‘Three wash basins, one hand dryer. Always.
Why?’
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| 'Box Office Sales'? Optimistic. |
Unable to watch my beloved Barnsley due to an international weekend (see later)
I’d looked around the lower division fixture list and plumped for Bristol
Rovers in the Conference. However, as often
as this happens in Finsbury Park, I received an even better offer the night
before – Darlo were playing down south, St. Neots in the FA Trophy (I’d looked
up Darlo’s fixture weeks ago and it was Northwich or somesuch; it pays to keep
up sometimes!)
Would I like to go? Of course I
would! I hadn’t seen my 2
nd team
since….well, I guess it was a Conference game if it was Hayes (and Yeading)
away in Woking. Previous to that, they’d
been triumphant at Wembley in the FA Trophy, which seems a long time ago.
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| Main Stand, side view. |
We set off from Finsbury Park around half twelve for a 48 minute journey to St.
Neots. I’d heard of the place, but never
seriously knew for sure where it was.
Cambridgeshire is your answer (I think).
It’s near Cambridge, anyway. I
trusted to Kev how to find the ground.
Problem solved as we climbed the steps at the station – it’s right next
door. The plan to have a beer in the
town centre went by the wayside though, that was apparently a walk away. Do they have a clubhouse selling beer? But of course – pay your tenner to get into
the ground and the social club is all yours.
The 15 – 20 early birds were mostly Darlo and a few club reps.
The clubhouse was most welcoming, though one of the two TV screens showing
Plymouth-Pompey was a bit blurred.
Problies for the best. We got our
pints in (one IPA, one Stella, pls) and sat on some huge leather sofa the like
of which couldn’t fit through my front door.
Very nice. Also, a view of the
pitch…or half a pitch. I consider this a
bit of a design flaw, as was the huge chunk of walkway right in front of the
stand which would obscure one’s view if sat down. A bit of yellow painted on the floor doesn’t
stop people walking in front, since the only entrance to the ground is the
corner nearest said stand. ‘Non-league
new ground of the year (2006)’ said a plaque from Groundtastic behind the bar. Still, it lived up to its name: ‘The Cozy
Stadium’
née Rowley Park.
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| Electronic scoreboard - bit flash! |
We ventured out looking for a spot, the crowd more than double the usual
gate. ‘Big team, Darlington’ I heard
more than once today. We elected to walk
through past the small covered terrace to the far side, where we could happily
lean on the fence overlooking the pitch, about two yards behind the touchline. Grand!
And 5 minutes after kick off we had our ‘reward’ – Darlo’s stand-in
centre half (usually the centre forward) making his bid for not being picked
there again by putting up his dukes to the Saints’ centre forward. Apparently, he made no contact, but I (and
everyone else) was following the ball not the men. So well done linesman – he wouldn’t have had
him sent off were he not sure. (I mean
it.)
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| The teams line up in front of the Main Stand |
Thereafter, you’d be hard pushed to tell it was 11 v 10, as both sides attacked
and had chances but we crept in 0-0 at HT.
Mind, I was already in the loo (and out again) in time for snatching
another pint in the clubhouse. Not even
a queue, marvellous. Then, for reasons
known only to Kev, as it p***ed it down on the pitch, we elected to stand on
the terrace Darlo were defending. No
standing in the open now!
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| Just so's you know... |
In the end, Darlo lost 3-1. Valiant
though the effort was, it took a fabulous goal to break the deadlock after 70
minutes, as their man cut inside and curled a beauty into the top corner from
20 yards. Unstoppable. Surely Neots were through. But Darlo struck back after 77 mins, a neat
finish from a neat pass. The Darlo
hordes in the home end (me and Kev) went wild, while everyone else just
laughed. Hope yet of a replay. Hope extinguished within 30 seconds of the
restart as a teasing cross from the left was headed home and the light was
firmly put out when a backpass was picked up and laid off for the centre
forward to score a tap-in. Oh well –
Darlo can concentrate on getting back up through the leagues, where they’ve won
the last 9 (nine).
While the Neotians (?) shuffled off home, the driving rain meant it would have
been rude to rule out another beer. So a
couple of pints, a chat with a Cambridge fan who doesn’t do away matches and
half an hour of half watching an England game on the telly, wondering whothehell
the right back is. The good news was it
wasn’t Glen Johnson.
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| 'I was THIS close to the play' (narrows gap between finger and thumb). |
Attendance: 715
Damage:
£10 ent
£2 programme
£12.60 beer (4 pints of IPA and Stella)
£16 travel (plus £15 ‘lost tickets’)
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| Bike shed? Bus shelter? |
‘Later’: Your team gets relegated to the 3
rd
tier of English football. You consider
one of the upsides being no more matches postponed ‘due to international call
ups’. You forget one of your club’s
directors is a head honcho at the FA and would probably like to enjoy the beano
of a day out at Wembley. So obviously,
when England play on Saturday at 5pm, your team will elect to play a game
against a side far far away (or Colchester as it’s known) on a FRIDAY
night. Not even a Satdy lunchtime, or a
Sunday. Friday. Lord help us.
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| It's raining goals. And rain. |
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