The Vine 4 Redmires 3 (League, 8th March)

NOT A VINE RESULT
On an awful pitch at Westfield School we arrived late for the game with some dodgy travel directions and barely had time to warm up. This was immediately apparent in the game as The Vine used the slope and the blinding sun to mount good attacks on our goal and we fell behind early on. We had a good chance to equalise but Ben Shaw’s shot hit the post and bounced out. Vine caught us flat footed a number of times in the mud and went further ahead when we were caught for speed .An own goal deflected in off Andy Jones made it three. Shaw was again unlucky when his free kick into the top corner was well saved by the keeper. We made a tactical change moving James Kirkham into the middle from right back and this gave us more stability at the back .We lost new signing Scott Arnold after 30 minutes with a leg injury and brought on Dale White in his place up front. We managed to pull one back when a Ben Shaw corner was met with a brilliant overhead kick by Nick Hickson to put us back into the game. HALF TIME 1-3. In the 2nd half we looked a much better team and we pinned Vine in their own half for most of the half although they were dangerous on breakaways. We made several good chances when we were one on one with the keeper but we just failed to score. The penalty area in their half was a real quagmire and it was difficult to get a good strike on the ball. Well into the 2nd half we managed to get a 2nd goal when  Andy Birks forced it in  from close range and we had several chances to get the equaliser via Dave Knaggs and White but it wouldn’t fall right. Unfortunately in one of their rare forays they managed to get a fourth and despite trying hard we could not get a break. We did score a 3rd in the dying minutes when their player put through his own goal following a move down the right.

Official view: Rikki Davidson hit all The Vine's four goals as they pipped bottom club Redmires in a seven goal thriller. Danny Seaman carved the Redmires defence open for Davidson to hit his first and Jamie Moore supplied the pass for his second. Davidson completed his hat-trick with just twenty minutes gone when he made the most of a chance provided by Will Blakeney, but instead of it being plain sailing after that Redmires hit back after half time when Nick Hickson scored with a spectacular overhead kick. The Vine's nerves really started to jangle when Andy Birks pulled a second one back and it was a good job that Davidson then headed home his fourth from Brent Healey's cross as an own goal presented Redmires with a third. Redmires might even have saved a point had Ben Shaw's effort not hit a post, but The Vine held on for three precious points.

Stannington Village 3 Redmires 0 (League Cup Round 3, 14th February)

DOWN AND OUT
After a number of postponements due to Stannington’s dodgy pitch the game eventually took place and as is typical of our luck we were unable to field anywhere near our strongest side with some key players missing and down to just 12. We had to play defensively and hope we could hit them on the break and we fulfilled the first part to great effect in the first half  where they couldn’t break us down although we barely threatened their goal. HALF TIME  0-0. We set up in the same way in the 2nd half but as always happens when you play on the back foot their pressure eventually told and we conceded after 15 minutes, this meant that we had to change tactics and go to 442 with Andy Birks going up front to help Luke Siggs. We looked a bit more dangerous but Stannington to be fair were well in control by now and it was a matter of time before they added to their score, which they did firing two more past the busy Karl Taylor. So once again we failed in the cup because of missing players. Very frustrating.

Official view: After a goalless first half, Macron Cup holders Stannington Village stayed on course for a return to Bramall Lane with three second half goals against fellow CBC Premier side Redmires. Lee Johnstone set up Tom Morton to score at the back post before Joe Barker got free down the left and crossed for Ali Mitchell to score at the near post. Sub Jack Ridge completed the scoring with a real cracker into the top corner and Stannington will now travel to Division Two Rivelin in the quarter final.

Redmires 2 Handsworth WMC 5 (League, 7th February)

FEED THE REFEREE SOUR GRAPES
A reasonably strong team out for this match against the divisions in form team. The match started badly for us when the referee Mr D. Foster failed to spot an offside which was at least 5 yards off, he seemed to put his whistle to his mouth but didn’t blow for some reason and they were left clear to score past Karl Taylor. We then began to attack them and press them into their own half and in one attack their keeper pulled Dale White down on the edge of the box. As the  keeper was the last defender he should have been sent off, but he received just a yellow card from Mr Foster and a free kick to us. Club then scored a 2nd before half time to put us two down. HALF TIME 0-2. We came out fairly determined in the 2nd half and Dale White pulled one back for us and the game swung to and fro until Mr Foster again made an horrendous mistake which cost us a 3rd goal. A through ball split our defence and keeper Taylor made a last ditch sliding tackle which sent the ball towards the touchline. To everyones surprise (including Clubs) the referee awarded a hotly disputed penalty to them. Taylor had clearly won the ball, and again if he had fouled their player he should have received a yellow card or even a red, but he didn’t, just a penalty award against us, which Club accepted with glee. Even the player who had been “fouled” came over to the touchline and said to their staff  “whats Fos (the ref) doing, he got the ball”. To our credit we shrugged it off and kept playing and Ben Shaw scored to put us back in it. However their 4th goal finished us off and they scored again towards the end. It is easy to blame the referee and it always sounds like sour grapes, Handsworth were a good side and good luck to them, but the referee had a very poor game.

Official view: Handsworth WMC continued their good run to climb up to fourth with a 5-2 win at Redmires. Handsworth took the lead when Robert Pratt’s free kick was cheekily backheeled home by Liam Simmonite and they doubled their lead before the break when Mark Ashton beat the offside trap before rounding the Redmires keeper to score. After the break, Dale White pulled one back for Redmires, but when Danny Leesley was fouled in the area he picked himself up to score from the spot and restore Handsworth’s two goal lead. Ben Shaw again pulled one back for Redmires, but Handsworth made the result safe when Scott Ambramski put Simmonite through for his second and Carl Eaton met Ashton’s cross for their fifth.

Redmires 2 Ecclesfield 147 2 (League, 24th January)

BOTTOMS UP
A tough match against the league leaders at Phoenix. We had lost 3-1 to them earlier in the season, but with it being the first match back since the 13th December the players who had trained well on Thursday were up for the game. With 16 players to choose from for the first time this season we were able to field nearly our strongest team, with good back up on the bench. In a tight first half defences were on top and the game swung to and fro without either team looking likely to score although 147 nearly scored but for a brilliant save by Karl Taylor. We also had our chances and Dave Knaggs went very close to scoring. HALF TIME 0-0. In the 2nd half sustained pressure by us forced a corner on the right which was taken by fit again Ben Shaw, as usual his great delivery set up Nick Hickson to head home from close range. This prompted a big fightback from a stunned 147 and pressure down the right saw Andy Birks adjudged by the referee after a moments hesitation to award a penalty to 147, which saw their striker give Taylor no chance of saving. This seemed to give 147 the boost they needed and although we were having the better attacks and were the better side , they scored and must have thought they had the game won. However, it stoked us up into probably our best performance of the season with all the players trying very hard. We justifiably got our reward when clever play by Knaggs saw him play a lovely through ball to Ben Shaw down the right and his shot found its way in past the keepers right hand post. No more than we deserved and at the end it was 147 who were hanging on to their lead.

Official view: The League games proceeded in earnest and in the Premier leaders Ecclesfield 147 looked to have an easy task against bottom team Redmires but things on paper do not always run to form and Ecclesfield soon realised this was not going to a pushover. In a tight first half defences were on top and Redmires perhaps had the best chances, but 147 could have taken the lead but for a brilliant save by keeper Karl Taylor. After the break it was Redmires who broke the deadlock when a pinpoint Ben Shaw corner was headed home by Nick Hickson. 147 came back and were awarded a penalty when Andy Birks was adjudged to have brought down Gavin Hunter in the box and Jayson Reeves gave Taylor no chance from the spot. This gave 147 the spur they needed and it looked all over when Matt Clark drove them into the lead. However Redmires were not done with and went close on several occasions before Ben Shaw latched onto a great through ball from Dave Knaggs to beat the keeper on his near post.

Redmires 3 Stocksbridge PS 5 (League, 13th December)

IT'S DEEP WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE
Stocksbridge have proved a bogey team to us in the past and this year proved to be no exception. Things started badly when we had a phone call at 10.30 am to say that the referee MR D MARCH was not going to be turning up because of having to go into work. Later transpired that this was not in one of the major services eg fireman, but in a furniture makers. This was the first time this has happened since last season which resulted in skipper Des Pike being badly injured, so there was some questions as to whether we should play with one of their chaps refereeing. The consensus was that we should and we were able to field David Knaggs who has just joined the team on the right of midfield. It was a match of changing fortunes with both teams having spells on top and well refereed by their fellow. We tended to shoot ourselves in the foot with some poor defending and found their centre forward who scored three goals hard to handle. Luke Siggs and James O’Connell (two) were our goalscorers and it was O’Connell who looked the star player for us. Knaggs showed some promising touches and could be a big asset to the team. A report has been sent in to Sheffield and Hallamshire about the non appearance of the referee but whether anything happens with it is open to doubt.

Official view: Stocksbridge Park Steels stayed fifth as a John Ward hat-trick helped them come from behind to win at Redmires. James O’Connell gave Redmires an early lead, but Stocksbridge were in front by the break. Steels extended their lead soon after the break, but Luke Siggs pulled a second back for Redmires. Any thoughts of a comeback were soon dispelled though as Ward’s hat-trick and others from Adam Todd and Mark Barraclough gave Steels the breathing space they needed, making O’Connell’s second for Redmires just a consolation.

Hemsworth Villa 1 Redmires 3 (League, 15th November)

SPECIAL K FOR BREAKFAST
To the great relief of everyone we were able to bring back Karl Taylor in goal for the visit to Hemsworth Villa. This meant that Luke Siggs could play out after his stint as deputy goalkeeper and he had an immediate effect when following a defensive error in almost the first minute he took the ball round the keeper to put us one up. Before Villa had time to pick themselves up another fast move saw Dale White outpace their defence to add another goal past the diving keeper. Redmires have never made such a good start in any game and it certainly boosted everyones confidence to new levels. Villa began to get back into the game and Taylor had to be assertive and show his good handling. With the whole team playing with confidence it was not surprising  that we increased the lead when a ball out to the left found Joe Gray in a good position and he cleverly clipped the ball over the keeper to put us 3 up. HALF TIME 3-0. As expected in the second half Villa turned the screw on us a bit and some resolute defending was called for although they never really had any clear cut chances. The confidence the goals gave us made us look a much better side than recently and everyone was playing their part. Villa in the meantime played some excellent football where they kept the ball for long spells but their final ball let them down time and again. We managed a few chances but couldn’t add to our tally and it was not until the last ten minutes that Villa managed to break us down to score their goal. This was a greatly improved performance with Des Pike the star player for us at right back but quite a few players gave good performances as is reflected in the scores.

Official view: In the CBC Premier, Redmires were quick off the mark to win at Hemsworth Villa and climb off the foot of the table. With Karl Taylor back in goal it allowed Luke Siggs to take his place up front and he quickly made the most of it to fire Redmires ahead. While Villa were still reeling from that goal, Dale White fired in a second and with just ten minutes on the clock, Joe Gray added a third. Villa at last began to compose themselves and began to take the game to Redmires, but Taylor was keen to show he had lost none of his sharpness in goal and was only beaten once when David Tollerfield scored near the end. More action from the game is shown below:

Redmires 1 Millhouses 6 (League, 8th November)

FARCE FOOTBALL
As we arrived at the Phoenix ground the overcast sky signalled what was to come . We were still way down at being at full strength with 6 players unavailable and Luke Siggs still having to continue in goal as all efforts to sign another goalkeeper to cover Karl Taylor’s 35 day suspension came to no avail. After the 2 minutes silence for Remembrance Day  the  heavens really opened and the torrential rain continued for most of the match. If the rain had come earlier it would have meant the postponement of the match as the pitch turned into a mass of puddles as the match progressed. Millhouses started off really well and were two goals up within the first half an hour. We had probably started off with the wrong system for the conditions and we were finding it hard to cope with their front men. Siggs pulled off a brilliant save to keep us in the game but with the condition of the pitch deteriorating rapidly Millhouses added a third before half time. HALF TIME 0-3. With all the players of both teams cowering under the small shelter there was no room for team talks as the rain lashed down. Gary Marsden came off with a groin injury  to be replaced by Stuart Mackley .We started to play a lot better in the 2nd half but despite a couple of chances we couldn’t find the net with their keeper keeping the ball out. The puddles on the pitch were getting worse by the minute  making the game a total farce as far as football was concerned with the ball continually being stopped by the pools of water . The referee Mr Scarborough  maybe should have taken the initiative soon after the 2nd half started and abandoned the match but he seemed determined to see it through to the end which was ok but  he was certainly putting the safety of the players at risk. One of their players sustained a nasty gash on his leg from a mistimed tackle due to the conditions and it was fortunate that the lad got up from the tackle. Millhouses next 3 goals and our consolation goal from Scott Marcus were all as a direct result of the pitch. A match that was to take place after ours ,a girls match, was postponed immediately by the referee when he saw the state of the pitch and we may have done untold damage to the pitch which Phoenix Club are upset about. Good luck to Millhouses and we hope that when we play at their pitch the weather allows both teams to play the football  they can and not turn the game into farce.

Official view: Millhouses Thermolast had six different scorers as they climbed out of the bottom three with a 6-1 victory at Redmires. Redmires keeper Luke Siggs had already pulled off two great saves before Danny Stuart's low shot was deflected past him to give Millhouses the lead and it wasn't too long before Rob Gardiner's pass set up Ali Berry to double it. Full back Ben Woodman then started and finished the flowing move that saw Millhouses take a three goal half time lead. It was more of the same after the break with Gardiner adding a fourth before Sam Barthram's long range effort made it five and Danny Turner's neat finish six. Redmires only consolation was a Scott Marcus strike.

Handsworth WMC 3 Redmires 0 (Senior Cup Round 3, 25th October)

BARE ELEVEN BARELY TURN UP
Having to play last weeks opposition two weeks in a row was bad enough but having to do it with no less than 9 players not available. With the bare eleven men we were very limited in what we could do and it was good of the injured Ben Shaw to help us out when he could hardly run. Handsworth played some of their youngsters as well but with having only the inexperienced John Burns and Ben up front as an attacking force we were a nonentity. We managed to keep them to one goal at half time but aside from a great free kick by Shaw we never tested their defence at any time. They added another two goals after the break and would have had more but for the excellent keeping by Luke Siggs and some dour defending. A match to forget

Official view: Handsworth WMC entertained fellow Blades Super Draw League CBC Premier side Redmires and after losing to them the week before, Handsworth re-shuffled their team by putting Sean Simmonite up front with his brother Liam and the move paid handsome dividends. Shaun saw his first attempt at goal brilliantly saved by Redmires keeper Luke Siggs, but there was no denying him when Ryan Taylor put him through for a one-on-one with Siggs. The second half wasn’t too old when Shaun rattled in a second from outside the area and revenge for Handsworth was assured when Matt Sykes finished off a flowing move for their third

Handsworth WMC 0 Redmires 1 (League, 18th October)

CAN WE PLAY YOU EVERY WEEK?
A bright Sunday morning for the usual hard fought game at Handsworth. With Luke Siggs again in goal for the suspended Karl Taylor we knew it was going to take a good performance from all the players to withstand a Handsworth team that had beaten Stannington 4-1 earlier in the season but luckily we had the players who would dig in and battle. Gary Marsden who had been sub for a number of matches, finally got his first start of the season, with Dale White held up in traffic and Scott Marcus tucked up in bed overlaying. John Burns was also in the team up front in place of the injured Sean Downing. As expected Club made most of the running and had a few good chances to take the lead but a mixture of good luck and great defending kept them at bay. The Reds were saved by the post on the stroke of half time with the ball rolling back into the arms of keeper Siggs. HALF TIME 0-0. In the 2^nd half Club continued to attack but their possession had little effect with Andy Jones and Josh Capewell in terrific form and some poor shooting  foiling most of their efforts. We also made some chances ourselves and a back to form Andy Birks was often running the show. Dale White had arrived at half time and was brought on to replace the energetic John Burns who had worked hard up front. Simon Marcus who had replaced the flu bound Des Pike also did a good job in his position. James Kirkham finally broke the deadlock with 15 minutes to go. It was mainly a backs to the wall effort after that but we nearly conceded near the end when Siggs made a great save from the dangerous Gallagher. Our best performance of the season so far, if only for the grit we displayed. The match well refereed by Thomas Bramall.

Official view: Redmires finally put some points on the table when a single James Kirkham strike gave Redmires their first win of the season at Handsworth WMC. It was a real smash and grab affair as Handsworth had a big majority of the play, with both Matt Holder and Liam Simmonite hitting the woodwork, before Chris Cotterill’s cross was headed home by James Kirkham before the break. The second half saw more Handsworth pressure and Carl Bowler having one cleared off the line. There were several other close calls, but Redmires stand-in keeper Luke Siggs pulled off save after save to earn his side their first three points of the season. Referee Thomas Bramall was another to earn praise from both sides.

1861 Leisure 1 Redmires 3 (Senior Cup Round 2, 11th October)

LIKE A WALK IN THE PARK OR LEISURE CENTRE
For the 2^nd week running we were engaged in a Cup match, this time the Senior Cup against a team 2^nd placed in the Imperial League. With Luke Siggs in goal in place of the suspended Karl Taylor we started off well at Worksop Town's Ground. We began to get our passing game going a lot better on the nice surface and we dominated the early stages. A bit more craft in front of goal and we should have taken the lead. As it was we didn’t and on the half hour they took the lead through their ex Wednesday player who showed good speed to outpace the defence and slot the ball past Siggs. Almost immediately though we got the equaliser when a Chris Cotterill corner was bundled over the line by Andy Birks. HALF TIME 1-1. In the 2^nd half we lost our way a little and the good passing of the first half deserted us, particularly with the final ball and we were a bit lucky that we didn’t concede when we lost the ball in dangerous positions. 1861 were becoming frustrated by some refereeing decisions and gaps did appear in their defence. Although our passing deteriorated we were determined to win this game and although one or two players were off form we made some chances. From one of these Birks was on hand to put us into the lead from close in.1861 put the pressure on to get the equaliser and they went close a few times. Cotterill was probably having his best game for a while and his ability taken inswinging corners came to the fore again when he crossed for Birks to get his hat trick. He may have grabbed a couple more but his touch slightly let him down. We looked solid in defence and had to withstand some pressure, but a satisfactory performance.

Official view: Redmires went to 1861 Leisure of the Imperial League and although Redmires were well on top in the first half, they conceded a goal on the half hour mark. They were back level almost immediately though when Andy Birks knocked in Chris Cotterill's corner. In the second half  1861 applied quite a bit of pressure, but with Cotterill outstanding, Redmires always had the edge and a further two goals by Birks sealed the win.

Redmires 3 Highfield Old Crown 2 (League Cup Round 2, 4th October)

HIGHFIELD BECOME LOWFIELD
There was real hope that we could perhaps turn in a better performance against a team two divisions below us and newcomers to the league. We had what looked a strong team out and things looked set. How wrong we were. Crown scored in what must have been the first minute when their forward was allowed to turn at the near post and get his shot in. The hard ground at Phoenix was again making things difficult for us and we just couldn’t get going. Crown inspired by their early goal defended well against and scored a 2^nd when their forward turned unchallenged to hit a good shot from the edge of the area. HALF TIME  0-2. The team had a deserved rollicking at half time and they responded really well in the 2^nd half and once Sean Downing had netted we began to get well on top whereas they got deeper in their defence which gave us plenty of room to play in and starved their forwards of much of the ball. With “The Daddy” Luke Siggs having a great game at centre forward we looked like a team for the first time this season and with all the players trying that bit harder Crown were finding it hard to cope. We equalised midway through the half when Andy Birks rose to head home a beautiful inswinging corner from Chris Cotterill. We took the lead in similar circumstances when Siggs volleyed home from another corner by Cotterill. On a rare breakaway we had a tremendous save by Karl Taylor to thank to avoid extra time although we were well on top at the time. A excellent effort in the 2^nd half which we should be able to build on.

Official view: CBC Premier Redmires also had to come from two down to defeat league newcomers Highfield Old Crown. Thomas Brightmore gave the Division Two side the perfect start when he scored from twenty five yards in the first minute and a real upset looked on the cards when Lucas Baker tapped in a second before the break. After a few harsh words at the interval, Redmires come out a different team in the second half and Shaun Downing quickly pulled one back. Chris Cotterill’s corner was headed home by Andy Birks to level the scores and another Cotterill corner saw Luke Siggs volley the winner for Redmires.

Ecclesfield 147 3 Redmires 1 (League, 27th September)

REDMIRES LEFT NEEDING SNOOKERS
After last weeks dismal effort we were hoping for a better performance against the current league leaders. Without Andy Birks it was good to get Dale White back on the team sheet up front and very lively he looked. We had worked on our passing in midweek at training and there was a marked improvement in our play from last week. Ecclesfield were playing well but for most of the first half players did their jobs and nullified their danger men. We took the lead when Luke Siggs put us in front and we were unlucky when a quick thinking free kick by White just saw the ball going just wide from Siggs.Ecclesfield had a couple of chances but found Karl Taylor in great form. HALF TIME 1-0. We were forced to make two early changes in the 2^nd half with James O’Connell going off at half time with a bad blister and after about 10 minutes later James Kirkham who had been outstanding had to come off with a hamstring problem. With Stuart Mackley coming on to replace Kirky we lost our way defensively and allowed their danger men Hunter and Senior far too much space and we got a bit ragged in midfield. You cannot give players of this quality room and between they managed to score three goals to give Ecclesfield the victory. A better performance without doubt but we still need a big improvement in our passing.

Official view: Ecclesfield 147 extended their lead at the top to six points as a Gavin Hunter double helped them come from behind to beat Redmires. Luke Siggs gave Redmires a half time lead, but 147 were unstoppable in the second half. Hunter converted a cross from brother Kevan to level and he then played a neat one-two with Craig Senior to put 147 ahead before he then turned provider for Senior to net the clincher.

Redmires 1 The Vine 2 (League, 20th September)

NOT A VINE RESULT
A fine Sunday morning against a team promoted from the 1^st Division. In which we were hoping to put our disastrous start behind us. With little rain having fallen in the last couple of weeks the pitch was very hard which made ball control hard and we were struggling to get our game going. However we scored after 20 minutes when Nick Hickson scored from close range and we seemed to be handling any attacks The Vine were managing. In the 22^nd minute a fifty fifty tackle involving Simon Marcus resulted in their player going down with what looked to be a broken leg. As the player could not be moved an ambulance was called for and it was not until 45 minutes later that the ambulance was able to take the player to hospital which luckily did not result in a broken leg as first feared but damaged ligaments to his knee which is bad enough. The referee was on the verge of cancelling the match when the ambulance came at 12.10 pm. Half Time 1-0. The interruption could maybe account for our performance in the 2^nd half but it was the same for both teams and we never really picked up the thread again. We continually gave the ball away on the bumpy pitch and lost possession in vital areas. The Vine took the two chances they had whereas we failed to hardly string 3 passes together. Andy Jones and Karl Taylor could hold their heads up high but the rest of the players were not at the races. One of our worst performances.

Official view: After Nick Hickson had given Redmires the lead, The Vine's Craig Woolley suffered ligament damage and the game was delayed for almost an hour, but the delay seemed to affect Redmires more and two Rikki Davidson strikes meant The Vine gave Craig something to smile about.

Stannington Village 6 Redmires 1 (League, 13th September)

NOT MORE GOALS
After the nightmare match last week the re arranged match with Stannington had to be used as a test for some of our new players as we were missing six of our squad. In the end it proved too much to ask. The new players were thrown in against one of the better teams in the league. We matched them for a while and a great free kick by Ben Shaw saw Nick Hickson turn the ball into the net to equalise their first goal. Bit by bit Stannington forced us backwards and when we cleared the ball mainly by use of long clearances the ball kept coming back at us. We went in at half time 3-1 down. HALF TIME 3-1.
We changed our system in the second half, replacing John Burns up front with another new player Josh Capewell. For twenty minutes we played a lot better but it was short lived and a very lucky goal for Stannington which was an intended cross  knocked the stuffing out of us and we went on to concede a further two goals. Pluses were that skipper Des Pike came through a full ninety minutes again following his injury ironically sustained in a bad tackle last year against Stannington early last season. Also Scott Marcus worked hard and looked very promising up front. Lets hope we can get back on track next week.

Official view: Alistair Mitchell was the League's top scorer playing for Anvil last season, but in the summer he switched to Macron Cup holders Stannington Village and he got his first two for them in a 6-1 thrashing of Redmires. Shane Toulson put Stannington ahead, only to see Nick Hickson soon level for Redmires. It didn't take Stannington too long to go back in front though as Mitchell hit his first for the club, before Toulson grabbed his second. Mitchell then added his second before Arron Worsfold scored his first for the club and David Shepherd completed the scoring by headin Joe Barker's cross home.

Laycock Sports 6 Redmires 2 (League, 6th September)

GIVE ME A "P", GIVE ME AN "I", GIVE ME AN "E", GIVE ME A "S", WHAT HAVE YOU GOT? A REFEREE
The much awaited beginning of the season arrived on a fine Sunday morning against newly promoted Laycocks on a beautiful surface at Warminster Road . Both teams were up for the game eager to start the season on a winning note. In a fast opening session both teams were vying for the lead and it was Redmires who struck first after twenty minutes when Andy Birks hit a great volley from outside the box into the top corner. Laycocks came back and applied some pressure and Karl Taylor made two great saves. Luke Siggs pulled a hamstring after thirty minutes and had to come off to be replaced by Sean Downing. On the thirty fifth minute disaster struck which ended our participation in this match. The referee Mark Thompson who had barely moved out of the centre circle awarded a goal to Laycocks which had in fact hit the post and bounced out evading an incoming Laycocks player and being cleared by James Kirkham.  Despite protests from the Redmires players the person in black would not listen and proceeded to book James Kirkham and Mark Hardisty, the latter for saying “unbelievable ref”. But Karl Taylor decided he had seen enough of the referee and began walking off, he was then red carded. With our only other goalkeeper Siggs off injured James O’Connell was pushed to go into goal. HALF TIME 1-1.
In the second half we fell apart with ten men and no goalie. John Burns marked his debut with a late goal but this game had passed us by. At the end Kirkham was given a second yellow card for remonstrating with the ref and it is a lesson to learn that we have to put up with the referee we are given. All we can do as a club is to give him a very low mark and if necessary send a report to the County FA and hope they assess him. Laycocks could not have believed their luck which got them off to a flier and why should we expect them to be honest in the heat of battle. I doubt that the referee would have listened to them in any case. A nightmare start to the season best forgotten.

Official view: After their Merit Cup exploits, newly promoted Laycock Sports kicked off their CBC Premier programme off with a 6-2 victory over Redmires to become the early leaders and give secretary Alan Parkin the perfect birthday present. Sam Read was again their star with three of the goals. Andy Birks gave Redmires the lead, but controversy hit just before half time when referee Mark Thompson adjudged Sam Read's effort to have crossed the line. Laycock's took the lead on the hour mark when Steve Morris slotted home, but Redmires had lost their keeper by this stage and they were powerless to stop John Kilcoyne netting twice before Read completed his hat-trick with two more. John Burns managed another for Redmires but they gained little consolation from it.