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Jan. 19th, 2009 11:39 pmAt 4.30 this afternoon, with my mind already on making my way over to Westleigh Park, Daniel dropped by out of the blue. It turned out he'd been working in Gosport today, so we talked for about a quarter of an hour, then we both had to be on the move.
With the weight of my bag containing my laptop, I took a taxi from Havant station to the ground. After a coke in the clubhouse and saying hello to a few familiar faces, I made my way out to the turnstiles, lifting my bag over. It wasn't long before I met Trev, who said there wasn't room in the press box so showed me up to his office, which sits above the club shop, at the head of a metal staircase. I had to rig up my PC in the little tea-making area towards the back, but was able to stand in the front doorway and watch the game, just rushing back to enter updates on my PC when needed - which turned out to be only once during play in our match.
It was worth taking all the attendant trouble to be there because this was a classic game. Hawks took an early lead through a brilliant strike by Matt Gray. On the half hour Lewes caught our defence standing still and equalised, but Hawks soon struck back with two goals in rapid succession. Rookie keeper Nathan Ashmore played a blinder.
Just after the 60 minute mark Lewes capitalised on Hawk defensive errors to score twice. 3-3. My heart sank, not just because Hawks had surrendered the lead; the last thing I fancied was sitting up in that office through half an hour of extra time. There was another twist in the tale yet, though - on 77 minutes the Lewes goalie tried to clear with Paul Booth bearing down on him and messed up his clearance, allowing Boothy to get the ball, dribble round him and roll into an open goal.
The ref played three minutes of time added on but Hawks' defence held out for the win. I had a few minutes' wait yet before the game I was covering finally ended and I was able to shut down the PC, lock up the office and ring for a taxi.
I don't think I'll be making a habit of combining Statto duty with watching Hawks, but this was one of those nights where you had to be there.
With the weight of my bag containing my laptop, I took a taxi from Havant station to the ground. After a coke in the clubhouse and saying hello to a few familiar faces, I made my way out to the turnstiles, lifting my bag over. It wasn't long before I met Trev, who said there wasn't room in the press box so showed me up to his office, which sits above the club shop, at the head of a metal staircase. I had to rig up my PC in the little tea-making area towards the back, but was able to stand in the front doorway and watch the game, just rushing back to enter updates on my PC when needed - which turned out to be only once during play in our match.
It was worth taking all the attendant trouble to be there because this was a classic game. Hawks took an early lead through a brilliant strike by Matt Gray. On the half hour Lewes caught our defence standing still and equalised, but Hawks soon struck back with two goals in rapid succession. Rookie keeper Nathan Ashmore played a blinder.
Just after the 60 minute mark Lewes capitalised on Hawk defensive errors to score twice. 3-3. My heart sank, not just because Hawks had surrendered the lead; the last thing I fancied was sitting up in that office through half an hour of extra time. There was another twist in the tale yet, though - on 77 minutes the Lewes goalie tried to clear with Paul Booth bearing down on him and messed up his clearance, allowing Boothy to get the ball, dribble round him and roll into an open goal.
The ref played three minutes of time added on but Hawks' defence held out for the win. I had a few minutes' wait yet before the game I was covering finally ended and I was able to shut down the PC, lock up the office and ring for a taxi.
I don't think I'll be making a habit of combining Statto duty with watching Hawks, but this was one of those nights where you had to be there.
