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Saturday, May 21, 2011

My Matchday - 289 Newtown Park

Bo'ness United 0v4 Linlithgow Rose
East Region Super League
Saturday 21st May 2011

My final trip of the season was in Scotland for the big title six-pointer in the East Region Super League, probably the country’s biggest game of the day apart from that small matter taking place at Hampden Park.

I arrived in Edinburgh at 1pm where I was greeted by Squad#155 James Little who was taking me to Newtown Park, the home of Bo’ness United for the big local derby with Linlithgow Rose.
Bo'ness/Borrowstounness, is a coastal town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland on the south bank of the Firth of Forth, 17 miles north-west of Edinburgh and 6 miles east of Falkirk. Bo'ness is now chiefly a commuter town with residents travelling to work in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Falkirk, but historically was a centre of heavy industry, coal mining and a major port.

The B.U.'s were formed in 1945 when former Scottish League club Bo'ness merged with the junior club Bo'ness Cadora. The club joined the Edinburgh & District League, which they won three times in their early years as well as lifted the Scottish Junior Cup in 1948. Two further league titles in the 1950s and 1960s plus more success followed in the Junior Cup, lifting the trophy in 1976 and 1984, as well as adding four East of Scotland Cups to their list of honours.
Bo’ness were East Region Division 1 champions for a second time in 2007-08 winning promotion to the East Super League and are the current title holders. Last season the club went on to the win their first League Championship since 1969, leading the table from beginning to end, clinching the title in a thrilling final league match against their feisty rivals.

Newtown Park has always been home to Bo’ness United and has been a football ground since the 1880s. The ground has a capacity of 7,500 made up of terracing on three sides with one side of cover. The Main Stand is no longer used for spectators as it’s been declared derelict and is only used as the team changing rooms. The classic looking wooden structure had elevated seating with a standing paddock at the front with blue wooden supports and beams.
Opposite is the terrace enclosure which cost £80,000 and runs in length between the two 18 yard lines. The stand has a silver frame with the club name and crest on its fascia. The terracing behind the goal is made up of 15 gravel filled steps and at the far side is a grass bank with four crash barriers. There’s also floodlights behind each goal and the ground is finish off with a white brick perimeter wall

For the second successive year the two fierce rivals met with the title up for grabs, but this season it’s both clubs challenging for the league, locked on the same points with the BU's having a superior goal difference.
I must have caught Bo’ness on an off day because they didn’t look like a team at the top of the table, maybe the recent hectic schedule has taking its toll as they were comprehensively beaten by their old enemy’s from down the road.
Linlithgow took the lead half way through the first half when Nelson latched on to a deflected shot to fire home and they continued to press with some top class saves from the United keeper keeping the slender score line at the interval intact.
Two minutes after the restart Tommy Coyne capitalised on a goalmouth scramble to double the lead and from then on they were never in danger of letting the lead slip. Herd latched on to a free kick to nod home on 63 minutes and McLennan capped off a fine performance with a fine effort from a tight angle five minutes from time.
A Bo'ness victory would see them needing only a single point from their final two games to clinch the title, but this victory for Rose means that the BUs, assuming Linlithgow win their final match against Bonnyrigg, need maximum points from their remaining fixtures.

So the title race is still wide open but on the evidence of this display it’s Linlithgow Rose that look championship material.

The drive from Edinburgh to Bo’ness and the return journey included a liquid stop at The Duddingston Arms in Newton. On arrival back in the Scottish capital James recommended the CAMRA award winning Halfway House where I enjoyed a lovely pint while waiting for my train. A special thanks to James for suggesting visiting Newtown Park and making it possible by chauffeuring me through the busy Edinburgh traffic.

Apparently the world was due to end on this day at 6pm, the same time as I boarding my train home meaning my demise could have happened on foreign soil! Of course this Camping balderdash was grade one bullshit, so alas this means I’ll be back next season to add to my grounds total and inform my dozen or so readers of where, why and how it was all done.

Update
The following weekend Bo'ness retained the East Super League title and will play in the Scottish Cup again next season.

They won their final game away at Forfar 2-0 whilst at the same time Linlithgow lost 2-4 at home Bonnyrigg in the Battle of the Roses, a match which my travel companion James attended.

Matchday stats
BUFC 0 LRFC 4(Nelson 22,Coyne 47, Herd 63, McLennan 85)
att.700.est(TBC)
Admission £5
Programme:none

Ground no.289 Newtown Park - Matchday Web album (21 pictures)

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

BlazBlue Continuum Shift II Box Art Censored in US

Since this has been nagging me for a while now, I figured I might as well post about it. Back when I heard BlazBlue Continuum Shift II was coming out for the 3DS, contrary to some skeptics (aka my husband), I was actually quite excited about it. See, we played the original BlazBlue Calamity Trigger together in the arcades when we were living in Japan, and the series brings back lots of fond memories for me, even though we never ended up purchasing Continuum Shift for the PS3 when it came out. With Continuum Shift II coming out for the 3DS, I figure it'd be killing two birds with one stone since I don't have any particularly enjoyable games for my 3DS yet and I'm long overdue for a new BlazBlue game.

Honestly, I haven't really been keeping track of BlazBlue. I know they added a couple of characters for Continuum Shift, and figured they'd probably add one or two more for this release. Now that I've seen the Japanese box art for the game, I dare say I've seen a little too much of the game's new characters.

Japanese box art with a lovely sleek black logo bar and...

Hm, well, I guess that's cute? I think she's supposed to be a squirrel. I really am not impressed with her clothing design and whoever decided to make her breasts larger than the other characters on the cover. I'd like to see more of the old guy with the seriously pointy beard–I seem to remember he was a vampire buddy of Rachel's in the first game. I have a feeling he'll probably be similar to Guilty Gear's Slayer.

It seems as though I wasn't the only one who was a little displeased by the Japanese cover choice, as the US box art is much more covered up (hah, I can't help it, the bad puns just make themselves).

US box art is a little more tasteful

I have to admit, though I do like the positioning of the characters so that the one girl's barely covered breasts are no longer a focal point of the image, but I actually dislike the American cover as a whole because it seems too cluttered (and I've gotta say, that black 3DS logo is nice). I think I also preferred the BlazBlue logo in the center, rather than to the side. But we can't have everything, right? Which one do you prefer?

BlazBlue Continuum Shift II is coming to the 3DS and PSP on May 31st (pushed back from the 24th) in both Japan and North America

Around The Alliance - part six

286. Stocksfield Sports Ground
Stocksfield 0v2 Shankhouse
Northern Alliance Premier League
Wednesday 4th May 2011

Stocksfield is a village situated on the south side of the River Tyne in south-west Northumberland, between Newcastle and Hexham.
Stocksfield Sports Ground is a large complex consisting of cricket, rugby, floodlit 5-a-side courts and three football pitches. The football club use the pitch at the far side in front of the Newcastle-Carlisle train line, which is fenced off on three sides with one side left open to accommodate a second cricket pitch, there’s also a pair of neat wooden dugouts in front of the Tyne Valley line banking.
The cricket pavilion is used for changing facilities and there’s a large car park at the entrance, although this was full due to both cricket and football taking place on the same evening.
The club formed in 2005,winning the Pin Point Personnel Amateur Cup the following year and made progress with two promotions in 2006-07 and 2008-09.
Their first season in the Northern Alliance Premier Division last term was played at the vacant Kimberley Park in Prudhoe, but the reformation of Prudhoe Town has meant a return to Stocksfield.

Shankhouse grabbed a well earned win with a goal in each half, with a cross-come-shot from Gustard on 13 minutes and sealing victory five minutes from time with a lovely goal from Dormand, the striker connecting with a corner kick to volley the ball home from inside the box.

Between the goals both sides created good chances, but the visitors deserved the three points, hitting the woodwork and missing a few one-on-ones which would have made the score line look more handsome.

Matchday stats

SfFC 0 ShFC 2(Gustard 13, Dormand 86)
att.27(HC)
Admission and programme:none

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287. Derwenthaugh Park
South Shields United 2v3 Stocksfield
Pin Point Recruitment Charity Cup Final

Thursday 12th May 2011

Derwenthaugh Park is found west of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead on At Well Road in Blaydon. The ground was built on wasteland on the former site of the Derwenthaugh Coke Works for Swalwell Juniors in 1998. The facility has two full size pitches both with dugouts, with the main pitch fully fenced with floodlights and some hard standing. There’s also a large function room with changing rooms and four floodlit astro turf 5 a side pitches.
Swalwell Juniors comprises 18 teams, made up from kids between the ages of 6 and 17. The senior side has played in the Northern Alliance Second Division since 2009 and the club also run a reserve team.

Swalwell FC played hosts to the Pin Point Recruitment Charity Cup Final, the competition gives financial support to good causes and charities in the north east.
The Charity Cup will be renamed the Bill Gardner Memorial Trophy from next season as a mark of respect to the league's long serving Press Officer who passed away in December 2010.
The final turned out to be a cracker and a proverbial game of two halves. Shields were the better side in the opening half, looking dangerous when breaking forward with their pacey strike force. They took the lead on 39 minutes when Aristote Guerin seized on a loose ball in the box then just prior to the half time whistle, a goal to grace any cup final. Tijan Kah picked up the ball wide right, outpaced the defender, pulled off a few lollipops before unleashing an unstoppable and precise drive into the top left hand corner - a tremendous goal!
So 2-0 at half time and the team in the Blyth Spartans reject strips looked set to lift the trophy, but a Glenn Caygill header on 56 minutes halved the deficit which began a great Stocksfield comeback.
Ten minutes later Scott Johnson’s hard work and persistence paid off, poking the ball home from close range before the fight back was completed five minutes from time, substitute Martin Graham finally smacking the ball into the net after an array of missed chances.
Stocksfield deservingly win the cup but it’s a shame that Shields United, having already tendered their resignation from the League couldn’t go out with a bang by lifting the trophy.

Matchday facts

SSUFC 2(Guerin 39, T Kah 45) SfFC 3(Caygill 56,Johnson 66,Graham 85)

att.130.approx

Admission with programme:£2
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288. South Newsham Pavilion

Blyth Town 2v1 Harraby Catholic Club

Northern Alliance Premier League

Wednesday 18th May 2011

I featured Blyth Town in the third part of the Around The Alliance series in May 2008. At the time the club had problems with their pitch and were giving special dispensation from the League to fulfil their fixtures over on the South Beach pitches.

So after three years I’ve finally got around to revisiting the club at their home turf against Cumbrian based Harraby Catholic Club, the only club in the Alliance Premier who I’d previously never seen in action.

South Newsham Pavilion has two pitches, the main ground is fully railed off with a pair of Perspex dugouts. The pavilion has bar facilities and changing rooms, there’s also a 5-a-side court behind the nearside goal.
At one point I thought there was no football to be had. Harraby still hadn’t turned up by the designated kick-off time of 6.30. The team bus finally arrived at quarter-to-seven having been stuck in traffic, which meant the match was ok to k.o. at a later time of 7pm.

Blyth took an early lead through Hopwood with a header at the far post before an equaliser on 26 minutes, Wordsworth was left unmarked to nod home a left sided free kick.
The match was finely poised and could have gone either way but it was the home side that clinched it, Haig capitalised on a defensive mix-up to skilfully round the keeper and shoot past the covering defenders on the goal line.
Overall quite a good game, which is usually the case and it’s very rarely a disappointing affair when watching games around the Alliance.