Dutch Delight

I stand behind the goal as the players are running onto the pitch to the sound of 'You'll Never Walk Alone', with those same words written on the red scarf purchased earlier from a stall outside the stadium, but Liverpool this is not! This is FC Twente in the city of Enschede. It's a Friday night and Excelsior from Rotterdam are the opposition, game one of a four game Dutch 'voetbal' weekend. Two matches in Zwolle and a game in Arnhem will follow as I travel across the very flat and partly man made Dutch countryside with it's neat symmetrical patches of farmland separated by straight uniform dykes, to visit two delightful cities, one charming town, four football grounds, and see more bicycles in one weekend than I've probably seen in my whole entire life! Welcome to the Netherlands. 

I flew into Amsterdam Schiphol on a Friday morning and got straight onto a train heading for the city of Enschede. My brother teaches in Cologne, Germany, and a visit to see him during his half term week was the original purpose for me travelling abroad. But having looked at all the different flight options from Newcastle Airport, fixture lists from various European leagues, and various public transport options across the continent, I was convinced that I could attach a football weekend to my trip and that the Netherlands was the perfect destination.

For the first night of my trip I checked into the exceptional €70 B&B Oekepoek, right in the heart of the old city centre of Enschede and only a six minute walk from the main train station. After a quiet look around the centre, admiring the two main churches amongst other things; a rock bar and two Irish bars were where I ended up before heading to my first match of the weekend. Beer I generally found stronger in Holland than the stuff brewed back home but it was often served in smaller glasses. I've always been a bit partial to strong European beer anyway so no harm done there. Enschede is the home of the Groslch brewery with various styles of beer brewed there and all of which regularly available in bars throughout the city. I however arrived too late for the factory tour which from what I'd heard was meant to be an enjoyable few hours.

Named De Grolsch Veste, FC Twente's home stadium is a little way out of town but situated next to the main railway line and one stop before the main Enschede station, making it very easy to get to. It is an enclosed ground with two rather steep tiers on three sides and one on the other. Similar to Parkhead, Glasgow, it is however much smaller with a capacity of 30,205, and about 23,000 were in attendance for the Excelsior match. The usual card/token system you often find in parts of the continent was in force here for buying drinks inside the stadium, and pint in hand I went into the stands to await kick-off, having entered the stadium with the e-ticket I'd bought online a few weeks earlier.

I was stood in the second tier above the 'ultra' supporters who along with a few fans in my section managed to sing for most of the match, with probably at least half of the chants starting with 'Ole, ole, ole', and even a few in English. Chants were accompanied by a drummer who barely seemed to stop for the whole 90 minutes. 

As mentioned earlier 'You'll Never Walk Alone' was sang before kick-off and it was followed by an early goal for the hosts when a Fredrik Jensen assist saw a left footed shot from Tom Boere find the net. Twente dominated and had most of the possession but Excelsior found themselves level on 41 minutes when a Hicham Faik free-kick found the top left corner. 

Twente continued to dominate in the second half but never posed too much of a threat in front of goal and a Milan Massop header saw Excelsior 2-1 up after 74 minutes. Khalid Karami found the bottom right corner for a third in the 80th minute, and Excelsior who had scored three goals but done very little else had somehow won a game they had no right to. Despite the desperate result however, the Twente players surprisingly did a lap of honour at full time and unbelievably some fans stayed behind to applaud them. Would never happen where I come from!

After the game I headed back into the centre for a few more drinks and a visit to Enschede's 'Holland Casino' where unfortunately I left a loser as opposed to a winner.

Saturday morning saw me head to my next destination, the delightful town of Zwolle, where the inhabitants are interestingly known as the 'Blauwvingers' (Bluefingers). The story is as follows: Many years ago one of the local churches sold their church bells to a nearby town, whom unhappy with the quality of the said bells paid for them in copper. The locals from the church in Zwolle then saw their hands turn blue from touching all that copper when counting the coins, and that is apparently where the name Bluefingers comes from! Speaking of churches, there are two in centre of Zwolle and I had an enjoyable look around Our Lady's Basilica whilst spending some time reading the free English language booklet I was given detailing the church's fascinating history.

Zwolle town centre is surrounded by a large moat meaning the actual town centre is basically an island. One major feature when you walk into the centre from the station is Sassenpoort, a medieval tower with an archway underneath. Sassenpoort was once the main entrance into the city and is worth stopping to photograph. According to tripadvisor you can do tours of the tower, which must be relatively small inside, but it seemed to be closed when I arrived.

Saturday afternoon saw me visit the MAC³PARK Stadion which has its own casino, hotel, and various shops and restaurant as part of it. I had a ticket reserved for that nights game between PEC Zwolle and ADO Den Haag but with the ticket office closed I'd have to come back later. Never mind, it was onto game two of my trip and essentially the undercard for tonight's main event. 

There are several football pitches near the stadium, and a 5 minute walk further out from those and hidden out of view you will find a small ground which is home to VV Berkum. Berkum are members of the Hoofdklasse which is level 5 in the Dutch league system and they play in section B of Zatertag (Saturday) league. There is also a Sunday league of the Hoofdklasse and the reason Dutch amateur and semi professional football is split into Saturday and Sunday divisions dates back many years to an era when religion dominated the country's daily life. Traditionally Protestants would play football on a Saturday and Catholics on a Sunday, and although nowadays Christianity probably has little or no relevance in Dutch football, even in 2017 the leagues are still split this way.

Once I'd paid an off memory €6 to enter the ground I was handed a free programme which was a very basic affair similar to what you get in the lower echelons of English non league football. Based on my experiences this weekend all Dutch programmes at best have very little content and are 80%+ adverts, even in the Eeredivisie this is the case. The programmes in the two following games were no better than Berkum's basic offering, whilst at Twente all I got was a four sided folded leaflet. PEC Zwolle at €1 were however the only team to charge me for a programme, the others all being free of charge, so I shouldn't complain too much.

Berkum's ground consists of a main stand with a few rows of terracing next to it, and also two bars, one situated at the back of the stand and one in a separate clubhouse building next door. The benches on grandstand were packed but only a small number of people were standing around the edges of the pitch. The game itself finished 2-2 with the visitors SDC Putten scoring a stoppage time equaliser, and a few of their fans dotted around the grandstand celebrating the late goal. 

A half time trip into one of bars saw me come across a tv screen with teletext on. Yes in 2017 the Dutch still use teletext. In the UK teletext or ceefax as it was called on the BBC, is seen as something of a relic from years gone by which people mostly remember for being relatively primitive compared to today's modern technology. The Germans I later discovered still use teletext as well. Unbelievable.
It was roughly a 45 minute walk from Berkum back to the station, and having picked up my bag from the station lockers I got a taxi to my accommodation, B&B 'Aan de IJssel'. Surrounded by fields in a picturesque setting, at €40 it was definitely much cheaper than the previous nights place, but being a little way out from the centre, several taxi rides later and I hadn't really saved any euros.

My taxi driver agreed to pick my up in a hours time and before long I found myself in a queue waiting for the ticket office/club shop to open. Once I had my ticket it was round the corner to the fans bar and after a few drinks I wandered my way past the Bluefinger restaurant (interestingly spelt in English) and into the stadium. The ground is rather small and you feel right on top of the action, three of the stands are set slightly above pitch level with the other side having a few extra rows of what seem to be  temporary uncovered seating situated below the stand, this was where I was sat and due to rain I got a little bit wet. 

Zwolle beat ADO Den Haag 2-0 in front of an almost full house of over 13,000 spectators. The quality of the football wasn't overly high with quite a few misplaced passes, but Zwolle were definitely the better of the two teams. The two goals came early on with Khalid Karami scoring on 7 minutes after hitting the ball high into the net and Younes Namli finding the bottom right corner on the 12 minute mark. This was followed by chants 'Zwolle! Zwolle!' (Swollerrrr! Swollerrrr!) from supporters around the stadium. Behind the goal to my right it was a noisy affair with plenty of singing, and as with Twente a soundtrack of drumming to accompany the vocals.

After the match I watched hordes of cyclists pour out from the stadium and away into the night, before myself heading into town for a pint in Sally O'Brien's Irish bar, and along the way walking past a beautiful old dutch windmill I'd spotted earlier. In the pub several friendly locals wanted to discuss with me the various Dutchmen to have played for my home town team Newcastle United over the years. To be honest all the Dutch people I came across during my trip were extremely friendly and helpful. Real good folk. 

After leaving the pub I nearly got ran over by a cyclist and was told off by some young Dutch woman for not paying attention to where I was walking. Cyclists are everywhere in the Netherlands, and just like they say there are more sheep than people in New Zealand, I firmly believe that there has to be more bicycles than people in Holland. Cycling everywhere really is such a massive part of their culture.

The following morning started with the dreaded bus replacement service. However having used the Tyne and Wear Metro rail system many a time over the years I am well used to parts of the line being closed. For this expedition I had to get a replacement bus to Deventer which took a good half hour, before rejoining the train line for the rest of my journey to the city of Arnhem. At Arnhem rail station I was able to get a bus straight to the Gelredome, home of Vitesse Arnhem, for that days visit of PSV Eindhoven. 

The Gelredome has not only a retractable roof but also a retractable pitch. The pitch can be wheeled outside onto big railway style sleepers behind of one of the stands. The stadium is mostly surrounded by a car park, and of course the obligatory bicycle racks. There is a McDonald's across the road but not much else. I entered the stadium using another e-ticket purchased earlier, and inside a fan card was purchased with money put onto it so I could could get myself some beer. I then headed off to find a seat in the stand behind the goal, and without a seat number on my ticket I could apparently sit or stand wherever I wanted (most people stood for the full 90 minutes). Only 18,232 were in attendance for the match, roughly 7-8,000 short of full capacity, but the stand where I stood was rather full and the attendance was still slightly above last season's average.

Behind the goal where I stood, there were plenty of flags of varying sizes being waved before kick-off and even a was flare set off. Hirving Lozano gave PSV the lead when he found the bottom right corner on 18 minutes but Vitesse however held their own for most of the first half and a Jürgen Locadia own goal just before half-time saw them level at the break. 

Locadia made amends for the own goal just after half time, scoring with a fantastic strike from well outside the box, cue wild scenes in the away section on the right behind the opposite goal. Jürgen Locadia then got a second on 56 minutes with a shot from the left side of the box finding the bottom right corner. Hirving Lozano who had assisted the third goal, scored his second from close range 3 minutes later to put the visitors 4-1 up whilst 4 minutes later Vitesse pulled one back when Mason Mount found the top right corner. This second goal for Vitesse spurred on the home fans even more, who to be fair even at 4-1 had put in a decent effort. No more goals were to follow however and the home fans cycled away from the stadium a little disappointed.

After the match I headed along to John Frost bridge of Battle of Arnhem World War Two fame. Along from the Bridge is the free Airborne museum which details an interesting history of the battle itself. Museum visited, I then headed into town to sample another Irish bar before heading back to the train station and boarding a train to Germany for the second part of my adventure, leaving behind some great memories in a country of cyclists, windmills, and very passionate football supporters.

As published in Issue 30 (February 2018) of Football Weekends Magazine

Aggers and Bumble: Laughs, laughs, and more laughs, a brilliant night of cricket banter!

Now I love cricket, and I love the banter you get from cricket commentary. Obviously you can't beat a trip to a test match, but if you can't be there then sit at home and watch on the TV, or have a listen on the radio, and I particularly love cricket on the radio. Those cold winter's nights snug in bed listening to the Ashes from a usually hot and sunny Australia, or those gorgeous summer days spent relaxing in the garden to the sounds from another summer of cricket.

It's all of the above that convinced me, at the suggestion of a friend, to join that said friend at an event called 'Aggers and Bumble'. For those of you who may not be familiar with game of cricket, Jonathan Agnew, otherwise known as Aggers, and David Lloyd, nicknamed Bumble, are two ex cricketers who are now both household names in the commentary boxes of BBC radio's Test Match Special, and Sky Sports television respectively, and me and a friend had come to the City Hall, Newcastle, to hear them talk about cricket.

During the evening our two cricket legends covered many topics, some of them serious pressing issues, and others hilarious stories from the past, whilst some of them (Bumble discussing a tv talent show from years gone by springs to mind) where not even related to cricket at all. I used the phrase 'hilarious' in that last sentence, and to emphasise on that I can tell you that most of the night I was sat there in stitches. At times it felt more like a comedy night than a cricket one, but as someone expecting more of a cricket night I can say that this honestly didn't bother me at all and I genuinely had the time of my life!

The night started with our two hosts talking about the latest burning issue in the world of English cricket, that being the arrest of England and Durham star Ben Stokes for getting into a drunken fight at a Bristol nightclub. That out of the way Aggers took charge of the evening and started asking Bumble about his life and times, from growing up in the town of Accrington through to his life in the world of cricket. With Bumble the showman that he is, he responded with some hilarious stories and jokes, at time times taking command as chief comedian and having us all rolling on the floor in stitches. From childhood stories of his mother dressing him up as girl, to stories of scoring hundreds for England, and impressions of ex bowler and famous Yorkshireman Fred Trueman, Bumble had the audience laughing out loud for much of the evening.

Aggers also had some humorous tales of his own, including pranks played in the commentary box involving the likes of Geoffrey Boycott and Henry Bloefeld, and angry phone calls from fellow host Bumble. There was also time towards the end for a Q&A session, with local side Durham's financial troubles and forced demotion to Division Two of the County Championship a popular question from audience members.

That was it, an absolutely brilliant evening. But just as everyone was ready to get up and head out into the night there was one final finale, David 'Bumble' Lloyd does karaoke. Yes that's right, Bumble is a big karaoke fan and with 'Sweet Caroline' by Neil Diamond being his particular favourite, Aggers ushered him back on stage for an impromptu singalong that put the icing on the big cake that was our night with two cricketing legends.

Aggers and Bumble live from Newcastle's City Hall: 9/10

Beautiful Benfield

Now I'm not usually one to get over excited by something such as a rainbow, but this one did seem a little bit impressive. Big bold and beautiful perhaps, although that arguably sounds more like something a larger than average woman would write on her dating profile. Nevertheless, the rain had stopped and the sun was beginning to shine through, the setting was Sam Smith's Park, and it was FA Cup third qualifying round weekend.

Now I must say that as soon as soon as I saw the draw as I was rather excited, with two local sides at home to higher ranked opposition, and my Newcastle United commitments having been put back to the Sunday by the men in suits at Sky Sports (on this occasion I thank them) an exciting afternoon of non league FA Cup action was in prospect. Having already seen South Shields earlier this season and their game at home to York City being made all ticket, I opted for the delightful surrounds of Newcastle Benfield's Sam Smith's Park home for the visit of National League North side Kidderminster Harriers who sat three divisions above their Northern League opponents.

It was Saturday 30th September and there were two coaches and full car park when I arrived outside the ground a little over half an hour before kick-off, with the red and white colours of Kidderminster were evident when I walked inside the ground having paid my £8 entry fee. I sat in one of the two seated stands on either side of the pitch and read the matchday programme I'd just purchased. 

Although football programmes are a little basic at this level of football, recent complaints to the non league football newspaper suggest that some teams in other parts of the country actually no longer produce a programme, and with one reader outraged by this I can tell him that I've yet to find a club in the North East that doesn't print some sort of programme however basic. As for the content in Benfield's publication, although not exactly relevant to that days game, I did enjoy the column regarding the end of the local cricket season.

The stand I was sat in was a four row affair and it became evident to me that Kidderminster had been followed all the way up to Newcastle by a BBC local radio commentary team, and sat at the back of the stand were two men with microphones, a laptop, and plenty of cables that were evidently leading to somewhere I could not make out.

By the time kick off approached I was stood further along near where the players exit the dressing rooms, and had been accosted by a Kidderminster supporter who evidently sensing I was local told me with immense delight that today would obviously see the biggest crowd in Benfield's history. Much to my delight however I was able to inform him that he would probably be incorrect because over 900 turned up for the visit of York City about ten years ago. That was my first ever visit to Benfield's delightful abode and today was my third, definitely a ground I should visit more often, a small but very pleasant enclosed venue surrounded by many trees which help create a rather picturesque scene.

Although having seen them in action at Gateshead's International Stadium a couple of times in recent years, I would not claim to be over familiar with the Kidderminster squad, whilst Benfield's one player of note is ex professional Paul Brayson who I saw score a fantastic goal in a 2-0 win away at Whitley Bay two rounds earlier, much to the dismay of a Whitley Bay supporting friend who had been with me.

With three divisions separating the two sides there was obviously a gulf in class, though certainly not as big as one might imagine. Benfield more than held their own and would have been very happy to have went in at half-time with scoreline at 0-0, the only disappointment being what looked like a serious injury to defender Matty Grieve who was stretchered off on 39 minutes. On the side of pith that I was stood there is covered terracing next to the seated stand, and when the rain came down it suddenly became rather crowded, thankfully the rain eventually eased and the second half was mostly dry.

The second half saw Benfield continue to give a good account of themselves, although sadly they did eventually fall behind when Andre Wright found Joe Ironside who squeezed the ball home on 67 minutes. Paul Brayson thought he had scored an equaliser on 77 minutes, but celebrations were cut short as the referee flagged for offside. The game ended 1-0 and the Harriers went home to Worcestershire happy, but Benfield did themselves proud and could leave the pitch with their heads held high.

Formed in 1988, Newcastle Benfield have only been playing Northern League football since 2004, and although they may be relative newcomers in the world of football they are a friendly little club with a wonderful little ground. I'm sure the travelling Kidderminster support plus the various groundhoppers and guests amongst the 403 in attendance today will join me in wishing them all the best for the future.

Telling an alternative story on Tyneside.

They flock to watch Newcastle United in their thousands, but as James M. Gowland writes, there is also another story to be told on Tyneside, one of two historic clubs with a very much intertwined history.

There's something happening along the River Tyne at South Shields, back playing at their Mariners Park home, promotion two seasons running, a cup final win at Wembley, regular four figure crowds, and it all started with a rich businessman and plans of getting to the National League and who know's where beyond that!

Three seasons ago in Northern League Division Two, South Shields, their current guise formed in 1974 and nicknamed the Mariners, were stuck in the lowest echelons of non league football and playing home games 20 miles outside their home town in South Tyneside, at the home of now defunct Peterlee. A two season groundshare that came about after the lease on their then named Filtrona Park home expired, came to an end when £1m investment from local businessman Geoff Thompson saw the club changed completely overnight! Shields promptly moved back to their previous ground, now renamed Mariners Park, and a bumper crowd of 417 for their first home league game was more than double anyone in the whole league had managed the previous season. Ex Sunderland and Middlesbrough footballer Julio Arca joined the club and promotion swiftly followed. By the end of the season they were getting four figure crowds, and the following season saw them complete a league and cup quadruple, which included finishing their league campaign on 108 points, in the process gaining promotion out of the Northern League for the first time in their 40 odd year history, and in another first, reaching the FA Vase final at Wembley Stadium, which they won beating Cleathorpes Town 4-0. 8,000 Shields supporters reportedly  made the trip down Wembley Way to support a team who are fast becoming one of the hottest tickets in non league football.

Mariners Park sits in the middle of an industrial estate right on the local metro rail line with direct links to Newcastle city centre from Bede station around the corner. The ground has a small main stand with terracing below, this sits with the club house to it's left and a newly installed marquee tent to it's right. The other side of ground has covered terracing, and the stadium sits alongside an adjacent 3G pitch.

I arrive at Shields home ground some thirty minutes before kick-off and find my spot, this is my fourth visit to Mariners Park and with a 12.30 kick-off there is a double header on the cards today. A quick hop on the metro at full-time will see me end up at Gateshead International Stadium to watch Gateshead v Macclesfield Town in the Vanarama National League, the fifth tier of English football, the highest level of non league football in the country, and some three divisions above Shields. But first up it's South Shields v Bridlington Town in the preliminary round of the Emirates FA Cup, a game which is live on the BBC. Yes, you heard me correctly. Today's game is being streamed live on the BBC website as this season for first time the BBC has decided to cover every single round of the FA Cup right from the extra preliminary round through to the final. I guess it would be difficult for them to justify putting games like today's on BBC One or Two, but they are happy to stream such games online, in what has to excellent exposure for the non league game. This hence the lunchtime kick-off, and me happy be able to take in two games in one day.

As I stand on the terracing waiting for Shields to kick-off game number one of my double header, I reflect on their relationship with Gateshead, the hosts of game number two. Theirs is a shared history that goes back many years involving many highs and lows, joy and despai,r and twice football in South Shields moving along the river to Gateshead. The current Gateshead side was formed in 1977 after the previous side in the town, Gateshead United had folded. Gateshead United came about in 1974 when the owner of an earlier incarnation of South Shields moved his club along the river Tyne to play in the town. Gateshead United were to replace the previous Gateshead side who is a prior to folding in 1973 had still been struggling to come to terms with having been voted out of the Football League in 1960 after failure in re applying (as was customary for the bottom four sides in the days before forced relegation from the bottom tier). The town of Gateshead had been hosting league football in the old Division 3 North, and Division 4 which it later became, since 1930 when in an echo of what was to happen 44 years later, South Shields moved their Football League side to Gateshead. 

Yes that's right, South Shields and Gateshead have both in years gone by graced the Football League. 1919 was the year when Shields enetered  the Football League, joining the league had long been an ambition of theirs and as there were only two divisions of the league at that time, South Shields effectively played in what is now the Championship. I wonder how many of the town's residence actually know this? It was financial problems and the threat of bankruptcy that saw Shields move their team to the town of Gateshead, they'd already had to sell most of their star players, in 1927 had been relegated to Division 3 North, and home attendances were getting lower and lower. Despite their struggles both on and off the field, Shields did have their moments, particularly in the FA Cup. A fifth round defeat away to Bolton Wanderers in 1926 was followed by a home loss at the same stage the following season when a record crowd of 24,348 turned up at their former Horsley Hill ground for the visit of Swansea Town. Other than a third round defeat at Queens Park Rangers in 1970, the seaside town has never since seen heady cup exploits.

As for Gateshead the football league years started well with only Lincoln City's superior goal average denying them promotion in what was only their second season of league football. Further success in the league did not follow, and indeed ended with them being voted out of the league after 30 years of participation thanks to finishing third bottom of the Fourth Division. But as earlier with Shields, their greatest moments came in the FA Cup. The 1951/52 season saw them defeat the likes of Stockport County and Ipswich Town, before 40,000 spectators turned up at Newcastle United's St. James' Park to see them lose 2-0 to West Bromwich Albion. Further cup success returned the following season, when having beaten both Crew Alexandra and Bradford Park Avenue. they were drawn at home to Liverpool in the third round. Played this time at their then Redheugh Park home, a crowd of 15,000 saw an 84th minute goal defeat the reds and set up a fourth round tie at away at Hull City. Victory over Hull was followed by a win at Plymouth Argyle which set up a mouthwatering home quarter final tie with Bolton Wanderers. 17,000 fans squeezed into Redheugh Park, only to see Gateshead lose 1-0 thanks a Nat Lofthouse goal. 

Back to the current day and the links between the two clubs are still strong, with several members of the South Shields squad having previously played for Gateshead. Current Shields players, Craig Baxter, Jon Shaw, Matty Pattison, and Carl Finnegan, have all previously played for Gateshead, whilst Ben Clark who left the club at the end of last season was a former Gateshead captain.

A crowd of 1,420 are in attendance here today, some 300 plus short of the 1,776 who attended the 5-0 midweek home win over Brighouse Town in Evo-Stick Division One North. The Mariners dominate the opening passages, in fact they dominate most of the first half and as the game heads towards halftime you are left wondering how they are not several goals up. It is a fiery encounter and the home support regularly find themselves venting their anger at the physical nature of Bridlington's play. A dangerous challenge from Brett Agnew on Jon Shaw results in a yellow card for the Bridlington player, and the home faithful - who felt it deserved more - baying for blood. A goal for Shields does finally come when, Luke Sullivan slots the ball home for his first competitive goal in Mariners colours having been fed the ball by Anthony Callaghan.

1-0 at half-time, but Bridlington find themselves celebrating an equalizer early in the second half when a Ben Lewis shot deflects off Shaw and finds the corner of the net. Shields are forced to regroup and on 70 minutes eventually re take the lead with a 25 yard screamer from former South African international Matty Pattison, he shifts the ball onto his favoured left foot before finding the top corner to rapturous applause from the home support. 2-1 becomes 3-1 in stoppage time. Bridington goalkeeper James Hitchcock runs forward for a last gasp free-kick but is left stranded when Shields gain possession and break forward ending with Jamie Holmes finding Alex Nicholson inside the area, who squares the ball to Gavin Ogden, and Ogden has no trouble in slotting the ball home. Full time and straight round the corner for the metro, and after a short wait I am on a train and end up at Gateshead Stadium station.

Gateshead International Stadium to use its full title, is a council owned 12,000 capacity all seater stadium that comes compete with an athletics track. In the past it has hosted many top athletics events featuring some of the worlds the biggest names, but less so in recent years. Home supporters are housed in the Tyne and Wear Stand, away fans are often placed on the other side of the pitch but today the 37 traveling Macclesfield fans are seated in the far right of the main stand alongside the home support.

This is Gateshead's tenth straight season playing National League football, having spent most of their current incarnation playing in the top two levels of the non league pyramid. Three seasons ago Gateshead finished third and reached the league play-off final after beating Grismby Town over two legs in the senis, with over 8,000 spectators turning up for the second leg at the International Stadium. Sadly promotion did not follow, with the Heed as they are nicknamed (a Geordie pronunciation of the word 'head') losing 2-1 to Cambridge United in the final at Wembley. The Heed reached the third round of the FA Cup the following season, but three Mid table finishes in the league have followed the play-off loss and expectations were not overly high heading into the current season. 

Rare occasions such as play-off games aside, attendances at Gateshead are generally low for the level they play at, with disappointingly only 633 in attendance here today. Despite the low turnout the main stand is a noisy affair, there is a singing section at the far end of the stand, and their repertoire includes among other songs and chants, my personal favourite eighties pop classic Give A Little Respect by Erasure.

I find my seat, programme in hand, with one minute having already been played, and it doesn't take long for the Heed to score. Five minutes in and Jordan Preston finds Richard Peniket who's cross into the box is turned home by Fraser Kerr. Initially the linesman has his flag raised for offside, but to the delight of the home support the referee overrules and it's 1-0. Gateshead control most of the first half and find themselves 2-0 up at break thanks to an injury time goal from forward Jordan Burrow. Scorer of the first Kerr becomes provider as his cross is headed home by Burrow.

Gateshead come close to getting a third early in the second half and eventually do get it when on 72 minutes Preston slots the ball past Billy O'Brien in the Macclesfield goal. 3-0. Towards the end of the match the Gateshead supporters at the far end find themselves trying to outdo the Macclesfield fans in a game of who can be the most vocal. It's an all round tremendous effort from the die hard away fans who unfortunately go home disappointed as the game finishes 3-0 and the three points go to the home side. For the away support it's a long journey home to Cheshire, whilst it's back up to the metro station for me and back to my current home north of the river. An enjoyable day out, and important home wins for both of the two Tyenside sides.

As published in the November issue of Football Weekends

Venturing Out In Valencia

A football match abroad hadn’t really been on my radar, especially with the season almost over, but a phone call from my uncle changed all that. His mate had had to drop out of their holiday to Benidorm and he wanted to know if I fancied taking his pals place? He was departing for a week’s holiday in just under three weeks’ time, and despite the fact I had just got back from Las Vegas that very same day, I was definitely up for another break. A quick phone call to work the following morning to obtain more time off, and it was Benidorm here I come! Well once I’d paid £50 to change the name on the ticket that was. After everything was sorted, my first thought was is there any football on near Benidorm that week? 

Valencia did not spring to mind straight away when I was looking at the local fixtures taking place during my weeks stay, this being mostly due to the fact that I initially thought it would probably be too far a journey. With nothing else close by in the top two divisions I had to look to the lower leagues for my football fix. This proved fruitless. Benidorm no longer seems to have a team, and other than as yet undetermined play-off games, all the lower league final rounds of fixtures seemed to finish the weekend before I arrived. 

Getting desperate I rechecked the top two divisions and decided that I’d give Valencia versus Villarreal a go in, what is known as the the Derbi de la Comunitat. This despite the fact that it involved a €30 three hour round trip on the bus (no trains link the two metropolises).

My uncle, probably because he’s had to suffer all season watching Sunderland, had seen enough football for him this term, so left his Newcastle supporting nephew (he must have loved spending a whole week with me!!) to visit the beautiful city of Valencia on his own.

Anyone who has travelled from Benidorm to Valencia will have noticed the stunning scenery along the way, with beautiful mountains and hills along the route. It’s a similar scenario if you travel to Alicante in the other direction, leaving a really picturesque region of Spain (well if you ignore the drunk overweight British tourists that converge on the streets of Benidorm that is!). I arrived at the Estación de Autobuses in the coastal city of Valenica at 13.00. With kick-off not till 16:45 and my return bus not departing till 21:45, I still had a good few hours to explore the city and have a few pre and post-match pints.

I knew very little about the city and what limited research I had done told me that the city was noted for its cathedral so I thought that would a good place to visit before I headed towards the ground. The cathedral. It looked to be closed, but I was happy enough to take a few photos and have an have an ice cream from a nearby stall. This delicious strawberry cone followed up a disappointingly bland tuna steak I’d tucked into from a café on the way. Having admired the cathedral, and had a walk around the nearby streets and lanes which filled with restaurants, bars, and shops, I decided it was time to head towards the ground and find a few bars.

With Google maps and GPS being awkward on my phone, I opted for a taxi at a cost of 4.80€ and arrived outside the ground over two hours before kick-off with plenty of people milling around.

The Mestalla Stadium was opened in 1923 with an initial capacity of 13,000. The stadium suffered heavy damage when used as a concentration camp and junk yard after the outbreak of civil war in 1936, but restoration began after the war and in 1956 the capacity was increased to 30,000. The ground however was devastated by floods the follwing year, but was reopened again in 1959 with the addition of floodlights. There was a new expansion phase in preparation for of 1982 World Cup held in Spain, and after further expansion in 1997 the capacity was increased to almost 54,000, at which it still remains today. But with average attendances around the 33,000 mark this season, and a ticket for myself easy to obtain, I wasn't expecting a full house.

Attendances well below full capacity may be due to the fact that Valencia have fallen on hard times in recent years, this coming after a very successful period in the early to mid noughties in which they won two league titles, and were twice losing finalists in the Champions League. The club were deep into the bottom half of the table ahead of today's game, whilst their opponents and local rivals Villarreal needed a win to secure fifth place and a Europa League spot.

Until 1998 Villarreal had always been in the lower divisions and  had never came anywhere near the top flight, therefore Valencia never really considered them a rival. However in recent years Valencia have been struggling, meaning it's Villarreal who have been the more successful of the two sides, with Valencia apparently not liking the fact that these new upstarts have come along and taken their crown as number one club in the region.

A stroll around the outside of the stadium with a scarf purchased from one of the merchandise stalls for a cost of €15, the same price as my print at home match ticket, saw me end up sat outside a bar called Corona de Aragón across the road from the south west corner of the stadium. Some of the baguettes arriving on people’s tables looked extremely delicious, but I opted for a bottle of Amstel at a cost of €2. Looking around the nearby tables, the bright yellow of Villarreal seemed to outnumber those in Valencia attire, but there was a relaxed atmosphere with not a hint of trouble. If this was a derby, then Newcastle v Sunderland it certainly was not! 

Beer drunk, a further walk around the ground saw me come across another bar that I had missed earlier, this one offered take away cans of lager for 1€ and that seemed too good an offer to refuse. A further walk around saw me eventually enter the ground rather early, with the ID I’d been told to bring not needed.

My seat was in the ‘Gol Grand Alto’, at the southern end of the ground high up in gods in what I can only describe as the equivalent of level 7 at St. James’ Park. You can get a lift to the top but I opted for the many many steps that spiraled round to eventually arrive at the top of this stand. The concourse at the top tier of the stand is rather open plan, and you can look down at the masses on the streets below. This top tier is very steep, and due to the overhang of the of this tier and the one below, you feel right on top of the pitch, giving an excellent view despite being so high up. To the left there is the main stand, complete with a very old looking roof, whilst the three other stands, including mine are all uncovered. 

Valencia found themselves a goal down within 47 seconds when Roberto Soldado, formerly of Tottenham Hotspur, saw his right footed shot hit the top left hand corner after quick break away from the visitors. Possession wise, Valencia controlled most of the first half, but despite having what seemed like an awful lot of corners, could not come close to scoring and found themselves a goal down at the break.

The players were out sharpish for the second half, and although it was Villarreal who started the brighter, Valencia actually equalised on 54 minutes when Nani, of Manchester United fame, headed into the top left corner after a cross from Rodrigo Moreno, formerly a loanee at Bolton Wanderers. Relief all round. Parity lasted all of four minutes however, when an assist from Jonathan dos Santos saw a Manu Trigueros left footed shot find the bottom left hand corner. The final nail in the coffin came on 88 minutes when Italian Nicola Sansone found the top left corner. This meant wild celebrations from the Villarreal supporters at full-time, whilst the home support whistled loudly and waived white hankies, their way of saying ‘what a load of rubbish’. The stadium quickly emptied as the 33,587 spectators who had turned up went off into the evening.

Post match started off with a beer and some sort of Spanish ham and mushroom casserole dish, complete with cheese on top, eaten outside another bar, this time heading away from ground, past Corona de Aragón where I’d sat had my pre match tipple. Food in my belly and my thirst quenched, I opted for a slow meander in the general direction of the bus station.

I’d only been walking for a few minutes when I was accosted by a cyclist who started talking to me rather quickly, and as my Spanish can’t really get past ‘Una cerveza, por favor’ it took me a while to work out what he wanted.  It dawned on me that he’d obviously seen my scarf and probably wanted to know the score. When I said ‘Valencia una, Villarreal tres’ he looked like he didn’t believe me, so I repeated those words and suddenly he had a look of absolute disgust on his face. He then went on an undecipherable rant before cycling off at speed. One of the stranger moments of my day.

The final highlight of my trip was a delightfully beautiful park sandwiched down below in between two sides of a busy main road. This tree lined affair included several football pitches a rugby pitch, and a wonderful floodlit athletics track.

To round off my trip I found a bar to catch on the telly some of Real Madrid’s final day win at Malaga which secured their 33rd La Liga title. This before a swift exit to the bus station and back to Bendiorm for a few pints with my uncle and a tale to tell of a fantastic day out that I will always remember with fondness.

As published in issue 26 of Football Weekends magazine