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       #Post#: 10046--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Pyramid Patrol 2019/20
   DIR By: JCFC
       Date: August 18, 2019, 6:46 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Being less familiar with S&H officials, JCFC could only stake 2p
       on the identity of the young AR1 and nothing at all on the
       unrecognised AR2, but their names were subsequently gleaned from
       a friendly official of the home club at
       Wednesday 14th August 2019
       FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round Replay
       Penistone Church   2   v   5   Skelmersdale United
       Jamie Waters (Holmfirth); Ryan Henger, Christopher Rose.
       The mystery is how Mr Waters, first seen nearly a decade ago,
       contrives to look as young as, or even younger than, he did then
       - and more cheerful too. He had occasion to speak to the Skem
       number 8 for a mistimed slide, but there was little in the
       opening exchanges to disturb his mood. The visitors took the
       lead with a long shot just after the half hour. Five minutes
       later a Penistone defender was racing back with an opponent, who
       gave him a firm nudge in the back, winning possession to add a
       second. Mr Waters would not have had the best of angles and Mr
       Henger did not see fit to intervene - either deciding that it
       was not within his sector or perhaps deeming that it was the
       sort of push that is routinely allowed to pass elsewhere. Three
       minutes later there was a yellow card for the Skelmersdale
       number 11, and from the free-kick a couple of touches led to a
       Penistone goal.
       The visitors proved much the stronger unit in the second half,
       adding three goals before Penistone got their second through a
       low free-kick from the edge of the area.
       The doubtful second goal apart, it was a comfortable evening for
       the officials, assuming they were not too bothered by the
       frequent comments of a loud Yorkshire voice, stemming from a
       gentleman of advanced years. Mr Henger was in front of the stand
       and was the butt of the majority of remarks, but seemed to be
       amused rather than intimidated. Mr Waters signalled his return
       to Level 3 with a very solid performance overall.
       #Post#: 10052--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Pyramid Patrol 2019/20
   DIR By: JCFC
       Date: August 18, 2019, 8:57 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       As the League season got under way, once again with redrawn
       boundaries, it was great to see Brighouse Town sitting proudly
       on top of the table - albeit solely by virtue of alphabetical
       order. This happy situation was not to survive the afternoon at
       Saturday 17th August 2019
       BVNPL Division 1 NW
       Clitheroe   0   v   0   Brighouse Town
       Liam Marshall (Blackpool); David Gillon, Lee Corns
       Tallish, slim dark-haired Mr Marshall proved to be a prominent
       member of the pressure group demanding higher fees for referees
       to enable them to replace blunt razor blades.
       Brighouse had the better of the first half hour, with some good
       approach work, but having lost their purveyors of goals to
       Guiseley, were unable to capitalise. They did hit the post on 6
       minutes, and clipped the bar on 27. Mr Marshall had spoken to
       the home number 9 and the away number 10 for separate chirrups
       and correctly shown a yellow card to the Clitheroe number 10 for
       an attack breaker. As half-time approached, however, Clitheroe
       came back into the game and it took a good block by the keeper
       and a clearance off the line by a full-back to keep them out. A
       little childish silliness between Brighouse 4 and Clitheroe 10
       was appropriately dealt with by a warning.
       Clitheroe continued to shade things after the restart. The
       Brighouse number 10 had a further chunter and this time his
       captain was summoned as well, though it was for a later foul
       that he was eventually to see yellow. In the meantime a
       Brighouse cross had hit the inside of the post and as Clitheroe
       looked to break, the Brighouse number 15 stopped the attack with
       a clear foul and rightly received a yellow card. After 81
       minutes Clitheroe burst through a porous Brighouse defence and
       the keeper had to make a brave save. The resulting corner was
       again cleared off the line - JCFC not being sure whether to be
       pleased or not, holding as he did the 82 minute golden goal
       ticket. A petulant trip earned the Brighouse number 5 the game's
       final yellow card shortly before the final whistle.
       Mr Marshall created an excellent impression: accurate and
       confident decision making, regardless of shouts; appropriate use
       of cards; great use of advantage; firmness in quelling dissent;
       splendid movement, both forwards and backwards  - all
       contributed to a good display. In particular his manner with
       players was first-rate, helped by a remarkable facility for
       remembering names, and he used his smile well. The assumption
       had been that he would be rather poor, being one of what seemed
       to be the very few Lancashire referees not to be promoted last
       season - nothing could be further from the truth, and he must
       surely be upwardly mobile very soon.
       As a postscript it might be added that he twice resisted pleas
       from the Brighouse goalkeeper "Ref, ref, ref please talk to me."
       This showed admirable wisdom, as said keeper is not someone
       anybody in their right mind would wish to talk to.
       #Post#: 10168--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Pyramid Patrol 2019/20
   DIR By: JCFC
       Date: August 20, 2019, 4:38 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       A sunny evening attracted plenty of supporters to
       Monday 19th August 2019
       BVNPL Division 1 NW
       Brighouse Town   0   v   1   Marske United
       Jordan Crossley (Rochdale); Dave Chisnall, Matt Edwards.
       The Brighouse programme, an otherwise rather below average £2's
       worth on this occasion, redeemed itself with a full page of
       details about all three officials. A further innovation for this
       season seems to be that the PA system is now audible at last -
       though the announcer got the assistants the wrong way round. Mr
       Crossley, a tall, dark-haired young man on the skinny side of
       slim, could well have referred to either of them as Dad.
       "The Mystic Anorak" in Clitheroe's programme on Saturday had
       offered a predicted final table for the coming season, with
       Brighouse third and Marske to finish seventeenth: JCFC would
       suggest that those two are more likely to be reversed.
       Nevertheless Town made a decent start and a strong shot from
       their number 10 skimmed the crossbar on 17 minutes. That apart,
       however, they seemed determined to offer the visiting keeper
       some uncontested practice in catching high balls, with central
       defenders also accepting countless invitations to head the ball
       clear. Only once did a Brighouse player make contact with such a
       delivery - number 5 having come up for a corner could only
       glance the ball with the top of his head as it came across and
       out to safety. Marske, meanwhile, looked well-organised and
       quicker in thought, exposing the home side's defensive
       shortcomings. Midway through the half a deftly-slipped ball
       behind the left back drew the defence all over the place
       resulting in an easy goal. There was almost a repetition shortly
       afterwards, but the keeper got a crucial hand to the ball. There
       was a justified caution for the Marske number 11 for a foul, but
       the half had been largely cleanly contested.
       The Brighouse number 6 received similar treatment five minutes
       into the second half for an attack-stopper. Town, however, were
       showing a little more urgency. On 62 minutes a corner was met
       with a bullet header into the net, but sadly it was well after
       Mr Crossley had blown for a foul by another attacker. Marske
       were happy to sit back and absorb the pressure, which they did
       comfortably. Stoppage time saw another booking for a needless
       foul by a Brighouse player - perhaps he just thought he should
       make a donation to the coffers of the County FA.
       A first-season Level 3, Mr Crossley had a very good match. He
       got himself into excellent positions to make some good spots,
       crisply delivered, and both his decisions and his sanctions
       seemed accurate. As a result there was precious little dissent:
       the one moan from a Town player (about which side a substituted
       player should have left the field!) was met with a firm
       suggestion that he should concentrate on playing football - a
       sentiment greeted with approval by home fans. A fine evening's
       work might encourage him to project himself a little more: he
       maintained a slightly worried frown throughout, but will surely
       relax a little as he settles into this level. I look forward to
       seeing him in action again.
       #Post#: 10170--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Pyramid Patrol 2019/20
   DIR By: JCFC
       Date: August 20, 2019, 4:56 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       The Mystic Anorak also published last season's preditions and
       this Brighouse anorak applied Spearman's Rank Correlation
       Coefficient and found that the result was a fairly commendable
       0.52. There's hope for Town yet!
       #Post#: 10235--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Pyramid Patrol 2019/20
   DIR By: JCFC
       Date: August 21, 2019, 5:31 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Two apparently appealing prospects presented themselves - and
       JCFC unerringly chose the wrong one. (Heaven help those at
       Mossley if not!)
       Tuesday 20th August 2019
       NCEFL Premier
       Liversedge   1   v   0   Penistone Church
       Dane McCarrick (Cleveland/Leeds); Michael Trevethan, Joshua
       Brayshaw.
       Mr McCarrick, still on the upward slope of his twenties, is
       quite tall and fair haired, though with an appearance suggesting
       that this latter description may not pertain for all that much
       longer. His postgraduate studies have led to learned papers on,
       among other things, the significance of height in football
       refereeing. (For what it's worth, JCFC would view posture rather
       than stature as the major factor.) Mr Brayshaw made his two
       colleagues look almost geriatric in comparison.
       As hinted above, the match was a pretty dire affair, the pie and
       peas indifferent, the seats uncomfortably hard and even the
       presence of K S Hackett, fresh from a break in Cornwall, did
       little to enhance the occasion. Sedge took the lead on 9
       minutes, the Church keeper's attempted block being unable to
       keep out a close-range shot. The next excitement was delayed
       until the 42nd minute, when a Sedge shot was tipped over the
       bar. The home number 11 received a yellow card for a foul as
       Penistone tried to launch a counter.
       There were a couple of warnings for Church players early in the
       second half. The next caution came on 29 minutes: from the other
       half of the field it looked as if attacker and keeper were
       simply going for the same ball on the ground, but Mr McCarrick's
       decision that the Church number 7 was deserving of a yellow card
       must be accepted, as he was much closer to the incident. There
       were no complaints when the visiting number 8 saw yellow a few
       minutes later, but the caution for the Liversedge number 3 on 81
       minutes seemed a little harsh. Liversedge were eager to use up
       time - Mr McCarrick tried to hurry them along, and did add an
       appropriate period of stoppage time - but oddly it was a Church
       player who was aggrieved at being made to leave towards the
       nearer side, and idiotically showed his displeasure by doing so
       at an angle, not the wisest of moves when your side is looking
       for an equaliser late on. In added time Sedge indulged in some
       mischief with the ball and Mr McCarrick raced to the home dugout
       to flourish his yellow card at the coach/manager responsible.
       The best feature of the evening was that JCFC met a fellow
       Brighouse watcher and received a most welcome lift back to
       Brighouse, reaching home an hour and  half earlier than
       expected.
       As another new Level 3, Mr McCarrick did a decent enough job and
       did lapse into the odd smile. He kept firm control and was
       generally well-positioned, with rapid, if not always elegant,
       movement. A competent evening's work, but not one to raise a
       frisson of excitement. Sound, but as yet no more, for this
       watcher - though again time may allow extra qualities to
       blossom.
       #Post#: 10271--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Pyramid Patrol 2019/20
   DIR By: JCFC
       Date: August 22, 2019, 6:40 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       More than half a century has passed since JCFC last visited
       Lawkholme Lane, as Cougar Park was then known, all-time
       favourite RL player, Paul Charlton being in the visiting side,
       but with the village ground in Steeton not being of the standard
       required for step 6, that was the venue for
       Wednesday 21st August 2019
       NWCFL Division 1N
       Steeton   0   v   1   Cleator Moor Celtic
       Niall Eaves (Blackpoolish?); Luca Caggiano, Manfred Wojtas.
       In the intervening period, the entrance to the ground has been
       moved to the opposite end, away from the town, in an industrial
       estate, adding a half-mile diversion once this was discovered.
       With a long and awkward journey from West Cumberland, Celtic
       arrived at 19.30 and did well to get the match started just
       after 20.00, allowing time for a steak slice and tea in the bar.
       Mr Wojtas had been seen before, when Silsden were in the lower
       division. His then grey locks were by now snow white. Mr
       Caggiano was unfamiliar. So too was Mr Eaves, setting out on his
       fourth season at Level 4, who proved to be rather more sturdy
       than the current slimline template for young referees, with
       perhaps consequent slight limitation in his sprinting pace.
       On 7 minutes Celtic won a corner, despite a clear push by the
       attacker and Mr Caggiano received some stick, which grew more
       forceful when the corner led to a penalty. Fortunately he was
       spared when the keeper saved the kick. Steeton, though,
       continued to have difficulty in getting out of their own half.
       Mr Eaves followed a fairly liberal line, which led to a stoppage
       for an injury a second or two after what appeared a foul. This
       turned out not to be a case of bringing back after no advantage,
       so play was to restart with a drop ball. The Steeton player was
       either unaware that contested drop balls were no longer an
       option, or maybe he was arguing that as the ball had been struck
       against a Steeton player before the whistle, the ball should be
       dropped for them. A spell of concerted pressure saw Celtic take
       the lead on 23 minutes. They almost claimed a second a minute
       later, as the keeper clawed the ball off the line, but Mr
       Caggiano gave a clear play on signal. Steeton did eventually
       come into the game a little more, a cross hitting the bar, but
       the visitors still had the better of things and they in turn hit
       the post. Play moved rapidly from end to end,but though chances
       were created they were not taken.
       Early in the second half there was a lecture for the Steeton
       assistant manager. The Celtic keeper parried a long Steeton
       shot, the follow-up being straight at him. The visitors put the
       ball in the net on the hour, but the whistle had already gone
       for a foul on the keeper - and two visitors were spoken to for a
       spot of backchat. A Steeton attack was called back from a
       threatening position (presumably offside?) and the Celtic number
       9 received a yellow card. Mr Eaves's liberal interpretations had
       worked well in creating an enjoyably fluid game, helped by the
       attitude of the players. JCFC had been wondering, however, what
       would happen with more streetwise, feisty teams. The closing
       stages saw the question partly answered. There were warnings for
       a couple of players and a few soft-looking free-kicks resulted
       from Celtic falls. One of them led to a word with Mr Caggiano
       and a yellow card for the Steeton assistant manager. There was a
       yellow card, too, for the Celtic number 8. The visitors looked
       to the corners to run down the clock, Mr Eaves taking close
       order. A throw in was hurled straight at the nearest defender's
       foot, converting it to a corner, which Steeton protested about.
       At a further throw, Mr Eaves answered a query about time
       remaining with "30 seconds" and the thrower took his time
       getting ready. At this point Mr Eaves held things up,
       side-skipped gently back to the other half (shouts from Steeton
       players of "You're allowed to run") and the assistant manager
       received his second yellow and resulting red card. Returning for
       the throw, Mr Eaves whistled for full time as soon as it was
       taken - an odd finish to what had been an entertaining match.
       The referee's line had certainly contributed to this, though it
       had not always been fully convincing. In the general context of
       this game, his control, helped by a loud voice on occasion, was
       strong enough, but many matches would require a different
       approach. It remains to be seen whether it would be forthcoming.
       For JCFC, however, the highlight was departing with a bottle of
       wine, courtesy of raffle ticket number 51!
       #Post#: 10348--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Pyramid Patrol 2019/20
   DIR By: nemesis
       Date: August 24, 2019, 12:46 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: JCFC link ---
       >
       > More than half a century has passed since JCFC last visited
       Lawkholme Lane, as Cougar Park was then known, all-time
       favourite RL player, Paul Charlton being in the visiting side,
       but with the village ground in Steeton not being of the standard
       required for step 6, that was the venue for
       >
       > Wednesday 21st August 2019
       > NWCFL Division 1N
       > Steeton   0   v   1   Cleator Moor Celtic
       > Niall Eaves (Blackpoolish?); Luca Caggiano, Manfred Wojtas.
       >
       >
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       Just for the record, it's Thornton which is certainly "ish" and
       far too close to Blackpool for comfort.
       #Post#: 10382--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Pyramid Patrol 2019/20
   DIR By: JCFC
       Date: August 25, 2019, 8:45 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       The draw had not offered accessible ties for Friday or Sunday,
       given the rail cancellations, so the weekend's only match was
       Saturday 24th August 2019
       FA Cup Preliminary Round
       Brighouse Town   2   v   2   Morpeth Town
       Nik Storey (Worsley); Daniel Moroney, Adewunmi Soneye.
       Once again the programme contained welcome biographical notes on
       the officials. Mr Storey apparently played until the age of 29,
       so must be older than previously thought. Mr Soneye had left the
       Royal Navy to study Terrorism and Security, and claimed that the
       skills thus developed in conflict reconciliation helped him in
       his refereeing. Mr Moroney must be so boring that there was
       nothing to be said about him.
       JCFC's inquiry of the official supervising the car park whether
       we would manage to score for the first time this season was met
       with a response of "I doubt it." This pessimistic view was
       shared by most home fans, and Morpeth must have been equally
       confident as to the outcome. Despite an early Brighouse header
       into the side netting, it was Morpeth who went ahead in the
       fifth minute, a long ball leaving a man clear to finish
       comfortably. There was a caution on 20 minutes for a visiting
       attacker for an apparent simulation, it seemed. A minute later a
       huge hoof from deep in Morpeth territory saw the home central
       defender back-pedalling as two attackers raced past him to
       collect. Either of them could have scored, and one of them duly
       obliged. It seemed all over, but a looping header from a
       diagonal ball produced a goal for Brighouse five minutes later.
       On 38 minutes the home keeper leapt to turn an own-goal
       attempt(!) away from the top corner and when Brighouse attacked
       in turn, a high-footed challenge produced a yellow for the
       Morpeth number 3, and an equaliser for Brighouse from the
       penalty spot. In the final minute of the half, Morpeth scrambled
       clear a Brighouse effort.
       The third quarter was fairly uneventful as the pace slowed in
       the heat, but on 67 minutes a Brighouse attacker was through and
       the keeper raced from his area to take him out. The home fans'
       demands for a red card were understandable, but JCFC felt that
       Mr Storey's choice of yellow was correct. Brighouse were
       fighting hard, and with two tired teams the frequency of minor
       fouls grew. Morpeth came close to a late winner, a header
       flicking the crossbar on its way out. A foul by the  home number
       16 received a yellow - no complaints as the player had been
       spoken to just a minute or two earlier. In the end Morpeth were
       happy enough with a draw, Brighouse surprised to have held a
       strong side, but the odds must be on the Highwaymen in the
       replay. Dare JCFC brave the lethal lanes on the way to Craik
       Park once more?
       Mr Storey had been seen once before, in his first season at
       Level 3, when JCFC had found his work efficient, but added that
       "he did not radiate good cheer." This had been attributed to the
       rain on that occasion, rather than finding a fellow misery guts.
       Now in his fourth season at this Level, Mr Storey again proved
       efficient, in an undemonstrative way and handled the game well.
       He did acknowledge a loud shout from one spectator that if he
       had been sitting in the stand he would have spotted some
       holding, with a nod - but an unsmiling one. So, less gloomy in
       his manner than before, perhaps, but radiating good cheer would
       definitely still be overstretching things.
       #Post#: 10459--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Pyramid Patrol 2019/20
   DIR By: JCFC
       Date: August 27, 2019, 8:30 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Recalling last season's fiasco, when just before setting off it
       emerged that the game had been brought forward and was already
       well under way, JCFC decided to avoid Brighouse's visit to
       Ossett (pity, as they won.) Buses were on Sunday timetable,
       trains running normally (if anything about northern rail is
       normal) so JCFC took a lucky dip at a ground within easy walking
       distance of a railway station and settled on
       Monday 26th August 2019
       NWCFL Division 1 North
       Daisy Hill   4   v   1   Darwen
       Lucy Anne Briggs; Joe Hinds, Anthony Parr Robinson.
       As Miss Briggs had previously been seen as assistant to Rob
       Denton at Carlisle, the guess would be that she hails from the
       Lancaster area, but a guess is all it is.
       Daisy Hill had made a reasonable start to the season, suggesting
       that they might be able to avoid their habitual table-propping
       act; Darwen, though, had done even better, despite having played
       all their matches away from home. It was the visitors then who
       unsurprisingly dominated the first quarter. Miss Briggs spoke to
       the home number 8 after a foul on 8 minutes and converted it to
       a caution following another foul on 15 minutes - possibly a
       trifle harsh, but it had the desired effect. Things turned
       around when against the run of the play they took the lead
       following a free-kick. Just two minutes later the Darwen keeper
       palmed the ball away acrobatically, but Daisy Hill fired in the
       rebound. This was the cue for a drinks break, AR2 unusually, but
       sociably, crossing the field to join his colleagues. Three
       minutes into the resulting added time Darwen were playing about
       in defence when they were robbed to gift Daisy Hill their third.
       Miss Briggs saw to the half-time substitution herself, as she
       was to do with two further substitutions at corners. While
       waiting for another corner on 53 minutes, Miss Briggs summoned
       the home number 10 and the visiting number 4 for a lecture. This
       proved a curious affair, as twice in the course of it the number
       4 bent down to grab the 10's ankle, Miss Briggs carrying on
       unconcernedly, it seemed. As they went back to their positions
       there was a further little spat between them, though without
       further intervention. Another drinks break came on 70 minutes,
       following which Daisy Hill twice shot wide of the far post from
       an acute angle, a Darwen header clipped the bar with the keeper
       beaten and Daisy Hill tried an acute shot from the other side
       and found the net this time. Darwen responded immediately with a
       consolation goal, and threatened again in the closing minutes.
       There was a justified caution for a Darwen substitute four
       minutes into added time.
       Miss Briggs is possibly not the swiftest of sprinters, but in
       the heat neither were most of the players, so she was never too
       far from the action, though she did maintain a fairly central
       path. A decent, efficient - if unspectacular - job in what was a
       pleasant game to watch.
       And Miss Briggs would appear to come from Garstang.
       #Post#: 10584--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Pyramid Patrol 2019/20
   DIR By: JCFC
       Date: August 30, 2019, 5:03 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       It's a fine though breezy day,
       The train's well on its way
       (For you know that I am not a fan of cars.)
       I have planned a one night stay
       Since I'm very pleased to say
       Tonight's the start of this year's FA Vase.
       I'm a dithery so and so
       And with several games on show
       The options really put me to the test
       But you'll very shortly know
       Just where I plan to go -
       Unless, of course, you have already guessed!
       *****************************************************
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