ST ALBANS CITY 4 HAVANT & WATERLOOVILLE 1
TUESDAY, 23 JANUARY
AWET Tuesday in January; what could possibly go wrong when trying to find a match on? As it happens, nothing! St Albans City post encouraging Tweets throughout the day and I have no reason to suspect their National League South game against Havant & Waterlooville is in doubt.
I collect The Fox and we head south down the drenched M1. Traffic is busy but not as bad as expected, so we pull in at the Clarence Park Stadium in plenty of time. A friendly steward informs me that there is no parking in the ground, so I find a space on the road nearby.
I have visited Clarence Park before, though only for a friendly game. The visitors were Gabala from Azerbaijan, who were (unbelievably) managed by former Gunner Tony Adams!
I pay £16.50 at the gate (Concessions £11), with another £3 for the programme. Everything is ‘card only’. I note that home crowds are consistently in the mid thousand but as the build up continues on this filthy night, it looks like City will fall short of that tonight. Fans can download the teams using a QR Code reader on their phone.
The ground is just as I like them: it oozes ramshackle charm. Spectators enter the stadium in one corner. A covered terrace can be found to the left, behind one goal. Running along the right side is the main stand and a couple of food outlets. The bar is accessed up steps behind the main stand, though isn’t well signed. There’s a covered terrace behind the opposite goal and another covered terrace down the side opposite the main stand. There are four outside bars as well as the clubhouse. For those into such things, there’s a train line very close to the stand and bar.
I take my place on the terrace behind one goal. I am surrounded by home fans still chuntering about a chicken called George. The scaffold stand is rattling alarmingly in the gale but the structure thankfully holds true.
The announcer is doing his level best to create an atmosphere. Each City player’s name is shouted at ear-splitting levels with a pause for rapturous applause and a cheer. It doesn’t work: the crowd are more concerned with staying dry, working out how to pay for the things they need and looking for a certain chicken.
One interesting, useful, feature I note is that St Albans download the music they are playing onto a certain well-known streaming service. Fans can then transfer this music to their own playlist should they like what they hear, which is a very good innovation.
The first 20 minutes of the match are awful. Both sides play a typical, high ball, no plan type of football, although I’m sure the conditions don’t help. Struggling Havant look a match for the hosts until a really good move by the Saints results in the first goal. City fail to capitalise on the good chances they create thereafter, which lets in Waterlooville for a late equaliser.
The second half is a bit livelier than the first. Havant put in a gutsy performance in front of their 40 or so hardy followers but collapse late on, conceding three more goals. This heavy defeat is a tad harsh on the visitors.
PRE-MATCH INFO: 9, WELCOME: 9, FACILITIES: 8, FOOD: 7, CHARM: 8, PROGRAMME: 5, HOME FANS: 8, MATCH: 5, OVERALL TRIP: 7, OFFICIALS: 9, ATT: 1071