Odds and Sods from the Midweek

...When the wife's away Mr Smiffy will play - well that's the usual plan - but unfortunately work is not that simple - I could have gone wild this week - Oldham Boro on Wednesday and Curzon Ashton on Thursday - hang on ... I did get up to the Oldham Boro v Daisy Hill game - 15 minutes late (to be told Oldham 2-1 down) - no more goals in the first half - and the club was shut - I buggered off to be honest !!   Anyway here's a pic of Nick Alexander who scored the equaliser after I'd gone  ...

Thursday - a chance to go to Curzon Ashton ... but no - I'm just knackered ... crazy really - wife's away but I'm just not up to it ... Thursday's  photo is not pretty - trains do travel at fast speeds ... just outside of Mossley station ..

We reckon it's a fox ..

Anyways... to cheer you all up - here's Mossley AFC on Wednesday at half-time ...

Saturday football ???  Curzon Ashton at home to Halesowen - the fight for play-off positions continues ... or Mossley v Clitheroe (a meaniningless end of season game) - we'll see what time I finish work ...
.

Mossley v Harrogate RA

"Hong Kong Phoey" puts a stop to Rio ...

...  'twas the nght when Mossley's play-off ambitions fell away ...

Pics at 

Mossley 2 Harrogate RA 2

Hey ho - when you weigh up money - which sadly at even Evo 1 level talks - Mossley have had a tremendous season - we could sit down and pick out the games where points have been lost (Brighouse away springs to mind for me - because I was there !!)  - but hey ... a team with pretty much none of that money that Salford City, Darlington 1883 and Spennnymoor have got ... have done very very well.

Scary thing of course this time of the season is ... you hope that they can keep the same squad together for next season - but the pessimist will always say that players will be poached ... even managers can be poached ... and then it's start from scratch all over again - we'll see ....
.

Stalybridge Celtic v Boston United

 Michael Powell has just equalised for Celtic ...

... and onto the next "cup final" !!!

Worst possible start for the home team - as in a "Golden Goal" time of 1 (one) Minute !!!  For a while it looked like it was going to get even worse - Boston well on top and creating chances galore.  However as it moved towards half-time - and remained at just 0-1 - thoughts were moving towards the second half (probably after a half-time toasting from the boss of course !) when Celtic would be playing downhill.

And so it was - Celtic got back into the game - a triple substitution brought on more attacking options as well - and the equaliser from Powell was no more than they deserved.  Pics from game at

Stalybridge Celtic 1 Boston United 1

Still not out of the woods yet - some surprising results meant Celtic slip one place - just outside the bottom three.  However they do have a vital game in hand, and two of their final three games are at home.

We shall see ...
.

Mossley v New Mills

 

Mike Fish lets fly ...

A Monday off work - however there was a leg of lamb in the fridge - and Mrs Smiffy doesn't do roasts (!!), so travelling was out of the question (my excuse for not being at Guiseley !!!).  A long day out locally mind - I went for the "Seven Hour Slow Roast" option, thus enabling pre- and post-match refreshments !!!

A lovely spring day as well - gloves not required !!  Mossley needed the points after the Saturday slip-up at Lancaster - but relegation-haunted New Mills did not make it easy (a few ex-Mossley players in the team made it that much more "personal" I guess - however it took most of the first half before Mossley finally made the pressure tell with a goal from (eventual MOM) Tom Pratt.  A second goal early into the second half made the points safe - it was pretty comfy after that IMHO !!!  Pics from the game at

Mossley 2 New Mills 0

(Plus a few from the apres-Match tipple down at the "Britannia" ... when a couple of immaculate Harley Davidsons turned up).  Left before the Man City debacle - but the lamb was perfect - just fell off the bone !!!
.

Easter Sunday Walk ...

 Looking down on the fast-flowing Strid ...

A dry day - so why not ??  A quick drive up to the Yorkshire Dales - park car at Bolton Abbey (£8 ?? A touch pricey !!!) and a wander "over the tops" before descending and returning along the River Wharfe.  Pics at

Wharfedale Walk 05Feb15

Back to football today - Mossley v New Mills is the "order of service" ...
.

Stalybridge Celtic v Harrogate Town

Celtic match winner Aidan Chippendale ...

... the latest in a "short line" of cup finals for Celtic in their attempt to avoid relegation ...

A fairly even - if low-key - first 20 minutes sparked into life with two goals in six minutes ... with Michael Powell turning from hero to villain in that short time !!  All square at half-time and Celtic kicked off downhill knowing that only a win would do.  It came - eventually - with what has been described a a "freak" winner by Aidan Chippendale with only a couple of minutes left (although if you actually look at my picture of the "cross-cum-shot", the facial expression - to me anyway - says that he meant it !!).  So ... three more points for Celtic - and with Brackley, Leamington and Colwyn Bay all losing - the "great escape" is still on ... pics from the game at

Stalybridge Celtic 2 Harrogate Town 1 

Easter Monday sees a trip to Guiseley (never a happy hunting ground for Stalybridge) - but who knows ?? If they show the same fight and passion that was shown on Saturday - you never know.

Mossley's play-off aspirations took a bit of a nose-dive with a 1-4 away defeat at Lancaster City - similar for Curzon Ashton with a surprise 0-1 home defeat to Nantwich Town.  Ashton United meanwhile continue to make progress with a 2-0 win away at Stamford.  Droylsden suffered a 2-5 reverse at Darlington - no game for Hyde.
.

Ashton United v Witton Albion

 Ashton's Gary Gee - in "stylish mode" ..

Home from work - to find my five-minute walk up the road (viz Mossley v Harrogate RA) had been called off due to the torrential morning downpour (tell me about it - I was out in it !!!!).  Not to worry though - the Ashton United game had been called "on" so it was up to Hurst Cross for me.  A fairly even first half  - OK Ashton probably edged it (one disallowed goal as well) - but hopes were high for the second half.  In the club at half-time we watched some footage from the Bury game that was abandoned due to some horrendous weather - and sure enough that same weather made its way down from Gigg Lane to Hurst Cross - I've stood out in some pretty awful weather before now, but the deluge had both me and Noah cowering under the stands - and I don't think anyone could argue with the ref's decision to knock it on the head after 65 minutes ... some wet and dry pics from the game at

Ashton United A Witton Albion A

It will be interesting to see if tomorrow's game at Curzon Ashton goes ahead - more awful weather today with the promise of more to come - we wait and see ...

P.S. Well done to Glossop North End - another trip to Wembley awaits (sadly I don't think I'll be able to make it this time around ...).
.