Curzon Ashton v Mossley

Yeah OK night game ... finished work hours before ... but due to unforeseen circumstances, it ended up as a mad dash to the Tameside Stadium arriving about 5 minutes in - fortunately no score !  Mossley were certainly the better team for the first half hour or so - just couldn't do it in the final quarter - and then, just like Saturday, it was sucker punch time as a dodgy free-kick for Curzon hit the bar and Kris Dennis gobbled up the rebound.  You see it on TV - you see it in real time - these handball decisions that are given these days when someone whacks the ball at a defender 6 inches away who can do bugger all about getting out of the way .... it's becoming a bloody joke - check out the Ilkeston v Ashton game last Saturday - Chris Lynch got a bloody red card for exactly the same.  This DEFINITELY needs looking at - at all levels .... anyway (initial) rant over - 1-0 to Curzon at half-time.

It was a pretty physical game I have to admit - but unfortunately the referee (in my humble opinion !) had an absolute stinker, letting some heavy stuff go unnoticed and picking up on the easy options (tick box culture ??) ... and so it was, not long after Curzon had gone 2-0 up, when Mark Haslam got a second yellow - thus red - for a very innocuous challenge.  If it hadn't been going downhill for Mossley - it was now ... give 'em their dues - they tried to make a fist of it, but it was never going to be; and a 90th minute third goal for Curzon courtesy of Chris Rowney (ouch - he only left Mossley a week or so ago) put the icing on the cake for Curzon.

On the night - can't argue with the result (a touch flattering maybe but ...) - the chances to goals ratio for Mossley appears to be drying up - the killer instinct appears missing somewhere - and needs sorting out fast, otherwise the play-off chances might well disappear.  Curzon meanwhile, having had an "iffy" few months appear to be coming good at the right time - they're certainly getting into the mix now.  A few pictures from the evening at

Curzon Ashton 3 Mossley 0

A miserable walk back towards the station was compounded by the "Prince of Orange" having no real ale on ("he's cleaning the lines" !!) - so a quick dash to the Wetherspoons cheered me up a touch - Thornbridge "Jaipur" - an absolute classic  at 5.9% abv - for only £2-25 - just wish I could have stayed for more (especially when I noticed the "contactless payment" option - I've got a debit card with the "contactless option", but never had a chance to play with it yet - hey ho - now I know ....

Home - late - sorted out pics - bed - up - work - cold start that turned into a lovely day (removed gloves and exchanged woolly hat for baseball cap just after 1200hrs !!) - have managed to get shut of nearly 80% of the junk mail in the first two days of the week (!!).  Not decided on weekend football - yet - but I have to admit something now ... for the first time in many many many months, I WILL NOT be working my 'day off' this week.  What with it being half-term (i.e. Mrs Smiffy off work) and my day off being Friday, we've decided to "do something" - as yet we don't know what ... having seen the weather forecast for later in the week (it's gonna get flippin' cold again), a Friday walk may not be the option - decisions to be made later.  Don;t panic - I'm in work on Saturday - so there will be football - somewhere - in the afternoon.  In the meanwhile, good luck to Hyde against Mansfield Town tonight - "beware Lee Stevenson" is my only caveat !!!
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