The Town Hall clock had just chimed 5.30pm, the City of Culture looked resplendent in a sea of red lights. Unfortunately, the lights weren’t for decoration, they were car brake lights, almost grid locked as far as the eye could see. We’d already been driving for thirty minutes and had covered only a few miles of our 108-mile journey northeast and tensions in the car were rising.
“I can see my mate on the map,” piped up Denzil from the back seat, ‘I accidentally dropped an air tag in his car recently and forgot to collect it’ he continued. Apparently, he never cleans his car out so there was no chance of it being picked up amongst the empty crips packets and old coke cans. He left work in Brighouse at a similar time and was heading along the M62. We’d already ditched the motorway option due to standing traffic. From that moment on it was like Wacky Races, it wasn’t so much about making it to the game on time, it was only about whether we could catch Denzil’s mate.
With the clock ticking, the estimated arrival time gave us two minutes grace before kick-off, Denzil’s tracking had us a good ten minutes behind the opposition too. There was no chance of anything to eat, we were driving faster than ever before. Tesco Pete looked terrified in the front seat, his hands firmly attached to the console in the brace position.
We’ve not had this much excitement in years, I’ve always said we should set off later for games…
Having abandoned the car on double yellow lines outside the ground, we took our seats on the left-hand side of Gateshead’s main stand as the players emerged from the tunnel. It’s usually like the Baltic up there, the sort of place the Norwegian army send their new recruits for cold weather training. This time it was a barmy six degrees, positively topical given the recent weather we’ve had.
The first half started with Gateshead controlling possession early on, that came to an abrupt halt when the Shaymen took the lead, scoring in the distance at the far end of the ground. Town looked sharp and positive when they had the ball, it was no real surprise when we made it two just before the break.
Gateshead pulled one back just after the restart, a penalty given for something innocuous, that cheered up the home fans and spurred their part-time drummer into action. You’ve got to have sympathy for Gateshead, it’s not a great venue to watch football, and every time we turn up, we never, ever lose. Some clubs have a bogey team, but we must be an absolute nightmare for the home support.
Town made it three and the game was safe midway through the second half. There were a few ‘oohs and aahs’ from the home support as they pressed forward as time ticked on but nothing too dangerous. The 68 travelling Shaymen responded with a few ‘oohs and aahs’ of their own, but only to make fun of any Gateshead attempt that ended up on the running track rather than in Sam Johnson’s direction. Football fans can be cruel at times, but it’s all great fun.
Driving back and we called in for a celebratory fast-food stop and, to give credit where credit is due, the team thoroughly deserved their victory. The result never looked in doubt. We made it back to Halifax just after midnight, only 43 minutes after Denzil’s mate and I’ve probably acquired an air tag too…
Next up, we’re off to Solihull, hoping the excellent away form continues. C’mon Shaymen.
Miles on the road: 4504. Goals on the road: 19. Points on the road: 23.
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