9th September 2017 - Widnes FC 1 v 2 Glasshoughton Welfare - Having finished the previous nights report I spent the rest of the morn hoovering and cleaning the kitchen whilst my good lady took her Mum shopping and my daughter went into Manc Land to get her eyebrows done. After 4 chicken thighs for dinner I got sorted and me and my good lady hit the road. Paul Gambaccini played his all-time top ten on the radio and I had a read of 'Wall of Pain', an autobiography of Phil Spector. A few wrong turns due to road works and a roundabout detour we made the ground in good time and indulged in tea and crisps and the tackling of a cryptic crossword. We were 3 clues short of completion when the teams came out. 8 across 'Mick McManus has a dirty ringpiece' - 4 letters, begins with 'A' and ends in 'S'.
The game began, early possession was primarily at the feet of Widnes with a slow patient style leading to the first early shot. It brought no danger and sailed harmlessly over. Glasshoughton came back with a free-kick, No 8 (Connor Glavin) knocked the globe to No 9 (Andrew Horbury) who executed a tame header that was on target and settled initial nerves. Widnes though seemed in charge and were using the ball better and a surging run into the box by No 10 (Andrew Gillespie) indicated they had players willing to attack with strength and indeed spirit. Somehow though, out of the early dominance, Glasshoughton won a free-kick. Glavin delivered, Horbury rose, the first goal came against the tide with only 11 minutes on the clock. Widnes now tried to build slowly from the back, they were looking to strike like an electric cobra rather than a battery operated trouser snake and, when a free-kick was won and a brace of balls flew into the box, a certain danger was generated but the travelling team stood firm and cleared their ranks. At the other end another bonus punt was awarded and when played in another free header was had by a rising No 5 (Andrew McManus). The ball was way off target and Widnes needed to learn a defensive lesson.
Next up and the home bods put the ball in, a defensive head put it wide and the corner that followed was not up to scratch. A Glasshoughton free-kick resulted in the No 2 (Jack Graham) for Widnes blazing a breakaway. His pass was spot on but somehow the front man Gillespie just couldn't control the ball and the chance became a fleeting memory. As the half progressed Widnes got ragged and wound up due to the brick wall that was Glasshoughton Welfare, a team rigidly organised and drilled in their entire duties. A long range shot from the host's No 11 (Christopher Lomax) summed up the irritation and it was not going to be the way to get back into this one. The guests made late surges, a corner was won due to a 'never say die' attitude, it is a pity the ball in was crap and the mittman captured with ease. The ref blew, this was still all to play for.
We wandered for a piddle and a cuppa and returned to our seats. We reckoned this one would go to the wire, we weren't far wrong.
The visitors were out and at it, a snap-shot from No 10 (Ryan Poskitt) was easily saved and this was repaid by a cross at the other end that saw Lomax rise and nut over. Keen stuff indeed and from here the Widnes crew started to apply a decent amount of pressure but all the while Glasshoughton used Horbury as a targeted release valve that started to really niggle one or two home turf heads. No matter what the Select Stadium residents threw at their opponents The Hoops responded with solid structure and hard graft. Widnes came on again, an angled pass and a lofted cross was neatly done, the nut of No 3 (Alex Davies) was firm, downward and...wide. It should have at least been on target. A pause in play saw Widnes make a sub before the ball was back in, hoofed from one side to the next and then crossed into the perilous zone where Gillespie rose and produced a glancing header that was enough to level the contest. Now the game was really on, the ex-Dragons were snorting fire, would the Welfare's resistance hold true?
A fine passage of play came next with Widnes seeing their No 11 finalise the sequence with a poor crack at goal. A moment of inspiration was needed, not a hopeful blast! The animation levels grew on and off the pitch, a frenzied period ensued, one that all footballing perverts truly relish. A brace of corners came the way of the home lads, the second saw a loose ball fall at the feet of their No 5 (Micheal Burke). He hammered a shot but the keeper was equal to it and saved with regular ease. From here Widnes hustled and eventually won a corner. The thrower took too much time it seemed and the ball was given to the other side. The ball was chucked a distance by the No 11 (Tom Carr), a nut rose, by heck it was 1 - 2 and controversy reined supreme. The grabber of golden glory was Andrew McManus, he looked rather pleased with himself. From here, with only a couple of minutes left Widnes tried mighty hard to grab a straw of salvation, it didn't happen, the game had gone and it was time for some serious questions. We both enjoyed this one, being neutral is a good stance to take and after much mulling I am giving the Man of the Match award to The Welfare's No 5 (Andrew McManus) who was tidily effective, non-too over elaborate and held good discipline throughout. The winning goal was a cherry on top, one he can enjoy the flavour of whilst contemplating a good days work. And why not! We headed out after the game and congratulated one of the winning players who, still sweating and clad in his kit, was enjoying a quiet fag - you bloody deserved it mate!
FINAL THOUGHT - This was a clash of styles with discipline, resistance and persistance winning the day. I thought Widnes played well but just seemed to run out of options when getting into the last third of the pitch whereas Glasshoughton Welfare did nothing exceptional but maintain a ruddy good consistency throughout and worked their gonads off. These cup matches are a real treat, you just never know what will happen and glancing through many of the days other result some real outlandish scorelines were had. Agree or disagree but I think this level of football is just ideal and I'll continue my wanderings with incessant fervour. Widnes will be getting plenty more visits from us and I reckon a tootle over the Pennines to the home of today's victors would be worth a go - tis all food for the football fan. Oh the crossword, we gave up on the aforementioned clue but sussed out 12 down - 'King Lear gets upset and believes non-league football is this' - 4 letters and begins with 'R' - can you guess?
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