A not so funny old game (part 2)

Saturday 1st September
CML North
Harworth Colliery Institute 1 Easington United 1

The men in the middle of it all

 

The Thursday after the Bank Holiday win over Westella, our third in three games thus far.  It’s tea-time and in time-honoured tradition I’m reliving the game through the pages of the Holderness Gazette (even though I write the reports, it’s always reassuring to see them appear in print...as sent).  As soon as this is done, I’ll be strolling down to the Farm to catch the reserves latest friendly.  They’re playing a “Withernsea XI” and any match between teams from our two clubs is usually worth a watch.

The phone rings.  It’s First Team boss ‘Sumo’.  I listen to what he has to say before uttering the only reply that comes into my head: “You’re f______g joking!”

He wasn’t.
By the time I got down to the ground, it quickly became apparent that the subject of the phone call was also the topic of conversation among several people down there.  And my obvious surprise was being mirrored by plenty of others – on both sides of the Easington-Withernsea divide.
Cause of all this debate was 18-year-old Nige Newton, skipper and top scorer of the Seasiders’ first team last season, who had made “the move” down to us in the summer.  For reasons known only unto him – we’ve since had three or four offered our way – the player had decided to return to his former club.  He announced his decision in a tea-time text to his manager.  Hence the phone call I’d received.
The Sumo’s mood was further darkened by news of injuries affecting Jimmy Dawson and the Skipper, ruling both out of Saturday’s trip to leaders Harworth.
A comfortable 7-1 win for the Stiffs brightened the atmosphere a little, as did the Great Newsome Aleympic Gold being served for a pound a pint in The Granby.  I returned home in better form than I’d left.

A touch away

I turned down a place on The Pistol’s Express in favour of accompanying the manager for the trip down to Bircotes two days later.  And despite the loss of three hitherto key players, the Sumo was in positive frame of mind.  His mood on the way back would be in stark contrast.
Scrooby Road looked a much more pleasant venue this time round than it had done on our most recent visit in April.  On that occasion, a local cup final played six days earlier and a week of wet weather in-between had left the pitch looking fairly sorry for itself.  It’s amazing what a touch of September sunshine can do…even if it still wasn’t the greatest underfoot according to most of the lads.
Rob Waite, author of The 66 POW blog, is someone I hold in high regard for his undoubted love of the game at all levels (and the fact he’s a Jambo).  As he has already posted on the aforementioned site, it’s difficult to really write an account of this game without the events of the last five minutes rendering most of it irrelevant.
To summarise, after a bright opening spell we were second-best by some margin up to the break and lucky to come off at nil-nil.  Cue one of The Sumo’s legendary half-time “pep talks”, which this week included the memorable line “You’s all got heads full of mad dog shite”.  Well, it did prompt a better second half display.
We took the lead on 53mins, albeit in somewhat fortuitous fashion – Wilky’s knock-back of a Frosty cross being met by a diving Eli who, he later admitted, headed home via his outstretched arm.  This latter fact was missed by the referee’s assistant and the man in the middle but not by the goalkeeper and several defenders.  The goal was given. 

Getting away with it...

I'm not disputing we got lucky with this.  But where I would take issue with some of the comments I’ve since read is (a) the contact with Eli’s arm can in no way be likened to either Maradona’s “Hand of God” nor Henry’s winner against Ireland and (b) I certainly never saw Eli “gloating” in front of a Harworth Committee member.  And, as has been pointed out several times since, such incidents tend to even themselves out over the course of the season.  Doesn't make it right I know but...anyway.
A goal up, we increasingly took charge of proceedings.  Indeed, one of the most pleasing things about the current squad would appear to be our resilience – especially when we’ve got our noses in front.  As such, I remained quietly confident we’d see the game through.
And we were well on course to with just over five minutes left when Harworth’s Tom Walker was seemingly pole-axed by an attempted clearance from Tom McLaughlin.   I reported what followed on the club website:
 

“As he lay motionless, McLaughlin urged Fitzgerald to find touch.  With the ball launched downfield the referee blew so as to enable Walker to receive attention – which, as it happened, he didn’t require.

Restarting play with a drop ball just inside the Easington half, referee Rees ordered Thurkettle not to contest it and, in fairness, the Harworth management were heard to instruct sub Tom Padgett to “give the ball back”.  But, whether by intent or not, the youngster instead found the net, lobbing the waiting Holden perfectly from 40 yards.
Some of the home party celebrated while the visitors raged.  Everyone looked to the referee who, after consulting his assistant, awarded the goal – wrongly as it later transpired; play should have restarted with a goal kick.
It was now that the visiting management urged their counterparts to allow an unopposed goal to be scored at the other end to make amends for what they saw as a gross injustice.  For whatever reason, the hosts were not inclined to do so and the game ended a few minutes later amid scenes of acrimony.”

At the final whistle some of the players and The Sumo himself took some convincing to retire to the clubhouse for the post-match spread.  Thankfully, all did and Sean joined me in conversation with the aforementioned Mr Waite.
Unfortunately, the manager was in no mood to hang around and so having downed a pint quicker than would otherwise have been preferred (it was only Stones Smoothflow but cheers Rob anyway!) I was in his car heading for the M18 and home.  He wasn’t in the chattiest mood on that particular journey.
On leaving the clubhouse, the Harworth secretary Simon Stones had stopped me to apologise and express his manager’s disappointment at what had gone on.
This was followed in the early hours of Sunday morning (4.22am was the time on the email) by an official letter from Harworth Chairman (& asst-mgr) Jonathon Wilson.  I appreciated this.  It was a small gesture but also I feel a genuine attempt by our opponents to begin building bridges.  Perhaps it came a touch too soon.  Emotions were still raw.
Indeed a month on, some players’ feelings towards the incident have mellowed little.  I suspect the Sumo too still feels very aggrieved; not least in view of the fact that since the Harworth game his team’s form has dipped with successive defeats at the hands of Ollerton and Kiveton.  Rest assured it'll be some time yet before I venture to suggest to him that football’s a funny old game.

A full match report with more of Burt Graham's pictures can be found here.
Rob Waite's account of the game can be found here.
 

Too Good To Miss...Oh!

No.1: Robbie Hunt v Westella Hanson (Monday, 27th August)



 

Thanks to Burt Graham for capturing this (in)glorious moment in the development of young Robbie.

A not so funny old game (part 1)

Monday 27th August

 CML North

Easington United 2 Westella Hanson 0

 

 

On Saturday 19th May 2012, in the final game of the season, Westella & Willerby beat Glapwell 4-1 at Dene Park to clinch the Central Midlands League North Division championship.

It was probably the finest moment in this ambitious club’s long history and should have signalled the start of another new era.  It didn’t.

Instead ‘Ella’ were to suffer a triple-whammy: refusal of their application for promotion to the Northern Counties East League; loss of their manager and assistant-manager; and the subsequent departure of the bulk of the title-winning squad who decided to follow their departed boss to his new club.  Talk about winning coming at a cost.

Thankfully, Westella & Willerby AFC is a club built on sound foundations.  A club that operates 22 teams and boasts the coveted FA Charter Standard Community Club status is better prepared than most to take whatever blows come its way.

The club is also blessed with good people within its ranks.  One of these is Ian Gray, previously Director of Football and now – thanks in no small part to his own willingness to stand up and be counted – “caretaker” First Team manager.

Having agreed to “help out” just prior to a fortnight’s holiday, Ian returned to find a decimated squad and with little time to do anything about it.  Pre-season was, in his own words, “a non-event”.  Having seen eight players depart the squad, all but one for NCEL side Hall Road Rangers, the boss then lost striker Matt Fyvie down the same route on the eve of the season’s opener…at red hot title favourites AFC Mansfield.

The pedigree of players available at Hill Top (despite playing their first team games at Bishop Burton, their HQ remains the former De la Pole Hospital complex in Cottingham) showed itself in a battling performance that could have yielded more than the 3-1 defeat it got.

More signs that all is not lost for the season came the following week when Ella made a mockery of Clay Cross Town’s unblemished start to the season with a fine win at the aforementioned Bishop Burton College.

 



That was on the Saturday of Bank Holiday weekend.  We didn’t play that day due to Wilky Woo’s wedding to the lovely Megan, an event attended by several members of the club’s management and players.

The upside of this inactivity was that the lads came in fresh for the Monday meeting; the downside being that given the wedding day was followed by a holiday Sunday there was even greater scope for getting completely bladdered!

My bank holiday weekend had also included watching the Casuals wind up their pre-season schedule on the Saturday afternoon with a 5-3 win over Amateur League side Waterloo FC.  It was played on a cloudy but warm afternoon.  Meanwhile, not thirty miles away, Bransholme North Point shopping centre was reportedly being evacuated due to torrential rain.

Thankfully, such torrents didn’t affect Mr & Mrs Wilkinson’s big day…unless of course you include the tears of laughter at the best man’s speech?!

Sunday brought with it the annual Bogey Race at the Youth Club.  Ten teams lined up at the start, among them our “Easington 2012 Oldympics” quartet of Chairman, Head Groundsman (Rtd), First Team Manager and me.

Last year our “Grumpy Old Men” team had narrowly missed out on a podium finish (or so we like to think) but had come up trumps in the “Best Dressed Bogey” category.  This time we were hoping to score on both boards…

We finished outside the top three.  On both.  I was on the verge of requesting a Stewards’ Inquiry knowing we’d not only answered all the required questions on the sheet but had also collected en route everything required of us (okay, so we may have topped up the “sea water” with some from a tap but you’re not telling me the judges knew that). 
In addition, despite having considerable weight in our party as well as two members of limited mobility (steady!) we hadn’t done too badly time-wise.  Indeed I can only recall one team actually passing us (eventually evading our best attempts to prevent such a manoeuvre, which were straight out of Ben Hur). 
In short, we wuz robbed.

Built for comfort not speed



I didn’t have as bad a head as anticipated come match day morning.  This despite Sunday’s copious amounts of Tetley Cask and Old Speckled Hen in the village hostelries, followed by a fine pint or three of Timothy Taylor Landlord that accompanied tea at The Crown & Anchor in Kilnsea.  Oh, and a bottled Golden Pippin nightcap on our return home.

If Sunday's weather was almost perfect for such fun-filled activity, Bank Holiday Monday’s came as a blessing for the players.  It was cloudier and cooler but without the strong winds that can so often ruin games at the Farm.

Ahead of kick-off I managed a catch-up with David Bond, one-time Hull City reporter for the Hull Daily Mail and secretary of the Ex-Tigers Association.  He also has close links with today's opponents and was here in the capacity of "Asst-Mgr" - a role that would now appear to be filled on a week-to-week basis by whoever the caretaker boss can drag in!

Despite all that has gone on, one thing you can guarantee from a game against any Westella side is that they will be well-drilled and have a decent amount of footballing ability.  And in spite of the summer exodus, their team sheet still looked pretty useful.

It was perhaps a good thing then that we began like a train and during the first 45 minutes played some of our best football to date.

Our reward came via Fitzy's third goal of the season, a 20-yard effort that keeper Watson might perhaps have done better with (or am I being harsh?).

 

1-0. Well, should he have saved it?

 

If the first half showed off the "fluid" side of Sumo's new system, then the display after the break was full of the traditional backs-to-the wall Easington spirit that has accompanied the club's rise in recent times.

Ella enjoyed plenty of possession and plenty of territory but were unable to really make inroads into a stubborn home rearguard - save for one moment at a corner when Joe Clement cleverly made room for himself but lifted the ball over from six yards out.

As the visitors grew more desperate, we began to sense success on the counter. 

With two minutes to go Robbie should have killed the game but instead produced a miss of the season contender that is going to be hard to beat!

Thankfully it wasn't to matter.  some patient build-up culminated in Willo's excellent ball and Fitzy's fine finish to complete a 2-0 win.

Afterwards I sympathised with Ian's view that a second half equaliser was perhaps something they were deserving of; and that had it come they may well have gone on to win the game.  I didn't add that the consensus among our players was that Ella were easily the best team we've played this season.  Somehow, I get the feeling that sympathy and empty platitudes are not what the reigning champions require right now.  Try telling them "it's a funny old game".

 

2-0. Nowt he could have done about that one!

A full match report (with pictures) can be found here.

Thanks to Burt Graham for the majority of pics used with this piece.  Credit for the Bogey Race shot must go to The Ryvita Man - Voice of the NWRS Supporters Club.
For those wondering, the name Westella Hanson has come about following a sponsorship deal with a well known electrical firm.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it...