Abbey Hey (25-01-2014)

Abbey Hey 0 – 4 Bootle (NWCFL), 25^th January 2014

Entrance: £5

Tea (x2): £1-60

Total: £6-60

Abbey Hey in the East Side of Manchester, and accessible by train from Sheffield, was an ideal closer target on a grey winter day. Luck was on my side today, with this one surviving the wet weather (unlike most in Manchester and Yorkshire). As I travelled across on the train to Reddish North (using my trans-Pennine season ticket to keep costs down), I was feverishly checking the NWCFL website for updates. Even FC United and Droylsden had been called off, so I was sceptical about this one. No back-up plan today, as I’d be arriving close to kick off. After a short walk through the picturesque surroundings of Gorton, I reached the ground at Goredale Avenue. The pitch was set up and there were people milling about – good signs! Once I’d paid the £5 entry, I noticed why this one had survived the weather – the pitch was actually elevated several feet above the nearby road, probably allowing excess water to drain away.

There was an icy breeze in the air, so I went inside the clubhouse and up the stairs into the warmest bar I’d been into all year. I had a tea from the bar, and have to say it was the best I’d tasted all season…and it was served in a proper china mug! With the ITV FA Cup coverage of Bournemouth-Liverpool finishing in the background, and the general warmth of the bar, I was beginning to slowly relax and forget the cold weather. I was tempted to watch the game from the windows of the clubhouse, but decided to brave the cold to get a better view of the match. The pitch was in a reasonable state considering the weather – the only area which looked like a mud-bath was around the dug-outs and along the touchline.

I had no idea of where the teams were in the table (in my haste I had forgotten to get a programme), but Abbey Hey started more strongly. They played some neat passing football, and had clearly come with the intention of playing the ball on the floor. In spite of their possession, chances were few and far between, with their number 11 hitting a scuffed shot wide on 14 minutes. Bootle, despite Abbey Hey’s good start, looked tough and bullish, and opened the scoring on 18 minutes when a low dipping cross was touched on by the keeper into the path of number 9 for an easy tap-in. The home side could and perhaps should have scored when they had a low and fast cross fired just inside the 6-yard, but nobody could quite latch onto it. Just like Gazza’s close miss in Euro ’96 extra time!

After another warming cup of tea, I took up my place in the covered area for the second half. I noticed that on the tiles of the building opposite, you could faintly make out ‘Abbey Hey FA’. I was glad that they had a fairly big terraced area as the weather started off badly in the second half – torrential rain and biting rain. The players seemed oblivious to it, and continued to fight out a tough and entertaining game. Bootle’s number 11 scored the second on 58 minutes, before the back post header from number 8 made certain of the points. On 86 minutes, Bootle’s keeper pulled off a terrific flying save, and almost immediately, Bootle’s number 10 chipped in at the other end to make it 4-0. A deserved win from the Liverpool side, who had looked superior over the 90 minutes. Credit to Abbey Hey for getting the game on today, and to both teams for putting on an entertaining game of football on a miserable day.

Manchester City (08-01-2014)

Manchester City 6 - 0 West Ham United (League Cup Semi-final), 9th February 2014

Ticket: £25
Fish and chips: £11-95
Tea: £1-75
Bovril: £1-80
Programme: £3
Total:£43-50

Manchester City is the closest Premier League club to us, and thanks to the decent location of the Etihad, has been on my 'hot-list' of clubs to visit over the difficult winter period. I opted for this League Cup semi-final, as I'd never been to one before, and potentially this could be a good game. I went to this after work in Manchester, which meant no additional travel costs, and a relatively easy walk to the stadium. After a fish and chip supper at a pub in the centre, and a cup of tea in the Arndale, I wandered up to the Etihad (or Eastlands as it was formally known).

Back in 2005-06, I recall wandering around the outside of Eastlands for a decent shot of the ground. I remember thinking it all seemed a bit desolate and out-of-place, and back then it was very much an athletics stadium which happened to have a football pitch in the middle. Further back, I can remember when City used to play at Maine Road, and were very much the yoyo team of the Premier League. Shaun Goater, Nicky Weaver and all that... How times have changed. This team are now an established 'Top-4' club, and this season are steamrolling most sides put in front of them, particularly at home. The fact that I was able to easily get a ticket for a cup semi-final shows that there is almost an expectation of success these days, and maybe even a certain complacency.

Inside the ground, I was in the Family Stand Level 1, just behind the goal being attacked by West Ham in the first half. There was a good atmosphere building, but for such a big game, I was surprised at how many empty seats there were - not just ones and twos but whole blocks were unoccupied. Perhaps their contention for so many trophies this year has put this one right at the bottom of the fans' priority list. I liked the ground, and could see that it had been transformed since hosting the 2002 Commonwealth games.

To say that Manchester City steamrolled West Ham is an understatement. By half-time, they were 3-0 up, thanks to two from Negredo and a stunning run and goal from (Yaya) Toure. Negredo's first was an outstanding first-time volley from an inch-perfect pass. They were physically imposing, accurate with their passing, and looked miles ahead of their London counterparts. After an amble around the inner concourse at half-time, I went to get a hot drink to warm up - only to discover that no hot water was available in the Etihad! (something to do with the water pressure apparently). Mike Blackstone's 'The Brown Sauce is Off' immediately sprung to mind.

After finally managing to get an oxo when the pressure finally returned, I settled down for the second half. I expected some sort of fight-back from West Ham, but City were even more dominant. Negredo completed a hat-trick on 49 mins, before Edin Dzeko grabbed an excellent brace - the second was a beautiful rifled shot into the roof of the net. At points in the second half, the gulf between the sides was embarrassing. At one stage, City were knocking the ball round in neat triangles like they were on the training field - there hardly seemed to be any opponents on the field. West Ham's fans - in the opposite end of the ground - were rightly frustrated with their team's ineptitude, chanting words to the effect that Allardyce should be on his way. This had been a fine performance from City, but they had barely got out of second gear. My first Premier League ground ticked off for a while, and a new competition to add to my list. It had been a decent start to January.

Liverpool (05-01-2014)

Liverpool 2 – 0 Oldham Athletic (FA Cup Third Round), 5^th January 2014

Train ticket: £23

Bus to Anfield & back: £5-70

Programme: £3

Match ticket: £20

Tea: £2-40

Parking at Sheffield station (£14 divided by 2): £7

Total: £61-10

2 years ago on a wet and cold Friday night, we saw Liverpool beat Oldham 5-1 at Anfield.  A year ago, we’d watched TV in disbelief as Oldham had beaten Liverpool 3-2 at Boundary Park. So we weren’t really sure what to expect from this one, even though Liverpool should probably easily beat a League 1 team (near the bottom of League 1 in fact). After a train journey across from Sheffield (smooth again), we took our seats in the Kop one row from the back. I’d never sat this far back before and it gave a completely different perspective of the ground. I’d definitely rate the Kop as the best stand in Anfield, because of it is the simplest, most atmospheric and generally the cheapest.

The game was turgid to be honest, and Liverpool couldn’t seem to break down Oldham. Suarez was on the bench, but that wasn’t much of an excuse give the apparent ‘quality’ Liverpool have in attack in midfield. Poor first half, but at least they weren’t losing and it wasn’t getting too cold! At half-time, I overheard some Scouse season ticket holders around us complaining about the lack of atmosphere and that the ground was full of ‘tourists/out-of-towners’ – like us I suppose. One bloke was clearly selling tickets for away matches at Villa and Stoke. Its nigh on impossible to get many Liverpool away tickets (legitimately at least), with all games requiring attendance the previous year to even stand a chance. So clearly one effective route is to get to know a hardcore season ticket holder, and ask for a favour every now and again!

The second half wasn’t much better, but at least Rodgers brought on more attackers – Aspas and Coutinho – and was forced to bring Suarez off the bench. Even though Oldham were resilient, and even threatened the Liverpool goal – with Brad Jones starting today, they stood a chance against a dodgy keeper. The opener finally came when the much-maligned (and overrated) Iago Aspas turned in a hip-height cross just outside the 6-yard box. Plucky Oldham were finally put to the sword when an own-goal followed shortly after. Liverpool looked like they could add to their tally, but seemed content to sit on 2-0. Another win, and maybe it didn’t matter how it came. Burton or Bournemouth awaited in the next round to be played in a few weeks, so (barring a replay), the next time we’d be here for an FA Cup game would be February. It felt strange that I had seen Nantwich and Curzon play in the early round of this competition back in September/October. I wonder if this would be my last FA Cup game of the season?

Penistone Church (04-01-2014)

Penistone Church 3 – 1 Athersley Recreation Reserves (Sheffield County League Cup Quarter-Final), 4^th January 2014

Tea: 70p

Oxo: 80p

Train (Sheffield-Penistone): £5-80

Phone home! £1-60

Total: £8-90

I depressed myself over Christmas with thoughts of how many more places I needed to visit to see all grounds from the Premiership to Step 6 in Northern England. At the current steady rate of 30 a year it will take me until the end of 2016 to see games in all the remaining games. And they are getting harder and harder to travel to!

Back on the groundhopping trail after the break, I opted for a ‘local’ game at Penistone, which is just North of Barnsley, roughly a 40 minute train ride from Sheffield. According to the league website, this one kicked off at 1.30, so I set off at 11.30 unsure whether this would be on with the wet weather we’d had so far in January. Games at Shaw Lane and some in West Yorkshire had already fallen foul of the conditions, so I was taking a risk on this one. I had visions of reaching the ground and turning round immediately for the return train to Sheffield. It looked ominous as I arrived at the ground, where there were barely 10 cars outside. Unless they’d done some serious car-pooling, it looked unlikely that both teams were here. Entering the ground, I found the groundsman putting out corner flags, and upon enquiry I realised that kick-off was actually 3pm!

I spent an hour wandering round Penistone in the wet and cold, had lunch and headed back to the ground at 2.30. So much for my aim of getting back in time for the Arsenal-Spurs game at 5.30! Further disaster followed when my phone battery died, and I was unable to let Mrs Groundhopper know the changed kick-off. Fortunately, I had my iPod, so was able to take the obligatory photo of the ground. This was free entry and was a pretty decent ground for this level. To the left as I entered was a covered stand in the black and white colours of Penistone Church – a short section of terracing followed by around 100 seats further towards the half-way line. The rest of the ground was uncovered – the far side bordered by a fence next to a training pitch. In fact, it was only possible to walk around two and a half sides of the ground, as the far goal was off limits to spectators. I liked the ground, but was feeling slightly grim what with the cold weather, flat phone battery, and my unnecessarily early arrival. Still, the game was definitely on – one positive today so far!

The first half started at a fast pace, exactly what I expected from this league. Penistone looked far stronger, with one midfielder cutting inside before shooting over on his left foot. Athersley responded when their number 9 put a header over after a smart passing move. A flicked header from Penistone forced a save on 15 minutes, and was only a matter of time before a goal came – number 6 putting the home side ahead on 30 minutes. Athersley looked slightly off the pace, and there was a lot of backing off from the ball, which allowed Penistone to attack easily.

Athersley clearly had a rocket up them at half-time, and came out looking to take this match by the scruff of the neck. Their vocal captain (number 6) rattled the crossbar with a superb shot, before Athersley forced a point-blank save from the home keeper. The away side deservedly equalised on 67 minutes when their number 10 smashed in from just inside the box. Penistone still looked strong and ready to take the initiative when they needed to. On 75 minutes, their number 4 headed in from a corner to make it 2-1. Despite this there was a still a match to be won here. It just wasn’t going Athersley’s way, with their captain hitting the bar a second time. Now, Athersley were open to quick counter-attacks, and were carved open on 82(ish) minutes. The ball was played to the right of the penalty area, and from a tight angle, the Penistone striker caught it crisply, hitting a superb goal into the top corner. It reminded me of Batistuta’s brilliant goal for Fiorentina against Arsenal at Wembley, and finished the game off for Penistone. After a slightly inauspicious start, I’d seen a competitive and entertaining game to light the January gloom – and all for free!