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Monday 3 December 2012

Basford Utd U19 2-1 Parkgate U19

Subtitled "piss myself laughing at Rob Waite's acrobatics" !!!


Arrived at the Greenwich Avenue ground and on entering noticed how slippery the hard standing was - the afternoon rain rapidly freezing and giving me some thought about whether the game would survive the 90 minutes.

Turned out that although the hard standing was proving a bit difficult to walk on, the pitch was perfectly playable. I asked a lino at half-time how the pitch was holding up and he said it was just fine. Although it got progressively colder as the evening went on, I found it hard to believe that when I arrived home (4 miles away)  it was raining and 4 degrees!

Met Rob "the66pow" Waite inside the ground and spent the whole game in the company of the big man.  Can you believe that this was the daft buggers 98th game so far this season? Talk about a football lover......

See Rob's take on the events on his superb "the66pow" blog by clicking here.

Mind you, the man from Retford showed after the game what a superb athlete he is, despite have a "glandular" problem.  As we exited the ground at full time, there was little or no light to guide the way to the car park and (quick chuckle to myself!!) Rob tripped over the coconut doormats outside the changing rooms!  With camera in one hand and phone in the other it was like poetry in motion as his graceful form maintained superb balance and then, ballerina like, pirouetted away as if nothing had happened!!  Thing is - if Rob's trip hadn't have highlighted the fact the mats were there, I'd have found them and would have been arse over tit - no problem ! Sat in my car with tears streaming  - not laughed so much for ages!!!!!!!!!!!

Basford's home form is second to none, having won all their previos 4 league games, but Parkgate proved a sterner test than some of the teams who have visited Greenwich Avenue. Indeed, wasn't until the 29th minute that they managed to breach a very stubborn and well organised Parkgate defence, DAN JACKSON flicking home first time as the ball was played in from the left. Great strike from the no. 11 who was under severe pressure from his marker. 90 seconds later, the visitors almost levelled, but the post intervened and keeper Josh Downie's goal remained intact. The frame of the goal was rattled on numerous occasions throughout the half, both sides unlucky not to add to the score sheet. H-T 1-0

Basford went further ahead on 52 when JACK HODSON rose salmon like at the far post to head home a left wing corner.

Parkgate showed some serious Yorkshire steel though, refusing to let their heads drop and taking the fight well and truly to their hosts. The pressure paid dividends with 10 minutes to play, GEORGE MORLEY heading home from 10 yards after Downie had failed to clear when the ball was fired into the area.

This fired Parkgate up even more, and they were almost on terms with 5 to play. Downie again failed to collect and allowed the ball to run loose in the box. The keeper recovered well to dive at the ball as it was hacked at by several Parkgate players and Downie was let fully off the hook after Referee Bill Bingham adjudged that he was fouled whilst trying to retrieve the loose ball.

Have to say that Downie had looked impressive throughout, and his two small errors were more than offset by a number of class saves that kept Basford in the game.
F-T 2-1

Admission £2 inc programme
Attendance 31