Entry £18
Petrol £10 (estimate)
Parking £3
Tea £1-20
Total £32-20
So Christmas has passed like a flash and we are now a day or so from starting work again. I hadn't banked on a game today given possible weather disruption, and not knowing where I'd be. After a quiet New Year's Day, I picked this one as a decent 'local' bet. The appeal was that I could apparently drive to Glanford Park in 40 mins, and park right outside the ground.
So I jumped in the car just before 2, heading across the M18 and into North Lincs. The roads were mainly quiet for a change. After parting with £3 for parking at the ground, I did my customary walk around for photos before heading into the terraced end for cash. Cash turnstiles at League grounds make my life much easier, particularly when I'm not 100% on which ground I'll be at this time of year.
Glanford Park is not the most glamorous ground, but does have historic significance, being the first UK ground built after the end of World War Two (in 1988 I believe). Essentially it has four stands of the same height, which enclose the ground completely. The three other sides were all seated, so it was nice to be able to experience the full throttle of the terraces.
So to the game. Scunny were floating around mid table in League One, while Wigan were comfortably in the playoff positions, looking to consolidate today. The home side started strongly, with 10 firing wide with his left foot and then heading over from 9's cross. Wigan's two bright spark were 31 and 7, who caused plenty of trouble down the flanks and in the middle. The Lincolnshire side deservedly took the lead when 7 slotted in after a cross from the left wing. Wigan's first real effort came when 6 blasted over from range. Bizarrely they then equalised when 17 ran clear after what looked suspiciously like hand ball.
The half time entertainment was hilarious - the 'challenge' was for 3 home fans to spin around a stick for a couple of minutes before trying to slot in a penalty! Needless to say some looked a shade of green after this.
The Latics seemed buoyed by their goal before the break. 9 curled over and 7 blasted wide after excellent work by 31. Scunthorpe's passing was suddenly looking wayward and it seemed they'd lost focus. The only real threat was 15 who looked like he might have some pace about him. Wigan kept forging chances, and the impressive 31 hit wide after a mazy run, while Scunthorpe scrambled another effort off the line. The home side responded for the last few minutes, s29 just failing to connect with a cross and s15 firing straight at the away keeper. The final chance fell to s9 who could only head over. Either team could have won this game in the end, but it ended in near-stalemate. I headed back to the car and after waiting for 10 minutes of so for traffic to clear, edged my way out of the ground and back to Sheffield. I was in just after 6pm, ideal on a January evening.
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