HARD LESSON FOR LIVERSEDGE AS THEY ARE DEFEATED BY TEAM NORTHUMBRIA

LIVERSEDGE 1 V TEAM NORTHUMBRIA 4
FA VASE FIRST QUALIFYING ROUND @ CLAYBORN
5 SEPTEMBER 2015 3PM

CLAYBORN HOME OF LIVERSEDGE FC

[Check out the 'we all stand together' Facebook page for some pictures not used in the blog.]
A dominant first half performance by the Ebac Northern League 2 side saw them do enough to put Liversedge out of their stride despite a better second half showing from the home side.  But it was Team Northumbria who took the tie and go forward to the next round with an away trip to Nelson.
Footy match in a bit then and as usual for the visit to this part of Yorkshire Wakefield was the first port of call with a nice little change to the 269a Arriva to Bradford.  Having just by passed the edge of Ossett the bus came to a halt with a passenger not aware she had travelled well past her stop and as the driver tried to rescue this situation with little information to passengers on the upper deck we worked out the next bus was due to arrive so off we hopped and straight onto this one for the trip onwards.  Through Dewsbury and onto a busy looking Heckmondwike we soon passed through Liversedge and onto the neighbouring town of Cleckheaton which houses Clayborn the home of 'Sedge'. 

THE DOMINANT CLECKHEATON TOWN HALL

Having suffered this little delay it did knock us off stride and we decided time was too tight to visit a new spoons for us in the town.  As with most of similar Yorkshire towns we have visited over the last few months the town has an impressive town hall similar in style to many we have so far seen.  The town has a small Tesco with a plot of land adjacent purchased by Tesco now up for sale as the retailer scales back their expansion.  The current shop is based on the site of the former Cleckheaton rail station which was lost to Mr Beeching indeed the track base is now a walk and cycle way and something that with a little time to wile away after the game we walked back into the town on.
Having explored the delights of the town for half an hour we made our way back towards the bus station which site on the far side of The Memorial Park away from the town.  A footpath route was well planned and after a few shortcuts within 10 minutes we were on Quaker Lane right by the entrance to the ground. 


ENTRANCE DOWN TO THE PITCH

The lane to the ground is very tight from the main road and I'm not sure how car traffic goes on if there is a big attendance but todays gate of 81 probably did not test this.  The entrance brings you in on a height above the pitch with the rear of the 'bungalow' building that houses the bar/snack bar and changing rooms.
As we moved to the right of the building a smart entrance allowed us upon payment of todays £5 entrance fee admission to the ground along with programme and raffle ticket.  The initial greeting and impression here was warm with a nice welcome from the two Liversedge representatives on the gate.  The blog has mentioned this many times but it should be noted by other clubs a warm welcome means a lot and here 'Sedge' were well represented.

FOOTBALL AND COUNTRYSIDE

A difficult ground to explain here because the changing rooms and facilities sit higher than the pitch which is reached by a sloping walkway then a set of steps to the playing area.  To the right of the entrance is large and deep covered terracing with roof supports supplied by cut down telegraph poles, this part of the pitch is above the playing surface with a slop to the playing area.  Moving round to the far side you first of all notice some superb views back towards Heckmondwike and beyond. 

HALF TIMERS SNACK BAR

This side as flat standing and is now down at pitch level the two large dug outs are separated by a grounds mans breeze blocked unit.  The far goal again is at pitch level with hard standing behind.  Both goal lines have a fair degree of space between them and the perimeter spectator fence.  Back round to the final side of the ground and this side is well raised above the pitch with the a large three rowed stand decorated with smart old style wooden seats from Leeds Utd.  Its a very smart stand with again lots of room around the back for further development should it ever be needed also on the grass bank side is a scattering of benches and seating that offers a commanding view of proceedings.

NON LEAGUE TOILETS FEATURE

So we arrive back just short of our initial entrance and the bungalow which houses changing rooms, a nice bar which is comfortable and to the right hand side 'half timers' the clubs snack bar.  The latter it has to be did is very small for the lady operating the service today but needless to say the blog did sample the chip cob.
Toilets don't often feature on the blog except to say if they were clean and here they were nice and tidy but probably the smallest you will see at a game with a maximum capacity of 3 but a bit of a discussion on who is leaving first, very quaint.
The club display the teams by the clubhouse and the blog managed to secure them thanks to a man I guess was the match day secretary who proceeded to announce them from a roving microphone outside which was a good touch as at this level so many clubs don't seem to bother.

SONG OR TEAMS YOU DECIDE

Before the game it was good to have a quick chat with referee Nick Hawksby from York certainly a new referee for me on the hopping.
So down to the game and Liversedge had secured a good victory over Parkgate 4-0 last week and as a step 5 club would be expecting a progression to the next round against Team Northumbria from The Northern League Division 2.  The Northern League being out of the step structure it is difficult to assess where they be but with most believing the league covers step 5 and 6.  The visitors are aligned to Northumbria University a bit like Loughborough Uni in the Midlands Football League so we knew the players would be young, fast and fit.
The opening stages were tentative for the visitors and it looked as though Liversedge would be off to a good start that was until the visitors increasing possession resulted in a goal after 18 minutes Luke Hannant rattled a 20 yard effort in off the left hand up right.

TEAM NORTHUMBRIA'S DORMAND NEARLY LOSES HIS SHIRT

Things went from bad to worse for 'Sedge' 5 minutes later when Team Northumbria went 2 up following a sweet move with Gerard Richardson firing home.  The visitors were bossing the game with fast moving football when they had the ball and when they didn't hassling Liversedge out of possession.

The second period needed a fast turnaround from the home side and indeed they started with more purpose and it looked good that was until the visitors forced Liam Scott Bell into a good save in the home goal and then all in the space of a few minutes Hannant was denied a penalty before he hit the bar with a free kick.  But they made it 3-0 on 70 minutes Hannant floated in a free kick off the left and David Dormand headed home.

Liversedge gave themselves hope even if it was late in the day after 77 minutes when substitute Kieran Corley headed the ball back across the box for Tom Brook to nod home.

The game entered a controversial stage in the latter moments Liversedge front man Andrew Wood was put through and his 14 yard shot looked to crash back out of the goal of the stanchion but it later appeared that it hit the back stanchion from the wrong side of the post.  Vaughan Redford then crashed a header off the woodwork a minute later before the visitors made it 4-1.  We were into the third minute of stoppage time when Dormand broke through and as he shot the keeper parried to Joel Bradley who curled the ball home unmarked.
A cracking little game with an excellent win for the visiting Team Northumbria.
A final visit to the toilet block and a little walk back along the old railway line before departing on the Wakefield bus at just after 5.30pm and a visit to a ground the blog had wanted to cover for a little while.  It did not disappoint a lovely smart ground with excellent views and a friendly group of club officials make this a must visit.
Straight back from Kirkgate on an uneventful train save for hen party saw departure at base around 8.30pm with West Yorkshire producing another good afternoon.

DING DING ROUND 1