Harton & Westoe CW v Gateshead Leam Rangers

Venue: Harton & Westoe Colliery Welfare FC, Low Lane, South Shields NE34 0NA
Kickoff: 19:30 Wednesday 30 August 2017
Weather: dry, cool evening

LOCATION REPORT

SatNav: NE34 0NA
Staff: elder gents on the tickets and programme + clubhouse bar etc
Parking: onsite carpark, 70+ spaces incl disabled
Public transport: Buses along John Reid Road

Refreshments: clubhouse, two storey building with elevated views of cricket pitch, licensed + food
Toilets: clubhouse
Stands/Terraces: long roofed shelter alongside (with old dugouts inside!), pvc lean on barriers on three sides with open long flank onto cricket pitch
Floodlights: 4, each corner

MATCH REPORT

Approx crowd: 30 in first half, but then around 50 turned out for second half, drifting out from the clubhouse bar. A few kids incl a couple of toddlers with dads (midweek evening not very kid friendly) + one dog for a bit.

Full-time [h/t] score (colours):
3 [1] Harton and Westoe CW (white and blue), incl 1 pen
1 [0] Gateshead Leam Rangers FC (yellow & green)

Bookings: 3 (Leam, scything tackle + 2 x bad tackle)
Sent Off: 2 (Leam) abusive language to official + scything tackle, both straight reds

Official Match Report

NORVENMUNKI's COMMENTS

It was my first taste of midweek action in the Wearside League, and I can at least say it wasn't boring.

On arrival, I parked up next to the muga where several guys were winding up their session and walked past the older gentlemen playing early-evening bowls.
There was definitely more bowlers than football fans, but a pleasant crowd of mixed ages, mostly male, settled in to enjoy the game.

The ground is set within a housing estate, and throughout the evening several balls were lost in the back gardens of adjoining houses. I wonder how many come back?

The pitch was freshly mowed and very very short, almost like a tennis court. It's actually part of the outfield of the cricket pitch which was still in late summer use. One flank had no barrier but emptied out onto the cricket pitch and at various times the players had to run a long way to retrieve the ball.

The match commenced and straight away the overriding factor was conversation: on and off the pitch, lots of talking, including some forthright industrial language, and a fair amount of talking back to the referee and assistants.

On the field, it was competitive and intense. Harton took the lead after a mix-up in the Leam defence, with the left back passing feebly back to his keeper and a Harton striker turning in gratefully. I was surprised how there was not much team sympathy to the hapless defender from his colleagues. Isn't this a team game? 

Later, this may have been festering inside him as he shouted a spontaneous frustrated obscenity at the referee and got a straight red card with just thirty seconds to go to half-time. A moment of stupidity at the stupidest moment.

During the break, the night fell almost immediately and a chilly breeze picked up briefly from nowhere. As I was only dressed in my short-sleeved shirt, and foolishly had no jacket whatsoever, I did have to brave it out for the second period.
I sheltered under the long covered hut along the length of the pitch behind the dugouts. evidently, the old dugout shelters had been saved from the renovations and bizarrely there were shelters inside another shelter.

After the restart, the visitors came out fired up and caught their hosts napping after just a minute with a far post header from a well worked cross. Harton were furious with each other. The shouting intensified and both sides scented victory.
Then Leam gave away a silly free kick and a booking. From the kick, Harton shot on goal and the keeper spilled the catch into his own net. He then punched the post in frustration, which was at least a punch on target!

Now, Leam were losing their heads. Their captain, a tempestuous man with a disdain for officialdom, lunged in stupidly and intentionally on a Harton midfielder... straight red number two, deservedly so. The away side were now down to nine. Then almost immediately, yet another Leam man hacked an opponent and could easily have been dismissal number three!

Despite their lack of composure and increasing lack of numbers, Leam pushed for equaliser. Football-wise, they were actually putting some good work together, despite being two men down. If only...?
However, inevitably, late on, a tired Leam tackle in their area conceded a penalty, which was duly dispatched as the keeper stood stranded.

The game ended 3-1 to the home side. As a spectacle, it wasn't the best advertisement for this level of football, but at least the honourable team prevailed. I assume that the Leam Rangers team will have to reconsider what they put in the players' drinks, because something definitely got them fired up tonight. Soon, I shall make a trip to visit them at home, and I guess I will be able to judge whether this was just a night to forget for them.

GBA rating: yes.