Venue: Falcon Club, Croadella Avenue, Egremont, Cumbria CA22 2QN
Kickoff: 14:30 Sat 19 Aug 2017
Weather: mostly dry with very light misty showers, mild and sunny.
Kickoff: 14:30 Sat 19 Aug 2017
Weather: mostly dry with very light misty showers, mild and sunny.
LOCATION REPORT
SatNav: CA22 2QN
Staff: steward/staff in clubhouse
Parking: onsite carpark, 20+ spaces
Public transport: buses to Egremont from Whitehaven, Workington, Maryport (#30, #32)
Staff: steward/staff in clubhouse
Parking: onsite carpark, 20+ spaces
Public transport: buses to Egremont from Whitehaven, Workington, Maryport (#30, #32)
Refreshments: licensed onsite clubhouse
Toilets: clubhouse
Stands/Terraces: no, lean-on pitchside perimeter barrier; grass banks all around
Floodlights: yes
Toilets: clubhouse
Stands/Terraces: no, lean-on pitchside perimeter barrier; grass banks all around
Floodlights: yes
MATCH REPORT
Approx crowd: 40+, including various drop-bys en route to watching the football on TV in the clubhouse lounge; several young boys having a kickabout in the grounds
Full-time [h/t] score (colours):
1 [0] Windscale FC (royal blue)
1 [1] Hartlepool FC (orange)
1 [0] Windscale FC (royal blue)
1 [1] Hartlepool FC (orange)
Bookings: a few
Sent Off: 0
Sent Off: 0
NORVENMUNKI's COMMENTS
The renewed Quest is off and running again, and today's trip is especially fun. As the school summer holidays linger on, my restless boy surprises me by suggesting we have a 'road trip' together: somewhere new, just us lads, biking, swimming, goofing around etc.
Spookily, it was as if he was reading my mind, as I had secretly been pondering some kind of impulsive weekend getaway and wondering how favourably he might react. Priceless.
So the scene was set. We rose on Friday morning, loaded the car, packed lightly and set off for the Lake District. We walked and talked and explored and cycled and swam and played table tennis and drove across the hills and cruised to his playlist and went to the pub and slept very well and drove mistakenly on to Walney Island and played hide-and-seek in Egremont Castle and, finally, arrived at the Falcon complex after lunch on Saturday. This would be a quest to remember!
Spookily, it was as if he was reading my mind, as I had secretly been pondering some kind of impulsive weekend getaway and wondering how favourably he might react. Priceless.
So the scene was set. We rose on Friday morning, loaded the car, packed lightly and set off for the Lake District. We walked and talked and explored and cycled and swam and played table tennis and drove across the hills and cruised to his playlist and went to the pub and slept very well and drove mistakenly on to Walney Island and played hide-and-seek in Egremont Castle and, finally, arrived at the Falcon complex after lunch on Saturday. This would be a quest to remember!
The venue is tucked away in the residential estate just outside the town centre in Egremont. We arrived a bit early and watched a bit of football on the TV in the clubhouse lounge (Man United, my boy's team, were hammering Swansea 4-0!) and hung around kicking a ball in the field until kick-off. There is no 'gate' or fee, just roll in and watch as you have a pint!
I chatted to a welcoming regular, who was impressed that I had come all the way from Durham. I think he presumed that I was accompanying today's visitors, Hartlepool, but actually I always support the hosts on my quests: it would feel wrong not to. He also mentioned Windscale's local rivals, Cleator Moor Celtic (the 'big' team in the area), who were currently top of the league. For Windscale, the season had not started quite so well, indeed I had watched them myself, the previous Saturday, getting knocked out of the Cup on penalties in Richmond.
The teams came out. Before the match, there was a minute's silence observed by all in memory of a terrorist atrocity in Barcelona that week. As football people, everyone there would know about Barcelona and, quite possibly, some of the unfortunate victims may even have been in the city to visit the Camp Nou, as my boy and I had done a couple of years ago.
A customary toot of the referee's whistle broke the silence and we were off!
For the first half, we settled behind the away goal at the far end of the field. The grounds were recently mowed and clumps of drying grass were everywhere. My son admired the tiger-striped kit of the away goalkeeper, an uncharacteristically short man for that position but very competent. Behind his goal, there was a tall but tatty netting, an attempt to prevent the ball from landing in someone's garden, and we pitched ourselves alongside it in a good vantage point. During breaks in play, most commonly for seemingly continuous injury and cramp interruptions, we kicked our ball and my son showed off his tricks.
For the first half, we settled behind the away goal at the far end of the field. The grounds were recently mowed and clumps of drying grass were everywhere. My son admired the tiger-striped kit of the away goalkeeper, an uncharacteristically short man for that position but very competent. Behind his goal, there was a tall but tatty netting, an attempt to prevent the ball from landing in someone's garden, and we pitched ourselves alongside it in a good vantage point. During breaks in play, most commonly for seemingly continuous injury and cramp interruptions, we kicked our ball and my son showed off his tricks.
The match was an even contest, the home side being positive and the visitors absorbing the pressure assuredly. Chances at both ends, equal determination, and the referee issuing cautions without prejudice. The home team lost a man to injury early on, perhaps broken by the frenetic pace, and the visitors soon broke the deadlock with a fine set piece goal. Windscale played on, using their wingers well, but never forcing the Hartlepool keeper into trouble. 0-1 at half-time.
We had another kickabout during the break, using the training nets left out alongside the clubhouse and changing rooms. As the players re-emerged, we drifted around to the far side of the pitch and settled on the shallow grass bank, snacking and chatting as we watched. Intermittently, there were brief flurries of light misty rain, so we drew on our hoodies and cuddled up.
The second half was much like the first in terms of possession and creativity. As the game wore on, Windscale in particular were increasingly attracting the referee's attention, and were in danger of losing their discipline and potentially losing some of their eleven.
As the game progressed, the home team's mood turned from frustration to joy, as a well-worked team goal drew them level. In the dying minutes, they were gaining the upper hand but never quite managed to grab a late winner. Honours even.
As the game progressed, the home team's mood turned from frustration to joy, as a well-worked team goal drew them level. In the dying minutes, they were gaining the upper hand but never quite managed to grab a late winner. Honours even.
We wandered back to our car and set off for home. We briefly détoured via Cleator Moor so I could get my bearings for the trip there at some point soon. Grabbing a sandwich etc on the way, we headed eastwards to the accompaniment of my son's playlist and reminisced on a great couple of days just goofing about. This had indeed been a special Quest and it would be long in the memory for entirely non-football reasons.
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