Cold, Calder, Freezing

Halifax v Featherstone Rovers

Liversedge v Athersley Recreation

Boxing Day means no trains, and not owning a car, means I am at the mercy of whatever local buses are operating.  To their credit, West Yorkshire Metro had a fairly decent service operating, half hourly on major routes, the biggest constraint being last buses running at around 1800.

With rugby leagues move towards a summer season, Boxing Day has become the traditional first pre-season games.  These are kept local, with Leeds entertaining Wakefield and Halifax hosting Featherstone.  My choice was the latter.

So it was a mid-morning start off Sowerby.  Except I had to chase this bus to the traffic lights as the driver was dicking about with the ticket machine and didn't notice the queue of people at the stop, which seems a bit of an oversight.

Into the metropolis of Halifax.

A wander through a largely deserted town centre, with a reasonable amount of people heading for the game.

The Shay, silhouetted between a multi storey car park and a B&M Bargains superstore. 

Only a couple of the stands were open, I chose the main one.

I decided to have a look at what ground sponsors MBI do, their website states "MBi Consulting has a proven track record of identifying and creating opportunities within the UK income-generating asset marketplace", so the usual 'cut 30% of the workforce and give them a new logo' merchants.

Halifax 14 v Featherstone Rovers 38, Pre-season Friendly.

When the Super League was inaugarated in 1996, Halifax were considered a big enough team to not be considered for a merger. After some high finishes, financial issues led to the club being relegated in 2003 and having a couple of bankruptcy scares.

Featherstone have also been outside the Super League set up for some time.  Last season, they were fourth in the Championship, qualifying for the Super 8s, but didn't get a single point in them.  

Halifax sold their traditional home, Thrum Hall, and moved into the Shay with Halifax Town. The money was meant to facilitate the rebuilding of the ground, but it got pissed away, and the rebuild dragged on for ages, and there are still some parts unfinished.

The main stand was the biggest culprit, and sat as a metal frame for a good few years.  Happily it has now been finished.

There are large terraces behind each goal, the town end for the home supporters.

Though only the opposite away terrace was open today

Whilst the main stand was being rebuilt, seats were added to the side cover, and this is the part of the ground that remains unbuilt. 

And so the season started, with the PA decreeing 'the boys are back in town'. 

Halifax opened the scoring with a soft try in the corner

They added a second but the kicking was shocking and most trys were unconverted.

However, Featherstone then took the upper hand, getting three scores.

The new season had brought new team wear.  Open, locks, Whoever knocks.

The rebuild budget had been spent before it got around to a new scoreboard.

Featherstone continued with the scoring.

A very decent game seeing as it was the first of the season.  It finished 14-38 to Featherstone.

I was back to the bus station, Bradford bound.

The only service operating was the long way round via Queensbury.  This heads up the hillside, looking down on Illingworth, with Halifix Rugby unions ground in the centre.

The planners of Yorkshire believe that any view can be bettered by adding electricity pylons to it, and this set skirt the hillside parallel to the road for the whole length of the journey.

Once over the top, the view is down to Keighley and Bronte Country, with a brief respite from the pylons, as they are lower down in the valley.

I had a +2 bus connection, so hopped off in Great Horton as the bus routes pass each other here.  However, my onward bus never turned up so I ended up walking down to the Interchange.

Eventually the next one rolled in.  It was a flat £3.50 all day ticket for anywhere in the Metro area.

I was on a Dewsbury bound service.  This took us up to Odsal Top, passing Odsal stadium.

It also went passed the new station at Low Moor.  Network Rail hate the thought of having any more infrastructure to look after.  If there are any proposed, they give hideously expensive quotes.  If anyone is stupid enough to agree to them, they'll then royally fuck up the building so no-one will consider building another one.  Low Moor was started years ago, but the builders keep hitting mysterious mine works, so HS2 will probably be built before this opens.

I jumped off in Cleckheaton.  The town was previously an extremely prosperous mill town, but is now a commuter town for other parts of West Yorkshire, though it did manage to produce Danny Cadamarteri.

The town seems to favour cricket and rugby union, and the football team is right on the edge of the town, and is actually that of neighbouring Liversedge.  Another understated Kirklees ground entrance.

Though there was more prominent signage than Emley.

At the end of the lane the ground was reached.

Liversedge 0 v Athersley Recreation 0, Toolstation Northern Counties East League, Premier Division.

Liversedge were formed in 1910, playing in the Bradford League, before moving to the West Riding County Amateur.  Progress to the Yorkshire league in the 1970s, this became the Northern Counties East in 1982, where Liversedge have been since.

Athersley is a large 1950s housing estate on the north east fringes of Barnsley.  North Juniors were formed in 1979, playing in local Barnsley leagues.  They were renamed Athersley Recreation in the summer of 1986, and stepped up to the Sheffield and Hallamshire Senior League in 1997. After winning the league six times, in 2012, the club joined the Northern Counties East League, being promoted to the top division in their first season.  Their most famous alumni is Geoff Horsfield.

The Clayborn ground saw its greatest work in 2005, when the pitch was levelled, meaning a lot of the spectator facilities are on grass banks.

It is a slightly strange ground, in that as it is right on the edge of town, two sided look onto housing, whilst the other looks out onto open moorland.

This is the main stand, the focus being on an alliterative name over architectural merit.

Behind the goal is a very substantial cover, seemingly built by the Flintstones from stone blocks and telegraph poles.

The open sides.

My delayed arrival meant the teams were emerging as I entered the ground.

This was a special fundraising day for a local family who's young son has a brain tumour, and was the mascot.  I have absolutely no idea what the two players on the right are doing?

The exposed nature of the ground meant it was played in an absolute gale, which pinned play into the far quarter of the pitch.

To add to the weather challenge, there was glaring sunshine at the other end.

This saw a rare outing of a @keeper_caps

Encouragingly, the club have firmly embraced the grass banks as a viewing area, and provided seating on them.

Though they are in a differing state of repair, like a non-league stone henge.

The facilities are all in a quaint corner pavilion, housing the changing rooms, bar and tea hut.  Liversedge did qualify for promotion to the Northern Premier in 2005, but the changing rooms did not meet ground grading requirements.

The contrast to the bucolic views.

The game was just awful.  Really, really bad.  The players were trying, but the pitch wasn't the best, and the wind and sun meant neither side ever looked like scoring.

This game looked more likely to see a goal.  In the background is the old railway from Healey Mills to Bradford, it shut in the 1980s.

Still no goals.  Or chances.  Or moves of more than two passes.

There was a decent following from either side, wisely occupying the warmth of the pitch end shelter.

At least there was a @keepers_towel to record.  The game finished 0-0, the weather definitely being the winner.

I headed back to the centre, and was surprised to find a decent sized bus station.

Though despite it being lit up and all the information screens showing current information...

...it was on lock down.



So I headed to the high street, with my bus arriving in the fading light next to the town christmas tree.

Despite it being a fairly basic Wright Commander, it was fitted with USB charging points.

The buses were only running until 1800, so I had a man of steel move at Odsal top.  Off the 268.

Down past the rugby ground.

Just in time to get the last bus to Halifax.

I had a minus four connection onto the last bus to Sowerby.  We made good time and by jumping off outside the bus station, I chased my next move through town to catch it on the ring road. 

This saved a 90 minute walk, and dropped me back into Sowerby in time to notice the Christmas lights.