Game 4

Game 4

Selby Town V Liversedge

FA Cup extra preliminary round

Rigid group stadium

att: 107

A sunny day in Selby and the magic of the FA cup what more could a guy ask for?  Even the missus decided to tag along for this one after a morning at work.  The satnav drops me off right outside the entrance to the ground and ample parking is available.  £5 each to get in and a programme for £1.50 (sold at a seperate turnstile to the one you go in) will prove to be great value at full time.  To add to my excitement my new camera arrived at 12:50 (just in time for this hop). 

Matchday programme

On entering the ground looking to the right there is a stand running the width of the pitch. The stand is mostly wooden with Selby Town FC spelt out across the back.  A large net spans the roof to ensure the local conservatories are left in one piece.

Opposite the entrance on the far side are the players dressing rooms housed in a large white brick building and the dugouts are also situated here.  As you follow the pitch round to the next goal there is a small terraced stand with a banner that reads Selby town, Barmy army ( I can only presume these were on holiday).

Selby Towns Barmy army at kick off

Then on the near side to the left of the entrance is the clubhouse in which we go in search of some food.  On entering the clubhouse to the left is a small kitchen serving chip butties and steak pie and peas.  One of each came to £3.60 which wasn't bad at all and no I didn't eat both. All the staff up to this point were very friendly. We went back outside in anticipation of my first taste of cup action this season.

Liversedge pile on the pressure 1st half

The game kicked off and within 5 minutes it was clear the away team would have the better of the day.  Selby clearly were lacking in confidence having conceded 11 goals in their opening 2 Ncel games.  Liversedge made all the early chances and left the home side resorting to hoofing the ball up field.  Liversedge took the lead through a Dave Boardman headed goal and this failed to rally the home side.  The next goal came courtesy of his strike partner Alex Hallam a fierce drive from the right across the face of Jody Barford in the Selby goal.  Still nothing in terms of urgency from the home team.  Not long before half time the away side were awarded a penalty which was coolly dispatched by Hallam to put them 3-0 up. Game over?

Alex Hallam makes it 3-0 from the spot

The second half started and suddenly Selby realised they were here to play a game of football.  Unfortunately they were hit on the break and Chris Hawney scored a 4th for the away side.  Liversedge well and truly took their foot off the gas and the home side had all the possession without really making any impact on the game.  The home side eventually managed a consolation goal and hit the cross bar late on with a free kick.  With limited quality going forward Selby really struggled to make an impact on the game. 1-4 final score, at £1 a goal which as I said was good value.  Getting out the ground was easy enough and Liverpool won at Arsenal so all in all a good day.  Where to next?

Game 3

Game 3
North Ferriby United V Chorley
Evostik League premier division
13/8/2011
The Rapid Solicitors stadium
Att 293

With the Humber bridge in sight I pull up just about as close as you can get to the ground.  North Ferriby is a small village on the outskirts of Hull. For this game dad has decided to come along and I think his expectations for the quality of Football might be a little high. £9 entrance fee and a programme for £2 represent good value.  The staff on the gates an inside the ground are all very friendly and make everyone feel welcome.  We go left in to the ground heading to the clubhouse, on entering you come across a small club shop which I couldn't resist a new addition to the scarf collection ( £7.50).  After a quick drink I am anxious to get out and have a look around.  On the opposite side of the ground is a small stand running the length of the touchline. At either end the stand has terraced areas with seats in the middle.  The main train line in to Hull is at the back of this stand.

Just as the game is about to kick off a large number of Chorley fans exit the clubhouse making the crowd look about 50/50.  Their number includes one guy who enjoys singing indecipherable songs at high decibles (no one joins in) and another with a megaphone.  Didnt expect to see Italian style "ultras" in the evostick and I wasnt surprised, as apart from the odd mumbled Rugby reference it was a pretty sad effort.  The young kids in Man U shirts behind the other goal made more noise talking among themselves.

Clubhouse and dressing rooms

Half time saw Chorley leading 1-0 and probably should have been more despite Ferriby missing an early sitter, Chorley had the better of the game.  The second half was more of the same and saw Chorley extend their lead through a dubious penalty. I say it was dubious because thats how the home fans around me saw it.  The second goal woke the home team up and saw them have their best period of the game.  Another dubious penalty saw the home team get a consolation goal and finish with a 2-1 defeat in their season opener.  Dad as expected wasnt overly impressed with the quality of the Football.  Not sure he gets the whole pyramid system. The drive home is full of opening day match reports on Talksport, love it the Football season is back.

Game 2

Game 2
26/7/2011
Winterton Rangers V Grimsby Town
Pre Season Friendly
Att 400+ approx.

Having spent the day in Hull celebrating the nephews 10th birthday I managed to talk the missus in to making a trip to a game.  With a choice of 3 games in easy travelling distance I settled on a trip across the Humber to Winterton.  The club website mentioned barbecued burgers would be available and this helped the choice.  To my surprise the future in-laws decided they would like to tag along ( i think with the intention of mocking my new hobby).  Wintertons ground (West street) sits right next to the school and I imagine parking is usually straight forward however there was a large number of away fans making the short journey.  £5 entry again I thought was excellent value especially as Grimsby were playing League football last season.  Upon entering the ground you are immediately stood in front of a very smart clubhouse (used for weddings and other functions also).  There are small stands on both sides of the ground, to the left a small covered and seated stand. The right side has a small terraced stand. A 12 page programme was available for a £1 and at least gave me the opportunity to work out who was who.  The burger was superb by the way.

As the game kicked off we decided to make our way to the far end ( the one Grimsby would be attacking)  as I expected more action would take place here.  Before we had reached the half way line Grimsby had hit Winterton on the break an opened the scoring.  After a lot of pressure from the away side Winterton hit Grimsby on the break and the chipped finish wouldn't have looked out of place in the Premier league.  With about 5 minutes to go Serge Makofo picked up the ball on the left hand goal line and seemed to take on the entire Winterton defence before putting Grimsby 2-1 up. 

Clubhouse

The second half saw the usual pre season deluge of substitutions which ensured  no flow to the game.  Grimsby scored a late third from a corner and as their fans heavily out numbered the home crowd the majority went home happy with a 3-1 scoreline.  The in laws had to admit to enjoying the evening and said they would curb the mocking as long as I didn't get an anorak and a note pad ( iam promising nothing).

The 1st official hop.

Game 1
Tadcaster Albion V Wakefield FC
Pre season Friendly
Att: 60 + 1 dog (head + tail count).

Having previously visited stadiums such as Anfield, the Nou camp and Celtic park I decided to start my life as an official ground hopper at 2inspire park (home of Tadcaster Albion). A nice sunny evening on the outskirts of York also brought the attention of a large number of flying insects. The Satnav decided that the middle of Tadcaster would do and after 10 minutes of driving around in circles I began to fear I would miss the 7.30 kick off.  However having read a blog earlier on in the day I headed through the John smith brewery site and found the ground in the corner well hidden.  Parking was straight forward as the excitement of the visit of Wakefield seemed to be limited to well just me. £5 for entrance was very reasonable however no programme was available as has been mentioned by other bloggers the the staff around the place werent overly cheery.  I take a right where you come across the clubhouse which is almost like a big executive box which some fans dont leave for the duration. Behind the goal to my left were two small seated stands one of which looked to be a temporary one used for the recent game with York City. I wasn't sure food would be available so I visited a famous american fast food chain on my way to the ground however burgers were available in the clubhouse.  As you would expect from a ground nestled in the corner of the John Smiths brewery site the local tipple was available. 

Clubhouse/executive box?

The game got underway 15 minutes late with a first half that saw one Wakefield player carried off with a suspected broken foot and an open goal miss from a Tadcaster striker.  0-0 at half time not the start I had imagined to my ground hopping adventure.  The second half was more of the same only this time it was one of Tadcasters players to be carried off.  I was able to spend a few minutes chatting to the young Wakefield player who had been carried off.  It was during this conversation that I learned the entire wage budget for Wakefield was £750 a week ( anyone know a premier league player who would get out of bed for that?).  A late goal for Tadcaster gave the Ncel side a 1-0 win, not quite the outcome I imagined on the drive here but the hopping has begun.