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The Long Way Around
Brighton & Hove Albion Women v Man Utd Women. A noon kick-off with replacement buses on the route from Portsmouth to Crawley. So I’d booked train tickets to Gatwick Airport, knowing a bus went from there to the ground.
The down side was that the train from Portsmouth to Gatwick goes all the way round via Hove, making for a long ride. And it wasn’t long before the train filled, leaving me pinned in my window seat with the other two people on my bench bunched close together. Arriving at Gatwick came as a blessed relief.
It’s always a wistful feeling passing through a bit of the terminal to get from the train station to the bus stop, passing departing and returning holidaymakers. At the bus stop, several people in open-topped vintage cars went by, some dressed up in costumes, and most of them exchanged waves with us people in the bus queue. The only ones to ignore us were a group done up as young 1920s toffs in blazers - someone should have let them know that dressing as posh people does not oblige you to act stuck-up.
As the bus rolled towards Crawley town a few more people going to the game got on - a couple in Brighton scarves, and a Manchester United fan who sat next to me. I asked him how his journey down was, and he replied “Good”…in a foreign accent. From the bus I saw a sign pointing down a side road saying ‘VCR Pitstop’. A couple of the vintage cars turned that way. Obviously a rally.
It was close to 11.30 when I arrived at the ground and there was a lengthy queue at the turnstiles for my stand. Along the side was a pizza stall and a mobile chippy, dispensing some very tempting looking chips. After six or so people and couples, it wasn’t clear whether the queue carried on; there was a group of girls at that point so I asked “Are you for the chippy?”
“Yes, sorry,” said one of the girls. There were about ten more people behind them so ‘Kate’s Fish and Chips’ would have to wait until another day. I joined the line to get into the ground.
I got in with 15 minutes until kick-off. Passed the Brighton samba band in front of the stand and got to my seat a couple of blocks in at the far end. A group of people held out a circular banner with names of Brighton & Hove Albion war fallen on, and we joined the players in standing for the Last Post and a minute of silence.
The game kicked off with a chorus of ‘Seagulls!’ going up from our stand led by the samba band. Without faltering in my support for Brighton, it was something special to see the United stars like Jayde Riviere, Ella Toone and Maya Le Tissier in the flesh. The teams were pretty evenly matched through the first half but almost on the stroke of half-time Elisabeth Terland drilled home along the ground to put the visitors in front.
It became clear at that point that there were a number of United fans in our stand. Needless to say there was no trouble, just as when several of us home fans had to walk along the length of the front of the away end to get to the tea bar there were no incidents, the travelling Reds just going on singing.
From their conversation it was clear that the man and lady behind me were also United fans. Their tracksuits said ‘Haslemere Hockey Club’ and ‘Sevenoaks Hockey Club’ respectively. United supporters from Surrey and Kent are a cliché, but these two knew their stuff when discussing United Women’s players and tactics, and they made the effort to come to the game - and no doubt they do the same whenever United Women play in London - so fair play to them. And I used to do the same for the Lady Pies when I lived in darkest Bedfordshire.
And I did meet some Mancunian United fans at, and on the way back from, the tea bar. Some had travelled down yesterday, others this morning.
The amazing Jess Park made it two for United with a chip. The evergreen Fran Kirby gave Brighton Hope rolling a through ball from Olislagers into the net, but Park teed up substitute Lisa Naalsund to restore United’s two goal cushion. There was one more twist when Kiko Seike cracked in a thunderbolt to pull one back for Brighton, but despite lively substitute Rachel McLauchlan spearheading a late rally, the Seagulls couldn’t get an equaliser.
At Gatwick Airport station, the train to Portsmouth was showing on the board as delayed, and the delay steadily grew before settling at 17 minutes. On the platform, the describer board gave the reason : urgent repairs to the track. Thankfully the train home wasn’t crowded, I got a double seat, and there were no more delays en route.
The down side was that the train from Portsmouth to Gatwick goes all the way round via Hove, making for a long ride. And it wasn’t long before the train filled, leaving me pinned in my window seat with the other two people on my bench bunched close together. Arriving at Gatwick came as a blessed relief.
It’s always a wistful feeling passing through a bit of the terminal to get from the train station to the bus stop, passing departing and returning holidaymakers. At the bus stop, several people in open-topped vintage cars went by, some dressed up in costumes, and most of them exchanged waves with us people in the bus queue. The only ones to ignore us were a group done up as young 1920s toffs in blazers - someone should have let them know that dressing as posh people does not oblige you to act stuck-up.
As the bus rolled towards Crawley town a few more people going to the game got on - a couple in Brighton scarves, and a Manchester United fan who sat next to me. I asked him how his journey down was, and he replied “Good”…in a foreign accent. From the bus I saw a sign pointing down a side road saying ‘VCR Pitstop’. A couple of the vintage cars turned that way. Obviously a rally.
It was close to 11.30 when I arrived at the ground and there was a lengthy queue at the turnstiles for my stand. Along the side was a pizza stall and a mobile chippy, dispensing some very tempting looking chips. After six or so people and couples, it wasn’t clear whether the queue carried on; there was a group of girls at that point so I asked “Are you for the chippy?”
“Yes, sorry,” said one of the girls. There were about ten more people behind them so ‘Kate’s Fish and Chips’ would have to wait until another day. I joined the line to get into the ground.
I got in with 15 minutes until kick-off. Passed the Brighton samba band in front of the stand and got to my seat a couple of blocks in at the far end. A group of people held out a circular banner with names of Brighton & Hove Albion war fallen on, and we joined the players in standing for the Last Post and a minute of silence.
The game kicked off with a chorus of ‘Seagulls!’ going up from our stand led by the samba band. Without faltering in my support for Brighton, it was something special to see the United stars like Jayde Riviere, Ella Toone and Maya Le Tissier in the flesh. The teams were pretty evenly matched through the first half but almost on the stroke of half-time Elisabeth Terland drilled home along the ground to put the visitors in front.
It became clear at that point that there were a number of United fans in our stand. Needless to say there was no trouble, just as when several of us home fans had to walk along the length of the front of the away end to get to the tea bar there were no incidents, the travelling Reds just going on singing.
From their conversation it was clear that the man and lady behind me were also United fans. Their tracksuits said ‘Haslemere Hockey Club’ and ‘Sevenoaks Hockey Club’ respectively. United supporters from Surrey and Kent are a cliché, but these two knew their stuff when discussing United Women’s players and tactics, and they made the effort to come to the game - and no doubt they do the same whenever United Women play in London - so fair play to them. And I used to do the same for the Lady Pies when I lived in darkest Bedfordshire.
And I did meet some Mancunian United fans at, and on the way back from, the tea bar. Some had travelled down yesterday, others this morning.
The amazing Jess Park made it two for United with a chip. The evergreen Fran Kirby gave Brighton Hope rolling a through ball from Olislagers into the net, but Park teed up substitute Lisa Naalsund to restore United’s two goal cushion. There was one more twist when Kiko Seike cracked in a thunderbolt to pull one back for Brighton, but despite lively substitute Rachel McLauchlan spearheading a late rally, the Seagulls couldn’t get an equaliser.
At Gatwick Airport station, the train to Portsmouth was showing on the board as delayed, and the delay steadily grew before settling at 17 minutes. On the platform, the describer board gave the reason : urgent repairs to the track. Thankfully the train home wasn’t crowded, I got a double seat, and there were no more delays en route.
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The love for Man United seems universal, both men's and women's teams. This year I am a United fan above all else. I grew tired of Spurs and the same old, same old. And you know I am a fan of the underdog, so when Spurs beat United for the Europa League title, I became more interested in Man U. I always liked watching them during the Sir Alex period, but now I am a genuine fan.
I am sorry your team lost, but the match sounded enjoyable nonetheless.
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