Garforth Town 0 - AFC Field.... Fylde 3

17-10-09

Blackpool is a part of the Lancastrian coastal plain of Fylde, and fittingly it would be our visitors AFC Fylde that illuminated today’s game of football with all three of its goals. In Scandinavian, Fylde means ‘field’, the name hence originating from Viking invasions, and in today’s tussle at the Genix Healthcare stadium, their football team were sadly able to ‘field’ players who outplayed our own in an open game, but one in which few clear cut chances were fashioned. Cup football can be an illegitimate son…

Fylde opened the scoring early, a neat turn and shot from Mark Wane, and Town were fighting an uphill battle thenceforth against more disciplined troops. One noted tactic was the use of legal strength – vigorousness within the boundaries of the rules. Maybe the endless scrapping between Yorkshire and Lancashire day-trippers in Blackpool has toughened them up. Regardless, Fylde changed their colours from blue to all-white in the summer of 2007 in order to mimic Leeds United, and so it would be that Wane’s goal earned them victory against the second most prestigious football club in the Leeds area.

Tom Greaves gave an industrious display, fashioning several chances for himself despite close defensive attention. The most noteworthy occurred with a third of the game gone, when a lifted through ball on thirty minutes allowed him to lob the goalkeeper. Sadly, the striker was deemed to be offside when the ball was played, by another linesman who loves to play ‘you put your right arm in, your right arm out, in out, in out, sh….” No comment.

Greaves was put through again, for another Heil Hitler salute… sorry, enthusiastic linesman’s flagging motion, to halt his progress. A subsequent move saw Harding play Ovington down the left channel, and the young winger cut inside before spraying it out to Williams on the right. Duncan’s cross eluded all.

The second began slowly, and it was not until almost the hour mark that a shot was struck in anger. Greaves worked his way from the left to the edge of the semi-circle, and cut his shot narrowly wide.

Several passing interchanges from both sides summed the game up; one-twos, overlaps and movement, with one player’s weak or mis-hit touch breaking down the whole move. Thornton came on; signalling Town’s attacking intent, and the substitute made determined runs and harassed defenders.

A Claisse ball to Greaves saw the striker exchange a one-two with Thornton before shooting, but the shot slid wide. Immediately after, a quick counter attack saw Fylde get behind the Town defence, and Wane added his second with a finish to the left of Ellison.

Greaves shot across goal following a long ball up from Claisse, and a nice attack involving several players saw Thornton cross for Fidel Mholo at the back post. Not only was the youngster unable to score, his name was mispronounced in the announcements for the 269th time on record.

Town could not pierce the back Fylde of Field, and Field added a third. The familiar looking Richie Allen, who either has a doppelganger or has played against Garforth before for someone else, scored a carbon copy finish to the one that had preceded it, and Town left the Fylde dejected after their hardworking display could not make a dent in a motivated Field, who advance to the 1st round of the FA Trophy.

Garforth though, shall not sling insults the way the Salford Star did just because a War of the Roses rival beat them at home. No slurs from the dignified white rose, unlike some. Then again, any club that employs Rhodri Giggs….

Congratulations to Field. See you in Blackpool for a curry, eight pints and a couple of disco biscuits….

Salford City 0 - Garforth Town 0

3-10-09

Chumbawamba kicked off the day, with walk out theme I Get Knocked Down But I Get Up Again being a fitting epithet to a team with such dramatic upswings and downturns in performance levels and fortune as Garforth Town FC. The game started, with the Greater Mancunian outfit attempting to knock their visitors down for the count, the yellows looking to ‘remind their fans of the good times’, and play a game ‘to remind them of the better times’. Whose fans would be “singing, when we’re winning”? Whose set of supporters would be “drinking a whisky drink; a vodka drink, a lager drink, and a cider drink” to drown their sorrows come the end? Ninety minutes of football later in the shadow of the ‘Theatre of Dreams’, we would know the answer.

The opening exchanges did nothing to offer an indication of the answer, as the closest chance for the visitors came from strikers Thornton and Greaves chasing down Andy Robertson in the Salford goal, while the hosts offered less. A welcome addition to the game was Rhodri Giggs, now plying his trade, footballing trade, along with his more celebrated brother Ryan in Salford, though in somewhat less grandiose surroundings. In fairness to him, other than chelping at his own team-mates and sloping around in the second half, he did nothing particularly out of the ordinary to ‘bring the game into disrepute’, I believe is the politically correct, diplomatic description. Ovington and Williams swung in crosses for Town, but they were dealt with well.

John McAliskey had two very good chances for Salford, which new goalkeeper Craig <> did well to stop. The new shot stopper did his best all afternoon to ensure Tom Morgan gets a pink slip in the mail, as he was undoubtedly man of the match for his display. Garforth came close after twenty-five minutes, when Ovington put Tom Greaves through on the right channel. With the offside trap beaten and Robertson in no-mans-land, Greaves latched onto the lofted ball and his lobbed finish struck the outside of the posts elbow joint that conjoins the net and goal, just wide of the top corner.

Salford had mixed luck, with Giggs’ well taken free kick saved, but a handball in their own box escaping the notice of all officials, a bittersweet minute. Thornton and particularly Ovington came close with chances to close out the half, a low drive and a left footed shot cut across the goal and wide, respectively.

Thornton again tried his luck with a run from his own half, evading challenges and ending with a lacklustre shot. Ovington showed a turn of pace and played a ball in for Tom Claisse, who shot over. Salford shot, with Craig tipping the ball over well. The home side would have three or four shots on goal in this time.

For the rest of the game, Garforth pressed and created chances only for Salford to respond with several of their own. City arguably carved out the more memorable chances, only for the likes of Giggs, Rouse and McAliskey to miss. Though in the second half they undoubtedly came closest with the scant goal scoring opportunities, from the official report in the Salford Star, you would think Garforth had been spanked like a Mirko Cro Cop opponent in a Japanese freak show mismatch. As for the lamentations of The Salford Star, I respond with this; Sors salutis, et virtutis, michi nunc contraria… mecum omnes plangite! Carl Orff, O Fortuna. Relying on the overuse of ‘F bombs’ and county insults like the Salford Star did is so uncultured, even for the red rose...

So the points were shared equally, between our lovable hosts and us ‘yellow shirted Yorkshire ****ing ****ers’. As fate would have it, lager was the beverage of choice, though the miserable Mancunians undoubtedly resorted to the whisky drinks, the vodka drinks, the lager drinks and the cider drinks in lamentation, to vent about the match and to remind them of the better times. Chumbawamba, Tubthumping. A song Salford City use pre-match, and would do well to remember in the aftermath of such a game after the events conclusion.

"Don't cry for me, next door (county) neighbours..."

Garforth next play against Chorley at home on Tuesday night, then Trafford away on Saturday. Kick-offs will be at 7:45pm and 3pm respectively. If we get knocked down, we will get up again, yeah they're never gonna keep us down....

'Danny Boy': yellow shirted ****ing tubthumper, whisky/vodka/lager/cider drinker, and proud Yorkshireman.