2007 Northern League Match 1
Match Report
Hello and welcome to my first match report of the 2007 Northern League Campaign. After last year's successful promotion challenge ended in victory on a torrent showery day over in Cleckheaton, this year's opening match in the North of England League Division One took us back to Yorkshire to the impressive South Leeds Stadium.
After last year's success as team manager I was aware that the challenge this year would be greater and the squad would have to raise their performances to maintain their progression and status within the top flight. From last year's campaign most people are aware of my strategy for success, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”; and the seven P’s “Prior Planning and Preparation Prevent P Poor Performance” (I know you’ve just counted those P’s to make sure there are seven - add your own in for the missing one!). So four weeks prior to the opening fixture I was preparing my team sheet as usual, ringing round and speaking to the various squad members and on paper I don’t think I have ever put together such a strong side as the one I had. But what was to follow I don’t think even I could have imagined. Factors which plagued the team last year were all striking at once and crippling the squad. Fixture clash, a growing injury list and some pathetic excuses off some athletes meant a total reshuffle of the team and left too many empty spaces on the declaration sheet and this proved to be our downfall.
However, undampened by this, the remaining squad members showed their true Wigan grit and team spirit which brought us the promotion success last year and rallied round to cover events, which for a manager gives you a great feeling and the drive to pick yourself up and keep going.
The weather at the start of the day was similar to the team’s frame of mind cloudy and overcast. But as the day progressed so did the weather to a more bright, sun-drenched one and in turn so did the atmosphere of the squad.
The day started with the men’s hammer. In this event was Dave Steele and making his Wigan debut Steve Killen. Both athletes made strong starts to their league campaigns throwing impressive distances for so early in the season; setting a good foundation on which to progress from. Steve also showed why he has been a class off-season signing, when he took flight in the pole vault. In the Northern League this event never has a full quota of athletes taking part, and so many vital points go to waste. But Steve’s multi-event ability secured these vital points in this event. Team Capitan Carl Fletcher had a mixed afternoon. Along with Dave Steele he had a nightmare in the discus circle - both of them throwing three no throws in succession, something I have never seen before and seriously hindered our overall point’s total. However Carl did go on to provide us with a dominant display in the shot effortlessly easing to victory. The other male throwing contingent saw two of the most consistent Wigan athletes competing in the Javelin in Adrian Cawley and Andrew Ormeshaw. Both athletes never fail to turn out and never fail to give you 100% and this was again the case today.
The women’s throws saw a welcome return from Anna Griffiths to the Northern League squad who, along with Kim Halliwell, and National Leaguer Beth Lishman took control in their respective events putting in some impressive and respectable performances to bring home some much heeded points for the team.
The track started off in the usual fashion with the women’s 400m hurdles - competing in this was Shona McPherson. With a strong off-season, Shona has come back a much stronger athlete mentally and this showed when she ran a controlled race from start to finish gaining victory in the opening event. She also, like so many squad members on the day, helped to cover other events in competing in the 200m and the 4x100m relay. In the men’s 400m hurdles there was a rare appearance for Danny Hind in the A string event. Danny went well laying down a respectable enough time on which to build on. But Danny’s day didn’t end there, 10 minutes after this event Danny ran the 800m and, obviously tired from his exertions in the hurdles, had the character to finish.
The sprint squad we had on the day was an extremely strong and talented one which saw Tom O’Brien, Danny Whittaker, Jamie Vickery, Kayleigh Hill and Hayley Jones compete. All the guys looked really explosive out of the blocks and ran some really impressive and notable performances which are encouraging for this stage of the season. Special mentions have to go to Tom who on the day went from event to event competing in no less than 5 events and Hayley who’s 400m display was delightful to watch as she ran a perfectly controlled race.
The men’s 400m saw Tom Ashworth go in the A string race coming home in 52 seconds. Tom would be satisfied with that time for this early in the season but he knows that there is plenty more in the tank and greater performances will come as the season progresses. The B string event saw the second of our new signings making his debut in Glen Hamilton, recently signed from Manx Harriers. Glen ran, for his standards an under par race but under the circumstances should be satisfied with his display. Hopefully the foot injury which is troubling him can clear up soon and we can see Glen run to his best and put the guys in the 4x400m relay team under pressure for a place in the team.
The distance events saw the Wigan Phoenix athletes make their usual splendid contribution to the squad by competing over the 5k, 3k and the steeple chase respectively. Phil West, Mo Manier, Rod Hart and Lyn Jolly all ran superbly in the hot conditions to bring home vital points for the team. A special mention has to go to Phil West who due to my admin mix-up had only 7 minutes warm before the steeple chase but still got round and finished in a relatively competitive time. In the women’s event the Culshaw sisters in Kathryn and Debbie competed in the distance events but also showed their versatility in competing in the Javelin too. And I know Kathryn will love me for saying this - she beat sister Debbie my well over 2m in this event.
The last of the female competitors on the day saw another National Leaguer squad member Jackie Cooke turn out. Going into the match Jackie was carrying a slight injury which meant her pulling out of the triple jump to focus on her 100m hurdles race. Unfortunately due to the colour markings on the floor the forth flight of hurdles were further away than they should have been - which only added to Jackie’s injury. But as the race was restarted Jackie picked herself up and went on to finish the race showing what the Wigan team spirit is all about.
The men’s 800m saw Danny Kevan go off in the A race. Looking comfortable through the first 500m Danny began to suffer with fatigue due to the lack of training prior to the match due to a troublesome calf injury. However he made up for this ten fold by running a superb, vital leg in the men’s 4x400 relay team which set them on their way to victory. In the 4x400m relay Danny was joined by Chris Bryant who along with Danny Griffiths competed in the 1500m. Both looked comfortable but it was Chris who dominated the race. Even in 2nd place he seemed to be dictating proceedings and at the bell went on to stride home to victory.
Finally I want to thank all the officials and supporters who travelled to Leeds on the day. You did a tremendous job in gaining vital points which we would have lost and also for the constant encouragement all day to keep team spirits up. The official’s team was headed by Dave Culshaw Track Judge, Tony McDonald time keeping and the field judging team of Janet Hind, Frances Griffiths, Trevor Painter and Mark Griffiths.
All in all having a chance to look back at things to finish fifth with the patched up team we had was a great achievement. However I know this team can achieve so much more and I know they will demand a better display at the next match at home in Wigan. In the majority of events we weren’t out classed by the opposition it mearly the fact of not fielding a full side. With this in mind we look ahead to the next match and put our focus on finishing higher up the final standings. Keep up the hard work guys and the rewards will come.
Hope you enjoyed the match, be good Danny.
Performance of the Day - Hayley Jones
Hayley showed her international class with dominant and mature displays in both the 100m and 400m, and her amazing anchor leg of the 4x100m.
Sight of the Day - Steve Killen
Pushed for this award by Carl Fletcher and Dave Steele’s discus nightmare, it was Steve’s pole vault performance that caught my eye. Who says “white
men cant jump”, with Steve’s graceful performance on his Wigan debut?
Sound of the Day - Carl Fletcher
Picking up the same award last year for his girlish cries whilst competing in the shot, Carl has improved this with a more manly vicious roar - so
vicious, in fact, that it delayed the start of not one but two 200m races!!!
Athlete Performances
The performances of the Wigan athletes at this meeting were as follows.
Men
| Event | 'A' Competitor | 'B' Competitor |
| 100M | Tom O'Brien (11.6) | Danny Whittaker (11.3) |
| 200M | Tom O'Brien (22.9) | Danny Whittaker (22.6) |
| 400M | Tom Bolan-Ashworth (52.0) | Glen Hamilton (53.5) |
| 800M | Danny Kevan (2:12.1) | Danny Hind (2:23.9) |
| 1500M | Danny Griffiths (4:10.9) | Chris Bryant (4:00.0) |
| 3000M S/C | Phil West (10:36.8) | |
| 5000M | Rod Hart (17:01.4) | Mo Manier (17:03.2) |
| 400M Hurdles | Danny Hind (59.1) | |
| 110M Hurdles | Danny Hind (20.0) | |
| Long Jump | Tom Bolan-Ashworth (3.64) | |
| Triple Jump | Jamie Vickery (10.65) | Danny Hind (9.14) |
| High Jump | Tom O'Brien (1.88) | Tom Bolan Ashworth (1.75) |
| Shot | Carl Fletcher (15.10) | Steve Killen (10.40) |
| Discus | ||
| Javelin | Andrew Ormesher (51.14) | Adrian Cawley (42.82) |
| Hammer | Steve Killen (32.75) | Dave Steele (25.92) |
| Pole Vault | Steve Killen (2.10) | |
| 4x100M Relay | Vickery/O'Brien/Hind/Whittiker (44.7) | |
| 4x400M Relay | Bolan Ashworth/Kevan/O'Brien/Bryant (3:23.8) |
Women
| Event | 'A' Competitor | 'B' Competitor |
| 100M | Hayley Jones (11.8) | Kayleigh Hill (13.0) |
| 200M | Shona McPherson (25.5) | Kayleigh Hill (26.3) |
| 400M | Hayley Jones (56.2) | |
| 800M | ||
| 1500M | Deborah Culshaw (5:02.1) | Kathryn Culshaw (5:52.2) |
| 3000M | Lyn Jolley (10.34.5) | Kathryn Culshaw (11:55.6) |
| 400M Hurdles | Shona McPherson (63.2) | |
| 100M Hurdles | Jackie Cooke (15.0) | |
| Long Jump | Anna Griffiths (4.00) | |
| Triple Jump | ||
| High Jump | ||
| Shot | Anna Griffiths (9.98) | Beth Lishman (7.27) |
| Discus | Kim Halliwell (28.24) | Anna Griffiths (22.97) |
| Javelin | Kathryn Culshaw (18.33) | Debbie Culshaw (16.64) |
| Hammer | Beth Lishman (32.52) | Kim Halliwell (18.56) |
| Pole Vault | ||
| 4x100M Relay | McPherson/Hill/Griffiths/Jones (49.5) | |
| 4x400M Relay |
Photo Gallery
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