Two out of two – Tickety Boo!

Saturday 18th August

 CML North

Easington United 3 Thorne Colliery 1

 

So, the Olympics are over.  London – and indeed the country as a whole – can be proud of its part in staging what even the Aussies have acknowledged was possibly THE best Games yet.  Ah Sepp Blatter, look what you could’ve won!

The post-Olympics blues have been somewhat hard to shake off.  And I didn’t imagine myself ever saying that!

Still, the start of the domestic season has helped and especially so given our winning start.  There was also a chance for Roy Hodgson’s new young Lions to show how much England’s footballers had learned from the heroes of Team GB.

Singing the National Anthem appeared to be one lesson (although in fairness, the new boss had instilled this practice in most of the squad at the Euros).

The singing of “God Save The Queen” had become something of an issue during Great Britain’s Olympic matches; in particular, the reluctance to join in on the part of the Welsh men and the Scots women became the subject of much comment.

While it irritates me that someone willing to take an official honour from the monarch (as Ryan Giggs did) then admits to being unable to join in with her anthem I do feel the time has come for England’s sporting teams to now have a song of their own.

The rousing renditions of “Land Of Hope And Glory” from the Commonwealth Stadium in Manchester in 2002 nailed that as my choice.  However, I know many people prefer “Jerusalem”, the choice of the England cricket team.  Either way, surely we should now reserve “God Save The Queen” only for sporting occasions in which all four home nations are united?

Thankfully, the England boys appear to have picked up other good habits from the Olympians; winning being one and some proper humility in post-match interviews being another.  I wonder how long either will last!

 

 

The run-up to the first home CML game meant first programme of the new season.  Given the “feel-good factor” present since the appointment of the Sumo, a solid core of Holderness-based players in the squad and the opening day win, I gambled on a decent crowd.

With another BP sponsorship deal secured for the programme and access to the spanking new printer, I have to say this season’s issue looks the best it’s ever done.  And at two quid for 32 pages I think it is excellent value for money – especially as once again there’ll be no gate charged for entry to Low Farm.

With a cracking weather forecast, my only worry was that I hadn’t printed enough copies.  Hmm…

 



 

We buried my Uncle Ted on Saturday morning.  At 83 years old, I believe him to be the oldest yet of Mum’s nine siblings, although Frank and Peter could go on to claim that particular title.

Ted was a farmer all his working life and went out in style, being brought to Skeffling Church on the back of a “thractor an’ thrailor”.  The church was full, the Revd Heale entertained us by, among other things, chewing corn as part of his eulogy and Ted was laid to rest among family and friends.  As surviving son Keith and daughter Wendy wrote in their acknowledgement in the Gazette the following week, it was all “fost rate”.  Just the way Ted would’ve wanted it.
I was glad to swap my suit for something cooler before football.  With Mrs Slush taking the Slushettes to a friend’s party in the afternoon, we enjoyed a leisurely lunch with my mood darkened only by Five Live’s commentary of Becchio’s decisive goal for Colin Wanker’s side at Elland Road.

Before kick-off we had our “official” photo shoot, with the lads sporting the new strip sponsored by Hull-based Sure Powder Coatings Ltd.  With a frame for which our range of club merchandise doesn’t yet cater, the manager looked slightly out of place in his baby pink tee-shirt.  But I think he got away with it…

 

 

We had two changes to the squad from Glapwell, with Meddy away at a Festival and Neilo nursing sore nads following the midweek snip.  I had a feeling that his presence may be missed more, given his industrious debut at Hall Corner, and for the first 45 minutes I was proved right.

After a bright opening ten minutes we were rocked by a spectacular strike from Callum McCormack.  According to Charlie, the 35-yard free-kick “moved all over” en route to going in off the post.  Well, our new matchballs were “Euro 2012 Replicas”!
I stayed away from the changing rooms at half-time, spending the time instead in conversation with Thorne’s hard-working club secretary Joy.  She explained the lack of subs in the visiting contingent – five players were suspended; four as a result of the “feisty” game with champions Westella at the back end of last season.  This also explained the absence of the influential Darren Fell, here today in alternative employ as asst-mgr.  “He’s injured anyway”, added Joy.
Apparently, my absence from the players’ area meant I missed the first Sumo Rant of the new season.  Shame.  At least I got to see the results of it as the lads produced a much improved display to turn the game on its head.

 

Enjoyment at second successive win was enhanced by news of Jay Simpson’s late winner for the Tigers against Brighton.  It was just about enough to compensate for a very poor day on the financial front.

crowd of just 38 had seen the Sumo’s first home win and from that number only ten had bothered to buy a programme.  Alarm bells were starting to ring inside my head.

A full match report of the game, along with Burt Graham's pictures can be found here
Colin Brammer's match photos can be found here

 

Up and running...again

Saturday 11th August

 CML North

Glapwell 0 Easington United 2

Monday 13th August

Holderness Cup Winners Cup Final

Easington United Reserves 0 Brandesburton 1

And then here we are, back pitch-side at the start of another football season wondering where the two months have gone since the end of the last one.

Well that’s not strictly true of course.  The Euro's and the Olympics have ensured there has not really been a close season this year (Mrs Slush will testify to that!) while down at Low Farm we had the added distraction of wholesale management changes.

A couple of enjoyable trips into North Yorkshire meant I’d missed The Sumo’s opening pre-season games, which resulted in two-nil defeats at HPL outfits Crown FC and Sculcoates Amateurs.

Despite the defeats, I received good reports from both inside and outside the camp with regards to the quality of football played.  I finally got to see it for myself when the East Riding County FA Juniors made their annual trip to the Farm and again a week later when Sumo’s side concluded their schedule at Long Riston.

Comfortable victories were recorded in both games, with several players providing their manager with pleasant surprises ahead of the first league game.

Indeed, the only disappointment for me came in the Traveller’s Rest at Long Riston where the much-vaunted Aleympic Gold (from Great Newsome) had run out.  Grrrgh.  That was part of the reason for arranging this fixture in the first place!

So to Saturday’s CML opener and the first part of a weekend double-header, which on Monday would see the Stiffs hoping to double-up their South Holderness Cup win of May by retaining the Holderness Cup Winners Cup won by the First Team a year ago.

Glapwell endured a horrendous time of things last season, culminating in them travelling to Low Farm in May with just eight men.  Thankfully, things have improved somewhat since and they appeared to have twenty-two available for our visit to Hall Corner!

We too travelled in strength.  Fifteen players made the trip, all but one on the Pistol Pete Express, with Wilky Woo accompanying the Gaffer and me in car (Mrs Slush's new weekend working commitments ensuring I would not be on the much-vaunted first away day 'beer-bus' of 2012/13).

Surviving the scare of a “technical issue” that restricted its progress to 50mph for the last segment of its journey down the M1, all was shipshape come kick-off time.

Sumo handed full debuts to two new faces – Willo and Robbie – along with a “second debut” to the returning Neilo.  Completing a quartet of new faces (and a trio of ex-Withernsea men) was Nige Newton whose chance would come off the bench second half.

Jamie C has been appointed Captain Cousins for the season, although much more Michael Jackson blaring our pre-season and he’ll find the armband being removed as quickly as it was given him!

Hall Corner is a smart little ground, with a pitch that rises towards the cricket pitch behind the far end goal.  It also has possibly the most protective groundsman in the league.

“No warm-up in the goalmouths, only in the corners where I’ve placed the posts.  Goalkeeper can have ten minutes. Crosses only. No shots.  If I see any shots you’ll get this.”  At which point he drew his hand across his throat.  Nice.

As the game began I wondered whether our lads were continuing to carry out his instructions - we ventured nowhere near the Glapwell goal in the opening ten minutes!

The hosts dictated matters in this first spell and actually had the ball in the net but the lino had flagged.

Having taken a while to get into our stride, we then finished the half slightly on top.  Alex Malong – who surely has the biggest hands in the CML – was the busier of the two keepers and produced one exceptional save to deny Wilks.  Jimmy D and Fitzy should have done better, while a Glappy player also headed against his own post.  As we enjoyed the half-time hospitality of our excellent hosts, we wondered whether these misses would come back to haunt us.  Pistol Pete, meanwhile, was more concerned as to whether or not his repair kit of "scissors, fork and beer-can" would do the trip to enable the Express to get the lads home!

Thankfully we needn’t have worried - on both counts.  A majestic second half display, capped by two goals inside three minutes, ensured we would have a maximum points haul to take back home.  And Pete’s “handiwork” ensured they would get there.

Neilo and the Skipper were on target but the main plaudits were reserved for the hard-working Wilky Woo.  Elsewhere Sam Mac was almost faultless, Fitzy’s influence grew as the game wore on and Willo was solid on “dayboo” (as the Aussies would say).  But, in truth, all played their part in an encouraging first show.

An al fresco post-match pint was accompanied by the amusing sideshow of Coach Nicho accusing team-mates of having swiped his iPod...before finding he'd actually dispatched it to the bin alongside his waste pack-up!

One of the benefits of travelling by car came with me back home sober and in good time to catch another great night for GB at the Olympics.  I didn’t envy the lads on the bus, with their 48-can haul, struggling back up the M18. 

No, honest, I didn’t.
 

Monday night brought cooler climes and a chance to see Gav Thurkettle take charge of the Stiffs for the first time.

Withernsea was this year’s chosen venue for the annual meeting of north and south Holderness Cup winners, with Brandesburton of HPL Division 1 the opposition.

Brandes’ had ended Hornsea’s recent monopoly in the Tanton Cup by beating both the Seasiders’ first and second-strings en route to their sixteenth success in one of the oldest competitions of its type.

Gav retained faith with most of the lads who’d performed such heroics in May.  He also included Frosty (missing at Glapwell due to work), “Cousin” Mark, young Hoppy and the returning Darren Thompson.  The manager himself was among the subs in a 15-man squad but, disappointingly, was not to grace the field this evening.

And the locals could have done with him on there.  For despite shading matters in terms of possession, there was a distinct lack of quality in the final third and Brandes’ keeper Nathan Otley was rarely troubled.

The game’s defining moment came as early as the 12th minute.  And it arrived from Brandesburton’s first shot on goal, a crisp half-volley from Phil Skit that flew past Ben Akam from 15 yards out.

On chances, the Tanton Cup holders could have more than doubled their tally.  Skit hit the bar while Akam twice saved superbly from hapless sub James Barker who also rolled another good chance wide.

All in all it was a scrappy game, which wasn’t great on the eye for those of us spoilt by Saturday’s slick display.  Still, it’s early days and while the retention of the cup would have been nice, promotion back to the County League Premier Division has to be Gav’s priority.

For a full Glapwell report (with pictures) check here

For a full Holderness Cup Winners Cup report (with Colin's pictures) check here

For Colin Brammer's photography website check here

Thanks to Burt Graham and Colin Brammer for their efforts through the lens!



Happy and Glorious

Thankfully, memories of this summer won't be dominated by missed penalties

I passed a ‘Hullympian’ yesterday morning on my walk to work.  Alex Smith, Hull athlete who finished twelfth in the Olympic hammer competition last week, was just entering the gates at Centrica. 
For a split-second I thought about stopping him to shake his hand.  I didn't.  Not only because it’s probably a really dawkish thing to do but because the last time I'd stopped him near the same place, it was to admonish his car-sharing partner for driving through the village like a t__t!

Alex was one of two Hullensians representing the city at London 2012, the other being Luke Campbell, newly-crowned Bantamweight Gold Medallist in the boxing ring. 
On Tuesday evening Hull City Council threw a homecoming party for the pair, which attracted a reported crowd of 13,000 to Queen Victoria Square.  After taking the cheers of those assembled on the balcony of the City Hall, the pair were then treated to a Civic Dinner in the Guildhall, where they mixed with Hull’s great and good.  And John Prescott. 

The duo deserved every bit of the acclaim they received that night.  Throughout the competition Campbell, in particular, couldn't do more to promote his home city and came across as a ereally humble figure, the perfect role model. 
But the same could be said - and has been said - about all our Team GB competitors, successful or otherwise. 
For the medal winners, such homecoming scenes are being replicated to various degree across the length and breadth of the country (with the reported exception of Broxbourne where council red tape originally held up Laura Trott’s family’s plans to throw a street party!).

There appears to be a real feel-good factor sweeping the nation at the moment.  A BBC 5 Live phone-in on Tuesday morning suggested an increase in a feeling of British togetherness, except for one bitter and twisted Aberdonian who said we were misguided if we thought a “school sports day” would derail the march towards Scottish independence.  His view was a minority one – even among his fellow Scots.

For me the recent Olympics became an obsession.  From days spent in the office with the aforementioned 5 Live's superb coverage to late nights with Lineker, Logan and a remote control red button that’s never seen as much use.  Some observers criticised the Beeb for commentary bordering on the jingoistic.  I couldn't disagree more - and I normally jump at the chance to have a pop at Auntie.  Those commentators helped me feel part of each event.

For the past fortnight I've been running with Mo, riding with Victoria (ahem), punching with Luke and diving with Tom…well, maybe not the last one. 

I've also been mesmerised by the so-called minority sports and indeed now regard myself as almost an authority on them; in particular volleyball (in which Team GB was skippered by an East Yorkshireman), showjumping and taekwondo, although water polo still leaves me wondering!

I took special interest in those team sports in which we were expected to be poor.  I’m talking handball, basketball…football.
Ah, football.  So much had been written beforehand about the inclusion of Team GB in both the men’s and women’s competition it seemed they were doomed from the start.  All the brouhaha about the possible ramifications for the independent football associations; the cries of “foul” when star man Gareth Bale was ruled out through injury only to turn up in a friendly for his club on the eve of the competition; and then outrage at the non-singing of the National Anthem, by the Scots girls and Welsh men. 

As Olympians from other sports were lauded for their attitude, humility and grace - not to mention their achievements - football and footballers became the targets of choice.  Poor Powell and Pearce were on a hiding to nothing.

But then something changed.  Slowly but surely the country rallied behind our teams.  Decent crowds in Cardiff witnessed two wins out of two for Hope Powell’s squad before 70,000 attended Wembley to see Stephanie Houghton’s early goal beat Brazil.  As someone who previously regarded women’s football as something of a novelty item, that night blew away several misconceptions for me and, I suspect, many others.

Pleasingly, those on duty for the Team GB men also appeared to have bought into the Olympic ideal (especially Craig Bellamy – an unlikely unifying figure if ever there was one).  And if the atmosphere at Old Trafford for the opener appeared somewhat surreal, both Wembley and The Millennium Stadium rallied behind the team.

Before the tournament, Stuart Pearce had talked of creating a spirit in the country to match that of Euro 96 and getting the nation behind the team in order to carry them all the way.  And just for a brief moment – in Wales for the men and at Wembley for the women – it appeared to be happening.

But of course, these being teams with an abundance of English players, it was probably pre-ordained for things not to last beyond the quarter-finals.  And in the men’s case the exit just had to come via penalties.

Admittedly, when the women fell to Canada and the men followed one night later, it didn't deliver a blow quite as hard as when England exited the Euros in June.  But I'd be lying if I didn't admit to a feeling that something had just ended, the like of which I'm unlikely to see again.  I began to curse myself for not having had the foresight to apply for tickets.  Or even make an attempt to watch the pre-tournament warm-up at The Riverside where spaces were plentiful - but it takes a lot to tempt me to Middlesbrough.

Such feelings that I'd missed out on something unique were reinforced recently when, despite players of both sexes professing their desire to repeat the Olympic experience, the FA moved swiftly to rule out any prospect of a Men’s football team in Rio, while at the same time saying it’s “unlikely” there’ll be a women’s  one either.  Such a shame.

Some feel football has no part in the Olympics but the crowds for games at London 2012 would perhaps suggest otherwise.  And you can just imagine what they'll be like in Brazil!

Still, I shan't let the passing of one moment in history cloud plenty of other far more uplifting ones.  And as thoughts turn to another season on the domestic front, thankfully my abiding memories of this summer will be of two weeks in which the streets of London really were paved with gold. 
As for those other images - of Young, Cole and Sturridge missing penalties - well, they have already been gloriously erased...for now.