If there's anybody who still believes Mossley have a chance of reaching the play-off's then they should phone the Guiness Book of Records immediately and get themselves certificated as the most optimistic person on the world because this is the result that effectively ends the Lilywhites late push for a top five finish.
A game too far in an overly crowded fixture schedule, a very off night that all teams have from time to time or simply outclassed by a better side - hatever the reason is you believe for Mossley's subdued performance in this match (the truth probably being a mix of all three), the result remains the same: a comprehensive and heavy defeat to local rivals Curzon Ashton.
The early stages of the second meeting between the two sides in ten days suggested that the Lilywhites would pick up the baton from where they left off at the Tameside Stadium. Within sixty seconds of the match kicking off Lee Blackshaw fired a shot narrowly over the cross bar after wriggling through a couple of challenges and they followed this up by exerting a tremendous amount of pressure which kept Curzon contained to the general vicinity of their own penalty area.
Sadly it couldn't last and by the time the game clock had ticked over into double figures the visitors were comfortably the team in the ascendency. Their sole game plan of hitting it as hard, as high and as far as they could up the pitch might have been awful to watch but it was brutally effective and through it they opened the scoring. Although it must be said not without a little help from Mossley.
An attack broke down with a sloppy pass and the ball was immediately sent skywards (so high I swear it came down with a coating of volcanic ash on it) and towards the far end corner of the pitch. Unfortunately for the defender attempting to shepherd the punt off a for a goal kick, he got his positioning wrong and allowed Ajay-Leitch Smith to take possession and play a square pass to Dean Canning - alone and unmarked in the the Lilywhites box - who made no mistake in firing a shot past Peter Collinge.
The failure to pick up players in a blue shirt when they entered they Mossley penalty area quickly became a feature of the night and if Curzon hadn't been so wasteful with their chances, the game would have been over bar the shouting long before the interval – Michael Norton especially being guilty of wasting a couple of 'harder to miss' chances. Instead they only managed one more before the half came to an end and it arrived courtesy of a penalty after another passage of play best forgotten by the Lilywhites finished with Smith being tripped in the box; Norton completing the punishment from the spot.
Ten minutes into second period Canning doubled his tally for the game. Taking advantage of being unmarked again - this time while being little more than a yard away from the line - he headed the ball home, finishing a move that began by Mossley surrendering possession far too cheaply in the middle of the park.
Rather than opening the floodgates, it spurred Mossley into their best spell of the game. Chris McDonagh almost connected with a knock down from Michael Fish, Nick Allan shot narrowly wide and Matty Kay had a very good claim for a penalty ignored by the match official. It was from the corner resulting from the latter incident though that Mossley did reduce the arrears with Andy Watson deflecting the ball over the line at the back post (although the video evidence of this particular event suggests it was Phil Edgehill who bundled the ball into his own net).
If Michael Fish hadn't had a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside not long after, it's possible that Mossley may have gone on to rescue the game, such was the panic that was slowly beginning to spread through Curzon's back line as the pressure increased. The raised flag of the official however not only cancelled out the goal but signalled the end of Mossley's mini-revival too.
The Lilywhites saw little of the ball over the final twenty minutes of the match as Curzon slowly wound down the clock with a copious amount of time wasting; something not all that surprising given it was the latter stages of both sides sixth game within the space of a fortnight.
The visitors found a spring in their step though to add a fourth in the closing moments but again it was Mossley who were the architects, this time with a comedy of errors so ridiculous that if I described to you what happened you simply wouldn't believe it. All you need to know is that this calamitous series of events ended with Norton rolling the ball into an empty net from the edge of the area.
It's impossible to argue that playing a game almost every other day hasn't had an effect on the stamina and energy levels of the Lilywhites but it also has to be said that it's a schedule Curzon have had too. And though the Blues may have had an extra 24 hours to rest between this and their last game, the difference between the sides was more marked than that explanation could ever provide.
But as I kind of mentioned some way back up there at the beginning of this post, events conspire at times and the combination of tired limbs, a good team wanting to avenge a recent defeat and a poor performance from the other produce games and results such as this one. It happens and you move on to the next one.
The defeat means that the highest position Mossley can realistically hope of finishing in is seventh and considering where they were in the league at Christmas, that's some achievement in itself.
Colwyn Bay 3 - 1 Mossley
If you've come here looking for a match report on the Colwyn Bay game then I'm afraid I'm going to have to tell you to move along as there's nothing to see here.
The same also applies if you've landed here looking for fun and entertainment too. If you have, jeepers, have you come to the wrong corner of the internet! But thanks for visiting - if only for the split-second it takes for you to realise your mistake.
Anyway, back to all things Mossley and Bay-like and the reason why there's nothing to see is because I wasn't at the game. Therefore I can't bring you my own view on what happened, though I'd hazard a guess it would include something about the number of fixtures we've played recently, along with other statements that can always be chucked into a report at this time in of the season to fill up a couple of paragraphs.
And neither can I like the last time I missed a game in Cymru bring you an 'alternative' report on the game. Time constraints mean that further tales of Helsen Blackstarr, if indeed there are to be any more, will have to wait for another day. Before I dwell though on how much that last sentence will have confused an awful lot of people, I'll give you a brief run down of what I do know about the match thanks to the Twittering of Rhys Wynne.
Despite taking an early lead though a Mike Fish penalty (the fourth consecutive game in which, shoulder-shrugging fact fans, we've been awarded a spot-kick), an unlikely victory against one of our numerous bogey sides wasn't to be. A goal in each half from Anthony Sheehan sandwiched an apparent peach of a volley from Adriano Rigoglioso and ensured that once again, the Lilywhites would be making the trip back home along the A55 with nought to show for their cross border excursion.
Further details of what happened in the land of Gog will undoubtedly appear here at some point in the very near future. And once the oppositions view of proceedings makes its way onto the net, a link to that will pop up on here too. I know, I do spoil you at times.
The same also applies if you've landed here looking for fun and entertainment too. If you have, jeepers, have you come to the wrong corner of the internet! But thanks for visiting - if only for the split-second it takes for you to realise your mistake.
Anyway, back to all things Mossley and Bay-like and the reason why there's nothing to see is because I wasn't at the game. Therefore I can't bring you my own view on what happened, though I'd hazard a guess it would include something about the number of fixtures we've played recently, along with other statements that can always be chucked into a report at this time in of the season to fill up a couple of paragraphs.
And neither can I like the last time I missed a game in Cymru bring you an 'alternative' report on the game. Time constraints mean that further tales of Helsen Blackstarr, if indeed there are to be any more, will have to wait for another day. Before I dwell though on how much that last sentence will have confused an awful lot of people, I'll give you a brief run down of what I do know about the match thanks to the Twittering of Rhys Wynne.
Despite taking an early lead though a Mike Fish penalty (the fourth consecutive game in which, shoulder-shrugging fact fans, we've been awarded a spot-kick), an unlikely victory against one of our numerous bogey sides wasn't to be. A goal in each half from Anthony Sheehan sandwiched an apparent peach of a volley from Adriano Rigoglioso and ensured that once again, the Lilywhites would be making the trip back home along the A55 with nought to show for their cross border excursion.
Further details of what happened in the land of Gog will undoubtedly appear here at some point in the very near future. And once the oppositions view of proceedings makes its way onto the net, a link to that will pop up on here too. I know, I do spoil you at times.
30 Years Ago: Part One
12/04/1980: Mossley 1 - 1 Boston United
With the anniversary of one of the biggest days in Mossley AFC's history drawing ever nearer, I thought I'd share with you some of the cuttings I've kept from way back then; items and articles that many of you won't have seen for a long time or, possibly even, ever before.
As it's 30 years to the day since the first leg of the FA Trophy Semi-Final against Boston United took place, where better to start the countdown to May 17th than with that 1-1 draw at Seel Park?
Above bottom: And the celebrations at levelling the tie begin.
The two images below make up the report which appeared in what was then the Mossley & Saddleworth Reporter. To read them just click on the pcture and a bigger, more legible version will appear in a new window:
Hopefully over the coming weeks I'll be able to bring you a few more bits and pieces. Especially if I manage to get hold of a scanner!
With the anniversary of one of the biggest days in Mossley AFC's history drawing ever nearer, I thought I'd share with you some of the cuttings I've kept from way back then; items and articles that many of you won't have seen for a long time or, possibly even, ever before.
As it's 30 years to the day since the first leg of the FA Trophy Semi-Final against Boston United took place, where better to start the countdown to May 17th than with that 1-1 draw at Seel Park?
Above bottom: And the celebrations at levelling the tie begin.
The two images below make up the report which appeared in what was then the Mossley & Saddleworth Reporter. To read them just click on the pcture and a bigger, more legible version will appear in a new window:
Hopefully over the coming weeks I'll be able to bring you a few more bits and pieces. Especially if I manage to get hold of a scanner!
Mossley 1 - 0 Radcliffe Borough
A 70th minute penalty converted by Matty Kay gave Mossley victory over Radcliffe Borough.
And that's an opening sentence to a report that could also qualify as a closing one because it contains a description of every single incident of note that happened in this game.
Really, it does.
However, because I don't think I could get away filing a 14 word match report to the club programme and local paper, I've had to pad out the 'official' view of proceedings by upgrading the most minor of moments into potential score line altering events.
What follows is that artificially beefed-up submission to the print media, so if you decide to read on just bear in mind that the game was nowhere near as exciting as even the ensuing paragraphs try to make it seem.
It wasn't a bad match, just a dull one. Not that anyone expected anything different with both sides playing their third game in the space of five days. The pre-match concerns of fatigue having an impact on proceedings turned out to be warranted, especially in a opening period that was high on errors but low on goal scoring opportunities.
Only twice in the first half did the deadlock ever look like being broken and the two chances fell within the space of sixty seconds of one another. Borough's Gary Sampson fired a powerful long range effort just wide of the angle between post and crossbar while at the opposite end of the pitch, Andy Russell looped a header onto the roof of the net from a free-kick.
The Lilywhites should have taken the lead immediately following the interval when Ben Richardson embarked on surging run which started deep in his own half and ended in Radcliffe box following a neat one-two with Michael Fish. Unfortunately though the finish didn't match the quality of the build-up and his shot flew high and wide of the target.
As time slowly wore on it looked increasingly likely that the game would end in a stalemate. However, with twenty minutes left a needless challenge by Steve Howson gave the Lilywhites the chance to take the lead from the penalty spot and Matty Kay - who'd been on the receiving end of Howson's illegal tackle – ensured they did by netting his 26th goal of the campaign.
Radcliffe offered little in response to going behind and it allowed Mossley to see out the closing stages of the game in relative comfort. In fact they could have had registered a more convincing victory deep into injury time but for a superb double save from Borough keeper Lloyd Rigby which prevented substitutes Steve Moore and Nathan Neequaye from adding to the scoreline.
The win - and a fourth successive one at that - keeps Mossley's hopes of attaining a place in the top five alive for a little while longer sees them jump two places into seventh: their highest league position of the season.
If you've made it this far then congratulations - not many will have done. And if you got bored and easily distracted reading that, imagine what it was like to watch it happen!
It's churlish to complain though as when you're playing a game seemingly every other day, the result really is the be all and end all.
And that's an opening sentence to a report that could also qualify as a closing one because it contains a description of every single incident of note that happened in this game.
Really, it does.
However, because I don't think I could get away filing a 14 word match report to the club programme and local paper, I've had to pad out the 'official' view of proceedings by upgrading the most minor of moments into potential score line altering events.
What follows is that artificially beefed-up submission to the print media, so if you decide to read on just bear in mind that the game was nowhere near as exciting as even the ensuing paragraphs try to make it seem.
It wasn't a bad match, just a dull one. Not that anyone expected anything different with both sides playing their third game in the space of five days. The pre-match concerns of fatigue having an impact on proceedings turned out to be warranted, especially in a opening period that was high on errors but low on goal scoring opportunities.
Only twice in the first half did the deadlock ever look like being broken and the two chances fell within the space of sixty seconds of one another. Borough's Gary Sampson fired a powerful long range effort just wide of the angle between post and crossbar while at the opposite end of the pitch, Andy Russell looped a header onto the roof of the net from a free-kick.
The Lilywhites should have taken the lead immediately following the interval when Ben Richardson embarked on surging run which started deep in his own half and ended in Radcliffe box following a neat one-two with Michael Fish. Unfortunately though the finish didn't match the quality of the build-up and his shot flew high and wide of the target.
As time slowly wore on it looked increasingly likely that the game would end in a stalemate. However, with twenty minutes left a needless challenge by Steve Howson gave the Lilywhites the chance to take the lead from the penalty spot and Matty Kay - who'd been on the receiving end of Howson's illegal tackle – ensured they did by netting his 26th goal of the campaign.
Radcliffe offered little in response to going behind and it allowed Mossley to see out the closing stages of the game in relative comfort. In fact they could have had registered a more convincing victory deep into injury time but for a superb double save from Borough keeper Lloyd Rigby which prevented substitutes Steve Moore and Nathan Neequaye from adding to the scoreline.
The win - and a fourth successive one at that - keeps Mossley's hopes of attaining a place in the top five alive for a little while longer sees them jump two places into seventh: their highest league position of the season.
If you've made it this far then congratulations - not many will have done. And if you got bored and easily distracted reading that, imagine what it was like to watch it happen!
It's churlish to complain though as when you're playing a game seemingly every other day, the result really is the be all and end all.
Mossley 2 - 0 Woodley Sports
My intention was to keep report this short because with the number of games we've got coming up over the next fortnight. I really don't want to spend all of the free time I have writing them. That was the plan and thankfully fate become an ally to the cause because this game was so poor and lacking in incident that it's impossible to do anything other than write the barest amount.
Over the past seven days I've claimed in two reports that the games they were about haven't been good and described them as containing little in the way of entertainment value. I would like at this point to retract those assertions as compared to this match those previous 180 minutes were a thing of beauty - exquisite banquets of footballing excellence that we were extremely privileged to have witnessed. Yep, this game was that bad.
Actually that's unfair on Woodley because it was Mossley that navigated the Mariana trench of awfulness in this game. The visitors looked half-decent and if they'd had someone in their ranks who could put the ball in the general vicinity of the goal, they'd be three points better off today. Mossley on the other hand appeared lethargic, lacking in ideas and far from the side that has emerged victorious from most of their games in 2010. Yet unbelievably they still won.
In the midst of incessant use of the long ball (back after a long and welcome absence), the lack of shape and the litany of misplaced passes, our only two shots on target in the entire match both went in giving us a frankly undeserved 2-0 victory. It was such a spectacular mugging that I wouldn't be surprised if the the match highlights featured on next months Crimewatch.
The first goal came half an hour into the fixture when Matty Kay converted a penalty awarded for a foul on Chris McDonagh. The second arrived in the third minute of injury time when Michael Fish exploited the gaps left by defenders pushing forward to score with what turned out to be the last kick of the game. Before and between them though there was nothing that troubled Woodley apart from a Nick Allan shot that flew well wide.
A good side would have made us pay for our mistakes and errors (of which there were many) but thankfully we were playing Woodley and for all their nice build-up play, their previously mentioned inability to put a testing effort on target - including shooting wide of an open goal - meant Mossley could comfortably claim their win.
I know that tiredness was probably a factor in our low-key performance (even though Woodley have played the same number of games as us recently) so fingers crossed that there's some energy in the tanks for the upcoming matches, starting with Radcliffe tomorrow.
When all's said and done though you never complain about a win, no matter how harsh it was on the opposition as after all, other than Woodley's players and supporter - who cares?
Over the past seven days I've claimed in two reports that the games they were about haven't been good and described them as containing little in the way of entertainment value. I would like at this point to retract those assertions as compared to this match those previous 180 minutes were a thing of beauty - exquisite banquets of footballing excellence that we were extremely privileged to have witnessed. Yep, this game was that bad.
Actually that's unfair on Woodley because it was Mossley that navigated the Mariana trench of awfulness in this game. The visitors looked half-decent and if they'd had someone in their ranks who could put the ball in the general vicinity of the goal, they'd be three points better off today. Mossley on the other hand appeared lethargic, lacking in ideas and far from the side that has emerged victorious from most of their games in 2010. Yet unbelievably they still won.
In the midst of incessant use of the long ball (back after a long and welcome absence), the lack of shape and the litany of misplaced passes, our only two shots on target in the entire match both went in giving us a frankly undeserved 2-0 victory. It was such a spectacular mugging that I wouldn't be surprised if the the match highlights featured on next months Crimewatch.
The first goal came half an hour into the fixture when Matty Kay converted a penalty awarded for a foul on Chris McDonagh. The second arrived in the third minute of injury time when Michael Fish exploited the gaps left by defenders pushing forward to score with what turned out to be the last kick of the game. Before and between them though there was nothing that troubled Woodley apart from a Nick Allan shot that flew well wide.
A good side would have made us pay for our mistakes and errors (of which there were many) but thankfully we were playing Woodley and for all their nice build-up play, their previously mentioned inability to put a testing effort on target - including shooting wide of an open goal - meant Mossley could comfortably claim their win.
I know that tiredness was probably a factor in our low-key performance (even though Woodley have played the same number of games as us recently) so fingers crossed that there's some energy in the tanks for the upcoming matches, starting with Radcliffe tomorrow.
When all's said and done though you never complain about a win, no matter how harsh it was on the opposition as after all, other than Woodley's players and supporter - who cares?
A Very Special Delivery
Many moons ago I put on YouTube a video with the question: The world's worst free-kick?
Well it turns out the answer could be "no" as another claimant to that particularly unwanted (at least I hope it's unwanted) title has come to light from foreign shores.
He has a run up like Roberto Carlos, he can bend the ball like Roberto Carlos but sadly for this unfortunate free-kick taker, that is where all similarities between he and the Brazilian full-back end:
Well it turns out the answer could be "no" as another claimant to that particularly unwanted (at least I hope it's unwanted) title has come to light from foreign shores.
He has a run up like Roberto Carlos, he can bend the ball like Roberto Carlos but sadly for this unfortunate free-kick taker, that is where all similarities between he and the Brazilian full-back end:
Curzon Ashton 2 - 3 Mossley
I know that I'm going to sound like a broken record in saying this but like the previous match against Fylde, don't let the high volume of goals scored convince you into thinking that this was a great game because it wasn't. Tense? Yes. A scintillating display of breathtaking, end-to-end football? No, not really.
Then again 'derby' games very rarely are. Occasionally there’ll be one that transcends all expectations and becomes a match that will be talked about in hushed, reverential tones for seasons to come but this wasn’t one of them.
Not that you’re going to hear any complaints from me though because in fixtures such as these I couldn’t care less if it was the worst game of football that has ever been - or ever likely to be - played on the face of this planet as long as we won. And we did!
It could well be that my less enthusiastic take on proceedings is down in part to the fact that I hate the place where the game as held. As well being a cold place in even the warmest of months, the Tameside Stadium lacks any kind of character or charm. And even though it has been home to a football club for almost five years now, it remains as soulless as it did when the last brick was cemented into position back in 2005.
On top of that there’s the bugbear which I’ve mentioned many times before and I’m about to do so again: the public address system. As well as being at a volume level that makes conversing with the person stood next to you difficult without resorting to yelling at the top of your voice, the choice of music it blares out at uncomfortably high levels beggars any kind of belief whatsoever. If Jedward, the Spice Girls and Gracie Fields were played to other captive audiences at ear splitting levels as they were to us, civil liberty groups would be up in arms.
I’ve no doubt that part of the reason for this happening is a conscious decision to take the attention away from there being no atmosphere at all in the ground. But while it continues it’s hardly likely one is ever going to form. Why cheer the teams onto the pitch or celebrate a goal when you’re being drowned out by Robert Miles or James Brown declaring he feels good over the loud speakers?
And while I’m in full flow on this particular moan, is the fact the club president had friends visiting from Denmark really worth announcing at a tympanic membrane piercing volume not once, not twice but four times? The team line-ups only got a solitary read through.
Anyway, I should probably switch out of rant mode – for my own sanity as much as yours – and start talking about the game itself. Don’t worry either, it won’t take long.
The first chance of any description fell Curzon's way but it was the visitors who did most of the early pressing, assisted ably by the familiar strong wind off the Moss which was blowing on their backs. Their reward was a string of corners that, barring one inswinger which was turned over the bar by keeper Michael Hale, caused little consternation for the blue shirts defending the goal.
The next set-piece from the visitors though caused considerably more trouble. A looping free-kick into the box from Jordan Goodeve was met by the head of Chris McDonagh and the ball rolled slowly over the line after two unsuccessful attempts at preventing it from doing so by Hale failed.
It was a turn of events that wasn’t in the script and it rattled the home side. By just how much was made evident in the games next major talking point. Five minutes after the opening goal, Michael Norton responded to a firm but highly legal tackle from Goodeve with something from the opposite end of that particular scale.
Actually, labelling it a tackle or even an awful challenge applies several coats of whitewash to the truth of what it really was: a cowardly stamp on a prone player’s leg. And not even that comes close to describing the sheer terribleness of a moment which not only put Goodeve out of this game but the rest of the season too.
Thankfully we had something of a novelty for this particular fixture in the football calendar – a strong referee; one who had no qualms in telling the Curzon number nine that his presence was no longer required and thereby introducing us to one of the most pleasing sights in football: Norton marching up the tunnel with a red card being waved in his wake.
It took a while for Mossley to rediscover their rhythm and take advantage of the extra man but everything finally clicked into place again in the 38th minute. A run down the left ended with Michael Fish playing the ball to the feet of Matthew Russell and taking advantage of the acres of space being afforded to him, the former Curzon player rolled the ball gently past Hale.
Mossley had already had to start the game with an unfamiliar look to their defence (Andy Russell being the only regular constituent of the Lilywhites back three) and it changed again on the stroke of half time when the replacement for the otherwise disposed Andy Watson - Jonathan Jackson - dislocated his knee cap while tuning awkwardly. His departure from the match meant an in at the deep-end debut for sixteen year old Joel-Bembo Lita and the youngster coped admirably with whatever was thrown at him over the remainder of the match.
It wasn’t completely plain sailing though. In the final few seconds of time added on for the injuries picked up during the opening period, Ajay Leitch Smith halved the arrears for the Blues by capitalising on the indecision in Mossley's back line caused by the enforced reshuffling.
Despite the fresh edge given to the game by the home sides deficit reducer, the game pottered along in an incident-free fashion after the restart; no blood, no thunder, no much of anything of note until the 62nd minute when Mossley restored their two goal lead from the penalty spot. A cross from Lee Blackshaw was prevented from reaching its intended target of McDonagh by the outstretched arm of Phil Edgehill and after a couple of minutes of waiting while a few Curzon players argued the toss with the match official, Matty Kay got to rifle home his 25th goal of the campaign.
It should have been the ‘Game Over’ goal but not being a side to do things the easy way, Mossley then conceded a soft free-kick and from it an even softer goal (that Lilywhites speciality - a free header) and what was left of the nerves amongst the travelling fans began to slowly shred, fray and ping into the oblivion of history as the ten men of Curzon began to see more and more of the ball.
Over the twenty or so minutes of the game that were left the home side put their opponents under a considerable amount of pressure; pressure that generated more than a few fraught moments which had the Mossley supporters inside the stadium drawing sharp intakes of breath.
Looking back on that closing period in the cold light of a cold day though, with the three points nestling safely in our season’s tally and away from the anxiety heightened state of supporting a team holding on to a slender one goal lead, Curzon didn't really come that close to rescuing the game. If anything it was the Lilywhites who, while seeing less of the ball, came closest to finding the back of the net again through McDonagh and Fish – which should really be the title of a US television cop show.
The final whistle was greeted, as you would expect, with an audible sigh of relief and a loud appreciation of the sides efforts from the crowd that despite the best efforts of the man with his hand on the volume button, managed to make itself heard above the rendition of “Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye” blaring out over the speakers.
The result leaves us with a number of positives. First and foremost it’s another win and another three points. Secondly, it’s a ‘derby’ victory which is something we haven’t seen too much of in recent years and it’s also a stick between the spokes of Curzon's push for a play-off spot which I'm sure you'll agree is adds a nice little garnish to the event.
Finally, even though I did say some hundred or so paragraphs back that it wasn't a good game, considering the number of changes to key personnel that had to be made before and during the match, it was an impressive team performance.
Yes, we did struggle to make the extra man count but that has always been and probably always will be the case; no matter how often the managers and players change our inability to play well against ten men has, along with the white shirts, been the only constant at Seel Park down the years.
For other opinions on what happened there's the official Mossley view here and the similarly official view from the other side here.
If you went to the game it's worth reading the opposition report just to see the amount of whitewash that has been applied to turn what actually happened on Bank Holiday Monday into a tale about poor, hard done to Curzon. The claim that Norton's stamp was somehow accidental is quite phenomenal and as for the penalty being wrong because it came off Edghill's chest... well, why let facts get in the way of a fake story of woe?
Seriously, the report is the greatest work of fiction since Curzon's financial records between 2005 and 2008. Hopefully for the return fixture next week the Ashton reporter will be at the game and not at the one taking place at the same time in alternate reality as he appears to have been on Monday.
Before I go though could I air this small request to the team? Just once before the season ends, could we possibly have a match where we win in comfort? Where the result is decided without the fear of a late goal changing the outcome? It would be nice and go some way to weaning me off the nerve tablets that all these years of watching Mossley has put me on. It would be appreciated.
Do you remember way back ^ there when I said it wouldn’t take long to talk about the match? Well, er... sorry about that!
Then again 'derby' games very rarely are. Occasionally there’ll be one that transcends all expectations and becomes a match that will be talked about in hushed, reverential tones for seasons to come but this wasn’t one of them.
Not that you’re going to hear any complaints from me though because in fixtures such as these I couldn’t care less if it was the worst game of football that has ever been - or ever likely to be - played on the face of this planet as long as we won. And we did!
It could well be that my less enthusiastic take on proceedings is down in part to the fact that I hate the place where the game as held. As well being a cold place in even the warmest of months, the Tameside Stadium lacks any kind of character or charm. And even though it has been home to a football club for almost five years now, it remains as soulless as it did when the last brick was cemented into position back in 2005.
On top of that there’s the bugbear which I’ve mentioned many times before and I’m about to do so again: the public address system. As well as being at a volume level that makes conversing with the person stood next to you difficult without resorting to yelling at the top of your voice, the choice of music it blares out at uncomfortably high levels beggars any kind of belief whatsoever. If Jedward, the Spice Girls and Gracie Fields were played to other captive audiences at ear splitting levels as they were to us, civil liberty groups would be up in arms.
I’ve no doubt that part of the reason for this happening is a conscious decision to take the attention away from there being no atmosphere at all in the ground. But while it continues it’s hardly likely one is ever going to form. Why cheer the teams onto the pitch or celebrate a goal when you’re being drowned out by Robert Miles or James Brown declaring he feels good over the loud speakers?
And while I’m in full flow on this particular moan, is the fact the club president had friends visiting from Denmark really worth announcing at a tympanic membrane piercing volume not once, not twice but four times? The team line-ups only got a solitary read through.
Anyway, I should probably switch out of rant mode – for my own sanity as much as yours – and start talking about the game itself. Don’t worry either, it won’t take long.
The first chance of any description fell Curzon's way but it was the visitors who did most of the early pressing, assisted ably by the familiar strong wind off the Moss which was blowing on their backs. Their reward was a string of corners that, barring one inswinger which was turned over the bar by keeper Michael Hale, caused little consternation for the blue shirts defending the goal.
The next set-piece from the visitors though caused considerably more trouble. A looping free-kick into the box from Jordan Goodeve was met by the head of Chris McDonagh and the ball rolled slowly over the line after two unsuccessful attempts at preventing it from doing so by Hale failed.
It was a turn of events that wasn’t in the script and it rattled the home side. By just how much was made evident in the games next major talking point. Five minutes after the opening goal, Michael Norton responded to a firm but highly legal tackle from Goodeve with something from the opposite end of that particular scale.
Actually, labelling it a tackle or even an awful challenge applies several coats of whitewash to the truth of what it really was: a cowardly stamp on a prone player’s leg. And not even that comes close to describing the sheer terribleness of a moment which not only put Goodeve out of this game but the rest of the season too.
Thankfully we had something of a novelty for this particular fixture in the football calendar – a strong referee; one who had no qualms in telling the Curzon number nine that his presence was no longer required and thereby introducing us to one of the most pleasing sights in football: Norton marching up the tunnel with a red card being waved in his wake.
It took a while for Mossley to rediscover their rhythm and take advantage of the extra man but everything finally clicked into place again in the 38th minute. A run down the left ended with Michael Fish playing the ball to the feet of Matthew Russell and taking advantage of the acres of space being afforded to him, the former Curzon player rolled the ball gently past Hale.
Mossley had already had to start the game with an unfamiliar look to their defence (Andy Russell being the only regular constituent of the Lilywhites back three) and it changed again on the stroke of half time when the replacement for the otherwise disposed Andy Watson - Jonathan Jackson - dislocated his knee cap while tuning awkwardly. His departure from the match meant an in at the deep-end debut for sixteen year old Joel-Bembo Lita and the youngster coped admirably with whatever was thrown at him over the remainder of the match.
It wasn’t completely plain sailing though. In the final few seconds of time added on for the injuries picked up during the opening period, Ajay Leitch Smith halved the arrears for the Blues by capitalising on the indecision in Mossley's back line caused by the enforced reshuffling.
Despite the fresh edge given to the game by the home sides deficit reducer, the game pottered along in an incident-free fashion after the restart; no blood, no thunder, no much of anything of note until the 62nd minute when Mossley restored their two goal lead from the penalty spot. A cross from Lee Blackshaw was prevented from reaching its intended target of McDonagh by the outstretched arm of Phil Edgehill and after a couple of minutes of waiting while a few Curzon players argued the toss with the match official, Matty Kay got to rifle home his 25th goal of the campaign.
It should have been the ‘Game Over’ goal but not being a side to do things the easy way, Mossley then conceded a soft free-kick and from it an even softer goal (that Lilywhites speciality - a free header) and what was left of the nerves amongst the travelling fans began to slowly shred, fray and ping into the oblivion of history as the ten men of Curzon began to see more and more of the ball.
Over the twenty or so minutes of the game that were left the home side put their opponents under a considerable amount of pressure; pressure that generated more than a few fraught moments which had the Mossley supporters inside the stadium drawing sharp intakes of breath.
Looking back on that closing period in the cold light of a cold day though, with the three points nestling safely in our season’s tally and away from the anxiety heightened state of supporting a team holding on to a slender one goal lead, Curzon didn't really come that close to rescuing the game. If anything it was the Lilywhites who, while seeing less of the ball, came closest to finding the back of the net again through McDonagh and Fish – which should really be the title of a US television cop show.
The final whistle was greeted, as you would expect, with an audible sigh of relief and a loud appreciation of the sides efforts from the crowd that despite the best efforts of the man with his hand on the volume button, managed to make itself heard above the rendition of “Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye” blaring out over the speakers.
The result leaves us with a number of positives. First and foremost it’s another win and another three points. Secondly, it’s a ‘derby’ victory which is something we haven’t seen too much of in recent years and it’s also a stick between the spokes of Curzon's push for a play-off spot which I'm sure you'll agree is adds a nice little garnish to the event.
Finally, even though I did say some hundred or so paragraphs back that it wasn't a good game, considering the number of changes to key personnel that had to be made before and during the match, it was an impressive team performance.
Yes, we did struggle to make the extra man count but that has always been and probably always will be the case; no matter how often the managers and players change our inability to play well against ten men has, along with the white shirts, been the only constant at Seel Park down the years.
For other opinions on what happened there's the official Mossley view here and the similarly official view from the other side here.
If you went to the game it's worth reading the opposition report just to see the amount of whitewash that has been applied to turn what actually happened on Bank Holiday Monday into a tale about poor, hard done to Curzon. The claim that Norton's stamp was somehow accidental is quite phenomenal and as for the penalty being wrong because it came off Edghill's chest... well, why let facts get in the way of a fake story of woe?
Seriously, the report is the greatest work of fiction since Curzon's financial records between 2005 and 2008. Hopefully for the return fixture next week the Ashton reporter will be at the game and not at the one taking place at the same time in alternate reality as he appears to have been on Monday.
Before I go though could I air this small request to the team? Just once before the season ends, could we possibly have a match where we win in comfort? Where the result is decided without the fear of a late goal changing the outcome? It would be nice and go some way to weaning me off the nerve tablets that all these years of watching Mossley has put me on. It would be appreciated.
Do you remember way back ^ there when I said it wouldn’t take long to talk about the match? Well, er... sorry about that!
Sixteen Long Months Ago, A Few Miles Away...
As we prepare to wend our merry way down to the Tameside wind trap on Ashton Moss to face Curzon, I thought it would be nice to remind ourselves of what happened the last time we were there.
But instead of just providing a link to a report on that particular game (which is here by the way) you can now actually see the defining moment from the game in never before seen video footage. Well you can if you squint.
It's 16:17 on Boxing Day 2008 and Chris Hirst runs on to a through ball from Danny Self...
But instead of just providing a link to a report on that particular game (which is here by the way) you can now actually see the defining moment from the game in never before seen video footage. Well you can if you squint.
It's 16:17 on Boxing Day 2008 and Chris Hirst runs on to a through ball from Danny Self...
Mossley 4 - 2 AFC Fylde
I know that is going to seem like I'm being unnecessarily grumpy but despite the large number of goals scored this wasn't a particularly good game.
The ball might have found the back of the net six times but little happened between each of those occasions other than the odd rain shower and the slow, inexorable passing of time.
Not that any of these moans and petty complaints will bother anyone from Mossley much though as in scoring the majority of those six goals they arrested a run of two consecutive defeats with a victory and did so having had to twice come from behind.
Following a ponderous start the game briefly burst into a modicum of life in the 12th minute when Fylde centre half Danny Monkton took full advantage of being left unmarked during a corner kick to head his side in front. The match then returned to being a languid affair until it was Mossley's turn to fleetingly break the tedium midway through the half when Michael Fish put home side back on level terms with a neat near post header from a Steve Settle cross. To 'borrow' a tweet from another Mossley supporter, it had to be Fish on Good Friday. And, of course, a cross too.
As far as noteworthy moments go that was it for the opening period and the prospects for a better second half didn't look good as both teams continued to toil away to little effect immediately after the interval.
Finally though the match developed a pulse – albeit a faint and erratic one – around the hour mark and did so in bizarre circumstances. A rush of blood saw Settle split his own defence wide open with a pass that put Fylde's Michael Barnes clean through on goal and despite having to carry the ball some distance, the visiting number nine kept his nerve to calmly put the ball past the advancing Peter Collinge and his team back in front.
If he'd applied the same assuredness in finishing not soon after it's almost certain he'd have given his side the three points. Instead of doubling his sides advantage though Barnes sent an easier chance bobbling past the upright. It proved to be a costly miss too as less than a minute later their lead was cancelled out for the second time in the match. Chris McDonagh powered through two challenges on a run into the penalty area and after playing a short pass out wide to Settle, the ball was hit low across the face of the six yard box and and tapped home by Matty Kay.
Another five minutes then elapsed before Settle got the opportunity to atone for his error which had given Fylde the lead for the second time when Mossley were awarded, somewhat fortuitously, a free-kick just outside the visitors penalty area. Actually erroneously would probably be a better description given that the only offence that took place, a handball, was committed by a player in a white shirt.
Incorrect decision or not, Settle stepped up and arced a shot around the wall and towards the top corner of the goal which substitute keeper Dave Stevenson did astonishingly well to get a hand on. He only succeeded however in pushing the powerfully struck effort onto the inside of the post, from where it bounced across the line to put Mossley ahead for the first time.
It was a lead that never looked like being lost either as the home side soaked up the pressure being put on them by Fylde with little discomfort. In fact for all the possession the visitors enjoyed in the closing stages of the match, it was Mossley who always looked the side more likely to score next through the pace of their breakaway attacks and that's just what they did with three minutes remaining. Settle cut in from the right wing and hit a shot which took a deflection off a defender and then Matty Kay (who'd began the move three-quarters of the way back up the pitch) to take it past Stevenson and seal the win.
There's no question that Fylde can feel aggrieved to come away from the match empty handed but that's football - sometimes you don't get what you deserve and even the most blinkered Mossley supporter must admit that they at least deserved a point.
Then again, its happened to us so often that it's not funny any more so it's nice to experience the situation from the other side for once and wallow in that warm, comfy and smug feeling it brings.
The ball might have found the back of the net six times but little happened between each of those occasions other than the odd rain shower and the slow, inexorable passing of time.
Not that any of these moans and petty complaints will bother anyone from Mossley much though as in scoring the majority of those six goals they arrested a run of two consecutive defeats with a victory and did so having had to twice come from behind.
Following a ponderous start the game briefly burst into a modicum of life in the 12th minute when Fylde centre half Danny Monkton took full advantage of being left unmarked during a corner kick to head his side in front. The match then returned to being a languid affair until it was Mossley's turn to fleetingly break the tedium midway through the half when Michael Fish put home side back on level terms with a neat near post header from a Steve Settle cross. To 'borrow' a tweet from another Mossley supporter, it had to be Fish on Good Friday. And, of course, a cross too.
As far as noteworthy moments go that was it for the opening period and the prospects for a better second half didn't look good as both teams continued to toil away to little effect immediately after the interval.
Finally though the match developed a pulse – albeit a faint and erratic one – around the hour mark and did so in bizarre circumstances. A rush of blood saw Settle split his own defence wide open with a pass that put Fylde's Michael Barnes clean through on goal and despite having to carry the ball some distance, the visiting number nine kept his nerve to calmly put the ball past the advancing Peter Collinge and his team back in front.
If he'd applied the same assuredness in finishing not soon after it's almost certain he'd have given his side the three points. Instead of doubling his sides advantage though Barnes sent an easier chance bobbling past the upright. It proved to be a costly miss too as less than a minute later their lead was cancelled out for the second time in the match. Chris McDonagh powered through two challenges on a run into the penalty area and after playing a short pass out wide to Settle, the ball was hit low across the face of the six yard box and and tapped home by Matty Kay.
Another five minutes then elapsed before Settle got the opportunity to atone for his error which had given Fylde the lead for the second time when Mossley were awarded, somewhat fortuitously, a free-kick just outside the visitors penalty area. Actually erroneously would probably be a better description given that the only offence that took place, a handball, was committed by a player in a white shirt.
Incorrect decision or not, Settle stepped up and arced a shot around the wall and towards the top corner of the goal which substitute keeper Dave Stevenson did astonishingly well to get a hand on. He only succeeded however in pushing the powerfully struck effort onto the inside of the post, from where it bounced across the line to put Mossley ahead for the first time.
It was a lead that never looked like being lost either as the home side soaked up the pressure being put on them by Fylde with little discomfort. In fact for all the possession the visitors enjoyed in the closing stages of the match, it was Mossley who always looked the side more likely to score next through the pace of their breakaway attacks and that's just what they did with three minutes remaining. Settle cut in from the right wing and hit a shot which took a deflection off a defender and then Matty Kay (who'd began the move three-quarters of the way back up the pitch) to take it past Stevenson and seal the win.
There's no question that Fylde can feel aggrieved to come away from the match empty handed but that's football - sometimes you don't get what you deserve and even the most blinkered Mossley supporter must admit that they at least deserved a point.
Then again, its happened to us so often that it's not funny any more so it's nice to experience the situation from the other side for once and wallow in that warm, comfy and smug feeling it brings.
Lancaster City 2 - 1 Mossley
Win or lose it's somewhat nice to know that recent Mossley games have a theme running through them: late drama and a result decided by just the odd goal. The latest addition to this particular motif being a goal scored two minutes from time which condemned the Lilywhites to a 2-1 defeat at Lancaster City's Giant Axe ground.
Losing so late on to a team at the top of the division doesn't sound too shabby but there is disappointment as, apparently, we were the better side for long stretches of the match and well worthy of something more than the zero points we got. Alas, the record books only keep tabs on the actual result and not what it should have been, so Lancaster move three points closer to the title and Mossley remain comfortably in the mid-section of the league table.
Once again the use of the word beginning with 'app' in the last paragraph should give you a clue (and a big one too) that I wasn't at this match which means I can't give you the specific ins and outs. Therefore if you want to know what what went on I suggest going here or here.
However, if you want to know what the new Alice in Wonderland film is like, I can give an opinion on that: it isn't good.
Losing so late on to a team at the top of the division doesn't sound too shabby but there is disappointment as, apparently, we were the better side for long stretches of the match and well worthy of something more than the zero points we got. Alas, the record books only keep tabs on the actual result and not what it should have been, so Lancaster move three points closer to the title and Mossley remain comfortably in the mid-section of the league table.
Once again the use of the word beginning with 'app' in the last paragraph should give you a clue (and a big one too) that I wasn't at this match which means I can't give you the specific ins and outs. Therefore if you want to know what what went on I suggest going here or here.
However, if you want to know what the new Alice in Wonderland film is like, I can give an opinion on that: it isn't good.
Chorley 3 - 2 Mossley
Erm... well, we lost. That seven game unbeaten run we were on? Came to an end at the ironically named Victory Park. Or if you're a Chorley supporter the appropriately named yada, yada, yada*.
Actually I've no idea what went on at all over the course of this particular ninety minutes plus as I was sat 35 miles away being repeatedly and comprehensively beaten on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 by a succession of our European cousins - something I'm going blame on the bad back I was suffering from at the time rather than any lack of skill on my part.
So bear with me a moment while I check what happened just up the M61...
Right! Apparently we went one up very early on in the match through Andy Watson, a goal which by all accounts was against the run of play. The Magpies equalised later on in the half as Lee Shillito became the latest in the ever growing line of ex-Mossley players to find the net against us.
And that's how the score remained until eight minutes from time when Danny Lloyd-McGoldrick put the home side in front and Chris Amadi increased the lead further. The Lilywhites managed to find the net once more but for the first time in a while a Mossley goal scored in injury time didn't have any effect on the outcome of the match.
Hang on! Why did I just I write all that when you could have read it for yourself here like I did?
* Yes, Seinfeld references on this very blog! Don't know why though because <heresy> I'm not a great fan of the programme </heresy>.
Actually I've no idea what went on at all over the course of this particular ninety minutes plus as I was sat 35 miles away being repeatedly and comprehensively beaten on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 by a succession of our European cousins - something I'm going blame on the bad back I was suffering from at the time rather than any lack of skill on my part.
So bear with me a moment while I check what happened just up the M61...
Right! Apparently we went one up very early on in the match through Andy Watson, a goal which by all accounts was against the run of play. The Magpies equalised later on in the half as Lee Shillito became the latest in the ever growing line of ex-Mossley players to find the net against us.
And that's how the score remained until eight minutes from time when Danny Lloyd-McGoldrick put the home side in front and Chris Amadi increased the lead further. The Lilywhites managed to find the net once more but for the first time in a while a Mossley goal scored in injury time didn't have any effect on the outcome of the match.
Hang on! Why did I just I write all that when you could have read it for yourself here like I did?
* Yes, Seinfeld references on this very blog! Don't know why though because <heresy> I'm not a great fan of the programme </heresy>.
Mossley 3 - 2 Harrogate Railway Athletic
Regular readers (see how I'm being unusually optimistic by using the plural) will know that the reports on the blog are the official ones with a few added extras - such as the odd, toe curlingly bad gag, a tortured metaphor or two and the occasional expression of an opinion that no one agrees with.
Sometimes though the report on here carries none of those of things and is simply just a straight copy of the one which appears on the official site, in the programme and, every now and again, in the local paper too. There's a perfectly good reason for this... well, now I come to think of it there's actually two. The first is pure, unadulterated, wanting to spend my Sunday's doing something better laziness.
The second though, and the reason that's pertinent on this occasion, is because there's simply nothing to write about; at least nothing to expound on in greater and more elaborate detail. What's in the official report is the entirety of what took place barring the omission of a couple of chances that you'd be hard pushed to affix the label of 'half' too.I know, it seems incredible that a game containing five goals could be so incident free but that was the case.
Anyhoo, with all that out of the way...
After an injury time equaliser at Trafford had brought their run of five successive victories to an end in midweek, Mossley embarked on what they no doubt hope will be another lengthy run of positive results with a win against Harrogate Railway Athletic at a rain sodden Seel Park.
Despite their lowly position in the league, any assumptions that this would be an 'easy' fixture for the Lilywhites were countered by the fact that Harrogate entered the match as one of the in-form sides in the Unibond First Division North having taken 13 out of a possible 15 points, including a defeat of current league leaders Lancaster City.
And if there were any lingering thoughts that it would be a relatively trouble free afternoon for the Mossley, who themselves were on a similar vein of form, they were dispelled in an opening thirteen minute spell that the visitors dominated and in which they took a deserved lead. The impressive Ben Jones fed the ball into the path of Kevin Ryan and after shrugging off the attentions of Graham Kay, the burly Harrogate striker fired the ball low across Peter Collinge and into the corner of the net.
It was a lead that didn't last long though as less than two minutes later, and on what was practically their first attack, Chris McDonagh netted from close range to pull Mossley level; the forward taking advantage of some leaden footed defending to ghost into the box and onto the end of Steve Settle's inch perfect through ball.
McDonagh and Matty Kay both had opportunities to edge the home side in front before Steve Moore did just that eight minutes from the break. A weak punch by ex-Mossley keeper James Mann following a goalmouth scramble fell to the feet of Moore on the edge of the penalty area and his first time strike flew through a crowd of players and across the line.
The goal helped to calm a few nerves as Mossley could have easily found themselves playing catch-up again just two minutes before Moore's strike. Fortunately Aaron Hollingdrake was unable to punish the lax defending that saw him with the ball at his feet and only the goalkeeper to beat by firing horribly wide of the upright from ten yards out.
Unsurprisingly the combined effects of the weather and the energy sapping nature of the heavy pitch began to take its toll on the players and, as a consequence, the entertainment value of the match too. Tired limbs led to a succession of mistakes and it was through one that Mossley gave a cushion to their lead in the 63rd minute.
A long clearance down field should have been dealt with easily by Harrogate centre half Grogan but his mis-control allowed McDonagh to take possession. The ball then worked it's way across the 18 yard box via the boot of Matty Kay to Moore who launched a rocket of a shot into the net off the underside of the crossbar.
The loss of Jones through injury appeared to bring to an end the visitors best hope of fashioning a comeback and Mossley looked to be cruising to a comfortable three points. At least that was the case until Ryan scored his second of the afternoon with two minutes of the match remaining, giving the Lilywhites a slightly more nervous end to the game than they were expecting as Athletic pushed men forward in search of an equaliser.
Their defence however wasn't to be breached for a third time and the Lilywhites kept their lead intact to register a sixth win in seven outings, move themselves into ninth spot in the table and with the number of games they have in hand on the teams above them, spark faint hopes of possible push for a play-off spot.
Well some people think there's an outside chance of spot in the top five come the end of the season. I very much doubt we'll get there but stranger things have happened. I mean, in the middle of December who'd have thought we'd ever be as high as ninth? Or scoring more than one goal a game in the league?
Then again, who'd have thought we'd have no floodlights and be playing some home games at Ashton United? If you did, what lottery numbers have you got for next week?
Sometimes though the report on here carries none of those of things and is simply just a straight copy of the one which appears on the official site, in the programme and, every now and again, in the local paper too. There's a perfectly good reason for this... well, now I come to think of it there's actually two. The first is pure, unadulterated, wanting to spend my Sunday's doing something better laziness.
The second though, and the reason that's pertinent on this occasion, is because there's simply nothing to write about; at least nothing to expound on in greater and more elaborate detail. What's in the official report is the entirety of what took place barring the omission of a couple of chances that you'd be hard pushed to affix the label of 'half' too.I know, it seems incredible that a game containing five goals could be so incident free but that was the case.
Anyhoo, with all that out of the way...
After an injury time equaliser at Trafford had brought their run of five successive victories to an end in midweek, Mossley embarked on what they no doubt hope will be another lengthy run of positive results with a win against Harrogate Railway Athletic at a rain sodden Seel Park.
Despite their lowly position in the league, any assumptions that this would be an 'easy' fixture for the Lilywhites were countered by the fact that Harrogate entered the match as one of the in-form sides in the Unibond First Division North having taken 13 out of a possible 15 points, including a defeat of current league leaders Lancaster City.
And if there were any lingering thoughts that it would be a relatively trouble free afternoon for the Mossley, who themselves were on a similar vein of form, they were dispelled in an opening thirteen minute spell that the visitors dominated and in which they took a deserved lead. The impressive Ben Jones fed the ball into the path of Kevin Ryan and after shrugging off the attentions of Graham Kay, the burly Harrogate striker fired the ball low across Peter Collinge and into the corner of the net.
It was a lead that didn't last long though as less than two minutes later, and on what was practically their first attack, Chris McDonagh netted from close range to pull Mossley level; the forward taking advantage of some leaden footed defending to ghost into the box and onto the end of Steve Settle's inch perfect through ball.
McDonagh and Matty Kay both had opportunities to edge the home side in front before Steve Moore did just that eight minutes from the break. A weak punch by ex-Mossley keeper James Mann following a goalmouth scramble fell to the feet of Moore on the edge of the penalty area and his first time strike flew through a crowd of players and across the line.
The goal helped to calm a few nerves as Mossley could have easily found themselves playing catch-up again just two minutes before Moore's strike. Fortunately Aaron Hollingdrake was unable to punish the lax defending that saw him with the ball at his feet and only the goalkeeper to beat by firing horribly wide of the upright from ten yards out.
Unsurprisingly the combined effects of the weather and the energy sapping nature of the heavy pitch began to take its toll on the players and, as a consequence, the entertainment value of the match too. Tired limbs led to a succession of mistakes and it was through one that Mossley gave a cushion to their lead in the 63rd minute.
A long clearance down field should have been dealt with easily by Harrogate centre half Grogan but his mis-control allowed McDonagh to take possession. The ball then worked it's way across the 18 yard box via the boot of Matty Kay to Moore who launched a rocket of a shot into the net off the underside of the crossbar.
The loss of Jones through injury appeared to bring to an end the visitors best hope of fashioning a comeback and Mossley looked to be cruising to a comfortable three points. At least that was the case until Ryan scored his second of the afternoon with two minutes of the match remaining, giving the Lilywhites a slightly more nervous end to the game than they were expecting as Athletic pushed men forward in search of an equaliser.
Their defence however wasn't to be breached for a third time and the Lilywhites kept their lead intact to register a sixth win in seven outings, move themselves into ninth spot in the table and with the number of games they have in hand on the teams above them, spark faint hopes of possible push for a play-off spot.
Well some people think there's an outside chance of spot in the top five come the end of the season. I very much doubt we'll get there but stranger things have happened. I mean, in the middle of December who'd have thought we'd ever be as high as ninth? Or scoring more than one goal a game in the league?
Then again, who'd have thought we'd have no floodlights and be playing some home games at Ashton United? If you did, what lottery numbers have you got for next week?
Trafford 3 - 3 Mossley
I've been brought up to believe that if you can't say something nice then you shouldn't say anything at all. Good manners which mean I won't be giving a critical appraisal of the referee in this game (at least that is what he was supposed to be) or a certain ex-Mossley midfielder. At least I'm not going to try to mention them but I feel that may be an impossibility.
Okay then, I'll get it out of the way now. The match official: staggeringly bad. From the moment he only gave Mr X (I'm going to give him the satisfaction of having to write his name) a yellow card for a shocking tackle on Ben Richardson he began the descent of a slippery slope. The booking of Chris McDonagh for a challenge in which a goalkeeper and defender collided with one another a yard and a half in front of him being a 'highlight' of the countless other ridiculous decisions that grew in number as the match progressed.
As for Mr X... I didn't think my opinion of him could get much lower. The tackle that nearly broke Richardson's leg last week at Radcliffe was late but this one came after play had moved ten yards up the pitch and was the catalyst for all the unpleasantness on the night. To make matters worse the challenge was from behind giving Richardson no chance to get out of the way, the whole thing was then compounded by X standing low over the injured player and snarling at him ala 'Keane on Haaland'. A cheap shot from a player who despite trying to come across as a hard man is nothing than a coward, further evidence of which can be found in his post game behaviour which is detailed here.
But what about the match itself? Well there wasn't really much difference between it and the last game against Ossett.
Like Saturday's game Mossley seemed to switch off after quarter of an hour, only this time with a two goal lead courtesy of Chris McDonagh and some very nice approach play. Again mirroring the weekends fixture, Mossley only switched back on after the opposition had drawn level early in the second half and proceeded to create chance after chance and, sadly, miss chance after chance. One finally went in with ten minutes to go - Chris McDonagh completing a thoroughly deserved hat-trick - and with more chances going begging, the result seemed done and dusted.
At least it would have done if Trafford hadn't turned into a set of tumbling clowns around the penalty box - it was almost as if they were auditioning for a spot with the Cirque du Soleil currently in residence at the shrine to Mammon a mile up the road from the ground. I swear that every time the ball got near the area at least two players would hit the deck and the referee, being ever so eager to please his hosts, would award them a free-kick. Two minutes into injury time they got their final free-kick of the match and equalised, at which point we were treated to the sight of the goalscorer shunning his team mates to run to the opposite end of the pitch to give the supporters behind the Trafford goal the finger and unleash some words at them that I won't put on here.
What was the referee doing while this was happening? I've no idea, I wasn't watching. For all I know he could have been celebrating with the rest of the Trafford players.
Before the game I'd have been happy with a draw. When Trafford drew level I'd have been happy with a draw. So I suppose I should be happy with the final 3-3 outcome. Well maybe not that happy considering we should have had the game won long before the end and that we fell foul of an injury time goal courtesy of yet another nonsensical decision from the man in charge.
But then that has always the case on our trips to Shawe View. You know that a) no matter how well we play we're never going to win, b) the referee is going to be bad and c) so his assistant running the line in the top end half of the pitch - it's one of life's unwavering constants.
Okay then, I'll get it out of the way now. The match official: staggeringly bad. From the moment he only gave Mr X (I'm going to give him the satisfaction of having to write his name) a yellow card for a shocking tackle on Ben Richardson he began the descent of a slippery slope. The booking of Chris McDonagh for a challenge in which a goalkeeper and defender collided with one another a yard and a half in front of him being a 'highlight' of the countless other ridiculous decisions that grew in number as the match progressed.
As for Mr X... I didn't think my opinion of him could get much lower. The tackle that nearly broke Richardson's leg last week at Radcliffe was late but this one came after play had moved ten yards up the pitch and was the catalyst for all the unpleasantness on the night. To make matters worse the challenge was from behind giving Richardson no chance to get out of the way, the whole thing was then compounded by X standing low over the injured player and snarling at him ala 'Keane on Haaland'. A cheap shot from a player who despite trying to come across as a hard man is nothing than a coward, further evidence of which can be found in his post game behaviour which is detailed here.
But what about the match itself? Well there wasn't really much difference between it and the last game against Ossett.
Like Saturday's game Mossley seemed to switch off after quarter of an hour, only this time with a two goal lead courtesy of Chris McDonagh and some very nice approach play. Again mirroring the weekends fixture, Mossley only switched back on after the opposition had drawn level early in the second half and proceeded to create chance after chance and, sadly, miss chance after chance. One finally went in with ten minutes to go - Chris McDonagh completing a thoroughly deserved hat-trick - and with more chances going begging, the result seemed done and dusted.
At least it would have done if Trafford hadn't turned into a set of tumbling clowns around the penalty box - it was almost as if they were auditioning for a spot with the Cirque du Soleil currently in residence at the shrine to Mammon a mile up the road from the ground. I swear that every time the ball got near the area at least two players would hit the deck and the referee, being ever so eager to please his hosts, would award them a free-kick. Two minutes into injury time they got their final free-kick of the match and equalised, at which point we were treated to the sight of the goalscorer shunning his team mates to run to the opposite end of the pitch to give the supporters behind the Trafford goal the finger and unleash some words at them that I won't put on here.
What was the referee doing while this was happening? I've no idea, I wasn't watching. For all I know he could have been celebrating with the rest of the Trafford players.
Before the game I'd have been happy with a draw. When Trafford drew level I'd have been happy with a draw. So I suppose I should be happy with the final 3-3 outcome. Well maybe not that happy considering we should have had the game won long before the end and that we fell foul of an injury time goal courtesy of yet another nonsensical decision from the man in charge.
But then that has always the case on our trips to Shawe View. You know that a) no matter how well we play we're never going to win, b) the referee is going to be bad and c) so his assistant running the line in the top end half of the pitch - it's one of life's unwavering constants.
Mossley 2 - 1 Ossett Albion
Another game, another win. Four words (or technically just three) that more or less sum up everything about this game. It wasn't a classic and it wasn't much of a contest either.
For the fourth time in five games a goal from Lee Blackshaw turned out to be the decisive moment in a Mossley match as not even the disadvantage of playing for almost an hour with ten men could stop the Lilywhites from recording their fifth successive victory.
The home side took a 6th minute lead when centre half Graham Kay found himself in the unusual position of being the furthest man forward in a Mossley attack. Some patient build-up play from Ben Richardson and Jordan Goodeve found a perfectly timed run into the box by Chris McDonagh and his low cross was met by Kay who stooped to head the ball home.
At this point Mossley looked like scoring every time they ventured forward and when Blackshaw was hauled to the ground inside the penalty area in the 12th minute, they were awarded the opportunity increase their lead from the spot. Unfortunately for the Lilywhites Steve Moore's effort from twelve yards wasn't the best penalty he's ever taken and Ben Saynor was able to make a good, if somewhat comfortable, save. A description which can also be used for his stop to deny Michael Fish with a follow up shot.
The miss appeared to take the wind out of Mossley's sails and for the remainder of the half they struggled to rediscover the form that, with some better finishing, could have seen them end the game as a contest within the opening quarter of an hour. Admittedly their cause wasn't helped when Kay was shown a straight red card for retaliating to a dangerous looking challenge from Shane Kelsey but it didn't hinder them either as, barring one good claim for a penalty when Nathan James was bundled over by keeper Peter Collinge, Ossett failed to pose any kind of threat to the numerically challenged home side in the first period.
The second half started with Michael Fish and McDonagh both going close to doubling an advantage that was eventually, and surprisingly, cancelled out in the 57th minute. A mini period of pressure which began with Kelsey hitting the upright from a free-kick ended with Andy Brownrigg heading past Collinge following a dead ball kick taken in almost exactly the same spot.
Rather than being a catalyst for the Yorkshire side to go forward in search of a winner though, the equaliser re-galvanized Mossley and ten minutes later they were back in front; substitute Steve Settle's low ball across the six yard box having been directed into the net by Blackshaw. A third and fourth goal went agonisingly close to being added over the next two minutes as Richardson fired narrowly wide of an upright that Settle hit moments later with a venomous shot.
At this stage you began to wonder which side had actually been reduced in number as Mossley continued to press forward in search of more goals. McDonagh missed a golden opportunity to have sealed the win when he hit the crossbar from only two yards out ('golden opportunity' of course being match report speak for 'an absolute sitter') and Saynor produced a good recovering save after his handling error almost presented Nathan Neequaye with a similarly gilt edged chance.
The match reached its conclusion with the Lilywhites only having to endure one minor scare before they could claim a deserved win against their lacklustre opponents. And yes, I do understand the irony of me describing Albion with the L-word when its an adjective that's can equally applicable to this match report.
The problem is that it's hard to convey drama when there was none. Yes, we had a player sent off and yes, they eventually equalised but there was never any feeling that Mossley would lose this. To be brutally honest, I doubt it's a feeling that would have changed had we had another player or two dismissed because Ossett were woeful. Painfully so.
All told there's not much more else that can be said. A good display from Mossley, another win and that's about it.
The only other thing worth mentioning is the half-time raffle prize which in a break from the usual bottle of whiskey or wine turned out to be a giant stuffed bunny rabbit. Seriously.
It still doesn't surpass the current holder of football's most bizarre raffle top prize though: an emergency car breakdown signal/torch which was the reward for having the winning ticket at Newcastle Town one late December around ten years ago - the phrase 'unwanted Christmas gift' springing immediately to mind.
Never before or since has the outlay of a pound coin ever produced something so underwhelming in return. Apart from maybe the Sunday Express.
So its come to this: writing about raffle prizes. That probably is the sound of a barrel being scraped you can hear.
For the fourth time in five games a goal from Lee Blackshaw turned out to be the decisive moment in a Mossley match as not even the disadvantage of playing for almost an hour with ten men could stop the Lilywhites from recording their fifth successive victory.
The home side took a 6th minute lead when centre half Graham Kay found himself in the unusual position of being the furthest man forward in a Mossley attack. Some patient build-up play from Ben Richardson and Jordan Goodeve found a perfectly timed run into the box by Chris McDonagh and his low cross was met by Kay who stooped to head the ball home.
At this point Mossley looked like scoring every time they ventured forward and when Blackshaw was hauled to the ground inside the penalty area in the 12th minute, they were awarded the opportunity increase their lead from the spot. Unfortunately for the Lilywhites Steve Moore's effort from twelve yards wasn't the best penalty he's ever taken and Ben Saynor was able to make a good, if somewhat comfortable, save. A description which can also be used for his stop to deny Michael Fish with a follow up shot.
The miss appeared to take the wind out of Mossley's sails and for the remainder of the half they struggled to rediscover the form that, with some better finishing, could have seen them end the game as a contest within the opening quarter of an hour. Admittedly their cause wasn't helped when Kay was shown a straight red card for retaliating to a dangerous looking challenge from Shane Kelsey but it didn't hinder them either as, barring one good claim for a penalty when Nathan James was bundled over by keeper Peter Collinge, Ossett failed to pose any kind of threat to the numerically challenged home side in the first period.
The second half started with Michael Fish and McDonagh both going close to doubling an advantage that was eventually, and surprisingly, cancelled out in the 57th minute. A mini period of pressure which began with Kelsey hitting the upright from a free-kick ended with Andy Brownrigg heading past Collinge following a dead ball kick taken in almost exactly the same spot.
Rather than being a catalyst for the Yorkshire side to go forward in search of a winner though, the equaliser re-galvanized Mossley and ten minutes later they were back in front; substitute Steve Settle's low ball across the six yard box having been directed into the net by Blackshaw. A third and fourth goal went agonisingly close to being added over the next two minutes as Richardson fired narrowly wide of an upright that Settle hit moments later with a venomous shot.
At this stage you began to wonder which side had actually been reduced in number as Mossley continued to press forward in search of more goals. McDonagh missed a golden opportunity to have sealed the win when he hit the crossbar from only two yards out ('golden opportunity' of course being match report speak for 'an absolute sitter') and Saynor produced a good recovering save after his handling error almost presented Nathan Neequaye with a similarly gilt edged chance.
The match reached its conclusion with the Lilywhites only having to endure one minor scare before they could claim a deserved win against their lacklustre opponents. And yes, I do understand the irony of me describing Albion with the L-word when its an adjective that's can equally applicable to this match report.
The problem is that it's hard to convey drama when there was none. Yes, we had a player sent off and yes, they eventually equalised but there was never any feeling that Mossley would lose this. To be brutally honest, I doubt it's a feeling that would have changed had we had another player or two dismissed because Ossett were woeful. Painfully so.
All told there's not much more else that can be said. A good display from Mossley, another win and that's about it.
The only other thing worth mentioning is the half-time raffle prize which in a break from the usual bottle of whiskey or wine turned out to be a giant stuffed bunny rabbit. Seriously.
It still doesn't surpass the current holder of football's most bizarre raffle top prize though: an emergency car breakdown signal/torch which was the reward for having the winning ticket at Newcastle Town one late December around ten years ago - the phrase 'unwanted Christmas gift' springing immediately to mind. Never before or since has the outlay of a pound coin ever produced something so underwhelming in return. Apart from maybe the Sunday Express.
So its come to this: writing about raffle prizes. That probably is the sound of a barrel being scraped you can hear.
The Streets Where You Live
In case you didn't know, Google have now updated the Streetview option on their Maps site to include all but a small percentage of the UK's roads, avenues, lanes and... er, streets. This means that if you so wish you can now go for a virtual walk around Mossley from the comfort of your own armchair.
Of course you won't be able to experience the sounds and smells but that's just another upside isn't it?
Anyhoo, while on my digital tour around the area I came across the following as I travelled past the market: a single image that sums up everything about First Manchester and the bus "service" they run in the town...
View Larger Map
Not only that but my brother is on there too.
If you find anything else of interest while looking around Mossley (or anywhere else that's local) on Streetview, do let me know and I'll put a link to it on here.
Of course you won't be able to experience the sounds and smells but that's just another upside isn't it?
Anyhoo, while on my digital tour around the area I came across the following as I travelled past the market: a single image that sums up everything about First Manchester and the bus "service" they run in the town...
View Larger Map
Not only that but my brother is on there too.
If you find anything else of interest while looking around Mossley (or anywhere else that's local) on Streetview, do let me know and I'll put a link to it on here.
Radcliffe Borough 0 - 1 Mossley
By rights this report should consist solely of me wittering on in an overly ebullient fashion about the latest instalment in Mossley's winning streak; filled as it was with some superb passages of football.
Unfortunately though it's not going to be because my powers of description have failed me. I'd love to be able to tell you about a three man move midway through the first half involving Nick Allen, Steve Moore and Chris McDonagh but I don't possess a vocabulary that could do it justice. And the same thing goes for a whole host of moments like these during the match, including a great spell of 'keep ball' around the Radcliffe box which wound down the clock in injury time.
Either that or I'm just feeling really lazy when it comes to writing reports these days. Whatever the reason is though one thing is a fact: a solitary goal from Matty Kay proved to be enough to earn Mossley their fourth consecutive victory in a fixture that wasn't as close as maybe the score line suggests.
Considering the Lilywhites recent tendency for clinching wins with virtually the last kick of the match, this particular game winning goal came at the relatively early time of the 18th minute. A long punt upfield by Peter Collinge was gifted to Kay by the head of one of Borough's centre halves and after taking one touch to control the ball, the Mossley midfielder unleashed a drive from 25 yards that flashed past Lloyd Rigby (no relation) in the home sides goal and into the bottom left hand corner of the net.
Even at this youthful stage of the game it was no more than the visitors deserved for the pressure they were putting their hosts under. The only thing that stops that period of pressure being labelled as constant was a moment in the 9th minute in which Ben Wharton, a former Mossley trialist, crashed a shot against the crossbar following a mazy run towards the edge of the visitors box.
After going a goal behind Radcliffe began to struggle to contain their opponents attacks and it was a task made all the harder just before the half hour when Ben Manning was shown a red card for an horrifically late two footed lunge on Ben Richardson. It was an atrocious challenge and one that could have easily cast an extremely dark and disturbing cloud over proceedings had the Mossley wing back not had the leg which was clattered into off the ground.
If that wasn't bad enough what followed really took the shine off the game as the behaviour of quite a few people from Radcliffe after that, for want of a better word, 'tackle' leaves a heck of a lot to be desired.
The number of people condoning the challenge - one in which a player was extremely fortunate not to have his leg snapped in two – was extraordinary. I wonder if a certain senior member of the Radcliffe bench would have walked down the touchline to berate the officials and offer to take on the opposition supporters if it had been his player almost put out of the game for a considerable length of time? I doubt it and I'm not mean spirited enough to wish. the situation on them in the hope of finding out. Some of us can act as human beings rather partisan idiots
There are tales doing the rounds too of an even more senior official at Borough behaving like a complete muppet in the aftermath of the incident. If they're true, and I've no reason to doubt the source of these claims, then the person in question should perhaps make good with his tiresome annual threats to pack in with football and do the game a favour.
Seriously, the attitude of some people in this sport beggars belief and it's fools like these: people who can scream abuse at someone for having the temerity not to stand still and have his leg broken, that make me wonder if the game is really worth bothering with.
Anyway, where was I?
In an attempt to press home their advantage and capitalise on the disorganisation in the Borough defence caused by the dismissal, Mossley mounted attack after attack in search of the goal or goals that would seal the win. Steven Moore brought an excellent save of Rigby with a stinging thirty yard shot and then saw another effort bounce off the upright. His strike partner Chris McDonagh went close to doubling the lead with an angled drive, as did Lee Blackshaw and Kay again, while Andy Russell's point blank header from a corner looped over the crossbar after hitting a motionless and somewhat stunned Rigby in the face.
Mossley continued to press forward after the interval with both Russell and Blackshaw again narrowly failing to add to the lead. The longer the game wore on though, the more the visitors became content to sit back and defend the advantage they held; the consequence of which being that Radcliffe began to enjoy a greater share of possession as they pushed forward in search of an equaliser.
I will admit that there were more than a few jitters amongst the travelling contingent in the closing moments of the match as the ball pinged around the edge of the Mossley box. Having a one goal lead with a few minutes will do that to any supporter. To be honest though, there's not a lead imaginable that Mossley fans would ever be comfortable with. Even at four or five goal goals up with seconds to play the average Lilywhites follower would at most expect a draw. Some call it pessimism, others call it negativity - the rest of us call it 'been there, done that'.
But looking back at those moments now in the (very) cold light of day you realise that the nerves and panicked cries of “clear it” were unnecessary because then men in white were really quite comfortable; the solidity of the Lilywhites back line meant that Borough's attempts to salvage the game were confined to nothing more than pot shots from a distance.
While the margin of victory may not accurately reflect Mossley's hold on the game, the three points gained from this latest success does move them a step closer to a top ten spot in the league – something which I doubt many, including the most ardent Lilywhites fans, would have thought possible given the position the club was in a little over a month ago.
Unfortunately though it's not going to be because my powers of description have failed me. I'd love to be able to tell you about a three man move midway through the first half involving Nick Allen, Steve Moore and Chris McDonagh but I don't possess a vocabulary that could do it justice. And the same thing goes for a whole host of moments like these during the match, including a great spell of 'keep ball' around the Radcliffe box which wound down the clock in injury time.
Either that or I'm just feeling really lazy when it comes to writing reports these days. Whatever the reason is though one thing is a fact: a solitary goal from Matty Kay proved to be enough to earn Mossley their fourth consecutive victory in a fixture that wasn't as close as maybe the score line suggests.
Considering the Lilywhites recent tendency for clinching wins with virtually the last kick of the match, this particular game winning goal came at the relatively early time of the 18th minute. A long punt upfield by Peter Collinge was gifted to Kay by the head of one of Borough's centre halves and after taking one touch to control the ball, the Mossley midfielder unleashed a drive from 25 yards that flashed past Lloyd Rigby (no relation) in the home sides goal and into the bottom left hand corner of the net.
Even at this youthful stage of the game it was no more than the visitors deserved for the pressure they were putting their hosts under. The only thing that stops that period of pressure being labelled as constant was a moment in the 9th minute in which Ben Wharton, a former Mossley trialist, crashed a shot against the crossbar following a mazy run towards the edge of the visitors box.
After going a goal behind Radcliffe began to struggle to contain their opponents attacks and it was a task made all the harder just before the half hour when Ben Manning was shown a red card for an horrifically late two footed lunge on Ben Richardson. It was an atrocious challenge and one that could have easily cast an extremely dark and disturbing cloud over proceedings had the Mossley wing back not had the leg which was clattered into off the ground.
If that wasn't bad enough what followed really took the shine off the game as the behaviour of quite a few people from Radcliffe after that, for want of a better word, 'tackle' leaves a heck of a lot to be desired.
The number of people condoning the challenge - one in which a player was extremely fortunate not to have his leg snapped in two – was extraordinary. I wonder if a certain senior member of the Radcliffe bench would have walked down the touchline to berate the officials and offer to take on the opposition supporters if it had been his player almost put out of the game for a considerable length of time? I doubt it and I'm not mean spirited enough to wish. the situation on them in the hope of finding out. Some of us can act as human beings rather partisan idiots
There are tales doing the rounds too of an even more senior official at Borough behaving like a complete muppet in the aftermath of the incident. If they're true, and I've no reason to doubt the source of these claims, then the person in question should perhaps make good with his tiresome annual threats to pack in with football and do the game a favour.
Seriously, the attitude of some people in this sport beggars belief and it's fools like these: people who can scream abuse at someone for having the temerity not to stand still and have his leg broken, that make me wonder if the game is really worth bothering with.
Anyway, where was I?
In an attempt to press home their advantage and capitalise on the disorganisation in the Borough defence caused by the dismissal, Mossley mounted attack after attack in search of the goal or goals that would seal the win. Steven Moore brought an excellent save of Rigby with a stinging thirty yard shot and then saw another effort bounce off the upright. His strike partner Chris McDonagh went close to doubling the lead with an angled drive, as did Lee Blackshaw and Kay again, while Andy Russell's point blank header from a corner looped over the crossbar after hitting a motionless and somewhat stunned Rigby in the face.
Mossley continued to press forward after the interval with both Russell and Blackshaw again narrowly failing to add to the lead. The longer the game wore on though, the more the visitors became content to sit back and defend the advantage they held; the consequence of which being that Radcliffe began to enjoy a greater share of possession as they pushed forward in search of an equaliser.
I will admit that there were more than a few jitters amongst the travelling contingent in the closing moments of the match as the ball pinged around the edge of the Mossley box. Having a one goal lead with a few minutes will do that to any supporter. To be honest though, there's not a lead imaginable that Mossley fans would ever be comfortable with. Even at four or five goal goals up with seconds to play the average Lilywhites follower would at most expect a draw. Some call it pessimism, others call it negativity - the rest of us call it 'been there, done that'.
But looking back at those moments now in the (very) cold light of day you realise that the nerves and panicked cries of “clear it” were unnecessary because then men in white were really quite comfortable; the solidity of the Lilywhites back line meant that Borough's attempts to salvage the game were confined to nothing more than pot shots from a distance.
While the margin of victory may not accurately reflect Mossley's hold on the game, the three points gained from this latest success does move them a step closer to a top ten spot in the league – something which I doubt many, including the most ardent Lilywhites fans, would have thought possible given the position the club was in a little over a month ago.
Wakefield 2 - 3 Mossley
Whenever history chooses to repeat itself at Mossley, be it on or off the pitch, it's not a good thing. Brows are furrowed, hatches are battened and the gulps of worry and sighs of despair are loud and many.
Occasionally though, just occasionally mind, fate decides to give us a break from reminding us of financial woes and sloppy defending from times gone past to prompt us into recalling one of those few good times that reside in the annals. Usually though it's something that happened a bit longer than seven days ago.
Not that you'll find anyone from Mossley complaining about the repetition of 'still fresh' events as for the second time in a week Lee Blackshaw was in the right place at the right time to score a last minute winner for the Lilywhites in West Yorkshire.
Details of this victory at Wakefield's College Grove ground (Mossley's third win in eight days and the third time in a row that they've come back from a losing position to do it) can be found on Mossleyweb or here as my presence was elsewhere on this particular afternoon - yes, another Mossley80 no show at a game I'm afraid.
I could if I wanted to choose to fill the gap where a report on the Wakefield game should be by bringing you my thoughts on the Glossop North End versus Padiham game I saw in midweek. However, as it was a game that came close to putting the final into the coffin in which my love of football currently resides, I have no wish to relive it. Don't let the 2-2 score line, a sending off and a last minute equaliser fool you - it was an awful game.
It's hard to pinpoint what the worst part it was given there were so many bad things to choose from. There was the football, the cold, the football, the abuse a female assistant referee got despite the fact she got practically all her decisions right, the football and, oh, have I mentioned that the football was bad?
The fevered talk on the terraces before kick-off was that Glossop had chosen to give New Mills a four figure sum for striker Gary Kharas. And on the basis of this particular performance, if those four figures are anything more than £10.01, North End have been ripped off.
Then again I doubt his confidence will have been helped by the critique he got from a New Mills official on High Peaks Radio which was broadcast over the ground's PA system as he went about his pre-game warm up. The idea to play the stations sports coverage over the tannoy is a good one but when somebody starts to intimate that your new signing has basically lost it, it may be an idea to actually turn it off.
Back to Mossley though as this after all is a blog about they. Next up for the Lilywhites is a trip to Stainton Park to face Radcliffe Borough who are in the rather unusual position of being in the top half of the table in March; a situation that means the visitors are going to have to be on their mettle to keep their winning streak going and overcome the previously perennial strugglers.
Occasionally though, just occasionally mind, fate decides to give us a break from reminding us of financial woes and sloppy defending from times gone past to prompt us into recalling one of those few good times that reside in the annals. Usually though it's something that happened a bit longer than seven days ago.
Not that you'll find anyone from Mossley complaining about the repetition of 'still fresh' events as for the second time in a week Lee Blackshaw was in the right place at the right time to score a last minute winner for the Lilywhites in West Yorkshire.
Details of this victory at Wakefield's College Grove ground (Mossley's third win in eight days and the third time in a row that they've come back from a losing position to do it) can be found on Mossleyweb or here as my presence was elsewhere on this particular afternoon - yes, another Mossley80 no show at a game I'm afraid.
I could if I wanted to choose to fill the gap where a report on the Wakefield game should be by bringing you my thoughts on the Glossop North End versus Padiham game I saw in midweek. However, as it was a game that came close to putting the final into the coffin in which my love of football currently resides, I have no wish to relive it. Don't let the 2-2 score line, a sending off and a last minute equaliser fool you - it was an awful game.
It's hard to pinpoint what the worst part it was given there were so many bad things to choose from. There was the football, the cold, the football, the abuse a female assistant referee got despite the fact she got practically all her decisions right, the football and, oh, have I mentioned that the football was bad?
The fevered talk on the terraces before kick-off was that Glossop had chosen to give New Mills a four figure sum for striker Gary Kharas. And on the basis of this particular performance, if those four figures are anything more than £10.01, North End have been ripped off.
Then again I doubt his confidence will have been helped by the critique he got from a New Mills official on High Peaks Radio which was broadcast over the ground's PA system as he went about his pre-game warm up. The idea to play the stations sports coverage over the tannoy is a good one but when somebody starts to intimate that your new signing has basically lost it, it may be an idea to actually turn it off.
Back to Mossley though as this after all is a blog about they. Next up for the Lilywhites is a trip to Stainton Park to face Radcliffe Borough who are in the rather unusual position of being in the top half of the table in March; a situation that means the visitors are going to have to be on their mettle to keep their winning streak going and overcome the previously perennial strugglers.
Bamber Bridge 1 - 2 Mossley
Yes, that post heading is correct - Mossley won. Their first away win for almost four months, their first back-to-back win for four and a half and their first double of the season after beating Bridge by a solitary goal back in December. These are certainly the days of miracle and wonder.
And if you choose to believe the live text commentary that I watched this game by (and why wouldn't you?), it was a day of officials turning a blind eye too as Mossley's opening goal and equaliser was scored through the hand of Steven Moore. Apparently. Allegedly. According to at least one eye witness.
Even so, via the fingers of Mossley's stout number nine or not, it seemed to be no less than the visitors deserved judging by the updates on the aforementioned match update service. Plus it gave the Mossley supporters reading the blow by blow 'as it happens' account of what was occurring at Irongate the chance to embark on a prolonged bout of manus related punnery; the entirety of which, bad gags and all, has been saved for the ages and can be viewed here.
The game was ultimately won very early in the second half - six minutes into it in fact. In what the official Mossley match report is calling a goal of the season contender, Lee Blackshaw (and not Karl Brown - who left the club nearly three months ago - as the ever so accurate Unibond League web site states) repeated his trick from the Clitheroe game and scored the winner.
Further details on that winning goal, who played, who got booked, etc. can be found on Mossleyweb so I'd pop along there if you want to know said details because you're not going to find them on here.
And if you choose to believe the live text commentary that I watched this game by (and why wouldn't you?), it was a day of officials turning a blind eye too as Mossley's opening goal and equaliser was scored through the hand of Steven Moore. Apparently. Allegedly. According to at least one eye witness.
Even so, via the fingers of Mossley's stout number nine or not, it seemed to be no less than the visitors deserved judging by the updates on the aforementioned match update service. Plus it gave the Mossley supporters reading the blow by blow 'as it happens' account of what was occurring at Irongate the chance to embark on a prolonged bout of manus related punnery; the entirety of which, bad gags and all, has been saved for the ages and can be viewed here.
The game was ultimately won very early in the second half - six minutes into it in fact. In what the official Mossley match report is calling a goal of the season contender, Lee Blackshaw (and not Karl Brown - who left the club nearly three months ago - as the ever so accurate Unibond League web site states) repeated his trick from the Clitheroe game and scored the winner.
Further details on that winning goal, who played, who got booked, etc. can be found on Mossleyweb so I'd pop along there if you want to know said details because you're not going to find them on here.
Live From Preston It's The...
91st most important game of the week!
Or to you and I, Bamber Bridge vs Mossley.
If you're like me and haven't travelled up to Preston for this match (and judging by the number of people loitering on the forum as I'm writing this, there's a heck of a lot of you), you can keep up-to-date with events at Ironbridge by clicking on the following link which will take you to Brig Cast - a live match update service for Bamber Bridge's games.
Brig Cast: Bamber Bridge vs Mossley (02/03/10)
Here you'll be able to read about the goals (either the plethora or lack of them), substitutions, general musings on the game and the occasional random comment from other readers.
It'll be just like being there... except warmer, cheaper and you won't have as far to drive home if we lose.
Or to you and I, Bamber Bridge vs Mossley.
If you're like me and haven't travelled up to Preston for this match (and judging by the number of people loitering on the forum as I'm writing this, there's a heck of a lot of you), you can keep up-to-date with events at Ironbridge by clicking on the following link which will take you to Brig Cast - a live match update service for Bamber Bridge's games.
Brig Cast: Bamber Bridge vs Mossley (02/03/10)
Here you'll be able to read about the goals (either the plethora or lack of them), substitutions, general musings on the game and the occasional random comment from other readers.
It'll be just like being there... except warmer, cheaper and you won't have as far to drive home if we lose.
Mossley 4 - 2 Clitheroe
When your interest in the game of football is waning it takes something special to stoke the dying embers of the passion you once had. And this match provided a spark that lit that fire, if only briefly, once more.
Then again there's nothing like a match against an old enemy to get the blood pumping.
Ever since Mossley and Clitheroe faced one another for the first time in the North West Counties League in 1995, meetings between the two sides have always been, to use a hoary old football cliché, 'full-blooded affairs' and ones not generally lacking in incident and this latest encounter proved to be no exception.
Even though the latest spell of bad weather had visibly taken its toll on the pitch, the game got off to a blistering start as both teams traded a succession of chances in the opening ten minutes. Ex-Clitheroe keeper Peter Collinge was called into action twice to deny Alan Coar from putting the visitors in front while at the other end of the pitch it took a last ditch tackle from Liam McManus to stop Chris McDonagh from giving Mossley an early lead.
Steve Settle was the next player to try to break the deadlock and he came agonisingly close to doing so after the current Clitheroe keeper, Danny Hanford, fumbled his first attempt to save the wingers long range effort before finally stopping it on the line with his second. Hanford's shakiness at high balls into the box was highlighted again when he missed a catch at a corner kick and was rescued by a defender hacking the ball away to safety from underneath the cross bar.
Why am I mentioning a missed catch and a fumbled one - something that happens relatively often in a game of football? Well in drama this is what they call foreshadowing.
Just before the half hour Zach Clark spurned a gilt edged chance to put his name on the score sheet by dallying too long with the ball while the goal was at his mercy, giving Collinge time to get in position to make a good save when the shot finally was taken. The ball did actually hit the back of the net twice in the first half but on both occasions the raised flag of the assistant referee ruled Steve Moore's efforts to edge the Lilywhites ahead to be offside; the first decision, it must be said, being slightly more dubious than the second.
To be truthful they were just two decisions in a string of many that were... well, as this isn't the official report and what's said here in no way represents the views of Mossley AFC, just plain old wrong. This isn't a 'hard done to us' moan as Clitheroe can quite rightly have grievances about some of the decisions. I'm no longer one for verbally making my feelings known towards officials at games but even I couldn't bite my tongue at some conclusions the men in black came to. I doubt anyone could when they see a linesman inexplicably flag for offside when a goalkeeper, with only team mates round him, almost spills a shot from 25 yards into his own net.
Officials have a tough enough job to do as it is without them making it harder for themselves by getting the crowd on their backs with unfathomable interpretations of events.
Anyway...
After all that had happened it was a surprise that the interval arrived with the game still 0-0 but that soon changed as within five minutes of the restart Clitheroe had raced into a two goal lead. The first came after Nathan Taylor beat Mossley's offside trap to race on to a through ball but the second was a stunning strike – a turn and volley from 25 yards which left Collinge completely wrong-footed. McManus should have sealed the win the visitors not long after Taylor's double but his failure to find the net from the two yards out (somehow blazing the ball high over the bar) seemed to shake Mossley out of their post-interval stupor and they began to claw their way back into the game.
Shortly after the hour mark in the match Andy Watson headed a right wing corner into the path of Andy Russell who poked the ball over the line from close range. Five minutes of constant pressure later the comeback was completed. Substitute Lee Blackshaw effortlessly slipped his marker and played an inch perfect ball across the face of the goal which gave McDonagh the simplest of tap-ins to draw Mossley level.
The game then swung from end to end as both teams went in search of a winner. Konstantin Televinov and Clark, for the second time in the afternoon, fluffed great opportunities that would have given Clitheroe victory more while Nathan Neequaye and Matty Kay went close for the hosts. As the match passed its 90th minute it looked as though both sides would have to settle for a point but there was to be one late twist.
Almost a year to the day after scoring an injury time winner in the corresponding fixture last season, Lee Blackshaw repeated the feat by stroking the loose ball into an empty net after Hanford had once again failed miserably to deal with a straight forward cross. See! All that that stuff many paragraphs ago about missed catches and the like was pertinent.
The visitors piled men forward in an attempt to salvage an equaliser but in leaving gaps at the back they were caught on the break and Matty Kay cemented the win for the Lilywhites with his 20th goal of the campaign. Salt was then almost rubbed into Clitheroe's wounds when Moore nearly added a fifth with the final kick of the match.
Flattering or not, it's a victory which sees Mossley climb another place in the table and Clitheroe head back to central Lancashire from Seel Park for the second year running in a state of shock at the late, late turn of events. Both of which bring about an enormous warm glow inside of me.
Both sides deserve an enormous amount of credit for trying and successfully managing to play passing football on a surface that was more suited to potato picking than the finer arts of the beautiful game. But then the state of the pitch cannot be helped given the pounding it has received off the weather over the past three months and it certainly wasn't the reason for why the result of this match ended up the way it did.
Why it finished 4-2 is down to Mossley's refusal to roll over and lick their wounds when it looked like defeat was inevitable. Not for the first time this season - in fact I really should count just how many times its happened since August – the teams spirit in plugging away for the entire ninety minutes (plus that little bit extra) was handsomely rewarded.
Not only is it hard to pick out the star performer in a white shirt difficult, it would be grossly unfair too as this was a team effort in which all the players executed their roles to such a high standard that no-one stood out. And how often can you say that about any team, let alone Mossley?
Then again there's nothing like a match against an old enemy to get the blood pumping.
Ever since Mossley and Clitheroe faced one another for the first time in the North West Counties League in 1995, meetings between the two sides have always been, to use a hoary old football cliché, 'full-blooded affairs' and ones not generally lacking in incident and this latest encounter proved to be no exception.
Even though the latest spell of bad weather had visibly taken its toll on the pitch, the game got off to a blistering start as both teams traded a succession of chances in the opening ten minutes. Ex-Clitheroe keeper Peter Collinge was called into action twice to deny Alan Coar from putting the visitors in front while at the other end of the pitch it took a last ditch tackle from Liam McManus to stop Chris McDonagh from giving Mossley an early lead.
Steve Settle was the next player to try to break the deadlock and he came agonisingly close to doing so after the current Clitheroe keeper, Danny Hanford, fumbled his first attempt to save the wingers long range effort before finally stopping it on the line with his second. Hanford's shakiness at high balls into the box was highlighted again when he missed a catch at a corner kick and was rescued by a defender hacking the ball away to safety from underneath the cross bar.
Why am I mentioning a missed catch and a fumbled one - something that happens relatively often in a game of football? Well in drama this is what they call foreshadowing.
Just before the half hour Zach Clark spurned a gilt edged chance to put his name on the score sheet by dallying too long with the ball while the goal was at his mercy, giving Collinge time to get in position to make a good save when the shot finally was taken. The ball did actually hit the back of the net twice in the first half but on both occasions the raised flag of the assistant referee ruled Steve Moore's efforts to edge the Lilywhites ahead to be offside; the first decision, it must be said, being slightly more dubious than the second.
To be truthful they were just two decisions in a string of many that were... well, as this isn't the official report and what's said here in no way represents the views of Mossley AFC, just plain old wrong. This isn't a 'hard done to us' moan as Clitheroe can quite rightly have grievances about some of the decisions. I'm no longer one for verbally making my feelings known towards officials at games but even I couldn't bite my tongue at some conclusions the men in black came to. I doubt anyone could when they see a linesman inexplicably flag for offside when a goalkeeper, with only team mates round him, almost spills a shot from 25 yards into his own net.
Officials have a tough enough job to do as it is without them making it harder for themselves by getting the crowd on their backs with unfathomable interpretations of events.
Anyway...
After all that had happened it was a surprise that the interval arrived with the game still 0-0 but that soon changed as within five minutes of the restart Clitheroe had raced into a two goal lead. The first came after Nathan Taylor beat Mossley's offside trap to race on to a through ball but the second was a stunning strike – a turn and volley from 25 yards which left Collinge completely wrong-footed. McManus should have sealed the win the visitors not long after Taylor's double but his failure to find the net from the two yards out (somehow blazing the ball high over the bar) seemed to shake Mossley out of their post-interval stupor and they began to claw their way back into the game.
Shortly after the hour mark in the match Andy Watson headed a right wing corner into the path of Andy Russell who poked the ball over the line from close range. Five minutes of constant pressure later the comeback was completed. Substitute Lee Blackshaw effortlessly slipped his marker and played an inch perfect ball across the face of the goal which gave McDonagh the simplest of tap-ins to draw Mossley level.
The game then swung from end to end as both teams went in search of a winner. Konstantin Televinov and Clark, for the second time in the afternoon, fluffed great opportunities that would have given Clitheroe victory more while Nathan Neequaye and Matty Kay went close for the hosts. As the match passed its 90th minute it looked as though both sides would have to settle for a point but there was to be one late twist.
Almost a year to the day after scoring an injury time winner in the corresponding fixture last season, Lee Blackshaw repeated the feat by stroking the loose ball into an empty net after Hanford had once again failed miserably to deal with a straight forward cross. See! All that that stuff many paragraphs ago about missed catches and the like was pertinent.
The visitors piled men forward in an attempt to salvage an equaliser but in leaving gaps at the back they were caught on the break and Matty Kay cemented the win for the Lilywhites with his 20th goal of the campaign. Salt was then almost rubbed into Clitheroe's wounds when Moore nearly added a fifth with the final kick of the match.
Flattering or not, it's a victory which sees Mossley climb another place in the table and Clitheroe head back to central Lancashire from Seel Park for the second year running in a state of shock at the late, late turn of events. Both of which bring about an enormous warm glow inside of me.
Both sides deserve an enormous amount of credit for trying and successfully managing to play passing football on a surface that was more suited to potato picking than the finer arts of the beautiful game. But then the state of the pitch cannot be helped given the pounding it has received off the weather over the past three months and it certainly wasn't the reason for why the result of this match ended up the way it did.
Why it finished 4-2 is down to Mossley's refusal to roll over and lick their wounds when it looked like defeat was inevitable. Not for the first time this season - in fact I really should count just how many times its happened since August – the teams spirit in plugging away for the entire ninety minutes (plus that little bit extra) was handsomely rewarded.
Not only is it hard to pick out the star performer in a white shirt difficult, it would be grossly unfair too as this was a team effort in which all the players executed their roles to such a high standard that no-one stood out. And how often can you say that about any team, let alone Mossley?
Monkeys, Dust And Football
The postponement of the midweek fixture against Curzon (apparently the eleventh time a Mossley match has been shelved this season according to someone who's keeping a better eye on these things than me) means that instead of bringing you what would have been a humdrum report on another defeat to our near neighbours (not pessimism - realism), I can update the blog with something else.
And when I say I've not been involved in any with its production, that's a guarantee that the 'something else' is going to be more entertaining than anything I could have come up with to fill the midweek void.
The else in question is a clip from Monkey Dust, an animated sketch show that aired on BBC2 in which a lot of the humour was not so much dark but absolutely pitch black; dealing as it did with topics rarely touched on in comedy such as suicide, terrorism and other subjects that get Daily Mail readers in a tizzy. For example, 'Geoff the first time cottager'. Of course, if you're easily offended don't click that link.
Anyway, back to the point of this post and as if to prove that nothing much has changed in football over the seven or so years since it was first aired, here is Monkey Dust's version of Roy of the Rovers. Again, if you're easily outraged by humour of a rude nature or by badly drawn representations of a certain Chelsea captain, don't - whatever you do - press play:
And when I say I've not been involved in any with its production, that's a guarantee that the 'something else' is going to be more entertaining than anything I could have come up with to fill the midweek void.
The else in question is a clip from Monkey Dust, an animated sketch show that aired on BBC2 in which a lot of the humour was not so much dark but absolutely pitch black; dealing as it did with topics rarely touched on in comedy such as suicide, terrorism and other subjects that get Daily Mail readers in a tizzy. For example, 'Geoff the first time cottager'. Of course, if you're easily offended don't click that link.
Anyway, back to the point of this post and as if to prove that nothing much has changed in football over the seven or so years since it was first aired, here is Monkey Dust's version of Roy of the Rovers. Again, if you're easily outraged by humour of a rude nature or by badly drawn representations of a certain Chelsea captain, don't - whatever you do - press play:
FC Halifax Town 4 - 2 Mossley
Not for the first time - and I very much doubt it will be the last - it appears that I spoke to soon.
For those of you who don't remember, or wisely chose not to read it at all, I ended the report for the Warrington Town game with the following words:
"At the very least the result and performance puts Mossley in good stead for the series of upcoming games against teams making a serious challenge for a promotion spot. And on the form they showed in this match the results of those fixtures may not quite be the foregone conclusions they initially appeared."
Goes to show what I know doesn't it?
Even taking into account the fact we had a strangely depleted squad which left us with just three substitutes (a centre half, a goalkeeper and a player who left the club before the season started), the word from those who went to the game is that we weren't good at all. Apparently we were sort of okay-ish in the second half but the performance before the interval was reputedly... well, my refusal to swear on this blog prevents me from relaying a couple of comments I've heard in relation to this period of football.
Yet despite our reportedly sub-sub par performance we still managed notch up another two goals; something we haven't done a lot of in the league this season and more than any other club has done at Halifax this year.
If you wish to read a more in-depth review of this match then I point you in the direction of Mossleyweb for the Mossley version of events or the official Halifax site for the view of the opposition. Actually why not read both? It is a Sunday after all.
Next up for the Lilywhites is the second part of the 'top five' double header: a meeting with Curzon Ashton at our Hurst Cross holiday home. Results against our near and not so dear neighbours haven't exactly gone our way too often in recent years so the omens for this coming Tuesday don't look good. Not even to the point where I'm going to claim that there's a faint hope we could snatch a point.
Instead, given how hopelessly incorrect my predictions always are I'm going to say with all confidence that we'll lose. So either I'll be right and appear to have great foresight or wrong and happily so for once. It's a win-win situation! For me at least if not the team.
For those of you who don't remember, or wisely chose not to read it at all, I ended the report for the Warrington Town game with the following words:
"At the very least the result and performance puts Mossley in good stead for the series of upcoming games against teams making a serious challenge for a promotion spot. And on the form they showed in this match the results of those fixtures may not quite be the foregone conclusions they initially appeared."
Goes to show what I know doesn't it?
Even taking into account the fact we had a strangely depleted squad which left us with just three substitutes (a centre half, a goalkeeper and a player who left the club before the season started), the word from those who went to the game is that we weren't good at all. Apparently we were sort of okay-ish in the second half but the performance before the interval was reputedly... well, my refusal to swear on this blog prevents me from relaying a couple of comments I've heard in relation to this period of football.
Yet despite our reportedly sub-sub par performance we still managed notch up another two goals; something we haven't done a lot of in the league this season and more than any other club has done at Halifax this year.
If you wish to read a more in-depth review of this match then I point you in the direction of Mossleyweb for the Mossley version of events or the official Halifax site for the view of the opposition. Actually why not read both? It is a Sunday after all.
Next up for the Lilywhites is the second part of the 'top five' double header: a meeting with Curzon Ashton at our Hurst Cross holiday home. Results against our near and not so dear neighbours haven't exactly gone our way too often in recent years so the omens for this coming Tuesday don't look good. Not even to the point where I'm going to claim that there's a faint hope we could snatch a point.
Instead, given how hopelessly incorrect my predictions always are I'm going to say with all confidence that we'll lose. So either I'll be right and appear to have great foresight or wrong and happily so for once. It's a win-win situation! For me at least if not the team.
Mossley 5 - 0 Warrington Town
The saying goes that good things come to those who wait, and after waiting two months for a win in all competitions, Mossley's patience was rewarded with a narrow victory over Warrington Town.
I know what you're thinking, how on earth can a five goal rout be classed as a narrow victory? Well, considering what the end result could have been had Mossley put a fraction of the other chances they created into the back of the net, the final score line makes the game seem closer than it was because 5-0 flatters the visitors. A lot.
After three successive draws in the league since the turn of the year, this was the Lilywhites first victory of 2010 and it was claimed in some style as they out fought, out thought and comprehensively outplayed a side who before the game sat two places outside a play-off spot.
Straight from the kick-off (which was delayed for nearly fifteen minutes as someone hunted around for corner flags) Mossley took the game to their opponents and such was their dominance it was something of a shock that it took until the ninth minute for the first goal to arrive; Steve Settle and Andy Russell played in Michael Fish and his bobbling, slightly mis-hit shot teed up strike partner Chris McDonagh to roll the ball over the line from very close range.
Over the remainder of the half the Lilywhites continued to create more and more chances but as they did so the more the Town goal began to lead a charmed life; none more so than when Town keeper Ritchie Mottram's attempt to dribble his way out of danger ended with McDonagh putting the ball narrowly wide from almost forty yards out. And when Settle, who'd had a shot cleared off the line as early as the 2nd minute, saw an effort ruled out for offside it looked increasingly like it was going to be one of those nights where it was to be hoped that one goal would be enough to claim the win.
The precarious nature of Mossley's lead was highlighted six minutes before the break when Tony Evans wasted a golden opportunity for the visitors by blazing a shot high over the top of Peter Collinge's crossbar when it looked far easier to score. Amazingly he wasted an even more gilt edged chance moments later when a collision between Collinge and Settle left him with the ball at his feet in front of an open goal. To the relief of the home side though he delayed his shot long enough to give Graham Kay the chance to stop the ball on the goal line.
Andy Watson completed the clearance as Evans steeled himself for another strike of the ball and it was from this long kick down field that Mossley got the second goal their performance merited. Fish won the race for the loose ball and after carrying it to the edge of the Town box he stroked it low past Mottram and into the net.
The second goal appeared to knock whatever resistance Warrington had left out of them and the only question that remained to be answered as the teams retook to the pitch after half-time was not if Mossley would win, but by how many.
Ten minutes into the second period the Lilywhites began the process of giving the score line a more emphatic look when Nick Allen and Settle combined to set up Matty Kay for his 18th goal of the season. His 19th arrived on the hour mark with a shot from inside the six yard box following a goalmouth scramble which had seen the ball ricochet pinball-like around the penalty area after Kay (the Graham version) and Fish had both had net bound efforts blocked.
The fifth and final goal of the night came once again via the boot of Fish as last season's leading scorer applied a one-touch finish to substitute Lee Blackshaw's inch perfect cross from the right.
It's actually hard to put a finger on the dynamics of this game: were we that good or were Warrington that bad? The evidence for the first statement being true is that Mossley ceratinly did play well - extremely well in fact. Gone was the tired, long ball approach that made the pre-Christmas games a chore to watch and its place was the fast, passing game which was the cornerstone of that fourteen game unbeaten run earlier in the season. Watching the hapless Town side get torn to shreds every time the Lilywhites went on the attack was a sight to behold.
And in the term 'hapless' you have the basis of the argument for Warrington being bad. Despite having a couple of chances to draw level in the closing stages of the first half, mostly it must be said through mistakes of Mossley's own making, they were dire. But yet they sit just outside the play-offs so they must be a decent side, mustn't they? Surely no team can reach such dizzy heights by just being lucky.
The actual truth as always probably lies somewhere in between; Warrington were simply unlucky enough to catch a Mossley side firing on all cylinders and as we know from the past, when they hit that kind of form they are nearly unplayable.
The result also means that the Lilywhites have taken four points from a possible six at their temporary night time residence at Hurst Cross. And in doing so they've scored eight times which, fact fans, accounts for almost a quarter of the goals they've scored in the league so far this season. May be playing home league games at the lower altitude is conducive to sticking the ball in the net a bit more often than usual.
At the very least the result and performance puts Mossley in good stead for the series of upcoming games against teams making a serious challenge for a promotion spot. And on the form they showed in this match the results of those fixtures may not quite be the foregone conclusions they initially appeared. But this is Mossley and as we've found out on so many occasions, anything could and probably will happen.
I know what you're thinking, how on earth can a five goal rout be classed as a narrow victory? Well, considering what the end result could have been had Mossley put a fraction of the other chances they created into the back of the net, the final score line makes the game seem closer than it was because 5-0 flatters the visitors. A lot.
After three successive draws in the league since the turn of the year, this was the Lilywhites first victory of 2010 and it was claimed in some style as they out fought, out thought and comprehensively outplayed a side who before the game sat two places outside a play-off spot.
Straight from the kick-off (which was delayed for nearly fifteen minutes as someone hunted around for corner flags) Mossley took the game to their opponents and such was their dominance it was something of a shock that it took until the ninth minute for the first goal to arrive; Steve Settle and Andy Russell played in Michael Fish and his bobbling, slightly mis-hit shot teed up strike partner Chris McDonagh to roll the ball over the line from very close range.
Over the remainder of the half the Lilywhites continued to create more and more chances but as they did so the more the Town goal began to lead a charmed life; none more so than when Town keeper Ritchie Mottram's attempt to dribble his way out of danger ended with McDonagh putting the ball narrowly wide from almost forty yards out. And when Settle, who'd had a shot cleared off the line as early as the 2nd minute, saw an effort ruled out for offside it looked increasingly like it was going to be one of those nights where it was to be hoped that one goal would be enough to claim the win.
The precarious nature of Mossley's lead was highlighted six minutes before the break when Tony Evans wasted a golden opportunity for the visitors by blazing a shot high over the top of Peter Collinge's crossbar when it looked far easier to score. Amazingly he wasted an even more gilt edged chance moments later when a collision between Collinge and Settle left him with the ball at his feet in front of an open goal. To the relief of the home side though he delayed his shot long enough to give Graham Kay the chance to stop the ball on the goal line.
Andy Watson completed the clearance as Evans steeled himself for another strike of the ball and it was from this long kick down field that Mossley got the second goal their performance merited. Fish won the race for the loose ball and after carrying it to the edge of the Town box he stroked it low past Mottram and into the net.
The second goal appeared to knock whatever resistance Warrington had left out of them and the only question that remained to be answered as the teams retook to the pitch after half-time was not if Mossley would win, but by how many.
Ten minutes into the second period the Lilywhites began the process of giving the score line a more emphatic look when Nick Allen and Settle combined to set up Matty Kay for his 18th goal of the season. His 19th arrived on the hour mark with a shot from inside the six yard box following a goalmouth scramble which had seen the ball ricochet pinball-like around the penalty area after Kay (the Graham version) and Fish had both had net bound efforts blocked.
The fifth and final goal of the night came once again via the boot of Fish as last season's leading scorer applied a one-touch finish to substitute Lee Blackshaw's inch perfect cross from the right.
It's actually hard to put a finger on the dynamics of this game: were we that good or were Warrington that bad? The evidence for the first statement being true is that Mossley ceratinly did play well - extremely well in fact. Gone was the tired, long ball approach that made the pre-Christmas games a chore to watch and its place was the fast, passing game which was the cornerstone of that fourteen game unbeaten run earlier in the season. Watching the hapless Town side get torn to shreds every time the Lilywhites went on the attack was a sight to behold.
And in the term 'hapless' you have the basis of the argument for Warrington being bad. Despite having a couple of chances to draw level in the closing stages of the first half, mostly it must be said through mistakes of Mossley's own making, they were dire. But yet they sit just outside the play-offs so they must be a decent side, mustn't they? Surely no team can reach such dizzy heights by just being lucky.
The actual truth as always probably lies somewhere in between; Warrington were simply unlucky enough to catch a Mossley side firing on all cylinders and as we know from the past, when they hit that kind of form they are nearly unplayable.
The result also means that the Lilywhites have taken four points from a possible six at their temporary night time residence at Hurst Cross. And in doing so they've scored eight times which, fact fans, accounts for almost a quarter of the goals they've scored in the league so far this season. May be playing home league games at the lower altitude is conducive to sticking the ball in the net a bit more often than usual.
At the very least the result and performance puts Mossley in good stead for the series of upcoming games against teams making a serious challenge for a promotion spot. And on the form they showed in this match the results of those fixtures may not quite be the foregone conclusions they initially appeared. But this is Mossley and as we've found out on so many occasions, anything could and probably will happen.
Prescot Cables 0 - 0 Mossley
Who'd have thought that after last Saturday's 'oh so scintillating' meeting between the two teams that the return fixture at Prescot's Valerie Park ground would finish goalless. Quelle the surprise.
Judging by various comments lying around the more obscure corners of the internet though, this was apparently a better game than the one which had taken place a week earlier. Not that it would have taken much to happen for it to be an improvement on last weeks lame offering to the paying public.
The fact that I'm trawling the web for critiques of this particular encounter should be a big clue as to the fact that I was a non-attendee and, as a consequence, won't be able to provide you with a fair and balanced view of proceedings. If it's such things you require then I heartily recommend visiting the official Mossley site for a summary of what did and didn't occur.
I can't even provide you with a brief run down of another game to fill the void in this report as I had a completely football free Saturday and (if you'll pardon my northernness) by gum it was good. If it wasn't for the fact that I'd miss the banter with the people I've stood along side on the terraces for goodness knows how many years, I'd really have no trouble making my alternate Saturday arrangements my first choice ones.
Anyway, next up for Mossley is a trip to our temporary night time home at Hurst Cross for the visit of Warrington. I don't wish to pre-judge things, and I'm sure Warrington are just as thrilled at the prospect at meeting us as we them, but I can't say I'm holding out much hope for excitement in this one.
Judging by various comments lying around the more obscure corners of the internet though, this was apparently a better game than the one which had taken place a week earlier. Not that it would have taken much to happen for it to be an improvement on last weeks lame offering to the paying public.
The fact that I'm trawling the web for critiques of this particular encounter should be a big clue as to the fact that I was a non-attendee and, as a consequence, won't be able to provide you with a fair and balanced view of proceedings. If it's such things you require then I heartily recommend visiting the official Mossley site for a summary of what did and didn't occur.
I can't even provide you with a brief run down of another game to fill the void in this report as I had a completely football free Saturday and (if you'll pardon my northernness) by gum it was good. If it wasn't for the fact that I'd miss the banter with the people I've stood along side on the terraces for goodness knows how many years, I'd really have no trouble making my alternate Saturday arrangements my first choice ones.
Anyway, next up for Mossley is a trip to our temporary night time home at Hurst Cross for the visit of Warrington. I don't wish to pre-judge things, and I'm sure Warrington are just as thrilled at the prospect at meeting us as we them, but I can't say I'm holding out much hope for excitement in this one.
Light Through Yonder Window Breaks
In the event that this is the only place on the world wide web you visit for news about Mossley AFC*, the following update was placed on the forum some time this morning:
What else can you say or add to that other than a thank you to Mr Threlkeld for his generosity. And at times like this it would be remiss of me not to provide a link to company's website so... GT Grafix
Of course there is still the small matter now of getting the funding Tameside Council pledged for the other 50% - I'm sure, and quite rightly too, that there are plenty of committee meetings, i-dottings and t-crossings to go through before that money becomes available - but the future, and night matches at Seel Park, does look a little brighter.
*If so, you do know there are better places for that kind of thing don't you? Even so, thanks for popping by.
MOSSLEY AFC FLOODLIGHT APPEAL PUBLIC STATEMENT - 11/02/2010
We are pleased to announce that following all the hard work of the committee and volunteers, we have raised over £4,500.
For this we must give our grateful thanks to all the residents and supporters in and around Mossley.
The good news today is that we have now confirmed an offer from GT GRAFIX a local business in Dukinfield, to cover the shortfall in the 50% we needed to raise for the new floodlights.
Gary Threlkeld the owner of GT Grafix is a Mossley resident and wants to work with us to ensure the future of the football club.
Following two months without playing at home our financial situation is still difficult.
There are various fund raising events that have been planned through to April and hope that with the continued support of everyone, will enable us to look forward to a strong and successful future for Mossley Football Club.
The Directors & Committee of Mossley Football Club.
What else can you say or add to that other than a thank you to Mr Threlkeld for his generosity. And at times like this it would be remiss of me not to provide a link to company's website so... GT Grafix
Of course there is still the small matter now of getting the funding Tameside Council pledged for the other 50% - I'm sure, and quite rightly too, that there are plenty of committee meetings, i-dottings and t-crossings to go through before that money becomes available - but the future, and night matches at Seel Park, does look a little brighter.
*If so, you do know there are better places for that kind of thing don't you? Even so, thanks for popping by.
Woodley Sports 3 - 0 Colwyn Bay
As my fingers and all that they're attached to are still frozen from attending the match noted in the title to this post, I'm going to keep this brief.
Like Mossley's game at the weekend against Prescot this was an encounter not overflowing with goalmouth incident. And other than that one of the sides took to the pitch in an all white kit, that's where the comparisons between the two fixtures must end because whereas the aforementioned game was as dull as foam bladed steak knife, this one was genuinely entertaining.
It was fast, relatively furious and both sides were trying their best to play some attractive football. In this respect Colwyn Bay were the better team - stringing together some really impressive attacking moves. Sadly for the Welshmen though they had no cutting edge whatsover and coupled with a back line that can't really be described as a defence because that implies they offered some kind of resistance, it wasn't a recipe for success.
After having a goal ruled out for offside on their first attack in the match, the home side put themselves in front on their second. Almost immediately you could see the heads of some Bay players go down and it took until midway through the second half for them to pick up again - not the kind of thing you expect from a side chasing promotion.
This coincided with a brief rally during which a shot was hacked of the Woodley goal line but the pressure never built into anything more substantial. Instead it was left to the Stockport side to look the side most likely score, which they duly did in the 86th minute as they took advantage of more nonsense defending. They added a third too in injury time after I'd left but it's probably safe to assume that more slip-shod defending played its part in the goal.
On paper it looks a surprise result but in reality it wasn't and for a team with title ambitions Colwyn Bay have got a lot of bucking up to do if they want to achieve those aspirations this year. With this result and the recent victory over Lancaster City, Woodley on the other hand look to be hitting a bit of form that will take them away from the foot of the table which isn't really good news for Mossley. But then is there ever such a thing as good news for Mossley?
Right! I'm off to try defrosting again.
Like Mossley's game at the weekend against Prescot this was an encounter not overflowing with goalmouth incident. And other than that one of the sides took to the pitch in an all white kit, that's where the comparisons between the two fixtures must end because whereas the aforementioned game was as dull as foam bladed steak knife, this one was genuinely entertaining.
It was fast, relatively furious and both sides were trying their best to play some attractive football. In this respect Colwyn Bay were the better team - stringing together some really impressive attacking moves. Sadly for the Welshmen though they had no cutting edge whatsover and coupled with a back line that can't really be described as a defence because that implies they offered some kind of resistance, it wasn't a recipe for success.
After having a goal ruled out for offside on their first attack in the match, the home side put themselves in front on their second. Almost immediately you could see the heads of some Bay players go down and it took until midway through the second half for them to pick up again - not the kind of thing you expect from a side chasing promotion.
This coincided with a brief rally during which a shot was hacked of the Woodley goal line but the pressure never built into anything more substantial. Instead it was left to the Stockport side to look the side most likely score, which they duly did in the 86th minute as they took advantage of more nonsense defending. They added a third too in injury time after I'd left but it's probably safe to assume that more slip-shod defending played its part in the goal.
On paper it looks a surprise result but in reality it wasn't and for a team with title ambitions Colwyn Bay have got a lot of bucking up to do if they want to achieve those aspirations this year. With this result and the recent victory over Lancaster City, Woodley on the other hand look to be hitting a bit of form that will take them away from the foot of the table which isn't really good news for Mossley. But then is there ever such a thing as good news for Mossley?
Right! I'm off to try defrosting again.
Mossley 1 - 1 Prescot Cables
If, like me, your interest in football is beginning to wane, the last thing you need to reinforce those thoughts of doing something more fun and productive on a Saturday afternoon is a game that could bore a lump of concrete to tears.
And during the quiet moments in this match, of which there were many, I could swear I heard the terraces weeping in anguish. Either that or it was the whimpering of those supporters looking at their watches every thirty seconds and bemoaning that time wasn't going quick enough.
Eagle eyed readers will probably notice that there isn't much difference between this report and the 'official' one I do and there's a very good reason for that.
As I sat down to relive and write about the days stupefyingly dull events I thought “How on earth do you make a bad match interesting?” The answer was a while in coming but when it did it was so obvious and simple I kicked myself for not coming to the conclusion sooner.
The fact is you can't so I'm not even going to try. On the plus side for you though dear viewer it does mean that you can make it to the final full stop without encountering a really bad joke that will make your toe nails curl in horror and embarrassment. Silver linings, etc.
So, after all those weather and floodlight enforced postponements, there was no glorious homecoming for Mossley as their first match at Seel Park for almost two months turned out to be the proverbial damp squib. And while they didn't lose, there was little to thrill the fans of either side on an afternoon in which the entertainment on offer can best be described as meagre.
The game actually started quite promisingly but following a frantic opening few minutes during which Dale Wright fired inches over the bar for the visitors, it rapidly descended into a succession of misplaced passes and petty fouls which constantly derailed any chance either side had of gaining some momentum.
Mossley's best opportunity of the half, purely because it was their only one, came midway through the opening period when Graham Kay lost his marker to divert a corner towards goal but it proved to be a comfortable save for Cables keeper Andy Paxton.
The home side should have been behind six minutes later when Aaron Rey broke free of the Lilywhites defence and skilfully took the ball around keeper Peter Collinge to leave himself with an empty net to roll the ball into. Unfortunately for Prescot but rather happily for Mossley, the forward chose to lash at his shot and in doing so (much to the utter disbelief of those still awake and watching on-field events) sent the ball flying high over the open goal.
In terms of incident that was it for the first half and it didn't get any better in the second until with twenty minutes to go the game briefly sparked into a modicum of life again; Wright looped a mis-hit shot onto the Mossley crossbar and both sides were fortunate not to be reduced in numbers as tempers momentarily flared.
The result though was to be ultimately decided by a mistake from both goalkeepers. In the 80th minute Collinge let a corner kick pass through his hands and ex-Mossley defender Tom Spearritt punished the error by firing the visitors into the lead with a low shot at the back post. The goal was the cue for some over exuberant scenes of celebration by the Cables goalkeeper in front of the Mossley fans but little did he know that karma would take only two minutes to come into effect.
That was the length of time that passed between the goal being scored and the point in the game where Paxton came to collect a cross, spilled his catch and, in the effort to redeem his error, scythed Andy Russell to the ground with an incredibly wild challenge from behind. The referee had little option other than to award a penalty and Paxton was rather more sheepish than he had been moments earlier as his team mates gave him an expletive laden critique of his actions.
Actually the referee did have another option available to him: a free-kick, because that's what it should have been as the foul took place just outside the area. But “Shhh!” - don't tell anyone.
In most other games Matty Kay's successful spot kick would probably have set-up a barnstorming finish. Sadly though this wasn't like most other games and the remainder of the match petered out in to the insipid midfield battle it had been for most of its running time. The final whistle was greeted with an audible sigh of relief from the terraces and both sides will happy with a point from a game that neither could claim to have had the upper hand in.
The two teams meet each other again very soon in the return fixture at Prescot's Valerie Park ground and happily for those who'll be going to watch it, the chances of it being worse than this game must be astronomically remote.
Still, if you are going it may be wise take a book or a sleeping bag with you just in case history repeats itself.
And during the quiet moments in this match, of which there were many, I could swear I heard the terraces weeping in anguish. Either that or it was the whimpering of those supporters looking at their watches every thirty seconds and bemoaning that time wasn't going quick enough.
Eagle eyed readers will probably notice that there isn't much difference between this report and the 'official' one I do and there's a very good reason for that.
As I sat down to relive and write about the days stupefyingly dull events I thought “How on earth do you make a bad match interesting?” The answer was a while in coming but when it did it was so obvious and simple I kicked myself for not coming to the conclusion sooner.
The fact is you can't so I'm not even going to try. On the plus side for you though dear viewer it does mean that you can make it to the final full stop without encountering a really bad joke that will make your toe nails curl in horror and embarrassment. Silver linings, etc.
So, after all those weather and floodlight enforced postponements, there was no glorious homecoming for Mossley as their first match at Seel Park for almost two months turned out to be the proverbial damp squib. And while they didn't lose, there was little to thrill the fans of either side on an afternoon in which the entertainment on offer can best be described as meagre.
The game actually started quite promisingly but following a frantic opening few minutes during which Dale Wright fired inches over the bar for the visitors, it rapidly descended into a succession of misplaced passes and petty fouls which constantly derailed any chance either side had of gaining some momentum.
Mossley's best opportunity of the half, purely because it was their only one, came midway through the opening period when Graham Kay lost his marker to divert a corner towards goal but it proved to be a comfortable save for Cables keeper Andy Paxton.
The home side should have been behind six minutes later when Aaron Rey broke free of the Lilywhites defence and skilfully took the ball around keeper Peter Collinge to leave himself with an empty net to roll the ball into. Unfortunately for Prescot but rather happily for Mossley, the forward chose to lash at his shot and in doing so (much to the utter disbelief of those still awake and watching on-field events) sent the ball flying high over the open goal.
In terms of incident that was it for the first half and it didn't get any better in the second until with twenty minutes to go the game briefly sparked into a modicum of life again; Wright looped a mis-hit shot onto the Mossley crossbar and both sides were fortunate not to be reduced in numbers as tempers momentarily flared.
The result though was to be ultimately decided by a mistake from both goalkeepers. In the 80th minute Collinge let a corner kick pass through his hands and ex-Mossley defender Tom Spearritt punished the error by firing the visitors into the lead with a low shot at the back post. The goal was the cue for some over exuberant scenes of celebration by the Cables goalkeeper in front of the Mossley fans but little did he know that karma would take only two minutes to come into effect.
That was the length of time that passed between the goal being scored and the point in the game where Paxton came to collect a cross, spilled his catch and, in the effort to redeem his error, scythed Andy Russell to the ground with an incredibly wild challenge from behind. The referee had little option other than to award a penalty and Paxton was rather more sheepish than he had been moments earlier as his team mates gave him an expletive laden critique of his actions.
Actually the referee did have another option available to him: a free-kick, because that's what it should have been as the foul took place just outside the area. But “Shhh!” - don't tell anyone.
In most other games Matty Kay's successful spot kick would probably have set-up a barnstorming finish. Sadly though this wasn't like most other games and the remainder of the match petered out in to the insipid midfield battle it had been for most of its running time. The final whistle was greeted with an audible sigh of relief from the terraces and both sides will happy with a point from a game that neither could claim to have had the upper hand in.
The two teams meet each other again very soon in the return fixture at Prescot's Valerie Park ground and happily for those who'll be going to watch it, the chances of it being worse than this game must be astronomically remote.
Still, if you are going it may be wise take a book or a sleeping bag with you just in case history repeats itself.
Mossley 3 - 3 FC Halifax Town
A mere seven weeks after their last Unibond First Division North game against Salford City, Mossley returned to league action with a draw against FC Halifax Town in what was reputedly a humdinger of a game: six goals, an injury time equaliser for the Lilywhites and plenty of controversy.
It would certainly make for an interesting match report but, as observant readers will have already noticed, the use of the word 'reputedly' in that opening paragraph can only mean one thing - that I never saw the match.
I could give you a lengthy reason as to why I was sat at home while Mossley fought for a point on the other side of Luzley, but as I'm trying to cut down on the size of these posts I'm not going to. So instead I'll just leave you to draw your own conclusions as to why I gave the game a miss. They'll probably be more interesting than the truth anyway.
The consequence of my non-attendance, well one of them at least, is that you're not going to find a report of the game on here. If you do wish to know though what happened then I can direct you to Mossleyweb where you'll find both words and pictures on Tuesday evenings events.
What I will comment on though is the laughable reaction of some Halifax supporters on their own forum. Within minutes of the match finishing the were people who hadn't been to the game complaining about being cheated out of three points by a dodgy referee.
I'm in no position at all to argue about the performance of the referee, as unlike those Town fans, I don't feel qualified to critique something I haven't seen. However, whether there was bad officiating or not, Halifax can hardly complain about Mossley receiving a favourable decision after what happened in the league fixture at their place last season.
To jog your memory... until they added a second deep into injury time, all that separated the two teams was a first half penalty which was awarded after a Halifax player tripped over the ball doing step overs, a good two to three yards outside the box. As you can imagine there were few complaints about the quality of the man in the middle that night from the other side of the Pennines.
But it's football. Sometimes decisions go for you, other times they go against. There's no conspiracy and just because you think something wasn't a foul doesn't mean you're right. Believe it or not, referees actually know the rules better than supporters do.
Anyway, next up for the Lilywhites is the floodlight free early kick-off on Saturday against Prescot Cables, a team managed by the ex-Mossley player with the 'roll off the tongue' name, Joe Gibiliru.
What you're no doubt wondering though is if there'll be a report on that game on here. At the moment I've no idea and on that cliffhanger...
It would certainly make for an interesting match report but, as observant readers will have already noticed, the use of the word 'reputedly' in that opening paragraph can only mean one thing - that I never saw the match.
I could give you a lengthy reason as to why I was sat at home while Mossley fought for a point on the other side of Luzley, but as I'm trying to cut down on the size of these posts I'm not going to. So instead I'll just leave you to draw your own conclusions as to why I gave the game a miss. They'll probably be more interesting than the truth anyway.
The consequence of my non-attendance, well one of them at least, is that you're not going to find a report of the game on here. If you do wish to know though what happened then I can direct you to Mossleyweb where you'll find both words and pictures on Tuesday evenings events.
What I will comment on though is the laughable reaction of some Halifax supporters on their own forum. Within minutes of the match finishing the were people who hadn't been to the game complaining about being cheated out of three points by a dodgy referee.
I'm in no position at all to argue about the performance of the referee, as unlike those Town fans, I don't feel qualified to critique something I haven't seen. However, whether there was bad officiating or not, Halifax can hardly complain about Mossley receiving a favourable decision after what happened in the league fixture at their place last season.
To jog your memory... until they added a second deep into injury time, all that separated the two teams was a first half penalty which was awarded after a Halifax player tripped over the ball doing step overs, a good two to three yards outside the box. As you can imagine there were few complaints about the quality of the man in the middle that night from the other side of the Pennines.
But it's football. Sometimes decisions go for you, other times they go against. There's no conspiracy and just because you think something wasn't a foul doesn't mean you're right. Believe it or not, referees actually know the rules better than supporters do.
Anyway, next up for the Lilywhites is the floodlight free early kick-off on Saturday against Prescot Cables, a team managed by the ex-Mossley player with the 'roll off the tongue' name, Joe Gibiliru.
What you're no doubt wondering though is if there'll be a report on that game on here. At the moment I've no idea and on that cliffhanger...
Frostbiting
If you’ve arrived here looking for a report on Mossley’s trip to Radcliffe Borough then I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed. And if you go searching elsewhere for one I’m afraid you’re going to be equally frustrated in your quest.
The reason why is that for the (one, two, three... no, it’s no use - I’ve lost count), er... umpteenth time in the past two months the cold weather has forced the postponement of yet another Lilywhites fixture; a frozen pitch adding a bit of variety to the numerous water loggings and snows on the increasingly long ‘postponed due to’ list.
To be honest though, if the game had gone ahead there still wouldn’t have been a match report on here for your perusal as I was going to be a non-attendee for this fixture. In fact I only discovered the game had been postponed at 11:00pm on Saturday evening when I belatedly decided to check on the day’s scores. Yes, I was that interested in the football this weekend. Actually I’ve been that interested in the football for quite a while now but that’s the subject for a possible blog posting sometime in the future.
Anyway, Mossley’s next attempt to start chipping away at the 24 league games they’ve got to play over the next twelve weeks takes place on Tuesday when they face FC Halifax Town. And in case you’ve forgotten or didn’t know (or maybe you just don’t care one way or the other) this match is being played at Ashton United’s ground. We don’t want you turning up at the wrong place! Although if the weather carries on as it is you’ll probably see the same amount of football being played whether you turn up at Seel Park or Hurst Cross.
The reason why is that for the (one, two, three... no, it’s no use - I’ve lost count), er... umpteenth time in the past two months the cold weather has forced the postponement of yet another Lilywhites fixture; a frozen pitch adding a bit of variety to the numerous water loggings and snows on the increasingly long ‘postponed due to’ list.
To be honest though, if the game had gone ahead there still wouldn’t have been a match report on here for your perusal as I was going to be a non-attendee for this fixture. In fact I only discovered the game had been postponed at 11:00pm on Saturday evening when I belatedly decided to check on the day’s scores. Yes, I was that interested in the football this weekend. Actually I’ve been that interested in the football for quite a while now but that’s the subject for a possible blog posting sometime in the future.
Anyway, Mossley’s next attempt to start chipping away at the 24 league games they’ve got to play over the next twelve weeks takes place on Tuesday when they face FC Halifax Town. And in case you’ve forgotten or didn’t know (or maybe you just don’t care one way or the other) this match is being played at Ashton United’s ground. We don’t want you turning up at the wrong place! Although if the weather carries on as it is you’ll probably see the same amount of football being played whether you turn up at Seel Park or Hurst Cross.
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