Tesco Pete was standing at the roadside looking like a lollipop. The early morning frost coupled with my slightly late arrival was clearly taking its toll. He was perhaps more like one of those famous Farm Freeze basic ice pops than one of those dynamic, multi-coloured frozen space rockets looking for action. Anyway, after a few salutations, we were off on an epic 236-mile journey south. Not the greatest distance of the season, but with the potential of being the longest in terms of travel time.
Our journey was reasonably quiet. The back seat was empty following a couple of late withdrawals. Denzil was getting his hair done, whilst the Greetland Shayman had a better offer. In truth, perhaps neither really fancied our chances. At least it eliminated the possibility of a forensic review of every throw-in conceded on the way home.
After a decent breakfast at our favourite Northamptonshire breakfast spot, with double beans for us regulars, we headed onwards to the M25 and all its potential delights. The fixtures have been kind to us regarding Sutton, there have been several full weekend closures of the motorway for renovations, the most recent being last weekend. If we’d have clashed with a closure, it would have potentially been an overnight stop en-route. I can only guess just how much fun that would have been with the usual suspects.
Sutton’s Gander Green Lane has recently been the crowned the winner of the best accommodation for visiting fans in the National League. The citation reads “The terrace is light and airy, with panoramic views of the night skies in winter.” It goes on to say, “The historic curved, concrete terrace is set back well away from the pitch to give easy access to the local park, should you wish to leave early.” Finally, it concludes with the line, “Spectators can stand at the perimeter fence, only 30 feet from the touchline, with views just above grass level, ideal if you don’t want any perspective on the game.” At least they had the foresight to preserve this area of the ground when they upgraded the rest of the home areas during their brief adventure in the football league.
The game started with a bang, a goal up inside a minute, scored at our end. The Warley Shayman was insistent that the goalkeeper was at fault, but from our perspective it looked like a perfect cross and a top-class header. The fun continued, Sutton looked outclassed rarely reaching our penalty area. Our second goal was scored midway through the half, the players celebrating with the 92 travelling fans in the chilly bright sunshine.
The second half was more of the same, we rattled the base of the post from a fine run, Hoti’s goal from distance soon after looked like a training exercise. No fuss, no bother, just another great goal. The linesman wandering backwards and forwards directly in front of us gave us some entertainment, it seemed a lottery which way he’d signal. Sometimes he seemed to get it wrong, other times we simply all disagreed with his decision. To be fair, he did get the biggest cheer of the afternoon, awarding an offside decision in favour of the Shaymen deep into injury time.
The applause for the team at the end of the game was thoroughly deserved, the match was pretty much a procession and perhaps the most comprehensive of the season. The team are well up for the remaining battle, let’s get behind them and see what happens.
Next up and we’re off in number to Oldham. What an atmosphere that will be. C’mon Shaymen.
Miles on the road: 6034. Goals on the road: 29. Points on the road: 33.
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