30 Years Ago: Part Four

This is it - the 17th of May, 2010. Thirty years ago to the day that Mossley the town virtually emptied and Mossley the team took to the pitch at Wembley Stadium for the 1980 FA Trophy final.

It's actually quite frightening to think that three decades have passed since we did battle with Dagenham for the right to climb those 39 steps and hold the trophy aloft. Not only because the events of the day are still as fresh in the memory as they were back then, but because it really makes you feel your age as well!

Mossley's appearance in the final meant that the town's carnival, due to take place on the same day, had to be postponed for a week but it didn't stop the locals from taking to the streets as they would have done had it gone ahead. Instead of lining the roads to watch the procession of floats and bands though, almost everyone to a man, woman and child converged on Mossley station or the market ground: a sea of black and white waiting to be carried to London on one of the many specially chartered train services or the seemingly never ending line of coaches.

My journey south was on one of the crowded trains (a trip that seemed to pass in the blink of an eye) and along with the walk to the stadium in the Mossley jacket my mum had made for me, the atmosphere both inside and outside the ground, the hairs on the neck raising rendition of Abide With Me, the teams emerging from the tunnel and other moments far too numerous to mention... they're experiences that will live with me until either the day I die. Or when senility finally takes over - whichever comes first really.


Yes, that's me in the top left photograph in my little red Mossley jacket. The other photos were taken by my dad as the teams made their way onto the pitch.


In fact the only void in my memories of the day is the match itself. I remember Ian Smith equalising, or rather the roar as he did so, and a few other incidents but the combination of being tiny and the stadium's infamously poor sight lines meant that my view of the match was often obscured by the people around us.

As we all know too well though the final proved to be a game too far for the Lilywhites - not that they didn't make a damn good go of achieving a league and cup double. And that's not some rose-tinted nostalgia talking, as the reports below say we were genuinely unlucky not to come away from the old Empire Stadium with more than just losers medals and memories.

If you only have the time or desire to read one of the following scanned cuttings, I suggest you choose the first one - 'Walking tall from defeat' - as it's the one that was published in the Mossley & Saddleworth Reporter and, as a consequence, a bit more emotive than the others.


That's not to say the rest (reports taken from the national tabloids) aren't worth reading because they are and all have some kind words to say about the Lilywhites.




If I'd been older I'm sure the defeat would have hit me harder than it did but I went home in just as happy a mood as I'd arrived in. In fact there weren't that many overly sad faces in the carriages as we made the journey north. Maybe it was because everyone thought we'd get the chance to do it again the following season? Sadly we didn't, a defeat at Bangor City in quarter-finals of the competition ending our chances of making it to Wembley for a second successive season.


Even now, thirty years on, there's still the hope burning in some fans that we'll get the chance to take to the pitch at the national stadium again. And though it's a situation that's unlikely to happen given the way the non-league game is set-up these days, it is what dreams are for.

The fifth and final part of this look back will be online soon and detail the teams homecoming along with more words and pictures about the Final weekend.

30 Years Ago: Part Three

With the anniversary of the 1980 FA Trophy final drawing ever nearer, I've been back to the scrap books I've kept from that particular period and digitised a few more clippings. What follows are cuttings relating to the build-up to the match.

As always, just click on the images to be taken to a larger, more readable version:


The majority of them are taken from the Mossley & Saddleworth Reporter but there are a couple from the national press, including the following one which published in the News of the World on the Sunday before the match:


Interestingly, even if it is only to me, the photograph that accompanies the above article could have been one of me.

A call went around school (I was a pupil at St Joseph's at the time) asking if there was anyone who was going to the final. My hand went up, along with those belonging to a few others, and we were taken out of class and round to the ground where we were decked in hats, scarves and flags for the press photographer. Those pictures though were never used and a fleeting brush with fame passed me by.






Over the course of the next seven days I'll hopefully be putting some more clippings up on the blog relating to the game itself and the events that surrounded both it and the homecoming. There are quite a few pictures so there's a chance you'll see somebody you know looking thirty years younger.

The previous two parts of this series can be found here and here.

Glossop North End 3 - 1 Padiham

Ten months after it began on a sunkissed afternoon in Dukinfield, the 2009/10 season came to an end for Mossley80 on a cold night in Glossop.

And thankfully it was a decent end too as the unbridled misery and boredom of the last two games witnessed were brushed away in a flurry of end-to-end football (well, mostly the end Glossop were attacking) in the Vodkat Reserve League Cup Final.

Yes, a reserve team cup final - we were that desperate for a game of football.

You know its going to be a good game when there's a goal after only 25 seconds and that's how long it took Glossop to take the lead. They kicked-off, ran forward and scored - as simple as that. A second was not long in coming and there should have been another four or five added to the total before the interval. It was a game the description 'one-sided' was invented for.

The second period looked to be heading down the path signposted 'Foregone Conclusion' until, much to what I should imagine was everybody's surprise, Padiham pulled a goal back. Whether it should have stood or not can be argued about for a long time (there were at least three fouls committed as they worked the ball up the pitch) but it certainly made the game that bit more interesting. It could have gotten even more interesting had Padiham hit the net and not the crossbar from a yard out on their next attack.

It was a costly miss too as less than a few minutes later the home team killed off their opponents hopes of a comeback with another well worked goal. They could have added more as Padiham all but gave up hopes of rescuing the game. There was still time though for a pitch invasion by a dog (which is never not amusing) and one last 'did the officials get it right' moment. The latter deserving of a paragraph to itself so...

The referee stopped play so a Glossop player could receive treatment for an injury. From the drop ball to restart the game, a Padiham player kicked the ball towards the Glossop keeper who missed it and in doing so allowed it to roll into the net. Rather than a goal though the referee awarded a goal kick. Now I'm not going to say he made the wrong decision, purely because I don't know and I can't find the definitive answer to the situation anywhere. Therefore if you know whether it was a correct or incorrect call, please don't hesitate to share your knowledge of the rulings which cover this infuriating game we know as Association Football.

After much discussion about the weather, holidays, the awfulness of prime-time television and how some of the players in the Glossop side would not look out of place in the Hillmen's first team (and could fit rather nicely into Mossley's starting eleven too) the final whistle blew and the season was over; another year of football done and dusted with.

Of course there's still the World Cup but it's no real substitute for standing on a wind and rain swept terrace in the back end of nowhere, watching a game of football so poor that you contemplate committing seppuku with a corner flag pole, is it?

Pylons And Horizons

Having only just grown accustomed to not seeing Mossley's floodlights dominate the skyline after their well documented losing battle with the winter weather, it looks like I'm going to have to start getting used to another view.

Looking up towards top Mossley when I got home from work this afternoon, I noticed something a bit different about the western horizon:


Thanks to the numerous fund raising events and the grateful donations of many, many good people, the club is (warning - bad pun ahead) literally beginning to put the dark days behind them as the pylons for the new lights are now up.

It's not the greatest photograph in the world I'll readily admit but hopefully there'll be some better pictures to follow when time and the weather conditions allow.

New Mills 0 - 0 Squires Gate

And so ends a week of diminishing returns.

What began with a mesmeric meeting between New Mills and Newcastle and took a near vertical descent in quality with the Vodkat League Cup Final, finished back in the High Peak with New Mills and Squires Gate playing out a game of football so spectacularly dull that it almost cured my insomnia. Never before has a 0-0 scoreline so accurately reflected a match.

It would be remiss of me not to mention that both sides had a couple of half chances but for the most part the game was as lifeless as the back benches in the House of Lords. Although I'd wager that you'd see more dribbling there in the space of ninety minutes than you would have done at this game.

The only incident that sticks in the mind (and unfortunately my handkerchief and coat) is the sudden pre-match nose bleed I had. And it comes to something when your nose literally bursting in a fountain of blood is not only the highlight of the day but more fun than the match too.

In brief then, the past week of viewing NWCFL games goes as follows: excellent game -> bad game -> worse ga... Zzzzzzz!

It's a sequence which doesn't exactly bode well for the next game the 'ever desperate for a game of football' Mossley supporters will be taking in on Monday night. That said though, the masochist in me is keen to see just how bad things possibly could get.

I know, careful what you wish for...

Abbey Hey 3 - 0 Winsford United

Following the delights of last weekends top of the NWCFL table clash between New Mills and Newcastle, the Vodkat League Cup Final held at Curzon Ashton gave the same small but intrepid band of Mossley supporters the chance to sample the kind of fare that was on offer at the opposite end of the division.

Would we be treated to some similarly sparkling football or be witness to something else entirely?

Well it turned out to be something else and not a good something else either as we went from the sublime to the sub-standard in the space of five days. I'm not saying it was bad but... no, it was bad. Very bad.

Actually I don't know why I'm surprised at the poor nature of the match given the type of season both sides were having. Winsford were sitting fourth from bottom of the league while their opponents, Abbey Hey, were actually rock bottom and playing their first game since being condemned to relegation. Not exactly omens for a great game.

The warning signs that things would be slightly rubbish were increased when the sides were introduced to the guest of honour, Eric Tate, before kick-off. What do you mean you've never heard of him? It's the Eric Tate, the assistant manager at Northern League side Tow Law Town.

Yep, that's right, the V.I.P. for the Vodkat League Cup Final was the second in command - not the actual manager but the assistant - of a mid-table club in an equivalent league. Goodness knows who their back-up choice was should Mr Tate not have been able to make the game. Armthorpe Welfare's coach driver? The window cleaner at Bishop Auckland?

And all this was done to a backdrop of wrong announcements and terrible mispronunciations over the p.a. system which, as you can imagine, (despite being par for the course at the Tameside Stadium) really added to the prestige of the event.

Although I had gone to the match with the intention of being neutral, my support swung behind Abbey Hey for two reasons. The first being the presence in their team of three ex-Mossley players (John-Paul Lewis, Gareth Wager - who was probably man of the match - and Matthew Kemp) and the second reason because they were the only side who attempted to play some football on the night.


The first half was memorable only for the one goal scored in it. A rare outbreak (i.e. the only bit) of quality football opened up the Winsford defence and gave Abbey Hey a lead which they carried into the interval without too much duress. No, scratch that, under no duress whatsoever.

The second period was marginally better, down purely to Abbey Hey raising their game a couple of notches rather than anything Winsford did, and two more very well worked goals gave the Gorton based side an unassailable lead.

I appreciate that it isn't a pleasant epithet to label a team with but Winsford were laughably bad. Being in the company of their fans though, we tried to keep our amusement in their on pitch endeavours in check but with fifteen minutes of the match remaining we couldn't stifle the giggles any more.

For the first time in the match United's number nine found himself goal side of the Abbey Hey defence and only the goalkeeper standing between him and the chance to give his team a glimmer of getting back into the game. With glory awaiting he swung his leg, missed the ball and almost kicked himself in the head before stumbling around like Norman Wisdom in search of Mr Grimsdale.

Winsford were by far and away the worst side I've seen on my travels this season and by some considerable distance. Admittedly they've had something of a fixture pile-up recently but if you can't raise your game just one iota for a cup final it's a sign that football isn't the sport for you.

Still, it was an entertaining match in a way (if for the wrong, wrong reasons) and marginally better than not only last seasons final, but the one seven years ago at Gigg Lane when when we beat Clitheroe 2 - 1 to lift the same trophy.


Maybe my lot in life is to never see a good final again? If it is I think that in the grand scheme of things it's something I can live with. I would though like to end the season with a reasonable entertaining game to carry me through the summer months so hopefully Saturday's fixture between New Mills and Squires Gate will do just that.

The emphasis of course being on the word 'hopefully'.

New Mills 1 - 1 Newcastle Town

Just like last year, the early end to the Northern Premier League season saw a small group of Mossley supporters head off to strange pastures in search of football. And just like last year they ended up in the High Peak, or to be more specific New Mills, where the eponymous home town team were taking on Newcastle Town.


Ninety nine percent of the time a fixture at the tail end of the season involving the teams in first and second place would be must-see games full of tension and potential high drama. This though, thanks to Newcastle running away with the league and being crowned champions several weeks earlier, represented that other single percent where all that was at stake was pride.

However, the fact that there absolutely nothing riding on the outcome didn’t stop it from being a genuinely good game to watch from a neutrals perspective. Well, for the most part it was. There was a slump around the hour mark but compared to some of the games I’ve witnessed since August, particularly the Curzon-Colwyn Bay play-off four days earlier, this was ambrosia – the stuff the gods were fed with and not the rice pudding.

So, the game. Newcastle took an early lead when a sublime move up the pitch end in the most ridiculous of goals; the ball taking what seemed like a dozen deflections before ending up in the back of the net. The lead was a just reward for the Staffordshire sides great start to the match but they were pegged back when the assistant referee was kind enough to give the Millers a free-kick for a non-existent foul, from which Carlos Meakin headed them level.

New Mills' good fortune continued when their number five only received a caution for bringing down a player in the box. It was as blatant a red card offence as I've seen all season yet the referee (as is often the case at this time of year when their eyes are on holidays and not on filling out reports) only saw fit to issue a yellow. Newcastle's pre-interval misery was then completed by the penalty taker not only blasting his spot kick straight at keeper Liam Higginbotham (see, I know one players name) but knocking the rebound ten metres over the crossbar with the goal at his mercy.

The second half began with both sides piling forward in search of the goal that would put them in front but then came that aforementioned slump. It wasn't a gradual thing either - the quality of the game just went into a straight nose dive. Thankfully it picked up again towards the end and the Millers had Higginbotham to thank for keeping the scores level as the visitors bombarded his goal with shots.

I'm no fan of the keeper after the way he left Mossley last season but some of the saves he pulled off in the closing moments of this match were unbelievable. At times it seemed like 1 vs 11 and reminded me of the semi-final game in Shaolin Soccer (which, while I'm on the subject, is the best football film ever made):


Conclusions that can be drawn from the game? The over riding one is that I'm glad Newcastle will be in the Unibond, sorry - Evostik South next season. Seriously, they're that good a side and if they can keep their squad together I don't envy anybody playing them at all.

New Mills are a decent team too although not quite as formidable as Town and that's mostly down to their strike force who in this game posed all the threat and menace of a particularly wet lettuce leaf. Even the introduction of ex-Football League striker Simon Yeo didn't improve things any. At least not in terms of goal potential but he did up the quotient by falling over the ball. Twice.

Of course I'm basing the above opinion purely on the strength of one match but as it doesn't stop supposed 'experts' in the media, it's not going to stop me either.

Curzon Ashton 1 - 2 Colwyn Bay

One thing you never expect as a spectator at a play-off is to see a good game. There's so much riding on the outcome, especially in one legged ties, that extreme caution tends to outweigh any notion of entertainment the teams involved may have.

Not on this occasion though as the meeting between Curzon Ashton and Colwyn Bay failed to live up to even the low expectations I had. It wasn't good - it really wasn't. I appreciate that the supporters of the two clubs involved will think differently but from a neutrals perspective it was a supreme test of patience.

As a Mossley fan I'm familiar with the clinical, and rather excellent, way Colwyn Bay have taken us apart over the past few seasons so the long ball tactics they employed in this game were quite a shock. Though not quite as big a shock as the fact they persisted with this tactic despite them getting no joy from it whatsoever. They posed so little threat that when Curzon took the lead just before the interval through Michael Norton it looked like game over already.

It was a view that didn't change until Bay made a double substitution midway through the second period and finally they began to play a bit of football. Within moments of doing so they were awarded a spot-kick when Phil Edgehill blocked the path of the ball with a raised arm (though naturally, like our penalty at the Tameside Stadium on Easter Monday, the Curzon website doesn't think it was one) and eleven minutes after Ian Sheridan had converted that, they got the winner; Lee Davey taking advantage of some very, very poor marking (see video below) to head the Welsh side into a play-off final against Lancaster City.

I can't believe I'm actually going to type this but the result was a touch unfair on Curzon as they were the best side on the night. However you won't find many of the large number of Mossley fans present at the game complaining too much at Bay snatching the win. Actually you won't have heard them saying anything due to the enormous grins they had on their faces.


If the video above isn't working or you want better quality, click here.

So while Colwyn Bay head off to Lancashire coast this weekend for a date with destiny, Curzon are left to ponder on another play-off defeat and what could possibly have been the last hurrah for the clubs most successful squad.

Stories of striker Norton departing for pastures new have been a staple of the non-league rumour mill for quite a few seasons now but this year they seem to have a lot more substance to them. Add to that gossip of other players moving on and the whispers of the purse strings being pulled a lot tighter, it could well be that next season at the Tameside Stadium is one of those that's described in future press releases as 'a rebuilding phase'.

Or as everyone else calls it, "not being as good as you were."

Mossley 4 - 1 Rossendale United

This is it - the last one. The final match report of a season that has been, technically, shorter than most but felt an awful lot longer.

I'd like to go out with a spectacularly well written piece - something deep and meaningful that inspires both tears and smiles and leaves you yearning for the arrival of August - but as I've done no such things in the past, why start now?

What you'll get instead is a straight to-the-point report that will begin by stating both the season and John Flanagan's brief reign as Mossley manager came to an end with a victory, before going on to say that it guaranteed the Lilywhites seventh spot in the Unibond First Division North and condemned Rossendale to finishing a second successive campaign at the foot of the table.

As much as I'd like to avoid using the the cliché “a typical end of season affair” to describe the match it's hard not to as the game rarely developed a head of steam under the spring sunshine bathing Seel Park. Especially during a first half in which the two goals that gave Mossley the lead at the interval were the only moments of note in an otherwise lacklustre opening period.

The first goal arrived just after the half hour mark when a Dale defender tried to chest a right wing cross from Mike Fish into the arms of his goalkeeper Tom Brocklehurst. Unfortunately for him he completely misjudged just how far away the intended recipient was and only succeeded in cushioning the ball into the path of the inrushing Lee Blackshaw who converted the chance gifted to him.


Lee Blackshaw reels away after opening the scoring.
An error played a part in Mossley's second goal as well, however it shouldn't take anything away from the build-up which involved a blistering run over half the length of the pitch by Ben Richardson to get on to the end of of long, looping pass. His shot wasn't a particularly well struck one but the United keeper inexplicably let the ball pass through his hands as he bent to collect it, allowing the effort to roll slowly across the goal line and into the net.


Ben Richardson's shot prepares to slip through the grasp of the goalkeeper.
Thankfully for those watching from the terraces the second half had a bit more life to it – a situation aided in no small part by David Owens pulling a goal back for the visitors almost immediately after the restart. They came agonisingly close to levelling the scores too when Williams and ex-Mossley forward Ian Barker both hit the cross bar within the space of ten seconds.

It was a warning that finally woke Mossley from their post half-time slumber and Matty Kay restored the Lilywhites two goal advantage with a neat finish from ten yards. The goal was his 29th of the campaign but the 30th remained elusive despite Kay going desperately close on a number of occasions to registering it.


Matty Kay notches his 29th goal of the season.
Another goal was to come though and with five minutes remaining Mossley completed their scoring for the afternoon and the 2009/10 season when Chris McDonagh headed an inswinging free-kick beyond the dive of Brocklehurst.


Chris McDonagh (10) rounds off the afternoon's entertainment.
The post match news of Flanagan's resignation as manager due to work commitments undoubtedly took some of the shine off the win. But if the squad he leaves behind, and the spirit he's imbued them with, can remain intact over the summer there's no reason to believe that Mossley can't set their sights for a higher finish than seventh.

And that's it - a weary report to end a season of ups, downs and the odd moments of going round and round in circles.

Those of an eagle-eyed disposition will have noted that the above looks awfully like the official report and there's a reason for that: it is the official report, albeit with a new top and tail. I wish there could have been more differences but the time needed to do that has to be spent on other things - things which will hopefully be up on this very blog sometime in the near future. And you never know, they may even be worth reading.

Did I just hear you say, "there's first time for everything"?

Mossley 1 - 1 Skelmersdale United

Hold onto your hats because time dictates that this is going to be a quick blast through of what happened in Mossley's last game using Hurst Cross as a home base.

There may be spelling mistakes, there may be grammatical errors, it's likely to be rubbish but at least it's not going to eat into your time like these reports usually do. So buckle in, deep breath and...

Whether it was tiredness or just being wary of a side who'd put five past them five days earlier, Mossley began the match in a cautious manner. It was a decision which allowed Skelmersdale to see plenty of the ball but not the goal as some strong defending from the forward line back meant that chances where like the supporters on the terraces - few and far between.

Up until the 40th minute it looked like a spectacularly awful attempt at trying to win a penalty by United's Birch would be the highlight of the opening period. However, with what can only be described as a jammy, flukey, mis-hit of a shot (though it could have been a cross or an attempt to control the ball given the peculiar shape he was pulling), Michael White ensured that the visitors would head into the interval with the lead after scuffing the ball into the net.

As the second half progressed Mossley started to grow more and more adventurous and thanks to Skelmersdale's Curzon Ashton impression (all blue kit - all long hoofs up the pitch) they began to enjoy a lot more possession. Chances weren't exactly coming thick but and fast but they were keeping the Skem players busy in their own penalty area.

There have been many times in Mossley's past when they've paid the price for not making the most of moments in a game when they're on top. Thankfully though this wasn't an occasion to be added to that list. A fantastically long goal mouth scramble (it was like the Can-Can with all the legs that were swinging away) came to an end with the ball being knocked out of play by one of the visitors. From the resulting corner Mike Fish supplied a superbly weighted cross onto the head of Andy Russell and a split-second later the ball was in the back of the net and the Lilywhites were on level terms.

Skelmersdale could - and indeed, should - have won the game in injury time. Phil Mooney found himself unmarked in the six yard box as his side countered a Mossley attack but he inexplicably headed the ball wide when doing just that seemed the most impossible thing to do.

It was a miss that kept the scores level though and neither side will argue that a point each wasn't the fairest outcome. And a point is effectively all Mossley need against Rossendale to finish the season in seventh place - a position which three months ago looked as unlikely as the General Election being a three horse race.

So farewell Hurst Cross. Thanks for the help and the memories and should our paths ever have to cross again, lets hope the circumstances for them doing so are better ones.

And... done!

Relax, breathe out and on to the last one!

Mossley 5 - 2 Garforth Town

Having spent far too many years watching football I didn't think that there was anything left in the sport that could surprise me.

I've seen, and I'm sure you have too, astonishing comebacks, games thrown away when they were as good as won, fantastic goals, unforgettable howlers, results that defy logic and lots, lots more too numerous to detail here.

But in this match I was introduced to a genuinely new and pleasing experience: the sight of a Garforth team which was more interested in playing some very good football rather than seeing how many times they could whack the ball and their opponents up in the air.

Fixture involving Garforth have, for me anyway, always been ones that have been anticipated in the same way that someone on death row looks forward to the day after their last meal. Past meetings have included plenty of goals but there's always been an unsavoury edge too and as a consequence the football has come a distant second to... well, anti-football.

However, Simon Clifford's decision to hand over the managerial reigns while he concentrates on his business seems to have had a positive effect out on the pitch as the Yorkshire side are now playing something approaching the type of football that's been advertised on their website for years.

And what a pleasing thing it was to be able to watch too: excellent passing, superb off the ball movement - the sort of thing you really want to watch as a football fan. The best thing about it all though was that Mossley were just that little bit better than them at it.

Unlike the visitors Mossley had the cutting edge to compliment the quality of the build-up play and this was no more in evidence than over the course of an incredible first twelve minutes of the match. Not only did the Lilywhites take a 3rd minute lead through Mike Fish, they added a second and a third in quick succession thanks to Ben Richardson and Fish again.

Ben Richardson slots home the second goal of the night.

The incredibleness would have probably gone off the scale (that's if there was such a thing as an incredibleness scale) if Garforth had converted the golden opportunities that they were presented with in that initial 720 seconds as only a bad miss, a good save and goal line clearance stopped the score from being three apiece while the pies were still lukewarm.

The pace of the game didn't let up either after that initial spell of action as both sides launched attack after attack and chances came and went with all the regularity of a made up story in the Daily Express or Star.

Its been said many times before that there's no such thing as a comfy lead when Mossley are the team in front and this game was a prime example of why that's the case. With half-time approaching Mossley's lead went from three goals to just one as Garforth scored twice within a matter of minutes through Adam Clayton and Tom Greaves. And it must be said they were some top quality goals too that even the Mossley supporters had to acknowledge that with a gentle round of applause (as well as a touch of sarcasm just to balance things out).

They weren't to be the final say in a fantastic first-half though as Fish completed his hat-trick with a well taken goal that left the keeper stood stock still and allowed most of the supporters to begin breathing a little easier again.

Whenever there's a first half jam packed goals, it's often the case that the second period is a forty five minute boreathon. Thankfully though there are exceptions that disprove the rule and this was on of the few.

It retained the excitement the opening period had but both sides seemed to twig that defending a bit better might help their cause and though it remained end-to-end the gilt-edged chances were fewer. That said there was still plenty of them for both sides to have scored from and that they didn't was down to last-ditch blocks, good saves and hands-to-head misses - there should even have been a penalty or two too.

But there was one more goal to add to the six already scored and it went the home sides way. A good bit of close control from Andy Watson was complimented by an inch perfect through ball to Nathan Neequaye who with only the keeper to beat, unselfishly played a square pass to Matty Kay and Mossley's leading scorer added to his total for the season.

As someone said on the evening, the match was almost like a pre-season friendly. It was a game with nothing riding on it other than pride and with no pressure on them, two evenly matched sides just went for the win and it was great to watch.

To be honest, in much the same way the score line three days earlier at Skelmersdale was apparently unfair on Mossley (as I've been told by those who went) this one was harsh on Garforth. If it had finished a draw I don't think anyone could have complained about the result.

But Mossley did win and did so by blooding some of the younger players (John McIlwaine, Connor Hampson and Alex Byrne) and playing with a goalkeeper upfront for the final four minutes. Not a bad night if you can do that, win well and tighten your grip on a potential seventh place finish in the league.

Now to do the same again on Thursday and gain some quick revenge on Skelmersdale for the defeat at the weekend. Actually, recent defeat or not, beating Skem and applying a pin to their ever over inflated bubble of self-importance is always something to savour.

30 Years Ago: Part Two

19/04/1980: Boston United 1 - 2 Mossley (2-3 agg)

A week after the one-all draw at Seel Park, Mossley and Boston met at the latters York Street Ground ground for the second leg of the FA Trophy semi-final.

Unlike the first leg I wasn't at this game. Instead I was at home listening to score updates on BBC Radio Manchester; updates which finished at half-time with Boston leading by one goal and leaving those not having travelled to Lincolnshire on tenterhooks.

I was having my tea (dinner if you're posh) when they finally gave out the final score and of all the things I remember from my childhood, this moment is one of the clearest: "Boston United 1 (pause from the announcer) Mossley 2." I've no idea what was said after that because my dad was cheering and I was stunned. In a happy way of course because even at that very early age I knew what the significance was of any team, especially one of Mossley's size, going to Wembley and I was going to get the opportunity to see them do it.

The first two images below contain the report on the game which was printed in the Mossley & Saddleworth Reporter. So if you want a breakdown of what happened on the day (including some peculiar half-time antics) just click on the pictures and you'll be taken to larger scans of the article. The third image is a cutting taken from one of the Sunday tabloids published the following day:


If you were at York Street on this particular day and want to share your memories of what happened, just click on the comments section below.

Coming soon - hopefully - the build-up to the Trophy Final.

Skelmersdale United 5 - 2 Mossley

Unfortunately circumstances dictate that I can't provide you with a report on this game (no doubt to the unutterable delight of a couple of people) as I was otherwise occupied on this particular afternoon.

I know - shame on me for missing a game! Then again with me not being a 'genuine supporter' you really should expect lapses like this.

Though it looks like a heavy defeat when it's written down like it is in the title of this post, having read about what happened it seems that, unlike the loss against Curzon two days earlier, we were the victims of trying to chase the game; that we got sucker punched while piling forward in search of an equaliser. We did it to Clitheroe not so long ago and in this game it appears we were given a double dose of the same medicine.

But why have me telling you what I read when you can see for yourself? There's the Mossley view, the Skelmersdale view, the Google Maps view, an ocean view, A Room With A View A View To A Kill, Belle Vue, I Believe In you, Ibuleve... sorry, getting a bit carried away there!

The result means we've now conceded 14 goals in our last three visits to Skem and on each occasion we've had the manager dismissed from the dug out. Who's looking forward to next seasons trip? ;-)

Still, at least we get the chance to take some swift revenge on Thursday when the return fixture takes place in what will, hopefully, be our last game using Hurst Cross as a home.

Can we leave foreign soil with a win? Could we put a dint in Skelemrsdale's own promotion hopes? Could we cement a seventh place finish in the league? Will there be a report on the game on here? Will I actually be going?

Stay tuned folks to this channel for answers to all these questions and more!

Mossley 1 - 4 Curzon Ashton

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.

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 top: Kevin Gorman fires home an 66th minute equaliser...
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!