This week's game was brought to you by the letter F*

Saturday 13^th August 2011 – Curzon Ashton v Radcliffe Borough

And we’re off. The new season has finally arrived and a home game for the first match to boot. Curzon Ashton took on Radcliffe Borough with the knowledge that Radcliffe had not won their opening game for 15 years and haven't beaten Curzon at home since moving to the Tameside Stadium. All positive omens for Curzon.

The game had only just kicked off when just five minutes in, it had to be stopped. No fighting had broken out, no-one was injured, no-one was arguing. Somehow the liner had broken his flag. What he'd been doing with the flag, I don't know - waving it too vigorously perhaps? Anyway, everyone had to wait until a replacement could be found, and after five minutes, one was. Phew. On with the game.

Can you see what it is yet?

We had the referee assessor sat a couple of rows in front of us in the first half. Peeking over his shoulder, we tried to decipher his complicated chart and associated notes. None of which made any sense. My mind was well and truly boggled. Earlier, I'd seen a message on Twitter from the ref who said this was his first Evostik game. He obviously wanted to make a lasting impression in his first match as he booked around eight players (or more - I lost count). And they deserved them as this was a pretty rough game with plenty of pushing, tripping and pulling.

In the first half, it seemed as though Radcliffe were leading a charmed life until Dave Young finally found the net and scored. Huzzah! First goal to Curzon. As it turned out, it was the only goal. It was the classic game of two halves unfortunately and the first half domination by Curzon fell away in the second. But still, 3 points is 3 points.

It’s still feels slightly odd to sit behind the dugouts without the bellowing at the players from the management. Shouts of, “Well done son” from the coach still seem a little alien but is something we at Curzon are quite happy to get accustomed to.

In other news, this was the week John broke his diet and bought a pie. This he shall be reminded of all season. Don't forget to keep tuned for more pie news throughout the year.

Final Score – Curzon Ashton 1 Radcliffe Borough 0

*Foul