Next home game for MRFC is Colne.
They are a funny side in as much as they either win or loose, no in-between with them. They have not drawn a game in the league this season.(SO FAR!!)
A win for MRFC will put us above them in the table.

Heres to a win for MRFC and a nudge further up that league table.

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From Mayo I say:

"Play Up You BLUES!!"

From: www.maineroadfc.com

20/01/2012 - Road Hoping To Leapfrog Colne

With some milder weather this week our game at Brantingham Road is looking good to be on. Colne lie two places and two points better off than Road and have played a game less.Last season Road defeated our visitors 4-1 at home, but went down 2-1 at Colne with a side (and management!) that was depleted due to the counter-attraction of an FA Cup Semi-Final at Wembley.

With the major Premier League games not being played until Sunday, it is a good chance to get down to Brantingham Road and give the lads a cheer.

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MAINE ROAD F.C.
South Manchester's Premier Club

Game definitely ON!

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MAINE ROAD F.C.
South Manchester's Premier Club

Lost 0-3
Well between them, the wind and the referee managed to ruin what might have been an interesting encounter.

How on earth he missed the blatent elbow on Eddie when he was a yard away from the incident yet thought that Andy's challenge, well inside the Colne half, was worthy of a yellow card as their player was through on goal mystifies me.

In fairness to Colne they took their goal very well, it was a neat finish into the corner from the edge of the area however the ref did seem to favour them when making decisions in the first half which rankled with our lads.

Josh got himself needlessly booked for having a word with the officials as they walked off at half time and there was a certain feeling of forboding as we took the field for the second half.

The referee seemed to get his wish after ten minutes when Josh flew into a challenge that put the ball into touch but was no where close to their player and the man in black couldn't get the second yellow out quick enough.

About five minutes later a throw in right in front of the Leaky Creaky faithful found it's way to Paul's feet, their defender wrapped his arms around him but the ref denied us the free kick.
The ball got stuck between a couple of players and as a more joined in Brocky's robust attempt to win it, which I thought (as it was right in front of me) was no worse than anyone elses, provoked an over reaction from the saintly Colne players and the man in black's hand made that well travelled route to his pocket to produce a straight red.

The remaining nine battled manfully but it was fairly inevitable that Colne added two more to run out 3-0 winners thanks in no small part to the massive helping hand from the ref.

My only hope is that the assessor who was in attendance will be recommending the referee seriously consider an alternative way to spend Saturday afternoons

Speed accuracy and brevity, and a few good complaints from 56.
Seem like it wasn't going to be our day and we were playing 12 men!!

Thanks for the quick report 56, by the way, did you get the Congleton programme sorted out yet?

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From Mayo I say:

"Play Up You BLUES!!"

Match Report Now Online.

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MAINE ROAD F.C.
South Manchester's Premier Club

Nicely put, MRFC56. Wish I could be as diplomatic.

I didn't have it down as an elbow on Eddie, but it was certainly a heavy smash in the face & directly in front of the referee. He was the architect of our downfall; he takes action there (no yellow, no red - just a plain, basic free kick) and none of what transpired would have followed. He then booked 'Killer' for rightly wanting to know why the referee hadn't taken action. The speed that yellow came out was a warning sign of what was coming...

His reading of the game beggared belief; a Road player clattered and given a free kick, fine. The same challenge, this time on a Colne player results in a free kick - and a yellow card. The referee then compounded his mistake by trying to say the Colne player was "through". He was still some yards inside his own half. I presume he meant that and not that Andy had gone straight through him simply because it was the same as the previous challenge - which didn't get a yellow. I might also point out that once you have committed to the tackle, you can't stop if the ball moves away.

Josh Gittings... Josh, Josh, Josh... First of all, he got all of the ball and the opposing player wasn't in any danger. The referee failed to apply risk assessment and hid behind letter of the law (which has failed in the Premier league recently). Josh, of course, had been in the ref's ear coming off the pitch at HT and said ref was on the look-out for any excuse - he really couldn't get that card out any quicker (but wait for it, he actually does...). Josh, there's no need for you to be making that kind of challenge anywhere on the pitch, let alone over on the touchline away from danger.

And then we get to Rob. And again it's the referee's fault, as just about everyone could see the Road player (Matt?) being held by their defender - he once again fails to give us a free kick and frustration spills over. It gets a bit scruffy with the loose ball and Rob came in over the top. Not denying he did. And how fast did that red come out? It was right in front of me, too - and it was no more than a yellow at the very, very most.

A little later and obviously enjoying the carnage he had wrought, he instructed the players to keep their "arms down" in what I took to be a deliberate wind-up of the home support considering the blatant 'arm up' he ignored in the 1st half.

I'd like to see the referee reported.

I would also like to thank the 9-men for battling away to peg Colne at 3. Good effort.

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Leaky Creaky Ultra