As much as we knocked Colchester for Layer Road’s size and ramshackle facilities, it always provided a decent day out for Southend fans particularly as we rarely lost. Fairly close to the town centre and with plenty of atmosphere on derby day, it was a trip I had always looked forward to. Here was a chance to see how their sparkling new stadium would stand up to one of the fiercest derbies in the lower leagues.

Living in Chelmsford, almost equidistant between the two towns, it would normally have only taken me 20 minutes to get to Colchester by train. However, trying to get anywhere in this country by train at weekends is ill-advised, and engineering works meant a replacement bus which took over an hour.

About ten of us, most on another rail replacement bus from Billericay, met up in The Marquis pub on North Hill, a ten minute walk in the opposite direction to the stadium from Colchester North station. The alternative, The Norfolk, which is close to the station, was not open when we arrived – arriving later than 11am on derby day is unacceptable behaviour. None of us were wearing colours and neither were many others in the pub although it was clear from overheard conversations that the majority were home supporters.

Problems began when we tried to leave the pub. Colchester’s average crowd is about 4,500 but this game saw a sold out away end plus many more visiting fans “undercover” in the home end. All taxi companies were fully booked so we attempted to get back to the station to get the free bus only to find a 300m queue snaking round the corner. Shaking our head at how unprepared they were for what turned out to be the biggest crowd they had for several years, we began the 2.5 mile walk which took about 40 minutes and was fairly straightforward despite the moans of one of our party who had a bad knee.

The ground looked smart from the outside and in, but as expected, lacked the individuality and character that older grounds, including Layer Road, possess. The view from the away end was excellent. The atmosphere was good, plenty of needle between the players and fans helped create a real buzz with Southend fans exchanging pleasantries with the “new Barside” to our right. I didn’t sample the food and the half time queues for beers were ridiculous.

Fortunately, we won the first Essex derby at the stadium by a goal to nil courtesy of Franck Moussa’s first half strike. In a season where neither side seriously bothered the top six, the main priority is that you win the derby and the scenes at the end were satisfying to say the least.

Getting away, the queues for the buses were again stupidly long. We walked back to the station, and were again at the mercy of Network Rail’s contingency plans. It had been a decent away day but would have been made better if the home club had been more prepared. However, for the majority of visiting fans, with smaller numbers, this will not be a problem.