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1. 1. Why you were looking
forward to going to the ground (or not as the case may be):
It was our much anticipated first visit to the b2net stadium, with
the added spice of the game being something of a top of the table clash
and a local derby to boot. Plus the game was a sell out and was televised
live on TV.
2. How easy was your journey/finding the
ground/car parking?
I travelled by train from
Rotherham to Sheffield and then onto Chesterfield. A very simple
and problem free journey which took 30 minutes in total. The ground is a
fair distance from the train station though, we opted to get taxis which
cost around £8.50.
3. What you did before the game
pub/chippy.... home fans friendly?
We took in several
pubs in the town centre, starting at The Rutland, moving on to Yates's,
then The Snooker Hall, and onto Chandlers, then onto the Red Lion near to
the ground. We did get turned away from one or two pubs on the basis that
we were away supporters. We were cautious of trouble never being far away
as this was a local derby, but we experienced no bother despite making a
good noise wherever we went. I didn't see much of a police presence around
the town which was surprising considering the magnitude of the game and
the rivalry.
4. What you thought on seeing the ground,
first impressions of away end then other sides of the ground?
The b2net, while far superior to the old Saltergate, is
basically a uniform, box standard lower league stadium, almost a replica
of so many other new grounds such as Shrewsbury, Colchester, Morecambe
etc, however, it stands out from normality with its arched roofs on either
side of the pitch. Its neat and tidy as you'd expect for a new build, but
everything was simply 'adequate', with no frills. The facilities
are okay for League Two or League One, the view from the away
end is good. The visitors stand is quite steep and was full on this
occasion, meaning some great noise was generated.
5.
Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, toilets etc..
Urgh! from my perspective, the less said about the game
the better! it ended in an embarrassing 5-nil defeat, Chesterfield
looked worthy of their league position at the top while Rotherham looked
more like a team struggling at the bottom. I found the pies to
be poor and at £3, quite a rip-off too! Not recomended! The
atmosphere was great though, the stewarding was relaxed if not a little
disorganised, but this was the first time they've had to deal with 2,300
boisterous away fans so they can be forgiven! There were some ugly scenes
towards the end of the game but order was quickly restored as baton
wielding police officers took control.
6. Comment on
getting away from the ground after the game:
A complete
nightmare! Trouble erupted right outside the ground as home and away fans
clashed, the police and stewards seemed to be blaming each other for this
happening as the exits were supposed to be kept closed for 10 minutes to
allow home fans to disperse, but this didn't happen which caused some ugly
scenes in the carparks around the stadium and I have to say the
police were not very quick to act. This was worrying, as we now had to
walk the mile and half back to the train station without a police escort
and through crowds of rival fans, we kept our heads down and mouths shut
and experienced no trouble ourselves.
7. Summary of overall
thoughts of the day out:
Overall I really enjoyed
the short trip to Chesterfield, the only thing I didn't enjoy was the
football! |
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