Rhyl FC 7 - 2 Prestatyn Town

Date: Saturday 27th December 2008
Competition: Principality Welsh Premier League
Venue: Belle View, Rhyl, Wales
Attendance: 2,126

Ticket In: £7.00
Programme: £1.50
Christmas Raffle: £1.00
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Total: £9.50

Boxing Day falling on a Friday certainly has its advantages, in this case its being able to take in two matches in two days. This being the 2nd of them and my choice of contest is the local derby between Rhyl and Prestatyn on the North Wales coast. I’m slightly trepadous at this point however as I have to start my journey now (10:30am) and the overnight frost remains on the ground. I’m hopeful that the bright sun will eradicate this and the match will go ahead. Rhyl and Prestatyn are separated by only 7km but this is the first time the derby will take place in the Welsh Premier League after Prestatyn Town were promoted from the Crymu Alliance as last season’s champions. Both teams are quite dear to me as during my youth they provided holiday destinations on several occasions as my family was never the richest, plus I also have relatives that live in Prestatyn. But Rhyl would be my Welsh team if I had to pick one, having gone to see them twice before and them having won on both of these occasions, defeating Carmarthen Town and Gap Connahs Quay Nomads.

Rhyl currently lie top of the Welsh Premier League, tied on points with last season’s champions Llanelli whilst Prestatyn Town lie in semi-comfortable mid table having acquired 19 points from the 17 matches they have played. Looking at everything that’s available you would suggest that Rhyl FC would be the favourites for the match this afternoon. Arriving in Rhyl, I might have underestimated how big this match is going to be. There’s a real buzz around the town, police stand at the train station as if they were expecting Milwall fans, the kit of “The Lillywhites” can be seen throughout the town and the Millbank pub is awash with Rhyl FC supporters. The TV gantry has cameras set up and as the crowd slowly filters its way through the turnstiles, a real big match atmosphere builds up. On arriving at the ground, the turnstile operators are handing out what looks like a press release, detailing a FAW (Football Association of Wales) ruling clearing Rhyl FC of failing to control its spectators in a match against Bangor City, finding Bangor City guilty of the same charge. I suppose it just goes to show that every team, no matter what league they play in has their idiot supporters. The team I support probably considers me as an idiot fan more than likely. Rhyl’s ground is called Belle View and it’s a very tidy but honestly excellent facility. Large amounts of seating and more of the ground is covered than isn’t. With the exception of one or two spots, the pitch is in fine condition and with just over half an hour to go until kickoff, the atmosphere is building nicely.

A raucous bunch of Prestatyn fans behind the goal, calling themselves “The Local Lads” are the ones making all the noise before kickoff and as the teams emerge from the tunnel, a real party atmosphere gets going with supporters of both sides making the noise. Rhyl in their home strip of predominantly white shirts with black shorts and Prestatyn in their all red kit. The man with the unenviable task of keeping order in today’s game by refereeing is Deganwy’s Mark Petch and just on 2:30pm he gets the game underway with a fantastic atmosphere around the ground. It quickly becomes apparent that there is a gulf in ability between the two sides as Rhyl are quickly all over their visitors and look very threatening going forward. It came as no surprise that after 10 minutes of sustained pressure on the Prestatyn goal, they took the lead when a cross from Trinidad & Tobago international Josh Johnson was not dealt with by Prestatyn defender Russ Jones. Rhyl’s Jamie Reed pounced on the error to hit a fine shot into the far corner of the net past the helpless Prestatyn goalkeeper Jonathan Hill-Dunt. The Rhyl party starts in the stands. Rhyl didn’t let up on the pressure they were applying and were coming forward in waves. Josh Johnson missed a great opportunity in the 20th minute when the Prestatyn defence lost the ball and it broke to him, but he fired his effort over the crossbar when he should have at least hit the target. But the turning point of the game occurred in the 24th minute when Rhyl’s Carl Owen made a break into the Prestatyn penalty area and was taken out by keeper Dunt. The officials then clearly worked as a team as referee Petch looked over at his far side assistant to see him with his flag across his chest signifying a penalty kick. Petch duly followed his linesman’s advice and awarded Rhyl the spot kick. Petch had little alternative available to him and he brandished the red card for denying a clear goal scoring opportunity, much to the disbelief and displeasure of Dunt and the Prestatyn fans but neither of them could have any argument with the decision. Neil Gibson was the poor unfortunate that had to sacrifice his midfield role to don the gloves and face the resultant penalty, which Matthew Williams slotted into the net to double Rhyl’s advantage. You began to fear the worst for Prestatyn and these fears were confirmed a few minutes later when Josh Johnson went on a break from the halfway line and avoided the Prestatyn defence, reaching the edge of the penalty area and hitting a shot that beat the stand in custodian to his left and put Rhyl three goals to the good. Prestatyn looking like a team that are dead and buried, even at this relatively early stage in the match. Prestatyn’s best chance of the half came in the 36th minute when they got forward and had 2 shots rebound off the Rhyl defenders before putting their 3rd effort over the crossbar. Rhyl were just playing at a counter, looking like a team that was fully in control of proceedings and to be fair they were. The further extended their lead in the 39th almost with a swagger as a long ball was played over the top and then squared to the unmarked Gareth Owen. The Prestatyn defence wasn’t in attendance and Owen had all the time to draw stand in keeper Neil Gibson and lob the ball over his head into the net in an audacious fashion. Rhyl now up by four. They tacked on a 5th goal right on the stroke of half time when a low cross from Jamie Reed was allowed to travel along the ground to the back post where it was hammered home by Gareth Owen for his second goal in six minutes to put Rhyl 5 goals up before halftime. I expected Rhyl to be the slightly stronger of the two sides, but the amount of one way traffic surprised me. Prestatyn simply haven’t recovered from the dismissal of their goalkeeper and Rhyl have just put them to the sword in front of their largest crowd be far of 2,162, and what a show they are putting on for them. Seemingly the only consolation for Prestatyn at the moment is that the journey home won’t be too long or too far. Things at the Prestatyn end of the ground seem far more sombre than before kickoff, but I think if I were in their position I’d be pretty sombre myself.

Half Time:
Rhyl FC 5 – 0 Prestatyn

Rhyl’s start to the 2nd half was pretty much where they left off the first as they set about opening up an even bigger lead over their opposition. They won themselves a corner in the 53rd minute but the delivery was headed over the crossbar by George Horan. Rhyl then entered their comfort zone as with a 5-0 lead they started to slow the pace of the game down and just play sensible passing football in their own half, making Prestatyn come onto them and chase them down. This was probably a wise tactic from their point of view but it wasn’t half boring to watch from the neutrals point of view. But there was a brief change in tactics from Rhyl when Josh Johnson picked up the ball in his own half and made a run at the Prestatyn defence, reaching the edge of the penalty area before finally being dispossessed. Either through boredom or frustration, the Prestatyn fans had decided to get on the back of Rhyl goalkeeper Lee Kendal, referring to him as certain things I don’t feel it’s acceptable to put into print. Quite what Kendall had done to the fans to receive this treatment was unclear, I imagine it was just frustration on the part of the Prestatyn fans but it didn’t show them up in a fantastic light. Prestatyn managed to get hold of the ball and get forward in the 78th minute and won themselves a corner when a shot from substitute Ethan Woodfine deflected off a Rhyl defenders arm, but the Prestatyn fans appeals for a penalty to referee Petch fell on deaf ears and a corner was the only award. The resultant corner was headed wide by Prestatyn captain Russ Jones. But the last 10 minutes of the match would see it come alive again, starting in the 82nd minute when a Josh Johnson cross was headed into the net by Jamie Reed for his 2nd of the match and Rhyl’s 6th. Straight from the restart though, Prestatyn got themselves on the scoresheet when a run at the Rhyl defence by Ian Griffiths saw him fire off a powerful shot that deflected off Rhyl keeper Lee Kendal and into the back of the net to cue the celebrations amongst the Prestatyn fans, some celebrating too much and ending up on the pitch leaving the stewards to do some clearing up. Rhyl didn’t seem too happy about the fact they conceded and went about re-gaining their 6 goal lead, they came close in the 84th minute when they had an effort cleared off the line. But went one better in the 85th minute when they netted their 7th of the match, I don’t know what happened as I didn’t see it, I was too pre-occupied watching the police move in on the unruly Prestatyn fans as it happened. But it would be Prestatyn that would have the last word in the match when they won themselves a free kick in the 90th minute. Ian Griffiths took the kick and forced a fine save out of Kendall in the Rhyl goal, but Steve Harris was right on hand to pounce on the rebound and get Prestatyn their 2nd goal. At least it was something for the Prestatyn fans to sing about in an otherwise miserable afternoon for them. Rhyl should have been reduced to 10 men right at the death but referee Petch failed to bring the red card out of his pocket when Jamie Reed straight elbowed Prestatyn’s Dave Hayes in the face when involved in a tackle. The referee had a perfect view of the incident but inexplicably decided to take no action against Reed as once again Prestatyn’s appeals fell on deaf ears. Full time was not long in following and the first ever Denbighshire derby was won by Rhyl FC by a score of 7-2.

It’s seriously hard to know where to begin with that, what a match! Simply unbelievable to experience. Rhyl were always the better of the two sides from the get go and as soon as Prestatyn lost their goalkeeper to the red card, you feared the worst for them. 9 goals for £7.00, an atmosphere I haven’t experienced much like before and the fact that I’ve seen less passion amongst supporters in derby matches in the English Premiership. The fans from both sides really made for a great atmosphere around the ground, even if it did become a little but ugly towards the end with the Prestatyn fans. Rhyl’s clearing of charges and some fans behaviour this afternoon makes me wonder just how much bad behaviour goes on at Welsh Premier League games. The majority of the action took place in the first half where it was a case of blink and you’ll miss it. The 2nd half was distinctly lacking in entertainment value by comparison, until the last 10 minutes when it really came alive again. Rhyl had earned the right to play possession football in the 2nd half when they were leading 5-0 at the time, Prestatyn were slightly improved in the 2nd half but the job ahead of them was just too steep and Rhyl’s lead scarcely looked like being threatened. Brilliant atmosphere from a massive crowd and my being a good luck charm for Rhyl continues as once again they win with me in attendance. The teams will meet again on New Years Day, but for now its congratulations Rhyl!

Full Time:
Rhyl FC 7 – 2 Prestatyn Town

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News: Droylsden Kicked Out

The FA have taken the decision to expel non-league side Droylsden from this seasons FA Cup sponsored by E.On competition after it was alleged that they had played an ineligible player in their 2-1 win over Coca Cola League Two side Chesterfield.

The player in question is Shaun Newton who scored both of “The Bloods” goals in a giant killing 2-1 shock win against the Derbyshire professionals. Chesterfield raised this issue with the FA as they believed that Newton should have been serving a one match ban on December 23rd. Droylsden had informed the FA that as far as they were concerned, Newton would serve his one match suspension when they played Vauxhall Motors on Boxing Day. But the FA found Droylsden guilty of the charge of playing an ineligible player and have reinstated Chesterfield, who will now progress to the third round of the competition and take on Ipswich Town on January 3rd.

Droylsden still have the opportunity to appeal and according to the FA, must lodge this appeal no later than 9am on Tuesday 30th December 2008 with the hearing taking place the following day. The FA also state that the £30,000 prize money must be redirected to Chesterfield and that Droylsden will not be fined or have their further participation in FA competitions compromised.

The FA cup fixture was played on four separate occasions with fog, floodlight failures and a draw all conspiring to bring the teams together 4 times. But unless their appeal is successful it looks like it’s an expensive and disappointing end to this seasons FA cup competition for Droylsden.

Parts of this article have been researched from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/7799125.stm

Update: Droylsden did appeal against the decision to expell them from the competition, but the FA upheld their original decision.

Burscough 4 - 1 Everton

Date: Tuesday 2nd December 2008
Competition: Liverpool Senior Cup Quarter Final
Venue: Victoria Park, Burscough, Lancashire
Attendance: 250

Ticket In: £9.00
Programme: £2.00
Golden Goal: £1.00
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Total: £12.00

The North West’s weather is at it again, snow and freezing temperatures closing schools across the region, but that’s alright because football goes ahead! With the old man being an Evertonian, persuading him for a lift to see them didn’t prove to be too difficult of a task to complete. Burscough FC are my sort of 2nd team so there will be a family difference in support this evening, but my pre-match thoughts are that its my father that will have the bragging rights come the end of the match. Burscough ply their trade in the Blue Square North, not bad for a team in a village the size of Burscough. The club can boast a lot of recent success as in the 2006/07 season they won a treble of trophies. They picked up the Unibond Premier Division title on the last day in a deciding match against AFC Telford United, along with the Co-Operative Lancashire Trophy and the Jack Kirkland Trophy, more impressively though, all these trophies were picked up in the space of just 10 days. But the clubs finest day came back in 2003 when they defeated Tamworth against the odds to lift the FA Trophy in front of a packed Villa Park. Onto their visitors tonight and in the Liverpool Senior Cup, Everton have been the most successful team in the competition having lifted the trophy 45 times in the 113 completed competitions, 7 successes clear of 2nd most successful team and arch rivals Liverpool. The team news read over the tannoy suggests that the Everton squad on display this evening is largely comprised of their under 18’s, so they will be in for gaining some good experience. Burscough’s ground is Victoria Park and various signs around the place inform you of the fact that it is celebrating 100 years of football being played on its turf. It’s a compact little ground and due to Burscough’s rise up the footballing non-league pyramid, the ground has had to face some minor changes. The age old main stand still sits proudly down one side, whilst most of the rest of the ground has erected temporary stands to ensure the ground can hold enough people for Conference North standards. A small amount of cover is provided behind one goal and down one side of the pitch, and on a cold and wet night like tonight it will probably be in demand! The weather just before kickoff is on and off rain with occasional hail and its bloody cold too!

As kickoff time approached, the crowd I had expected to turn up simply failed to materialise. Having been to the semi final of this competition last season between Prescot Cables and Liverpool where the kickoff was delayed by 15 minutes to ensure that everybody got in and the crowd figure eventually reached over a thousand, only 250 wandered their way in through the Victoria Park turnstiles. This couldn’t be an excuse used to explain the slight delay to kickoff that the match suffered, but before long the teams emerged onto the pitch to the 633 squadron anthem looking to fly their way into the next round. Burscough in their traditional green shirts with white shorts and Everton in their all royal blue. The referee was finally stratified everything was in place and it would be Everton to get the quarter final underway. The first 5 minutes saw both sides signal their intentions towards the game as they set about getting forward and putting pressure on their opponents early, the weather conditions at this point were perfect. Burscough won themselves a free kick in the 6th minute but the delivery from out wide on the wing was taken well by Everton goalkeeper Stubhaug under pressure. Not long after, Burscough nearly took the lead when in the 9th minute, the Everton defence failed to deal with the winger and he sent in a pinpoint cross which was met powerfully by the head of the Burscough forward and was turned away for a corner by Stubhaug in a fantastic close range save. The resultant corner though would bring Burscough a deserved lead as Craig Davies delivered the ball to the near post it hit an Everton defender before striking the goalkeeper on the legs and entering the net. Davies was accredited with the goal straight from the corner kick. The goal seemed to spur Burscough on and they came forward with intent once again in the 13th minute and another powerful shot was deflected for another corner. This one though was half cleared by the Everton defence before a long range Burscough effort was sent considerably wide of the right hand post. The Burscough fans down the side of the pitch were clearly enjoying themselves as they were making all the noise in the ground and creating an atmosphere I had not experienced at Victoria Park before, imagine the atmosphere that was created 1 minute later in the 16th minute then, when Burscough doubled their lead. More good play in midfield saw another through ball played to the wing and the Everton defence was slow to respond. The cross into the box was cleared as far as the edge of the penalty area where Jonathan Goulding met it with a bullet drive that beat the keeper to his left and Burscough were two goals to the good. Now the place was bouncing as the Burscough fans were witnessing a rampant performance from their side. 20 minutes in and the rain began to fall again, not that it was going to dampen that atmosphere in the ground. Come the 28th minute, Burscough were still looking the better side as Everton were still content to sit off their attackers and not apply much pressure. This cost them on the half hour as Burscough scored another, a wing ball was played in low to Jordan Stepian who could have shot but instead passed to Peter Heler which stranded all the defenders and the goalkeeper. With an empty net at his mercy from 6 yards out, Heler made no mistake and the party really started in the stands amongst the gathered “green army”. Chants of “Premier League, you’re ‘avin a laugh” ring around the stadium. Everton worked themselves a chance in the 37th minute when some great running by Lewis Codling found his teammate on the wing. He then squared the ball back to his defender, who turned one Burscough player before working himself some space to shoot, but his effort was skied over the crossbar when he perhaps should have done a little bit better. Then immediately down the other end, Burscough were unlucky not to extend their lead further when a long free kick was delivered to the edge of the penalty area and headed on to the feet of Jordan Stepian, and this time he had an effort on goal himself. His effort beat the keeper but couldn’t beat the far post and as the ball rebounded back into the penalty area it was put over the bar from close range by another Burscough forward. This action would be the last meaningful action of the half and Burscough were worthy of their lead having dominated the game, the full time gloating rights may unexpectedly be mine come full time. Everton just didn’t show up in that half a team largely consisting of youth must grow up quickly in the 2nd half or they will end up crashing out of the competition.

Half Time:
Burscough 3 – 0 Everton

The 2nd half started with Burscough turning up the heat again as they won themselves a free kick in a dangerous attacking position. The delivery was sent towards goal but it just faded away from the top left corner of the net, missing the post by what must have been an inch. Burscough nearly added to their lead again in the 50th minute when a long range shot was saved well low down to his right by Stubhaug in the Everton goal. But it would be Everton that would get the next goal in the game and it came in the 59th minute. A Burscough clearance was met in the midfield and a superbly weighted aerial ball was played over the heads of the Burscough defence and into the penalty area. The Everton winger squared the ball to the centre where it was met by Lewis Codling on the edge of the 6 yard box and he turned it into the net to keep the hope of a revival alive. 2 minutes later and Everton very nearly got another goal back in similar circumstances. Everton made a quick break away down field after clearing a Burscough corner, after working a good position down the wing a neatly played ball was then squared in front of goal but this time the ball hit the Everton forward and deflected over the bar. Had that gone in the game would have looked a very different prospect indeed. But the game did change in the 63rd minute when Burscough would round off the games scoring when a corner was floated into the Everton penalty area and half cleared. Falling to the feet of a Burscough player, a pass was executed that found Craig Davis and had the entire Everton defence stop and appeal for offside, the linesman’s flag stayed down. This left Davies the simple task of beating the keeper from 6 yards out and in the process giving Burscough an unassailable lead as the momentum swung back in the direction of the home team. The 66th minute saw Everton have a chance as a long ball from a free kick was delivered into the penalty area, headed back across the box to a waiting striker, but his effort went wide of the post from close range. Burscough went close in the 70th minute after the Everton defence were powerless to stop the Burscough forward as he drew in 4 defenders leaving his teammate unmarked on the edge of the box. After receiving the pass though, the unmarked teammate’s chipped effort beat the keeper but also beat the crossbar and the opportunity passed. By the 77th minute the game had settled down and the chances were becoming fewer and fewer, both teams seemingly settling for the inevitable result, though Burscough were still looking dangerous and still causing Everton problems down the wings. Everton had a free kick in the 86th minute which was delivered into the penalty area and headed on towards goal. Under pressure from an Everton forward, Steve Dickinson in the Burscough goal gathered it at the 3rd attempt. Another free kick a minute later for the blues but this one was cleared by Burscough, falling to an Everton player some way out, he tried his luck from range and his effort took a deflection and went out of play for a corner. The resultant corner though was headed over the bar. Soon after the final whistle blew and it was Burscough that would be going on to the semi finals of the Liverpool Senior Cup and Everton that would bow out at their first hurdle.

Before the season started, if you’d have told any Burscough fan that the first team they would beat on their own ground this season would be Everton, you’d have been laughed all the way to Hoscar. But Burscough deserved it, they were more physically able that Everton’s youngsters and battled them out of the game. For the money paid out it was fantastic entertainment and worth every penny. The weather threatened to ruin the encounter but the players on the pitch kept the fans warm with some very entertaining football. Burscough go through to the semi-final as the youngsters of Everton will have learned a lot from this encounter. Cup football eh, nothing quite like it! I came expecting Burscough to be beaten and was surprised that they won so easily, hopefully this result will kick-start their league campaign and see them rise from the foot of the Blue Square North. Congratulations to Burscough.

Full Time:
Burscough 4 – 1 Everton





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So It Couldn't Be Done

It took one weekend away, one trip away from the usual team for me to discover that it’s not the right thing to do. It would seem that when you invest yourself and your time in a football club, it’s not something you can turn your back on and walk away from. What has to change is my own personal viewpoint on watching their matches, the way in which I go to and watch the matches. But I have now realised this and with this comes the realisation that I must continue to watch their matches, because it is just the natural thing to do. I will still continue to run this blog for the times that they don’t have a match and I visit some other ground just to take in a football match, but I can’t abandon the regular team.