The pain of it all

Saturday 15th September

CML North

Kiveton Park 2 Easington United 0

 

Unable to be in two places at once, I missed my first CML game of the season when the First Team travelled to Hard Lane, Kiveton.  Traditionally (if three previous visits warrants use of such a term) one of our happier hunting grounds, on this occasion it was anything but – as the face of asst-manager Andy G clearly illustrates.

 

A match report of sorts, along with Burt's photographs, can be found here.

Deano's day on the Farm

Saturday 15th September

ERCL Division 1

Easington United Reserves 2 Walkington 2

ERCL Division 4

Easington United Casuals 2 Kings Head Hedon 2

 

This was the day Dean Windass finally made his Low Farm debut.  How he must have longed for this occasion, ever since he was forced to withdraw from an Ex-Tigers game here a couple of years back due to “other commitments”.  Let’s face it, what else is there for you to achieve in football when you’ve scored the winning goal for your hometown club at Wembley, the “Sixty Million Pound Goal” that secures top flight football for the first time in their history?  Why, to play at The Farm Of Dreams of course.  And this he did.  For Walkington.

Yes, Walkington.  Formerly The Barrel Walkington thanks to the sponsorship of a local hostelry, the club from the picturesque village once famous for Ernie Teal and his Hayride now boasts one of Hull City’s favourite sons in its ranks.  And, if rumour is to be believed, Mr Windass will soon be (or already has been) joined therein by a certain Bryan Hughes and Ian Ashbee.  Wow!

The pull this Division 1 club has over such luminaries probably comes down to their manager.  Leigh Palin was one of the first players I can recall interviewing for City fanzine ‘From Hull To Eternity’.  It was conducted in the old Sherlock Holmes pub on Baker Street, which perhaps tells you all you need to know.  Leigh Palin – gifted footballer, amiable chap, ale-cart and a man currently reassembling a midfield good enough to grace the Championship…in Walkington.

Deano’s anticipated appearance had helped swell the Low Farm attendance to 62.  This was almost three times last season’s average for Reserves games and bigger than many CML gates.  It helped give the game a real sense of importance.

Both sides had opened with a win.  The Stiffs had triumphed 3-1 at Hodgsons Reserves despite Gav taking just the bare eleven to Beverley.  Meanwhile, Walkington had begun with an impressive looking 4-1 win over Wawne United Reserves.  It looked a decent game on paper.

One-nil down, two-one up!

And so it proved.  Both sides looked to get the ball down and play, with Deano orchestrating things for the visitors without ever really having to leave the centre-circle.  It must be terrific to be a youngster in the Walkington ranks at the moment.  Coached by one of the few gems of City’s Dolan Era and with another one playing – and encouraging – alongside you, there’s little wonder they appeared a confident bunch.

Still, we had the better early openings and Karl Hodgson passed up one excellent chance before Walkington took a first half lead, which they held to the break.

At half-time I wandered across the Ditch to catch some of the Casuals’ action.  Due to no referee being appointed, this game had kicked off several minutes later than the “main feature” and had almost ten minutes to run to the break.

On arrival, we appeared to be in the ascendancy although I soon learnt we were actually a goal down.  “Their keeper’s made two or three cracking saves”, said new signing Damon Ellis’s granddad – one of this season’s bright young hopes at Third team level…Damon of course, not his granddad!

“He is but ‘e needs to fill out a bit” was the older man’s view when asked if his grandson was enjoying it.  For today’s game he had the physical presence of Shane Keyworth alongside him to help counter a team that could play football but could also resort to other means if required.

I returned to the main pitch during half-time with the Hedon side still ahead.

The second half of the Reserves game began with the locals on the front foot and they deservedly levelled when the player/manager’s free-kick somehow found its way into the Walkington net.

Things got better.  A poor back-header was seized upon by Frosty who proceeded to round the keeper and slot home for 2-1.

Within the next ten minutes the game could have been settled.  Thommo saw one effort saved, Sam Gatti fired wide and Stu saw one cleared off the line.  I think we knew what was coming.

In fairness Walkington had also passed up a couple of decent chances before, with just three minutes left, Mr Windass delivered a corner which wasn’t dealt with and the ball was lashed home for 2-2.

Don't you just hate it when that happens...

Across the ditch, two late Shane Keyworth goals salvaged a point for the Casuals from two down to mirror the Reserves’ result.  I think both Gav and DC would’ve taken that at start of play.

 

A full report and Craig Stephenson's pictures can be found here.

Too Good To Miss…Oh!

No. 2: Chris Frost v Ollerton Town (Saturday 8th September)

 

 

Thanks again go to Burt Graham for capturing a moment to savour for another member of our squad! 

Downed

Saturday 8th September

CML North

Easington United 2 Ollerton Town 3
 

What always looked a tough month when the fixtures were released continued with the visit of Ollerton to the Farm.

The Nottinghamshire side had enjoyed something of a revival under new manager Dave Winter towards the back end of last season and they’d carried this form into the current campaign.

They arrived on the Humber Riviera boasting four wins out of four, albeit this record may well have been punctured had their floodlights not packed up during the home game against AFC Mansfield with the visitors leading 2-0 at the time.

Plenty had been said and written about this incident in its immediate aftermath and some of the accusations levelled by members of the Mansfield club clearly still rankled judging by my pre-match conversations with several of the visiting committee.

 

This was our first game “post-Newton” and The Sumo’s problems were further exacerbated by the continuing absence of Jimmy D and Frosty’s arrival clearly the worse for an extended session the night before.

At this level you always get shown up for such lapses and in addition to some woeful attempts to control the ball first half, Frosty’s comeuppance came midway through the first half.

Having worked hard to cancel out Munson's opener for Ollerton, thanks to Neilo’s header from another delicious Tom Mc set-piece, we looked certain to take the lead when Neilo showed a rare turn of pace to leave the defence trailing in his wake down the left.  Looking up he picked out the arriving Frosty perfectly only for the ball’s recipient to…well, the next blog post “tells” what happened next more accurately than I can!

 

I’ve posted before how hard a side we are to break down when we’ve got our noses in front and who knows how this game may have panned out had we held a 2-1 lead into the interval and beyond.

Instead, it was the visitors who took control with two goals in a five-minute spell midway through the second half.  The first owed plenty to some wonderful skill from Easom; the second to some careless defending on our part.

Had it not been for Charlie we may well have been buried on the back of these two goals.  As it was we rallied and got ourselves back in it when another McLaughlin delivery picked out Eli for 2-3.  Game on…

In the dying moments we were to suffer two major setbacks.  First was the raising of the assistant’s flag that denied Eli the equaliser from another set-piece.  But it was the second that would have the more long-term repercussions – Sam Mc taking an awkward tumble while helping avert a fourth Ollerton goal on the counter and sustaining a broken wrist in the process.  The manager had lost his “talisman”…for up to eight weeks.  Ouch!

An official report of the game, along with a full set of Burt Graham's photographs, can be found here.
Ollerton's own report can be found here. 

 

A fitting finale

Monday 3rd September

Barney Moverley Memorial

Easington United Reserves 6 Roos 2

 

Thankfully, given the controversy of the trip to Harworth, I didn’t have too long to wait for my next football “fix”, with the Stiffs entertaining fellow East Riding County League side Roos in the Barney Moverley Memorial Trophy game.

The “Barney Game” – as it’s commonly called – is an annual fixture played in memory for former Youth Leader, Councillor and well-known local personality Barney Moverley. 
It is now in its seventh year, quite an achievement given the way so many of these “memorial” fixtures seem to disappear off the calendar in a relatively short passage of time.  

It must be said, however, that it was an achievement to get it played this year given that opponents Roos – currently plying their trade in Division 3 - looked to have had the “close season from Hell”.  With just over a week to go to the game (and twelve days before the County League kicked-off) manager Les Sennett was struggling to raise a team.

Thankfully, in time-honoured fashion, he eventually succeeded and for an hour his side continued the fixtures recent trend for competitiveness.

Goals by Danny Uscroft and Matty Dixon pegged us back at 1-1 and 3-2 before the Stiffs netted three times late on to ensure their seventh win in eight years.

 

There was some angle required on the lens for this photo!

 

This was my fourth viewing of Gav’s new-look Reserve string in pre-season and perhaps the most accomplished yet.

Perhaps this wasn't surprising as against Brandesburton in the Holderness Cup Winners Cup the new man had been torn by a need to stay loyal to the South Holderness Cup-winning squad, while the game at home to Patrington had seen several of his players selected to line up for their Sunday side.

With the new league season now just five days away, the Roos result – and overall performance – was just the tonic he and new assistant Dave Gatti needed.

It was also a fine way with which to end another pre-season at the Farm.

A full report of the game can be found here.

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...



Two out of two – Tickety Boo!

Saturday 18th August

 CML North

Easington United 3 Thorne Colliery 1

 

So, the Olympics are over.  London – and indeed the country as a whole – can be proud of its part in staging what even the Aussies have acknowledged was possibly THE best Games yet.  Ah Sepp Blatter, look what you could’ve won!

The post-Olympics blues have been somewhat hard to shake off.  And I didn’t imagine myself ever saying that!

Still, the start of the domestic season has helped and especially so given our winning start.  There was also a chance for Roy Hodgson’s new young Lions to show how much England’s footballers had learned from the heroes of Team GB.

Singing the National Anthem appeared to be one lesson (although in fairness, the new boss had instilled this practice in most of the squad at the Euros).

The singing of “God Save The Queen” had become something of an issue during Great Britain’s Olympic matches; in particular, the reluctance to join in on the part of the Welsh men and the Scots women became the subject of much comment.

While it irritates me that someone willing to take an official honour from the monarch (as Ryan Giggs did) then admits to being unable to join in with her anthem I do feel the time has come for England’s sporting teams to now have a song of their own.

The rousing renditions of “Land Of Hope And Glory” from the Commonwealth Stadium in Manchester in 2002 nailed that as my choice.  However, I know many people prefer “Jerusalem”, the choice of the England cricket team.  Either way, surely we should now reserve “God Save The Queen” only for sporting occasions in which all four home nations are united?

Thankfully, the England boys appear to have picked up other good habits from the Olympians; winning being one and some proper humility in post-match interviews being another.  I wonder how long either will last!

 

 

The run-up to the first home CML game meant first programme of the new season.  Given the “feel-good factor” present since the appointment of the Sumo, a solid core of Holderness-based players in the squad and the opening day win, I gambled on a decent crowd.

With another BP sponsorship deal secured for the programme and access to the spanking new printer, I have to say this season’s issue looks the best it’s ever done.  And at two quid for 32 pages I think it is excellent value for money – especially as once again there’ll be no gate charged for entry to Low Farm.

With a cracking weather forecast, my only worry was that I hadn’t printed enough copies.  Hmm…

 



 

We buried my Uncle Ted on Saturday morning.  At 83 years old, I believe him to be the oldest yet of Mum’s nine siblings, although Frank and Peter could go on to claim that particular title.

Ted was a farmer all his working life and went out in style, being brought to Skeffling Church on the back of a “thractor an’ thrailor”.  The church was full, the Revd Heale entertained us by, among other things, chewing corn as part of his eulogy and Ted was laid to rest among family and friends.  As surviving son Keith and daughter Wendy wrote in their acknowledgement in the Gazette the following week, it was all “fost rate”.  Just the way Ted would’ve wanted it.
I was glad to swap my suit for something cooler before football.  With Mrs Slush taking the Slushettes to a friend’s party in the afternoon, we enjoyed a leisurely lunch with my mood darkened only by Five Live’s commentary of Becchio’s decisive goal for Colin Wanker’s side at Elland Road.

Before kick-off we had our “official” photo shoot, with the lads sporting the new strip sponsored by Hull-based Sure Powder Coatings Ltd.  With a frame for which our range of club merchandise doesn’t yet cater, the manager looked slightly out of place in his baby pink tee-shirt.  But I think he got away with it…

 

 

We had two changes to the squad from Glapwell, with Meddy away at a Festival and Neilo nursing sore nads following the midweek snip.  I had a feeling that his presence may be missed more, given his industrious debut at Hall Corner, and for the first 45 minutes I was proved right.

After a bright opening ten minutes we were rocked by a spectacular strike from Callum McCormack.  According to Charlie, the 35-yard free-kick “moved all over” en route to going in off the post.  Well, our new matchballs were “Euro 2012 Replicas”!
I stayed away from the changing rooms at half-time, spending the time instead in conversation with Thorne’s hard-working club secretary Joy.  She explained the lack of subs in the visiting contingent – five players were suspended; four as a result of the “feisty” game with champions Westella at the back end of last season.  This also explained the absence of the influential Darren Fell, here today in alternative employ as asst-mgr.  “He’s injured anyway”, added Joy.
Apparently, my absence from the players’ area meant I missed the first Sumo Rant of the new season.  Shame.  At least I got to see the results of it as the lads produced a much improved display to turn the game on its head.

 

Enjoyment at second successive win was enhanced by news of Jay Simpson’s late winner for the Tigers against Brighton.  It was just about enough to compensate for a very poor day on the financial front.

crowd of just 38 had seen the Sumo’s first home win and from that number only ten had bothered to buy a programme.  Alarm bells were starting to ring inside my head.

A full match report of the game, along with Burt Graham's pictures can be found here
Colin Brammer's match photos can be found here