17th April 2017 - Carlisle City 1 v 0 Prestwich Heys - The final day of a 5 day jaunt up to the realms of North Cumbria and after walks taken around Kingsmoor NR, Rickerby Park and Hammonds Pond (the 15th, 16th and 17th locations visited) we arrived at Gillford Park Stadium at 1.30pm whereupon we spent half an hour sorting some nature lists and having a well-earned rest. 30 minutes later and we entered the ground (for the unbelievable price of £3 each), grabbed a cuppa and a cheeseburger for me (no veggie stuff for my lady, come on non-leaguers get it sorted) and took up a nice position in the sun. A Comma Butterfly joined us for company as well as a hefty Stone-Fly (still to be identified) and we eventually took our seats and put the old plates of meat up and nattered along. A good set up here and as the dulcet tones of the PA man welcomed all with considered politeness we watched the two teams warm up and perused the purchased programme. The sun continued with its generous rays, the teams disappeared and came back out and we looked forward to another non-league treat.
The ball rolled, Heys worked hard to gain the initial foothold but Carlisle had the first chance when their No 8 allowed space to be created and then let loose a shot that sizzled wide but really should have been so much more. Another superb opportunity to get the Sky Blues' keen sniffing hooters in front came shortly after when an accurate cross found the bones of No 10 (Jamie Heath) who had oodles of time to score but somehow nutted over. 2 chances gone, oh heck, not another one of those days! Once again Carlisle attacked, this time with some aerial football that really exposed some dire defending and resulted in that man Heath again making up for his earlier faux pas and tapping home to give his side a well deserved lead. The Prestwich lads now had to react and started to display a greater urgency that did help the overall intrigue levels of the game. Combining this new found thrusting with the teams shaking rear (sounds like Rusty Lee with a centipede up her arse) somehow meant that Carlisle always had hope and a free-kick and a corner from the Blues proved this point and caused further consternation for the Heys bench. A free punt from the Sky Blues' netter should have been dealt with by the visitors but the home bods No 8 (Tom Lucock) was allowed to venture forth and only at the last was he denied a clear cut chance to double his teams lead.
Prestwich Heys now heave ho'ed, Carlisle stood firm and their No 6 (Alan Casey) marshalled his troops well and made sure they kept their sniffing snouts in front. Another chance for Lucock came when he dinked inwards and found room to shoot but the ball was disappointingly dragged wide and we stayed as we were. As the half wound down Carlisle pushed again and a true ball was whipped in and within the crowd of players a boot poked out and suddenly the lead was doubled. Celebrations were balanced with questioning frustration and after sending the players back to the centre circle the referee went to chat with the liner as all stood and looked on with baited breath. No goal, the celebratory players now felt hard done by, the frustrated mob felt justified, the half ended with controversy and with the man in black getting some barbed verbals.
Me and my good lady had a tea break and laughed at the fact that each and every match we attend seems to have both teams wearing spectacles of fantasy that makes them only see what they want to see and bring a total disregard for any other viewpoint. The retailer of these bigot-inducing specs must be making a ruddy fortune as everyone is wearing them these days - very fashionable indeed.
And to the second period of play. The heat had settled down, heads were back on the game and The Heys came out brighter and had an early effort that went way over. Carlisle paid back in kind when Lucock connected with a bobbling ball and watch his somewhat scuffed shot just trickle wide. The guests ground out a deeper effort and their glabrous No 5 (Lee O' Brien) did manage to crack off a shot but sadly missed the near post. The hosts would not lay down though and Captain Casey turned a trifle pacey and made some good headway and won a bonus punt. Nothing came of the cross but the warning signals were re-ignited and Heys had to be careful. Darius Photiou of the visitors was unlucky when he shot from afar and cracked the crossbar and moments later a free-kick flew forth as well as a close in shot but both were dealt with by Carlisle's alert blocker. Tussles and bookings came, kerfuffles were breaking out here and there and the upshot of this was that Prestwich were losing concentration and as a result, their cohesion. Their efforts were now desperation and it was the hairless No 5 who almost found gold in a shitheap when an effort was cleared off the line and he tried to follow up but was deemed overly aggressive by the liner. Handbags swung, bra-straps twanged (ooh the naughty buggers) and as the game re-started Carlisle looked impermeable to any onslaught. A few subs came, the wind down was scrappy but as time was called and there was little else to add one couldn't help feeling Carlisle were well worthy of their 1 - 0 victory. A couple of home bods stood out today but one chap in particular put in a mightily impressive stint, was a reliable and consistent performer at the rear and just always seemed to deal with things when most needed. Man of the Match goes to Carlisle City's No 2 (Michael Slack) who, unlike his surname was as tight as Whoopi Goldbergs knicker elastic - ouch. A big applause mate - good on ya!
FINAL THOUGHT - I have seen both these squads several times this year and my thoughts are as thus. Today Prestwich Heys were out of sorts and put in one of their worst stints. They were easily wound up and seemed to have their heads elsewhere rather than on the game - maybe a case of the latter end blues. Carlisle on the other hand are getting better and this display showed good character and an ability to see a game out whilst on the slenderest of leads. The season has seen ups and downs for both teams but there are many positives to build on next year and it will be interesting to see what changes are made in the close-season (if any at all). It has been a long campaign and teams are obviously looking to the summer months but hey, for £3 you would be hard pushed to get better quality anywhere else and enjoy a good match at a very comfortable ground. We shall be back!
No comments:
Post a Comment