Archive for category: BFSFA 2007-08

Music ? Click here

This morning's league table showed three games played and three straight wins for the Saddle FC which represents their best start for many a season.  The three league wins against the Bloomfield Hotel, Brannigans and the Central Club have produced nine points in the league and notably they've found the net on sixteen occasions whilst only conceding three.  A first round bye for Scott Elliott's men in this season's Gledhill set up a second round tie against Claremont Cons who they beat 5-1.  In round 3 they now face an interesting looking match against in-form Waterloo Sports & Social Club FC of Division 3B. 

Last season the club finished in tenth which was a slight improvement on 2005/06 when only the Brun Grove FC stood between them and bottom place.  Defensively, they've not been too bad but have lacked punch upfront.  Last season they averaged just over two per game whilst currently they're averaging over five hence their lofty early season positition.  Could they keep it up?

Not if today's opponents Skye FC had anything to do with it.  Thirteen wins and three draws was good enough for fifth place in Division 3A last season along with a resultant promotion to Division 2B.  The team have got off to a great start in taking seven points from the first nine available.  A narrow opening day victory against the Central Club was followed by an away win at St Annes Ex Service and a 4-4 draw last weekend against the improving Bloomfield Hotel.

Ominously enough, Skye's rugged centre half Rob Livesey was missing. He'd called manager Ali this morning to explain that he had sprained his neck whilst picking up his newborn baby. 

In the first round of the Gledhill they received a tough draw away at Blackpool Catholic Club where they lost 6-4.  Two points behind the Saddle at start of play a win for manager Alasdair Martin's team this morning would have put them top of the table.  Windy but dry at St Annes this morning with rain forecast for early afternoon (They were correct).  The pitch was in a shocking condition.  Like Commonedge these pitches built on sand are rapidly turning to dust – we need that rain. 

Today's referee was Waterloo Hotel FC chairman Chris Giles who kindly agreed to stand in at the last minute.

Skye FC 2007/08

Saddle FC 2007/08

Good agility from referee Giles as he catches my pound coin (I never saw it again).  'Heads it is !'  The Saddle started with the advantage of the strong wind.

Skye keeper Stuart Aspden.

In the above picture the Skye keeper is dejected after being beaten with less than two minutes on the clock.  A long throw wasn't dealt with by the Skye defenders and Saddle centre half Joel Chappell picked up the loose ball, took it on a couple of paces and smashed a deflected shot past Aspden. 0-1.

On six minutes things got worse for the Saddle.  A Lee Sheard corner was headed over the bar by the Skye rearguard.  On the re-take the Saddle got it right as Joel Chappell rose unchallenged to head firmly past Aspden.  0-2.

GOAL !!!! Chappell heads home his second.

22 year old Saddle FC manager Scott Elliott happy with his teams' good start.

Stand-in referee Mr Giles (Not 22). Thanks to Kelvin Dyson for the loan of kit before the game.

Alliance hot-shot, Lee O'Neil.

More Saddle pressure in the opposition box.

On fifteen minutes another Saddle corner had the Skye defenders in a panic but the header skimmed the post and went safely out for a goal kick.  Two minutes later and the Saddle were further ahead.  Striker Craig Davies pounced on the fumblings of a hesitant defender, robbed him on the edge of the box and in the picture below steers it past the adavncing Aspden.  0-3.

A minute later and it was 4-0 as Davies beat the offside trap getting on the end of a neat through ball.  Aspden came out but once again he was beaten.  On twenty minutes it was five as Chris Smith smashed an unstoppable thirty yard drive into the top corner past the flailing hand of Aspden.  Twenty minutes gone and the Skye had caved in.  0-5.

“What are we doing?”

The Skye FC keeper is replaced by Kev McClumskey although few if any of the goals were his fault.  Manager Ali Martin came on at right back in an attempt to steady the ship.

On 24 minutes a quickly taken free Skye free kick led to Lee O'Neill being sent clean through one on one with the keeper.  There was only going to be one outcome.  In the picture below O'Neill scores past Saddle keeper Steven 'Goldberg' Coles. 1-5.

O'Neill scores in the far corner.

Steven Coles (Ex Claremont Cons) the new Saddle keeper.

The only bad challenge in the game sees the Skye player down.

Lee O'Neill's goal didn't provide his team with respite for too long.  On the half hour another Lee Sheard corner again found the head of Joel Chappell and the big man had his hat trick.  The Skye defenders simply couldn't cope with his imposing presence.  1-6.

Two minutes later and a long throw into the Skye box by Ben Berry was flapped at by McClumskey who didn't deal with it.  Chris Smith did as he knocked it in at the far post for his second of the match.  1-7.

Drive slowly captain

Skye FC player manager Alasdair Martin.

Mr & Mrs Begg out watching son Daniel captain the Saddle FC.

Half time score :  Skye FC 1 – 7 Saddle FC

It was wise to take a picture of Ali's animated team talk on maximum zoom.  The St Annes residents had to close the windows on hearing Ali's thoughts on a shocking first half display.

Skye FC secretary Karen wisely keeps out of the way.

Joel Chappell (Right)

Skye striker Rab Moore unhappy blaming a team mate for not reading his misplaced pass.

Skye FC now had the advantage of the wind and for twenty minutes thay improved somewhat.  However, they failed to pressurise their opponent's keeper in the same way the Saddle had done in the first half from dead ball positions.

Skye manager Ali Martin searching for the ball in the shrubbery.  “Where's that ****** ball?”

Found it!

On 64 minutes Lee O'Neil evaded a clumsy challenge on the edge of the box, raced clear and then stood on the ball and tripped.  Referee Giles saw nothing wrong with either incident and waved play on.  The ball went down the other end and more woeful defending again saw the last defender robbed as he dawdled on the ball.  The Saddle player tried to evade the keeper but he was clearly barged over.  Penalty and controversy.

“Don't walk away from me ya eedyiot whilst I'm berating ya” screams Skye manager Martin but his complaints about inconsistency with the O'Neill incident were waved away.

“I'm not listening.”

Somewhere in there Chris 'Ginger' Smith converts the spot-kick for his hat-trick.

Tom Hole.

Three minutes later and Saddle scored yet again.  A good move this one.  Ben Berry played in substitute Tom Hole and he shot across keeper McClumskey into the far corner.  1-9.

Michael Kershaw not happy at being subbed churlishly refusing to shake hands with his replacement.

Jet 2 – Skye 0

The Saddle were pushing hard for double figures and Skye were battling in equal measures to avoid the humiliation.  In the picture below a Saddle chance looked to have crossed the line but it was cleared away.  Only Ali knows if it was in or not as he's in the best position.  It looked over to me but referee Giles waved play on.

Is it in?  Ali's on the post and looking behind him.  10 says it must be 10 but referee Giles, without the aid of goal-line technology, says 'no'.

Saddle skipper Danny Begg.

In the dying minutes Rab Moore scored another consolation for Skye.  A fine goal from distance that keeper Coles got nowhere near. 2-9.

Keeper Goldberg fishes out Rab's piledriver from the back of the net and splits his shorts in the process.

Final score :  Skye FC 2 – 9 Saddle FC

A miserable defeat then for Skye as they were beaten for the first time this season in the league.  A terrible start saw them down and out as they went 5-0 behind after only twenty minutes.  The midfield were non-existent for most of the match as the strikers were starved of any decent delivery of note.  The defenders were frankly poor at dealing with set-pieces.  If there is one consolation for Ali from this morning's mauling is that seven of the goals were as a result of bad defending.  They completely failed to deal with the aerial threat of the Saddle and gave away the ball twice on the edge of their own box.  At least these errors can be addressed and worked upon.

The Saddle were excellent this morning.  There's little difference in personnel from last season.  They don't have any real 'stars' but they're a hard working bunch who play for each other and who are clearly enjoying the winning habit.  Man of the Match Joel Chappell was awesome throughout.  He had Moore and O'Neill in his pocket for most of the match at one end whilst remaining a permanent aerial threat at the other end and his three goals were well deserved.  The Saddle still have some very good teams to play in Division 2B but I expect them to be challenging come next April.

Hat trick heroes Joel Chappell and Chris Smith fight for the match ball.

Oliver Chappell 'well chuffed' (Extremely proud), of dad Joel's great performance this morning.

Sportspy 2007/08

bfsfa.com/fyldesport

Music ? Click here

Although we're already a month into the new Sunday football season Northern Care FC have only had ninety minutes of competitive football.  It was an important ninety minutes nevertheless as manager Gary Collings' side travelled to play Highfield Social FC on the opening day of the season and came away with a well-earned three points following a 4-1 victory.

Northern Care FC changed their name during the close season from the Clarence FC.  They also picked up quite a few very good players from last season's Arcadian FC who folded.  First day opponents Highfield Social had undertaken a similar transformation with last season's Cahoots FC.  It's a difficult job to integrate good players into well established squads.  Victory in that opening game would have helped settle things down and speed up the integration whilst a bad defeat would have the opposite effect and so it proved.

Northern Care were due to play last week in the 2nd Round of this season's Gledhill Cup but opponents Real Kingsfield failed to raise a squad and therefore forfeited the game.  Northern strolled into Round 3 without playing a game but once again they've drawn rivals Quilligans so unless they play to their full potential they'll be out very quickly.  They also have a Lancashire Sunday Trophy game away against the mysterious 'Bay Horse FC' although at the time of writing I'm unsure of their geographical location.

Northern's opponents today were Premier Division new boys Progress Property Management FC.  They're starting only their third season in the Alliance but they're already playing amongst the elite of Fylde Coast Sunday football.  After winning consecutive titles in 3B (2005/06) and 2B (2006/07) they accepted the league's invitation to skip Division 1 and move up into the Prem.

Phil Brown's men have had a difficult start.  Three home defeats in league and Cup on their own ground have left them close to the bottom of the table and out of the Gledhill Cup.  Last week's defeat to Division 2B's Pulcinellas FC was particularly disappointing even after considering their opponent's emphatic good start to the season.

A solitary point away against the Golden Eagle is all they have to show so far for their early season efforts.  Today would be another step on the steep learning curve against some of the Alliance's best players.  Despite these early season setbacks morale in the camp still appears to be good and they seem to be enjoying the challenge of the top flight.

The glorious weather conditions of early morning had given way to cloud and a strengthening breeze.  Still, good conditions both on and above ground this morning at Cottam Hall.  Top referee Ian Rose was in charge of proceedings and a sharp blast of his whistle got the game punctually underway with Progress Property in the black strip kicking off towards the road.

Progress Property Management FC 2007/08.

Northern Care FC 2007/08

Luke Rimmington kicks off for Progress.

After only one minute of the game we had our first goal. Ben Aspin did well to put over a deep cross to the far post whilst under pressure and unmarked at the far post was Ben Shaw to fire a first time volley off the the near post past Cook.  Great finish.  1-0.

Progress keeper Tim Kilpatrick.

Ben Waddington.

Lewis Cook.

Good to see referee Ian Rose back in action this morning.

On 8 minutes Northern equalised.  Progress conceded a silly free-kick following a push in the back about 25 yards out in a central position.  Dave Cram executed it perfectly as his left footed effort bent away from the flapping keeper into the top corner.  1-1.

The Progress wall made irrelevant by Cram's accuracy.

Encouragement from Terry Green.

Barney Woolcock

One of the very few unpleasant incidents in the game.

On twenty minutes there was a key moment in the match.  A Northern player was fouled close to the touchline on the edge of the box and referee Rose immediately awarded a free kick.  Northern' Ben Waddington got up and kicked his opponent right under the nose of Rose.  The Progress player squared up to him and the ref stepped in.  Yellow card for the Progress player and a deserved straight red for Waddington.

'Off you go'

Due to extra time at Wrens yesterday I only caught the last twenty minutes of Mechs' 4-0 win over Eccleshall but Waddington had most of the ball and played well for the home side. His indiscipline this morning spoilt his weekend and robbed him of seventy minutes participation in a good game of football.

Down to ten men and Gaz Collings is forced into a rethink.

Daz Dickinson.

On 28 minutes Dave Cram (11) glances a header inches wide.

Marvin Wood.

Northern keeper Jamie Cook who's also in good form for Blackpool Mechanics early season.

Progress were still knocking it about well and causing their opponents problems.  On 33 minutes Northern allowed a free header that just went over.  PPM were keeping Cook busy and were unlucky not to retake the lead.

On thirty-five minutes Cram was sent clean through against the keeper but his lob bounced back off a post before being cleared away. 

Just before the interval Northern Care went ahead with a Micky Horsfall special.  The ball was played across to Scott Waters on the edge of the opposition area and he was encouraged to shoot by his team mates.  He was blocked off so he cleverly brought the ball back and showed good composure as he played a short pass to Horsfall.  The Kirkham star sold a couple of dummies, sent the crowd and the defenders the wrong way, eluded a couple of challenges with quick feet before steering it left footed low past Kilpatrick.  Great to watch.  1-2.

The defenders go dizzy as Horsfall (Out of picture) puts Northern ahead.

Quality effort.

Half time score :  Progress Property Management FC 1 – 2 Northern care FC

Northern get the second half underway.

James Graham

After the dress rehearsal on 35 minutes Cram was sent clear again by a Horsfall pass.  Once again the striker won the race to the ball but this time the resultant lob found the back of the net.  49 minutes gone and Northern 3-1 ahead.

Cram beats the keeper to Horfall's through ball.

The Progress defender can do nothing to stop the ball crossing the line.

During the goal celebrations Cram was clawed by one of his enthusiastic team-mates but the magic spray quickly had him back on his feet.

On 53 minutes it was game over as Northern scored a fourth.  A good break down the right ended up with a looping pass from Horsfall to Waters.  It was a tight angle but the forward showed patience and great skill as he smashed the dropping ball across the keeper and into the far corner. 1 – 4

Waters is congratulated by Wood.

“Are you ready then?”  Collings gives Andy Hill the nod to come on.

On 68 minutes Northern further increased their lead with another great goal.  It was mostly down to Andy Hill who'd replaced Waters up front.  The ball was played to Hill down the right channel and he held it up well.  Despite having to men on him he looked up and played a great pass through the legs of the defender for Wood.  He took it on and played it across to Cram on the other side of the box.  You have to admire Wood's optimism as he carried on his run into the box and requested a return pass from Cram.  No chance Marvin!  On a hat-trick Cram took it inside the defender and smashed it into the back of the net.  1-5.

Cram's third gives the keeper no hope.

Despite the advers scoreline there was no panic from PPM.  Two minutes later Barney Woolcock pulled a goal back as he was left unmarked from a Mike Pearce corner.  2-5. 

A minute later the homeside threatened again as a decent effort thundered against the post.

The aftermath of Woolcock's goal.

On 74 minutes Northern created another good break upfield and the keeper pulled off a good save from Hill.  Three minutes later and the same player correctly had a goal ruled out by the offside flag.

On 76 minutes Hill's efforts were finally rewarded as he beat the keeper to a throughball and lifted it over the keeper.  A last ditch effort by a PPM defender failed as referee Rose adjudged it to have crossed the line.  2-6.

Andy Hill on the scoresheet this morning.

PPM were still not finished.  On 85 minutes Ben Shaw was allowed to run unchallenged through midfield.  He fired of a ferocious 30 yard effort that swerved and dipped viviously in the air before flying past the bemused Cook.  3-6.

With time running out we had yet another goal.  The ball broke loosely for Cram in the PPM box and he made no mistake as he lashed it past Kilpatrick for his fourth of the game.

Cram (Right) scores again although Hill (Clearly offside) claimed he got an all important touch.

Final score :  Progress Property Management FC 3 – 7 Northern Care FC.

This match turned out to be a great game to watch.  Ten goals and lots of incident.  Many of the strikes were of the highest quality.  Northern looked very good this morning despite playing seventy minutes with only ten men.  The Arcadian players looked to have settled into the squad very quickly.

Cram was excellent and showed deadly finishing when adding his four goals to the one he scored for Mechs yesterday.  The tough training regime is clearly paying off as he looked to be both sharp and in great shape, (But still moaning).  A very good performance also from Marvin Wood.  With Horsfall and Green in midfield and down to ten men he had a lot of work to do but for ninety minutes he was tenacious in the tackle, closing players down and motoring up and down the pitch.  One to watch if he can time his tackles and curb his aggression.   Andy Hill also played very well when he came on for Scott Waters.

Lots of top performances from Northern players today.  They all played well but of I was to pick fault they lost too many headers at the back and all too often keeper Cook was left to save the day, especially in the first half.  The better teams will punish similar lapses in concentration.  However, overall they were very impressive and a top three place looks to be achievable.

As for PPM I thought they played fairly well even though they got beat 7-3.  Throughout the 90 minutes they played good football on the deck with patient build up from the back.  Most impressively there wasn't one argument or cross word amongst the lot of them.  They were up against one of the best sides in the Alliance this morning which contained half a dozen in-form Blackpool Mechanics FC players.

Generally, they equipped themselves well and displayed a great attitude.  They'll need to maintain this team spirit and togetherness during what may prove to be a long and challenging season ahead.  The game was very well officiated by Ian Rose but there wasn't one bad tackle in the whole game.

Four goal Cram (Left) and the hard working Wood the pick of the bunch for Northern today.

Sportspy 2007/08

bfsfa.com/fyldesport

Off to Moor Park then to watch the embryonic top of the table clash between Division 3B outfits Uncle Toms Cabin and The Burlington.  Although having played a game more than todays opponents, Uncle Toms currently top the Division with The Burlington a point behind.  Last season was perhaps one to forget for Uncle Toms with only Staining CES Electrical below them in the BFSFA charts.  They only managed 3 wins all season, accumulating a disappointing 11 points and conceding an incredible 145 goals over their 26 games.  A somewhat different story for The Burlington finishing just above mid-table winning 12 of their 26 games and accumulating a respectable 42 points.  So, if Uncle Toms could emulate last season's “run-in” form, against a team who Sportspy tips for a top 4 finish, we should be in for a good game.

The Burlington FC

Uncle Toms Cabin FC

Uncle Toms got the game underway on a decent pitch with the wind at their backs.  We didn't have to wait long for the first goal when a foul by the Burlington on the edge of their area saw Kelly curl a peach of a free kick round the wall and into the net on 5 minutes.

Two minutes later Uncle Toms were two to the good, a ball into the Burlington area was only half headed clear, the ball fell to Fairnie and he made no mistake slamming the ball right into the corner.

Almost from the restart, it was more misery for the Burlington when a cross come shot from Barlow found the net after good work down the right flank – only Barlow can say if he meant it or not!  Inside 10 minutes the Burlington manager was already cursing me saying I had brought them bad luck, and that they hadn't conceded this many goals in a short space of time for years!  Worse was to come.

Burlington had had the wind knocked out of them and struggled to get going, but went close to reducing the arrears when Coppock flashed a shot inches past the post.  Gill also went close after a long punt upfield from his keeper, but failed to hit the target.

Uncle Toms were playing some good stuff, and limiting the Burlington to the occasional long ball tatics, and shots from distance.  However, as the half wore on the Burington began to have a half decent spell.  A good turn and run by Coppock ended with him laying the ball off for Saxon who blasted just over.

Uncle Toms nearly made it 4-0, when the Burlington keeper didn't come to collect, but he redeemed himself with a smart save with his legs, as the shot from the rebound headed goalwards.  The Burlington responded with a couple of efforts, the best of those a curling shot from Coppock but again it was wide of the mark.  Uncle Toms finally made it four with 10 minutes or so of the half remaining.  A long ball found Kelly lurking in the Burlington final third.  He picked the ball up ran goalward, drew the keeper and finished with aplomb with a delightful chip.

The Burlington were still trying to get back into the game, and nearly opened their account when Sherwood blasted just over from a short corner.  With five minutes remaining Uncle Toms made it five, Kiernie latched onto a poor back pass and made no mistake.

The Burlington did finally open their account just before the break, when Swift muscled his way into the Uncle Toms area and slotted home well.

Half-time 5-1.

The Burlington were hoping to redress the balance now that they had a fairly strong wind at their backs for the second period.  The half started brightly for them, and within seven minutes of the restart they had pulled a goal back.  A good ball found Coppock in space in the Uncle Toms area, his initial shot was saved, but he made no mistake from the rebound heading home.

Uncle Toms soon restored parity with Kelly completing his hatrick with a deft finish from a good through ball.  After scoring seven last week the Burlington were about to concede seven, when Kelly got his fourth picking up a rebound from an initial shot from Fairnie.  His yellow Nike's were on fire.

This was too much for the Burlington manager as he donned a kit to try and help his troops.  Things seemed to improve for a while with a couple of good efforts on goal, one forcing an excellent save from the Uncle Toms keeper, tipping it onto the bar for a corner.  The resulting corner was taken quick to the manager, who beat his man and found Saxon who in turn found the gap and prodded home to reduce the arrears once more.

It was shortlived though when Stone made it 8-3 to Uncle Toms, the Burlington defence failing to clear when they had numerous chances to do so, and he slotted home.

The Burlington were not dead and buried yet, and pulled another back when a well delivered corner found the 42 years young Donald Hasson, whose bullet header breached the Uncle Tom's net.  Soon after it was 8-5 when Buchanan – probably the smallest player on the pitch rose unchallenged to head home.

The scoring wasn't finished though, and just before the final whistle, Uncle Toms caught the Burlington on the break, when they missed a chance to make it 8-6.  Holdsworth collected the ball and after a good run curled the ball into the bottom corner to complete the rout.

Final score – Uncle Toms Cabin 9 The Burlington 5

As a neutral it was a great game to watch with plenty of goals, and from the performance today you wonder why Uncle Toms finished second from the bottom of the whole Alliance last season.  To be fair their improvement is probably down to the shrewd acquisitions they have made, and I suspect that the Burlington may have underestimated them a little given their league position last season.

There were several good performances today, but for me Kelly stood out, if only for his clinical finishing.  He was calm and composed in front of goal and took his chances well, and there is no reason why he can't play at a higher level on his performance today.  If Uncle Toms play like this every week then they will be nearer the top of the league than the bottom – but it is along season.  The Burlington will be disappointed with their performance today, and they will cite that they had players missing etc., but you can only beat what is put in front of you.  They showed good fighting spirit towards the end to make the score more respectable, and can hopefully build on that.

Overall an excellent game with more goals than any other BFSFA match today.  You'll be glad to know that Sportspy will be back next Sunday, so normal service will be resumed.