(no subject)
Jan. 27th, 2008 10:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eiffel_71Arrived at Westleigh Park just after 5.30 yesterday morning for the trip to Anfield. There was a burger van in the corner, doing a roaring trade despite the early hour. Simon was already there; I said hello to him and asked if he had one of the official souvenir scarves for today's game. He'd sold out but said the Liverpool club shop would have them. I located Aly to find out which coach I was on, and then spent three quarters of an hour pottering around in the car park, while girls from The News roamed up and down selling souvenir copies of the paper with a free 'I Was There' poster, and the occasional bloke walked up and down through the waiting masses hawking knock-off scarves, T-shirts and flags. My coach, one of the last to board, boarded at 6.15, but it was nearly another half-hour before we finally moved.
Was sat next to a guy called Barry who I've seen at games before, and across the aisle from us were a former Pompey-supporting couple who've become fed up with the way the Premiership's gone; they'd started coming to see the Hawks this month because of the cup run but are thinking of converting full-time. We all talked about football for most of the journey up; Barry and I also had a few discussions about another mutual passion, music.
We called at Banbury services for breakfast just after 9 am and took a brief comfort stop at Stafford services around 11.30. On the way out of Stafford Tim, our other driver, gave us a tune on the harmonica. (Ruth, not he, was at the wheel at the time!)
An hour later we were entering Liverpool. Lots of people were struck by the run-down houses on the left-hand side, some of which were boarded up, some had bits of their roofs missing - more than one said "And they say Leigh Park is bad!" - contrasting with the impressive new ones on the right-hand side of the road. (A few guys commented on the high walls surrounding these estates.)
Reaching Liverpool 4, we passed Everton's ground and drove all the way round Stanley Park to our parking spot. Ruth, one of our drivers and our 'guide' for the day, told us to all be back on the coach for 5.30, warned us that anyone not on the coach by the time the police moved us on would get left behind, and signed off "Enjoy your day!"
We walked across Stanley Park and down a little alley to arrive outside Anfield. I'd messaged my old pal Denise, a Liverpool season ticket holder, via Facebook, Myspace and e-mail to let her know I was coming, including my mobile number, but sadly she hadn't got in touch. I stopped to see the Shankly Gates and paid my respects at the Hillsborough Memorial, laying down a Hawks scarf at its foot. I noticed several of the Scousers touched the memorial on the way past, sometimes apparently on a particular spot - maybe on the name of a loved one? I found myself almost blinking back tears.
Walked around the ground to join the lengthy queue for the Liverpool FC Store. Having purchased my souvenir scarf, I headed for a nearby pub, which was crammed with Hawks and Liverpool fans all happily drinking together. Having negotiated the crush at the bar to get a vodka and Red Bull, I joined a group of Hawks on a little bench - I don't think any of them actually knew me but they were friendly enough.
Called at the 'Red Griller' on a street corner opposite the ground for a very tasty quarter pounder with onions before making my way round to the away turnstiles.
I was in the corner block of seats. Almost bang in front of me were Rick Jackson and a lady colleague from Ocean FM. When the lady turned round and I said hello to her (I hadn't yet seen her big Ocean FM microphone) she asked "Are you one of our breakfast winners?" "No, I'm just an ordinary fan," I replied. She smiled.
Most of my block was happy to sit and watch the match, standing only for exciting moments like corners; there was just one bloke who kept on standing up all the time. Unfortunately, he was almost bang in front of me. I felt like tapping him on the shoulder and saying "Excuse me, mate, you don't make a good window."
Richard Pacquette put Hawks in front in the fourth minute. Total delirium. I was obviously pleased we were in the lead, but kept my feet on the ground the whole time, knowing that Liverpool had three big guns on the bench - Gerrard, Carragher and Kuyt - to wheel out at any time. That didn't stop me joining in the singing of 'Que sera sera, whatever will be will be, we're going to Wem-ber-ley'. On 22 minutes Liverpool equalised with a beautiful 20-yard lob from Babel and I was one of many Hawks fans clapping.
Then around the half-hour mark, a Hawks corner went to the head of Alfie Potter. At first we thought he'd nodded wide. It was only when Alfie started wheeling away from the goal in celebration that we realised the ball was in the back of the net. Mass celebration in the away end once more, and more choruses of 'Que sera sera' as well as serenading Rafa Benitez with 'You're getting sacked in the morning'. I remained cautious, but was now allowing myself the thought of a possible replay.
Jay Smith headed a shot off the line. Just before the break Benayoun equalised, but going in at half-time drawing was perfectly good enough for me.
I expected Liverpool's big guns to be brought on for the second half, but the Reds' 11 that started came back out. As it was, the reinforcements weren't needed, as Liverpool's class told and Benayoun scored with a rebound off the crossbar. I knew then that the chance had gone. Not long after that Benayoun made it 4-2 from close range. Game over.
We Hawks fans kept up our singing the whole time regardless. We'd had hardly any noise from the Liverpool fans in the first half, prompting one guy to try and start a chant of "Where's your famous atmosphere?" We did get four or five songs out of the Scousers once Liverpool had gone in front and began imposing themselves on the game.
Scriven made some superb saves. A Hawks attack, finding three of our men in the box, gave us momentary hope but after two low shots had been blocked Wilkinson ballooned the ball over the bar.
As we entered the last 20 minutes Dirk Kuyt came on for Benayoun. We Hawks gave the hat-trick scorer a standing ovation. A moment later the Liverpool fans did the same for Sergeant Wilko when he was subbed.
With a few minutes to go Gerrard and Carragher entered the fray. The appearance of the latter sparked the Reds fans into their one burst of serious singing, which culminated in an impressive rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone - some of our supporters joined in with that, waving their scarves (it was a shame that a few of the Pompey fans who'd jumped on the Hawk bandwagon for today sang 'Sign on, sign on' etc., but they were largely drowned out). The Hawks fans then launched into 'We're proud of you'.
Peter Crouch tapped in a flattering fifth as the game drew to a close. The Liverpool players didn't hang around long, but the Hawks team stayed on the field to receive a prolonged round of applause from both sets of fans.
And so the long coach journey home. This leg of the trip was much quieter, but Barry, the couple opposite and I had the odd conversation, and the couple said they were well on the way to converting to being full time Hawks. Result! Ruth kept our spirits high with the odd bit of witty banter over the PA. As we pulled out of our toilet break at Cherwell Valley to begin the last hour and a half of the journey she came on the mike to announce that she and Tim had had a fantastic day and, while she'd never been a football fan, she and Tim would now be keeping an eye on the fortunes of the Hawks, and asked us to use them again on our next big trip. Several of us shouted out that they should come with us to Hayes & Yeading next week.
About half an hour from home, got a text message from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nice_guy_but, a Liverpool fan who hadn't been able to make the game and had just watched it on MOTD, praising our team.
Unforgettable.
Was sat next to a guy called Barry who I've seen at games before, and across the aisle from us were a former Pompey-supporting couple who've become fed up with the way the Premiership's gone; they'd started coming to see the Hawks this month because of the cup run but are thinking of converting full-time. We all talked about football for most of the journey up; Barry and I also had a few discussions about another mutual passion, music.
We called at Banbury services for breakfast just after 9 am and took a brief comfort stop at Stafford services around 11.30. On the way out of Stafford Tim, our other driver, gave us a tune on the harmonica. (Ruth, not he, was at the wheel at the time!)
An hour later we were entering Liverpool. Lots of people were struck by the run-down houses on the left-hand side, some of which were boarded up, some had bits of their roofs missing - more than one said "And they say Leigh Park is bad!" - contrasting with the impressive new ones on the right-hand side of the road. (A few guys commented on the high walls surrounding these estates.)
Reaching Liverpool 4, we passed Everton's ground and drove all the way round Stanley Park to our parking spot. Ruth, one of our drivers and our 'guide' for the day, told us to all be back on the coach for 5.30, warned us that anyone not on the coach by the time the police moved us on would get left behind, and signed off "Enjoy your day!"
We walked across Stanley Park and down a little alley to arrive outside Anfield. I'd messaged my old pal Denise, a Liverpool season ticket holder, via Facebook, Myspace and e-mail to let her know I was coming, including my mobile number, but sadly she hadn't got in touch. I stopped to see the Shankly Gates and paid my respects at the Hillsborough Memorial, laying down a Hawks scarf at its foot. I noticed several of the Scousers touched the memorial on the way past, sometimes apparently on a particular spot - maybe on the name of a loved one? I found myself almost blinking back tears.
Walked around the ground to join the lengthy queue for the Liverpool FC Store. Having purchased my souvenir scarf, I headed for a nearby pub, which was crammed with Hawks and Liverpool fans all happily drinking together. Having negotiated the crush at the bar to get a vodka and Red Bull, I joined a group of Hawks on a little bench - I don't think any of them actually knew me but they were friendly enough.
Called at the 'Red Griller' on a street corner opposite the ground for a very tasty quarter pounder with onions before making my way round to the away turnstiles.
I was in the corner block of seats. Almost bang in front of me were Rick Jackson and a lady colleague from Ocean FM. When the lady turned round and I said hello to her (I hadn't yet seen her big Ocean FM microphone) she asked "Are you one of our breakfast winners?" "No, I'm just an ordinary fan," I replied. She smiled.
Most of my block was happy to sit and watch the match, standing only for exciting moments like corners; there was just one bloke who kept on standing up all the time. Unfortunately, he was almost bang in front of me. I felt like tapping him on the shoulder and saying "Excuse me, mate, you don't make a good window."
Richard Pacquette put Hawks in front in the fourth minute. Total delirium. I was obviously pleased we were in the lead, but kept my feet on the ground the whole time, knowing that Liverpool had three big guns on the bench - Gerrard, Carragher and Kuyt - to wheel out at any time. That didn't stop me joining in the singing of 'Que sera sera, whatever will be will be, we're going to Wem-ber-ley'. On 22 minutes Liverpool equalised with a beautiful 20-yard lob from Babel and I was one of many Hawks fans clapping.
Then around the half-hour mark, a Hawks corner went to the head of Alfie Potter. At first we thought he'd nodded wide. It was only when Alfie started wheeling away from the goal in celebration that we realised the ball was in the back of the net. Mass celebration in the away end once more, and more choruses of 'Que sera sera' as well as serenading Rafa Benitez with 'You're getting sacked in the morning'. I remained cautious, but was now allowing myself the thought of a possible replay.
Jay Smith headed a shot off the line. Just before the break Benayoun equalised, but going in at half-time drawing was perfectly good enough for me.
I expected Liverpool's big guns to be brought on for the second half, but the Reds' 11 that started came back out. As it was, the reinforcements weren't needed, as Liverpool's class told and Benayoun scored with a rebound off the crossbar. I knew then that the chance had gone. Not long after that Benayoun made it 4-2 from close range. Game over.
We Hawks fans kept up our singing the whole time regardless. We'd had hardly any noise from the Liverpool fans in the first half, prompting one guy to try and start a chant of "Where's your famous atmosphere?" We did get four or five songs out of the Scousers once Liverpool had gone in front and began imposing themselves on the game.
Scriven made some superb saves. A Hawks attack, finding three of our men in the box, gave us momentary hope but after two low shots had been blocked Wilkinson ballooned the ball over the bar.
As we entered the last 20 minutes Dirk Kuyt came on for Benayoun. We Hawks gave the hat-trick scorer a standing ovation. A moment later the Liverpool fans did the same for Sergeant Wilko when he was subbed.
With a few minutes to go Gerrard and Carragher entered the fray. The appearance of the latter sparked the Reds fans into their one burst of serious singing, which culminated in an impressive rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone - some of our supporters joined in with that, waving their scarves (it was a shame that a few of the Pompey fans who'd jumped on the Hawk bandwagon for today sang 'Sign on, sign on' etc., but they were largely drowned out). The Hawks fans then launched into 'We're proud of you'.
Peter Crouch tapped in a flattering fifth as the game drew to a close. The Liverpool players didn't hang around long, but the Hawks team stayed on the field to receive a prolonged round of applause from both sets of fans.
And so the long coach journey home. This leg of the trip was much quieter, but Barry, the couple opposite and I had the odd conversation, and the couple said they were well on the way to converting to being full time Hawks. Result! Ruth kept our spirits high with the odd bit of witty banter over the PA. As we pulled out of our toilet break at Cherwell Valley to begin the last hour and a half of the journey she came on the mike to announce that she and Tim had had a fantastic day and, while she'd never been a football fan, she and Tim would now be keeping an eye on the fortunes of the Hawks, and asked us to use them again on our next big trip. Several of us shouted out that they should come with us to Hayes & Yeading next week.
About half an hour from home, got a text message from
nice_guy_but, a Liverpool fan who hadn't been able to make the game and had just watched it on MOTD, praising our team.Unforgettable.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-01-28 04:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-28 10:33 am (UTC)Apparently I did appear on telly, walking across camera shot as we all made our way towards the coaches.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-28 11:48 am (UTC)