Train (Sheffield-York) £20-20
Train (York-Hartlepool) £13-60
Tea at Thornaby £1-50
Entry £18
Tea at ground £2
Pasty £4-95
Total £60-25
Some days are weirder and crazier than dreams and today was one of them. I set off to York with two intentions - to meet a friend for lunch and then head off to Pickering for a match. But as soon as I set off on the 10:47, I checked Twitter and the games at Northallerton, Thornaby and Pickering were all off.
This could be it - at this stage I'd need to head to Leeds in the vague hope that I could find a match on. Then a thought crossed my mind - Hartlepool. I checked the BBC website and discovered they were playing York at home today. And upon my arrival at York it became clear that my friend would not be around for lunch. So off I headed on a train to Thornaby, packed with Thirsk race goers. When they left the train, one group of well dressed men left a Panini sticker book on Euro 2016 (free from a national newspaper) so I bagged that.
Thornaby is a bizarre station but in these parts is a key interchange. There are a couple of platforms separated by a road. In the ensuing 40-minute wait I went for a brief walk in squally rain and huddled inside the waiting room with a cup of tea. I'd been here 5 years before when Kings Lynn had beaten Norton and Stockton Ancients in the FA Vase.
But I've never been to Hartlepool before. I found the town quite interesting as it had a fairly sizeable marina and lots of impressive stone and red brick buildings. It is apparently famous because the inhabitants hung a monkey in the 19th Century!
At the end of this long and winding journey there was a football match. Victoria Park was a brilliant Football League ground, with terraces behind one goal and seats flanking the long sides of the pitch (with terracing at the base of the stand to the left). There was a fair crowd for this, probably because this was one of the few local derbies these sides have in League Two. This league seems dominated by clubs from further South.
York were almost relegated so needed anything to survive. As the sun finally began to break through the football got underway. Hartlepool had the early sniffs of goal, with James miscuing to fire over and Thomas attacking with a real verve. The main action from the Minstermen was when Winfield clattered into James. The Monkey Hangers - if I can say that - took the lead through the excellent Thomas. Things just got worse for hapless York, who had Winfield sent off for a second yellow. Hartlepool's Duckworth nearly doubled the lead when his drive was saved by the keeper’s legs. But like the dreamlike day this was, York equalised not long before the break through Cameron, to just about stay in the game.
The second half brought an increasingly open game. York’s Summerfield volleyed an early effort which was caught by the home keeper, and the Pool had shots from Woods (a first time drive) and James (a low header wide). They took the lead when Woods slotted in cleverly from inside the box after the defence failed to clear. York to their credit didn't give in and Hendrie had a decent run and shot. Their number 3 (Ilesanmi) was particularly energetic in his surging runs forward. The teams were trading blows at either end though Hartlepool never looked like surrendering their lead. Their drove a cracker over the bar, and McEvoy - at the centre of much activity - forced a tip from the keeper. York’s Alessandra - who had been superb in his running - then saw a half decent shot whistle just wide of the upright.
So York were now virtually down, despite a reasonable performance. Hartlepool's nearest League Two rivals next season could now be Blackpool or possibly Grimsby. After the game I headed for a walk out onto the Headland with some magnificent views of the sea and town in the bright evening sunshine. This place is really worth a visit.
Then I had to sprint back to the station for the 17:54 train to York, and had a chat with a couple of away fans en route. They had been enjoying whisky and beer since the morning. They were phlegmatic about their team’s performance and seemed resigned to relegation. One was a pig farmer and the other was a driving instructor (I had to guess this via some interesting miming).
It caused great confusion when I explained I was from East Anglia, lived in Sheffield, didn't support either York or Hartlepool, and was heading to somewhere like Boston next week! This has undoubtedly been the craziest hopping day of the 2015-16 season, with another of the 92 ticked off.
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