With a smallish crowd expected, there’s no problem getting parked in the academy adjacent to the stadium. Free too, which is just as well as I’m stung for twenty quid admission. 20 quid? That’s what I paid to see Everton v Palace in the cup the other week. Still, this’ll be a better game to watch. Easy in, and, as mostly, only one stand open, the Tyne and Wear (West) Stand. It’s a large propped cantilever stand which affords great views despite the running track, due to its steepness.
A similar stand lies opposite, albeit with only the skeleton of a roof frame. When the opposition bring numbers, it’s open. Tonite, Eastleigh bring fourteen whole supporters, and well done them, I could hear them. Behind either goal are more open seats, with the north end being slightly larger. I’m not sure when they’ll ever be used again. Does Gateshead still host Diamond League athletics meetings, now we have the ‘London Stadium’, nee the 2012 Olympic Stadium? I dunno, I don’t really follow athletics.
Pre-match, I head for the ‘Old Goat’s Bar’ under the stand, for a craft ale refresher. Last time it had a few choices from a local brewer. Not this evening. It’s Stella or Strongbow (dark or original...wooo!) or some other non-descript beverage. I decide to keep my powder dry and pick a pew. I could enjoy a padded VIP seat on the halfway line, but I choose a higher perch, for the view, just in front of a stanchion.
The game is a throwback. In the modern era, where the high press rules, Eastleigh simply retreat into their own half every time they lose possession, which is every time. Gateshead easily enjoy over 80% possession, but despite the probling of midfield pair Whelan and Francis, Eastleigh’s rigid defensive lines of a 5 and 3 are difficult to thread a pass through. They also cede the wide areas to Gateshead, confident that any delivery will be comprehensively cleared. And this works for 95 minutes (Eastleigh one up before the hour with a rare counter attack).
Then, with seconds to spare (the minimum 5 mins of injury time the ref had signalled is up), a corner is lofted in and the ref points to the spot. No-one in the stand has any idea what the offence is, and only one Spitfire (great nickname) complains until he’s booked. Foul? A push? Handball? I have no idea, and neither do two other blokes I listen in on as I leave. But who cares. Gateshead snatch the point as Luke Hannant despatches the pen, reward for an interesting piece in the programme. Although in his second spell with The Heed, he initially came to the north-east to study (choosing Newcastle cos it had the best nightlife!) and, after a spell in the Northern League for Northumbria University, was spotted and signed. Good on the lad, it lead to a spell at Port Vale and now he’s back as an influential older head.
The Damage:
£20 ent
£3 programme
= £23
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