Bolton Wanderers (22-02-2014)

Bolton Wanderers 3 – 0 Watford (Championship), 22^nd February 2014

Ticket = £26

Train (Manchester-Horwich Parkway) = £4-20

Tea = £1-80

Hot chocolate = £1

Total = £33

I have barely done any grounds in Lancashire, so figured that this easier trip was worth making on another grey day. Again, utilising the trans-Pennine season ticket meant that the trip was relatively inexpensive, and even the match ticket at £26 was decent for a Championship game. Bolton’s ground is a short walk from Horwich Parkway station, so made a nice change from some I’ve been to this year. On a chilly day, I’d decided to risk leaving the ‘under-armour’ at home, though I came to regret this in the second half! I sat in the front row of the stand which was right next to the Watford end, and looking round, it became obvious how sparsely populated the stadium was. I’d seen an article in When Saturday Comes about Bolton’s recent decline, and today they sat near the lower rungs of the Championship – a far cry from the glory days of Allardyce, and the two Kevins (Nolan and Davies).

The game was better than I expected, with Bolton clearly determined to play passing football in midfield, rather than hoofing it ‘up top’. The pacey Joe Mason was influential throughout the match, and made two surging runs which split open the Watford defence (can we call it the Watford gap?). The away side did force a decent save from Bogdan on 15 minutes, but Bolton took a deserved lead when Jutkiewicz poked in from close range ten minutes before the break. Then Mason made it 2-0 almost bang on half-time, slotting in perfectly when clean through. They’d done well against a side on the fringes of the play-off chasing pack.

At half-time it was easy enough to get a hot drink, but I have to say it was possibly the worst cup of tea I’d had for some time – watery, weak and tasteless. It was more like drinking boiled water with a bit of milk thrown in. In the concourse, as people gathered to check other scores, a group of kids were playing a ferocious game of football with a plastic bottle, with the fire exit door as a goal. The pace was faster than some games I’d seen this year!

I wondered if Watford would improve in the second half, but nothing substantial materialised. Bolton continued to forge chance after chance, hitting a free-kick over on 60 minutes, before an acrobatic overhead kick was saved. Watford’s Murray hit a good shot shortly after, but it was well-held by a Bogdan – a keeper who is solid and reliable in most games. On 75 minutes, Joe Mason was foiled by the away keeper (Almunia) after another fine run, and couldn’t quite add to the Bolton tally. 6 minutes of injury time beckoned as the temperature dropped like a stone. Still no real threat from Watford, and it was no surprise that Bolton wrapped up a 2-0 win. The highlight of the second half was when Watford’s Tözsér lined up to take a throw-in, only to receive calls of ‘tosser’ from the Bolton fans! Back to Horwich Parkway, and after a long half hour standing in the cold, I was glad to get on the warm train back to Manchester. 

Burton Albion (15-02-2014)

Burton Albion 1 - 1 Dagenham & Redbridge (League Two), Saturday 15th February 2015

Train ticket (Derbyshire Wayfarer = £11-60-£5 voucher): £6-60
Entry: £13
Programme: £3
Tea: £1-30
Total: £25-90

On a Saturday which came at the end of a week of torrential rain in some parts, I was expecting more postponements. Sure enough, out of 24 games in the NWCFL, only two went ahead, while the NCEL saw barely 3 games go ahead. So I reverted to my list of nearby back-up options, which today consisted of Preston NE, Macclesfield, Crewe and Burton Albion. Preston NE was ruled out when I couldn't buy a ticket on their online system, Macclesfield was called off just before 8am, and I discounted Crewe when I decided it was just too far.

I expected to pay circa £25 for a train ticket to Burton, but had a pleasant surprise when the woman at the ticket booth sold me a 'Derbyshire Wayfarer' for £11-60. Then I realised that I also had a £5 rail voucher in the wallet from a delayed train some time ago, so ended up saving nearly £20 altogether - a good start! The added bonus of this trip was that I could reach Burton on a direct train from Sheffield, and the ground was a 20-min walk from the station. It was obviously meant to be.

Back when I started watching King's Lynn in the Dr Martens League, Burton Albion were familiar opponents, and back then played at Eton Park. Now they are in League Two in the relatively new Pirelli stadium, and in fact have pushed for the play-offs over the last couple of years. On the approach, the gleaming facade of the ground looked more like a conference centre than a football ground. I made my way round to the West Terrace, where I parted with £13 for entry, and £3 for a programme. The usual terrace price was £15, so again I'd evidently got lucky today. The ground can perhaps be best described as a 'breeze-block' stadium, with three fairly similar-looking terraced stands, and a fourth stand of seating. Although the ground wasn't completely enclosed, I was grateful for the shelter on a wet and windy day like this.

Burton looked stronger from the start, and as the half wore on, they grew in confidence. They forced an excellent tipped save from the visiting keeper on 15 minutes, before Robbie Weir scored a 'drop-goal' (he skied it) on 33 minutes. Zeli Ismail on the right-wing was superb for Burton, and repeatedly delivered dangerous crosses, as well as making surging runs into the Dagenham box. Matthew Palmer fired just wide shortly afterwards, and it looked like only one team would score. And so, completely against the run of play, Dagenham took the lead bang on half-time! A smart run and pass from Elito set up a fantastic top-corner strike from Lawson D'Ath, stunning the home crowd into a surprised silence.

At half-time, I wandered around the stand taking the odd photo, and was reprimanded by a steward when I tried to walk round the front of the stand. No signs were up, so I figured it was worth a go! In the second half, the Daggers looked a bit more equal to the task, and forced a solid save from the debutant keeper (Lainton) just after half-time. Then on 54 minutes, they had a player sent off for slicing down the excellent Zeli Ismail, and they proceeded to park a (turquoise) blue bus for the rest of the game. The game was increasingly broken up by poor passing, fouls, and some determined defending from Dagenham. Burton finally grabbed a more than deserved equaliser when Billy Kee curled a superb goal into the bottom left of the away net. There should have only been one winner after that, but Dagenham somehow held out for the point. This was my first 'new' league ground of the season, and I was glad I'd managed to sneak one in on a day packed full of postponements.

Sheffield Wednesday (01-02-2014)

Sheffield Wednesday 1 – 0 Barnsley (Championship), 1^st 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!