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

Going to a ground of such size was a rareity for us, and in that sense, I could hardly wait. I was aware of how modern the Stadium was and greatly anticipated the visit as a result. In terms of the occasion itself, the fact that we had an opportunity to reach the 5th round for the second year running (having been narrowly defeated by Manchester United at Old Trafford the year before) was very exciting. I could not wait.

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

Being on an away supporters coach, I wasn’t actually involved in terms of the finding of the ground or car parking as would have been suitably arranged beforehand. We did, however embark on a far more scenic route than had been anticipated owing to a collision on the motorway. This meant our journey was even longer than the 4 hours or so that we had expected. However, this did not dampen the lively mood of the 40 or so supporters on the coach and we reached the stadium feeling as though time had passed rather quickly. We parked in the extremely large stadium car park located within seconds of the ground which would have meant no fans would have found any trouble with finding a spot to park.

3. What you did before the game pub/chippy.... home fans friendly?

With an hour or so to spare, we made our way over to the social club that was happy to accept away fans. This one only a few minutes away from the stadium. Although rather cramped there was a friendly atmosphere and the drinks were reasonably priced. There was also a full sized snooker table available for use. The home fans were extremely friendly and one even offered me his programme as well as his compliments on Crawley’s performance on getting this far in the cup.

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

The stadiums' exterior was matched by the impressive nature of the interior. Both were extremely modern and interesting to look at. Even for a Championship side there was a mutual agreement amongst the away fans that the stadium was a real spectacle within itself. Even the way ‘Hull’ was written out across the South stand with its vivid orange colour and slanted font did well to impress. The away end was fantastic in terms of view, leg room, and comfortable nature of seat. Before the match begun, the large electronic scoreboard showed live coverage of the remaining minutes of the tie between Liverpool and Manchester United, though our positioning did not provide us with the greatest view.

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

Although not fully concentrated on taking in my surroundings due to the tense nature of the affair, the stewards seemed to be as friendly as you would expect and were happy to participate in the friendly natured banter that the Crawley fans were giving. The home fans were notably quiet, despite them not turning up in quite the numbers they would do on a weekend league tie. In terms of the match itself, I was positively overwhelmed following a game in which we matched the Championship side all the way and came away with a fully deserved 0-1 victory, well missed Matt Tubbs providing the winner. The catering facilities were fine with the food priced at a reasonable level. All was also well in the toilet facility department.

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

We were back on the coach within minutes of the final whistle though there was some congestion when it came to navigating through the streets of Hull and emerging back out onto the motorway. A police escort ensured that there was no trouble on the way out, though it seemed unlikely that we would have encountered any if the escort had not been provided. However, it was a welcomed gesture by the local police.

7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:

In summary, the stadium itself would probably have been enough to make the trip worthwhile. The accessibility of the stadium and the fact that it was well sign posted, in addition to the large car parking availability meant that the arrival was easy in a practical sense. The good prices and friendly locals just added to what made a great all round away experience.