Date: Saturday 22nd April 2017
Match: Gainsborough Trinity v Kidderminster Harriers
Squad: Bowen, Quincy, Richo, Laddsy, Laddso.
Here we went again - off to bloomin' Gainsborough. I for one did not have the foggiest where it was - turns out it wasn't that far away - North Lincs in fact. So after a nourishing Wetherspoon's breakfast in the Draper's Arms off we went to Gainsborough.
A change was required at Retford onto a provincial line and when the train arrived it was very small - two small carriages small.
First stop was the Sweyn Forkbeard, a 'spoons of course. Usually a 'spoons is good for a safe beer whilst getting your bearings. In this case it was a unsettling experience but with hindsight it was a sign of things to come. The reason ? The beer was awful. AWFUL.
Despite the quality we had a couple of beers before heading off to the ground. Once at the ground we headed into the Blues Club for a pre match beer (again awful). We camped in the lounge area, occasionally heading into the Function Room to watch a county darts match (Lincs v Essex).
Once in the ground we parked ourselves at the side of the pitch. The ground is a classic old ground with a tall stand opposite where we are and terracing all around.
There is plenty on this game for both teams so it's a good crowd of 902 in the ground. Kidderminster are chasing promotion whilst the home side need a point to escape relegation. So the locals are lively and the atmosphere is good.
On 19 minutes the crowd get reward for their support when Nathan Jarman puts the home side ahead and it stays that way until half time. Harriers make some changes at half time and are instantly rewarded when half time sub Andre Brown grabs an equaliser.
Meanwhile we've checked out the snack bar - it's proper Northern and the pie is good.
As the game peters out to a draw the home fans get increasingly rowdy as they see the point they need getting closer.
We even get a blue smokebomb behind us and when removed we get a rendition of "No Pyro No Party" .
Ground - Good
Here we went again - off to bloomin' Gainsborough. I for one did not have the foggiest where it was - turns out it wasn't that far away - North Lincs in fact. So after a nourishing Wetherspoon's breakfast in the Draper's Arms off we went to Gainsborough.
A change was required at Retford onto a provincial line and when the train arrived it was very small - two small carriages small.
First stop was the Sweyn Forkbeard, a 'spoons of course. Usually a 'spoons is good for a safe beer whilst getting your bearings. In this case it was a unsettling experience but with hindsight it was a sign of things to come. The reason ? The beer was awful. AWFUL.
Once in the ground we parked ourselves at the side of the pitch. The ground is a classic old ground with a tall stand opposite where we are and terracing all around.
There is plenty on this game for both teams so it's a good crowd of 902 in the ground. Kidderminster are chasing promotion whilst the home side need a point to escape relegation. So the locals are lively and the atmosphere is good.
Meanwhile we've checked out the snack bar - it's proper Northern and the pie is good.
As the game peters out to a draw the home fans get increasingly rowdy as they see the point they need getting closer.
We even get a blue smokebomb behind us and when removed we get a rendition of "No Pyro No Party" .
After the game we go off in search of decent beer - a futile search as it turns out. Next stop was the Horse & Jockey. Friendly enough although we were definitely the "outsiders". The beer choice was pretty average so at this point a switch to Guinness seemed appropriate. Even that wasn't great but it was passable. One bonus was that the tables had a safety feature - a layer of stickiness ensured that you couldn't knock your pint over so fair play for that.
In search of food and solace we headed onwards down the Gainsborough High Street. Have to say it wasn't the busiest place.......
So on to the Canute. A smart looking place with football on the TV and a decent looking food menu. It's definitely not an ale place and people were switching to bottles and shorts. It must have been the go to place as we spotted a couple of the Gainsborough players in there.
After much deliberation around the menu we settled for a kebab on the walk back to the station. Like so much around Gainsborough it was average.
And so we hit the station and trundled home (with a cheeky shop stop at Retford). A funny old place Gainsborough but the game was good and for all my moaning it was a very good day out.
Stats
Gainsborough Trinity 1 Kidderminster Harriers 1
Stadium – "The Chapel", Northolme. Capacity – 4,304 Attendance – 902
Pubs - 4
Pubs we’d visit again - No thanks
Breakfast - Drapers Arms, Peterborough
Breakfast - Drapers Arms, Peterborough
Lunch - Pie at the ground
Dinner - Kebab on the run
Dinner - Kebab on the run
Ground - Good
Match - Good
Beer - Awful on average but sometimes worse
Food - Ok
Pie - Excellent
Enjoyment Factor – 8/10 because of the pyro.
