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1. Why you were looking forward
to going to the ground (or not as the case may be):
I was looking forward to returning to Upton
Park, I went last year also in the play off's with my team Ipswich town
and we lost 2-0, quite fairly I have to admit. It
was simply a fantastic ground with a buzz around it and I wanted to
experience it again, hopefully this time with a better result for my team.
This was my second year of the play off's and there is a buzz of
excitement in everyone and I was up for this one
2. How easy was
your journey/finding the ground/car parking
I went with my friend
on the provided ITFC Coaches which left at about
8:45,which have always been top notch for away games, last year
this was a evening fixture and traffic was really bad, but this one was
very quick and we got there in about 1 hour and 15 minutes, only bit of
congestion was along Barking Road (main road in Newham).
We were extremely early so we got dropped off in barking
road and just wandered the streets for a
bit, you cant miss the stadium, especially the newer stand which is
fantastic
3. What you did before the game pub/chippy.... home fans
friendly?
As I said, we were there very early and we were all
extremely hungry. The West Ham area is the best place to go if you fancy chips or a
kebab, as there are loads of
outlets. We found a very small chippy, £1
for a superb bag of chips, definitely value for money!
I was wearing a lot of Ipswich gear on plus my
team as we all did and the west ham fans were very friendly and up
for a good game of football.
What you thought on seeing the ground, first
impressions of away end then other sides of the
ground.
Upton Park is a superb stadium in a very cramped area. We
sat in the lower tier of the Centenary Stand, four rows behind the goal
and they were superb seats, fantastic view. it is also a very good place
for an atmosphere, and we made sure we made plenty of that.
5.
Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, toilets
etc..
The game was a typical play off, unpredictable. The teams
game out of the tunnel and 'I'm forever blowing
bubbles' played and just sent a shiver down my
back, the hammers are great for a atmosphere. We delayed the kick off by
about 5 minutes with amount of balloons we bunched and there were still
plenty at kick off. The game as I said was great, Ipswich performance for
poor in the first half, 2-nil down in the first 15 minutes and West Ham deserved it, they
always look dangerous. We forever sang and supported are team as we knew
it wasn't over. 2-1 at half time through a Tommy Miller free kick which should never of been given,
celebrations, indeed we went mental.
Second half was very even and
yet full of referee's mistakes 2-2 through Shefki
Kuqi tap in when Jimmy
Walker and Anton Ferdinand collided. 2-2 final
score,west ham would take it right back to Portman Road. A superb day out, great atmosphere.
6.
Comment on getting away from the ground after the game
We stayed after
the game to applaud are players off after a good come back. A heavy police
guard was waiting for us outside and we were escorted to the bus's. The
only problem was ITFC fault, they said the coaches would be in number
order, we were on bus 16,went all along the road only to find it was at
the front. Another police escort out onto the main road went through
without any problems
7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day
out:
Fantastic, Premiership stadium and
fans! |
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