Ground Diary of a Hopper
SATURDAY MAY 27TH Richmond Town 2 Cleator Moor Celtic 4
TWO events shine out like dancing fountains in a very shallow pool of fixture choices today. Cup Finals at Bewdley – a ground I really like due to its position on the banks of a tranquil river – and also at Earls Orchard in Richmond stand out. I plump for North Yorkshire being as I haven’t visited before. Bank Holiday traffic is pretty awful, not helped by a perfectly usable lane being closed off on the A1 for ‘work on road signs’. What a surprise; no work is actually going on! Despite this, The Fox and I still arrive in this gorgeous town an hour before kick-off. Earls Orchard is everything I had hoped it to be. From my parking place on the main road, one looks down into a valley where the football pitch is nestled snugly. The ruins of a Norman Castle loom large on the opposite hillside. A tree-lined, bubbling river behind the pitch completes the idyllic scene. The programmes I ordered in advance are waiting for me on my arrival (£1 each) and I pay £2 to get in. Today’s game is a Charity Cup Final and I make sure I add extra for the cause. The TWR Shipowners Charity Cup has been contested since 1899. Furthermore, Richmond’s ground has hosted football since 1932 and long before that it was a jousting ground. The pitch is railed off on all sides with the imposing castle dominant. As spectators enter, there’s a building on the left, complete with tea hatch. The club has made a real effort today: there’s also a BBQ selling burgers and a scrummy cake stall. The Cup is on display by the turnstile: it’s about three feet of solid silver and looks the real deal. A rowdy bunch of Cleator fans arrive from Cumbria and try and get industrial quantities of booze into the ground. They obviously cannot read; there are many ‘Strictly No Alcohol in the Ground’ signs for everyone to see. Instead of taking this like gentlemen, the green and white fans verbally abuse a young girl and then try and get into the match by climbing over the fence by the river. So much for this being a charitable occasion. The away fans continue to annoy their hosts by using the boundary hedge as a toilet and erstwhile rubbish dump (even though there is a bin within ten yards) and using foul language in front of young kids. They also let off a green smoke flair when Cleator take the lead early in the game. At half-time, the skies blacken, thunder rumbles around the valley and then we are engulfed in the mother of all storms. The overhang of the club building manages to host most fans, but some of the Celtic ‘hard boys’ try and sit it out in the open. Sizeable hailstones dampen their enthusiasm! The referee allows the storm to pass before letting the players out again. The squelchy conditions enable the game to open up and the second half is end-to-end entertainment. Most spectators are drenched! Celtic deservedly win the tie, their skilful forwards making the difference. The fans however, continue to disgrace themselves by causing damage to the local pub after the game; not a good advert for their team and I won’t be rushing to pay them a visit. PRE-MATCH INFO: 9.5 WELCOME: 9.0 FACILITIES: 5 FOOD: 6.0 CHARM: 10 PROGRAMME: 8 HOME TEAM RESPECT: 7 HOME FANS: 8 MATCH: 7 OVERALL TRIP: 9 OFFICIALS: 9.5 ATT: 349