Hull City (20-12-2014)

Hull City 0 - 1 Swansea (Premiership), Saturday 20th December 2014

Train £18-30
Ticket £16
Programme £3
Tea £1
Paper & gum £1-09
Total = £39-39

I had aimed to do 12 grounds in the first half of 2014-15, and made that with this visit to Hull City. This held great appeal as it was a 'close' ground, which was reasonably priced (£16) and was unlikely to be called off. At this time of year it's all about thinking tactically and being flexible with grounds, what with the interference of British weather, a bundle of cup games and my own general tiredness.

Although technically in Yorkshire, Hull was around 90 minutes by train from Sheffield - this certainly makes me appreciate how big God's own county is! To some extent I've been shielded from the full cost of much train travel this season and last, thanks to my Trans-Pennine season ticket and focus on North West grounds. So today's £25-30 to Hull was initially a shock, even when I saved £7 with a rail voucher. This was perhaps offset by the very reasonable £16 for entry, which must compare favourably with many Premiership grounds.

I have to admit that I feared that the KC would be a soulless cavern with very little atmosphere, but I was delighted to be proved wrong. The approach to the stadium from the station took in the nicely-named 'Tiger's Lair' pub, and when I arrived at the ground, the programme seller wished me a happy christmas. After whipping out the e-ticket to get through the turnstile, I took up my place near the corner flag. The ground was fairly full, and there was no sense of gloom around despite Hull's recent poor form.

The game began fairly evenly weighted, with both hull and Swansea having spells of possession in midfield. Hull did look a little laboured, while the away side's passing was altogether crisper. Despite Hull's hard work, Swansea took the lead when Jonjo Shelvey's shot was agonisingly deflected past a stranded Alan MacGregor. It was undeserved to be honest. Hull went on to rattle the cross bar and the post so were no mugs in this first half.  The off-field highlight came when a young chap emerged from the steps into the stadium, carrying a laptop which appeared to have some kind of an aerial attached. I wondered if he was measuring decibels here today?

There was no lack of effort from Hull in the second half, but Swansea were just that bit better. It was their chance to hit the post. Hull's best chance came late on when a free kick was swung in from the right and nearly brought them level. At points it was end to end football but the reality is that Hull never seriously threatened, having all the penetration of a rubber nail. At the final whistle Swansea were well in charge, having the luxury of replacing the live wire Gomis with Bony. 

As I left the ground and trudged back to the city centre with the crowds, I got a definite sense that this was the last game before Christmas. The shopping centre near the station was buzzing with activity, and had an impressive array of Christmas lights. To ameliorate the wait for the train, I had a cup of tea in the nearby Tesco cafe and even purchased a seasonal card! 12 grounds in the bag for this half-season, and I was nearly over the hump of the shortest day. Lets see what January brings!

Swallownest MW (09-12-2014)

Swallownest MW 0 - 7 Handsworth Parramore (Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup Quarter-Final), Tuesday 9th December 2014

Entrance = £4
Programme = £1
Tea = 50p
Total = £5-50

Nearly 2 years ago, I came to Swallownest's ground for a league cup Quarter-final against Handsworth. On that cold January day, Swallownest triumphed after a header in extra time from 'Rhino'. Today again pitted these two local clubs against each other, and I couldn't resist the short drive to the 'Swal Siro' for this one.

The ground has developed significantly since my last visit. Previously, there was a blue rope marking the edge of the pitch; now there was the standard white fence-cum-pole as a more solid boundary. Whereas before there was an opening into some trees at the far end, there was now a fence enclosing the football ground. And of course, the tiny detail key to an evening game is that the ground now has fully functioning flooodlights. In fact, I believe that this evening's match may have been the first under lights here. I understand that Swallownest have ambitions to reach the NCEL, which would be fantastic as they are pretty local to me, and would expand the growing power-base of clubs in South Yorkshire. Handsworth, in contrast, are already in the NCEL, playing their games at Worksop's Sandy Lane. This should be an intriguing clash tonight.

The first 40ish minutes saw a very evenly weighted match. Handsworth looked superior initially, but Swallownest had clearly come with a game plan. This mainly involved containing the away side, before moving the ball quickly via some swift counter-attacking. Early on they tested the Handsworth defence when a shot had to be cleared off the line at the far end. Then they somehow rattled the cross-bar after the ball had taken a wicked deflection. They were holding their own. Handsworth, as ever, looked bright, sparky and creative, but seemed well-matched for once. 10 was at the centre of the action, when he landed up in a 3-man scrum when driving forward, and fired wide after a cross was cleared away. This was an even clash, and I thought that if the 'Swallows' (is that their nickname?) could get to the break intact, we could have an intriguing second half. Just as the thought had occured, Handsworth rattled the home cross-bar with a fierce shot, the ball bouncing on the line. Agonisingly for the home side, Handsworth's Whittington managed to get his head to the ball to make it 1-0.

The goal would prove to be crucial. I had barely taken up my place on the terraces near the dug-outs when Handsworth's Smith made it 2-0 on 48 minutes. A goal either side of half-time was really a killer when an underdog was seeking out any sniff of a chance. The floodgates opened. Handsworth's Whittington scored his second of the game to make it 3-0, before Travis finally grabbed a deserved goal. All of this happened before 60 minutes was on the clock! The main event of the second half was when the referee pulled up, and looked to have pulled a hamstring/groin. Despite the short break, Handsworth were not put off and did not take their foot off the gas. Their fifth arrived when 7 scored a terrific top corner goal from inside the box, and six came when 16 headed in after a great cross. Another Handsworth sub joined in the fun when he tapped in a low cross. Amazingly, Swallownest somehow prevented further damage and made it to full-time 'only' at 7-0.

I suspect this defeat will hurt for many years to come, but  equally this could be their equivalent of Manchester United's 4-0 thrashing in the Nou Camp, which was a watershed moment, perhaps their biggest lesson, on their way to European success. I hope that Swallownest continue to develop as fast as they have done in the 2 years since my last visit, and believe that one day we may see a more tightly fought match between two of the city's best non-league clubs.

Ramsbottom United (22-11-2014)

Ramsbottom United 3 - 1 Grantham Town, Saturday 22 November 2014

Manchester Metro ticket = £5
Toilet at Bury = 20p
Tea = 70p
Entrance = £9
Bus (Ramsbottom-Bury) = £3-80
Total = £18-70

On a potentially wet day in November, I headed off for Darwen's ground - another 'difficult to do' one worth a crack as winter approached. I was wary of postponements and kept a close eye on the Twitter feeds for the NWCFL and the club themselves. And lo and behold the FA Vase game at Darwen had been called off. Fortunately I had come prepared with alternatives, and as the train pulled into the edifice of Piccadilly, I decided to make a punt on Ramsbottom United. Sitting just north of Bury, I established that I could catch a tram out and walk/bus it from there. Irritatingly I had to catch the tram to Bury from Market Street, perhaps the busiest tram stop in Manchester. As the tram trundled through the streets and gradually cleared the city, I began to relax and look forward to today.

Arriving at Bury, I had to quickly see a man about a dog (paying 20p for the privilege) before setting off on a quick march to 'Rammy' as it is affectionately known. This must have taken just over an hour to walk, with the non-descript grey housing of Bury giving way to some glorious Lancashire countryside. This was a great time of year to visit as the Autumnal colours lent a certain rich tint to the fields and hills up to the town.

Ramsbottom is something of a non-league hoppers' favourite, and I can see why. Nestled alongside a railway line for a steam engine, and in the shadow of a nearby moor, this had a classic feel about it. As I have done so many NWCFL clubs recently, I completely forgot that this was actually an Evostik Premier match, until the £9 at the turnstile sent me a clear message! I then opted for an excellent cup of tea in the club-house to the right of the turnstile, served in a china mug with the club's emblem on the side.

It must have been a long trip for Grantham today, but they out-did themselves in the first half. I was particularly impressed by the accurate passing of the midfield and strikeforce, who had an early penalty shout when 6 went down in the box. On 11 minutes (according to my watch), Grantham's 10 had a free header which he planted centrally into the goal to make it 1-0. Ramsbottom looked like a decent side trying to get out, and created chances of their own when 11 fired wide with his left foot, and 10 had a one-on-one shot well-saved. Despite the vociferous support of the home crowd, Grantham went in at half-time a goal up.

After the break, it was pretty clear that Ramsbottom had received a clear message from their manager! They were all over Grantham, who were beginning to flag and display weaknesses in defence. The home side's 10 fired over from the left wing, before their right-back made it 1-1 on 53 minutes. I now got the impression that this was Ramsbottom's to lose. In the midst of all this pressure from the home side, one of the Grantham central defenders burped, and said 'excuse me'! I wonder what he had eaten as a half-time snack?! As predicted, 'Rammy' took the lead on 64 minutes with a goal from number 9, before 4 had a shot saved, and 10 fired wide again (clearly not his day). On 90 minutes one of the Ramsbottom subs (15) made it 3-1, and the home side then earned a penalty when 14 was scythed down in the area. Somehow their number 9 contrived to plant the shot onto the bar. Either way it didn't matter, and Ramsbottom were excellent value for their win. Grantham's solitary second-half chance came when 2 had a shot which flew just wide.

On the way back, I decided to catch the bus back to Bury, and was shocked at the rather steep £3-80 fare. Nonetheless it saved my tired legs, and although I had to share a busy tram with crowds of Bury FC fans, I made it back to Manchester (and Sheffield thereafter) at a reasonable time.

Nelson (08-11-2014)

Nelson 2 - 1 AFC Liverpool (NWCFL Premier), Saturday 8th November 2014

Bus (Manchester-Nelson) = £9
Toilet at Nelson bus station = 20p
Entry = £6
Programme = £1-50
Tea x2 = £2
Bovril = £1
Total = £19-70

Today's game pitted Reds (Liverpool) vs Blues, with a photo of Joe Fagan on the programme cover. No, this time I wasn't at Anfield, but Victoria Park in Nelson, just north of Burnley. Nelson have the honour of being on my 'difficult to do' list (at least from Sheffield), so I'd decided to take advantage of the reasonable weather to do this one. Despite wet weather forecast over in Sheffield, I'd noticed several encouraging Tweets from Nelson saying the game was definitely on. What did we do before social media?!

As with Colne and Padiham, I travelled up on the X43 from Manchester, far quicker than any equivalent train journey would be. Nelson itself has a fairly modern bus station, and a few rows of bustling shops, including one called the 'sweet centre', with some attractive and colourful confectionery on display. I wandered down the streets until I found the road down to the ground - actually this was a cul-de-sac, but there was a footpath at the end which ran under the M65 and brought me out near Victoria Park. This ground was nestled behind a couple of rows of beautiful stone houses, with a footpath running towards the entrance to the ground. At the turnstile I handed over £6 entry - it seems that a lot of clubs in the NWCFL now charge this level of fee, while some I've visited only require £3-£4. It's the small things that matter!

The ground was a real contrast to the compact terraces of Colne's Harrison Drive, with a general impression of an expanse of grass with a football pitch in the middle. I'd entered behind one of the goals, and to the left were the aforementioned stone houses, which seemed to pretty much open out onto the ground. The area in front of them was cordoned off, presumably for the new Joe Fagan stand which the club are hoping to construct. At the far end on the left were the changing rooms and to my right was a green stand with 5 or so rows of seating, plus some short terracing too. After a cup of tea from the refreshment hut and observing the minute's silence, I took up my place towards the end Liverpool were attacking. AFC Liverpool that is! They had been founded in 2008 by some disillusioned Anfield fans, and had done reasonably well in the NWCFL set-up in recent times. Liverpool were 4 points ahead of Nelson in what looked like a packed cluster of clubs in the Premier division.

The game was generally well-matched, with waves of possession and dominance for both sides. Liverpool's 11 had a soft early shot saved, and then Nelson took the lead when Peter Wright curled a great shot to the keeper's right (I had considered an awful pun here but thought better of it!). Inside 14 minutes, Liverpool were level when a speculative low cross was somehow flicked goalward by Jake Sinnott. This goes to underline the importance of getting shots away no matter the situation. Despite the set-back, Nelson looked the better of the two sides, and far more organised, playing and defending as a unit. I was particularly impressed with the passing and communication between midfield and defence. There weren't many more chances before the break, with a solitary header wide from Liverpool's 14 the only real one to speak of. The game was being increasingly contested in a busy midfield, where tackles began flying in.

Half-time, and after a bovril to keep warm, I took up my place next to the 'tunnel', behind the goal being attacked by Nelson. The first thing I noticed was that the Liverpool keeper was wearing a green t-shirt with a club emblem on the front, but no number on the back! He honestly looked like a spectator who'd fancied a go in the nets. Then the game was halted for 5 minutes whilst the referee asked for the goal-net to be re-attached to the bar - this was fixed by a chap standing on a chair with a piece of string!

Once underway, a physical battle resumed in midfield, and Nelson began to slowly dominate proceedings. A fantastic first time volley from Nelson's 8 (think Mark Hughes vs Barcelona!) was tipped around the post by the away keeper. Then 10 somehow contrived to scoop a shot wide after a neat interchange in the box, and 11 had a snap shot saved. This looked like it could be a frustrating one for the home side. Nelson's 8 (who was the absolute dynamo of the whole team) then had a free-kick deflected by the wall, which then looped onto the cross-bar. It reminded me of clips of the West Germany goal vs England in Italia '90. Nelson finally took the lead on 83 minutes when a low cross rebounded off George Melling, who literally stood there and watched as the ball hit him and rolled in. He seemed somewhat perplexed as the ball had flown in so fast that he didn't have time to react. Liverpool carried some counter-attacking threat in the second-half, but I didn't record many shots other than when 9 went through, only to have a rolling shot cleared away. Liverpool's keeper saved another free-kick, proving he was actually supposed to be on the pitch, but he couldn't save his team from a 2-1 defeat. The 'real' Liverpool had lost 2-1 as well, but I have to say that I preferred this rather laid-back and friendly ground to Anfield. By the time I left the ground, it was pretty much dark, and with leaves underfoot, I had a feeling that winter was on the way...

Market Drayton (01-11-2014)

Market Drayton 2 - 2 King's Lynn (FA Trophy 1st Qualifying Round), Saturday 1st November 2014

Train ticket (Stockport-Stoke) = £12-70
Bus (Stoke-Market Drayton) = £6-20
Entrance = £7
Programme = £2
Tea = £1
Total = £28-90

Around 18 months ago, I very nearly came to see King's Lynn against Market Drayton, but instead managed to get away tickets for Newcastle-Liverpool (where the away side won 6-0 in a precursor to the 2013-14 season). By complete coincidence, today's game also coincided with the repeat fixture at St James Park. Today I'd opted for the long trip to Shropshire instead to see my first King's Lynn away of the season. I absolutely love these away games in the FA competitions, and have happy memories of early qualifying rounds when we used to be drawn away - Maldon (2004/05), Banbury (2005/06), Tring Athletic (2006/07) and Lincoln United (2007/08). This was another tricky ground to do, so I was delighted to be able to double this one up with a King's Lynn away.

Market Drayton sits in an awkward location from a public transport point of view, nestled between Stoke, Shrewsbury, Stoke and Telford. From the East of the Pennines, this is probably best-reached via Stockport. Again maximising my season ticket, I changed trains at Stockport and arrived at Stoke just after 12, in time for the 12.20 bus out to the town. The ride was along winding country lanes, and its a good thing I'm not a queasy traveller as it was quite a bumpy ride at times! I arrived at Market Drayton just after 1pm, and went for a wander round the town. This was obviously a quiet market town, with not much going on, though I did find an impressive church when walking down a back street. After deciding there wasn't much worth seeing in the town I headed for the ground - Greenfields. This was buried at the back of a lane which led to a rugby ground, tennis club and finally the football ground on the right. This was a curious ground, with the turnstile/entrance, an entire stand and the dug-outs made from wood. This was well-crafted and must be designed to be long-lasting, so I have to take my hat off to the carpenter who put it all together.

Today's game should be a straightforward win for King's Lynn, who are a league higher - on paper that is. King's Lynn definitely started more strongly, with Jackson Ramm cutting inside before having his shot smothered by the home keeper. Thomson then missed a sitter, while Dan Quigley combined with Spriggs in a smart move. Market Drayton's tactic was clearly to counter-attack, and they did this effectively on several occasions. It was to the delight of the home crowd that they took the lead when Askey made it 1-0 on 18 minutes. The away side continued to pour towards the home goal, and shots rained in from Bridges and Thomson, who rattled the post with one effort. Market Drayton's best chance came when O'Reilly hit a volley wide. We then had an offside goal disallowed, and Thomson missed when clean through. Maybe this wasn't going to be our day? This feeling was reinforced when we won a penalty at the end of the first half, only for Thomson to have hits shot well-saved by the home keeper.

King's Lynn started the second half again full of aggressive attacking. Spriggs, then Jones, had shots saved early on, and it seemed as though the match might turn shortly. Again, against the run of play, the home side doubled their lead after some nifty footwork from Joe Wolley allowed him to slot in. King's Lynn looked fired up for it now, but Market Drayton were clearly determined to hold the lead and pull off a shock. King's Lynn's 10 again hit over from close range, Frew hit another shot straight at the keeper, while Smith had a header over. Both defences looked completely ragged at this point, and the game was clearly there for the taking. But we just couldn't score! Frew, who had worked hard and been effective for much of the game, rattled the cross-bar, with the follow-up effort swept up by the Shaun Rowley. Then the substitute Sam Mulready poked home from close range to make it 2-1. The light was closing in, and we now had a nervous final few minutes. The teams continued to fight for the game, but King's Lynn looked buoyed by the goal. On 87 minutes, George Thomson popped up in the box to smash a superb first-time volley into the top left-hand corner of the goal. This was definitely deserving of an equaliser at such a late stage. The game as a whole had been the most absorbing I'd seen all year, and I was pleased to be able to go to another obscure ground with 'The Linnets' once again!

Liverpool (28-10-2014)

Liverpool 2 - 1 Swansea (Football League Cup), Tuesday 28th October 2014

Ticket = £28
Petrol (circa £60/2) = £30
Bus to Anfield (one-way) = £2
Programme = £3
Pasta pot = £2-20
Hotel (£75/2) = £37-50
Tea = £2
Chips with gravy = £2-50
Parking (£12/2) = £6
Total = £113-20

We must be gluttons for punishment after the loss against Madrid, and the disappointment of frustrating travel delays, last week. This time, I was off work, and as it was half-term, we'd spent some time up in Cumbria before driving down to Merseyside. The weather on the way down was appalling, with rain sheeting down (think stair rods!) on large sections of the M6. We'd set off at 1.30pm but only arrived in Liverpool at around 5pm, pulling up on some what looked like some wasteland behind the Adelphi. There are times when you can see how far Liverpool has come as a city in recent years. There are others when you realise that some things never change. This piece of rocky and exposed wasteland was apparently the hotel car-park! After checking in, I moved the car to the safer and altogether nicer surroundings of the Q-park (which was virtually the same price).

As time was running short, and given our experiences last week, I was keen to get to the ground early. We arrived in good time, but not too early, with the roads filling up and people pouring towards Anfield. It was time for dinner, and we stood at the corner of the Kop and Main Stand eating our chips and gravy/curry sauce. Unfortunately, the football lifestyle doesn't always lend itself to healthy eating!

After locating the turnstile, and finding the toilets, it was time for a cup of tea. Then we made our way up to the very back of the Kop, where our seats were in block 306, near to where we'd been for the Oldham FA Cup game in January. The view from the furthest reaches of the Kop is strange to say the least - you can see the whole pitch well, but the Anfield Road end and bits of the Main Stand are largely obscured by the angled roof. Tonight was a completely different affair to the turgid game served up against Oldham. The players looked up for this one after the stalemate with Hull at the weekend. Even players like Borini and Markovic had busy, industrious games, with lots of surging runs down the flanks and through the middle. Coutinho looked more involved, and Lambert was on the ball a lot, getting it down and passing well, without getting too many shots on target. Of course, as so often happens at Anfield, the away team took the lead when Emnes hooked a goal past the rather poor Brad Jones on 65 minutes.

This was turning into a Chelsea-type scenario from last year, and more that I could name from the 2011-12 season (West Brom, Fulham...). Liverpool, however, always looked like scoring in this one, and finally equalised when Balotelli steered in Borini's cross on 87. The atmosphere was terrific, and you could tell the crowd were willing a second. This feeling increased when Swansea had a man sent off late on. As if the Kop had 'sucked the ball into the net', Liverpool made it 2-1 late on when Lovren headed in deep into injury time (+ 5 minutes apparently!). The Kop went wild, and for a rare occasion, I'd seen a great atmosphere at Anfield under the floodlights, result in a great performance and a great win. This took Liverpool on to a Quarter-final tie away at Bournemouth, where there is surely a opportunity to achieve something in this cup this year.

Liverpool (22-10-2014)

Liverpool 0 – 3 Real Madrid (UEFA Champions League), Wednesday 22nd October 2014

Petrol (circa £60/2) = £30
Ticket = £55
Parking (£10/2) = £5
Manchester metro ticket = £5-30
Total = £95-30

There are disastrous journeys, and then there are disastrous journeys…

We’d managed to get tickets for this one by virtue of our attendance of Europa League games two seasons ago, which seems like an age away. Even then it was a struggle with Liverpool's notorious online ticketing system, and I had to try out at least 10 different block options before landing a couple in MX, the main stand, next to the Madrid supporters. Too good to be true? It certainly was.

On the Wednesday, I set off from work in Manchester to meet Mrs Groundhopper in Newhey, Rochdale, right near the M62. The tram out was smooth enough, but traffic on the motorway was heavy. Soon enough we were on our way, and crept past a couple of junctions before things sped up. Out of Manchester, and according to the sat nav (Clive!) we were still on time to make this. That is until we came up against practically stationery traffic on the M62 somewhere around Warrington/Huyton. This is normally the quick bit, but tonight nothing was moving. Things were getting pretty desperate, and it became apparent that we weren't going to make kick-off. Half an hour later and we'd moved a couple of metres. In this time, Madrid had blitzed Liverpool, who were now trailing by 3 at the break. More frustratingly, we'd missed a handy 20-min spell from Liverpool, and all the anthems pre-match. There went the first half.

So it was with good timing that we decided to come off at the next junction (Huyton) and try to navigate an alternative way to Anfield. I took over the driving at this point, and we pulled up to Goodison Park at 8.30ish. The blokes in high-viz looked confused - 'what are you here for?'. When it transpired it was the football, they said 'well you've missed the first half'. Silly time to state the obvious I think! After quickly parting with £10 for the parking, we raced across Stanley Park as quickly as we could, arriving just after the start of the second-half. Our entrance to the ground was surreal. All the turnstiles were closed, so we were directed to a fire exit door where two stewards were loitering, apparently checking people's cards and tickets. This is one situation where a hard-copy ticket would have been handy, as we both handed over the membership cards, and the numbers were promptly scribbled onto a clip-board by a helpful steward, whilst the other guy scanned the cards.

We entered the ground around 50 minutes, and finally sat down on 52 minutes. By this time it was all over as a contest. Liverpool had the occasional burst of pace from Can and Sterling, but never genuinely looked like scoring. Lallana did well with his ball-play, but looked limited when it came to the cutting-edge - goals and assists. Madrid were running in 2nd gear, but still looked miles apart from this Liverpool team. They exuded a classy intelligence on the ball, knowing exactly what to do in every tactical situation. We should have expected nothing less from a canny and astute Ancelotti, who I rate highly as a manager. Ronaldo, Kroos, Modric, Benzema were just some of the stars of the show this evening, and it was at times quite dazzling to watch the team in white on the ball. They attacked with speed and aggression, and defended with a surprising physicality. They were genuinely a class apart. For us, it felt like the game was over before it began, with fans streaming for the exits on 75 minutes. There was no real surprise in the result, but a certain feeling of anti-climax around Anfield. For us, this was amplified by having missed the key chunk of the match. The feeling of disappointment probably summed up Liverpool's season thus far.

Clitheroe (18-10-2014)

Clitheroe 3 - 2 Droylsden (FA Trophy Preliminary Round), Saturday 18th October 2014

Bus (Stockport-Manchester) = £3-10
Train (Manchester-Clitheroe) = £10-90
Entrance = £7
Programme = £1-50
Tea = £1
Total = £23-50

A running theme in my ground-hopping for 2014-15 is travel delays and hold-ups. Today's visit to another corner of East Lancashire brought more fret on the way to a ground on my 'difficult' list (both in terms of time and distance). The train from Sheffield-Stockport was no bother, except a 10-minute delay. I could still make the train from Victoria to Clitheroe, so was sure that once we got past Stockport I should be ok. Lo and behold, the train sat outside Stockport for 5-10 minutes, before pulling in, followed by an announcement that the train would be delayed by about an hour. In these situations, its impossible to know what to do. Staying on the train would add more time, whereas if I got off I could pretty much guarantee that any delays would be suddenly resolved!

I opted to take control of the situation, and headed out of the station onto the main road, hopping onto the 192 Stagecoach bus into Manchester. It was packed and due to the train delays, there were large queues of confused travellers congregating round the bus stops. On top of that, the City-Tottenham game was a 12.45 kick-off so the bus was full of fans desperate to reach the ground in time. It felt like the slowest bus in history, and I wasn't sure that I would make it to the city centre in time for the 13.06 from Victoria. To top it all, I'm sure I saw the train I had been on fly past on a bridge we went under! We made it to the centre at about 12.45, and I half power-walked/half sprinted to Victoria. Thankfully, I now have a mental map of Piccadilly-Victoria so was able to navigate this without too many problems.

Onto the 13.06, and to my relief there were no more delays as we trundled through a string of Lancashire towns on the way to Blackburn. Clitheroe is North of Blackburn, on the boundary of the Forest of Bowden, and is the end of the line, so (like Colne) this felt like the back end of nowhere. Arriving in Clitheroe at 2.20pm, I had time to explore the town. This proved to be the most interesting town I've visited this season, with a bustling market, a castle, and rows of independent/local shops nestled in cobbled streets. This is well worth a visit, even if you are not an avid non-league hopper! Today's game at Shawbridge was an FA Trophy preliminary vs Droylsden. The ground was another Lancashire gem, with a few covered sections mixed up with some truck containers, which doubled up as the tea-hut and hospitality bar! I took up my place in the main stand, and sipped some tea as the players warmed up.

The game was chaotic and unpredictable, though from a neutral's perspective, the quality was somewhat lacking. For the opening spell, the away side looked stronger and more determined, with 8 whacking wide on 10 minutes. Despite their early threat, it was Clitheroe who took the lead on 13 minutes when 10 slotted in a side-foot volley after some probing work down the wings. Gonzalez made it 2-0 on 22 minutes when he slotted in from close-range, and suddenly it looked like this could be a rout today. This didn't materialise, and the rest of the half had the team's evenly matched. Droylsden's right back launched a superb box-to-box run which he couldn't quite convert into a clear-cut chance, whilst a mix-up between him and the away keeper at the other end nearly resulted in Clitheroe's third. Clitheroe's 11 hit a swinging shot wide, whilst Droylsden's 10 had a left-footed effort deflected past the post.

2-0 up at half-time, and Clitheroe looked like they should be heading for the next round. The second-half started as equally balanced as the first had been, and the game was on when Fernando Moke was brought in the area, and 10 converted the resulting penalty. Droylsden now looked fired up and up for a fight. Stephen Hall went through and had his effort well-saved by the keeper's legs. At the other end, David Lynch scuffed wide after some excellent one-touch football. Moke threatened again at the home end, with his drilled shot saved, while Clitheroe's Gonzalez was tackled by the keeper when clean through. The game had suddenly opened up. Droylsden then equalised when number 10 was brought, and again calmly slotted in to make it 2-2. The home crowd were perhaps understandably frustrated by the award of both penalties, and the volume definitely went up a notch as the game went into the closing stages. The away side looked like they had grabbed a replay, until David Lynch slotted in a cross from the right-wing in what must have been the dying seconds of the game. The home crowd and players were jubilant, and all the refereeing decisions were forgotten as they celebrated a win which looked like it had evaded them. This was a mad game of football, and had been an excellent afternoon's entertainment. The long trek back to Sheffield on public transport was well worth it to see this lovely Lancashire town, and an open game of football against great surroundings.

England (09-10-2014)

England 5 – 0 San Marino (Euro 2016 Qualifier), 9th October 2014

Match ticket: £37-50
Megabus (Manchester-London & London-Sheffield): £13-50
Train ticket single (Marylebone-Wembley Stadium): £5
Tea: £2
Programme: £6
Pies, pasties and other provisions: £4-27
Total: £68-27

My strange and sometimes unexplainable love of the England national team continues to draw me back to Wembley, even for low-key matches against opposition like San Marino. I’d been there 2 years ago (almost to the day), when England had thrashed them 5-0 in a World Cup qualifier, and wanted to get to this one, as it would be the last realistic Autumn fixture I could do. That, coupled with the fact that this was our first home qualifier, made this an attractive proposition despite the quality of the opposition. Unfortunately, I’d been disorganised with this, so ended up with a slightly more expensive ticket than usual. On a positive note, I kept my costs down with cheap bus travel down from Manchester and then back up to Sheffield. I’m pretty pleased that I kept the costs of the day below £70, and now think there is a lot to be said for having a budget for these bigger games.

I arrived at the stadium 15 minutes before kick-off, and paid £2 for a cuppa, before finding my seat in the lower tier. As it happened, almost all of Level 5 in the upper tier had been closed off, bar a cluster of supporters directly behind me taking up maybe a quarter to 20% of the tier. There were admittedly smatterings of empty seats in my section, and it said a lot that many people were able to sit where they liked without causing too many problems. The tone for this game had already been set by a lot of whinging in the press about the pointlessness of walkover games against weaker teams. The main topic of conversation behind me was whether England would get 6 as one chap had placed a bet on this. I can’t recall many similar occasions when it is almost a certainty for us to get so many.

England were set out in a slightly different formation to usual. The retirement of Gerrard has left a massive gulf in the midfield, so Hodgson is exploring different options with who should sit in front of the defence (at the base of the diamond). In this case, we had Milner playing this role, with Wilshere and Henderson pushing forward either side of him, and Sterling through the middle behind the front two. The defence had a new look to it, with Gibbs at left-back and Callum Chambers on the other flank. As expected we bossed possession, but met with some stubborn resistance from San Marino, who did well to keep the score at 0-0 for 24 minutes. Then, as in the Peru game in May, Jagielka ran late into the box to score a header, amidst claims of fouls by the San Marinese (?!) players. The floodgates had opened, and Rooney, Welbeck , Sterling were all looking lively in and around the penalty area. It was then no surprise when a second arrived on 43 minutes, when Rooney coolly converted a penalty awarded for a foul. 42 goals for him, and 2-0 to England.

The atmosphere had been reasonable in the first half, but it really flattened out in the second half. England were barely out of second gear, and looked comfortable in control of this, confirmed when Welbeck converted a poachers’ strike on 49 minutes. Thanks to the substitutions, England at one point in the second half had no fewer than 5 Arsenal players on the pitch – Gibbs, Chambers, Wilshere, Welbeck and Oxlade-Chamberlain. Chambers admittedly looked nervous, perhaps understandable on his England debut. We grew slightly wasteful as the game moved on, but I knew that the away side would run out of any remaining energy as we approached the last 20. Sure enough, Townsend made it 4-0 with a rasping drive from outside the box, before Rooney’s chipped cross was turned into the net by an away defender. I had thought this was number 43 for Rooney, but clearly this will have to wait. It was a pity that the atmosphere petered out so much as this wore on, with hoardes of people walking out on 80 minutes, even earlier. I can’t fathom leaving a big game before the final whistle – the only time I do it is when I’m hurrying for a late train to get back. The running joke on the radio the next day was that Joe Hart – described as an ‘interested spectator’ – was man of the match, which probably summed up the game quite neatly. Still, this was three points, a welcome clean sheet and a confidence boost to one or two less well-deployed players. As I had a bus to catch at 1am, I opted to walk from Wembley to Victoria, making it there in plenty of time. I finally arrived through the door at 6.30am on Friday morning – it was definitely well worth it.

Liverpool (04-10-2014)

Liverpool 2 – 1 West Bromwich Albion (Premier League), 4th October 2014

Ticket = £51
Train (Sheffield-Liverpool) = £22-50
Bus to Anfield = £4
Tea = £2
Programme = £3
Total = £82-50

For the 3rd weekend in 4, we made our way to Anfield for another clash. Like Villa, this was against Midlands opposition in West Brom, whose ground I’d visited back in a freezing weekend in January 2010. That seems a long way away now, and at some points we’ve felt like real regulars on Merseyside over the last 3 seasons. Again, I’d nailed these tickets via the Late Availability sale, which is great for last-minute tickets. The only down side is that the heavily discounted travel tickets have usually gone by this point, so we again utilised the Two Together Railcard, which made it £22-50, a reasonable discount to keep some of the costs down.

Last week, we had been massively disappointed as Liverpool had rather unluckily dropped two points against Everton, despite an excellent performance. The rusty banger is taking a while to warm up this season! Liverpool started slowly, and the first-half was characterised by a lot of sideways passing and wasted possession. There was a 10-minute spell just before the break when the home side looked something like the team they had been last year, with smart interchanges between Sterling and Coutinho and high pressing up the pitch. On another day, they would have gone in frustrated at the break, but today it fell for them, with Lallana scoring a superb goal from inside the box after a swift one-two with Henderson. This was bang on 45 minutes, and we were delighted – you could see how much the goal meant to Lallana, and it had come at a perfect time for the home side. 

After the break, Liverpool started where they left off, with sparks of activity and movement recalling the great 2013-14 season. But the longer it stayed 1-0, nerves grew, and it was almost inevitable that WBA would equalise. This time they conceded from the penalty spot, with Berahino netting in front of the Anfield Road end. Not to be deterred, Liverpool continued with their neat passing, and while this wasn’t quite as good as last year, there was a certain spring in their step despite the equaliser. There was a frustrating lack of penetration to the attacks, and they occasionally lost concentration when Berahino was on the ball, but this was a big improvement performance-wise. 5 minutes after the West Brom equaliser, Henderson slotted in from inside the box after one attacking move broke down. 2-1 ahead and Liverpool now looked like they had a surge of confidence running through them. It was arguably too early for them to take the lead (61 minutes) and they had to ride out the final 15-20 minute period with some nervousness before scrapping home. This was a deserved win, and you could see what this meant to the players to get their first league win since August. Hopefully once confidence returns, performances and results will gradually improve, and they will play their way into form. Roll on the international break!

Handsworth (02-10-2014)

Handsworth Parramore (U19) 5 – 0 Buxton (U19) (North Midlands Under-19 Football League), Thursday 2nd October 2014

Entrance = £2
Programme = £1
Tea (x2) = £2
Total = £5

All roads lead to Olivers Mount for me (on occasion at least), as I seem to be drawn back here by some greater footballing force. I haven’t had the chance to see a game here this year, so took advantage of this Under-19 fixture under floodlights, and sandwiched in between a couple of Liverpool games. Surprisingly, this wasn’t free, and I parted with £2 entry plus £1 for a programme. The friendly woman on the turnstile-cum-portakabin apologised that there the rather thin programme was £1 this evening – apparently this was because of the lack of a 50-50 tote/draw this evening. Not a problem as I have no truck with any funds going back to this great local club.

On the pitch, this game pitted 5th-placed Handsworth against 7th-placed Buxton, with the early league looking close (mainly due to the fact that only 11 teams participate, and most have played only 4-5 games thus far). This encounter belied the two places between the clubs, with Handsworth – to be frank – running amok and bossing the game throughout. In my notes from the first half, I didn’t record a single decent attempt from Buxton, with Handsworth easily over-running their Derbyshire opponents. As usual, their game was full of pace, with Kyle Lilley lively on the left wing, and James Dawes (at number 9) looking Rooney-esque in his swift decisive attacks. The latter forced a save from the keeper’s legs, whilst even the full-backs (Blakemore on the right, Dacre on the left) had opportunities to open the scoring. How Handsworth weren’t in front by half-time was a mystery – Phillips did have the ball in the net after a fast move involving Safi, and Dawes hit a volley over from close range. Goalless at the break, but Buxton were being ‘thrashed nil-nil’.

I wondered if Buxton could do anything to stop the home side, and for a time in the second-half, it seemed they might frustrate the Ambers. First, Dawes had another shot – this time scooped over the bar – then, a Buxton player registered a superb shot on target heading for the top corner, well-saved by Jones. Dawes fired another shot wide, before Buxton’s 11 had a free-kick blocked on the edge of the box. Just when it seemed as if this would end in a frustrating stalemate, on 66 minutes, Blakemore headed in from close range in what looked like a possible own-goal. As is so often the case, it took a less than classy goal to open the floodgates. After that it was one-way traffic. Beaumont doubled the home lead shortly after, converting a great assist from Lilley, before Dawes set up number 16 (I think it was Carroll) to make it 3-0. By complete coincidence, the goal came on 9.16, having involved an assist from 9 to 16! The Ambers rounded off the evening with a headed goal from one of their defenders, and a long-overdue goal for Dawes, who dummied and shimmied his way to create space for a shot. Late on Buxton’s 10 forced a save from Jones in the home goal, but it was too little too late. Handsworth had deservedly won a game they had dominated. Good luck to them with this league – on this performance, they should be up there at the business end of the season.

Liverpool (27-09-2014)

Liverpool 1 – 1 Everton (Premier League), 27th September 2014

Match ticket: £56
Train (Sheffield-Liverpool advance): £17-15
Bus to Anfield: £4
Programme: £3
Tea x2: £3-37
Total: £83-52

Bizarrely, we managed to get tickets for this game whilst missing out for the lesser games in the bulk members’ sale. We qualified with this having had 9 games on our cards from last year – such are the vagaries of the way tickets are made available at Anfield these days! I’ve been determined this year to keep costs down wherever possible, and we managed to do the travelling for £17-15 each (advance fares with the Two Together railcard). Despite my best efforts, the costs are rising heavily for our trips to Anfield – tickets for this equivalent fixture in 2012/13 (likewise with Main Stand tickets) cost us £47 each. To be honest, we were more pleased to get the tickets in the first place as they are so hard to come by; and of course, this is one of Liverpool’s big games of the season.

The game started as you would expect for a Merseyside derby, with passionate tackling, quick passing and smatterings of good movement in midfield. Liverpool bossed possession in the first half, but couldn’t find that killer pass, so frequently ended up frustrated and nullified. This had all the hallmarks of the 0-0 draw in 2012/13, when a decent game finished all square because the teams were cancelling each other out. Mario Balotelli looked lively and more involved than in previous games, and according to the stats, had 10 shots on the goal. As ever, Sterling was fast and furious on the wing, but couldn’t forge many chances or assists.

The second-half began much the same as the first, this time with Liverpool in the ascendancy. There has been a real lack of fluidity to their play this season, but now they started to resemble the team who had come so close to the title last year. There started to be smarter interchanges in midfield, and flashes of the pace and aggression which took them so far barely a few months ago. Just when it looked like they might be frustrated again, Gerrard scored a superb 65th minute free-kick to make it 1-0. Within a minute, Balotelli had rattled the cross-bar, and actually replays showed it was tipped on by Tim Howard. They pressed and pressed, and while there was still sometimes a lack of directness to their play, the possession and command of the ball merited 3 points here. The clock at the Kop end ticked to 90 minutes, and it looked like they were on the way to a key win. Then up popped the unlikeliest of Everton heroes – Phil Jagielka – with a thunderous drive from outside the box which zipped into the top corner.  There was barely time to restart the game before the final whistle, and Everton had nicked a 1-1 draw here. Liverpool had been much better – the performance was definitely an improvement, but they need to get better at closing out games in which they are in control.

Northwich Flixton (24-09-2014)

Northwich Flixton Villa 2 – 3 Hanley Town, NWCFL (24th September 2014)

Manchester-Flixton train ticket: £5-80
Ciabattas: 80p
Chewing gum: 50p
Entrance: £5
Tea x2: £2
Total: £14-10

Flixton is one of a cluster of clubs in the West side of Manchester which border the M60. These include Irlam (which I’d visited a few weeks previously), and Trafford (where I’d been on a cold January evening in 2009). Technically, the full title of the club is Northwich Flixton Villa, as they are a number of clubs who have sprung up after the demise of Northwich Victoria (at least in their present form). I’m sure there is a book to be written about the history of non-league football in Northwich, which seems to have had a colourful history in recent years.

Tonight’s game was accessible via the same Northern Rail service I had caught to Irlam. After a wander around the vicinity, and discovering the ferry route across the Manchester Ship Canal, I headed to the ground to try and get a photo in the light. This was primarily because my iPod and camera phone seem incapable of taking decent photos at night! The turnstiles weren’t open so I headed into the bar for a cup of tea. I soon parted with £5 for entrance, and wandered out through the doors from the bar into the ground. This was a nice set-up. The bar/office building had a balcony on the first-floor, and further up to the right was a small stand of blue seats. The changing rooms were on the far side, where I found a couple of classic signs from past eras.

As kick-off approached, there was a steady hustle and bustle as more spectators arrived. Everyone seemed to know everyone else, which gave a real sense of community, refreshing to see these days. Northwich were currently near the foot of the table, while Hanley looked like they would be pushing for promotion, so this could be a tough night for the home side. However, they completely defied expectations, and started the game at an astonishing pace, which seemed to catch the team from Stoke off guard. Jonathan Poizer up-front was at the centre of a lot of the action, having a volley deflected wide early on, before opening the scoring after the away keeper mis-controlled the ball in his area. This put the cat among the pigeons (always ideal for the neutral) and Hanley (playing in blue) barely registered a shot, with the best one a snap volley from number 8 flying wide. The pace slowed up ever so slightly after the goal, and there were a lot of high and long balls. On one occasion, the ball arched over the balcony outside the club-house, and I couldn’t quite catch it. Almost immediately, a cheeky chap above shouted ‘You can’t try for keeper, but we are looking for a right-back!’. Back on the pitch, Hanley grabbed an equaliser almost from nothing when a simple cross caused havoc in the home box, and 7 headed in.

1-1 at half-time, which was quite unfair on the home side. Their bad luck continued after the break when an unfortunate Northwich left-back miscued a clearance and sliced the ball into his own net. Suddenly all their hard work from the first-half had been undone in the space of 5 minutes. This lot were a spirited side though, and grabbed an equaliser when Yousef (number 4) looked like he had taken too many touches before slotting home. Hanley didn’t look all that much better now, and the biggest threat they posed was a vague penalty shout (for hand-ball I think) late on. Northwich nearly took the lead when a dipping cross dropped just underneath the cross-bar, only to force a superb tip from the away keeper. At this point, I had to leave for my train back to Sheffield, and was disappointed to learn that Hanley had won this 3-2, thanks to a 90th minute goal from Josh Hall. For all their endeavours and fine efforts, Northwich had just come up short against a slightly sharper team in the shooting department. If the home side continue to play like this, they should get goals, and can take great confidence from this gritty and determined display, even if the result didn’t go their way. My trip back to Sheffield was smooth until Piccadilly, where I had to wait for longer than expected due to the trains being packed full of Wednesday fans. They had been thrashed 7-0 at Manchester City in the League Cup. Chins up Northwich – it could be a lot worse!

AFC Mansfield (20-09-2014)

AFC Mansfield 3 – 1 AFC Emley, NCEL Division 1 (20th September 2014)

Entrance : £4
Programme: £1-50
Tea: 80p
Tea outside: £1
Petrol: c£20
Total: £27-30

Before this match at the Forest Town Arena in Mansfield, I hadn’t seen a proper belter so far. There had been glimpses at Irlam, and some decent play in the Switzerland game, but nothing which had really captured my imagination. Today changed all that. Given the absurdity of public transport between Sheffield and Mansfield (2-3 hours plus waiting time), I borrowed Mrs. Groundhopper’s car for the 48-mile round trip. I’ve completely estimated petrol costs, and have partly factored in that I also owe her for the longer drive to Penrith in August.

I found AFC Mansfield’s ground relatively easily, as it is on the corner of a major junction in Mansfield, and is actually well-signposted. The ground was the most distinctive I’d seen so far this year. After parting with £5 at the turnstile for the ground (and getting an ink-stamp on my hand for good measure), I surveyed the surroundings. Like West Allotment Celtic last year, the entrance is actually at the top of an embankment alongside the club-house and a bit of terracing. The difference here was that there were ample seats and terracing down to the pitch, which was bounded by what looked like a cycle or race track. On the far right was an impressive looking hut more akin to a village cricket club than a football team. The floodlights were what I would call ‘classic’, and seemed to act as nests for roosting birds.

Today’s game pitted the league new boys (the ‘Bulls’) against the league leaders AFC Emley, who were looking in impressive form. They started this game with an absolutely cracking goal from Jordan Townend, who hit a volley superbly into the roof of the net, looping powerfully over the stranded home keeper. The fairly large travelling contingent from West Yorkshire were delighted, and even some home fans applauded the finish. The goal drew an immediate response from the Bulls, with Dean Rick firing a warning shot wide after a neat counter-attack and Joe Naylor just skewing wide across the face of the goal. Emley’s main threat at this point was coming from some dangerous looking free kicks. On 18 minutes, Danny Naylor caught a volley which flew just wide. Almost immediately, Mansfield were awarded a penalty thanks to a hand-ball by the Emley captain. The chance was fluffed by Carl Haslam, whose shot was well-saved by the keeper’s toes. Incredibly we were barely 20 minutes into the game! Emley’s Jerome then could have doubled their lead with a flicked shot just going wide. Half-time came, and I had a quietly optimistic feeling that we could be in for a cracking second-half.

Mansfield were fired up for this game now, and several smart interchanges in midfield gave the away side a warning of what they could do. Their right-back Tighe hit the cross-bar with a free-kick, before Mansfield forced a superb tipped save from Lawlor in the away goal on 60 minutes. Deservedly, Mansfield equalised on 70 minutes, with a swift counter ending in a pass from Haslam to Rick, who made no mistake this time. Game on. Rick then won a penalty for the home side, having been brought down by the unfortunate Lawlor (who up to this point had been solid). Tighe (obviously the dead-ball specialist in the team) stepped up, and calmly made it 2-1. You could almost feel the colour draining from the faces of the Emley players as Mansfield looked more and more confident. A double substitution by the away team on 85 minutes looked like it might turn the tide, and it had a temporary impact until Carl Haslam made it 3-1 after rounding the keeper and firing in inside the box. This was a deserved win from Mansfield, who had scored 3 goals in 18 second-half minutes.  On the evidence of this game, they will be a welcome addition to the NCEL set-up.

Liverpool (13-09-2014)

Liverpool 0 – 1 Aston Villa (Premier League), 13th September 2014

Match ticket (Anfield Upper): £45
Programme: £3
Train ticket (Sheff-Liverpool): £22-60
Tea at the Walker Gallery: £1-60
Bus to Anfield: £4
Total: £76-20

In Liverpool’s twice-yearly bulk sale, we had only managed to get two matches this year, so I tried for this one in late availability sales. This was a 5.30 kick off, and we had to book train tickets late, but looking at the breakdown here, we didn’t do too badly with costs. I was actually looking forward to this today, as Liverpool had done reasonably well away at City, and had flattened Tottenham again at White Hart Lane. For all the changes, and the muted win against Southampton, they were looking reasonable bets to continue their good form from last year. How wrong I was!

We were sat in the Anfield Road upper (right above the away fans), where we had watched Crystal Palace last year, which was also when I’d had a water bottle confiscated. Aston Villa scored an early goal (circa 11 minutes) via Agbonlahor and the game was pretty much set up from there. Like a growing number of teams, Villa seemed perfectly capable of grabbing a goal at Anfield, sitting on the lead, and frustrating the home team.

Despite tons of possession, Liverpool lacked purpose, bite and creativity (exactly what Suarez gave them last year). Adam Lallana looked seriously out-of-sorts, Balotelli didn’t look match fit, and Gerrard looked tired. Sideways pass to sideways pass ensued, and even a substitute appearance from Sterling couldn’t bring any joy to Liverpool. Villa are now something of a bogey team in recent years at Anfield, and this continued when they wrapped up a neat 1-0 victory here. This has frankly been a bad start to the season for Liverpool, and while I’m sure it will pick up, they’ll need to improve form soon if they want to keep pace with the big guns.

Basel (08-09-2014)

Switzerland 0 – 2 England (European Championship Qualifier), 8^th September 2014

Pounds Sterling (£311-81)

Bottled water: £1-99

Tea at Manc airport: £1-75

Manchester-Airport train ticket: £8-20

Match ticket: £39-45

Plane tickets: £246-95

Travel insurance: £8-93

Overseas card fees: £4-54

Swiss Francs (CF124-45) circa £82

Kit-Kat: CF2

Towel use: CF2

Bus to Basel centre: CF4-20

Fruit & sausage roll: CF6-65

Hostel: CF 97-60

Burger & drink at ground: CF12

Euros (at Brussels airport) (E22.45) circa £17

Mint tea: E3

Tea & ciabatta: E10-25

Water: E2-50

Smoothie: E5-20

Chewing gum: E1-50

Total = £410-81

I’ve had a long-held ambition to go to an England away game, and was delighted when I landed a ticket for the first Euro 2016 qualifier in Basel. The only down-side was that this came very soon after the summer holidays, so my bank balance is now feeling the effects of all this travelling. For posterity, I have recorded all the costs above, split up between Euros, Swiss Francs and Pounds. It makes interesting reading – all in all it cost around £410.

 

After a smooth evening flight from Manchester airport to Basel, I hopped onto the very efficient 50 bus into the centre, and easily found my hostel in the winding streets near the River Rhine. I had a breakfast in the hostel (a fairly basic meal of bread, cheese, butter and coffee), and then explored the city. First I headed East along the banks of the river and found an athletics-cum-football stadium for a photo, and then wandered back in to the centre. On my travels I located BSC Old Boys’ ground, very close to the city’s zoo. After a brief rest at the hostel, I decided to find St Jakob Park stadium, and managed to get lost in a nearby park, before finally finding my way back. The outside was nothing like a stadium, and more resembled a car park – in fact the ground had a shopping centre attached.

 

When I came back later – the ground was a short walk from the hostel – the atmosphere was building outside the stadium. What I found most noticeable was the camaraderie between the England fans, which I’d not seen at Wembley games in the past. It may have also reflected the fact that many had been enjoying Swiss beer all day! On entry to the stadium, I was padded down by a steward and managed to get my photo taken just outside the turnstile. It was all friendly enough and not what I had expected from an England away game (in a good way). I should also mention that I had also got a programme for free, so that was one less cost on an expensive trip. I did wonder why the stewards were chuckling as they handed it over, until I read it, and of course, it was all in the French and German. I was in the lower tier of the away section, near the back row and about 2 seats from the home fans. As flags from all manner of clubs were put up on advertising hoardings and the pitch barrier, a great atmosphere was building. Reading, Stevenage Borough and Coventry were there – plus I had seen one from Workington in the city centre earlier.

The game was open and one of the best away England performances for some time. This is exactly the response we needed after a dismal World Cup. Rooney was seeing plenty of the ball and really seemed to be leading from the front. Fabian Delph was like a terrier in midfield, though his over-exuberance resulted in a yellow card, and he was lucky to escape a second punishment. The biggest area of concern was England’s left side (an Achilles heel in Brazil), where Switzerland seemed to find it easy to penetrate and create openings. This may have been partly because Baines and Stones were being encouraged to push forward down either wing. It was looking very level, and the home side looked like a decent team, producing a superb save from Hart on 33 minutes. He is a keeper who I have a lot of time for, though I’m not sure if he is quite at the top level yet. Before the break, Rooney forced a save from the Swiss keeper, which took us into 0-0 at half-time.

 

We started the second-half on the back foot to be honest. The Swiss had clearly seen weaknesses on both England flanks, and for a while they had us pinned back inside our own half. We shouldn’t forget this is a team who ran Argentina very close in the World Cup. Hart was terrific, and kept us in the game with a finger-tip save, and I began to wonder if this was going to be a time for a tough rear-guard action. Then, out of almost nothing, we broke away down the field, and Rooney put a perfect pass into the box for Welbeck to make it 1-0. The move was very like the Sturridge goal against Italy. The fans were delighted, and I couldn’t believe we were leading in such a crucial game. Switzerland were not to be put off, and very nearly grabbed an equaliser but were denied thanks to Cahill’s goal-line clearance. They continued to pour forward, but without the earlier penetration. Phil Jones made several excellent tackles, but on reflection it was probably because he had got himself into such a pickle in the first place. Then, just as the game was beginning to slow up, another swift counter-attack resulted in Lambert setting up Welbeck for his second of the game. 2-0 and this was a fine result for England, Welbeck and Hodgson, who have taken a fair hammering in recent months. I was absolutely over the moon to be able to see our best competitive away win for a long, long time.

Irlam (06-09-2014)

Irlam 1 - 2 St Helen's Town AET (FA Vase), 6th September 2014

Train = £3-90 (Manchester-Irlam)
Entrance = £5
Programme = £1
Tea = £1
Total = £10-90

If you are driving Westbound on the M62, between junctions 12 and 11, you may notice floodlights in a distant field - this is the Silver Street home of Irlam FC. I reached the ground via a creeping Northern Rail train from Manchester Oxford Road to Liverpool, which seemed to be stopping at every conceivable stop to Merseyside. Irlam itself was fairly non-descript, and it took me circa 40 minutes to find the ground, just in time for kick off. I parted with £5 for entry, and cobbled together some change for the £1 programme. The chap commented that my wallet would be much lighter after that!

The ground was the usual fare - short covered terracing at  one end and seating along the near side in an 'L' shape. The wall behind the far goal had collapsed, with grass and weeds starting to claim it as part of the nearby fields. The away fans were clustered behind the near goal, with an England flag with St Helen's Town on - there were quite a few for this one today. The most distinctive feature of the ground was probably the row of conifers around the far side, which made it look like a Christmas market. I wonder if the club might cash in on this potential income stream nearer the festive season?





























The game came in fits and starts to be honest. There were some really exciting and open passages of play, but equally lots of time was lost to soft free kicks, niggly fouls and poor passing. St Helen's started on the front foot, seizing possession immediately, with number 10 looking lively. Irlam had a couple of dangerous counter-attacks, with 4's shot saved on 14 minutes and 8 curling over after a swift box-to-box move. St Helen's were a league above Irlam, but weren't looking all that much better. Their right-back was having a torrid game, mishitting and slicing every ball which came his way. This was looking a fairly level game until a looping header by St Helen's number 5 (how do I apostrophise that correctly?!) was judged to have crossed the line, despite what looked like a goal-line clearance from the home side.

The game really got going in the second half, with St Helen's looking good money for a win. First, number 10's free-kick hit the cross-bar, then the lively 7 had a volley cleared off the line. Not to be outdone, Irlam continued to counter, and very nearly sneaked an equaliser when number 9's shot rattled the post. They also had a decent shout for a penalty when it looked like 8's shot had cannoned off an Irlam hand. As the game became increasingly fractured by free kickd and silly fouls, it seemed like St Helen's would win this one. An excellent interchange between the improved number 2 and number 7 resulted in another good chance being fired over. Irlam were still in the fight for this one, and grabbed an equaliser when 5 headed in from a re-bound to make it 1-1. This was now heading to extra time.

St Helen's weren't done in the 90 minutes, and continued to press for  a winner. 15's well-struck volley produced a fantastic finger-tip save from the home keeper, which drew applause from both sets of fans. Then late on, 15 was fouled by 5 when clean, with the latter promptly (and correctly) sent off.

I only saw the first half of extra time, but there weren't many incidents. Again, the game was becoming broken up and despite the best efforts of both sides, hardly any chances were created. St Helen's looked in control now their opponents were down to 10, and re-established their lead when 7's flicked header made it 2-1. Unfortunately, I had to miss the second half of extra time to make the 17:44 train, but it didn't sound like I missed much. The score remained 2-1, and St Helen's moved a step closer to Wembley.

Daisy Hill (30-08-2014)

Daisy Hill 2 – 0 Litherland REYMCA (North West Counties Division 1), 30th August 2014

Train (Manchester-Daisy Hill): £4-20
i-Paper: 40p
Entrance: £5
Programme: £1
Tea: £1
Total: £11-60

My first competitive game of the 2014/15 season, and I headed off to Daisy Hill, which is just west of Atherton, and has a Bolton postcode. Like Wigan this is off my Lancs A-Z, so this is another one which lies in the ‘unclassified’ area between Manchester and Liverpool! The train across to Manchester was smooth, but when I reached Piccadilly, I discovered that my connecting train to Salford Crescent had been cancelled. A long wait beckoned until I realised I could easily walk to Victoria to catch the service I needed. It seems absurd that so many services go from different stations in the centre of Manchester – let’s hope that the Ordsall Chord Manchester loop materialises soon to solve this problem.

I managed to get lost looking for the entrance to the ground, which is actually off a barely noticeable track from St James Street. When I reached it, I wasn’t disappointed. The main feature of the ground was what looked like an old scout hut (corrugated iron walls and a dark wooden roof), with several signs of the club’s name. This included a rather impressive sign above the entrance archway reading ‘Members of the First North Western Trains League Division 2’, no doubt a relic of a past era.

After parting with £5 entrance and £1 for a programme, I had a wander into the club-house for a cup of tea. This was indeed as impressive as it looked from the outside. This had the feel of a community dance hall with a long room flanked by tables, with a kids’ pool table near the door, and a bar at the far end. This was by far the best club house I’ve been in all season, and was made all the better by a decent cup of tea in a china mug. Outside there were three rows of wooden seats, which reminded me of the old seats at the Walks in King’s Lynn before the stand was refurbished. 

For kick-off, I took up my place just to the left of the half-way line, in the half being attacked by the away side Litherland. The side from Liverpool were new boys to this league so I expected this to be an interesting match-up today. Litherland is an area of North Liverpool which you pass on the way to Crosby (home of Marine FC), and I had cycled through it on many occasions when on the road to Burscough and Formby (back in my student days). Needless to say, their promotion had added another ground to my list of NW clubs!





























Litherland started with speed, aggression and great enthusiasm – I’ve come to expect nothing less from Merseyside teams. Early on, their number 11 striker tangled with the home keeper, whilst number 9 scuffed wide on 8 minutes. In midfield, they looked faster to the ball than the North Western League veterans, and had another chance when the busy 7 had a left-foot shot outside the area which flew wide. They perhaps should have had a penalty when a fierce shot was charged down by the home number 7, with an almost definite use of his hands to do so. Almost as soon as that attack broke down, the home keeper (who looked like Balotelli) hoofed it the other end of the pitch, and Jake Foster hit a well-placed shot first time to make it 1-0. This was against the run of play, and you had to feel for the Merseyside team. They responded instantly, with some direct attacking resulting in a superb volley from their number 2, which was tipped around the post by the home keeper. As the Scouser next to me said, he was ‘down like a whippet’. It then got even worse for Litherland, as they conceded a penalty (it wasn’t clear if it was a hand-ball or a foul), and Daisy Hill’s Andrew Buckley slotted to the keeper’s right. 2-0 at half-time, and this was a rather unfair score-line to be honest.

The heavens opened at the break, so I took cover in front of the club-house, and had a flick through the programme (disappointingly thin on detail unfortunately). The torrent continued into the second half, and some players cowered tentatively in the entrance to the changing rooms before gritting their teeth and jogging out. The second half was an evenly matched affair, with chances spread around between the sides. Litherland’s 11 slid a decent opportunity wide on 55 minutes, before Daisy Hill’s 9 was put clean through, only to lose the ball with a poor first touch. The away side rattled the cross-bar with a free-kick from their number 2, and had a penalty on 75 minutes to reduce the deficit. 

It clearly wasn’t their day, as their number 10’s spot-kick was well-saved by Balotelli to his right. This was their last realistic chance of salvaging anything from today’s game, and the final nail was put in their coffin when their number 5 was taken off with a shoulder injury towards the end. This broke up the play, and seemed to dent the Merseyside team’s confidence for the rest of the game. Overall, this had been a fairly average affair, often broken up by free kicks, fouls and poor passing, and unfortunately the team with the most enthusiasm and drive had come away with nothing. There were 21 in attendance at this one, which has to be a new low for a game I’ve been to. I’ll hopefully be across to Litherland’s ground soon, but in the meantime this is another one down in this ‘unclassified’ region of Lancashire.

Penrith (02-08-2014)

Penrith 2 – 2 Blackburn Rovers (Friendly), 2^nd August 2014

Petrol (estimated) = £30

Entrance = £5

Tea = £1

Total = £36

Penrith was a perfect game to conclude my run of pre-season friendlies, as it was en route to Mrs Groundhopper’s home town of Whitehaven. This was a rare occasion when driving was considerably cheaper and quicker than the train. The only disadvantage is that I’ll have to estimate the petrol ‘costs’ as they are not easy to precisely calculate. I set off at 11.30 from Sheffield for this one, as I’d seen two advertised KO times – 2pm and 3pm. I was optimistic that I could just about make it for the 2pm KO, but this proved to be over-optimistic when I was delayed in traffic coming off Scotch Corner, and then over sections of the A66.

After some speedy driving, I made it the ground about 5 minutes after the 2pm KO, not bad timing from Sheffield all things considered. To my surprise, Penrith took the lead on 6 minutes, with Niall robbing the home keeper and slotting in a simple tap-in. This was a turn-up for the books against a U21 Blackburn Rovers side that would presumably be expected to trounce the Cumbrians today. Penrith had a short spell of dominance just after the goal, and doubled their lead on 23 minutes when a similar defence hash-up put Matthew Weeb clean through. After that, the first-half chances belonged to the Lancastrians. 8 hit over with his right foot, before 3 followed suit with a drifting shot, while 6 missed a great chance on 42 minutes when he scuffed his attempt at goal. Penrith were leading the league side 2-0 at the break!

Just as I was about to get up for a cup of tea, an old chap in front of me asked what time the game had started – it transpired that he had also read somewhere that this was a 3PM KO. Good thing I’d planned in for the earlier time today. As I sipped on the tea, I surveyed the ground, which was one of the remoter Northern League stadia. It was all relatively modern and modest, with a multi-purpose stand to the left of the turnstile acting as a seating area, bar and also containing a lift! Opposite was a short strip of what looked like mobile covered terracing, and to the left was a steep hill, reminding me that I was on the boundary with the Lake District.

Penrith’s solitary clear-cut chance in the second-half came with an early free-kick from their number 8, before Blackburn’s superior fitness and strength began to tell. The subs 19 and 14 forced saves from the now busy home keeper, while 10 had a shot blocked on 66 minutes. Blackburn pulled back a goal on circa 70 minutes, and it now seemed only a matter of time before they equalised or took the lead. A stretched volley from 12 went just wide, while they could (and perhaps should) have had a penalty for a foul shortly after. Then the inevitable came when Blackburn’s Lancastrian-named Jordan Preston made it 2-2 to set up a tense finale. In truth, that was almost the last action of the match, until Blackburn’s 17 hit a superb curling shot which was heading for the top-corner until a fantastic tip over from the keeper. 2-2, and it had been a reasonable final friendly to see before the proper season started. As I drove across the A66 to Whitehaven with the radio on, I got a real sense of anticipation that the 2014-15 season would soon be upon us. What will it bring I wonder?