GREY HERON & MALLARD, BIDFORD-ON-AVON, YESTERDAY, 30TH MAY 2023...

 

THE HOBBLING BADGER, THE COOKED CHIP, THE SCUFFLING WOOD MOUSE & THE FOILED ESCAPEE... (Words about the badgers at Temple Balsall...)

 The Hobbling Badger, The Cooked Chip, The Scuffling Wood Mouse & The Foiled Escapee…

There was certainly a chill in the late May

Daylight, as the enclosed copse’s breezy feel

Baulked the fiery amber of a slowly setting sun.

Lingering dead leaves shifted and shuffled

As a shadowy mouse rapidly scuttled

Near the perimeter of the wood, astray,

Then stole inside a hole behind my heel.

And soon a badger emerged along a well trodden run…

It hobbled, its limp considerable and it suddenly sniffed

At a cooked oven-chip, from M & S, don’t you know,  

Then struggled gamely on, picking up food scattered

About, joined by another adult for a frenzy of foraging.  

And from a small hole nearby a cub, emerging,

 Gazed about, dazed like a wartime prisoner, miffed

That his patiently dug tunnel had fallen short. And his woe

Showed, for his escape from tyranny had been shattered…

Pete Ray

30th May 2023

It was rather cold in the copse, despite a dramatic, orange sunset.

A wood mouse rushed about amongst brown, crispy leaves, a limping badger fed but seemed startled by a left-over M & S oven chip, before gobbling it. 

Eventually a young badger looked out of a smaller hole, seemed uncertain of its whereabouts and quickly ducked down again…

    

THE EYES OF SERGIO BUSQUETS: words to celebrate his retirement from FC Barcelona...

 The Eyes of Sergio Busquets…

(Words to celebrate his retirement from FC Barcelona...)

Hangover eyes, bleary.

A gaze unreadable,

Like a priest’s during Confession.

Seemingly weary,

Lean, infallible,

Comfortable in possession…

Hypnotic eyes, shrewd.

A passing craftsman,

Like an artisan with great creativity.

Intelligent, astute,

Tall, a helmsman,

Schooled in reliability…

Hawk’s eyes, intuitive.

An unhurried architect,

Like an artist with an innovative mind.

Feisty, aggressive,

Slim, circumspect,

Simply one of a kind…

Pete Ray

Busquets has an uncanny and mesmerising ability to draw in opponents, then escape their attentions by turning away from them and distributing the ball to a colleague most of the time. 

Maybe it’s his half-open eyes which bewitch opponents…

He fouls up convention. 

He is like a defence lawyer finding loopholes in a prosecuting counsel’s evidence. 

He will fall under a slight challenge, of course, writhe on the ground like he has been wounded in a First World War trench when a stray boot touches a sock but he can also be adept at dishing out some unflinchingly cynical challenges of his own, without so much as a blink from his gazing eyes…  

He can squander possession, he has only scored very few goals for Barca, he destructs, he is a hatchet-wielder, he gets in the damned way. 

He doesn’t bother to sprint but rather lopes in a languid fashion, moving rather like the stick-insect a zookeeper once shoved down the front of my t-shirt at Newquay Zoo in Cornwall, England.

And best of all, he involves himself in bouts of short passing with team-mates and despite the fact that he is supposed to be marked by opposition team-players, one invariably notices that attention elsewhere frees 5 metres of space around him and that is all it has needed to feed the wands of Messi 

or Iniesta…

Brilliant… 

Those eyes see it all…

LYE TOWN 3-2 PERSHORE TOWN (Smedley Crooke Memorial Charity Cup Final @ Redditch United FC...): THE MOWDOG'S INDEPENDENT, LIGHTHEARTED, HONEST REPORT...

 Lye’s Tye Consumes Ripe Plums…

Lye Town 3-2 Pershore Town

(Smedley Crooke Memorial Charity Cup Final @ Redditch United FC)

The Mowdog’s thoughts…

Sam Tye rose unchallenged to head the winning goal for the Flyers, after the Plums had wiped out a 2-0 half-time deficit in this competitive Final played in bright and warm May sunshine at Redditch United FC.

It seemed harsh on Pershore because they had persisted with their patient passing game on the artificial pitch, prompted and enabled by Steve Webb, who must have made considerably more accurate passes than any other player on view. He did not deserve to be on the losing team…

THE TOSS...

Both teams were clearly missing regulars and Lye were forced to utilise Ben Billingham as a striker alongside the ebullient Zidane Sutherland. Both of those players scored in a first period which Lye had edged, although Pershore had squandered a few opportunities too.

Lye appeared to drop their intensity after the interval in the heat, which brought Pershore onto them and indeed, after James Baldwin had bagged a brace to bring the Plums level, he might have netted again to complete the turnaround for his team but he was denied by Lye gloveman Ben Newey.

POWER-JUMPING...

THE PANTOMIME HORSE HAS LOST ITS SKIN...

Nathan Scott then assisted Tye for the winning goal but the tall Lye skipper was criminally unmarked as he leapt like a salmon to head the ball deep into the Persians’ net…

At least a penalty shootout had been avoided…

A few players were cautioned during the latter stages of the game but it was sad that Persian forward Jamie Clarke lasted only a short time before taking a knock and being substituted.

JAMIE CLARKE WOULD BE REPLACED...

Thanks to Danny Janes, the Pershore manager (for the final time) and Lye’s Robbo, who both sought me out to hand me their team sheets. They didn’t have to do that with everything else going on, so it was much appreciated…

After being one of many good natured spectators to be shifted from the yellow grid area in front of the grandstand, fifty minutes before the game began and being strictly shepherded away, the match began and subsequently Lye would be presented with their, er, trophy. 

It was like a metal wine glass, which made the embarrassed Lye players’ celebrations appear a little muted, in truth…

BILLINGHAM (LEFT): CAUTIONED...

That first-half…

Following a near post flick by Lye defender Sam Hall from Sutherland’s centre which Plum goalie Scott Loader did well to keep his eyes upon and stop, Pershore made a few early inroads into the Lye defence.

Newey saved low from Josh Willis, Levi Steele managed a weak shot and another which was blocked, whilst Newey saved a low Aidan Clark effort and Jordan Jones drove wide. Much of the offensive play by the Plums stemmed from Webb’s industry. 

However, after a Max Ngbeken drive had been deflected wide, Sutherland struck for the Flyers. Jason Chilton slipped a pass through the inside-left channel and with the Pershore defenders appealing for offside, Sutherland ran on to beat Loader with a low strike.

1-0...

...& A GENTLE BOOGIE FROM SUTHERLAND (LEFT)...

The Persians wouldn’t go away however and Chilton blocked an Aidan Clark shot and then the replacement forward flicked at the ball at the left post with his right boot, only for Newey to scramble his effort behind for an unproductive corner. 

Billingham wriggled along the right byeline to win a corner for Lye, then drifted a long clipped shot over the target, whilst Hall headed too high for the Flyers. Webb’s fine drive for the Plums from downtown was then cleanly caught by the alert Newey.

Sutherland threatened again, before Billngham rounded Loader at inside-right but instead of feeding the totally unmarked Ngbeken in the middle, Billingham tried an angled shot which was cleared from the goal-line by the covering and in-form Plum defender Sam Clark.

And then Billingham struck, courtesy of Sutherland, who had broken through at inside-right and fired in a low shot which Loader had done well to block. Sutherland regained possession on the right side of the 18 yard box, Plum Jake Donnelly didn’t dare try to tackle the forward there, which allowed the number 9 to set up Billingham, 15 yards out, totally unmarked and his rising left-footer bulged the net…

2-0...

BILLINGHAM (10) CELEBRATES HIS GOAL WITH A GENTLE STROLL...

As Pershore attempted a response, Willis had a shot blocked by Kieron Northwood and Baldwin’s left-wing delivery offered Steele a really good headed opportunity but he aimed his effort straight at Newey…

The warm second period…

More chances were created by Pershore, certainly and indeed, only three times were Lye really able to extend their opponents. A clipped effort by Tye dropped past the left angle of crossbeam and vertical, a fine curling 25 yarder by central defender Ryan Bridgewater missed the right post but only just and of course, Tye headed the crucial winning goal.

He was poorly attended around the left edge of the 6 yard box as Scott’s neat right-flank centre curled towards him. Up went Tye, rising like steam from a boiling kettle and his fine header looped into the right corner of the net, with Loader unable to make an effort to save. 

TYE SOARED AS HIGH AS THE RAINBOW ON HIS ARM TO NET THE WINNER...

Earlier in the second-half, a curling effort by Plum Sean Cooke, who looked comfortable and tricky at times on the defensive left-side, only just missed the right stick, before Pershore scored. The nearby lines-person had the sun directly in his eyes and it did seem that Steele was mightily close to being flagged offside at inside-right but he wasn’t. His squared pass found Baldwin in the 6 yard box and he had the simple task of converting the ball for 2-1. 

BALDWIN CHECKS HIS HAIR AFTER SCORING TO MAKE IT 2-1 BUT IS STEELE (9) RESPONDING TO WIND?

A deflection took a Wills drive away for a corner then suddenly the Plums were level, courtesy of a smart Jordan Jones pass and another Baldwin finish. The midfielder’s cute pass sent Baldwin scurrying clear into the penalty-box, challenged by Jamie Ashmore, and the Plum winger cleverly tricked his marker to slot a measured right-footer into the right corner of goal. In fact the ball passed between the apart feet of the covering Hall. 

2-2...

BALDWIN (LEFT) THANKS HIS RIGHT BOOT...

Baldwin was sent clear again soon afterwards by Willis but this time the advancing Newey saved the forward’s effort with his legs. Willis drove a shot way too high, another Cooke effort was caught by Newey and with time running out, an Aidan Clark header went straight to the grateful Lye custodian…

The final words…

Lye always looked like they might have had more to offer, whilst Pershore improved as the game wore on, with Webb running the offence like a mature NFL quarterback. (Yes, I noticed the spectator wearing a Kansas City Chiefs shirt, numbered 15, named Mahomes, the KC QB…)

THE EXCELLENT WEBB (LEFT) & THE INDEFATIGABLE JONES...

Willis was more involved too and of course Baldwin enjoyed a profitable second period and might have nabbed a hat-trick. Plum defender Sam Clark was prominent alongside the determined Donnelly but Jamie Clarke’s neat hold-up play was surely missed when he left the proceedings hurt…

Billingham’s set-pieces were typically dangerous for Lye, for whom Chilton defended strongly, as did Hall and sidekick Bridgewater. Sutherland was given scant service if truth be told and really the stretched Flyers had been somewhat grounded by the Plums as the game neared its end.

SUTHERLAND IS BOOKED...

...AS IS DONNELLY...

Thanks to Redditch United for hosting the match but typically parking had proved tough for those arriving at around 12pm, for the main parking area was still being used by by folks connected to those who had been using the pitch before the Final was due at 1pm…

I was finally allowed to leave the ground by crossing the hallowed yellow lines when the metal gates were opened by stewards, one of whom was offered a padlock by a Lye supporter. 

The humour fell on deaf high-vis jackets… 

A SMALL CELEBRATION FOR A SMALL TROPHY...

It was a lovely day though…

It was…

It really was… (Quoting Chris Simms, ex-NFL Quarterback…) 

Yes, really…