***I'm having a problem uploading photos at mo.
Chorley 5-2 Darlington, National League North, Victory Park, att. c.700
There I was, comparing Northern Premier League games with local(ish) FA Cup replays when I spotted Darlo were at Chorley. Well, who wouldn’t rather go to a game with Darlo fan SuperKev, rather than tick off a new ground? Sometimes, it’s just nice to have company at a game, and as I told him pre-match, it was win-win for me. Darlo win, I’m happy, Darlo lose, and I can enjoy watching Kev suffer. Tonite is very much the latter.
We went last season, a Satdy game, and partook in the train and drinks pre and post match. I really enjoyed it. Sadly, we’ve no time to enjoy town frivolities this time (though we did drive past the bus station, with its immortal tagline ‘Chorley, the best of Lancashire all in one place.’ One need never visit the rest of the county.) We were already cutting it fine to visit a local hostelry, but the traffic was a nightmare, as motorway merged into motorway around Manchester.
We park up in an estate by the ground and walk through the park behind the main stand. What were the away turnstiles last season aren’t open. Maybe Darlo’s idiots don’t travel, midweek? Anyway, there’s no segregation and we walk around and gain entrance with everybody else. £3 cheaper in advance too. The blurb makes reference to buying it a day before, but Kev got mine in at 5pm, so one to be aware of (like at Marine, where we bought our tickets online at the turnstile, to save 2 quid!)
The social club is VAST, with half a dozen on more large tellies hanging off the wall. Do we stay in and watch Champs Lge, or savour the 6th tier? 6th tier wins, and we discover an outdoor bar with loads of picnic tables too. Even better, they’ve nailed up scarves of all colours and creeds on the fence around the bar, making it look like a giant outdoor stall at one of them Big Stadia. Kev’s not too happy about seeing a Spennymoor Town one though, and, even worse, it’s adjacent to a Darlo scarf. The Pride of County Durham, together!
We eschew the home end, a sizeable terrace which begins a few yards behind the perimeter fence, and lean on the barrier by the side of the pitch. The ground looks empty. There’s Villa on the telly, Bolton at home down the road and the Autumn cold is coming in. I wish I’d brought my hat.
Still, not penned into one end, I get to admire the couple of bizarre stands on this side. One looks like a glorified garden shed/’shoffice’ with half a dozen of them seats I only ever see in Premiership dugouts stood on a raised patio. This must be the exec section, though there’s no takers tonite, till 4 young Darlo fans make it their home, second half, to bait home fans about the size of their support. At least one act of defiance from Darlo. The team are losing four-nil.
Another small stand is perched precariously off the banking and reminds me of Bojack Horseman’s residence in Hollywood. (THERE’S a niche comparison!) Poles carrying the weight of the building above, in this case, seating of maybe 30. Must be incredible views. We should’ve gone up and joined the two fans sitting up there. We did enjoy some interaction though, as the mature lady on the front row dropped her walking stick and Kev and I did our good deed for the day, fishing it up from behind the perimeter fence. Any excuse to miss some of the match.
Ah, the match. Not much of a match. As in, these teams weren’t very well matched. 3 nil at half-time (and a missed penalty) turned into 4 10 mins into the 2nd half. Would Darlo match their 8-0 rout of a few years back here? Thankfully not. Subs on, game changed and Darlo pulled 2 back on 74 and 79. At this rate, we might see a draw. But it was to no avail. A poor backpass sealed the 5th, before a late sending off for sub Routledge, who’d pioneered the comeback. Booked for ‘helping’ a grounded Chorley player to his feet, it was a talking-to at best, but the ref carded him and after a several seconds appeared to realise he’d already booked him, so brought out the red. A lively half an hour for the sub, who’d also scored both Quakers’ goals.
The Damage:
£17 ent*
£9 2 pints of Wainwright Gold. Very average.
= £26
*Kev treated me.
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