Hyde United 1-0 FC United of Manchester, Tuesday 3rd September 2024

Hyde United 1-0 FC United of Manchester, FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round Replay, The Project Solar Stadium (Ewen Fields), att. 893

Scanning the results last Satdy I noticed it was the FA Cup and FC United of Manchester had come from 3 goals down to grab a draw at home to localish rivals Hyde United. Guessing the replay was the following Tuesday, I marked it out. I’d intended on visiting Hyde at some point, a famous enough name around the north-west.

I got to Hyde early, parking on the street outside the ground. It was suspiciously quiet, though I suppose folk don’t usually rock up over half an hour before kick-off. The ground was signposted down a lane by the side of a leisure centre. ‘Home or away?’ asked an inquisitive steward. ‘Errrr..home?’ Tonite’s game was segregated. Fair enough, The Tigers’ home crowds thus far had been a most consistent 442, 445 and 440. Tonite would be double.

Through the turnstiles, programmes and raffle tickets were available. I grabbed a programme and headed for the social club. ‘Are you a season ticket holder? Are you a member?’ Seemed there were different beer prices depending on what category you belonged to. ‘Just charge me the maximum.’ The social club was sparse, and listening to Sky Sports reporters giving me updates on EFL Trophy games held no appeal, so I was out into the wilds of the Project Solar Stadium.

The Main Stand, straddling the halfway line, was £1 extra to gain entry to. A steward guarded entry, though a ‘NO THOROUGHFARE’ sign did most of his blocking for him. I turned right, instead, where a deep covered terrace presided over the away end to our right. I found an ideal position, high up, able to see both goals inbetween various pillars. Of course, this had to be right in the middle of their vocal support, as the area filled up before kick-off.

What a noise fewer than a hundred can make. My ears were pounding, though my favourite was ‘1, 2, 3, 4 can you hear the Tigers roar? RRRROARRRRRRRRR!’ I was crying with laughter. There was interaction with the United fans too. ‘United’ ‘HYDE!’ ‘United’ ‘HYDE!’…till the United fans stopped. (Sadly, the interaction wasn’t quite there second half, as the vocal United fans moved to the other end.) And if, as seemed often, a United player cleared the bar with a wayward effort, ‘Swing lo, sweet chariot’ broke out.

At half-time I went for a wander, down a ginnel behind the Main Stand, and onto the modern covered terrace at the far end. So much for ‘segregation’, as United fans moved around from the opposite end, they had 3 sides of the ground, bar one mature Hyde lady behind the dugouts who’d occasionally shrill a ‘Come on Tigers!’. She wouldn’t be cowed by all these FC fans. As time clicked on, and both sides missed chances, I managed a circumference of the ground, finding the away end bizarrely angles away from the pitch. How did I now notice this, first half? One end of the stand is tight to the corner flag, the other about 10 yards behind it. They don’t build ‘em like this anymore.

Hyde won the game with a well worked goal off a corner after 34 minutes, as a low ball to the edge of the area was swept into the 6 yard box for a striker to turn and score from 6 yards. However, FC hit the bar twice and played some super stuff on Hyde’s plastic pitch. It was both easy and difficult to see why they’re nearer the bottom than top of the Northern Premier League. ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ crowed the Hyde fans, along with ‘We’re the famous Hyde United and we’re off to Wembley’. I hope so. Hyde United v Manchester City, FA Cup Final. I’d tune in for that.

The Damage:
£14 ent
£2 prog
£5.50 pint (Stella)
= £21.50

Mossley 1-0 Hednesford Town, Tuesday 10th September 2024

Mossley 1-0 Hednesford Town, Northern Premier League West, Seel Park, att. 312

I’ve been looking forward to visiting Seel Park. Mossley is about 15 minutes away by train and, having been through it, looks to have a pub or 3. So obviously I drive there. How am I going to save the world if I insist on getting the car out? Door to door with the car (I parked 50 yards from the ground) or a 10 minute walk to my local station? Besides, driving the car is free, right, since it’s taxed and the petrol tank is full.

Kev is meeting me there. It’s walking distance from his house (so he got a bus). ‘Didn’t wanna be late’. Good man. We have a pre-match snifter in The Fleece. Beer choice not great but there were plenty in and the atmosphere was convivial. Ideal for Seel Park, 5 minutes away. While relieving myself, I was asked if I was off to the football. ‘Certainly am. You?’ ‘No.’

The entrance to Seel Park is pretty grand, especially the gates. ‘The cream of the Pennines’ it declares, and who am I to argue? The hills rise up beyond the far side and gives one something to marvel at beyond where the hell is Hednesford, tonite’s visitors. (I’ve since googled it; that and Cannock appear to merge together. I can’t believe it’s so close to Lichfield, where my in-laws live. I’ve never seen a sign for Hednesford. Cannock, however...)

Having got a drink from the large social club (‘capacity 120’ the programme tells me) we step out onto the terrace outside and appear surrounded by Brummie voices. It’s the away contingent, and one follower of the Pitmen collars us. I know he’s a fan of theirs cos he has a helmet on with ‘The Pitmen’ scrawled upon it. Nice touch. He knows we think they’re buying their way to promotion and expects Mossley to kick them all over the park ‘like they did last year’. Kev is quick to defend our position as neutrals, as fervent as Peter denying Jesus (have I got the right Biblical story there?) I was quite happy to be mistaken for a Mossley diehard. There’s worse things in life to be. And I don’t know about buying their way up, but it seems only yesterday Hednesford was a Conference side and in the FA Cup 4th round. ‘Yesterday’ turns out to be the late 1990s.

We’re on a decent sized terrace. In fact, Seel Park has a quite a few steps of terrace everywhere and could easily hold 6,000+, though official capacity is 4,500, with 200 seats. We’re in the open, but to our right is a covered terrace 10 steps or more high. Opposite is another covered terrace, slightly smaller and maybe half the length of the pitch, straddling the halfway line. Attendance here is sparse, as most home fans settle on this side, including the stand, high up behind a paddock. The far end is open, but is also a decent sized terrace. Everything here is a ‘decent size’. I bemoan (bewonder?) to Kev how a side like Mossley have a better ground than his (former league) side Darlo. He knows.

Another thing Mossley have in their credit is one of the most undulating playing surfaces I’ve seen in a long time. It’s all over the place. Up a bit here, down a lot there. Never change it. And at least it’s grass. And it didn’t stop the only goal of the game, a quite frankly absolutely brilliant half volleyed screamer into the top(ish) corner from 20 odd yards. Even better, we were right behind it. The kind of goal even opposition supporters would applaud, though none did. 37 minutes was the golden goal. Kev had 90, sold to him by the smartest looking steward I’ve ever seen. Fair play to the Mossley chairman for getting his hands dirty and mucking in, encouraging people to buy a programme or a golden goal ticket. I liked the cut of his jib.

At the opposite end of the enthusiasm spectrum was the match announcer. What a barrel of laughs he must be. He puts the ‘dead’ in ‘deadpan’, though until tonite, I’d never known I needed to know the half-time Clitheroe score. Now I’m not sure I can cope with going to a game and not being given it.

It’s end to end, with both sides missing chances, balls cleared off the line, saves by the keepers. We wonder how it remains at one-nil, but it does. Oh, and the train home? Next one after full-time was 22:15. I was home by then. Vroom vroom!

The Damage:
£10 ent
£3 prog
= £13