I’ve been making reasonably progress at ticking off the grounds in the East Division of the Northern Premier League, mainly due to the efforts of Northern League clubs in gaining promotion to it. As I had a Friday night with nothing planned, I thought I’d head down to Emley for their opening game of the season against Silsden.
In an update of other stuff, Jen and I had been to the Old Courtroom at Middlesbrough Town Hall the night before to see local band Weathership. They were ok, but I preferred one of the livelier support bands.
The drive down to Emley was more complicated than it needed to be with multiple road closures. Nevertheless, I made it on time to the Fantastic Media Welfare Ground and handed over my tenner admission just as the teams were walking out. There was a decent programme for a couple of quid.
Emley were favourites for the win having just missed out on promotion last year whilst Silsden were playing their first ever fixture as high as the eighth tier. I watched for a while from behind the goal, then found myself a seat in the main stand where I ended up in conversation with a fellow groundhopper about some of the other grounds in the division.
Next to the main stand was a cabin with a rooftop viewing area. This was where the people who had opted for the thirty pounds hospitality package watched the game from. The stands behind the goal looked as if they had all been erected at different times with little regard to an overall design. I liked the look of it though, it was a sort of shanty town.
The game went as expected, with Emley two up inside twenty-five minutes and then adding a third midway through the second half. A fair few of the near five-hundred crowd were from Silsden and their team showed enough to suggest that, despite the result, they will do ok this season.
Trail of the Lion King 