A Northern Trilogy

Thursday 16th April 2009
Skilltrainingltd Northern League
League Cup Semi Final
Morpeth Town (2) 2
Stephenson, Nickalls
Newcastle Benfield (3) 3
Chilton 2, Graham
Out in the sticks, 12 miles to the north of Newcastle-upon-Tyne lays Morpeth.
Craik Park is tucked away beyond the perimeter of a sprawling golf course and is accessed via a woodland lane, just off the last section of the A1 before a plethora of speed cameras kick in all the way to Edinburgh (northbound) and the perpetual traffic jams for Newcastle's Metro Centre begin (southbound).
Apparently Morpeth Town are going to have to ground share with Bedlington Terriers next season because their ground failed the grading committee inspection on a multitude of points, but as there is going to be an ongoing multi sports development on the site in the very near future, it does seem pointless investing money in any short term fixes to Craik Park, when they'll just get torn up anyway once the development begins.

For the record, I've definitely been to worse Northern League grounds where clubs don't seem to have been penalised as severely.
Admission was £4, but there were no programmes, the Club Secretary Les Scott had been to a meeting and nobody else had managed to print any. Les was talking to us and asked for my address and said he would print one of and send it on at a later date... a nice gesture and much appreciated.
Les is a big, friendly, down to earth type, with time for everybody and has a very dry sense of humour about him. I would imagine that such character traits are a mandatory survival tool in his chosen vocation.

(Above) Chilton puts Benfield ahead with a well struck spot-kick.

Tonight was Morpeth's 19th consecutive home game (Saturday will take the run to 20 games before their next away fixture) due to them having to play all of their early season games away after their showers and changing rooms were extensively vandalised.
The sponsors name on the away shirts is 'LIL2K', apparently it is a play on the Club Secretary's catchphrase: 'LES IS LAST TO KNOW' aimed at the League committee.
If you didn't laugh you'd cry.
All the goals were scored in the first half. Chilton put Benfield ahead from the spot and following a mazy solo-run and clever finish Graham put the visitors two up.
Stephenson hit an angled drive home across the Benfield keeper to half the deficit, but Chilton is in a rich vein of form and Benfield were soon 3-1 up.
Before half time, Nickalls struck for Morpeth to two-third the deficit.
HT: 2-3

Benfield could and should have added to their tally in the second half, but didn't, while Morpeth kept pushing to find the counter attack that would bring the game level to no avail.

Late in the game the home side looked to have a perfectly legitimate penalty appeal turned down when a Benfield player handled the ball in the box. "He took the laces out man!" screamed the Morpeth Town bench, "Accidental!" responded the linesman. As a neutral I'd say... It was getting bloody cold and an equaliser would have meant extra time and possibly penalties would have caused a late finish and I reckon the linesman was nesh and wanted to get home.
FT: Morpeth Town 2 v Newcastle Benfield 3

Footnote: Added, Wednesday 22nd April 2009. Thanks Les the programme arrived today.

Friday 17th April 2009
Northumberland FA Senior Benevolent Bowl Final
Whitley Park
Percy Main Amateurs (0) 0
Blyth Town (0) 2
Race, Beresford
(Above) Uncanny resemblance between the stadium on the cover and the one in the background of the photograph... isn't it!?
In which, Northern Alliance Premier Division Blyth Town, defend the Trophy they won last year (in the final v Wark) against Percy Main Amateurs of the Northern Alliance, First Division, who themselves were winners of this competition as recently as 2004 (and once before in 1978, I had better add for the benefit of somebody who I know will be reading this).

A very tight game, with no quarter given at all by either side who both obviously wanted to win this game ... and by the same token, played in parts like they were desperate not to lose it either.
If that sounds like an hybrid of Sanskrit and Gobbledegook, I'm inferring there were passages of play that were very spirited and others that would have done Don Howe's 'If we finish 0-0 with the point we started with, we'll have won a point' defensive philosophy proud.
Except of course, there were prizes at stake tonight (a trophy and medals) not points.
I pondered over whether both sides had spent the previous week practising for a potential penalty shoot-out.

It took a special goal to break the deadlock. Joe Race (quite possibly a descendant of the legendary Roy Race given the venom he put into his strike) smashed home a free kick, from just outside the box in some style to put Blyth ahead on 75 minutes. Percy Main looked shaken, if not yet stirred, but they were bystanders momentarily as Blyth went two ahead, when Beresford ran through unchallenged before drilling the tie clinching goal into the top left corner of the net.
Percy Main did themselves proud, but Blyth were a stronger side from a division higher... and in the end it just about showed.
FT: Blyth Town 2 v Percy Main 0

Saturday 18th April 2009
Skilltrainingltd Northern League
Division One
Belle Vue Park
Consett AFC (0) 3
Cuthbertson, Ormston, Johnson
Billingham Synthonia (1) 2
Magowan 2

A cracking game of football, which Consett won in injury time after going in 0-1 down at half time.

I took a midday stroll (rather quickly) around Consett. I don't want to be too disparaging about the place, but a lick of paint here and there and a bit of TLC is severely needed.
The posh end of town (just past the McDonald's and Aldi) has a Georgio de Matalan 'Emporium', but why waste £5 on a pair of tracky bottoms when you can get a perfectly good pair of Tim B. Land, Lacost, Addidass, Bruberry or Aquascrotum, from the chain smoking 50 something Kerry Katona wannabe, with fake tan streaked all the way up her thighs (and trust me, I mean all the way up too) for half that price, from a cardboard box on the nearby market?
There is so much bri-nylon around in Consett, the town can probably use the static generated to create it's own electricity supply.

Consett's two saving graces are:
1) The Grey Horse public house (a chav free zone, there might be others in Consett on a Saturday afternoon, but I must've blinked and missed them), the pub is easy to find from Belle Vue... head towards the main road into town away from the ground, turn right and there it is.
The pub brews it's own local ale on the premises: Red Dust 4.5% Vol. 8/10, White Hot 4.0% Vol. 9/10 (and I'm difficult to please)... Pease pudding is available in-house too!
When we'd paid a flying visit into the Wetherspoons up the road earlier on (I needed a pee and it was near by), the 'Fuck UR Cuntz' graffiti carved into the table we were going to sit at and the whole packed bar full of: "You're not local... lets fight!" dead-eye stare treatment were getting, dropped a massive hint that drinking up quickly and scarpering were both very good ideas.

2) And of course the impressive and imposing if slightly ageing olde world grandstand at Belle Vue (along with the charming folk squeezed into the bar underneath it), even if it's a bit rough around the edges these days.
Bless my soul... a proper football stand. There used to be another one on the opposite side of the ground too, until some local ne'r do wells burned it down. I'd bet 50p and a king-size Snickers bar that the culprits would've been among that rough lot in Wetherspoons a while ago.
A cracking game of football unfolded here this afternoon... and after being reassured that I had a fifty/fifty chance of finding my car was still where I'd left it later on (decent odds compared to a few places I visited on my travels) we had an enjoyable afternoon.
At the time of writing Consett are top of the table, but Spennymoor Town are breathing down their necks with games in hand.
Nerves were probably getting the better of the home side, maybe it was all the static in the air, but they missed a succession of gilt-edged chances in the first half.

The welcoming notes in the impressive match day programme said:
'Synners will arrive here on a high, after lifting the Durham Challenge Cup on Easter Monday by beating Durham City 1-0 in the final at West Auckland. Their top scorer Jamie Magowan got the winner with nine minutes remaining, his 31st goal of the season, and we'll have to watch him if he lines up against us today.
Hmm... it's a shame the Consett defence hadn't read the programme then, because when Synthonia got a corner, against the run of play, Magowan was completely unmarked when he dived to head home the opening goal.
Early in the second half, Cuthbertson volleyed home the equaliser from outside the box... and it was long overdue because Consett were still failing to put away any of the numerous chances they were creating.

But that man Magowan ghosted into the box and once again headed the visitors ahead, completely unchallenged, with an angled finish across the goalkeeper, 1-2.
Help was at hand for Consett when Ben Escritt in the visitors goal made a mess of dealing a cross and Gary Ormston made no mistake from all of eight inches out.
Emson came on as a late sub for Consett, he clattered heavily into Escritt when he had gone to ground and the latter ended up on top of the Consett sub brawling, a couple of blows were exchanged.
Thankfully they both just got a talking to from the ref, no cards were shown in relation to the incident whatsoever and the players just shrugged it off and got on with the game.

The game went into stoppage time and it looked for all the world as if was going to be a draw despite the massive percentage of chances Consett had created .. but then Steven Johnson ran through, from the middle of the park and unleashed an unstoppable shot into the back of Synners net, cue pandemonium on the Consett bench... and the locals went home happy.
Games in hand don't always guarantee points, but it was a must win game for Consett and... didn't they do well?
FT: Consett AFC 3 v Billingham Synthonia 2