Housery

Cresswell Wanderers  0  Newcastle Town Reserves  5 (abandoned 45 minutes)

Staffordshire County Senior League – Division One

Admission / Programme - No / No

I’ve been checking back through my records of games attended, specifically to have a look at reasons why matches have been abandoned.

Predominantly they have been weather related, but I have had a few floodlight failures, some serious injuries and even a stand roof blowing off. I’ve had one abandoned for fighting, and another when a referee decided he’d had enough of the players giving him grief, so he just called it a day.

I’ve had a couple of odd ones as well, I saw a Derbyshire Senior Cup tie abandoned at 90 minutes, when it should have gone to extra time, but I think that was a referee balls up if I’m honest, and of course the infamous game at St Helen’s Town when the floodlights were on a timer and they went off as a player ran up to take a last minute penalty!

What I’ve never had before though is a case whereby a team decided they simply didn’t want to play any more……..when I say never had before, that was before I went to watch Cresswell Wanderers!

Hednesford Fives is a 4G venue, in Hednesford, that’s in use for Saturday football for what appears to be the first time this season. Not one but two sides use it, namely the aforementioned Cresswell, and Cannock United, who I thought had decided to call it a day a couple of years ago when I saw them ship seventeen against Shifnal Town, but it appears they’ve decided to resume hostilities again!

So, a game every weekend basically at the venue as both sides pay in the Staffordshire County Senior, albeit it different divisions, and with no other viable options on the agenda, I decided I liked the look of the First Division clash between the aforementioned and high flying Newcastle Town Reserves.

It’s an easy run, in fact I went via Alrewas, Kings Bromley and Rugeley, given the side of Hednesford the ground is on, and upon arrival the scenery was largely unsurprising.

A large car park behind the goal, with a good sized building which it seems contains a tea bar and a booze bar, but that obviously only opens during the week when countless numbers of five a sides and kids events are taking place. You’ve got a raised viewing area behind part of the goal, while access inside can be had about two thirds of the length of one side. The rest is caged, secured, painted green etc, etc.

Cresswell Wanderers, I’m not overly familiar with the history, but back when I first started out on this anoraky journey in the mid noughties they had a side in the West Midlands Regional League, where they had a four season spell before departing. Back then I seem to recall they played at the Four Ashes ground just off the main road that links the A5 and the M54, not far from where Wolves Casuals play. I did go to it but I think it was for a Wolverhampton Development home game on an August Bank Holiday. Digression aside, they have now resurfaced again.

So, what actually happened then?

It became clear from the word go that Newcastle Town Reserves were a class above, they were a young, fit and athletic side, probably a division too low for their ability, and the outcome had a certain inevitability about. As the first half progressed, the goals started to go in, but credit to Cresswell, they didn’t give up, and they didn’t result to petulance or become disinterested.

In fact, and this is what I think sparked the issue, in the closing stages of the first half, albeit five nil down at this stage, they pressed and were perhaps harshly dealt with when they should have won some big decisions, but the referee, who I thought had been fine up to that point, elected to wave away their appeals.

As the half time whistle went, the players trudged off and I decided to head to my car to listen to the radio, but time went on, and on, and on. There were no signs of any players coming back onto the pitch, so I thought I’d go and investigate.

I spoke to a visiting official who promptly told me the game had been abandoned. Apparently, the Cresswell manager had been sent off for something he said while on the way to the dressing room, and upon that he declared that because he was the only ‘qualified’ person at the ground who could sit on the bench, they weren’t able to complete the game without a coach / manager present.

Now, I’m no expert in the finer points of management and coaching requirements at what is effectively Step 8, but I didn’t realise it was an essential requirement to have a qualified manager or coach on the bench at all times. In fact, with respect, is it mandatory to have a qualification to manage an adult team at that level of football? Are we saying if a manager is suspended or ill, the game has to be postponed?

Either way, I have my thoughts and the overriding one is that at 5-0 down, and having been shown a red card, he decided he was going to have the final say. I understand the Newcastle management team did plead with the referee to rescind the red card to allow the game to finish, but it wasn’t happening.

So that was it, game over, it will either have to be replayed or the result might be allowed to stand, which would be the fair thing to do in Newcastle’s case, but that’s a decision for the league to take.

Upon that we all went home.