Notts County (07-05-2016)

Notts County 0 - 5 Carlisle United (League Two), Saturday 7 May 2016

Petrol £10
Tram £4
Ticket £22
Tea £1-80
Programme £3
Tea number 2 £1-80
Drink £1-25
Total £43-85

As we were heading to Anfield on Sunday I wanted a near-ish ground for Saturday. Notts County fit the bill perfectly - I did their counterparts Forest back in 2013 but have never made it to Meadow Lane.

Nottingham is apparently a tricky city to drive into so I opted for the Phoenix Park and Ride, which took about 40 minutes from our house. Half an hour later on the tram and I was in the centre of the city, which was abuzz with the sunshine out for once. In the market square kids were taking dips in the fountains and several stalls dotted around. Has summer arrived? On this evidence yes.

I alighted at Nottingham station - which it had to be said has massively improved in recent years - and made the short walk to the ground. Despite the fact that nothing much was hinging on this game there was still a healthy crowd of people around the ground. I headed to the ticket office to pick up my ticket, only to be barked at by a steward explaining I was in the wrong queue.

Once I had my ticket I sauntered around to the Spion Kop end, and made it in to the ground. Meadow Lane was bordering on 20,000 capacity, with all seated stands on each side. The away fans in their blue shirts were slowly gathering in the long side on my left, while the rest of the ground was fairly quiet. In the relatively sparsely populated Kop I then managed to completely spill a cup of tea! The brown liquid oozed down onto the next couple of rows, probably making a mark on the concrete for years to come.

After a replacement tea the ground began to fill up and the game kicked off. The atmosphere was interesting to say the least. Notts County have had a pretty poor season, lying around 17th-18th for most of it, with 3 managers in 2015-16. Their supporters - who to be fair had turned out in numbers today - voiced their frustrations early on.

It hardly helped when Carlisle took an early lead when 24 slid the ball to the unmarked 17, who slotted in calmly from inside the box. After c14couldn't quite reach a far post header and n29 forced a double save, c3 made it 2-0. Appallingly he was again unmarked with the defence in disarray. Notts had the odd shot (eg when 26's long ranger was well saved), but were a poorly organised side. So it was no surprise when 14 made it 3-0 just before half time. Boos rang out across the stadium.

Despite the sunshine the mood hardly improved in the second period. N3 scrambled an early effort off the line and then c13 bundled in a cross from the right. 4-0 and this was not even 60 minutes!

County had a few bright spots. 11 looked good in some sparky runs from midfield, and 39 had a rare County shot saved. Across the ground rang out the chant 'were shit and we know we are'. That was emphasised when Carlisle made it 5-0 thanks to an awful clearance from the goalkeeper, who fed it to the alert away striker. Still the chants rose across the seats of this grand stadium - 'you're not fit to wear the shirt'. There was time for a couple of final efforts - n24 firing just wide with a long ranger and n39 forcing another save - but this had been an unmitigated disaster for the home side. It could even have been 6 when 25 hit the post for the Cumbrians late on. There was a blue and white party in full swing at the far end, Carlisle finishing a respectable upper mid table on 67 points. The contrast in the home sections was palpable. On the final whistle boos streamed down from the Kop, and some fans walked out without any applause. Lets hope things improve next season as this is a grand old club and the fans deserve a lot better.

I strolled back to the tram stop, and got back to Phoenix Park for just after 5:30. The journey up the M1 was smooth and I made it in at about 6:15, which has to be one of my quickest return journeys.

Hartlepool (16-04-2016)

Hartlepool 2 - 1 York City (League Two), Saturday 16 April 2016

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.

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.

Accrington (18-04-2015)

Accrington Stanley 2 - 2 Stevenage (League Two), Saturday 18th April 2015

Train (Manc-Accrington) = £10-10 train
Ale = £5-80
Programme = £3
Entry = £20
Tea = £2-50
Pasty = £3-99

'Accrington Stanley? Who are they?' Accrington is something of a footballing Mecca, representing an older and happier footballing world. Today I headed off to East Lancashire for a late season League 2 game against Stevenage. This time I'm pleased to say that a friend and former colleague joined me for what proved to be a classic ground-hop as Spring made a brief sunny appearance.

Like Nelson, Colne et al, Accrington is bizarrely not accessible by direct train from Manchester. There is a direct bus but on this route it would have taken far longer than train. So we ended up changing at Preston, and ended up in Accrington at about 1pm. This gave ample time for a visit to a bookies for my friend to place an 8-fold bet on various matches taking place today. We then sidled up to the ground, and found an excellent pub - The Castle - where we stopped for a Spring Water ale. The barman gave a friendly Lancs welcome, though he did look slightly bemused when he realised we weren't Stevenage fans.

After another pint in the sunny beer garden of The Crown (Blonde Witch), we headed in to the Sophia Khan end, parting with £20. I had been slightly worried about being mistaken for away fans, but we had no such trouble. This end of the ground has about 5 rows of seats at the front with terracing and crush barriers behind. This gave it quite a nice balance, with kids and families at the front and the more vociferous fans at the back. The away end behind the far goal consisted of a completely exposed terraced block - fortunately today it was fair weather, though I did wonder what it must be like on cold January evenings. Just beyond there was a hill in the distance - a Pennine perhaps? - and another football match in full flow.

Stevenage came here today looking to cement a play off place, while Accrington were safe from relegation so had nothing to play for. Within 2 minutes of kick off there was a long delay due to an injury, resulting in a throw in near the halfway line. We later discovered on the Football League Show that Accrington had a man sent off but both completely missed it at the time! It didn't dampen their competitiveness, and they were ahead when 8's excellent run set up 19 to make it 1-0. With 20 minutes gone, Stevenage's number 8 made it 1-1 to the delight of the fans on the away terrace. Accrington looked more than a match for their higher placed opponents, and made it 2-1 when 19 scored another superb right footed goal.

The second half was as good as the first, with end to end aggression and determination. Stevenage's 18 forced an early save from the home keeper, while Accringtons 15 fired wide from a promising position. Stevenage's 32 then flicked a header towards the top corner only to be tipped around the post. Then the away side reached parity when 3 put in a superb cross, enabling 20 to poach a goal inside the 6 yard box. This was perhaps just reward for a well contested match. I have to say that throughout we enjoyed the atmosphere created by the Accrington fans, with several songs using existing tunes and new lyrics - I think that Anarchy in the UK was used at one point! Despite the awkwardness of catching 3 trains and a bus back home, this trip to the other side of the Pennines was well worth it.

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.