Tadcaster (26-03-2016)

Tadcaster 0 – 0 Cleethorpes (Northern Counties East Premier), Saturday 26 March 2016

Entry £5
Tea £1-50
Tea £1-50
Programme £1-50
Raffle £1
Petrol 108 miles £11-61
Total £22-11

So I've hit the wall. After something like 33 games this season I'm starting to feel jaded and tired of this hopping lark.

After a late night return from Copenhagen I opted to drive to Tadcaster, which is only actually a 50 minute ride away. The town is right next to the A1 but I would have had to bus it from Leeds so the car seemed the better choice.

There was free parking in the town and I had a brief wander before the game. The main road bridge across the river is still being rebuilt after the winter floods, and the town felt very quiet (not sure whether the two are connected). The i2i stadium is right next to the river so it is a wonder that the club managed to recover their ground after it was submerged in December/January.

The main distinctive feature of the ground was a unique seated stand at the car park end of the ground. This resembled the kind of seats you see at the circus! The roof appeared to be some kind of stretched out canvas, whilst the seating consisted of long wooden benches in the home side's blue and yellow.

The sky was cloudy and a bit grey, but this should on paper be a decent game (2nd against 3rd). Cleethorpes came out stronger, and played much better football than 'Tad'. The home side seemed content - whether by accident or design - to sit back and counterattack. The Lincolnshire side created most of the first half chances, with Cooper heading just wide after a cross from the right, while Mascall fired a long ranger just past the keepers left hand post. Oglesby, who was strong on the ball and pacey in attack, was a real handful and had an angled volley well saved. The home sides main 'chance' came when the burly Beadle blasted a wild effort miles over the bar.

After a cagey first half the game began to open up. Cooper’s clever turn and shot was turned around the post by the alert home keeper, then from a corner the keeper looked like he'd dropped it into his own net. Time stood still until it was cleared away at the last second. The home side responded with a hatful of their own chances – Josh Greening’s dipping free kick missed everyone and was tipped around by the away keeper. Then the same player could only plant a close range effort about a foot wide, while Corner ended up nearly scoring with a similar effort. This now felt like a park game where the next goal would win. A mazy run by the one of the Cleethorpe’s subs resulted in a left foot effort which went over, and then Cooper was left banging the turf when he headed over the bar. It had been a bit of a frustrating afternoon for both sides though perhaps Cleethorpes should have shaded it. The only winners today were Handsworth Parramore who had seen two title rivals drop valuable points.

I headed back to the car, past the impressive exterior of John Smith's Brewery, and set the sat nav to 'home'. There was no final score on the radio, which was instead dominated by the cricket commentary. I drove past Ferrybridge and back onto the A1 before hitting torrential rain. It had been that kind of day.

Preston NE (19-03-2016)

Preston North End 1 – 1 Queen’s Park Rangers (Championship), Saturday 19 March 2016

Train £12
Subway £5
Ticket £24
Programme £3
Sainsbury's snacks £1-75
Tea at Preston £1-90
Total £47-65

Today's trip to Preston marked something of a milestone, being the last Football League ground I had to visit in the North West. I have found that Preston is one of those places which you often pass by on the way to somewhere else so it made a change to be travelling to the town itself. I had in fact been to the outside of Deepdale in 2006, when I had attempted to cycle from Preston and up the Fylde peninsula.

Arriving in the town by 2, and ragged from some recent hops, I treated myself to a Subway before heading to the ground. Deepdale is a mile or two from the centre, next to an impressive park. After some external photos, including the impressive Tom Finney statue sliding into a tackle, I headed into the ground. I was in the home end behind the goal, and surveyed my surroundings. The stadium is fully enclosed, with distinctive floodlights on each corner each one resembling a mecano tower. The stand names tipped to past glories - the Bill Shankly Kop, the Invincibles stand.

In today's world, Preston are doing incredibly well in their first season back in the Championship (mid table with no signs of a relegation dog fight). QPR came here on almost level points today so this should be an intriguing one. Like most Championship games this didn't disappoint. The Hoops started most strongly, easily pressing high up inside the Preston half. They took a deserved lead through the muscular Polter, who had been excellent so far. The goal seemed to bring a response from Preston, with Hugill heading over and Cunningham’s effort tipped over. Johnson was a tenacious terrier, proving a handful for the away defence.

The second period was more evenly balanced. Preston’s Robinson produced some superb runs but couldn't create anything clear cut. QPR threatened to double their lead when Junior Hoilett’s shot was caught, and then they had a free kick fired wide. Chery then went clean through for the London side, only for the effort to be well saved by the home keeper. Then much to the consternation (it was more outrage!) of the home crowd, Jermain Beckford had a 50:50 penalty shout which was waved away by the referee.

Just when it seemed as though it wouldn't be Preston’s day, 6 minutes of injury time went up on the board. Volume levels in the stadium shot up. The team responded and Doyle nailed a superb header to make it 1-1. They had fought hard for this point, but it was well deserved. On this evidence they'll be in this league for a while yet.

I headed back to the station with a sense of satisfaction. There is now 1 North West ground left to see, and only actually 3 Football League grounds in the North. (For the moment I am ignoring Fylde's new ground and the likely rise of Charnock Richard, Prestwich Heys to the NWCFL). There's now 1 match left before the clocks change, so this was a day for optimism.

Morecambe (12-03-2016)

Morecambe 2 - 1 AFC Wimbledon (League Two), Saturday 12 March 2016

Entry £17
Programme £3
Tea £1-70
Petrol £28
Parking £4
Total £53-70

Just when I think everything will be smooth... This weekend I planned to visit Morecambe. Like Chesterfield this is one of a few places where I'll have visited both the old and new grounds. I'd managed to get to Christie Park in its final season in 2010, and was heading back there today for the Globe Arena.

Bike at the ready, season ticket primed and I checked National Rail. There were long delays through Sheffield until 1:30, and the previous train to Manchester had been completely cancelled. It sounded like it would be chaos at the station. So I decided to drive it for once, which actually meant I could set off later than planned. I then had a wild idea of heading to Glasson Dock and Heysham but with traffic and the 2 and a half hour drive that was scuppered. I made it as far as the edge of Heysham Port but with a white mist descending, I could barely see a thing. So I headed to the Globe Arena, where I paid £4 for the privilege of parking in a nearby school.

According to the club website there are no cash turnstiles but I managed to find one, parting with £17 for terracing behind the goal. The smaller terraced section at the far end was closed with the Wimbledon fans congregated in the main stand.

The ground was nice enough, with the modern sweeping stand on my right and spacious terraces on the other sides. To be honest it all felt a bit flat. There was hardly any atmosphere as the teams kicked off, and with the cloudy day and my general tiredness I wondered why I was here today.

Wimbledon, who were 7th in the league, should be sweeping the Shrimps aside today, but the home side kept them in check for long periods. Wimbledon had barely a handful of first half opportunities, including a free kick which went over, and a couple of efforts wide by 39. Morecambe's 9 had an effort saved after running in from the right wing, and I was particularly impressed with the reliable and strong 2, who got forward at every opportunity, but could also defend effectively. The most eventful off-pitch occurence was when a senior steward reprimanded some junior staff for standing too close together. They were stood behind the goal having a good natter and looked hardly aware of anything around them!

The second half picked up both in terms of atmosphere and on-pitch action. There were more chants, and the crowd seemed to respond to the announcer's demand for them to get behind the team. Morecambe's ever active 9 fired over after a cross from the right, and then Wimbledon had an effort well-saved by the home keeper from the right side. The home side were dominating possession now, and Morecambe's 4 headed over from 7's corner. Then on 76 minutes they took a deserved lead through 17 who slotted in after a loose ball outside the 6 yard box.

They gained a further advantage when Wimbledon's 20 was handed a straight red for denying a goal-scoring opportunity, with 7 coolly converting from 12 yards. They looked like they would close out the win, until the Dons suddenly came to life for the last 10 minutes. Their 7 made it 2-1 to set up a nervy finish, and despite attack after attack, they could not muster an equaliser. In truth, Morecambe deserved this win today. They had played with great tenacity and organisation throughout, and had earnt some degree of safety in the League Two table. I headed back to the car and after a brief drive down to Heysham Village, headed back to the M6 and across the Pennines back to Sheffield. I nearly managed to run out of petrol but just made it back to South Yorkshire with some left in the tank! This summed up a tiring but worthwhile trip up to West Lancashire.