SATURDAY, JANUARY 29TH
WOKING 0 YEOVIL TOWN 1
STRUGGLE after struggle, year after year; the atmosphere’s a fine blend of ice; I’m almost stone cold dead; in a town called Malice.
The town The Jam were singing about in 1982 is Woking and that’s where I am spending most of the day today. Westfield advertise their Isthmian League home match against Guernsey as a Groundhopper’s Special: they are kicking off at 12.45pm and Woking are at home in the National League at 3.00pm. The grounds are about 500 yards apart.
I plan to do the first game and then drive the four miles to Sheerwater for 3.00pm. Traffic queues, however, are terrible. On the dry run between grounds, it takes me nearly 20 minutes to move 150 yards down the road. Being as I only have about 13 minutes to make the whole trip to Sheerwater after the Westfield match, it’s a non starter. How annoying and depressing. A Town Called Malice indeed!
The first game is awful. Westfield win by the odd goal in, erm, one. Several Hoppers are present. Some plan on going to Sheerwater (good luck with that!) while others are ticking off Woking. The Fox is like a pig in muck, it is high on his wish list!
At 2.50pm, I pay £20 at the turnstile and another £3 for a glossy programme. I head straight for the Fan Zone and find two burger vans. The queues for alcoholic drinks are far longer than for food. One van is selling ‘normal’ football food, while the other is a little bit more upmarket and adventurous. Other outlets are dotted around as well.
The ground is dominated by a good-looking stand behind one goal. It is full of families but also houses a very vocal band of Yeovil supporters (some of whom were at Westfield earlier). One side of the stadium is open to the elements (for visiting spectators) while the other side is a mixture of old stands and uncovered terracing.
The first half is awful. Woking players give the impression of never having seen each other before. Yeovil deservedly lead by the odd goal but it should have been more.
At half-time, I flick through the programme. Lots to read including a review of the 1956/7 season and some photos of old Woking v Yeovil programme covers.
The contest is better in the second half. Woking start to play a bit of football thanks to two half-time subs. Town even try to help them by having a man stupidly sent off but try as they might, Woking sink to defeat.
I am tempted to stay after the game to see co-founder of The Jam, Steve Brookes, play an acoustic set in The Cardinals Bar. In the end, I don’t. It hasn’t been an exciting day and I still have those roadworks to battle with. 35(˨0$7&+,1)2 :(/&20(
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