I arrive expecting a bigger crowd. The ‘car park’ (American football pitch behind the ground) is closed, so I squeeze in to the sports centre car park. Full-time proves most of the cars belong not to ‘Heed’ fans, but folk playing ACTUAL sport. It’s gone from full to virtually empty. Gateshead FC must be expecting a small crowd though, as ‘programmes are online’. Disappointing. But the club has the sense to house both sets of fans in the Tyne and Wear (West) Stand, or ‘the stand with a roof’. Alty are to my left, while the home ultras make an equally good noise away to my left. Whatever Gateshead’s crowds, whatever that they play at an athletics’ stadium, the atmosphere has still been excellent in the 3 times I’ve been here.
The rest of the ground is empty, save for the odd ballboy. (It’s a long way from the posts to the open seating behind the goal.) It’s strange, but the game keeps me focused. I’m willing the home side on, being local, yet still find the 1st half highlight was a home player injuring himself diving into a tackle following his own miscontrol. Anyway, said player came up and joined us, second half. I didn’t say owt…
Otherwise, the Heed won it with a couple of goals in the first half from Andrew Campbell. A high press and underhit backpass left Campbell clear for the first, while his 2nd, 3 mins later in the 37th minute, came from a long ball over the top. Still, well-controlled and a composed finish. Alty pulled one back before the interval, a rebound from a spilled shot. The second half looked all set, but no-one brought the matches and the home side comfortably saw it out. Bring on Stevenage!
The Damage:
£15 ent
£4.50 Tyne Bank West Coast IPA
= £21.40
The Tunes:
Wet Leg (Wet Leg)
No comments:
Post a Comment