Setanta Shield, First Round, 25 October 2007
Stalybridge Celtic 0, Blyth Spartans 0 (AET Blyth Spartans win 4 - 3 on penalties)
A: This is your action news reporter coming to you live from the Setanta Shield First Round. Pardon me sir, do you see what happened?
B: Yeah I did. I saw a goalless draw taken to extra time and penalties with every ounce of drama you could think of. Four men ran on to the pitch from the Popular Side with 10 minutes to go, half a dozen teens had a fight just before extra time, and worse, the floodlights cut out during the penalty shoot out.
Today’s blog entry would have had a more mundane title like “Stalybridge Celtic on TV” had it not been for four streakers, in a game that was remembered most for anything other than the game itself.
Firstly, the match. The first 90 minutes was a typical ‘Bridge v Blyth clash with the visitors’ nine man defence scuppering ‘Bridge’s shots on goal. Not only were Stalybridge Celtic unable to score, but Blyth too had their share of fluffed chances. The words ‘night’, ‘of’ and ‘misses’ sprung to mind, and this continued for the best part of 2 hours. Just before half time, ‘Bridge keeper Paddy Gamble saved a dodgy penalty.
Secondly, the counter attractions. With the game itself being a glorified exhibition clash, the game dominated more by four streakers! Two males invaded the pitch in the chuff, with another two stripped to the waist. Just before the start of extra time, a fight broke out at the Town End with half a dozen ‘fans’.
Just to cap it all, the penalty shoot out itself was a fiasco. The referee decided to use the Town End for the penalties, but within seconds, the floodlights at the Town End switched off. Five minutes later, the shoot out commenced at the Mottram End in front of the Blyth fans. Blyth went on to win the penalty shoot out thanks to two misses from the ‘Bridge players.
For me, the man of the match was Paddy Gamble, who was unfortunate to have been on the losing side after saving two penalties. Simon Garner, the sponsors’ man of the match came close. I would say that Adam Bartlett was a worthy man of the match for the Blyth side.
Attendance: 840
Referee: J. Pollock (Maghull), 6/10
Match rating: 2/5
East of the M60 Comment:
Last night’s event was more akin to an episode of ‘Phoenix Nights’ rather than the first round game of a league cup tie. I found last night’s game unreal. I wondered if the whole match would have written off as quickly as Bobby Ewing’s ‘death’ in ‘Dallas’.
On entering work this morning, I found a couple of others who saw the car crash which had a competitive game thrown in. I even thought to myself before the match ‘it’s not real’, placing this in the same category as the last televised game at Bower Fold (a fictitious match for Weatherfield Rovers where one episode of ‘Coronation Street’ saw the team’s mascots fighting). Sadly, it was, and we were shown up in front of a potential 100,000 viewers watching on Sky Digital or Freeview.
The streaking was entertaining, though only for 30 seconds. For the next 30 seconds, this did nothing to the outward image Stalybridge Celtic’s reputation as a non league club, through the eyes of the Setanta cameras. The fighting added further dents to the image of the ‘Bridge, as did the floodlights failing.
Further news of fighting reported on the ‘Bridge forum exacerbated this more giving the neutrals a feeling that 1980s hooliganism was alive and well. This too aroused ridicule from the supporters of rival clubs. As a result, half a dozen police officers lined the exit of the Town End, with two tactical aid vans on Mottram Old Road. This was not a good advert for non league football. I would sooner have idiot free Tuesday night matches in front of a reduced gate with real fans rather than opportunist hangers on and troublemakers.
However, what could have gone wrong did go wrong - more so off the pitch instead of on it. The ‘Bridge side, despite numerous shots saw their play stifled by Blyth’s nine man defence - in spite of an improved performance compared with the earlier league fixture.
Following on from Thursday’s match would be a huge test for a ‘Bridge side which wanted extra time in the same way I needed a lobotomy. Not to be content with this, their next game is away to AFC Telford United, an in-form team reformed by their supporters, following the predecessor’s bankruptcy. I shall be fearing the worst at the New Bucks Head on Saturday.
S.V., 26 October 2007 (with apologies to Ray Stevens for references to ‘The Streak’)
