decent effort late on in the 85th minute being a free kick, Celtic's keeper Thomson pushing it wide as it headed for the top right corner.

From the resulting corner City again were exposed in their defence as Celtic counter attacked again. It was a similar counter down the left side as their 4th goal as the ball was again crossed to outside the right side of the penalty area, but this time the Celtic player who the ball was fed to attempted to find the top left corner, his powerful shot instead hitting the top of the bar.

The match finished 2-4 and in truth this was about a fair scoreline - Celtic created more chances, their passing was quick, inventive and unpredictable, and their finishing mainly clinical. City were made to look very predictable and ordinary by their opponents, and they next travel to tournament favourites Barcelona, somehow needing to get a win to keep up their faint hopes of still getting to the knockout stages.

Even if they manage to achieve this, they'll then have to win away at Celtic after this, and on last night's evidence that's unlikely. Celtic know a win in that match will put them level with Marseille, albeit having played a game more. After this impressive victory it's likely we may be seeing at least a couple of these Celtic under 19s make it into their first team in a few years.

Meanwhile given the strength and depth of City's first team, despite their big plans of multi million academy site developments, this current under 19 team is looking like it's going to struggle to make any impact on the first team aside from occasional appearances in league cup games.

Tomorrow - Man City under 19s vs Celtic under 19s

Monday night’s 7pm match sees Manchester City’s under 19s continue in the NextGen Series with a home game vs Celtic under 19s at Hyde FC’s Ewen Fields.

The NextGen Series has been created as a sort of youth team equivalent of the Champions League, with the group stages mimicking those of the Champions League with groups of 4 teams who play each other home and away, with the top 2 progressing.

Man City were drawn in a group with Marseille, Celtic and Barcelona. The group began with a 1-0 defeat for Celtic away at Marseille and Celtic then lost 3-1 at home to Barcelona. Man City’s opening match was next at home to Barcelona, and they narrowly lost 2-1.

With Barcelona then beating Marseille 4-1 at home to put them top of the table with 3 wins in 3 games, Man City had their opportunity to get their first points away at Marseille... instead this game was a disaster for their hopes of progressing, as they suffered a 3-0 defeat.

So it’s Barcelona 3 games played – 9 points, Marseille 3 games played – 6 points, and Celtic and Man City have both played a game less and both have no points. Celtic and Man City are still to play away at tournament favourites Barcelona, a game no-one would feel very confident of getting a result at currently, so this game coupled with Man City playing at Celtic on the 7^th November is important to both for trying to catch up with Marseille.

For both teams on Monday the situation is that whoever loses would then need to win all their remaining 3 games and rely on Marseille not winning anything else and other results also being favourable – to say that’s a tall order would be an understatement. City in particular given home advantage will be looking to get 3 points in this one to close the gap; else they’ll need to get wins from away trips at Celtic and Barcelona in order to still have a chance of qualifying by the time they face their final group game at home to Marseille.

Both teams play each other twice, play away at Barcelona and finish at home to Marseille. Both teams know points in this game are vital. Both teams feel they've been unlucky to not get points so far after each of their games have been reported as close affairs separated by luck. They're each confident of getting something against the other. Monday night's game seems difficult to predict, and is likely to be a close and hard fought encounter.

Lancaster City 0 FC Halifax Town 3

This match had all the potential to be an FA Cup cracker - the underdog at home to a team two divisions above, coupled with it being two teams who know each other all too well after Halifax narrowly pipped Lancaster to the 2009/10 league title. But instead the occasion descended into chaos that was to ruin the match and mean the only talking point during and after this game wasn't what happened on the pitch itself.

The game began with a decent pace and both teams eager to create a few early chances. Halifax had the first chance, and with the Lancaster defence looking a bit nervous, the ball was played into the penalty area. With the Lancaster defenders desperately trying to clear, it was Brett Renshaw who managed to get the ball and smash it into the net to give Halifax a much needed early lead in just the 3rd minute.

A minute later Lancaster had the ball and were passing it about in the Halifax half when scuffles broke out behind the Halifax goal. At first a few groups were involved but this blew up very quickly and within the minute it was turning more into a mass brawl. As supporter attention turned from what was happening on the pitch to what was going on in the stand, the referee also had noticed what was going on and brought the match to a halt.

Behind the goal it was looking very ugly. This wasn't a case of a small bunch of idiots, there were around 20-30 people involved. After a couple of minutes it briefly looked like it was simmering down but then it all kicked off again. The situation was out of control.

This was a game that everyone knew was going to attract a large crowd compared to Lancaster's usual 200-250 attendances (the attendance yesterday was 646, looked like there were a lot more than that and pre match expectations had been more than that too). A team with a large following compared to most non league teams, Halifax are always likely to have a few groups of idiots tag along with the vast majority of decent well behaved supporters.

Despite this, Lancaster's security presence appeared to just be a couple of stewards. I thought it was the norm at this level for a club to have extra stewarding and bring in a couple of police officers when a large away following is going to turn up but this hadn't happened. So as the fighting continued there was no-one there to be able to break it up. I saw some of the staff including the girls who'd been selling programmes try in vain to wade in and calm the situation but this was never going to break up such a large brawl.

Some of the players came over to the stand to try to appeal for calm but apparently there was a lot of abuse and threats of violence directed at them. At this point the referee wisely moved the players away from the situation and instructed both teams to go into their dressing rooms whilst the situation was dealt with.

Lancaster's officials had by this point rang the police and 5 minutes later the first car turned up with another 2 or 3 appearing within the following 5 minutes. The fighting had broken up by this stage with the groups separating and some scattering. Some people left the ground before the police turned up and some more once the police were there. From what I gather that included some of the trouble causers and also some normal fans and families who were upset by what'd happened.

The discussion in the stands and after the game has centred around who started the fighting with differing accounts of what went on. The general summary is there were a couple of groups of idiots who turned up, at least one group pretending to be supporters of each team, and they started trouble behind the goal that Lancaster were attacking. There were a mixture of fans of both teams in that stand. Whilst I'd like to put all the blame on these idiots who started it off, the fact was that supporters of each team then allowed themselves to be provoked and got involved.

And whilst it's true that if you're suddenly attacked by a group of idiots then moving away and not being involved is easier said than done whilst it's happening, the fact is that after the initial brawl things seemed to stop for a minute before it all went nasty again, and people could've moved away from the trouble whilst things had stopped if they'd wanted to.

The police talked with some people involved in or nearby to the incident and apparently there were at least a couple of people with injuries caused by the fighting. The official info from the police after the game was that one person was arrested and 5 people ordered to leave the game. The referee reappeared to assess the situation, and with the police now there to keep an eye on things, the players were brought back onto the pitch and given a couple of minutes to warm up again before play resumed.

Unsurprisingly the early pace to the game before it was held up was gone and the half was scrappy. Lancaster had plenty of possession but couldn't even create half chances, their best chance being Lee Dodgson getting the ball in the penalty area but his shot was blocked.



Halifax were barely creating a thing themselves but found another breakthrough in the 33rd minute, Simon Garner getting the ball on the left corner of the penalty area and lashing it low into the right corner of the net to make it 2-0, and it stayed that way for the rest of the half.

It was drab and scrappy, the players obviously shaken by what'd happened, the early match atmosphere replaced with a stunned silence in the stands. The second half continued this way unfortunately, with little at all to report on.

Again Lancaster had plenty of possession but couldn't create anything of note with it. Meanwhile Halifax were on the whole just going through the motions. With the game dying a death, Lee Gregory netted a 3rd in the 85th minute. They had another chance shortly after with a shot from wide left lashed into the side netting. 

A game both teams will be eager to forget, with Lancaster in particular gutted that a game that attracted local families, students and others who aren't usually there gave them no reason at all to come back.

Halifax at least can try to shift their focus to the next round, with the FA cup 4th qualifying round draw around lunchtime tomorrow. This is the final qualifying round with the winners then entered into the FA cup 1st round draw. Halifax have reached and been knocked out at the 4th qualifying round stage in the previous two seasons, and will be hoping this could be 3rd time lucky.  

Giant Axe - Lancaster City - ground info

The Giant Axe is a 3500 capacity ground, 513 of which is covered seating. To the left of this from the perspective of being sat in the stand is the catering ("The Dolly Diner"). The stand behind the goal next to this is also covered, the other two stands aren't.

A big attraction for visiting fans is how close this ground is to the train station - you just exit the station from platform 3, turn right on the road you see and follow West Road downhill for 1-2 mins and the ground's on your right. You can see the station and all the trains going past when at the ground as well as Lancaster Castle which is also just a  few minutes walk from the ground.

It's also 5 mins walk from the city centre which is full of a variety of pubs, making it also ideal for those who like going to the pubs before a game. Only one I'd say to avoid "The Victoria" which is just further down West Road - from living in this area for a while a couple of years ago I heard nothing but negatives about this. Personally would recommend The Merchants which is just next to the Castle on Castle Hill and is kind of a series of bunker-style cellars. Or for cheaper pints there are 2 Wetherspoons to choose from.

If getting there by car there is a car park at the ground but I'm not sure if this is available to everyone, another option is to carry on down West Road and take the next left - Salisbury Road, Meadow Street and other nearby streets tend to have a fair bit of parking space.

Admission at the ground is £7, concessions £5, under 16s £1, under 12s accompanied by an adult free. Programmes are £1.50 (impressed as the norm seems to be £2 this season!) and they're a good read.

Food and drink - I had a cheese and onion pie and chips, chips at around £1.50 were good, pie was a similar price and was impressively big but didn't have much flavour to it I thought. I've heard good things about the meat ones though. Cans are 85p and tea and coffee similar.

Build-up: Lancaster City vs FC Halifax Town

FA Cup 3rd qualifying round this weekend, and I'll be at the Giant Axe, Saturday 3pm for Lancaster City vs FC Halifax Town.

These two were in the same division just 2 years ago in the 2009/10 season. Lancaster were on top of the league and beginning to open up some distance as they went on a remarkable 13 game winning run. Then Woodley Sports brought the run to an abrupt end, thrashing them 4-1 on their plastic pitch. After this Lancaster's form started to become inconsistent - they didn't go on a losing run or anything that severe, but draws and defeats were creeping in, and Halifax caught up the extra games they had left due to multiple postponements. The majority of these were victories as Halifax closed the gap as the teams entered April 2010, the final month of the season.

Halifax began April with 3 wins, the 3rd of which was a dramatic turnaround at Garforth as they went from losing 3-1 with just a few minutes left to winning 4-3. Straight after this was the big title showdown as Halifax played Lancaster at home - this was to be no close battle as Halifax took Lancaster to pieces, thrashing them 4-0. 3 more victories after this put Halifax firmly top, and two draws at the end of the season were enough to take the title.

Lancaster finished miles about all the other teams in the division, but this counted for nothing as they finished in the play offs. After beating Skelmersdale United in the semi final, they lost 1-0 to Colwyn Bay in the play off final thanks to an 87th minute penalty. Lancaster have been left wondering what might have been as both Halifax and Colwyn Bay then got promoted again in the same circumstances last season (Halifax top, Colwyn Bay beating FC United in the play off final). Meanwhile Lancaster finished just outside the play offs last season, having to sell some of their best players in the process due to crowds not being enough to cover their costs.

Lancaster haven't made significant FA cup progress recently, but this season they've got through 3 rounds already, a big financial plus for them. They won 4-1 away at Formby, 5-1 at home to Maine Road, and then got what many teams saw as the nightmare draw away to FC United of Manchester, who of course know all about FA cup progress after beating Rochdale and nearly beating Brighton last season. But there was to be no repeat of that this season as Lancaster won 1-0 (my match report for that game is here).

As Halifax are two divisions above they entered the cup two rounds later, and they won 2-1 at home to Tadcaster Albion. In the previous 2 years Halifax have lost 1-0 in the 4th qualifying round (vs Wrexham and Mansfield). They will be hoping they can get to this stage again and make it 3rd time lucky to reach the first round proper.

Comparing the two teams form in their leagues:
Lancaster: 6th of 22 teams in Evo Stik Division One North, played 10: WWWWWDWLLL
Halifax: 11th of 22 teams in Blue Square North, played 12: LWDDDDWLLWDW

Lancaster started brilliantly and were top of the league, then a defeat at Woodley Sports (again!) has been the start of a run of defeats. They've won games in the local and Evo-Stik cup competitions, but were thrashed 5-1 by Garforth in the opening round of the FA Trophy. The drop in league form has coincided with the FA Cup run, and it's difficult to know if this is just coincidence or if the FA Cup has become a priority for them at present.

Halifax have not started well at all, and having been clear favourites to get a third successive title they instead find themselves trailing 15 points below top of the table Hyde and Stalybridge. Changes are being made to the team to try to salvage a promotion push, but Neil Aspin will know an FA Cup run could be the welcome distraction that'd get some of the doubters back on his side, as well as being a huge morale boost for the team.

Hyde FC 1 Nuneaton Town 1



The points were shared at Ewen Fields in a match that seemed to alternate between spells of frequent chances and scrappy intervals.

The early stages contained little action in all honesty. Because of the constant rain before and during this match, the ball was quick to skid on the surface and both teams quickly realised that the majority of long balls would just skid through to the keeper or straight out for a goal kick.

Because of this both teams had to mainly concentrate on keeping the ball low and trying to find a way through with short passes. And neither team was looking likely to find a way through early on - this was unfortunately shaping up to be one of those games were two decent well organised teams cancel each other out.

Nuneaton were having more of the possession in these stages, and after creating little more than half chances they found a way through in the 25th minute - Kevin Thornton suddenly found himself through on goal, went round the keeper and from the left side of goal rolled it into the empty net to put them into the lead.

Before anyone had time to wonder if this might rattle a Hyde team that were never expected to be anywhere near 1st place before the season began, they responded by immediately pushing forward, and Berkeley's close range shot was saved by the keeper. A 30 yard effort shortly after was pushed wide by the keeper.

In the 36th minute Hyde's top scorer Scott Spencer also had a shot saved by the keeper, but the rebound fell to Ryan Crowther on the edge of the penalty area, and he hit it into the right corner of the net before the keeper had chance to react, and that made it 1-1.

Hyde's pressure continued from there and 4 minutes later a cross was heading to Callum Byrne on the edge of the penalty area in space - and as he attempted to leather it he instead succeeded in tripping over his own feet and falling over.

Finally as the half was drawing to a close, Hyde's goalscorer Ryan Crowther had another chance, a high curling shot from just outside the penalty area went just over the top left corner. The half time whistle blew with Nuneaton probably relieved to have a break from a spell of Hyde attacks. 

The 2nd half began with both teams having about the same amount of possession. The difference, particularly in the opening 20 minutes of this half, was that Nuneaton more seemed to just keep the ball and pass it around and rarely actually created good chances. Hyde's style is more direct, they pass it around constantly looking for an opening, and perhaps this explains why before this match Hyde had scored 29 compared to Nuneaton's 16.

Chances for Hyde included Spencer shooting into the side netting, a shot saved for Griffin and a Spencer shot just over. Perhaps their best opening was in the 63rd minute when the Nuneaton keeper went to collect an overhit through ball with Berkeley charging in to close him down. The wet ball skidded out of the keeper's reach, and Berkeley rolled it across to Spencer, but his shot was blocked by a Nuneaton defender who slid in just in time to stop it rolling into an otherwise empty net.

In the 65th minute Nuneaton finally created something themselves as a low shot heading towards the right corner was just tipped round the post. There were a couple more half chances for them and Hyde themselves seemed to be running out of ideas and also began being restricted to half chances.

Bizarrely in the 73rd minute a naked male streaker hurdled the barriers and wandered onto the pitch. This was particularly bizarre as he walked around for about half a minute waving at the fans whilst the stewards just stood watching in the stands leaving him to it. The streaker seemed as surprised as anyone by this, and eventually he ejected himself off the pitch - he wandered off and climbed back over the barrier, not a pleasant sight I might add!

Anyway little happened for a while after that until we got to the 80th minute and as Nuneaton attacked their player through on goal appeared to be fouled by a sliding challenge, but the referee said the player had got the ball and waved play on, with Hyde going up the other end and creating what looked like a good chance themselves, but Crowther's shot was weak and saved. Shortly after Crowther had another chance and tried a chip which went both wide and over.

Hyde's final few chances came from a succession of corners in the 92nd minute. First a scramble from one of the corners led to a close range shot being deflected over the bar by a defender, then from the resulting corner a fairly tame header was spilled by the Nuneaton keeper, and Berkeley charged in to try to beat the keeper to the rebound, but the keeper blocked his effort, strangely a goal kick given despite the keeper having the last touch.

Nuneaton made a final sub in the 94th minute, perhaps showing that by this stage they'd settled for a point. Hyde ran out of time to be able to create anything else and the final whistle blew. Nuneaton fall 2 places to 8th as a result of this draw but their fans seemed happier as the whistle went. Hyde themselves still remain top, but a win for local rivals Stalybridge means the two are now level on points, separated only by Hyde having a +20 goal difference compared to Stalybridge's +19.

Ewen Fields - Hyde and Man City EDS - ground info

This will focus on Ewen Fields when going to Hyde matches for now - I'll be watching Man City u19s vs Celtic u19s next week so I'll update this if there's any different info for that.

Ewen Fields has a capacity of 4,250, 550 of which is seated. The ground had a pretty dramatic makeover before the start of the 2010/11 season as Hyde went into a partnership deal with Man City, which involves Man City's EDS (kind of their reserves but usually youths, so sort of the next step up from the academy) using the ground.

Now most clubs who have their reserve team playing at a smaller ground just use the ground and don't edit it, but as part of the deal Man City redecorated it - turning a red ground into a blue ground, putting all their seats in, putting their club badge along with Hyde's on the top of the seated stand (see below for those last few), changing all the writing on the stands and the stadium boards to Etihad, Abu Dhabi, City in the Community etc, City in the Community the main sponsor on Hyde's shirts etc.

Opinions were divided on this - on the one hand it was good for the ground to be newly painted and decorated and improved in various ways, but many said Hyde had turned into a franchise and sold it's soul as a result. Personally I quite like what City have done with it, but I guess I'm a little biased as I go watch Man City now and again anyway - if Man United had done the same deal and turned it into a mini Old Trafford I must admit I'd have probably then been slating it!

Anyway details of the ground - you can see the seated area above, and to the left of it from the perspective of that picture, or to the right of where you enter the ground, is the "Scrattin Shed" or Shed End whichever you prefer. This is were Hyde's equivalent of the ultras are - the more vociferous fans in other words - expect lots of chanting and when you walk past it at the end of the match it stinks of beer! Not the best idea for an away fan to stand in this bit in other words.

The Leigh Street stand is opposite with the team dugouts in front of it - this is where most standing fans gather and is mainly covered, in fact pretty much all the ground is covered. Interestingly one of the stands behind the goals, the "Tinker's Passage" which is the one near the Scrattin Shed, (and in rare games where segregation occurs is the stand for away fans) has a big netting in front of it - see below - making it ideal if you want your pie and cup of tea without a stray ball causing you to end up wearing said cup of tea.

Admission for Hyde games is £10 for standing, with a £1 "upgrade" to go in the seated area (there's security blokes at the seated area entrances who you pay the extra pound to). The programme is £2, I got one and bizarrely the front and back and all the adverts inside are on colour glossy pages but the rest is black and white on normal paper pages. The programme does look a bit chunkier than most but this is mainly due to it having more adverts than most.

Chips are a quid and served in a small plastic cone so you don't get a lot of them, they're pretty tasty though. From what I remember of the other prices - fizzy drink cans are 80p, tea and coffee £1, pies were either £1.60 or £1.80. They have some meal deal options too which offer a tiny discount on getting everything individually, but we're talking actual meals here - £3.50+.

If getting there on public transport the ground is easily walkable from Newton for Hyde, Hyde Central or Godley stations, and from the newly built bus station. The area's not the best at night, a little rough but not too bad for afternoon matches.

The club has a small car park that fills up quickly, streets nearby are options but parking around the Hyde town centre area and walking up might be easier. The Morrisons supermarket has a free car park and I'm not aware of restrictions but that can be quite busy on a Saturday afternoon.

Tomorrow - Hyde vs Nuneaton Town

What a difference a season makes.

This is the feeling at Hyde at the moment after an incredible start to the season by the club. Ten wins and a draw in their opening 11 games has put them top of the table, and some distance above some of the pre-season favourites for the title too.

This from a club who last season finished just a single place above relegation, after an end of season relegation battle with Stafford Rangers that went right down to the final game – Hyde getting the result they needed whilst Stafford Rangers lost at Hyde’s local rivals Stalybridge.

Hyde were in turmoil last season - supporter and board discontent, the manager being sacked towards the latter end of the season, and in the summer Gary Lowe was brought in from Curzon Ashton, with many Hyde fans not happy at all about this appointment and showing clear discontent on their message board.

Given all this and them nearly being relegated last season, it’s perhaps no surprise that Hyde were odds of 33/1 for promotion, which when put in a table translates to them being 5^th to bottom.

So Hyde beginning the season with a 10 match winning league run took pretty much everyone by surprise, and the question now is whether they’ll be able to maintain the brilliant start or if they might fall away. They dropped their first points in their last league match, drawing 2-2 with Eastwood Town, with only a 91^st minute equaliser maintaining their unbeaten status.

The scrutiny now is whether this first game without a win will be the start of a downturn in their results or whether they’ll get back to winning ways. And tomorrow’s game is a big tester, playing a Nuneaton Town who had odds of 9/1, in effect putting them in 4^th place in a league table of odds.

Hyde had a good record against Nuneaton last season despite their contrast in fortunes – with Nuneaton top of the table when both games happened, Hyde won 2-1 away at Liberty Way and the teams drew 1-1 at Ewen Fields.

Nuneaton Town were formed after Nuneaton Borough’s financial irregularities meant they were dumped out the Conference North, where they’d been from 2004-08. They’re very much viewed as a direct continuation of the previous club, the official website itself regularly referring to them as “the Boro” despite the change of name.

Nuneaton Town were reformed in the Southern League Division One (2 leagues below the Conference North) and wasted no time in returning back to where they’d been, with two promotions in succession in the 2008/9 and 2009/10 seasons.

Last season they finished in 6^th place, 1 below the play offs, however 4^th placed Eastwood Town’s ground wasn’t deemed fit for the Blue Square Premier (the Conference) so they weren’t allowed to compete in the play offs, thus Nuneaton took their place.

They played AFC Telford over two legs. In the home leg they were 1-0 ahead before conceding an injury time equaliser, 1-1 it finished. Then away they let in two early goals, and could only get one back in the 2^nd half, losing it 2-1 on the night and thus losing 3-2 on aggregate. To rub salt in the wounds, AFC Telford went on to win the play off final.

Nuneaton are hoping they can achieve promotion this time round but they’re currently 6^th place, the same place they finished last season. Hyde’s incredible start to the season has put a big gap of 14 points between the two as it stands. Nuneaton’s start to the league season has been LDLWWDLWWWL.

The big difference between the two has been goalscoring. Hyde have conceded 9 and Nuneaton 11, pretty similar, but Nuneaton have only scored 16 compared to Hyde’s 29. A 13 goal difference, and 13 goals is also the amount scored in the opening 11 games by Hyde’s new signing Scott Spencer, unsurprisingly making him the league’s top goalscorer at present. Meanwhile Nuneaton’s top league scorer is Danny Glover on just 3 goals.

A big crowd is expected at Ewen Fields for this one, Nuneaton have a big following anyway and unsurprisingly Hyde’s crowds have begun to rise after their excellent start, plus Hyde are offering half price to Premier League and Championship season ticket holders, students, armed forces and emergency services personnel. Hopefully the standard of the match will meet many people’s high expectations!

Mossley 1 Bamber Bridge 2

Mossley’s run of unbeaten league games came to an end with a dismal home defeat to Bamber Bridge that left many wondering how they’d managed to go 5 games unbeaten before this.

Very little happened in the early stages, a couple of minor half chances for Mossley, and in the 11^th minute Mossley won a corner. A couple of home fans bellowed out encouragement, but they needn’t have bothered as the corner went straight at the first defender.

So why am I reporting that non event you ask? Well because said defender then passed it forward and Bridge counter attacked, with the ball fed through to Ryan Salmon on the left edge of the penalty area. With Pearson the goalkeeper running out to close him down, he slotted it into the bottom right corner to put Bamber Bridge 1-0 ahead.

They followed this with a couple more chances, including a close range header from a corner going just wide of the right hand post.

The teams were matching each other in terms of possession but the difference was that every now and again Bridge would create a decent chance, whilst Mossley weren’t actually creating anything significant and looked lost without on loan Cameron Darkwah, out injured in recent games.

Then in the 24^th minute Lee Rick threaded a through ball to Constantine, who controlled it and rolled it low into the left corner, and out of the blue Mossley were level.

Little happened after this, Bridge had a few shots flying miles over the bar, Danny Queeley headed wide from a corner for Mossley. Then right at the end of the half with both teams seemingly cancelling each other out, an attempted Bamber Bridge cross was blocked by a Mossley defender’s hand on the left edge of the penalty area. As players jostled for position in the penalty area, the free kick was taken short to Alex Porter just outside the left centre of the box. With time and space he blasted the ball low into the right corner of the goal to hand Bamber Bridge a 2-1, with the half time whistle blown soon after.

Mossley fans were hoping for an early response in the second half, and as soon as the half began they attacked, with Kayde Coppin put through one on one with the keeper. He had to score, but instead dragged it wide of the left post, a dreadful miss.

If anyone hoped this quick attack would set the tone for the 2^nd half, they were unfortunately very wrong. There were no more attacks or shots at all for Mossley in the next 40 minutes. None at all. With Bamber Bridge happy to just try to play keep ball when they had it, and then back off and mark up and wait for a mistake to happen when Mossley had it (and many, many mistakes happened), the half descended into a total none event.

Bamber Bridge created a couple of half chances including a close range shot saved by Pearson around the 75^th minute, but in truth they were set up defensively as if expecting an onslaught. And really Mossley should have been taking advantage of this and piling forward, but they just seemed to have lost the ability to string together even simple passes, the ball sailing out for countless throw ins and goal kicks, and a large number of scrappy giveaways.

Bridge really could have taken advantage of this and probably got a couple more goals if they’d have wanted to, but after losing in their 2 previous league games they were obviously just intent on holding on to their lead and not risking anything.

Mossley had one more shot right near the end of the game, substitute Osebi Abadaki getting the ball on the edge of the penalty area – and smashing it high and wide, miles over the bar, miles over the stand behind the goal for that matter. That terrible effort literally was the only attempt Mossley had at all from the 46^th minute onwards. Like I said at the start of this report, it leaves you wondering how exactly they’d managed to put together a 5 game unbeaten league run.

Next up they travel to Brigg Town on Saturday for the FA Trophy preliminary round, in the hope they can put together a cup run in this competition to make up for crashing out 4-0 to lower league Runcorn Linnets in the FA Cup preliminary round. After this performance, it’s looking very unlikely.