By Richard Lusmore
Due to a combination of the weather and pre- planned events, the players of Easington United now face what amounts to a second “mid-season break” in the space of a month.
After having returned from the Christmas/New Year layoff at the start of the month, just two games later the locals are now facing up to another two- week gap. Indeed, in the first team’s case it will be three given that their next scheduled fixture isn’t until 11 February.
The reasons for the lay-off are two-fold. First there was last week’s cold snap, which resulted in all three Saturday fixtures falling victim to frozen pitches, as did the Vets game on the Sunday.
This weekend was already blanked out in the calendar due to a club social event (the famous “Otley Run” pub crawl). Had we been able to predict the weather beforehand, we could have brought that event forward a week without any disruption to fixtures!
For first team boss Craig Smalley, the only consolation in having no games is that the break allows him time to get back to something like full mobility, following a recent knee operation. Similarly, the lack of action will also help some of those players who are currently carrying niggling injuries.
Despite the lack of upcoming games – or perhaps precisely because of that reason – there was yet another excellent turnout at training on Monday at Withernsea High School. Coach Mark Richardson described it as a “fab session with great attitude and hard work” on show. It’s the sort of thing the team managers will be glad to hear as well as hoping this can be replicated in future performances.
With last Thursday having seen double the usual number in attendance at Soccer Kings in Hull for the week’s second session, plus heightened interest in the accompanying Tuesday night gym nights, the hope must be that such commitment will soon be rewarded by an upturn in results on the pitch!
While there was little action on the field last week, off it things continue to happen as the club seeks to improve its home at Low Farm.
Following a fruitful meeting of the Easington Recreation & Sports Association, the club has been given the green light to press on with various plans, ranging from immediate enlargement of the existing car park area to ambitious long-term pitch improvement plans, in conjunction with the East Riding County FA.
On a less pleasurable note, the two organisations have also agreed to the implementation of CCTV cameras around the venue, a course of action taken as a result of several unwanted incidents at the ground in recent times. The village has a sport and recreation field it can be proud of – let’s keep it that way (and that message also goes to those irresponsible dog owners who fail to leave the field as they found it!).
Finally, following several requests, anybody looking to purchase items of Ezzies clubwear is advised to check out the online APX shop, which can be accessed via the club website at theclubHQ.com/ easington-united-afc.
Easington United AFC continues to welcome any form of sponsorship on offer and any business/ individual wishing to back the Eastenders in 2023 can contact us at [email protected].
For up-to-date news, check out our website at easington-united.co.uk, along with our social media pages on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (@EasingtonUtd).
