Words from Today - err Yesterday ....

So - twas a chance of a double-header - and and a chance to help out our neighbours at Curzon Ashton, as the supporters of their opponents on the day had decided "not to bother" for reasons best known to themselves - but broadcast to all and sundry anyway (cus there's lots of them - and that makes it right) ....

Naturally this was going to leave a big gap in the Curzon "revenue pot" - still they were able to charge for parking (I think ?) and also stand transfer (well I was offered one as I went through the turnstiles anyway). Furthermore, a £1-50 programme suddenly became worth £5 - if you fancied going to Hyde United v Harrogate Town afterwards (half-price admission you know - I spotted at least one "Tiger" buying more than one programme - hmmmmmm !!).

In the club house before the game - apparently Curzon had had a stinker on Boxing Day (hmm - you should have seen Mossley !!) Talking also to "Pie of the Tiger", Hyde had a similar "poo day" against Stalybridge that same day ...

To football - a sh*tty horrible windy blustery rainy day - made marginally worse by Curzon's "Big Roof Terrace" that lets everything in - and played havoc with my lens !! If Curzon had been bad on Boxing Day - they weren't much better in the first half today. FCUM had the majority of possession, the majority of chances and the majority of "nous" when on the ball. Thet also had the advantage of a hefty breeze, and it was no surprise really when just after the half-hour, Carden got on the end of an evil diagonal ball across the box to put FCUM one up.

The second half did see some improvement on the Curzon end of things, but they never really looked threatening - a second goal was always on the cards, and just after the hour, Nugent shot through a crowded box to make it 2-0......

....and that was that really - ten minutes from the end (i.e. 1425) I packed up shop and jogged into Ashton to get the 1437 train up to Mossley - I missed it. Taxi was the only option, and my little black cab battled through the wind and the rain up to Seel Park, getting me there in time for a pint (that's me not the camera), a memory card change and a battery change (that's the camera not me). The weather was grim (thoughts of an abandonment did cross my mind - and that was coming up past Hartshead Pike in the cab !!)

Never mind - much fannying around - keeping stuff dry - and standing in the "Condemned Stand" - all came right when Danny T got on the end of an evil diagonal ball across the box to put Mossley one up - yes it was not dissimilar to FCUM's first goal. The weather did relent as the game went on, and with about 20 to go Lee Blackshaw got on the end of a ball from Danny T to make the game safe - or so we thought. A bit of relaxation - and five (5) minutes of "time added on" (ref blamed it on 6 subs @ 30 secs each - that's three minutes ...) gave "old timer" Neil Redfearn a chance to halve to deficit - and put us all through a bit of "buttock clenching" - but we got there in the end.

...and so did Coventry later ...............