Bank holiday weekend near the seaside and we weren’t taking any chances. We’d all agreed to set off at 11.00am but for some strange reason Mrs B spotted the usual suspects lurking by the car a good 20 minutes before they were due. I thought they just seemed keen but they spent the first half of the journey chuntering on about setting off at 10:30 am, anyway Tesco Pete found the postcode and we were on our way.
With just under four miles to go to our destination, we passed what looked very much like a new football ground. Could there be two new grounds in Kirkham or did Tesco Pete spend too much time chasing Pokémon monsters rather than putting the right postcode in the sat nav? One day we’ll miss a game and we’ll all know why!
You can take a man out of Yorkshire but you can’t take Yorkshire out of the man. With plenty of time on our hands and a brand spanking new sports bar open, there was no stopping the Greetland Shayman, “follow me” he said. 20 minutes later we’d had a healthy triple sandwich, a refreshing cool drink and an ice cream, all for less than £3 each. Whilst we were admiring the brand new ground, he’d spotted the new discount supermarket right next door, there was no stopping him.
Mill Farm is Fylde’s second new ground in just over 10 years demonstrating their real aMBition to follow the success of near neighbours Fleetwood Town. A capacity of 6,000 including 2,000 seats means their impressive new ground should last much longer than the old one Kellamergh Park.
It’s fair to say that Fylde are still adapting to their new surroundings and much larger crowds than they had last year. Admission was cheaper than usual, just £12 for an adult terrace ticket through an electronic turnstile. Inside the ground there’s an impressive main stand with 2,000 seats below multi-story executive boxes and a simple but often missing thing in football stadia; a great big old style clock.
Around 900 travelling Shaymen filled the decent sized terrace stand behind the goal and with no fence yet constructed, kept the stewards alert. It’s not often you get anything free at football these days but with my reduced mobility, a proper cold shower was inevitable as soon as they put those new sprinklers on! I’m sure that’s just one of those minor adjustments on the list.
Half time and it was all square, we’d had the best of the play, taken the lead, had a party then instantly conceded a soft equaliser. We’d also had a second goal ruled out for offside, it seemed the points were there for the taking. Many travelling fans wandered to the other end of the ground at half time to view from the undeveloped open end and mix freely with the home fans.
The second half was more even, they scored, we scored, the points were up for grabs. Just as everything was going well, they scored again, we hit the bar in return and it was game over. The first defeat of the season, we we’re all a little irked, how did we lose?
Driving home it’s not all bad, Tesco Pete’s in the money after successfully predicting more than four goals and he’s also caught another imaginary monster. The Greetland Shayman’s reminding everyone of what great value lunch was and I’m looking forward to Monday, C’mon Shaymen!
Total miles on the road this season 442, total Goals 6
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