Diary of a Ground Hopper
WITH ten low-level pre-season friendlies under my (not inconsiderable) belt already this season, it’s time for the main event. The FA Cup starts tonight, just a month after last year’s competition ended.
The forecast is for a fine, still day, so I decide to head off early. What could be better for the soul than a pre-match walk along the Norfolk coast? Many people have decided to do the same and traffic is busy, so I leave plenty of time for the 50-mile trek through Norfolk and Lincs to Spalding.
The crowd is limited to 400 for the tie between The Tulips and Barton Town. No advance tickets are on sale. My other choice tonight is Peterborough Northern Star with a limit of 150 fans.
I arrive at the Sir Halley Stewart Field just after six. This is perfect timing: parking restrictions in the car park opposite the ground end at 6pm! I don my mask to pass through the turnstile: better safe than sorry being as I have a few trips coming soon.
I pay £8 at the gate and then am stopped at a table just inside the stadium. A cheerful gentleman points a gun-type instrument at my glowing forehead. It’s the first time I’ve had my temperature taken at a match! There is no contact necessary for this procedure; thankfully, it’s nothing like the method used in
Carry on Matron!
A one-way system is in place in the clubhouse, while there is social distancing at the burger van.
Hand santiser is available at several stations in the stadium. As the ground fills, people seem to be spreading out along the perimeter, which is good to see. On my side of the stadium people are behaving sensibly. It’s all very civilised.
The announcer tries to read out the line-ups. Someone needs to tell him his efforts are completely unintelligible. It sounds like the Swedish Chef from The Muppets is shouting through a vuvuzela!
The tie kicks off four minutes late. How hard can it be to get a game under way on time?! The Tulips – a nice nod to the traditional bulb industry in Spalding – take the lead after two minutes. Scott Floyd cracks in a stunning shot. After that, it’s all Barton pressure but they somehow fail to score.
The second half sees Town press for the equaliser but it won’t come. They are so desperate to get on with it that when one of their players receives a crack on the head, his team-mate asks “can’t you get off the pitch?” The poor guy is flat on his face!
With the tie ebbing away, Barton finally break through after 80 minutes. On 83 minutes, a superb advantage decision by the referee allows the visitors to break quickly to score their second. After 85 minutes, it’s all over when Grant Tait hits a stunning lob from 35 yards to make it three!
It is good to have one’s faith restored in football after the scenes at Bliborough Town last Saturday: an abandonment amid brawls caused by a headbutt and by alleged racial abuse. However, neither side cover themselves in glory tonight as regards respect – the level of abuse is completely unacceptable. It seems during quarantine, humans have still not learnt to be nice to each other. Sigh...