Parking up right outside the ground, on a grass verge, I was pleased to come across the unique sight (at this level) of a queue at the turnstiles. Obviously this was the place to be of a Tuesday night in ‘Bish’. I’d been putting off my trip all season, partly cos it’s so close to home (I regularly fill up on petrol at the adjacent Sainsbury) and partly cos…well, I’d no real love for Heritage Park, a new build on the edge of town. The Bishops are ground in history (even providing 3 players to Manchester United following the Munich air disaster) but what use history when you’ve lost your town centre ground (shared with the cricket club; what a weird mix of stands and terrace that was) for a ground closer to, ironically, West Auckland?
Heritage Park does have its appeal though. The Main Stand is steep, with the club house at the top, a la Dulwich Hamlet. One would have a superb view up here, stood behind the seats, if not for all the signs forbidding you. Thus a pile of folk stood slightly inside the doors of the club house, blocking each other’s view. To the left is a proper terrace, with cantilevered roof, while quite a few stood on the bank and touchline opposite. Behind the other goal are a couple of hundred open air seats I’ve barely seen used in my 2 visits here.
However, if I’ve ONE reason to return, it’s the creaminess of the Staropramen. Definitely my non-league pint of the season. Is Star to Prague like Guinness is to Dublin? If so, this is the best pint of it this side of Wenceslas Square. I didn’t have to queue either, nipping off a couple of minutes before half-time. It wasn’t till I got my pint in that I realised the game kicked off at 7:45, not 7:30. No wonder the half had gone quickly! Anyway, I was so admiring of that pint, I had to have another (half).
West, another mile or so….west….have been one of the better sides in the Northern League in the last couple of seasons, though their title bid has faltered. Tonite they were comfortably the better side, going ahead with a rifled effort into the top corner from 15 yards. Thereafter, it looked like they were trying to Arsenal it in…tippy-tappying it around the box instead of having a go…and they paid for it when the Two Blues cut inside and found the corner from inside the box. There were 10 minutes left. Do we have extra time or straight to pens?
I had my answer before full-time, as I overheard a fan telling someone Shildon-Crook had gone to penalties in one of the other ties (they kicked off at 7:30). So, having spent the second half in the stand, I had a quick trip to the loo and went and stood behind the goal for the shootout. West won, the duel being bookended by a couple of penalties put wide; unfortunately, Bishops was the last one and West march on to the semis; they’ll fancy their chances, albeit National League North Spennymoor must be clear favourites.
The Damage:
£7 ent
£1.50 prog
£5.80 Staropramen (pint and a half)
= £12.30
The Tunes:
The English Riviera (Metronomy)
*reading the programme, I see West had a 23 year old winger (Adam Mitchell) who made his debut debut for Sunderland in 2013 away at Spurs. Let’s just say I’m surprised I’ve never heard of a player who played in the Premiership at 14…
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