Net

The last time I'd seen South Shields they were hoisting aloft the FA Vase at Wembley Stadium. Today they were in slightly more modest surroundings, visiting Brighouse Town in a Northern Premier League D1 North fixture.

According to footballgrounds.com Brighouse are my 30th closest team, a modest 9.8 miles from home. It still took me close on two hours to get there though, given its out of town location and the lack of straightforward public transport connections. I eventually settled on going by train and walking the two miles to the ground, which at least gave me a tour of some some Brighouse back streets that I hadn't been down before and the incidental reward of a deco cinema,  new plaque and a couple of post boxes and coal hole covers for the collection.

Brighouse have been struggling this season and are sitting third from bottom of the table. There's been no holding back Shields though: following their promotion from the Northern League at the end of last season they are carrying almost all before them (15 wins from 17 games at start of play). They're top of the table and looking well set for consecutive promotions.  As one of the ascendent teams of non-league football it wouldn't be a surprise to see them up in the National League in a few years. They're also very well supported, admittedly with ranks swelled by disaffected Sunderland fans, and a couple of hundred had made the journey down today which contributed to Brighouse's first 400+ gate of the season.

Shields had the better of the first half and went in two goals to the good. Brighouse came back strongly in third quarter of the match, pulled a goal back and were pressing for an equaliser. Things turned back in the favour of the Mariners in the 75th minute with a penalty that was awarded after several players of both sides fell over in a heap on top of the ball. Brighouse's protests saw them have a player sent off and Shields ended up romping to a 1-5 victory, which was a bit harsh on Brighouse.

Today's image comes from that last part of the match, when I found myself behind the Brighouse goalie's net with the post-sunset sky glowing above the ground.