Sheffield Wednesday
1 – 0 Barnsley (Championship), 1st February 2014
Ticket: £28
On another wet day
this winter, I decided to head across the city to Hillsborough for my first
South Yorkshire derby. I always seem to end up here when there are multiple
postponements. I can reach the ground on a direct tram from home, and the great
appeal is that I can be home in time for tea. The last time I was here was in
May 2013 for the county cup final. Today I was in the Kop (not the ‘real’ Kop
as Mrs Groundhopper reminds me) for this bottom-of-the-table clash vs Barnsley.
I was surprised when I realised this was the first football league ground I’d
been to this season.
I arrived 5 minutes
before kick-off, and with my ‘e-ticket’ in hand, took up my seat on row 21 of
the Kop. There was a terrific atmosphere building inside the ground, and this
stand looked full and buzzing. 6 points separated the teams at the basement of
the table, so this should be a key clash today. Barnsley had the better of the
opening exchanges and forced 3 early corners, which proved to be their best
spell of the match. Wednesday threatened (mostly with wayward headed shots) but
it was only on 30 minutes that the game turned when Frimpong was sent off for a
second yellow. The home side looked certain to score, but Barnsley were looking
determined and ‘parked the bus’ for the remainder of the half.
After a hot oxo
(for once I had come prepared with a flask) the second half started. Wednesday
looked dominant in possession, and came closest when a cross was diverted onto
the near post by an unfortunate Barnsley defender. Luke Steele in the away goal
pulled off a terrific flying save to deny a long-range effort. At this point,
the crowd were getting restless, and you could sense frustration on and off the
pitch. This boiled over when Jermaine Johnson (who had a shocking game)
clattered the Barnsley number 33, and was handed a straight red. Barnsley were
looking like they might nick a point after all, until they were reduced to 9
men thanks to a rash two-footed challenge in the left-back channel. Fans
started heading for the exits, and then 5 minutes of injury time came up. I was
glad I didn’t join them, as Chris Maguire popped up in the dying seconds to
make it 1-0 to Wednesday. The sense of relief and jubilation was palpable
around Hillsborough. This took them into lower mid-table and kept the ‘Reds’ in
the relegation zone. Tram at 17.16, and I was back in by 18.20 – nice change
from usual!
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