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Thursday; April-ist; 2004 Blues Bye View


ONCE again, Clitheroe find them­ selves without a game on Saturday *


- and. many, eyes will - focus' on. their ? nearest challengers.


Woodley Sports and Mossley meet ”


each other in a game.that could prove pivotal to the league title. • - While a draw would probably be


the best result for the Blues, a defeat for either of their rivals could prove costly for.them at.the end of the sea­ son. ’ •


"


, Clitheroe will probably have.to bat­ tle right up imtil the'end of the sea­ son before the outcome is known.; • . After, two Saturdays without a game, the fixtures have thrown up -successive games against Nantwich Town.


After the Dabbers’ visit to Shaw- bridge'on Tuesday, Clitheroe will


i make the long return trip next Tues­ day night. •


The players would appreciate a large travelling crowd for this game,


i


and hopefully, the fans caii cheer the lads over the line between now and the end of the campaign. The reserves also remain in the


hunt for silverware, and played out: an entertaining 2-2 draw at Shaw-


- bridge against Woodley Sports in the - semi-final- of; the Reserve ■


Division;:


. Cup. The game will be replayed a t a : later date.


: -Lee Boyer’s side are in action again ; on Saturday when* they welcome: Ashton Town to Shawbridge, before <


; entertaining Padiham on Tuesday, a* :*' :Hopefully,.with the firs t team being without a game at the week-


: end, another good-sized crowd will support the team; while anyone not travelling to Nantwich will be more ;=


► than welcome on’Tuesday. Best wishes to Lee Sculpher and


the team for, the-remaining fixtures,- and hopefully the town will unite behind them as they push towards finally achieving the goal of Uni-. Bond football at Shawbridge. - Andy Alston


_ -


Both teams appear to.be in a rich vein of form- a t the moment', and:


AN AUDIENCE WITH: (left to right) Allan Whittle, Derek Temple, event organiser John Pickersgill, Gordon West, Derek Mountfield and compere Mark Jones at Shawbridge, Clitheroe. ' (T280304/4)


Get behind YOUR team by Adrian Capstick


AMBITIOUS Clitheroe chairman David Burgess has urged the town to back the Blues. With just two home


games remaining, the for­ mer manager wants a show of support to match that on the memorable journey to Wembley in 1996. Promotion to the Uni-


Bond League looks a cer­ tainty, whether as champi­ ons or not,. That will be the highest


level of football that the Shawbridge club has played in it’s 127-year his­ tory. But Burgess is con­


cerned about how the club will sustain enough fund­ ing to be a force to be reck­ oned with: “Nobody is pumping money into the club, we don’t have one sole benefactor, so we rely upon local support. “We have a long stand­


ing good relationship with Castle Cement, which we are very thankful for, and are in the process of nego­


tiating a new deal. “We also have good rela­


tions with various shops in town, but if we don’t raise funds through gate num­ bers and other means, then we are limited as to how much we can spend. “We’ve got to be able to


match teams financially as well as on the pitch.” The semi-final of the


Blues’ FA Vase home leg against Mangotsfield saw a record 2,000 fans witness Clitheroe achieve their Wembley dream. Now eight years later,


Burgess is calling on the people of Clitheroe to again show their support for another landmark in the club’s history. Further distances to


travel for away games and extra players to bolster the squad will be just two of the many financial con­ siderations the Blues will face next season, which is why a large crowd on April 17th against Congleton is what the Clitheroe chair­ man is calling for. Expectations are high


at the club, and their is no- one with greater aspira­ tions for the Blues than Burgess, who has put his heart and soul into new fund-raising initiatives. The “An Audience


With...” evenings with the likes of Kevin Keegan, Graeme Souness and Stan Tement have all been sell­ out successes. But although the organ­


ised friendly featuring the FA Vase Final team was enjoyed by all who took part, and Friday’s evening with four ex-Everton play­ ers was well received, the attendance numbers were a little disappointing. “Sixty people attended,


and they were mostly Everton fans who had a great night,” said Burgess. “I had hoped fqr anoth­


er packed out reception, and the prospect of raising £1,500 to split directly down the middle with us and the Everton Former Players Foundation. “But instead we only


raised £700, so we gave all the profits, apart from the


bar takings, to the charity.” The night in question


provided a valuable insight into the history of football


-in the 1960s and 1980s. In contrast to past


evenings, 1966 FA Cup finalists Allan Whittle, Gor­ don West and Derek Tem­ ple plus 1980s Everton star Derek Mountfield recalled their experiences that spoke of loyalty to one club, how players were tougher than their modern day equiva­ lents, and the joy of playing at Wembley. Whittle also fondly


remembered one time when the manager told him, bizarrely, to mark 1966 World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore, as he was a “better player”. A quiz was also held


about all things Everton, and even the comedian came from Liverpool. But turning attention


back to Clitheroe’s last home games of the season on April 17th and 24th, Burgess would like to see a crowd of 600 to 1,000 grace Shawbridge, which would make his efforts seem all the more worthwhile.


Blues manager offers no excuses by Adrian Capstick CLITHEROE manag-


^ er Lee Sculpher made no excuses for his side's battling 1-0 defeat on Tuesday - and rightly had no reason to. For the Blues created


enough chances to sink Nantwich Town in ju s t the first 15 minutes alone, and but for the lack of a clinical finish, they domi­ nated the game. But as always when


9770963365096


only one goal would do and a win was really a must, luck was just not on their side: “We had eight or nine very good chances to score, but one thing you can't legislate for is your strikers missing chances a yard from the goal,” said Sculpher. “That is not to lay the sole


blame at them,- but at half­ time we should have been 4-0 up without a doubt, and in the second half we had three or four more chances in the six yard box that you'd expect us to score from.” The visitors from Cheshire


really only saw sight of goal once all night, which was by far the most galling element of the game for the Blues boss.


♦ ♦ ♦ He said: “We had a lot of


possession, a lot of chances and they've had one half opportunity and it's ended up in the back of the net. “On another day that game


would have finished six or seven nil to us, without a doubt. “The goal was very poor,


we didn't react quickly enough to the free-kick and Kris (Richens) got caught in two minds. “But th a t said, I don't


think he had a shot to save in 90 minutes. “I have no excuses to make,


we missed the chances and that is the bottom line.” Clitheroe are now tied on


the same number of points as Mosslev after the Ashton-


Under-Lyne side beat Squires Gate 2-1 on Tuesday. But because Mossley have


a better goal difference, hav­ ing played one more game, the Blues have been knocked off the top. However despite this increased pressure, that also


■sees Woodley also pushing hard, Sculpher believes his Clitheroe side now have what it takes, but knows it isn't going to be an easy task. He said: “We've got six


games left now and it's still in our own hands, but we've made it very difficult for our­ selves. “The fact is we will mathe­


matically have to win all six of those games, and there is no other wav around it.


“All we can do is go to


Nantwich next Tuesday, play hopefully a little bit better and create the same number of chances as we did in mid­ week. “As to be honest, we creat­


ed more chances on Tuesday than we have created in the last three or four games com­ bined, and could have seen the game dead and buried. “We've now lost two on the


bounce at home, and not scored a goal in either gamej but the effort was there for all to see. “But I'm sure tha t come


next Tuesday, everyone will roll up their sleeves and get the necessary result.” ® Match report - page 70 ® League table - page 69


B,ChrisBoden,Phil...


www.reidys.com 7 -1 3 Penny Street. Biackbum 01254 265 212


i §


Thyssen * named pro


CLITHEROE Cricket Club have unveiled young South African all-rounder Craig Thyssen as professional for the forthcoming Ribblesdale League season. The 20-year-old, playing his first full sea­


son for Eastern Province, represented South Africa Under 19s last summer in England. This will be his first job as professional,


but he has already shown a liking for English conditions, scoring an unbeaten century in one of the tests, and taking several wickets during the series. More recently he helped the Springboks


win a commonwealth tournament in India. Thyssen has a Level 2 coaching award and


will be heavily involved with the coaching of the club’s junior section, as well as the seniors. Clitheroe captain Neil Bolton said:


“Although Craig is only a young lad, he has played at the highest level throughout his career, and I feel he will be a tremendous asset to the club. “He is rated in South Africa as one of the ®


games brightest young talents and as a pos­ sible future Springbok. “He should be here in time to play in our


pre-season games, so hopefully he can g et' acclimatised before the season kicks off a t , Biackbum Northern on April 17th.”


'


• GIANT Australian paceman Josh Mar- quet will be Whalley CC’s professional for the forthcoming season. The 34-year-old has been a star performer


in the Tasmania Cricket Association’s pre­ mier competition over recent seasons, regu­ larly one of the leading wicket takers. AnH the lively right-arm quickie has plen­


ty of experience on these shores, having spent five years in the Northern League with Chorley, where he took a combined 299 wick­ ets at just over 15. In his final season, he led the averages with 69 at 12.85. He spent a season with Norwich last year,


where Marquet, who is an ACB Level II coach, was club coach.


Standing at over 6ft 4ins, the Melbourne-


born ace will hope to propel the Station Road side up the table.


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