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Southport Trinity v Mallaby

8pm  8 October 2013

West Cheshire League, Division One
Southport Trinity 2 Mallaby 0 (att 19)

A visit to Southport Trinity's ground in Skelmersdale last featured on this blog in February 2012. Back then they played on a 3G pitch, now called the "south pitch", whereas they've since moved a few yards to the "north pitch", which apparently has a 4G surface.

Not all groundhoppers would count the two as separate grounds, but my rough rule is that if pitches don't overlap they can count as separate venues, and at the JMO Sports Park there are also a number of small sided pitches between the two.

In contrast to my last visit, when the venue was brand new and had the feel of a work in progress, tonight it was a hive of activity, with all the pitches seemingly in use.

Unfortunately on the pitch, at least on the north pitch, there wasn't much to enthuse over. Southport Trinity and Mallaby are the league's bottom two sides, and both looked short both on ideas and on the skill required to cope with the fast pitch.

My most memorable moment of a poor first half was getting a hefty whack on the side of the head from a stray clearance which rebounded off the cage-like fence enclosing the pitch. It knocked my glasses clean off, although thankfully left them undamaged.

After the break the game improved a bit, with Trinity scoring twice, the second from penalty, but although an extra new ground midweek is always welcome it wasn't game that will last long in my memory.




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