Earlier on in the week, I searched online for match tickets, paranoid that it may sell out. I needn’t have worried. Despite a tiny capacity of 1,000, Farsley Celtic and the FA Cup were not the draw I imagined. Besides, the match was being broadcast on the BBC (presumably hidden somewhere online). I got there a good 45 minutes before kick-off, positively prehistoric by my late-arriving standards. Not that hekped me buy a programme - already sold out! A Tesco car park next door was handily utilised, though parking was restricted to 3 hours. This game had better not go to extra time!
Extra time? Yes, I spent half-time trying to confirm the rules of this competition. Headlines about there being no replays and all that. Turns out that’s from the 1ST round onwards, more proof, as if there needed to be, of the game being run in favour of the Big 6. We don’t want replays due to an overburdened fixture list...but we won’t say no to an expanded Champions League and more fixtures there.
Ericstan Park...named after their 2 founders, Eric and Stan, is basic, even by 8th tier standards. Entering in one corner, cars are parked by the pitch. Behind the this end, a sizeable social club is by far the biggest building in the place. I might have had a beer, but it’s going to be a long day, as I’m off to Penistone Church, then Barnsley. I’ll leave the alcohol for now.
On the far side, there’s a couple of small shelters. The one closest to the halfway line gets packed with as many as 30 fans. On the halfway line stands a camera gantry. Was it put up just for today? I dunno, but it’s got temporary fencing either side, so it’s impossible to walk behind. I walk back round to the opposite side, a narrow propped covered stand offering ONE row of seating, where I end up chatting to a dog and his Scouser. Guess how much his Anfield season ticket is (league games only)? £900! £900 for 19 games, That’s...a lot. Over 50 quid a game. Good on him though for public transporting it across to Wythenshawe. Afterwards he’s off to see the other Wythenshawe side who’re kicking off at 3.
The far end goal is flat standing only, and the Farsley fans have pinned up their flags. Let’s hope they kick this way 1st half (they do). There’s maybe 15 of them, including a restless owner (I had him pointed out) who patrols the perimeter like a caged tiger. A caged, cigar-smoking tiger. The Farsley fan with the mouth belts out a ‘what’s it like to see a pitch?’ in recognition of Celtic’s inability to get a home game on this season as they await contractors stuck on a previous job. So it’s not just us homeowners who are constantly let down by these people! Several home games have been switched to away, but the time has come where a home game or 2 will have to be played at a neutral venue. So who knows where the replay of this game will take place.
Thankfully, it doesn’t go to a replay. I’m in yet another tiny covered stand (two steps of terracing) the other side of the camera gantry from the main home support, and chatting away to another groundhopper. The game is largely uneventful and uninspired, but Celtic nick it, breaking the offside trap at the end of the first half to score the only goal. Town hit the woodwork, twice, but never look like scoring. But I’ve gotta scoot...I’m meeting Nozzer at Penistone Church and the only question is how much of that game I’ll miss. (Answer: 35 minutes.)
The Damage:
£10 ent
= £10
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