FA Carlsberg Vase Final: Kirkham & Wesham 2-1 Lowestoft Town [at Wembley Stadium]

I had a great day for my first visit to the new stadium, it was a nice day weather-wise and the part both sets of supporters played as well as the way in which I was made welcome by those I encountered was invaluable. Add to this a good game of football and my day was complete.

My photographic record of the day can be found at  http://picasaweb.google.com/blackfelladder/KirkhamWeshamVLowestoftTown        

The following report is lifted from the FA web site at http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/TheFAVase/NewsAndFeatures/TheFAVaseFinal.htm :

Matt's magic for Kirkham

By Jamie Bradbury at Wembley. Sunday, 11 May 2008.

Ernest Armstrong Memorial Cup Final: Esh Winning 3-0 Sunderland RCA (at Ryton FC)

This report is copied from the Sunderland RCA web site at http://www.sunderlandrca.co.uk/reports.html

RCA's season ended with another big disappointment as we lost fairly tamely in the Ernest Armstrong Memorial Cup Final at Ryton on Bank Holiday Monday. It was a lovely day and Ozo's bus load of the Ryhope faithful turned up to cheer the lads on, but it was not to be. Hicker had a few problems naming a side, with Paul Wardle cup tied, Andy Middleton off to Hawaii and Lee Bell heading for Poland, while on the morning of the match Glen McCartney reported sick. So it was a thin bench but a reasonably strong first eleven, with Gary Shields slotting into right wing back.

RCA started brightly enough, with decent pressure and a couple of corners in the first ten minutes and half chances for Jon Newton and Andy Jennings, before Esh showed for the first time after ten minutes with a sharp header from a corner which Craig Shields gathered well.

Paul Stout was having a bit of trouble with the Esh wide left man, Chris Smith, and it was Smith who opened the scoring after 17 minutes with a great strike from wide which curled past Shieldsy into the goal, 1-0.

Esh grew in confidence with the goal as RCA, despite having plenty of possession struggled to create real chances. A Gary Shields effort close to the half hour mark was better, and lead to a series of corners from which Wayne Henderson finally blasted over, but all the time Esh looked lively with the ball. Coming up to the break Gary Shields stole the ball in midfield and made a great run and cross, which Jennings couldn't reach, and it seemed as if we were finally coming to life. Lets get to the break at just 1-0 and see how the second half goes. Right on the stroke of half time however Esh made it 2-0 with a fine goal from Craig Coates, a real killer as the Ref immediately blew for half time.

We desperately needed to start the second half well, and we did, with Andy Jennings shooting wide, then heading a great chance straight at the keeper from a Scott Richards free kick.

And that sadly was that, Esh broke immediately, Wayne brought a striker down, the Ref gives the pen, and i'ts 3-0 after 51 minutes, game over.

The game wandered from now to its end, David Wells came on for Stout and did well with some sharp passing and movement, Ash Davis got himself sent off for a rash stamp on an opponent, and Jennings had a number of attempts which didn't trouble the keeper. Esh knew the game was won and saw it through with few alarms for a deserved victory in which they took their chances and worked hard.

Well done to Esh Winning, off we go for the summer, before coming back to make next year a year of achievement, not nearly boys next time!

Arngrove Northern League Division 1: Morpeth Town 1-2 Northallerton Town

This much-postponed fixture was the last of the programme for the season and Northallerton's fate depended on a victory, nothing more, nothing less. This was my first visit to Craik Park in three seasons and nothing had changed - no food, no hot drinks and a very poor programme.

The following is copied from the Northalleron Town web site:

Arngrove Northern League Division 1: Washington 0-0 Ashington

A cruncher if ever there was one! Nothing less than a draw would do for Washington, whereas Ashington guaranteed their Div 1 membership a couple of games back. The result reflected the game, to be fair, neither side had more than a couple of shots on target. The highlight of the day was the appearance of the Ashington supporters' bus, which disgorged the Colliers hordes, all in fancy dress! I didn't win the raffle, needless to say!

Arngrove Northern League Division 2: Sunderland Ryhope CA 2-0 Ryton

It's a gripper!!! Ryton visit RCA for their last match of the season and the result could clinch the third promotion place in Div 2; South Shields are already promoted and Penrith Town only need 4 points from their last 4 fixtures to go up with them. If Ryton win this one, they will also go up. RCA need to win this one and their last fixture away to Crook Town to gain promotion. If RCA win, Penrith will then need 1 point from their last 4 matches. If RCA win, Ryton could still go up if Penrith lose all their remaning 4 fixtures.

The following report is copied from the Sunderland RCA web site at http://www.sunderlandrca.co.uk/index.html

There was bitter disappointment for RCA today as all hopes of promotion went with a single goal defeat to rivals Ryton. To be fair the scoreline flattered RCA as Ryton were the better side throughout the game, as many RCA players failed to raise their game against determined opponents in good form.

Our bad run has come at just the wrong time, when we had no room to spare. Ryton started the game playing up the hill and with a good contingent of their supporters in the crowd. The early exchanges were fairly even, but Ryton soon began to get on top, and it was no surprise when they took the lead after 25 minutes, but with what was a very sloppy goal.

A bad clearance from keeper Minniss, who struggled badly with his distribution all game, was followed by loose passing in midfield and led to RCA giving the ball away in their own half as a Ryton player sprinted forward. He still looked second favourite to get to the ball but fatal hesitation from Jon Minniss in the RCA goal let Ryton's Liam McBryde in for a simple finish.

This stung RCA and we pressed a little, but Ryton always looked the stronger side, and the home team faced a mountain at the break, needing a win to stay alive.

The second half followed the pattern of the first with Ryton always the sharper side, and it looked like being a terminal blow when Sunderland RCA skipper Scott Richards was sent off in the 60th minute as a Ryton player made a meal of minimal contact.

Strangely the dismissal had the opposite effect as RCA came more into the game with ten men, possibly as Ryton realised how close they were to their promotion goal. Even so it looked too little too late when RCA were awarded a penalty in the 88th minute, but matters were settled when the usually deadly Gary Shields slid the spot kick wide.

On the final whistle the Ryton players and fans celebrated as RCA faced up to at least another year in the second flight.

Arngrove Northern League Division 1: West Allotment Celtic 0-2 Bedlington Terriers
Today I hit my target!

Whitley Park was the last ground on my list of "maiden venues" and I crossed it off today. Whitley Park is the County Ground of the Northumberland FA and I have to say that I was not really impressed with it. The two covered areas are on the same side of the ground but are at the ends where the goals are. There are some steep steps from the terrace to pitch level which look a might dangerous. The clubhouse had no food apart from McCoys crisps at 50p a bag! I had a dodgy pint of John Smith's Smooth for £2.15 before the game.

Match report courtesy of Dave Anderson on the Terriers web site at http://www.bedlingtonterriersfc.co.uk/:

Bedlington Terriers took a giant stride towards guaranteeing their Division One status next season with a superb win at local rivals West Allotment Celtic at their Blue Flames ground on Saturday. Having seen their game at Jarrow on Tuesday night called off due to a waterlogged pitch, and therefore an earlier opportunity to get points on the table, this meant added pressure on a Terriers squad ravaged by injury recently.

The return from injury by Dan Kennerley meant that Andrew Carr was restored to his normal central midfield position, a boost when you consider the statistic that the Terriers had never lost this season when Carr formed a centre midfield pairing with Michael Latimer. The Teams:

West Allotment Celtic: Morton, Brown, Walmsley, Dawson, Anderson, Locker, Richardson, Johnson, Hay, Fremlin, Watson. Subs: York, Taylor, Vickers, Hughes, Patterson.
Bedlington Terriers: Regan, Lowrie, Lang, Milner, Kennerley, Latimer, McAlindon, Carr, Ludlow, Shandran, Lowther. Subs: Stobbs, Gibb, Lawson, McFarlane, Eastway.
Referee: Mr G, Beswick.

In a lively and competitive first half, both sides had chances before the visitors made the breakthrough just before the 20 minute mark. Shandran was fouled 25 yards from goal to the right side of the area, and Lowther's driven kick was on target, but a deflection wrong footed keeper Morton, and he couldn't adjust in time to stop the ball hit the back of the net.

Two minutes later, Shandran almost doubled the lead, but his shot from 20 yards curled just wide of the upright. The home side were pressing hard for an equaliser, but the Bedlington defence remained solid and stand-in keeper Regan was proving himself a worthy replacement for regular stopper Dryden.

However, Celtic came agonisingly close to levelling the scores into the final 5 minutes of the half. A cross from the left saw the ball headed from the grasp of Regan, and the ball looped goalwards before hitting the bar and bouncing down into the goalmouth where the Bedlington keeper gratefully collected at the second attempt.

McAlindon then struck a fine effort from a free-kick which went narrowly wide of the post. So the Terriers went into the interval a goal to the good, but on the minds of many was whether they could buck the trend of recent second half performances and see the game out to secure the points.

Bedlington started the second half almost as they had finished the first, this time McAlindon's free-kick was tipped over the bar by ex-Terrier Morton. However, the visitors got the second goal they so desperately wanted just six minutes in. After Shandran had yet again tormented the Celtic defence, his resulting shot saw Morton only parry the effort in front of him. Ludlow was quickest to react to poke the ball home from 5 yards.

This second goal seemed to give the Terriers increased confidence, as from then on they were clearly the better side, and the hosts struggled to mount a significant attack on the Bedlington goal. Indeed, the Terriers could have extended their lead as two Ludlow efforts went agonisingly close. The first was a clever chip which just cleared the bar; the second was a drive from 20 yards which again just cleared the goal-frame.

A few corners for the hosts late in the game aside, it was a surprisingly comfortable 45 minutes for Bedlington, and they could rightly claim that they were good value for the three points which saw them move above Ashington in the table again.

Arngrove Northern League Division 2: Guisborough Town 2-1 Crook Town

I chose this fixture firstly as I have not been to Guisborough for 3 years, secondly because it was an opportunity to catch up with me old mate, ex Birtley Town No. 2 Paul Foster, recently appointed as Assistant Manager at Crook. I arrived at the ground about an hour before kick-off and met Foss as soon as I entered the ground. Then adjourned to the bar for my pint before the game.

After taking my walk around the pitch, I had a rather nice mince pie before settling down for the game. I have pinched the following report from the Crook Town web site:

Crook played their second below par performance inside a week in a 90 minute backs to the wall encounter against a determined ‘Boro outfit. From the off the home side camped in the Crook half. The first good chance coming from O’Riordan who beat the offside trap only for Crook’s man of the match Compson, who saved his side from what could have been an embarrassing defeat pushed his shot around the post for a corner. Newton one of Crook’s overworked defenders was booked for a foul outside the area and from the kick a glancing header was just wide of Compson’s left-hand post. Kokes had the away side’s first chance of the game but shot over the bar as he beat the offside trap. 

A combination of good and sometimes desperate defending kept ‘Boro at bay, and when they did break through Compson was equal to the task, in one attack saving well from Trainer at the foot of the left hand post throwing his body in the way of a full blooded shot. Crooks best period of the half came towards the end, Bishop fisting the ball away from Olusoga after a dangerous cross from McTaggart then a shot from Bone was beaten away by the keeper.

Crook took the lead in the 43 minute, a corner from the right found Fuller whose shot hit the bar and goal poacher Kokes was quickest to react to find the back of the net. After the break a better performance from Crook was expected but from the off Guisbrough pressed on, Roddam  shooting wide with the bombarded Compson scrambling across his line.

A shot was scrambled away as a centre by Booth found Morgan unmarked as he fired into a crowded goalmouth. Compson again kept Crook ahead as Morgan found himself with only the custodian to beat but a fine save with his feet kept the lead intact. ‘Boro equalized as the ball broke free to the unmarked Booth on the edge of the penalty area who, running in beat the stranded Compson, then they should have taken the lead as the over worked defence could only watch as O’Riordan shot wide when it was easier to score.

With the Crook faithful checking their watches the Crook defence again scrambled the ball from a crowded goalmouth but the winning goal followed as a hesitant Crook defence allowed a mistake by Emmerson to be punished by the  unmarked  O’Riodan  to tap the ball in the net from close range. The away side then put extra effort into the final minutes but it was a case of too little too late.

Arngrove Northern League Division 2: Hebburn Town 1-0 Darlington Railway Athletic

Even though there were more attractive fixtures taking place, I selected this one between two sides near the bottom of the table simply because I knew that I would enjoy the craic from the RA supporters, if nothing else, and I was not disappointed!

Arriving at the ground about an hour before kick-off, I made my way to the bar, where the RA Lads were already congregating. More followed and we had a good chat about Northern League topics in general. With 20 minutes to go, I discovered that the refreshments cabin was open (it had been closed on my last two visits) so I decided on a mince 'n' onion pie, very tasty at £0.80.

3.00pm and the threatened rain had arrived with a vengeance and continued for the whole of the game, although the pitch held up well. Hebburn scored the only goal of the game on 19 minutes when Tony Hanson was well-placed to take advantage of a defensive mix-up between RA 'keeper Tony Dixon and defender Stuart Pattison, Hanson found himself in front of an empty goal and made no mistake. Both sides had plenty of goal-scoring opportunities after this, each hitting the woodwork and calling the goalkeepers into action several times. In the second half, I think RA might have just edged it for quality, with some good one-touch moves, but the score remained the same.

Arngrove Northern League Division 2: Prudhoe Town 2-1 Marske United

Halfway to Prudhoe I began to doubt my wisdom in actually having left home. I drove into a snowstorm near Blaydon and was in two minds to turn back as it was almost a complete white-out! Undaunted, I continued my journey and got to Kimberley Park just as the snow was easing off and the sun was beginning to peek from behind the clouds. Arriving as usual about an hour before kick-off, I made straight for the bar, where the Referee and his Assistants were partaking of their pre-match cuppas and discussing whether or not to venture out to inspect the playing surface. I, meanwhile had a nice pint of John Smith's Smooth for £2.00 which was well received. At 2.30pm the announcement came that the match would indeed take place so I adjourned to the ground for my habitual walk around the pitch, followed by a rather nice steak pie for £1.00, washed down by a cup of Bovril for £0.50. Down side was the lack of a programme! The explanation was that, although there was not much of a demand for programmes, they did produce "a few", which were normally snapped up the day before a game!?!?

Anyway, what did I come for? Oh, yes, a footie match!

Marske started brightly enough, Simon Kasonali played 2 delightful balls into Shaun Howes deep inside the penalty area, however with a shot at goal on, he attempted to square the ball to Benn Thompson, allowing Prudhoe 'keeper Jonathan Hands in to clear the first, then from his second, despite a sniff of offside which went unchecked and allowed him into a great position, he again failed to pull the trigger and Prudhoe cleared.
Steve Larkin then headed over after a Kasonali corner was initially cleared but played back in to round off 10mins of pressure for Marske without any end product. Marske 'keeper Adrian Swann was called into action for the first time on 15mins when Paul Swithenbank tried an audacious effort from fully 25yds which the Marske keeper tipped over and having now registered their first attempt on goal Prudhoe pushed forward. Just as their visitors though, they could not find the target, with Alan Brown and Ben Haddock wasting good chances before Ryan Monaghan headed down a corner which bounced up and against the bar before Marske could scramble the ball away. All this in the first 20 minutes!
Marske’s luck though was dashed on 25mins when Prudhoe broke quickly from their own half first through Haddock then Brown who carried the ball inside the area and sent a curling shot to the backpost giving Swann no chance and the home side the lead they deserved at that point.
Marske could have been two down when Swann palmed behind another curling shot to the backpost, this time from David Potts only minutes after the opener and then had to scramble away a succession of corners before the pressure was finally relieved.
With the half drawing to a close Marske managed a succession of corners, the third of which fell to Steve Cochrane inside the area but his low shot only found the side netting.
Half time 1-0 and back to the refreshments bar for another cup of Bovril and a rather tasteless BOILED burger!

In the second half an early chance for Thompson looked to be heading goalwards after the Marske striker had met Kasonali’s corner but Hands saved well. Thompson could have levelled on 56mins when Jonathan Stott won the ball inside the area before squaring for Thompson, who saw his chance come back of the post before it was cleared. Marske were dominating and two more chances the first from Stott, the second from Darryl Tomlinson after he had latched on to a great ball over the top from Kasonali were wasted before the home side managed a single effort on goal in the half. Marske finally got their reward in the form of an equaliser on 75mins when a freekick on the halfway line led to a cross which Thompson headed into goal. 1-1 and game on!
Hands was forced into action as Marske went forward looking for the winner when Howes hit an effort from the edge of the area that took a deflection but Prudhoe were soon to play their Joker when with 5mins to go Swithenbank made way for Steven Clark. In the next minute, Swann called for a ball which Michael Waller was about to clear, however, with Waller confused and Swann diving over the ball up popped Steven Clark, who, with his back to the goal and his first touch of the game, sent a rather comical back-heel trickling into the net. His belly flop celebration had to be seen to be believed! Oh well, the snow did try to put me off, before and during the game, but I persevered and, as usual, got a lot from my first-ever day at Prudhoe. Didn't win the raffle though, there wasn't one! 

I am now only one football ground away from achieving my target and I should get to the Blue Flames for West Allotment Celtic v Bedlington Terriers on the 12th of April. As my mate, Washington supporter Darrin, would say: "HAIL, HAIL!"

Arngrove Northern League Division 1: Chester le Street Town 1-3 Ashington

I chose this fixture as the opportunity to watch two old mates in action again - Ian Aitken, Chester goalkeeper, recently re-signed after spending half the season at Gateshead and Ryton, and Craig Marron, recently transferred from troubled Washington. Also in action were two old favourites in former Durham City stroker Tony Healer and ex-Bedlington Terriers and Morpeth Robbie Cockburn aka The Felton Flyer who has just returned from injury.

Photograph courtesy of the Arngrove Northern League Official web site

Camera-less, I got to the ground and made my way to the clubhouse for a canny pint of Worthington's bitter and a listen to the craic from the Chester committee who always monopolise the bar area before a game. I couldn't have my usual read of the programme as they were only to be had from the turnstile, which was still closed when I arrived.

The ground showed signs of having been tidied up since my last visit - there used to be some derelict buildings scattered about which were no longer in evidence; also the terracing behind the goal on the western side, which was just about unsafe, has been repaired.

Chester created an opportunity after 3 minutes when Scott Emmerson played the ball through to Tony Healer. Colliers' goalkeeper Paul Simpson rushed from his line to make a block and the ball fell to Andrew Cuthbertson who hit the ball towards goal but a defender got back to clear off the line. It fell to Scot Emmerson but he blasted the ball well over the bar. After 9 minutes, the ball was played out left to Gareth Bainbridge who curled a shot against the outside of the post. Ashington made the breakthrough after 29 minutes when Gary Cook curled the ball over the wall from a free kick. Ashington doubled their lead on 31 minutes when Paul Hutchinson was left unmarked to head in from a corner. Chester nearly pulled a goal back two minutes later when Michael Allan hit a free kick to the far post but Andrew Armstrong saw his header clip the post. Chester should have pulled a goal back on 44 minutes when the keeper spilled a free kick from Michael Allan, but Scott Emmerson somehow ballooned the ball over the bar from only two yards out. Chester did pull a goal back in the first minute of the second period when a good move led to Glenn Reay hitting a fine goal afte latching to a rebound from the crossbar, however, Ashington were still proving dangerous and on 48 minutes a free kick into the Chester area found Robbie Cockburn but he fired over the bar from a good position. Chester made an immediate response when Scott Emmerson flicked on a free kick to Andrew McIntosh but he fired over from close range. Ashington just about sealed the result on 70 minutes with a rather fortunate goal. Stephen Hutchinson made ground into the area and as he was tackled the ball fell kindly for him to fire into the net. After 87 minutes Martin Nugent got in a good header which brought an excellent save from Ian Aitken. Just before the end, Tony Healer had a shot parried by the keeper but Robbie Draper could only blast the rebound well over the bar from close range.

Me [with bacon buttie and much in need of a razor!] and Ashington fan Ian - Don't men look silly when they insist on wearing badge-encrusted woolly hats?

Not too bad a match, I met up with some of the Ashington fans I know and had one of those excellent bacon butties from the catering van - great vaule for £1.50 with Bovril for £0.50. I didn't win the raffle though!

Clem Smith Bowl Final (Durham Alliance League Trophy): Newton Aycliffe 3-1 Washington FC Reserves (played at Birtley Town FC)

Having finished work earlier than usual and having been pestered all week by two friends who play for Washington Reserves, I made the short trip over the hill to Birtley for this one. It was a cold night with a strong wind blowing across the pitch and I expected the usual occurrence of the ball being lofted into the air and ending up on the next pitch, but I was to be pleasantly surprised as both sides dealt with the conditions rather well. Newton Aycliffe's line-up was also something of a surprise as it included several players who have played at a higher level in the shape of Danny Mellanby (Bishop Auckland, Darlington, Crook), Jonathan Milroy (West Auckland, Crook), Richard Hinton (Crook and others) and Ray Stanger (Durham City, Crook). As a result, Aycliffe were the better side and Mellanby was a constant threat, scoring two of the three goals. Milroy only came on as a substitute but scored Aycliffe's third with Allan Horn replying for Washington.

I didn't win the raffle but I did get a free cup of coffee, courtesy of Birtley Town FC Secretary, Trevor Armstrong, who was manning the refreshments  hut and seemed genuinely pleased to see me at the match. 

Arngrove Northern League Division 2: Stokesley Sports Club 2-4 Crook Town

Pre-matchday: Another one from my hit list, if all goes well. Stokesley is a small market town of some 5000 inhabitants, about 3 miles north of the North Yorkshire Moors National Park and 12 miles from the North Sea and about an hour's drive from my home.

Stokesley Sports Club History

Established in 1920, Stokesley has had various teams playing in local football: Stokesley & District League; Langbaurgh League; South Bank & District League. The club has played on a number of pitches around Stokesley: Bypass, Springfield and on the cricket pitch at the new complex, where in 1963 the team were virtually evicted after the pitch was sacrificed to build a bypass. It took 29 years to return home after leading a nomadic life in and around Stokesley.

Stokesley have won many cups over the years with most success coming in the Jefferson Cup (13), a local cup played at the start or end of a season depending on the weather in the winter.

In the seasons of 1977, 1978, 1979 Stokesley won the Second Division of the South Bank and District League and the next season were hailed the Champions of the First Division, also winning the Barnard Bowl.

The Club has run two teams for many years and in the season of 1994; Stokesley 1st team entered the Teesside League.

As the club grew and an increasing number of people showed an interest in playing football, a Sunday team was formed. The Sunday team entered into the Hambleton Combination, where they won promotion in 3 consecutive years from 4th to 1st division; also winning 4 Cup competitions en-route. In 1999 – 2000 season, Stokesley added a third Saturday team by joining the Wearside League.

This period has been Stokesley’s most successful in their history, competing in 12 finals and winning 7 of them. The biggest prize has been recent promotion to the Arngrove Northern League and achieving a five-year plan. In 2004 Stokesley Sports Club and the North Riding Football Association won a lottery grant of £849.000 to build a new clubhouse, develop new pitches and improve the main pitch to meet Northern League standards. In their first season in the Northern League, they managed a very creditable 8th position , reaching the semi final of the Ernest Armstrong Trophy in the process. The club hopes to build on last year but is currently in 14th. position, one lower than Crook with one point less, so this fixture could be viewed as a "six-pointer".

Matchday:

Arriving, as usual, about an hour before kick-off, I was warmly greeted by one of the club officials who asked whether I was a groundhopper and escorted me into the clubhouse and introduced me to another guy who looked after me like royalty and really made me feel at home, even to the point of offering a free cuppa and going off to find me a pin-badge! Talk about personal service! I had a nice pint of Worthington ale which was so good I decided on another half. There were no programmes to be had so I settled for a read of the North Riding FA magazine.
Stokesley is a nice place to watch footie, in a lovely setting at the foot of the North Yorks moors, with Captain Cook's monument looking down from one of the hills, it is picturesque to say the least.
The match kicked off with a strong cross-wind blowing from the south west which gave neither side any advantage and pretty soon the rain started belting down. There are two covered standing areas behind the goal at the north end and I watched most of the game from there.
Crook started off better than Stokesley and Darren Kokes had the ball in the net inside 18 minutes but the effort was ruled offside. Stokesley were guilty of more than a few wayward shots and could have led at half-time but it was still 0-0.
A burger and a cup of Bovril set me up for the second half, 5 minutes into which saw Stokesley take the lead when a Crook attack broke down and a fast breakaway finished off by Jamie Poole 1-0. The next 15 minutes were rather frantic with both sides making attacks and on 53 minutes, Crook's Dan Olusoga turned on the ball near the penalty area and sent a sweet left foot shot past Danny Johnson 1-1.
On 63 minutes, former Birtley midfielder Shaun McAvoy beat two defenders to set up Kokes for Crook's second - 1-2

Shuan McAvoy (No 8) rushing to celebrate with Darren Kokes who has just scored Crook's second goal.

Two minutes after that, Kokes sent across a lovely ball from the left which Olusoga finished off - 1-3. More Crook pressure led to a right wing corner in the 73rd, from which Crook's Liam Bone (my vote for Man of the Match) hit the crossbar and Kokes was waiting to slot in the rebound - 1-4.

Liam Bone's shot hits the crossbar.

Just before the final whistle, John Humberstone reduced the deficit with a header from a corner kick while the Crook defence were thinking about the after match cuppa!
Final score 2-4 and a most enjoyable game, especially the second half, during which Stokesley keeper Johnson made some excellent saves.

Stokesley keeper Danny Johnson saves with his feet.

More photos from Stokesley can be found at http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/blackfelladder/StokesleySportsClubVCrookTown

Pre-Matchday: I had been keeping this day free, in case there was an ANL team playing at home in the quarter-finals of the FA Vase, however, the only side still in the competition is Whitley Bay, away to Hungeford Town. I cannot decide whether to watch Newcastle Benfield Bay Pastics v Bedlington Terriers or Sunderland Ryhope CA v Norton & Stockton Ancients, so, I have set up a poll on the Northern League forum at http://nonleaguezone.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=49729 in the hope that I can determine other people's views as to which is the most attractive fixture. The poll will close at 10.53am on the 1st. March and whichever fixture has gained the most votes will be my chosen game.

Matchday: The poll closed with the result that the Sunderland Ryhope CA v Norton Stockton Ancients fixture received 15 of the 28 votes cast, so I was off to Meadow Park for my second visit of the season. RCA Chairman Owen Haley was pleased that the voting had turned out the way it did when he welcomed me into the clubhouse just after 2.00pm. I settled down to read my programme

with a slice of "Kathy's renowned corned beef and potato pie", which was excellent, as usual, washed down with a can of Carling lager (no draught ales to be had at Meadow Park). I made made way to see the teams enter the pitch and received my usual welcome from RCA manager, Neil Hixon. Two other friends, Michael and Chris Dunwell, play for Norton and it was nice to see them again.

Although the sun was up and about, the wind was very strong and gusting and it was obvious that the team to get more from the game would be the one which mastered the conditions better. Indeed, both sides struggled to deal with the wind for the first 20 minutes and Norton, with the wind at their backs and playing downhill, could and should have taken advantage of it. RCA's Jon Newton had the ball in the net in the 20th. minute when Norton keeper James Briggs could only parry a shot-cum-cross from Adam McGuinness to Newton, who was deemed to be offside. Towards the end of the first half, RCA were playing the better football and I went back to the clubhouse at half-time with the score at 0-0. I enjoyed one of those enormous hot dogs, washed down with a cup of Bovril, before taking my place for the second half.

Shortly after the resumption, I received a phone call with the news that Whitley Bay had taken the lead in their FA Vase quarter final tie at Hungerford Town - best bit of news I had all day! RCA, now playing down the slope with wind advantage, spent long periods in the Norton half and only some good saves by Briggs kept RCA from taking the lead. Eventually, the pressure began to tell and in the 82nd. minute, after some repeated attacks down the right wing involving Andy Middleton and Scott Richards, Richards sent in a cross which Briggs could only beat out to Sean Davies whose flick back into the area was headed into goal by Andy Jennings. 1-0

Not too bad a game, considering the wind; Owen Haley had predicted lots of goals - wrong, Owen! Oh, by the way, I didn't win the raffle again!  Whitley Bay did finish 1-0 victors, so that improved my day.

 RCA's Andy Jennings  Norton's Chris Dunwell

 <<< Two pics of Norton's Michael Dunwell >>>

 RCA's Gary Shields (left) and Scott Richards 

 Norton's Harrison Davies  Norton's Ian Clark