Broadwood
Stadium
Crawley Town v Stoke City
FA Cup 5th Round
Sunday, February 19th, 2012, 12 Noon
By Philip
Green
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I had the pleasure of
going to the Broadfield Stadium on 19th February
2012, to see Stoke City versus Crawley Town in
the FA Cup 5th Round. My motivations for going
were a) I have family connections with Crawley,
so wanted to go back and b) I hadn't seen Stoke
from a terrace in 11 years, so had this romantic
notion of it being a fun way of spending an
afternoon.
I had an easy drive
around the M25 from my home in Hertfordshire,
arriving in Crawley for the midday(!)
kickoff at 10.30am. After popping into Pease
Pottage Services, I proceeded to the ground. I
was glad I had remembered the clear instructions
on the Football Ground Guide as I ignored
the turning for Broadfield and went along
the A23 instead - the signpost for the stadium
was only visible after I had left the
roundabout! About half a mile off the
motorway, I found a sign for free matchday
parking. This was in the Broadfield Business
Park, and seeing as it was adjacent to the
ground, it was an offer too good to miss. There
was ample, off-road parking for those arriving
early, and this was easy to get out from at the
end of the day. Most other cars seemed to be
parked on the wide verges, although this
resulted in plenty of mud everywhere!
As I knew there was a
pretty big Stoke following for the match, I
decided to enter the stadium an hour before
kick-off as I wanted to secure a place at the
front of the terrace. Entering the ground at
this stage was easy - there were no queues and
security was pretty light touch. The queues at
the small foodstall were also minimal. The staff
behind the counter were really friendly, and
dealt pleasantly with someone who kept sending
his pies back because they weren't warm enough!.
Pricing of drinks and pies was definitely not
Premier League; I thought it looked pretty
reasonable.
I was stood on the side
of the pitch in what I thought was an excellent
position. Shortly before the game, however, a
senior steward moved us all off the walkway
(clearly visible in the photos of the ground)
"as we had to keep a thoroughfare." I can
understand this, but it would have been nice to
have been told it when I first settled there.
During the game, some other Stoke fans were
threatened with ejection if they didn't get back
behind the barrier.
As the ground began to
fill up, there was some pretty good banter
between the two sets of fans, although
(inevitably) the distance between the two bodies
of supporters and relative lack of
numbers was too great to make this quite as
exciting as I would have hoped. I am sure that
the proposed full-size East Stand will improve
the atmosphere for big games.
The match itself had
banana-skin written all over it from a Potters'
perspective, and the home team put our goal
under constant siege - curiously, Stoke elected
to choose to defend the away end in the second
half. Once Delap had been controversially sent
off in the 16th minute, Stoke were galvanised
and went on to win pretty comfortably. I don't
think the ref, Mike Oliver, will be on either
manager's Christmas card list, as he missed some
absolute howlers from either team as the game
went on (including a last-minute goal-line
clearance with an elbow from a Stoke defender!).
The Crawley fans were very appreciative of their
team's efforts at the end of the game and there
were still plenty of fans left in the ground
when the last players had left the pitch. The
home fans mingled well with the Potters as we
all left the game and this was something we
don't tend to get in the Premiership!
Getting away from the
ground was a doddle - a five-minute walk back to
the car and then back on the open road in
another five minutes. I had a very easy drive
back to Potters Bar, this time continuing around
the M25 anti-clockwise, so I have done the whole
motorway in one day!
Overall, it was a
great day out. It was good to get so close to
the action, and if the stadium can cope with a
capacity crowd so easily, it should be very
straightforward on days with fewer spectators. I
imagine it will be a better atmosphere
altogether when the East Stand is completed.
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Are you an away or general football fan
who has visited Broadwood Stadium recently?
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the ground and general day out?