11 January 2020 –
York City 2 AFC Telford 0 (2,299)
An 80+ mile round trip
is further than we usually venture but we decided that we had to
visit Bootham Crescent, home of York City, before they move to a new
home next season. And so we found ourselves driving into the middle
of York and couldn't help comparing with our trip to Rotherham –
York is a rather beautiful place, Rotherham is rather....industrial
(or as Sam says “a right toilet”). Oooh there's a church, wow
look at that row of stone cottages, we were impressed. After a while
the satnav said turn left so we did, and spotted that the road name
was Bootham Crescent...must be close now. Soon a floodlight appeared
over the rooftops, then....is it? YEESSS! BOOTHAM CRESCENT! It's the
most excited we've ever reacted to finding a stadium!
When we asked Twitter
for parking info we were advised to head to the hospital multi-storey
– but we think we found better. As you approach the ground from
Bootham Crescent turn right, past a working men's club, then keep
right before a sharp left. You'll be on a residential terrace with
free parking and no restrictions, two minutes stroll from the
turnstile! We took a wander to have a look what we could find, and
there are several old, disused turnstile entrances echoing the
stadium's busier history – wow those gates were narrow back then!
Programme and 50/50 tickets bought – both from VERY welcoming
sellers, and a close encounter with a lion (might have been the
mascot) we decided to go inside.
This was a little
confusing. It's pay on the gate at York, simple enough, but
apparently you can't buy food inside the ground! So we had to stock
up from Keeley and Shaz in the food hut outside and then go in.
Slightly odd. The man on the turnstile was exceptionally friendly,
the welcome given here was lovely all day. He explained that the
ancient metal turnstile had come from Old Trafford when it had been
redeveloped years ago – and that he loved it so much he wanted to
buy it when this stadium is eventually knocked down. He also gave us
incredibly precise directions to the toilets when we got in, a 25-30
second walk he said...
We headed up to the top
row of the Main Stand, close to the announcer's box, and tucked into
the food. £11.50 for a steak pie, cheeseburger, Bovril and water.
Bizarrely the water arrived with the lid already removed, like they
do in Scotland, and because of local ground regulations. BUT this
makes carrying all the food and drink into the ground from outside,
through centuries old turnstiles, a tricky balancing act. The food
was OK but not outstanding, Sam's burger bun was “odd”. My pie
was hotter than the Sun, and I couldn't eat it for quite a while (not
a criticism).
I have to say, this
ground is my favourite of the season so far, and I can't imagine it
being bettered. It's a complete time capsule and took me straight
back through the decades to when football grounds were all
individual, quirky and magnificently flawed. The seats in the Main
Stand are austere and wooden. There are pillars obscuring the view.
There's even a tiny tin cabin on the far side at which you can pay an
extra pound to transfer from the end terrace to the Popular Side
stand. Wonderful! The turnstile operator's directions to the loos
were spot on, and they are also beautifully outdated.
At this point we need
to thank York City FC media team who arranged for us (We're On Our
Way!) to get a mention over the tannoy at half time, cheers boys! We
also did our regular “shout loud to pretend we won the 50/50” and
blimey, we fooled so many people it was brilliant.
The game itself was
quite even until the last ten minutes when York bagged two goals, the
first one nobody seemed to realise had crossed the line, and the
second a superb curling effort from near the corner flag. Telford
almost got back into it straight away thanks to a long range
thunderbastard from Ellis Deeney (Troy's brother) but it was
unfortunately ruled out for offside. Unlucky lad. And that was it.
Felt slightly sorry for the Telford bench who came under a constant
hail of hearing aids, Werther's Originals and false teeth, but the
result was fair in the end.
To sum up – I
Absolutely Love Bootham Crescent! So glad we made it before she
disappears. If you miss old football you should visit too!
And so to the scoring:
Atmosphere 2.5 Decent
for the level but tailed off early in second half when York were
attacking the open end.
Food & Drink 3.0
Good, not great. No need to take the top off the water, you're not
high risk!
Stadium 4.0 Old school
perfection for me. Thank you. Sam not so impressed.
Value For Money 3.5
Reasonable . Worth it to experience football how it used to be.
Bonus points for
Bovril, character mascot, 50/50 draw and singing at least three
different songs.
Half a point each for
big baldie on the pitch and flag-waving kids.
Lost a point for home
fans using a drum.
Final score 17.0.
Current table:
1 Rotherham United 19.0
2 Chesterfield Town
18.5
3 York City 17.0
4 Walsall 16.5
5
Stamford 16.0
6 Doncaster Rovers 15.5
7 Boston United 15.0
8 Lincoln City 13.5
9 Falkirk 13.0
10 Sleaford Town 12.5
11 Mansfield Town 12.0
Total goals so far =
33. Average goals = 3.00. Global average 2.75.
Miles this match = 163.
Miles this season = 1413.
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