Tuesday Night and the Gates are Low
The joys of away travel to night matches
A few years ago, British Sky Broadcasting showed on Sky One a series entitled Football’s Hardest Away Days. As well as the joys of negotiating the streets of East London in a Leeds United shirt, or hitch hiking from Sheffield to Plymouth, it showed in each hourly episode the lengths dedicated fans would go to for the sake of seeing their favoured side. As a Stalybridge Celtic fan, I have made any a tough away journey which has involved longish walks in pitch darkness, Rail Replacement Buses From Hell and long journeys on service buses.
With the latter, I saw The Mighty ‘Bridge® at Horsfall Stadium, where Scott Bonsall scored the one and only goal against Bradford Park Avenue. Even with the temporary hardship of grappling with public transport, the journeys were remembered long after the matches! (a 3-0 defeat at Watnall Road against Hucknall Town was more memorable for my first journey on a Nottingham Express Transit light rail vehicle and just making the kick-off on foot from the railway station)
Travelling to Saturday fixtures are good, considering the pre-match and post-match craic. However, nothing quite compares with the magic of an away night match. The hardcore supporter travels to the farthest corners of his or her side’s league setup, to the least relevant of fixtures, most arcane of kick off times and most exposed of grounds. A night match further than 50 miles from home ticks most of these boxes.
In most cases, a typical night time away match would be at least 50 – 100 miles from the supporter’s favoured team. A trip to a night match away from home – in excess of 120 miles – is something special.
The Big Match Atmosphere
For me, even the most mundane of grounds takes on a theatrical appearance with a good set of floodlights on in full beam. The San Siro and Old Trafford, as is well documented, tends to look good under the floodlights. Magically, it doesn’t quite compare with seeing Bower Fold, Ewen Fields or Seel Park being under the lights. On cold nights, it gives a feeling of warmth (though this has never been the case at the Mottram End which is colder than the Town End by a few degrees). Towards April and late September, their interplay with the dusky skies and sunsets is one of instant joy.
On longer trips, the effort in getting there and the build up to the match adds to the excitement. On arriving at the ground with minutes to go prior to kick off, you are most relieved at making it through the school run, caravans or lorries. The best thing to do on long away trips is consider – if you can – is allow an extra two hours and have your tea/dinner/supper at a pub/restaurant/café/other eatery of some description close to the football ground. This is all the more possible if you have your own vehicle; or take sandwiches. That could be a good option if you wish to save money. On my last away trip to Blyth Spartans, I along with a few other fans hired a luxury coach, resulting in fares being a fraction of the rail equivalent from Stalybridge to Cramlington (then a bus to Blyth). We also opted to have our tea near the ground.
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We left Stalybridge bus station at – appropriately – 2.35pm after a pint of Skinners Best Bitter at the White House opposite. The journey started as expected for a typical northern away game with the slowest part of the journey from ASDA roundabout up to the A627(M) motorway.
We hoped for more spirited running along the M62. Not so with the section between Denshaw and Morley having temporary speed restrictions of 50mph. The soundtrack for most of our journey was Spanish style music, which reminded me of being kept on hold for half a day. This was replaced by a DVD of 100 England goals which brought some respite from being trapped on a customer support line.
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One of the great joys of opting for a supporters’ coach is being able to watch your own films. On previous trips, In-Flight Movies included Four Lions (set in Sheffield, we saw the house seen in the film from the M1 whilst watching) and Mamma Mia! (with the back seat singing along to ABBA songs!) as well as assorted titles featuring football highlights and lowlights.
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The England goals DVD lasted till we reached Billingham. Instead of the A1(M) Great North Road, we opted for the A19, a faster and more scenic route. Whereas the A1/A1(M) seemed barren, we were treated to the Cleveland Hills, Newport and Transporter bridges in Middlesbrough and distant chemical plants in Teesside. By night time, these distant sentinels would awaken from their slumber in an orgy of sodium lighting, steam and flares. The chemical plants inspired Ridley Scott’s futuristic vision of Los Angeles in 2014 in his adaptation of Philip K Dick’s ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’ [Blade Runner, 1982].
From there, we would continue along the A19 till reaching our ultimate destination. The places we passed were a roll call of former mining towns, Northern League sides and a new town named after its then Labour MP [Peterlee]. Landmarks along the way included the Nissan plant on Newton Aycliffe, prior to reaching the Tyne Tunnel. From traversing the Tyne Tunnel, we made a slight detour towards Shiremoor and West Allotment. From there, we headed towards the Keel Row in Seaton Delaval, a pub seemingly in the middle of nowhere despite being a few miles from Cramlington and Blyth.
The food was gorgeous and reasonably priced with the Steak and Ale pie with chips and vegetables a good £5.95. Owing to the lack of real ale, I opted for that Novocastrian tipple, sadly brewed in Tadcaster: the legendary Newcastle Brown Ale.
I found the Keel Row a pleasant and commodious food orientated pub with friendly locals. Though food orientated, it still had an air of traditional pub rather than Pub-Turned-Restaurant Which Happens To Sell Beer (aka Gastropub). We returned to our coach at 7.15 pm for the short journey to Croft Park, home of Blyth Spartans AFC.
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Doing the same journey on public transport – apart from being more expensive – would have deprived me of this public house owing to its distance from the bus stop. It would have meant having a burger at the ground or hoping nearby Cramlington had a Wetherspoons or a Whateverspoons. Not least as to whether the bus from Cramlington would a) run to time; b) run after 7.45pm (for the return journey to meet up with the train), or c) if the fellows at Croft Park wouldn’t mind me smuggling a haddock and chips through the turnstile from the chippy nearby.
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The lights were on at Croft Park as we filed out of the coach towards the away turnstile. Luckily for us, there were 15 minutes to spare, justifying the means for a quick drink before the kick off in the social club.
We were surprised to find the social club selling bottled ales. Not the usual Whitbread White Label non-alcoholic stuff or Manns’ Brown Ale, but something more exotic than the more run of the mill Newcastle Brown Ale. Like… Hobgoblin. Incredibly we managed to finish a 5.2% pint bottle of Witney’s finest in our quarter hour stay. Prior to leaving we espied a dozen Minced Steak pies – Proper Growlers. We were surprised to find their two growlers were cheaper than the quarterpounder burgers sold at the Kitchen Chef van by the main stand.
The ground had come on well since my last visit in 2009 with cover on four sides and concreted terracing all round. With the lights up, terraced housing and a chippy nearby, this was a place which screamed Proper Football Ground territory. Sadly, only 330 others including my Dad thought so.
The game itself was no great shakes. Stalybridge Celtic had yet to buy a win in 2012, despite an impressive first half to the 2011 – 12 season. Blyth Spartans had only registered two wins this season with 16 defeats and nine draws. Maintaining their role as draw specialists, they were seemingly playing for a draw throughout the whole 90 minutes.
The home side opened the scoring in the 41st minute, courtesy of Sean Taylor. The ‘Bridge were below par with some fans fearing a repeat of the Workington fixture where three goals were conceded within a minute. Thankfully it wasn’t with Blyth leading one-nil at half time.
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In 15 or so years of watching The Mighty Stalybridge Celtic, the away games have often been the low point of a good trip. At half time that Tuesday, it seemed set to be one of many. As it turned out, the highlight of the game was going to be our growler, purchased from the social club at 7.44 pm. And indeed it was. It was still warm, the pastry was consistent and the mince was flawless (no gristle and excellent gravy) – probably the best pie devoured anywhere in the United Kingdom! The Bovril from Kitchen Chef went well too, also complying with Krugg’s Rule of Football Beverages (£1.00 or less).
At odds with league matches or some high profile non-league fixtures, fans always change ends towards their favoured team’s attacking end. In the first half, the ‘Bridge faithful moved from the social club end to the chippy end of the ground.
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The second half was equally nondescript, though a goal from Mitchell Austin was motored in to give Celtic an equaliser. Shortly after he was substituted for Craig Hobson. ‘Bridge’s performance was an improvement on the first half. Minutes after came another ‘Bridge goal, albeit a disallowed one.
Full time saw our travelling army head towards the chippy via the away turnstile block we came in through, then to the coach. The lure of some fans’ chips was tempting enough, though only tempting to warrant a single chip.
We made a slight detour via Whitley Bay, albeit not for a few scoops, but to drop one of the fans off who studies in Newcastle. It seemed strange seeing the seaside resort so late outside of the season. I was most happy to have passed the town’s famed landmark Spanish City. Namechecked in Dire Straits’ Tunnel of Love, it was an indoor amusement park with – reputedly – the second biggest dome in the UK. Today it is being refurbished to include a hotel and a diner.
We said our goodbyes to the A19 and Tyneside. Within an hour, we would see Middlesbrough with Teesside’s chemical works in full glow. In the words of the late great Richard Burton ‘it was an amazing yet disturbing sight’ – though one I devoured before I struggled to keep my eyes open between Acklam Hall and Wetherby. A cup of hot chocolate near Leeds woke me up.
Instead of stopping at Stalybridge bus station, we insisted on alighting near home. £5 – 6 taxi fare saved! The happy end to a most memorable trip interspersed with a less than memorable game.
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Thanks to the joys of the supporters’ coach, I was able to get to Blyth and return home within the space of 11 hours. Had I made my own way there, the journey would have been more expensive, due to the train fare and the need to stay overnight in a Travelodge or Premier Inn of some description.
Other than the public transport issues, work commitments and the lure of a warm living room with Holby City on could be too much of a lure for some less hardier types. Hence the reason that at non-league level, evening attendances are lower than their Saturday equivalents. This is more marked around February and March when the postponed fixtures are rearranged.
Guys, Gals, you don’t know what you’re missing. If you want prime time drama or theatre yet can’t afford the West End, nor bring yourself to EastEnders, go to a non-league fixture at night time. They’ll appreciate your support, whether you choose to walk 120 yards or travel 120 miles.
S.V., 22 February 2012.
