View from the Cemetery

I had a quick count up this week of the number and variety of North East Counties League teams we have played in the last few years. Silsden, Liversedge, AFC Mansfield, Bridlington (many times), Handsworth, Garforth, Selby, Hall Road Rangers, Tadcaster and no doubt a couple I’ve forget, Keith will remind me, and of course Hemsworth MW. A good few memorable trips amongst them, including the quaint ground and clubhouse at Liversedge, where the barman struggled with the beer, and conversely the fine beer in the pubs adjacent to Silsden and their remarkably good ground and clubhouse, built up from scratch over many years. The very tight Vase win at Mansfield, last minute home wins against Bridlington, and the splendid victory on a great night here in Ryhope over a very highly rated Garforth team. Yes, some good old memories there alright.

I guess I’m like a lot of people looking at the draws for the FA Cup and later the Vase when they first come out, not sure what I want. A winnable game at home with no travelling and home for tea, or a good bus trip with an early start, blind cards on the journey, new sights and sounds and hopefully a raucous ride back with a few pints somewhere on the way. Of course I’ve only heard about those, what with being somewhat static, but even so travel broadens the mind, even if it is other people’s travel. Yes, I think on balance when you find you potentially have a couple of FA Cup games at home it’s a bit deflating. Don’t suppose a replay up the Colliery counts as travel really. By all accounts we played well for a long time up the road, should have had the game well won, and then were hanging on and maybe lucky to pinch it at the death. That’s FA Cup football though.

Well, that was a week and a half wasn’t it? Great, but sad day last Saturday, and a fantastic turn out by the people of Ryhope and the friends, the many friends, of Richie to support his family in their grief. Understandably the game took second place on the day, and it was probably only right that it ended in a draw, it wasn’t a day for winners and losers. The replay took a while to catch light, and was another very tight affair, with RCA probably the better side for the first seventy minutes and the CW coming on strong at the end, and the last few minutes not for the faint hearted. I’m pleased RCA won, but you had to feel for the CW, who continue their steady improvement of the past couple of seasons and will feel they should have won it with that penalty. And we only have to do it a minimum of another three times this season. Can we stand the pressure? Only a fortnight since the start and it feels like a lifetime already.

The season always starts with a rush in August, today is our third game, with two more to come next week, and in total eight by the end of the month. A very early make or break time, particularly with the FA Cup, which carries good rewards nowadays, as well as excitement, publicity and sometimes a decent away trip or two into the strange lands of Yorkshire or Lancashire. And a repeat of last season’s FA Cup derby game today. How unlikely is that? The first of at least four RCA v CW derby matches this season.

A very good start last Saturday against a strong North Shields side despite missing a few lads with holidays etc, but that gave the chance for a couple of good debuts by Max Allen and Henry Dorward, fine footballers names, and promising performances. The North Shields Ultras were out in their usual throng, noisy and giving the officials a hard time, as well as enjoying lively discussions with the locals about the current and new laws; but largely behaved themselves, and certainly did their bit for takings in the clubhouse. They were a good deal quieter as they left mind. Canny lads really.

So that’s that for the season of minority sports, or summer as it is sometimes known. The annual two week tennis season produced an epic final between two of the old stagers in Djokovic and Federer, which unfortunately clashed with an equally epic cricket world cup final. I didn’t see either as I was on my travels, but it seemed a daft bit of scheduling to me. Still, at least England won the cricket, principally thanks to the New Zealand boy they had playing for them as it happens.