Date: Saturday 17th December
2016
Match: Alfreton Town v Salford
City
Squad: Bowen, Richo, Quincy
All aboard – and off we went to
chilly Derbyshire and a visit to Alfreton (pop 22,302). A trundle of 1 hour 45
minutes on the train and then a 20 minute wander into town. The town centre is a
fairly typical small town centre. After building up a thirst we gathered our
thoughts in the King Alfred pub.
After a loosener there we trundled on, picking up Gaviscon on the way, to the Waggon & Horses – the obligatory Wetherspoon’s offering. And it wasn’t half bad – decent beers and good enough that we had some lunch there.
On to the The Blue Bell – this seemed a bit more
traditional. Friendly enough but no great ales.
Then a lengthy walk towards the
ground, punctuated by catching some racing in the Plough Inn. Again beer choice
was poor but it was wet.
On to the game. The crowd was
segregated and I was asked if I was an away fan but even my best Manc accent
wouldn’t fool that smart copper. Inside there was a little club shop. And pies.
Anyway with the day still bright
we parked our bums behind the goal with the home fans in the first half. It was
a decent game and the home side went ahead on 24 minutes. The next excitement
was the queue for the pies which was a friendly affair. The pies however were
not really worth the wait.
The visit to the toilet likewise
– a corrugated tin with no light so I couldn’t see a thing (not even a little
thing).
The rest of the stadium was
decent though. Seating available behind the goal, plenty of covered space. Nice
and tidy all things considered.
Into the 2nd half and
the game is getting spiky. Eventually after plenty of pressure Salford find an
equaliser. By this time we have moved to the relative warmth behind the dug
outs where we listened to the banter with the Salford bench. Despite efforts
from both sides it ended all square and we left to find the station….via the
pub.
We passed the Victoria Inn on the
way to the ground but didn’t have time to go in so we felt the need to put that
right on the way back out. And as it turned out it was probably the best of the
bunch. Sport and real ales available, so we watched the scores come in and
enjoyed a good final beer in Alfreton before heading back to the station for
the journey home.
Stats
Alfreton Town 1 Salford
City 1
Stadium – The Impact Arena. Attendance – 718 (Capacity
3,600)
Pubs - 5
Pubs we’d visit again - The
Victoria Inn
Lunch - Waggon &
Horses (Wetherspoon)
Dinner - Think it was
just pie???
Scores for the day
Ground - Decent
Match - Good
Beer - Very
average
Food - Not bad
Pie - Poor
Enjoyment Factor – 7/10 it’s
always good to be up north after all. Friendly enough town, decent crowd.
