Up’ards take upper hand as they make decisive late break
SCENES AFTER FIRST DEADLINE GOAL FOR YEARS
A BRIGHT and breezy day welcomed back one of Shrovetide’s biggest ever crowds, who had turned out in the hope of seeing some Shrove Tuesday action.
And while it was very much a slow and steady game, the outcome could not have been more exciting for the Up’ards, who clinched a goal at 5.32pm – minutes before the secondball deadline.
The second turner-up was Jim Conway and the game extended into the night.
Slow play had been the order of the day as the game entered its early stages, following a slightly late 2.05pm turn up by poppy fundraiser Bay Spencer.
Shaw Croft became a battleground for a brief time, before the ball headed to the car park’s north east corner and into Madge Mews for a time, but it wasn’t long before the ball was heaved out and across Park Road.
Once in the Fishpond Meadow it was only a matter of time before the ball reached the river, and water play ensued. It was relatively shortlived, but a brief burst of action in what had otherwise been a slow and steady game.
The battle in the river was won by the Up’ards, though, and their relentless surge began as the ball entered the recreation ground.
This large expanse became a mudbath as the huge swell of followers crowded the hug, which used the Henmore as a route through the crowd – and it continued, slowly but surely upstream.
It took perhaps another hour before it breached the hedges into the next field, and then it remained static again for a short while, before there was finally a positive break at around 4.30pm - and it went the Up’ards’ way.
And then a surge began.
Field by field, following the line of the Henmore, it edged closer and closer to the goal at Sturston.
As progress was made by the
Up’ards, the Henmore became a useful tool, as the ball could be properly played as the crowds looked on from the bank.
But the Henmore plots a meandering course to Sturston Mill, which made progress slow for the Up’ards, who were throwing everything at keeping the Up’ards from reaching their goal.
But the pace continued. Crossing by crossing, field by field, the Up’ard onslaught continued.
And then, at 5.32pm, the inevitable happened. A goal for the Up’ards, clinching victory just as the 6pm second goal deadline was looming large.
James (Mont) Lyon took the honours and brought an early victory to the Up’ards.
Just as the News Telegraph was going to press, the committee started to prepare a second ball and a second turner-up, ready for the first second ball in many years.