The moon was still illuminating Tesco Pete’s mansion as I arrived; it was better than any of his security lights. He stood back from his driveway amongst his hydrangeas, casting a shadowy figure. It was just before 6am, and our 282-mile journey south was about to begin. It was the first game we searched for when our fixtures were released. It’s rare that we get to visit somewhere new, but even more of a bonus, it was the first time ever the Shaymen would be playing Worthing…
I always wonder about a parallel universe whenever I drive towards Brighton. I was born in Sussex and lived my preschool years in Crawley. My parents are from South London and had lots of extended childhood visits to family in and around the Crystal Palace area. If my parents had not made the decision to move north, what would life have been like with a dodgy Southern accent? Would I be one of those people who don’t follow a football team and look vacant whenever you ask them who they support? Would I be a telly-watching football critic who never goes to a game? Or perhaps worse, a Crawley fan, or even Palace?
With traffic good for the time of day, we rolled into one of the breakfast chain restaurants in Crawley. Breakfast was, in Pete’s words, ‘served on a plate the size of a dustbin lid’. The food was decent, plentiful, and cleared in a near-record time of just over 13 minutes. We then had time to drive a mile to have a glance at where I used to live. There were no football stickers or scarves in any of the windows on the street; however, one of the neighbours had a full-sized hairy gorilla perched on their garden wall, its eyes tracking your every move. That’s all the confirmation I needed; our move to Halifax was a great decision.
Our early arrival at the ground was well planned. The parking was non-existent, with offices and the main entrance sitting side by side with houses perhaps built in the 1950s. The turnstiles are reached by a small snicket. The pathway passes by garages and gardens before you turn left at Margaret’s washing line at the end of her garden.
Inside the turnstiles, the away fans were allocated some covered, elevated terrace alongside the penalty box. Also available was some open terrace from the corner flag towards the goal. The view from there was significantly obscured by some riot-proof fencing that would keep two armies apart. It even had a watchtower, also known as Nosey Steve, who was peering out of his upstairs window, observing proceedings. A proper cheapskate who pretends to support his team whist sitting at home.
Worthing’s ground is tight and compact. There’s a full-length covered terrace down one side, with the other accommodating a small, steep, seated stand perched high on top of the changing rooms and clubhouse. The far goal has some narrow metal terracing with about four rows for people to stand. On the other side of Steve’s watchtower at our end, there’s a mixture of open terrace, covered standing, a club shop and refreshments. All in all, a nice ground.
Worthing started the game well and scored from a corner within the first five minutes. There seemed little resistance as the ball was headed easily into our net. Town equalised with our first real attempt of the game about 10 minutes later. The home keeper was easily beaten at his near post with a fierce low shot from Hugill. We were stood amongst the noisy home fans, with soft segregation in place. It, of course, went very quiet when our goal went in.
The home side took the lead for the second time just before half-time. It looked like a massive deflection helped the ball tickle past our keeper.
We changed ends at half-time and stood with the impressive travelling army of 140 Shaymen. The Jowetts were down for the weekend; others, like us, travelled on the day. Whirlwind Jim and his merry men were staying over (good luck to the locals), whilst our coachload of flag-bearing fans added to the atmosphere. Everyone took the opportunity for a first-ever visit to the ground.
The second half was more of the same as we squinted in the bright sunshine to see the action. Worthing looked the better team, and we rarely looked like creating any chances. A red card for Town with about 10 minutes to go changed the game. Town threw everything forward from then on, and we had our best spell of the game. In the end, Worthing held out for a well-deserved victory.
We were home by 10pm and looked back on a long day. It wasn’t the result we hoped for, but a grand day out nevertheless. We have a midweek game at home to look forward to, followed by a day out in Solihull next week.
C’mon Shaymen!
Miles on the road: 1,914 Goals on the road: 5 Points on our travels: 3
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