![]() ![]() I don't know why but Hampton have always seemed a particularly unfriendly crowd and this irrational feeling wasn't helped by not being able to get so much as a packet of crisps from a bar that always seems like it could be better-run. A few even hardier souls stood on the open far side getting gradually wetter as the showers continued. Twenty or so hardy souls watched a reasonable affair with the home side going two up before the visitors earned a draw. By the time I arrived there was no-one taking admission money, which I think from previous experience was £3. I intended to go to the Knowle v Coventry Rangers (potential) title decider but the M42 closure meant that by the time I got there the car park was full, parking in the side streets off was dicey in NIMBYland and I didn't fancy a long hike back in the rain so I drove to the nearby Field Lane to see a nothing on it mid-table versus fourth clash. Today was far and away the biggest crowd they’ve had since then, and the club will be hoping against hope that a few of these newbies might be tempted to follow them on to their next groundshare, at out-of-the-way Cobham. So, a well-deserved promotion, and achieved on the 30th anniversary of E&E’s last ever game in the borough, at their much-missed West Street ground. On top of all that, they did finish above Wick in the table (and beat them twice in the league too). So well that it would’ve been gut-wrenching if the one error - even such a big error - that gifted Wick a penalty had resulted in anything more than a consolation goal. Rather, and similar to last week’s semi-final, despite seeming inhibited when attacking, E&E still created the best chances and, at the other end, defended well. And not even because of the clear exasperation in the Salts’ chairman’s programme notes at having to play this final on Coronation Day which, despite not particularly agreeing with him, I found strangely endearing! ![]() I’m glad the home side won, and not just because of the complete absence of originality or charm from the visiting moron with the megaphone and his juvenile sidekicks. Stupid and needless, but it didn’t cost them. The foul, though, was certainly a shocker and, incidentally, as a result of the ensuing melee, Salts’ number 4, Wilson, also got himself a red card. Not sure a jury would swallow that, but tempers did seem to remain in check. I was nearby but, to me, it didn’t seem too confrontational, and after he moved away I heard the player say he’d mistaken the gate to the clubhouse for the gate to the changing rooms. I know I'm spoiled living where I do, but if these two were my local options I'd seriously consider giving up drinking. It was just as well, since Albion pulled off a rather unlikely win against champions Stirling, so anything less than a victory and Rose would have been relegated due to a vastly inferior goal difference.Ī long and enjoyable day, the only disappointment being the pubs. Early chances went begging but once the visitors' defence was breached just after half time there was only going to be one outcome and two further goals were no more than Rose deserved. I also got a programme for two quid, and then learned that you cannot buy a beer inside any Scottish league football ground.īonny needed to win, or better Albion Rovers' result to ensure survival in the SFL and they made short work of Elgin, dominating the game from start to finish. The pitch is has possibly the biggest slope in senior football. 72 seats and four urinals for a crowd of 2,000 is really not enough. So on to the ground, which was full of character but nevertheless pretty basic with very limited facilities. Left there after one and went to a sports bar adjacent to the ground, which was full of p*ssed up blokes watching horse racing on the big tellies. Visited the Bannoc Brewhouse which was not as good as it sounds. Breakfast at 9am in the Spoons in Leyland (wonderful).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |