SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4TH TORQUAY UNITED 1 NOTTS COUNTY 2
THIS National League match at Torquay United has been on my radar for quite some time. Of course, I have visited Plainmoor before but not for many a year. I suspect the Gulls have done quite a bit of work on the stadium in the last
20 years, so I fancy taking a look.
I meet up at Broadsands with an old acquaintance for a breath of sea air. TractorBoy is someone I travelled with to several new build stadiums and newly-promoted League sides around the time Scarborough came into the Football League. Crikey: that seems a lifetime ago now! TractorBoy is also a birdwatcher, so we have a pleasant morning at Broadsands catching up with football and nature chatter. We can see United’s fantastic floodlight pylons on the hill in the distance. It’s good to see him again, even if we will be supporting different sides this afternoon. After visiting an award-winning chippie not far from Plainmoor, I saunter to the ground. There’s no rush to get in because I booked my ticket online a couple of weeks ago (£17 with a miserly two quid off for pensioners).
The programme is 1899. Oh wait, that’s the name of it; it cost £3.
Food in the away end consists of a burger van behind the terrace. Different variations on a theme are available but I am glad I chose the fish and chips option. However, I ask several friends about their burgers and they are perfectly happy.
Away fans are accommodated on a long terrace behind one goal and in seats in the main stand (about a third of the seats). Wheelchair provision looks good: two covered areas – one for home spectators and one for away fans – half way up the grandstand: they aren’t just shoved at the bottom of a stand, as is the norm.
There’s a sparsely-populated family stand behind the opposite goal and a long terrace down the touchline opposite the main stand. Torquay certainly have done a lot of work since my last visit and very tidy it is too. There is no smoking or vaping allowed in the ground. This is a relief because at most matches I’ve been to this season I’ve had to move because of some inconsiderate person standing right next to me and blowing copious amounts of smoke in my face. The game is frantic. At half time, TractorBoy texts to express displeasure at the referee. Notts fans also tell me how badly the official has performed. I didn’t think he’d had a bad half. However, he seems to be like a rabbit in headlights in the second half, not helped by two sets of players intent on doing everything they can to make life impossible for the officials.
County battle to a win to keep them top of the league. Torquay should count themselves unlucky not to take anything away from the match but that’s the way it goes at the bottom end of the table. In honour of hippyesque TractorBoy, The Fox and I blast out a Tonto’s Expanding Headband album on the stereo on the long journey home. I’d forgotten just how stressful it is to follow one team, so the music is a chance to wind down and relax!