There’s always a long-distance mid-week challenge every season, no doubt some quirk of the National League’s fixtures programme. Every team seems to have one, with fans needing time off work to travel down, and probably time off the following day to recover too. One day we’ll sit down and work out if these challenges are necessary, or whether it’s just a touch of humour from the league’s HQ. Our first mid-week trek of the season was a 207-mile journey south to Braintree. To cap things off, we also had the company of the effervescent Chadders too.
It’s been over a decade since we all travelled together, the last journey lives long in the memory… We had two players sent off, three goals conceded, and a comprehensive defeat to an ultimately relegated Salisbury City. Superstition goes a long way in football, we tried not to blame him for that result, but in the hiatus since, we’ve not had a similar result. Either way up, it’s been a good start to the season, especially away from home so we considered it was about time we gave him another chance…
Traffic was much better than expected as we rolled up on the outskirts of Braintree around teatime. Unfortunately, we then spent the next half hour diving round in circles after Tesco Pete had used a random postcode he found on the internet. Admission to Braintree’s Cressing Road ground was £20 on the day, or if you were daft enough, £21.84 if you bought in advance with an electronic ticket. Apparently, those new-fangled digital tickets have an additional cost of around 4.5%, Braintree don’t want a reduction on their matchday income, so charge the supporter. In fairness, they gave us the traditional option, and we even got a nice branded ticket as we handed over the cash, a right bargain.
Dusk was falling as we entered the ground; it’s not changed since our last visit a good few years ago. The bright orange safety barriers at either end of the pitch adorn open terracing, and the main stand has a good number of blue seats hiding behind several robust supporting pillars. The other side has a covered terrace complete with a unique garden shed for some reason. The chips were excellent, and the first job on arrival.
The first half started positively for the Shaymen, there were several decent runs and crosses into the box, and a few corners. As the half continued it became less attractive as the orange glow of the old floodlights did their best to illuminate things. The referee was serenaded off at half time by a very unhappy home fan, not sure why. He was quick to get his cards out for both teams but that’s not unusual in these days of modern football.
There were around 40 travelling Shaymen in attendance, mainly gathered behind the goal. Denzil and Jim had their flags on display to help make our presence felt. Midway through the second half, we made our voices heard too. A stonewall penalty for the Shaymen, seen by everyone inside the ground, home and away, and the watching residents in the nearby flats, but not the officials. ‘Incredible, how was that not given?’, we all enquired politely in unison.
To sum up a frustrating evening, Braintree were awarded a penalty in the dying minutes. Perhaps they deserved the win overall, looking more physical and dangerous as the game went on. It’s all part of the fun of a mid-week away game miles from home, we might not blame Chadders for this defeat either, well not until the dust has settled anyway.
Next up it’s our first visit to Boston’s new ground, or perhaps an exciting FA cup draw?
Miles on the road: 1932. Goals on the road: 3. Points on the road: 8.
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