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It was a delight to return to a much-loved club for

Saturday 7th September 2021
FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
Silsden   0   v   4   Eccleshill United
Gordon Greaves (Leeds); Fotios Skoutas, Jamie Farnsworth.

Since the last visit, Silsden have installed a new stand - less atmospheric, perhaps than the old, low wooden one, but offering a better view and more comfortable seating, with no danger of splinters in awkward places. Fortunately the atmosphere remains, the Ancient Sages mustering for a new season - even JCFC was greeted as a familiar friend (which must surely have been a mistake.) There was pre-match debate as one Sage started to give directions to the wrong Bottesford for their forthcoming away trip. Fortunately the Blessed Margaret was there to put him right.

As the teams lined up for the ritual "handshakes" it became clear that JCFC's belief that anyone called Gordon must be contemplating retirement was disproved as Mr Greaves proved to be tall, slender and  ... YOUNG. He was doubly badged, as was AR1 (no idea which assistant was which) who could however possibly have benefited from a haircut. AR2 was well-groomed on the other hand, but totally badge free.

It quickly became apparent that Silsden had a cunning plan - to lift the ball long and hard over a flat Eccleshill defence. This might have been more successful had
a) the target man been more mobile
b) the Eccleshill keeper not quickly cottoned on to this. He made one good block, but otherwise simply proved an effective sweeper/mopper-up.

Though Silsden were dominating the territory, a plan B was clearly needed. Sadly, there didn't seem to be one. The keeper's refusal to throw the ball to defenders and wingers did not meet with the Sages' approval, nor, presumably that of his team mates, who soon stopped making themselves available. Eccleshill did force the home keeper into one leaping save. After a series of unusual-looking (but not necessarily wrong) offside decisions from AR1, one of the Sages asked "What is she on about this time?" and received the answer from another "It's a he, a he with a basin haircut." Eccleshill created a chance but shot over the bar. At this point one plaintive voice commented that there had been more entertainment in the stand than on the pitch.

Things could only get better and they did - if not for the locals. They did have the ball in the net seconds into the second half, but AR2 had already raised his flag for offside, a decision that was not contested. A bad defensive error saw Silsden pass the ball to an attacker, but their goalkeeper managed to rescue the situation. A corner was headed in on 58 minutes to give the visitors the lead - and goal number two was not long delayed. A splendid passing move on 74 minutes brought Eccleshill their third, which the Sages greeted with genuine appreciation. The yellow card for the Eccleshill number 12, was greeted less appreciatively by its recipient. Eventually Silsden number 7 - by far their best attacker - had a good run, but the Eccleshill keeper again proved equal to the task. On 87 minutes an easy break down the right resulted in a cross to an unmarked attacker, who aimed wide, perfectly judging the angle for the in-off from a defender for the visitors' fourth. Mr Greaves, being a charitable soul, blew for time after the bare minimum of added time.

It had been a slightly mixed afternoon for Mr Greaves. There appeared to be a possible degree of inconsistency in his triage - but the fact that JCFC raised a quizzical eyebrow at the occasional decision would probably be cited as a guarantee of their accuracy by those who have endured his past attempts at refereeing. One late tackle seemed to be missed (the advantage of being very late?) and the keeper took up the cudgels on his colleague's behalf, loudly and disparagingly berating Mr Greaves, who chose to ignore it. His posture, both static and in movement, looked less assured than it could. On the plus side, there were no major problems: for the most part he related well to the players and regularly deployed a large grin. He and his colleagues will doubtless have learnt much from the, not unfriendly, advice of the Sages - which is more than the Silsden players seemed able to do.

One query remains: has the possibility(introduced a few years ago) of an offside free-kick being taken in the offender's defensive half been removed? AR2 flagged for one such, clearly indicating a spot in the "wrong" half. The ball was duly placed, but an outcry from the Sages of "It can't be from there" led to its being moved back into the "right" half.