Success eludes Farsley AFC after Matlock Town Doodson Sport Cup defeat

By James Grayson (Twitter: @jamesAgrayson)

Silverware will elude Farsley AFC for a second consecutive season after the 3-1 Doodson Sport Cup quarter-final defeat at Matlock Town. For a campaign that began with such high hopes, the last eight Evo Stik Division One North games will finish with a whimper when compared with last year’s play-offs charge.

The change to a 4-3-3 system did not work and big-name new signings like defenders Rob Pacey and Aaron Hardy weren’t successful – both had left Throstle Nest by December. Then manager Neil Parsley had to cope with injuries to players such as Simeon Bambrook, Ben Jones and Mark Jackson.

However, while success has not been forthcoming, Parsley is already rebuilding his squad for next season. He has the base of a good defence in James Riley, Ryan Serrant and Matt Dempsey, along with youngster Rob Etherington (pictured above) who had a coming of age at Matlock. Etherington had to cope with Massiah McDonald, a player who Football League are looking at. The striker is a handful and Etherington made some fantastic tackles and showed huge confidence by bringing the ball forward himself at times.

In midfield, the deadwood has been cleared out. Robbie O’Brien (pictured above) is a major signing, having been the backbone of the Bradford Park Avenue for the last few years. Parsley also has classy wingers in Ryan Harrison and Steve Mallory along with Bambrook who is still a class act. Upfront, Gareth Grant is still banging the goals in, but key to next season could be the retention of Adam Priestley, who is on the verge of scoring 30 goals.

More quality is obviously needed and if Parsley can bring those players in, success will come and Farsley will win games like Matlock away. The cup clash on Tuesday night was lost in the first 20 minutes – James Ashmore and Lewis McMahon scoring.

But it should be said that it was a good performance from Farsley in the second half – a 45 minutes which were extremely competitive and provided plenty of entertainment for the 126 watching. The referee adopted an ‘anything goes’ rule with the official deciding not to punish stamps, diving alongside a string of incorrect decisions.

Gareth Grant scored a fine goal to bring Farsley back into the match at 3-1, a couple of minutes after McDonald had headed home Matlock’s third. But, as Farsley tried to find a way back, shots from Harrison, Bambrook and Chris Walton were kept out as Matlock held on to secure a semi-finals spot.

Farsley now have to take their second half performance in Saturday’s trip to New Mills as they look to end their barren run which stands at seven games.

Match highlights below:



Missed Chances Cost Farsley AFC in New Mills Defeat

By James Grayson (Twitter - @jamesAgrayson)

Match Photos

Two goals from Daniel Douglas-Pringle ensured New Mills won the first leg of the double-header Evo Stik Division One North matches with Farsley AFC.

Farsley were desperately unlucky having been the better side, but Neil Parsley’s team will rue the amount of wasted chances.

The result strengthens New Mills’ bid for a top five place and gives them the psychological edge over Farsley when the two sides meet again at Church Lane next Saturday.



The match itself was far from a classic. Despite being low on confidence after five games without a win, Farsley looked dangerous going forward. Adam Priestley had two good chances before scoring on 20 minutes after he rounded the New Mills goalkeeper.

But, Farsley’s frailties in midfield and defence were soon exposed when New Mills equalised just six minutes later. David Fitzpatrick was allowed time and space down the left and he saw his effort cannon back off the crossbar. The home defence failed to react and Douglas-Pringle lashed a strike into the bottom corner past Tom Morgan.

However, apart from the winner and one more chance at the start of the second half when Morgan pulled off a great save to keep the scores level, that was all New Mills had to offer.

 

Farsley had plenty of chances to score. Ryan Harrison went close with a header at the far post. Gareth Grant was guilty of a bad miss after being put through on goal. The striker and Priestley then both had efforts well-saved

And with time drawing to a close, the signs that New Mills would win it were there. They got the goal on 77 minutes. Fitzpatrick was again involved and his whipped cross found Douglas-Pringle waiting who simply headed the ball past Morgan from close range.

While there were negatives, there were a few positives. Among them were the referee's performance. The referee Craig Grundy (pictured above) had a superb game. He had full control of the game and was there on hand for every major decision. All the players respected him and he only needed to show two yellow cards. Craig is an example to all referees young and old on how to referee a football match properly. In a day and age when yellow cards are handed out like confetti, young referees should watch Craig referee and see alternative methods to dishing cards out. If only there were more like him.

From a Farsley perspective, it was a much better display and a win at Matlock Town in the Doodson Cup on Tuesday night will help get the confidence back.



Review: La Cage Aux Folles

By James Grayson (Twitter - @jamesAgrayson)

Wanting to raise the bar was the reason behind why Yeadon Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Society’s chose La Cage Aux Folles as their spring production. A brave move, some would say, based on the tools needed like sets, costumes and male dancers. But the decision has been a masterstroke as YAODS have produced a fabulous musical.

Colourful, humorous, mixed with fine acting and memorable musical numbers, such as Gloria Gaynor’s What Are What We Are, La Cage will live long in the memory for years to come. While the two main stars deserve the plaudits, there were superb performances from the whole cast and crew.

The chemistry of the leading men Georges (David Kirk) and Albin/ZaZa (Andrew Walton) ensure that La Cage’s star shines brightly throughout the production.

Kirk, who enjoyed a fantastic stage presence, is magnificent. His never-wavering smile and facial expressions light up the stage and the audience enjoy watching him perform. Walton, who has the harder task of dressing up in drag, is equal to him. Walton, who admitted it was his hardest role yet, is ZaZa, a world-renowned and temperamental drag artist.

The story is easy to follow. Gay couple Georges and Albin are enjoying life running their famous drag club, until Georges’ son Jean-Michel (Rob Durkin) announces his engagement to the daughter (Emma Fearnley) of a far-right politician. Albin is initially told he will have to be ‘uncle Al’ and ‘play it straight’ for when fiancée’s parents come for tea as Jean-Michel’s real mother will be there. In one of the most memorable scenes, Georges tries to teach Albin how to be a straight man and act like John Wayne.

All is going well until Jean-Michel’s mother fails to show which Albin forcing back into the role of ZaZa and become mother. And this is when the comedy reaches boiling point as Georges and Albin try, but fail to act normal towards Dindon (Garth Rookes), who soon sees through them, leading to a hilarious finale.

Alongside Walton and Kirk, the butler Jacob (Greg Silverwood) enjoys the limelight with a marvellous performance as Albin’s faithful ‘maid’. Jacob has his fair share of one-liners and the audience love his role.  

While the main actors take credit, praise should be reserved for the dancers, orchestra and backstage crew who ensured the difficult production went without a hitch. YAODS knew it would be tough, but La Cage has been a huge all-round success.   

Yeadon audiences have been given a treat and La Cage will be a hard act to follow next year when Me and My Girl will be performed at Yeadon Town Hall.

The bar has been set.

Match Report: Leeds United 1-1 Peterborough United

By James Grayson (Twitter - @jamesAgrayson)

Leeds United’s hopes of reaching the Championship play-offs hang in the balance following a disappointing 1-1 draw with relegation strugglers Peterborough United at Elland Road.

A second half equaliser from man-of-the-match Sam Byram rescued a point after in-form Peterborough striker Dwight Gayle had put the visitors ahead on 15 minutes.

And boos rang out at the final whistle as Peterborough finished the stronger side.

The result leaves Leeds five points off the play-offs with only nine games remaining.

Leeds manager Neil Warnock had warned his players not to under-estimate Peterborough and they clearly hadn’t listened as Darren Ferguson’s men made a fine start to the match.

Gayle saw an effort cannon back off the crossbar just minutes before he held off Leeds captain Lee Peltier and fired his shot past Paddy Kenny and into the top corner.

Gayle, who has made an impressive start to life with Peterborough since his move from Dagenham and Redbridge, caused endless problems for Peltier and Tom Lees, who would have to withdraw due to injury in the first half.

His replacement Jason Pearce then wasted four guilt-edge chances in the last 60 minutes – including a close range header when the goal was gaping.

But Leeds knew they could find a way back into the match. The Peterborough defence looked vulnerable and were making careless mistakes.The goalkeeper Robert Olejnik looked a bag of nerves and was suspect with his kicking and throwing ability.

However, forward talisman Steve Morison, double goal-scorer at Crystal Palace, was being kept under lock and key by defender Gabriel Zakuani.

So when Warnock brought off Morison and replaced him with El-Hadji Diouf at half-time, it breathed new life into Leeds. Diouf allowed Leeds to attack with the ball on the ground and this caused Peterborough to start rocking.

And after a few half chances, Leeds scored the equaliser on 57 minutes.

Stephen Warnock’s corner went across goal and teenager Byram, recently linked with Manchester City, connected with the ball with his shin which took the ball over-the-line.

Leeds pressed for the winner, but it was Peterborough who nearly won the game in the closing stages.

Gayle, Kane Ferdinand and Lee Tomlin all got behind the Leeds defence towards the end, but the Whites managed to survive. Gayle also had a decent attempt tipped over the crossbar by Kenny.

Peterborough will look back on the game as two points dropped, while Leeds’ weaknesses were exposed again ahead of a local derby with Huddersfield Town on Saturday.

Theatre Review - God's Official - Harrogate Studio Theatre

By James Grayson (Twitter - @jamesAgrayson)

Don’t kidnap a football referee after a bad decision as they never change their minds. That’s what Degsy (Keith Hukin) and Cliff (Matthew Booth) found out during the botched kidnap of referee Greaves (Stephen Crane) in the excellent God's Official.

Inside the small and cosy Harrogate Studio Theatre, the audience are gripped as Degsy and Cliff struggle to cope with Greaves, who they discover is annoying off-the-pitch as well as on it. There are non-stop laughs throughout the Reform Theatre Company production and Cliff and ringleader Degsy’s description of the ‘goal that was not goal’ gets the play off to a fine start. You almost feel that you are there inside a stadium watching the game.

The decision to kidnap Greaves and make him replay the game comes after Cliff and Degsy’s team are relegated following a controversially disallowed goal. Degsy decides to take matters into his own hands and goes round to the referee’s house (after finding his address in the phone book) and take him hostage. The humour comes out as Greaves describes his kidnapping. He nearly escaped, but forget he had recently had an inside door fitted and knocked himself out on it as he tried to get away, which gets the audience laughing.

Degsy makes Greaves relieve the disallowed goal hundreds of times in an effort to persuade him that it should have been allowed as Cliff stands watching and wishing he wasn’t there. Cliff, who did not want to be involved, tries to walk away on several occasions. But he still ends up driving Degsy and Greaves to a different location in his van, which has his phone number on the side.

The change in place allows Greaves a second escape attempt, but this time he is halted by hilariously halted after sliding on some dog poo. He is then taken to the church for the finale.  

And even as the play looks set to end on a sad note, the play is pulled back from tragedy and ends on a humorous note as Degsy faces up to his crime.

While there are serious moments, God’s Official is a laugh-out comed and for any football fan, it is a must-see. However, there is a disclaimer: don’t follow Degsy and Cliff’s lead if a referee makes a bad decision during your team’s match.

God’s Official runs at Harrogate Studio Theatre until March 16^th.

Farsley Riled by Ref in 2-2 Draw at Radcliffe Borough

By James Grayson

Match Photos

Ten minutes to go at Radcliffe and the scores are tied at 2-2. Ryan Harrison exchanges a neat one-two with Gareth Grant and takes a touch inside the box which will open up a goal-scoring chance. That was when he was brought down by two (not just one) Radcliffe defenders. Or using a slang term – he was ‘banjoed’.

Now to the majority of people that is a straightforward penalty decision. But this referee decided it wasn’t and played on. It was absolutely shocking from any Farsley fan’s point of view.

 

When you look at how Sergio Aguero won his penalty against Leeds United a few weeks ago for a tiny bit of contact on his shoulder, how could the referee not give the foul on Ryan (pictured above). It was simply not good enough.

But it wasn’t just that key moment that the referee got wrong, he was very poor all afternoon. He was too far behind play throughout the 90 minutes. He wasn’t consistent with his yellow cards for both sides and his decision-making with certain types of fouls were inconsistent. A minor aerial challenge may have penalised one minute but then later, the same type of challenge went unpunished.

On a more serious note, due to his inability to follow the game properly, the referee missed a dangerous challenge which left Farsley defender Rob Etherington (pictured above) almost unconscious. The young lad could have easily ended up lying in intensive care. Rob went to win a header and was taken out by a ridiculous aerial challenge by Ben Wharton. Rob had to be substituted and quite how the referee failed to punish Wharton is incredible.

The referee was not the only person to have a very poor game. The linesman on the dug-out side in the second half had an interesting afternoon and his best moment was when he flagged Ryan Harrison offside in the last few minutes. Ryan’s corner was headed back to him by a Radcliffe defender, at which moment the linesman gave offside. I think I’ll check the rules on offside.

 

But while the draw was disappointing for Farsley, there were some good performances out there. Matty James (pictured above) returned from Bradford Park Avenue after four years away and he was impressive. His skill and trickery allowed him to roll the ball across for Adam Priestley to make the score 2-2 on the stroke of half-time.

Ryan Harrison, back in the starting line-up, was Farsley’s man of the match and he deserved his goal. Number one goalkeeper Tom Morgan was back with fine display after a five month absence due to injury.

But, there were negatives. At times, the centre midfielders were anonymous and this put the defence under unnecessary pressure. The midfield were mainly at fault for the second Radcliffe goal.

And a poor back-pass in the final moments nearly gifted Radcliffe the winner. Fortunately the miss of the season, which I’m sure will be soon appearing on YouTube, ensured a point was taken.

However, it could have been three, if only the penalty had been given.

Northern Ballet's The Great Gatsby Thrills Audiences

By James Grayson (Twitter - @jamesAgrayson)

Jazzy and stylish, Northern Ballet’s production of The Great Gatsby is unforgettable. Whether you have been to Ballet before or not, you will love it.

It does have its negatives, but on the whole, The Great Gatsby is marvellous. Such as a production like this – something that has never been done before – was always going to be difficult, but the mysteriousness of Gatsby (Tobias Batley) is well portrayed. His opening appearance as a figure with his back-turned to the audience creates the sense of mystery.

The Great Gatsby also has spontaneity. An outbreak of the song When the Midnight Choo Choo in the Myrtle’s Apartment is a pleasant surprise and engages the audiences during a fast-paced Act One. Act Two does not match the pace of the first, but does really spring into life during the final 15 minutes as the audience is gripped by the finale.

However, to understand the performance, the audience needs to have at least a basic overview of the story. Because it is Ballet, it is not easy to work out which characters are which and who is in love with who? It is difficult to work out how Myrtle and George Wilson fit into the story unless you have prior knowledge.  

How Gatsby made his money is told, but it is not obvious. Although the mystery men in long coats is a nice touch and does underline that Gatsby has a shady background. Why he is in love with Daisy (Martha Leebolt) cannot be explained in Ballet so adds another down point. Despite this, you grow to love Gatsby as he finds redemption and makes a real friend in Nick (Giuliano Contadini). And you feel the pain as the performance ends in tragedy.

But forgetting the few negatives, The Great Gatsby was fun and engaging. While certain things are unclear, the story is told well. But you have to have prior knowledge. The music is memorable and jazzy and the sets are magnificent and make you feel like you there. It is a production you would go and see again.   

The Great Gatsby runs until Saturday 9^th March at The Leeds Grand.