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Goodison Park Everton v Manchester United Saturday 20th February 2010, 12.45pm Premier League By Alistair Paine (Manchester United fan) |
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1.
Why you were looking forward to going to the ground
(or not as the case may be):
As
a Mancunian, any trip over to Merseyside
is always going to be an interesting one. I had
never been to Goodison Park, but had heard
a lot about it from friends and wanted to experience
it. Whenever United visit Everton it is always
an eventful game and three points were vital at
this stage of the season.
2. How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking? Very
easy to get to, we got the train into Lime Street
and then got on Mersey Rail to Kirkdale. When you
arrive at Kirkdale the ground is a 10 minute walk
away. As you exit the station just follow the crowd
to the stadium.
3. What you did before the game pub/chippy.... home fans friendly? Most
of our group drank in Manchester and on the train
before the game as there are not alot friendly pubs
near the ground, and especially as mancunians we
were keen just to keep our heads down and get into
the stadium. The fans we spoke to were friendly
enough but such is the rivalry of the two cities
that this is not always the case.
4. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the ground? The ground itself is old and needs to be revamped. The concourse is very small as were the toilets. The away end is to the side of the Park End stand. There are several tall pilars in the way and our view of the end furthest away from us was obstructed. The seats are wooden and the space between rows limited. 5. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, toilets etc.. The games itself was a disaster, as we lost 3-1. Atmosphere in the ground was great prior to kick off, when United took the lead the whole ground apart from 3,000 mancs went very quiet. Although as Everton got back into the game the vocal support from the home fans was impressive. The fans to our left were a little hostile towards us but that is to be expected as were not the most liked team in the country, the stewards were good though, one instance a lad infront of me had smuggled in a bottle of Stella, the usual practice would be just to throw him out but the stewards just took the bottle off him and let him be which I thought was a good way to deal with things. 6. Comment on getting away from the ground after the game: Getting
away from the ground was easy, although the stadium
tannoy system informed us all game that we would be
held back after the game, but when full time
came we were just let out straight away which was a
bit confusing, I think the result maybe had
something to do with that decision. We were back to
Kirkdale station in 10 minutes and on the way home
7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out: A good day out, very hostile at
times but as I have been away with United a
lot of times now you get used to the hostile
reception when we go away. Would recommend it,
but not to wear colours to and from the
ground. Will be there next year for sure.
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