Gainsborough Trinity 0 v Mansfield Town 5 - Friendly

Tuesday 30th July 2013, at the Northolme
Pre Season Friendly
Gainsborough Trinity (0) 0
Mansfield Town (2) 5
Louis Briscoe 19,
Lee Stevenson 29,
Calvin Andrews 56, 64,
Ben Hutchinson 73
Admission £8,
Programme (covering 6 games) £2.50

Beer o'clock

Details to follow ASAP

For 'Big Rob'

Harworth Colliery 1 v Brigg Town 1 - Friendly

Saturday 27th July 2013

at the Recreation Ground, Scrooby Road, Bircotes

Pre Season Friendly

Harworth Colliery (1) 1

Tom Pick 19

Brigg Town (0) 1

Jordan Thewlis 57

Admission FREE, Programme £1, Attendance 45

Details waiting to upload

Click here for more pictures from tonight's game

Mansfield Town 2 v Coventry City 3 - Friendly

MATCH DETAILS WILL APPEAR HERE PRESENTLY

Left click to enlarge team sheet image

Retford United 0 v AFC Mansfield 2 - Friendly

Wednesday 24th July 2013
at Jones & Co. Solicitors Stadium - Cannon Park
Pre Season Friendly
Retford United (0) 0
AFC Mansfield (1) 2
Matt Draper 6, Danny Naylor 88
Admission £5, Programme £1.50

Retford United:
Barford, Stannard (Sanderson), Snodin (Hassett), Walkden, Lucas, Johnson, Fisher (Aspinall), Thompson, Medcalf (Bibby), Holmes, Barker (Owens).
AFC Mansfield:
Sheppard, McLane, Tighe, Draper (Staniforth), Meehan, Buxton, McCann (Capuano), Naylor, Rick, Green (Haslam), Carter (Robinson ).
Unused sub: White

Substitute the word 'friendly' with the words 'uncompromising feistiness ' and in my opinion, that kind of sums up tonight's very competitive contest fairly accurately.

Not one for the squeamish, or faint hearted. But I enjoyed it.

The officials had to keep their eyes peeled all night, but they will also have benefitted from getting some pre-season minutes under their belts as well as the players. And in fairness to them, despite being on the receiving end of a lot of catcalls, histrionics and 'children denied sweeties' petulant outbursts, they got all of the decisions that mattered right.

Referee Declan Bourne must've wished he'd had some ear plugs with him tonight ... 'nuff said!?

The visitors took the lead early in the game, when United only half cleared a Danny Tighe corner as far as Mark Carter, who picked out Matt Draper with a cross from the left hand side of the box, that the Bulls captain knocked back across the face of the Retford goal with a looping header, that left the home sides keeper Jody Barford flat footed.

Obviously, AFC Mansfield have a good number of players who have already have played - and still could be playing - at  NCEL Premier standard, so this wasn't exactly a giant killing. 

But last season's CMFL North runners up, warranted their win on the overall balance of play tonight and deserved the two goal margin of victory that Danny Naylor's sublime and thunderous 25 yard drive, with two minutes of the game remaining afforded them.

FT - Retford United 0 v AFC Mansfield 2

Many thanks to Ian and Robin from the Retford United Supporters Club who tonight offered to sponsor Harworth Colliery FC's Simon Brewster for the 2013-14 season ... gratefully received, money well spent lads!

More details and some proper photographs from tonight's game can be found here and here.

Handsworth 3 v Harworth Colliery 3 - Friendly

Tuesday 23rd July 2013

At Olivers Mount pitch 2, Handsworth, Sheffield
(Handsworth FC's old home, next door to their current Olivers Mount ground)
Pre Season Friendly
Handsworth FC 3
Harworth Colliery 3
Andy Webb 37, 52
Gaz Sides 85
Attendance 60+

The holy goalie

Details to follow ASAP

Makenzie Tomlinson.
Assured 1st team debut for the 16 year old

Gaz Sides (left) heads home Harworth's third from a tight angle

Alfreton Town 0 v Sheffield United 1 - Friendly

Left click to enlarge

Details to follow as and when

Lyle Taylor scores tonight's only goal (54th minute)

Gainsborough Town 3 v Harworth Colliery 0 - Friendly

Saturday 20th July 2013
Westbeck Lane, Blyborough
Gainsborough Town (1) 3
Leigh Hutchinson 10, 
Mark La Rocca 71, 
Geno Robinson 85
Harworth Colliery (0) 0
Left click pictures to enlarge

Gainsborough Town
Details to follow
Harworth Colliery
First Half: Steve Wibberley, Jordan Hardman, Paul Burns, Simon Brewster, Ryan Paczkowski, Dean Bonser, Gareth Sides, Jonny Bownes, Chris Belshaw, Tom Walker, Tom Pick
Second Half: Steve Wibberley, Paul Burns, Scott Hardman, Billy Ball, Greg Fox, David Baum, Lewis Hilton, Andy Webb, Danny Siddall, Tony Garner, Matt Smith

Gainsborough Town were runners up in the Lincolnshire League last season and the ambitious club's preparations for 2013/14 have been going very well so far.
They've beaten CMFL North club Welbeck Welfare 4-0, drawn against NCEL Div. 1 side Appleby Frodingham 0-0 and only lost by two second half goals, away from home, against Sheffield FC of the Evo-Stik League on Tuesday night.
This was Harworth's second pre-season game, following last Saturday's 2-1 win at Southwell City on the hottest afternoon ever, in the whole history of mankind (or similar).

Of course, results don't matter in these warm up games (no, really), because they're all about increasing fitness levels, blending new players in to the team, building camaraderie, developing an understanding and experimenting with tactics, ahead of the real competition that commences next month.
But it was good to start the campaign with a win last week.
Likewise, it was take it on the chin time for the Colliery this afternoon, as they conceded three goals without reply.
The home side usually play in Gainsborough, but today the pre match directions were the sat nav details for the Stirrup Inn, in Willoughton, where somebody would come and meet us and show us the way to the pitch they had booked for this afternoon's game, which in the event turned out to be Blyborough United's ground.

At least the Harworth management will be able to pinpoint one flaw from today's game to work on in training, in so much as all three goals were scored from a similar range, by players who had made themselves the luxury of time and space, in and around the edge of the box. 

Credit where it's due here though, Gainsborough's tactics afforded them those opportunities and they played to their strengths today.

There were quite a few plus points to draw on in defeat for Harworth. 

But hey! I'm sure that Bren, Jonny and Lee would rather that we kept those in house, until the season starts at least, rather than sticking other teams homework on t'internet for them to read.

Dean Bonser has fitted in to the team straight away and his graft in midfield, as well as his distribution to Tom Pick and Chris Belshaw out on the left flank, created a string of openings that kept Gainsborough on their toes ... and it freed up the players operating down either flank as well.

Other than that, my lips are sealed.

With a bit more sharpness in front of goal, the Colliery would've finished the game with a slightly more respectable scoreline to take back home along the A631. 

That said however, Steve Wibberley had to pull off a couple of top class saves at the other end to prevent the 'home' side netting another two goals.

The game was seven minutes old when Leigh Hutchinson made a well timed run into the box (ghosting in from 40 yards), to bury the ball into the back of the net.

But then Harworth increased the tempo and tightened things up for the remainder of the first half.

Just before the break, Tom Pick had the ball in the back of the Gainsborough net, but his effort was ruled out for offside.

The game got a bit physical once or twice, with a bit of needle creeping in.
But it was nothing unduly reckless or over the top ... and these sorts of encounters are better for team building than those 'polite' friendly games, where the opposition stand off of each other and virtually invite the each other to express themselves. Football, in essence, is a contact sport and always should be.
At half time, Harworth made nine substitutions, with just Steve Wibberley and Paul Burns of the first half team, staying on after the break.

The second half was just as competitive as the first, with one or two of the fringe players in the Harworth squad trying to make an impact and catch the management's eye, as they strived to claw the 1-0 deficit back. But it was Mark La Rocca who scored the next goal, for Gainsborough, having forged a run into the box down the left channel, before picking his spot.

Shortly afterwards, Matt Smith rattled the Gainsborough woodwork, with a stinging shot against the right hand upright from ten yards out, but any hopes of a comeback were squashed once and for all, when Geno Robinson made it 3-0 with a well taken strike on 85 minutes. 

Game over.

Harworth's next warm up game will be at Handsworth FC on Tuesday night, kick off is at 7pm. 

Then they're at home against Brigg Town on Saturday July 27th (3pm kick off).

Gainsborough Town's remaining two friendly games will see them face Eccleshill United (away) next Saturday and then they have a game against Gainsborough Trinity on 6th August.

As regards this afternoon, I have to say it, Gainsborough warranted the victory today. 

While Harworth's two elevens will have both benefitted from another step towards peaking at the outset of the 2013-14 season. 

It's good to see so much healthy competition for starting places.

A productive day all round, for both teams.

Maltby Main 0 v Ossett Albion 1 - Friendly

 Details to follow ASAP

Tyrone Gay scores the only goal, from the penalty spot,
in front of the 'Ossett Ultras'

Frickley Athletic 1 v Scunthorpe United 4 - Friendly

Tuesday 16th July 2013

at the JJ Leisure Stadium, Westfield Lane, South Elmsall
Frickley Athletic (1) 1
Joe Fox 26
Scunthorpe United (1) 4
Deon Burton 4
Sam Winnal 47
Hakeeb Adulakin 58
Craig Beattie 75
Admission £5, Programme £1, Attendance 197

Err ... Does anybody know where Scunthorpe United are?

Frickley Athletic:
Tom Woodhead, Steve Gardner (Jason Yates 46min), Joe Wilcox, Jake Picton (Luke Hinsley 57min), Mark Gray, Gaz Griffiths (Hayden Barnett 46min), Jimmy Ghaichem (Danny Redfearn 57min), Matty Bloor, Korey Dyer-Stewart (Phil Oniama 57min), Gavin Allott (Sean O'Riley 68in), Joe Fox (Andy Villerman 46min).
Scunthorpe United:
James Severn, Christiano Ribeiro, George Grayson (Levi Sutton 46min), Chris Hogg (Sam Winnal 46min), Callum Howe (Kyle Wootton 76min), Luke Waterfall, Curtis Bateson (Taron Hare 79min), Luke Hornsey (Billy Beresford 6min), Craig Fagan, Leon Burton (Craig Beattie 46min), Hakrrb Adulakin.

More to follow ... eventually