Initially, I had a few options for a game. I’d thought about watching Harrogate Railway Athletic and having some tea and cake at Betty’s. Or maybe combining a game at Knaresborough Town with a visit to Mother Shipton’s Cave. Unfortunately, the cave was shut for the winter and then both games failed pitch inspections.
There seemed little point in enduring the Harrogate traffic just for a slice of Battenberg and so instead I drove further south for Farsley Celtic’s sixth-tier National League North fixture against Scunthorpe United. I’d read that they were expecting their biggest crowd for years, presumably a combination of the holiday season and a large contingent of away fans. With that in mind I bought my ticket online for fifteen quid in advance. If I’d been a year older, I’d have got pensioner rates. Scary, especially as I’ve still got a valid student card. I’m not sure they are meant to overlap.
I followed the parking advice which was to leave the car in the town centre and then walk for fifteen minutes or so to the Citadel ground. It was previously known as the Throstle’s Nest, holds 3,900 and dates back to 1948. There wasn’t any segregation but most of the Scunthorpe fans congregated in the covered terrace behind one of the goals. Others mixed with the locals in seats behind the goal or along the side.
We had a pre-match presentation for the Farsley captain, to mark his impending three-hundredth appearance for the club. He got a decent round of applause, despite most people’s attention still being on securing a pint or some food.
The team announcements revealed that ex-Boro midfielder Jacob Butterfield was on the bench for Scunthorpe. With a name like that I’d always thought him better suited to being a Thomas Hardy character than a footballer. I’d watched him the previous season turning out for St Johnstone against Hibs in the Scottish Premier. Farsley was a fair contrast from playing at Ibrox or Parkhead, but maybe not too different in terms of atmosphere from some of St Johnstone’s home fixtures. I like it when a player drops down the divisions to keep on playing.
I should have got some lunch in town as the queues at the food hut in the ground were far too long and I was keen to secure a spot on the rail. However, the lure of Korean crispy chicken loaded fries was enough for me to give up my spot not long after kick-off and re-join the queue on the other side of the pitch. That area was elevated and so I had a better view of the action as the snaking line shortened.
I got chatting to a fan from Scunthorpe who had lived in Farsley for the past thirty-five years. The time away and a friend’s son in the Farsley side had diluted his loyalties to the extent that, like me, he didn’t care which team won.
Scunthorpe opened the scoring in the first half. It was the cue for a lot of their fans to hurl their pints in the air. FFS. That’s a trend that I’m never going to understand. It was quickly followed by a double sending off after a skirmish. The ref only spotted the retaliation, but the lino was wise to the original offence and advised him to send the other fella off too.
The second half was delayed due to a medical emergency in the crowd. I wonder if that’s how I’ll eventually croak? Stood in the rain at a football game? If it is, I hope it will be at a Boro fixture, so people don’t find out that I’ve got a weird hobby of driving for an hour and half to watch teams that I’ve no allegiance to. They’d probably feel obliged to have a minutes silence at the next game despite nobody having a clue who I was. I suppose it’s better than being eaten by a bear.
With the rain coming down I squeezed into the covered terrace with the away fans where I witnessed a second goal for Scunthorpe and the three-hundred game home captain get his marching orders. I doubt he’d envisaged that end to his day when receiving his pre-match mementoes an hour or so earlier.
Jacob Butterfield didn’t make it off the bench. Maybe I’ll see him next year a division or two further down the pyramid, ideally in the Wessex League for Casterbridge Town or someone. I’ll look forward to it.
Trail of the Lion King 