1. Why you were looking
forward to going to the ground (or not as the case may
be):
I don't want to mention
our (Everton) 3rd round result but I will anyway - Everton 0-1 Oldham.
Still, I decided to make the trip to Hereford to watch my dad's team
Tranmere. I was looking forward to the game because I could tick off
another ground and I had never been to a League Two ground
before.
2. How easy was your
journey/finding the ground/car parking?
My dad and I decided
not to drive but to take the 'early coach' from Prenton Park. It was
an easy trip down until we got to Hereford, where as no one knew precisely
where the ground was located, we ended up driving in circles for a
while. Still, we got there for 5.30 which I was chuffed about. Coach
parking was near the ground but after the game, the coach was forced into
a small car park which was very hard to get out
of.
3. What you did before the
game pub/chippy.... home fans friendly?
Before the game, we
found a Wetherspoons pub on the main road, (unfortunately I can't remember
the name) but it was surprisingly very quiet and the people serving were
very friendly, they told us how to get to the ground after a bite to
eat. As we poorly measured our time, we were 10 minutes late to the
game, so we didn't notice any home fans.
4. What you thought on
seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the
ground?
The ground looked poor from the outside to be
perfectly honest, particularly the away end. I know we were 10 minutes
late but I couldn't find any programme sellers. My first impressions
weren't very positive. As we were late, we were only allowed to get in
through the late gate which was very narrow. When we got into the ground,
there was a two tiered stand, the upper with seating, the lower without.
We sat in the upper tier. The seats were high up, I got on easily but a
kid behind us had to jump up to get onto his seat. I have been to some bad
grounds but this tops it off, supporting pillars every 5 or 10 seats,
dreadful views, it was just impossible to watch a football match in a
stand like that. We went to stand on the terrace at half-time to see if
the lower-tier was any better, but no, this was even worse, there was a
very low roof which blocked your view and chunky supporting pillars. So we
were left with no choice but to go back up. The Blackfairs end looked a
lot better, it seemed you could get a good view of both goals and had the
freedom to jump or move about the stand as there was a lot of space
between the advertising boards and the terraces.
5. Comment on the game
itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, toilets etc..
The game
was flat but dominated by Tranmere. But as usual, my dad goes the toilet,
and Hereford score! 1-0 it finished. There was good banter between
the two fans and a good atmosphere. The stewards were very helpful and
apologised to us because of how poor the facilities were, they had
run out of food when I went, plus the toilets... well the less
said about them, then the better.
6. Comment on getting away
from the ground after the game:
It was an easy trip back
once we were out of the car park but I was surprised with the behavior of
some of the home fans. They seemed friendly in the ground but started
going a bit wild afterwards, for example, running out in front of the
coach with a Hereford flag. Still, that's football fans for you.
7. Summary of overall
thoughts of the day out:
An awful stadium, probably the worst
I've ever been to, desperately in need of a makeover. Easy to get to,
helpful stewards but some poor behaviour by some of the home fans
after the match.
