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Eastlands v Medlock Rangers

10.15am  24 April 2021

Manchester Saturday Morning League, Division One
Eastlands 6 Medlock Rangers 0 (att 20)

The Manchester Saturday Morning League has picked up where it left off since lockdown, with fixtures well into June in order to finish the league season. This was my final ground to recomplete the league, unless venue changes crop up in the coming weeks.

Eastlands have had a few grounds, and several names, in recent years. They're currently using a pitch at Lumb Lane in Audenshaw. As Saturday morning league grounds go it's not a bad one, it's a tree-lined playing field with a single pitch. The park is bordered by a canal on one side and the M60 on the other.

The drone of motorway traffic is ever present, although the referee was more concerned by the noise coming from the visiting bench (not that there was an actual bench). He had words with them after denying what might have been a first half penalty, and got so fed up in the second half that he threatened to abandon the game.

I'm full of admiration for people who give up their time to referee games like this. It's not easy, especially without official assistants running the lines, and, while they're bound to make mistakes, so are the players. It's what makes football what it is.
 
Fortunately he was persuaded to continue the match which was already well out of the reach of Medlock, who conceded three goals in each half. The defeat means they remain pointless at the foot of the league. They've still got two months of the season left to change that.








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