A trip to see Farsley Celtic with Goat Major and Paddy turned out to be a remarkable spectacle, I can’t ever recall attending a game where three players were sent off, let alone one where the departed were on the same side. Hucknall Town’s Gary Sucharewycz, Gary Ricketts and Dan MacPherson all saw red in a dramatic first half.
We were too busy congratulating Paddy about the birth of his second son when the first incident took place. We looked over towards the far side of the pitch where a group of players were jostling and involved in a bit of “handbags at 10 paces”. From the melee Mr Hart the referee extracted Sucharewycz and to our delight brandished a red card. The game was only around 9 minutes old. Later reports suggested that an elbow was involved during an off-the-ball incident with Matthew James.
It was just the lift Farsley needed in their quest for three vital points, but things got even better for the home side and even more bizarre six minutes later when Hucknall’s captain Ricketts joined Sucharewycz in the early bath. Ricketts clearly went in two footed with studs showing on Mark Jackson and was rightfully shown a straight red card, the referee sprinting over to administer the punishment. Jackson’s injury was so bad he hobbled off after five minutes of treatment and apparently a trip to hospital followed.
Amidst all this drama there was little football of note, Farsley struggling against the strong winds and the plucky rearguard action of the visitors. The best chance of the half came on 30 minutes through James Walshaw when he sprinted ahead of the Hucknall defence. Walshaw looked set to score but a lob over the keeper ended up in the side-netting. Just as we were gearing up for a trip to the burger van for a much needed warm drink, the half ended in sensational fashion when MacPherson smashed James in the face with an elbow. The blow sent James to the floor clutching his face. This time it was blatantly obvious, even from where we were stood, the assistant referee flagging for the foul, and following a conference between the officials the referee incredibly whipped out the third red card of the half.
HT Farsley Celtic 0 Hucknall Town 0 and the players left the pitch to my shout of “better keep the bath water running”.
Despite the visitors being reduced to eight men, Farsley struggled to make the advantage count at first in the second half even though they often had ten men in the opponents’ half. The final ball was lacking, and we began to wonder if Hucknall might escape with an unlikely point. I opined that if Farsley didn’t beat a side with 8 men it was time to call for the manager John Deacey’s head. However a valiant defensive display to keep Farsley at bay was not enough to prevent Hucknall falling behind on 55 minutes. Rory Prendergast was found at the back-post and he fired towards goal resulting in the ball deflecting off Chris Timons for an own goal. The goal was devastating for Hucknall player-manager Mick Galloway who collapsed to the ground after seeing his team’s good work come unstuck.
Farsley were well in control but the wind was causing havoc as they struggled to add to their lead. The Hucknall keeper was also having a fine match, keeping out what chances the hosts managed to construct. It took the introduction of Jake Speight on 64 minutes to turn the game. Speight’s first chance came on 74 minutes when he low shot cannoned off the post and ended with Walshaw’s shot being blocked. I was beginning to fear a breakaway equaliser around this point, but Farsley finally sealed the win with a strike on 81 minutes after Amjad Iqbal’s header was saved well by the keeper only for Tom Penfold to capitalise on the loose ball by smashing home from the edge of the area.
Speight got his first goal for Farsley four minutes later. James Knowles did remarkably well down the right wing and got a low cross into the box for Speight to tap home on the goal-line. He scored again on 89 minutes with a header from close range that might have been claimed by Iqbal.
FT Farsley Celtic 4 Hucknall Town 0, and the shout of “Deacey out” was not required*
* As the players left the field I noticed that the Farsley Manager John Deacey was actually absent, I thought I hadn’t spotted him in the dugout. Had he already gone before I had chance to shout “Deacey out”? Turns out yes he had. A quick look at the club website showed he’d been relieved of his duties the night before, and his assistant Neil Parsley had been placed in charge of this match.
Deacey had been Lee Sinnott’s assistant during his successful stint at Farsley. When Sinnott departed for Port Vale, Deacey was eventually installed as his successor. Deacey failed to prevent Farsley’s relegation, and had overseen a disappointing start to this season. Supporters were becoming more frustrated with each game, the last one we attended against Droylsden highlighted his shortcomings. Having been comfortably on top without scoring, an injury to Andy Campbell forced the introduction of Mark Bett, who scored almost immediately. Despite the tricky Matthew James giving the very poor Droylsden left-back a torrid time, two minutes after the goal Deacey decided to settle for a 1-0 win replacing James with a defensive midfielder with almost half an hour left. Farsley lost all attacking impetus, and cruised for the rest of the game. It came as no surprise that Droylsden salvaged a point with a goal three minutes from time. Baffling substitutions and a negative approach were typical of Deacey’s reign, so it comes as no surprise that he has been sacked. A 4-0 win is a great start for Parsley and a welcome three points, but it was hard work. For a long time it seemed the best Farsley might manage against eight men was a 1-0 win, three goals coming late in the game to add some gloss to the performance. I was denied a chance to demand “Deacey out”, but ultimately got my wish. I wonder if the same will apply at Stoke? 
