The Steve Maskrey Cup

 

Edinburgh City 3 Edinburgh City 93’s 0

Edinburgh City 93’s were left reeling after a dubious first goal opened the floodgates to an eventual 3-1 defeat at the hands of their namesakes Edinburgh City.

The crucial moment coming midway through the second half saw 93’s defender Jamie Morrison being ushered of the field of play by City midfielder Kieran McGachie. Referee Mike smith deemed this not a foul and from this McGachie found midfielder Ryan Hutchinson who thundered the ball past keeper Sean McClaren.

John Burns manager of Edinburgh City 93’s said the decision changed the match. He said “Of course it changed the match it was a clear push as a result they broke away and scored the first goal. From that point we never really recovered. In all respect City probably deserved the win but it does put a dampener on the occasion. “

It was Edinburgh City 93’s playing in white that started the brightest. The first chance of the game fell to the livewire Steven Harley who twisted and turned his marker firing a shot which was well saved by Dale Cornett.

Edinburgh City who had already won four trophies this season finally started to find their rhythm and were unlucky not to take the lead midway through the half. City striker Jordon Low effortlessly beat left back Bruce Cunningham and put in a teasing cross to the back post. Midfielder Nicolas Locke initial header was well saved by McClaren and his rebound found the side netting.

Goalkeeper McClaren was called into action when he saved at the feet of the onrushing Hutchinson. Edinburgh City were getting closer and the boys in white had the post to thank for not being one down at the break. A great run by McGachie down the right saw him straight through but his shot excruciatingly stayed out after hitting the inside of the post.

The second half brought much of the same with McClaren making save after save to deny his opponents until McGathie’s goal on the hour mark. Edinburgh City 93’s were still reeling when they went two down three minutes later. This time Hutchinson turned provider lobbing the ball to Low who controlled delightfully on the run. His shot was parried by McClaren straight to McGachie who tapped into the empty net.

The blitz continued four minutes later when sub Greg Murray found Jason Mackie whose deft lay off teed up Hutchinson to fire home his second and cap of a very nice move. With the 93’s visibly shell shocked City looked threatening every time they came forward with Low in particular, outstanding.

It was him that almost made it three when he carved open space in the box to shoot. However the shot did not come and Low eventually got crowded out by the 93’s defence. As the heat intensified Edinburgh City used their many subs to good effect and this enabled them to control the final stages of the game.

However it was the 93’s who would grab a consolation goal through a header from defender Bruce Cunningham. Ross McNeil manager of Edinburgh City was clearly delighted by the performance. He said, “It’s been a great season, we have tried to play football the right way and it has worked. We have won four trophies already and are in the semi final of another. It is credit to the boys whose hard work has paid off.”

Edinburgh City: Dale Cornett, Graig Tulloch, Jake Moyes, Ryan Hutchinson, Kieran McGachie, Michael Travis, David McNeil, Nicholas Locke, Jordon Low, Jason Mackie, Frank Heaney, Lee Miller, Kerr Young, Greg Murray, Liam Smith, Kenny O’Brian, David Heggie

Edinburgh City 93’s: Adam Shaw, Sean McClaren, Bruce Cunningham, Jamie Morrison, Callum Croser, Steven Harley, Jamie Devlin, Calum Burns, Dale Murphy, Michael Scott, Jamie Pyper, Dale Horribine.

Civil Service Strollers vs. Fernieside B.C

 

Brian Pearce coach of the Civil Service Strollers could not have asked for a better leaving present than this. A Mark Reeves goal in the first half of extra time after a 2-2 draw in normal time was enough to clinch the title in an emotional day for the manger.

Pearce who left his post after the game said. “It was a great performance by the lads I am delighted for them. At the end of the day we failed to win the league but we managed to come out on top today. To be fair Fernie played very well today but we dug in and got the win.”

After a slow start to the game Fernieside settled first and should have been in the lead on the half hour mark. Left back Luis Ortiz found himself free in the box but he got underneath the ball and his header went high and wide.

But on the 38^th minute somewhat against the run of play the Civil Service strollers took the lead. Captain Mark Jeffries playing as an unorthodox striker lobbed a ball through to his strike partner Reeves who showed a great turn of pace and an eye for goal lobbing delightfully over goalkeeper Liam Taylor.

Fernieside had not even shrugged of the first goal when they went two down soon after. The lively Reeves was involved again exchanging passes with midfielder Sean Rafferty. Reeves then managed to slide a neat ball through to Rafferty who took a note out of Reeves book with another fantastic chip over the helpless Fernie Goalkeeper. 

The game looked to be over but whatever was said at half time must have worked as a revitalised Fernieside came out all guns blazing. The first chance of the second half fell to striker Keith Shields whose shot from the edge of the box went just wide.

Fernieside continued to pile on the pressure and got the goal they deserved on 50 minutes. A corner from midfielder Ryan Burgess caused confusion in the Strollers defence and in the ensuing melee striker Shields scuffed shot found Ryan Gibson who chested the ball into the net.

Soon after another great chance for Fernieside was squandered by Ortiz whose first time shot was brilliantly saved by the feet of Strollers keeper David Taylor. With the match really beginning to pick up the pace a great jinxing run by winger Ryan McKenna made space for Burgess whose shot hit the side netting from a tight angle.

Fernieside continued to keep knocking on the door, this time Burgess turned creator sending a wonderful cross field pass to Roy Tweedie. The strong defender controlled well but his shot was stopped by some wonderful last ditch defending by Strollers captain Jeffries.

It was beginning to look like it wasn’t Fernieside’s day but on the hour mark they managed to level the match. Stroller’s defender Bradley Raynham under pressure from Shields managed to clear only to the feet of Gibson who swivelled and struck a low shot past the unsighted Taylor.

With minutes remaining striker Shields missed the chance of the match when Burgess’s rasping shot was spilled by keeper Taylor to the feet of Shields who fired over.  

Fernieside paid for their missed chances in extra time when the lively Reeves was the first to react to goalkeeper Liam Taylor’s mistake sliding the ball under defender Steven Fleet and into the net. The goal was met by jubilation from the Stroller fans and as hard as Fernieside tried they could not mount a comeback. The Strollers held on to win the game 3-2 in extra time.

Civil Service Strollers: David Taylor, mark Jeffries, Euan Roberston, Ryan Wilson, Sean Rafferty, Marc Reeves, Ryan Cairncross, Andrew McKenzie, Conor Berry, Cameron Pearce, Bradley Raynham, Rhys Greenhill, David Nelson, Neil Routledge, Sean Munro

Fernieside: Liam Taylor, Darren Inglis, Roy Tweedie, Ryan Burgess, Steven Flett, Dylan Yardley, Jamie Kelly, Keith Shields, Ryan Gibson, Ryan Murray, Luis Ortiz, Matthew Tipton, Ryan McKenna.

John McConnell Memorial Cup

Tynecastle 2 Hutchinson Vale 0

A goal on either side of half time was enough for Tynecastle to win the John McConnell Cup in the basking sunlight at the Gyle Wreck on Sunday afternoon. 

In the early opening exchanges a scrappy start saw Hutchinson Vale start to impose themselves first. The first chance of the game fell to Liam Fellinger but he was unable to keep his header down. Tynecastle couldn’t find the form that had won them the SYFA Cup final two weeks before.

It was Hutchinson Vale that was taking the game to their opponents but they were finding it difficult to break down Tynecastle stubborn and organised defence. However it was the Scottish champions that were to open the scoring on the 25^th minute when Lewis Hawkins perfectly flighted corner was met by Johnny Bieset who rose majestically to head home.

Tynecastle almost doubled their lead soon after when a mix up by Hutchison Vale’s Ross Brady and Fellinger let Callum Patterson free but his shot was well parried by goalkeeper Callum Gemmell. The severe heat didn’t seem to be getting to the players with both sides playing at a very high intensity.

Hutchinson Vale continued to apply pressure and were almost through when Dean Carse’s clever ball found Alan Clark but his run was halted by some wonderful defending from Dale Finnie. At the other end a fine ball by the impressive Paterson found left back Connor McDonald but his stinging strike was well saved by Gemmell.

The intensity did not let up in the second half with both sides playing at a high tempo there were also a few tasty tackles flying in, particularly from the boys in maroon who were trying to impose themselves on the game.

But it was still Hutchinson vale trying to play the football and they almost scored midway through the half when Fellinger found the tenacious Scott Gray whose shot from a tight angle went agonizingly wide of Lyle Sloan’s far post.

Hutchinson were having the better of the play by this point but they could not test Sloan in goal. It was Tynecastle that looked the more threatening and they nearly made it two when Bieset showed great strength to hold off his marker and dig out a shot which Gemmell saved at full stretch.

The hundred or so Hutchinson Vale fans tried to spur on their team but it was the Tynecastle lads that looked more likely to add to their lead. Bieset again came close shooting just over from Jamie Forsyth’s knock down.

The boys in maroon finally closed the game out on the 78^th minute with another fine header by sub Neil Gibbin. As Vale poured forward Tynecastle hit them on the break when Elliot Greene found Forsyth out left. The winger turned neatly passed right back Chris Deignon and his pin point cross found Gibbin who headed home silencing the boisterous Vale fans.

Hutchinson threw men forward in the final few minutes but they never looked like threatening Sloan’s goal and Tynecastle held on for the win. From back to front Tynecastle were very solid and they just had enough quality to overcome their obstinate rivals.

Tynecastle: Lyle Sloan, Josh Riddell, Connor McDonald, Lewis Hawkins, Neil Gibbin, Taylor Ackisra, Callum Paterson, Fergus Lockhart, Johnny Bieset, Dale Finnie, Jamie Forsyth, Gary Paton, Elliot Greene , Liam Fletcher, Sam Macnab, Dougie McKenyil, Robbie Mcintyre.

Hutchinson Vale: Callum Gemmell, Mike Langdale, Todd Smith, Shaun Meikle, Gareth Rodger, Scott Gray, Liam Fellinger, Naill Doherty, Dean Carse, Ross Brady, John McInally Nicolas Garrity, Callum Donnelly.

Four Friends

 

The 70’s and 80’s were a very unpleasant era with regards to football hooliganism. It had a universal appeal go to any club in the world and there would be a band of supporters willing to brave injury in order to get one over on their rival. As the 21^st century came to pass it has now become the norm to have hundreds of police at games monitoring both sets of fans for any threat of violence. It is a peculiar setting then to watch a match but oddly it doesn’t seem that way when you are there. Most fans neglect the on looking gaze of the law and focus all their attention to the field. But they could have been forgiven for focusing any attention to the game which was as bland as the skies were grey. However forget that for now, my day started meeting my three good friends Adrian, Liam and Jamie affectionately none as Bubs.

The three are very pleasant, they are educated and on the whole are respected by their peers but underlying all this lays a deep-rooted sectarianism that is difficult for most to fathom. If you look into the history of Rangers and Celtic racism is not far below the ground. Rangers for instance until the 50’s would not sign any players from a catholic upbringing this rule has since been shunned but the ideologies still remain. Both clubs have made massive efforts to stem the tide but it still remains albeit to a lesser extent. As the four of us travelled to the match Adrian joked “Ibrox (Rangers stadium) is now dead quiet ‘cos the fans have nothing to sing,” hinting at UEFA’s guidance to ban all sectarian chants from the fans. The hour long train journey was unduly quick probably because in that time we had drank three cans of beer each.

Glasgow is a city like no other in that whatever time of year you go there you are sure of one thing rain. Sure enough as we arrived at Glasgow Queen Street the heavens were open and according to one beleaguered tourist ready to depart, “had been open for some time”. But this was not going to dampen our boisterous mood sure enough the chants began as the subway sped off towards Govan home of the blues. We followed a small branch of supporters to a dank, dingy little pub near Ibrox. The pub itself was very quaint inside, it had pictures and photos of legends past in present, trophies and footballs scattered around its walls and the bar staff like many Glaswegians were friendly and talkative. We sat and drank our beers talking to other fans about the up and coming game many were positive, “I’d say 6-0 hahaha,” said one fan in a very positive mood. Bearing in mind Rangers were on a four match unbeaten run whilst the visitors Aberdeen were struggling at the foot of the table this may not have been such an exaggerated prediction. It was not until the bar became busy that the music began to play.

This music however was not your usual rock and pop it was folk music as you will of a different kind. Yes all the songs that had been banned at the matches were being blazed out on speakers making the pictures near me shudder. Looking outside I could see a police car pass by with two heads peering into the bar. The two knew what was going on but decided to turn the blind eye rather than risk yet more work for an already overstretched police force. As my nervousness passed I began immersing myself in the chants. As a liberal minded person who also had a Catholic girlfriend at home I should have been condemning such acts but in the heat of the moment I forgot what the chants stood for and began to sing. It was difficult not to in a crowd such as this a person not singing would have received a few irritated reactions. As the alcohol poured many of the crowd began to forget that there was actually a game today.

In hindsight many of the crowd in that little pub would have been right to forget that there was actually a game. The game itself started, was played and then ended in a 0-0 score line. Without merely a word spoke the four of us left the ground following the trail of yellow coats and police hats to the train station. As we arrived on the train Liam shouted “same again next week lads!” and with that we arrived home getting on with our day to day lives and Rangers would not be mentioned again until the following Saturday.

Outcasts! The lands that FIFA forgot

 

For two years Steve Menary traced the incredible journeys of the teams that FIFA refuse to recognise either for reasons of political expediency, or because FIFA believed they could not compete with the likes of Montserrat on the world stage.

Intrigued by just why anyone would want to play for such no hoper ‘nations’, he became drawn into a scene which surprised him in its positive approach to both the beautiful game and nationalism, and eventually resulted in the FIFI (Federation of International Football Independents) ‘Wild Cup’, featuring teams from officially non-existent countries such as Zanzibar, Greenland, Tibet and Northern Cyprus, being successfully staged in Germany prior to the FIFA World Cup in 2006.

Steve a freelance journalist and respected football analyst travelled the globe  and the book is another dagger into the tarnished reputation of FIFA and just how they justify the exclusion of some ‘nations’ from their organisation, while welcoming others. Menary traces the journeys of the teams FIFA refused to recognise.

In mid-September, the Faroe Islands kick off their qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup with an away tie in Serbia and a home match four days later with Romania.

The windswept province of Denmark will take to the field at the Tórsvøllur stadium, built in 2000 with the financial rewards gained being eligible to play international football.

Meanwhile, the players of Greenland, another Danish province, will be kicking their heels rather than footballs, unable to take part in the competition because of a change in membership rules by UEFA, European football’s governing body.

Northern Cyprus vs Zanzibar

Football provides Greenlanders with a strong sense of national identity distinct to that of Denmark to the point where it can plainly be a matter of life and death; in 2004, three of its players perished at sea travelling home from a game.

In 2005, UEFA decreed all future members also had to belong to the United Nations and Greenland’s application to join perished. ‘It’s just one of the many anomalies that teams on the boundaries of international football must deal with,’ says Steve Menary, author of Outcasts”.

“I looked at teams such as Greenland, Zanzibar and Tibet, excluded from international competition thanks to organisers infuriatingly complex regulations.”

The reason for UEFA’s rule change was to head off a political time bomb when Gibraltar applied to join in 1999. The Spanish FA threatened to pull its teams from international competition. Rather than lose some of the most gifted players in the world and adopted the UN’s membership criterion.  

To join FIFA football’s international governing body prospective members most firstly be a member of their regional governing body. The situation becomes even more confusing as each regional federation has its own membership criteria while FIFA only asks that members ‘belong to the international community’.

The non-unified criteria and loose definitions mean Hong Kong and the French colony of New Caledonia are among 23 ‘non countries’ that are members of FIFA. In the UK, the irregularities see England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as UEFA and FIFA members, while the emerging international aspirations of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are well and truly curtailed.

Inevitably, in an era when the Premier League can propose plans to play matches around the world, money is at the root of some of the problems. “When the Eastern Bloc split in the 1990s, UEFA and FIFA’s membership expanded massively and more money became available,” says Menary.

Steve Menary

In this case money is filtered down and each member of FIFA gets one million dollars (£497,000) every four years towards development. This may not seem a lot after all the Gerrard’s and Lampard’s of this world make that in a month. But to small countries such as Montserrat, it’s a lot of money. As Menary explains, “ Greenland know that they are never going to compete at an international level that’s just not feasible, but simply getting the funding could aid the country to have a grass pitch.”

Menary concedes that the standard of many of the teams is below par but believes that with investment many of the teams would be competitive. “The book is not a political manifesto, the teams I have written about are not just political stunts but are players with real desire and fight. I think if you cut them off, which is what’s been done to some of these places, then the standard will just dissipate.”

Menary believes that, while there are different reasons ‘outcast’ teams seek recognition, one thing unites them: ‘Some need money to keep playing; others, such as Occitania (an area covering parts of southern France, Spain and Italy which has its own language), want to preserve a culture. But they all want to play for the love of the game.’

Such is that love that ‘outcasts’ have scraped and saved to hold impromptu tourneys including the Federation of International Football Independents (FIFI) Wild Cup, held in June 2006, and the ELF (Equality, Liberty, Fraternity) Cup in November 2007. Many teams have also banded together as members of the NF (non-FIFA) Board, an organisation set up in 2003 as a self-appointed ‘waiting room for FIFA’.

‘We respect all the international and national institutions and have spoken to UNESCO about a possible future partnership,’ says NF vice-president Jean-Luc Kit.

‘FIFA wants to affiliate the football associations of states. Our job is to look after the FA’s of nations, peoples, minorities and isolated territories.’

The NF Board, which oversees ‘outcast’ teams playing for the Nelson Mandela trophy at its own VIVA World Cup, seems to be the only way for most of its teams to fulfil international aspirations; whether they can afford to or not is another matter entirely.

Paedophile ring raises issue of Censorship

By James Scott

The head of police who crushed one of Scotland’s worst ever peadophile rings raised new concerns about censorship when he argued that peadophiles should be banned from the internet.

Allan Jones, head of the major crime unit at Lothian and Borders, said that new technologies are needed to track suspected paedophiles from accessing unlawful material on the net. The new technologies would involve all internet users having their own unique personal ID.

The personal ID would be like an online driver’s licence and so anyone gaining access to unlawful sites or pictures would be held accountable as the information would be held on the personal ID.

This would mean that suspected paedophiles could be traced once they go online and prevent them from sexually exploiting minors.

We're Watching You

However such measures critics would say are the foundations of a surveillance state. In broader terms personal identification would mean that all members of society could be tracked and have their content viewed.

In Britain surveillance has become more prominent with the advances in computer technology.

Dr Alistair Duff, professor at Edinburgh Napier University says,” Britain currently is a passive surveillance society. Some surveillance is necessary but the government wants more and more.”

Passive surveillance is the use of indirect techniques such as analysing records of information in order to carry out surveyance. The claims made by Det. Supt. Jones would fast-track Britain into a more active form of government interference. Something that Dr Duff would not be in favour of.

Dr. Duff says, “The police have many tools already available to them when dealing with such activity. If there was to be any further methods to be introduced it would have to be discussed in a full democratic debate, before there were any sudden moves.”

Det. Supt. Jones said, “My personal view is that people who have been observed electronically exchanging this type of imagery should, after appropriate investigation and punishment by the police and other authorities, have their internet service provision withdrawn.”

After a lengthy trial peadophile ringleaders James Rennie, 38, and Neil Strachan, 48 will serve a minimum of 13 years and 16 years respectively for their part in the child sex ring.

Government Nationalises railway lines

By James Scott

The government has announced it will reclaim the east coast line from London to Edinburgh after National Express decided to give up the franchise.

National Express who has owned the rights to the route for over two years decided to cut its losses after reported debts of over £1bn.

This has led to fresh talks about the future of privatisation in this sector. Christian Wolmar a leading train and transport correspondent said,” If National Express goes to the government, it will not get more money but it may be allowed to go over to a management contract.

“But if that happens, there will be queue at the door for similar arrangements from the other franchisees. That will mean the effective collapse of the franchising system. Clearly new franchises will no longer be able to be let on the basis of private companies taking the revenue risk, which negates much of the point of the whole system.”

Nationalisation of the train network began during World War II and during the mid 60’s was split into the big four. This included British rail but in 1994 under the Major government the railway sector was privatized.

But it has not been plain sailing and disasters such as Hatfield and Paddington crashes were two major blows to the credibility of the privatised railway sector.

In the years since much of the sector has went back into government hands with the most prominent takeover being Railtrack in 2002.

The failure of National Express has led to calls for more nationalisation sooner rather than later. Aslef the trade union for train drivers have urged the government to strip national express of its remaining c2c and East Anglia franchises.

A spokesperson said: ” National Express should not be able to keep those lines which are profitable and walk away from those that are not.”

A spokesman for National Express confirmed that ownership of east coast lines would fall into public hands.

The spokesperson said, “As of 23.59 tonight ownership will go to Directly Operated Railways, there will be no changes to timetables or any staff changes.”

The history of British railways has never been defined as stable. Since its birth nearly 150 years ago it has seen dozens of companies merge, split, go bankrupt, be nationalised, privatised and then renationalised.

The outcome of these new developments will hopefully bring more cohesion, but with the government planning to auction the route in 2011 the future of British railway lines is still uncertain.