Castleton Gabriels (Part 1 of 3)

The latest report from the Blackburn and Darwen Robins comes from the bottom-of-the-table clash at Castleton Gabriels in November.
So, there we were delivering the mail at 10-30 on Saturday morning when I received a call saying that the kick-off time had been brought forward by an hour because of floodlight problems. There was no way that I was going to go without food from 4-30 a.m. until 2 p.m. so I dumped the rest of my letters through the nearest letter box and headed home. As I got back into my car and drove off I could hear an old lady shouting behind me, “Oy Mush! Come back ‘ere. One of these letters is mine but the other 500 aren’t!”
“Sorry Grandma, I’m in a rush, put them into the box outside the post office.”
Home for breakfast then picked up Auntie Sheila and Jimmy ‘Mad-Dog’ Hughes in Darwen. The size of the crew was rather depleted as Billy and Andy were at Highbury to watch the Rovers, Dave was in India and Michelle had a ‘do’ on in the evening. Arrived in Rochdale at 1-40 to an empty ground which was no surprise as Castleton don’t get much of a crowd and last time we were here, they didn’t even open the turnstile until two minutes before kick-off! Two minutes before kick-off we were still waiting when an old fossil in a Castleton Gabriels track suit turned up.
“Come on you old goat, we’re freezing to death here, get the b*****y gate open.”
“We play our home games at Oldham, this ground won’t be ready until next Saturday,” replied the geriatric.
We all dived into the car and sped off in the general direction of Oldham and amazingly made it for kick-off. The gates were open and no one was there to take our money so it was in for free-hurray! Unfortunately there were more people at Castleton than at Oldham and the players outnumbered the supporters, and even worse was to come as the Gabriels secretary collared us and demanded the entrance fee. As the game kicked off on a dreadful surface, mainly long grass and mud but with a frozen patch on one side, the Robins attacked down the slope and soon got on top. Cheered on by an amazing 18 supporters (from a crowd of 32), we were three up inside fourteen minutes. A Khan shot was saved by the keeper only for Eastham to follow up for number one. A cute lay-off by Hill was buried into the top corner first time by O’Neil, then a great move ended in a cross to Eastham who made it three with a fine finish. By this stage Harwood were knocking it about like Real Madrid in their hey-day, and Castleton were in total disarray. Salty arrived at 2-10 for a 3 o’clock kick-off just in time for number two so it could have been a lot worse for our Altrincham supporter’s club branch.
Once in front the Harwood players really turned on the style and the watching Chadderton spies must have been very worried at the prospect of playing us the following week. A couple of great blocks by the keeper and a magical back-heel off the line by the centre half kept the score respectable by the break and it could have been even better for the home side as they missed a sitter in injury time when the centre forward dragged his shot wide when clean through.
At this point we were numb with cold as the wind had been blowing into our faces during the first half. Pity that the snack bar was closed, but I suppose that with the size of the usual Castleton following, there wasn’t much point opening up. Having said that, the Secretary did invite all the supporters to join him for a coffee in the board room at the break so well done to him. Kicking up the hill and against the wind, we knew that a quick goal for Castleton would bring them back into the contest but it was Harwood who continued to hold the upper hand and after a couple of close shaves, a ball down the middle put Khan though. Despite the thick clinging mud and two defenders snapping at his heels, Yakoob showed strength and determination to stay on his feet, waltz round the keeper, and bury it for number four.
This was more like it from our heroes but after about an hour’s play it went very dark and we were all nervously looking at our watches to see how long there was left. Secretary Mark Jones ran over to the League Assessor to find out how long we had to play before the result stood. “70 minutes,” came the reply. Thankfully, it brightened up, much to the annoyance of the Gabriels officials who were asking the ref. if they could go off for ‘bad-light’.
Probably because the players could hardly see, it took us until 75 minutes to score again but it was well worth waiting for. A fabulous run right across the edge of the box by Dennis Hill, cutting in from the right wing, ended with a slightly deflected shot which finished in the ‘postage stamp’ giving the keeper no chance. Four minutes later another great run, this time by Ryan Fisher, was finished off with a cracking shot into the bottom corner. By this stage Castleton had lost the plot completely and it was just a question of whether we could reach double figures. For the final 10 minutes or so, the contest was an embarrassment as the Castleton players retreated faster than an Italian Infantry Regiment and the Harwood team created a hatful of opportunities which all flew inches wide or high. Some unbelievably bad finishing and fine blocks by the keeper also kept the score respectable until the referee put the home side out of their misery with the final whistle.
The Reds were cheered from the field but the general consensus was that we had blown our chances of the club’s best ever win of seven clear goals. As it was, we equalled the 6-0 win against Daisy Hill a couple of years ago and if we can keep this side together, then a seven goal win was a distinct possibility before the season’s end.
We shot off straight after the game so that we missed the shopping traffic and approached Belthorn 20 minutes later. Stopped off at the excellent Dog Inn for a pint of one of their many guest ales. We were met by the usual friendly greeting and an even friendlier real log fire. Underneath the logs was coal supplied by David Fenton Coal Merchant, supplier of all types of coal and smokeless fuels. That’s….
David Fenton, Bolton Road, Bull Hill, Darwen, Lancs.
Let’s face it, gas and electric fires are O.K. in their own way but you can’t beat the glow and warmth of a real fire. If you want to stay warm this winter then give David a ‘coal’.
Now then where were we? Oh yes, sat in front of the fire in the Dog Inn savouring a pint of Hen Harrier, and very nice it was too. Just then my phone rang. “When will you be home, I’m ready for my tea?” Complained the old dragon. “Oh, sorry Pet, we’re stuck in a traffic jam on the M.60, must be the Christmas shoppers, we’ll probably be home in an hour, bye.”
She’s so gullible she’ll believe anything, tee-hee!
“Right Auntie Sheila, get ‘em in.”
The phone rang again, it was Michelle. “Howd’ we get on?” “6-0” I said. “Never mind, perhaps we’ll get a point next week,” she replied!
It’s not often that we have cause to celebrate a big away win, and in fact it was the first league victory by more than a single goal this season.
If you missed it, well hard luck! Most of the Harwood faithful were there to see it and it was a fitting reward for their loyalty during the disappointing first few months of the season.

Castleton Gabriels (Part 2 of 3)

The final trip of last season for the now famous Blackburn and Darwen Robins was to Castleton Gabriels, which is near Rochdale.
Unfortunately this fixture clashed with the Rovers game at Leeds and consequently meant that the following was rather less than normal. Mark, Gordon, Jimmy and Billy all chose Elland Road so it was just Fat Dave and me.
First port of call was the Superdupercaringsharingbargaingrabbingmoneysavingsexyunbeatablefriendlymarvellouslovelyquitegood Co-op Superstore on Queen Street where we picked up more bargains than you could shake a stick at. We set off for Castleton quite early as we didn’t know the way to the ground. As it happened, the Non League Directory was up to date so we found the ground without any problems. With an hour before kick-off, we decided to park up and walk into the town for something to eat. On our way we were accosted by one of the ‘local yokels’ who asked us, and these were his very words;
“C-c-c-can you t-t-t-t-tell m-m-m-m-m-m-me the way t-t-t-to the C-c-c-c-Castleton –s-s-s-s-s-school of s-s-s-s-stuttering p-p-p-p-p-p-please?”
“Blimey pal,” chirped in Fat Dave, “You don’t need to go to school to learn how to stutter, your b-b-b-b-b-b-b-brilliant at it already!”
We carried on to the town where we had a pint and some chips before returning to the ground at 2-50, where we found the turnstile still locked-no wonder they don’t get much of a crowd, they can’t get in. The gateman did eventually arrive-at 2-58 and as usual, around half of the ‘crowd’ was made up of Harwood supporters.
The pitch was very bobbly and both sides found it difficult to put more than a couple of passes together. The first chance was created by the home side when Daryl in goal shouted “keepers ball!” and then proceeded to get nowhere near it, allowing a Castleton forward to nip in and put a simple chance high and wide.
The next chance came when, after a cross from the left, our intrepid goalie grabbed hold of a forwards ankle, bringing him down for a cast iron penalty, which was rifled into the roof of the net.
Considering that we had just 11 players to choose from, no subs. and no Matt or Easty up front, it was hardly surprising that we took time to get things moving, but after half an hour we gradually took control and the final 15 minutes of the half was played out almost entirely in the Castleton half. If that period of play was one-sided, then the second half was a rout with wave after wave of Harwood attacks. The equaliser, when it came, was one of the best goals of the season. Some great play by Chris Heslop and Paul Walker on the left wing resulted in a tremendous cross to the far post where Foggy stormed in to volley right footed into the net. The onslaught continued and it was no surprise when we took the lead around 12 minutes later. A right wing corner by Chris was driven towards the back of the six yard box where the impressive Anthony Green powered a header into the net.
Despite more fine attacking play and some near misses we could not add to our total and Castleton equalised against the run of play with just two minutes left on the clock. The Robins poured forward in search of a deserved winner but it was not to be and considering our depleted ranks, it was still a point won as opposed to two dropped.
The final 5 away games saw us win 3 and draw 2 to give us our best return for years with figures of P 17 W 5 D 5 L 7 F 23 A 35 PTS 20.
Into the club for a drink and to find out more good news, a Rovers win at Leeds and a 7-2 home defeat for Burnley (Tee hee hee!)
Most of the regulars were at Castleton and the usual following of 20-40 may not sound too big but at this level it’s as good as anyone’s. If we can keep the majority of the squad together for the coming season then I’m sure that we can double that following as we strive towards our goal of promotion. If you’ve been reading these away day columns regularly then you’ll know what a good time we have so join us soon for a great day out.

Castleton Gabriels (Part 3 of 3)

20-09-03

The latest away for the famous Blackburn and Darwen Robins took us to Castleton Gabriels for the second time in just a few months. The usual mode of transport was out of action, so it was up to Michelle to get us to Rochdale. We picked up Big Dave ad then went down to Thomco on Delph Road to get them to sort out some building work. We only deal with quality which is why Thomco is the company we use.
Because we knew the way, we were there in plenty of time so we decided to have a look round the town.
“Let’s find a chippy,” said Dave. Amazingly, the first person we saw was the same geek who we met in the town last season. Regular readers of this part of the programme will remember how we had a laugh with the Castleton s-s-s-s-stuttering champion.
“Hey pal, where’s the nearest chippy?” Asked Dave.
“You’re the hooligans who t-t-t-t-took the p-p-p-p-Mickey out of me last season aren’t you?”
“N-n-n-n-n-n-no way!” Said Dave
“We’d never m-m-m-m-mock the af-af-af-afflicted. Now just tell us where the chippy is or you’ll be needing a dentist not a stuttering school!”
Our little chum coughed up the information and we were soon tucking into fish and chips, and in Dave’s case, fish and chips three times! Got to the ground in time for a pre-match pint and to find the club almost entirely populated by Harwood fans. The turnstile man opened up the ground much earlier than last term, 2-52p.m., which left us plenty of time to deck out the ground with scarves and the flag. The pitch had a couple of holes which were so deep that the ref. must have thought twice about letting the game go ahead, the one in the goalmouth must have been at least two feet lower than the rest of the playing surface.
The Reds started the game on the attack and continued to dominate throughout the 90 minutes. Matt in particular was on fire and could have scored a couple before he eventually gave us the lead with a great piece of skill. He repeated the magic before half time and the Castleton players must have been desperate for the half time whistle.
The second half was just the same with Harwood dominating the midfield, devastating in attack and having a doddle in defence. Two further goals from Matt, the first of which was a real corker, completed the scoring, and the 4-0 scoreline flattered the home side. A very poor crowd was made up of at least 50% Harwood fans who thoroughly enjoyed their afternoon out.
Castleton are really struggling at the moment but they didn’t lie down, didn’t start employing nasty tactics and battled to the end. We at the Showground know how difficult it is to run a club at this level, and with the limited support that the home side has, it must be a nightmare to keep things going. Well done Gabriels and let’s hope that better times are coming soon to Butterworth park.
If you missed this great win, you missed a treat. Matt isn’t going to be here for ever so I suggest that you all get along to Blackpool in Tuesday and cheer the Robins onto another victory.

Rally round the robins!

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