Petrol = £7-50 (£30/4)
Train (Liverpool to Crosby) = £3-70
Entrance = £10
Programme = £2
Bovril = £1-40
Tea = £1-40
Total = £26
Wednesday - I manage to get 2 late availability tickets for Liverpool-West Ham.
Wednesday eve - happily give my ticket to Mrs Groundhopper's mum
Friday eve - scour websites and fixture lists for grounds to visit
Saturday 9am - on Twitter watch as one match after another falls prey to the weather
Saturday 10am - decide its either Crewe, Morecambe or Bradford
Saturday 10.30am - discover there is a game on Merseyside which is on - Marine vs King's Lynn.
And so it was that I ended up going to Marine's Rossett Park, on an almost spur of the moment decision. Heading to watch a King's Lynn away game while so many others had fallen by the wayside was beyond any expectations. Mrs Groundhopper was off to Anfield again with her mum, and her dad was happy to explore the city centre, so we headed across the M62, doing the journey in a ridiculous of time of 2 hours!
After lunch in the centre, we headed our separate ways, and I strolled into Liverpool Central for the train to Crosby. This was something of a trip down memory lane, as I'd visited Rossett Park a few times as a student in 2004-2007, and had actually seen one of King's Lynn's last games there before they went bust in 2009. There was time to visit the sea-front before kick-off, so I wandered down to see the sand dunes and sculptures. This was a blustery day and the sand was blowing wildly across the beach, giving it something of a dramatic feel.
I was delighted to find that Rossett Park was much unchanged since my last visit in 2009. This is a cosy ground nestled in between terraced houses, and like the Moat (in Gresley) has only 3 sides accessible to spectators. The end behind the far goal has a block of sweeping terraces completely exposed to the elements, while the long side is narrow and wrapped in a roof of corrugated iron. The end nearest the turnstiles has a neat stand of seats, backing onto the obligatory tea-bar and hospitality hut.
King's Lynn came here as the 'fulcrum' of the league - i.e. bang in the middle! Marine, in contrast, were in the bottom 3, and slowly being sucked into the trap-door. We had not won away since the opening day of the season, so this would be a great opportunity today. King's Lynn started stronger, but the first-half was dominated by the home side, with Marine creating a cluster of chances. Tom Peers managed to get clean through after a mistake in the home defence, whilst James Short's free-kick flew over. On 20 minutes, Menagh cut inside to forge a chance, only to fire straight down the keeper's throat at close range. They then took the lead on 31 minutes, when Lloyd Ellams converted a penalty awarded after a foul on Codling. The only away chance of note was when Peter Winn headed over just before the break.
Within 12 minutes, we had scored again. This time, Mettam slid in an excellent poacher's goal from the right side of the 6 yard box, although there was a hint of offside from the home fans. To their credit, Marine did not give up, and forced consecutive corners at the exposed terraced end. The first one was awarded when Alex Street tipped a shot around, then he denied Marine again with a superb diving save. Unlucky Marine then hit the cross-bar from the resulting corner. Somehow we hung on to claim only our second away win of the year. I have to admit that we were pretty lucky in this one, and on another day, Marine may well have taken all 3 points. I hope they manage to stay in this league, as they are a great club, and I look forward to visiting again when time allows. I was glad to get onto a warm train, and back to the car, after an icy day on Merseyside.
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