1. Why were you looking forward to going to the ground (or not as the case may be):

Obviously a trip to a Premiership side in the FA Cup is massive for a non league side and this was no exception for Tamworth plus having viewed the pictures on this guide Goodison Park looks an impressive stadium.

2.  How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking:

My journey from Ipswich wasn’t that difficult all things considered. I caught the 05:43 from Ipswich but typically my train was delayed meaning I just about caught my train from Euston after catching the tube from Liverpool Street after a quick change at Crewe arrived at Liverpool Lime Street at 10:10. Then a bit later made our way to Liverpool Central and got the train to Kirkdale. The ground is easy enough to find using the directions on the guide from the station.

3. What you did before the game pub/chippy. Home fans friendly:

Before the game I went to the Globe Inn just opposite Lime Street station, which is well worth a beer or two with very relaxed staff making for a good atmosphere. We then headed to The Lime Kiln on Concert Square which is a typical Lloyd’s bar which was packed with Tamworth Fans. We then of the two options specified on the guide took the Kirkdale option and headed to the Thomas Frost Wetherspoons on Walton Road. The pub had a good mix of Toffee’s and Lambs fans and had a very good friendly atmosphere. All the Everton fans I came across were fantastic a real credit to their club. I would go as far to say they are the best and friendliest set of fans I have come across following Tamworth.

4. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of the away end and other sides of the ground:

The stadium when you first approach it, looks huge in between all the houses, and is a lovely stadium in my opinion. It’s a surprisingly old stadium from what I had imagined but oozes character. The Bullens Road Stand where the away fans are located is very cramp inside and in the concourses, and then there is the view although I had read about the view from the guide It is shockingly poor with supporting pillars and even the supports of the roof of the stand obscuring your view and with my tickets being in block UV2 in the upper tier of the stand. See picture below:

The rest of the ground is made up of the Main Stand opposite which is quite impressive being three tiers high, behind the far goal is the Gwladys Road which is in the similar vein as the Bullens Road an old two tier stand, the other stand is the Park Stand is a new stand to the right of the away support and unlike the rest of the stadium has no supporting pillars to obscure the view.

5. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, toilets etc..

The game was very good from a Tamworth point of view, The Lambs fought well and carved out a few chances against a side 96 places higher and certainly didn’t disgrace themselves. Jonny Heitinga scored a header after 5 minutes and Leighton Baines scored a second half penalty to give Everton a 2-0 win. Everton had chances but I think any more than 2-0 would have been a harsh score line on Tamworth.

The atmosphere was pretty much what you would expect from the Everton fans who were expecting their team to put Tamworth to the sword, but the atmosphere from the 5,000 Tamworth fans was fantastic from start to finish didn’t stop singing and made for an absolutely brilliant atmosphere. The stewards were very good and pretty much left us to get on with it very laid back and friendly. I didn’t have the opportunity to sample any food at the ground as the concourse was full of fans and would have taken an age to get anything.

6. Comment on getting away from the ground after the game:

After the game getting away was as you would expect the narrow streets around Goodison can get very busy but there is no major problems with many fans using public transport.

7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:

A fantastic day out from the stadium to the fans, everything about Everton is brilliant. I’d very much recommend a visit to Goodison Park it is old and the view is not great but the character of the stadium is fantastic. And Toffee’s fans are the best I’ve come across who are extremely friendly and welcoming before and after the match.