Dave
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Post by Dave on Mar 15, 2009 0:35:47 GMT
On a sunny but windy afternoon at Cricketfied Road, it was good to watch pure football. No I do not mean football that was played in any pure way,but one where there were 22 young men all playing the game because they loved football and even had to pay for the privilege.
No over rated and over paid players on the pitch, no property people running the two clubs, no board room power struggles going on, just two teams plus managers and helpers who worked only for their love off football as well.
I waited for kick 0ff and opened my bottle of thick milk shake I had brought from home, how nice to be able to put the top back on my bottle, I lit up a cigarette and enjoyed smoking it and I never had to worry about any yellow lines.
The game ended with Maldon winning by seven goals to nil, Ant is getting more match fitness back, but maybe has lost just some of his pace, but he has not lost any of his class on the ball.
Cleverly beating a defender and putting through a ball the likes Of Green or Benyon would love, saw the first goal scored. Ant then scored two himself and one was a header, he does not score that many with his head, another great assist and he came off as his job was done for the team.
A game played in very good spirit by two honest teams and no backroom gossip to have to deal with, what ever happened to football when it went professional.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2009 19:29:31 GMT
Dave, glad you enjoyed the game. Why Cricketfield Road, Torquay - or is there another one?
Weather permitting, there's always a game of football on a Saturday afternoon, isn't there? That's what makes the game different. You might like your golf, boxing, tennis, athletics, WWF, formula one, modern pentathlon - or whatever - on the telly but try finding it down your local rec thirty-odd Saturdays a year!
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Mar 15, 2009 19:40:41 GMT
Maldon always play at Clennon Valley and Ant was not sure why it was played at Cricketfied Road, to be honest here I was very torn in the morning yesterday as TUFC had a game and I really wanted to watch Ant play, it was not to hard to upset me yesterday due to things in my life going on. I should have said that Teign Valley nearly got the opening goal, what a pitch that is, with its dip in the middle and the goal mouth at the school end going up a big slope. The ball was pumped up to the edge of the box, a maldon defender was trying to head it back to the keeper. Only he had come out too far and saw the ball go past him toward the goal. It looked certain to go in, but it ran out of legs on the final part of the slope. To think all we have to worry about at Plainmoor, is poor refs and linesmen.  |
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Mar 15, 2009 19:50:10 GMT
it was played at Cricketfied Road, Which I believe to be the same pitch that Torquay United played on for four seasons 1906 to 1910. They played on an undersized pitch closer to the cricket square in the 1904-05 season, moved across to the other side of Cricketfield Road (now houses) for the 1905/06 season before settling on what is now Upton's pitch in 1906. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2009 20:06:18 GMT
But were there any Bastows in those teams of just over a hundred years ago? And did those Bastows in ancient times....
Teign Village is a curious little place - a sort of industrial workers community built, I think, for people who worked in the local quarries (although I've also read it was for mine workers from the mineral mines in the hills above Hennock).
Our opponents in the Devon Senior Cup semi-final in 1921/22 - as I hope Jon will confirm - and one of those places where Merse probably picked up an injury at some stage.....
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Mar 15, 2009 20:15:36 GMT
But were there any Bastows in those teams of just over a hundred years ago? And did those Bastows in ancient times.... The Bastows of a hundred years ago used to play for Ellacombe up at Plainmoor. |
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Mar 15, 2009 20:18:01 GMT
Our opponents in the Devon Senior Cup semi-final in 1921/22 - as I hope Jon will confirm Confirmed. |
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merse
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Post by merse on Mar 15, 2009 20:36:10 GMT
Cricketfied Road, ................................ what a pitch that is, with its dip in the middle and the goal mouth at the school end going up a big slope.  What a bloody disgrace that with all that history and after all these years Cricketfield Road is still an absolute joke - both for cricket and football. I've never known a town with such a big population provide such piss poor facilities for it's sportsmen. Not only Cricketfield Road, but KGV, Steps Cross, Stoodley Knowle, to name but four; are a sad indictment of sport in the area in 2009. I mean, it would only cost peanuts to grade and level those pitches so that serious football could be played on them instead of the Thirld World facilities they provide now. I've always hated Cricketfield Road from the time I put my back out there just running backwards over some stupid drop on the other pitch that Upton Vale and (was it?) Torquay Villa used all those years ago.....................if I had known then what I know now I'd have bloody sued Torbay Council!  We spent the afternoon at Mill Hill Park - nowhere special -but somewhere I identified as where Anthony would get a kick around with local kids whilst Olivia could play on the adjacent swing park and ride her scooter whilst Bijou (struggling on crutches at the moment) could sit nearby in the sunshine at the terrace cafe. She spied a "Torbayesque" pitch high on a hill in the distance and exclaimed excitedly "alors, football sur la montaigne!" or something to that effect, and took some convincing that playing the beautiful game on such a grotesquely sloping pitch wasn't a stunt for comic relief. I'm sure the last time I passed Cricketfield Road I noticed that the all weather and floodlit pitch that Torquay United had installed many years ago at Audley Park School had disappeared amongst all the building work.......would I be correct or mistaken? |
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Mar 15, 2009 20:42:25 GMT
Not sure if the all weather pitch is still there merse, the times I used to go there to talk to players like Derick Dawkins. Our council has just ordered a very expensive study to be carried out to see if the sports faculties we have now, will be suitable for our requirements in ten years time. I wrote and told them they were not suitable for our requirements 10 years ago, let alone for the next ten years. As expected I did not receive a reply.  |
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chelstongull
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Post by chelstongull on Mar 15, 2009 20:46:13 GMT
But were there any Bastows in those teams of just over a hundred years ago? And did those Bastows in ancient times.... The Bastows of a hundred years ago used to play for Ellacombe up at Plainmoor. Darren per chance??  |
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merse
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Post by merse on Mar 15, 2009 21:02:57 GMT
I'll never forget Mike Green's thunderous face the first time he took the players to use that new "all weather" facility during a period of constant down pours. They had to abandon training after it came to light that when it rained, the surface held all the "road holding" qualities of an ice rink! 
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