MY FIRST VISIT TO LYE TOWN IN 2011... A 5-2 WIN v WOLVES CASUALS: ARTICLE, IMAGES & REPORT...

My First Visit To Lye Town in 2011…

POSSIBLY MY FAVOURITE VENUE...

I managed to get through the gap this time, which had been in total darkness two years before, when a match had been erroneously announced as being due to be played on a Tuesday evening. At least I could see that there would actually be a match played on this cold March night. 

There was a bicycle shed. A notice informed me that all vehicles were left at owners’ risk. My car wouldn’t have gone inside the bicycle shed though. Odd, that… The club room was open but the entrance gate was padlocked, next to a wooden half-door, which would eventually drop down to reveal the cashier, who doubled as the programme seller. There was a rectangular hole in the blue-painted wood. It had a label. It read: ‘Post’. I liked that.

I had been chatting to a guy who reckoned that the Lye Town manager worked for him but it was 7.25pm when the entrance gate was unlocked. Sadly I was the first to pay, bought a programme, which was bizarrely blessed with two blank pages and was then directed towards a solid fellow, who had some team-sheets in his pocket. He was called Brian. I seem to meet a lot of Brians. It’s almost as if each day for me is a life of Brian…

I sat in the bar and copied out the names, some barely legible, naturally, then entered the ground. And was intrigued.

There was a cricket pitch too and the pavilion looked sombre in almost complete darkness. The Lye ‘keeper was heard complaining that he couldn’t see to warm up properly because the floodlights were not fully operational. I passed a blue hut, labelled ‘Board Room’ and then I saw the shed, without the lowly cattle, however. Its curved, high roof covered, er, small goal-frames, park benches and picnic tables. A set of steps rose away from a corner flag to a wooden fence and gate. I still don’t know why. I loved it though.

 The ‘grandstand’ should be a listed building, I reckoned. Large letters, painted white were emblazoned on the back wall, ‘LYE TOWN’ and the blue and the white benches reminded me of sitting in a rowing boat. The refreshments hut looked like my dad’s old shed. But not quite derelict. Suddenly a shutter rose to my sheer amazement and two men sold, er, refreshments. 

The meaning of the sign on the grandstand’s wall, which read ‘Stourbridge Rolling Mills’ is still beyond my knowledge but I began to realise that this ground hasn’t changed much for quite a while. I liked it, though. A great deal.

Lye were decent, Wolverhampton Casuals weren’t. Lye won 5-2, the visiting ‘keeper was lobbed three times, two of them counting as goals but the highlight of the evening, after he had netted an equalising penalty, was the Lye skipper’s rallying cry: 

“Keep f…..’ huntin’…” 

I liked that. Tactics were invaluable. I would go there again. 

It’s what I do…  

THE REPORT...

Determined Flyers Shoot Down Too Casual Wolves

Lye Town 5 Wolverhampton Casuals 2

Att: 30-40?

The scoreline of this game should have been more emphatic in Lye’s favour, for the home team missed several chances and saw many other promising moves break down around the penalty-box. The hosts were dangerous on the left flank, were quicker, attempted to pass the ball with thought and pace, yet were punished by two fine Casuals lobs, the first of which should not have stood. At 3-2, the visitors began the second-half with a couple of breaks but once the fourth goal had been conceded and skipper Turner had been dismissed, the traffic was heavy against them and neat striker Poyntz finally netted a goal that his distribution deserved. Wingers Priest and Foster were thorns to Wolves and Stevenson and left-back Dimmock marauders on the left, although skipper Whitcombe picked up much of the loose stuff in midfield and defender Slater never panicked. Casuals were simply outplayed.

A messy opening of misunderstandings by Lye and errors by Casuals’ left-back Tudor, preceded a nasty moment when Millward scythed Foster to the ground but Priest’s free-kick from the right was missed by large goalie Evans and the ball bounced off Whitcombe to safety. Two left-wing corners by Whitcombe led to headers clear by visiting striker Hancox, who was a trifle slow and cumbersome. The second clearance flew to defender Walne, whose fine volley rattled the crossbar from 15 yards. Slater’s neat defending led to a pass to the wily Stevenson, whose run took him into a central shooting position but Evans got down to save and sent a 14^th minute punt forward. Striker Habbershaw chased the ball, grabbed Slater and pulled him, the referee missed it and the forward forced his way past the defender and lobbed ‘keeper Harper from 19 yards. Neat finish but the pull was illegal.

Poyntz drove wide from 19 yards, following Dimmock’s left-wing delivery, Tudor’s chest-control was loose and he was dispossessed by Foster but Priest drove wide from the service. The Flyers deservedly equalised with a 25^th minute penalty, after Webb freed the tricky Priest into the penalty-area at inside-right; Tudor was easily beaten but the defender dragged Priest down and Whitcombe slotted a left-footed penalty into the left side of goal, as Evans fell the other way, like a large tree being felled in slow-motion. Lye were exploiting a weakness on Wolves’ defensive right and changes were made, enabling skipper Turner to move towards the right and right-back Plimmer to move into midfield but still Lye persevered and Stevenson’s diagonal pass set Priest free to work the left byeline again, appearing to be pushed over it by the stout Turner, although the officious referee ignored claims.

Good play from half-way to the Casuals’ penalty-area was too often spoilt by a weak or poorly aimed Lye pass, until the hosts took a deserved lead on 32 minutes. Whitcombe fed Priest, wide at inside-left and the winger used good trickery to work an opening towards the middle, beating a couple of defenders before drilling a fine low shot past the rather cumbersome advance of Evans and into the bottom left corner of the net from 16 yards. Whitcombe’s immediate battle-cry of “Keep f…..’ huntin’..” was bellowed then Habbershaw attempted to repeat his earlier feat for Wolves. This time, chasing the awkward Newman’s kick forward, the striker pushed Slater, before lobbing Harper again, from almost the same position as his goal had been struck. This time, to apoplexy from the Casuals’ bench, a foul was given.

Poyntz and Foster were unable to get to another Priest cross but the Flyers extended their lead after 39 minutes when the impressive Stevenson passed to Priest on the left and the winger beat Turner inside like he was a collapsing cliff-edge but tried a near post shot, Webb fortuitously managing to turn the ball home from a couple of yards. The inconsistent Foster, working against the unfortunate Tudor then failed to take a fine opportunity, getting under his header at the far post to sky badly, following Priest’s pass to Stevenson on the left and a decent delivery. Incredibly, the curse of the lob reared its head at Lye again, when Cavan Ellis was fortunate to keep possession in defence for the visitors, launched the ball long and there was gloved right-winger Pickering, 16 yards out, to lean into a left-footed volleyed lob over the hapless Harper, the ball bouncing into the net again, just a minute before half-time. The lobs would not Lye down. As the half expired, Evans, despite his height, but probably due to his bulk, failed to deal with Blakemore’s cross from the right, after smart play between Poyntz and Foster but the supporting Poyntz failed to get in a header at the opposite upright, after beginning the move.

3-2, somehow but Casuals were being outplayed at times by their lively, slimmer, lighter opponents. Their lob tactics had been successful thus far but with their wingers Pickering and Curtis Ellis flattering and arm-fluttering to deceive and the two bullish forwards lacking mobility, it was tough to see where their threat would materialise from.

Whitcombe wasted a couple of promising free-kicks at the beginning of the second period and maybe during these skirmishes, the visiting skipper Turner was cautioned, although I didn’t spot that. Whitcombe side-footed both free-kicks forward, the first into a crowd, ending with Blakemore’s wayward shot, the second simply hitting a defensive wall. Poor play by Turner ended oddly with Habbershaw breaking on the right for the guests and pushing a low angled delivery across goal but Harper made a meal of it, touching it on, leaving Hancox free beyond the far post but the striker’s lack of athleticism left the ball in the side-netting. Casuals managed a couple of breaks at this time but it was Lye who scored on 67 minutes.

Attacking at inside-left, Stevenson took a shot from 20 yards, which Evans got down to but unsurprisingly didn’t hold onto and Priest was hovering, as priests do, dummied the prostrate goalie and nudged the ball towards the right upright to convert from a yard. Wolves defended a near post centre from Priest well, Whitcombe fed Priest at inside-right, 18 yards out for a hat-trick shot but Evans managed to claw it away to his right then Casuals replaced the pedantic Millward and the arm-flapping Curtis Ellis with Mullins and Davis. In a rare sortie, Davis crossed low from the right for Casuals but Newman and the livelier Pickering couldn’t get shots in from around the penalty-spot then at the other end, Evans went low, after Stevenson nudged on Webb’s low cross.

A shocking pass by Newman straight to Whitcombe sent Foster running at inside-right but Evans blocked the forward’s drive and the rebound was scrambled clear. Smith replaced the useful left-back Dimmock for the hosts then Turner scythed Priest to the ground to earn a second yellow card and dismissal. Stevenson fed Whitcombe from the left flank free-kick and the skipper’s delivery to the far post was good but Poyntz smashed the ball over the far angle of bar and post from a couple of yards, admittedly at full stretch. A quick Lye free-kick led to Evans falling at Poyntz’s feet but the striker did net goal number five shortly afterwards, on 85 minutes, following an errant clearance by the tetchy Habbershaw, now filling in, hurt, in defence.  Priest slipped a neat pass left to Stevenson, who crossed into the 6-yard box, where Poyntz turned the ball past the statuesque Evans, who had spent much of the evening waving his arms in windmill manner. Postin then replaced Foster for Lye.

Stevenson broke onto the dangerous Priest’s pass but with two players unmarked on the far side of the penalty-box, Stevenson’s awful right-foot kick bounced to Evans. A hopeful 25 yarder by Casuals’ Davis was easy for Harper, who was probably pleased it wasn’t a lob, Mullins’ awful touch led to an awful foul by him and a caution then Harper’s kick led to a 19 yard effort by Poyntz, which drifted wide of the left upright. Webb, whose feet were still quick, put Postin into the penalty-box, right-side but the replacement drove too high from 16 yards and as Mullins’ poor play again lost him possession, he simply kicked an opponent but was incredulously awarded the free-kick. The game ended with a couple of fruitless corners for the dominant hosts and the points were so deservedly theirs. The Flyers capitalised on the sluggish Casuals, who were too casual for the type of team they faced. The coaches argued, the coaches swore and the profanity echoed around the old stadium, rusting the scaffolding even more under the grandstand’s roof. It’s what it does…