Molineux
- Wolverhampton Wanderers
Vs Chelsea, Premier League
Monday January 2nd 2012, 3pm
By Harry
Williamson
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1.
Why you were looking forward to going to the
ground?
This
would be my first away game north of the London
area. With Wolverhampton being easy to get to by
train and reasonably priced match tickets it was
an easy choice to make to go to this one. I had
heard that the Wolves fans could be shall we say
'not very welcoming' but I did not encounter any
problems on my visit.
With Chelsea losing 1-3 at home to Aston Villa just 48 hours earlier, I was not ruling out a repeat of last year's scoreline when Wolves beat us 1-0 at Molineux. 2. How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking? It was a simple trip up
from London Euston to Wolverhampton followed by
a little walk along a ring road to the ground.
From the train station you can make out the new
large cantilever stand which is currently
under construction as part of a large scale
redevelopment of Molineux. As you walk along the
ring road the ground becomes easily visible.
3. What you did before the game pub/chippy.... home fans friendly? I decided to go straight
to the ground with only 30 minutes to spare
before kick off. I had no interaction with the
home fans although they seemed nice enough.
There is an ASDA store located behind the new
stand.
4. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the ground? The first thing you
notice is the new single large stand, as it is
taller than all of the others. This is currently
under construction with only the bottom of the
two tiers open but it looks like it will be very
smart once completed. The away fans were located
in the Steve Bull stand and were given the whole
of the lower tier. Upon entering the ground, I
noticed that the concourse is quite dark and
dingy and unusually it seems to have a bit of a
slope to it. The toilet and refreshment areas
are adequate though.
Inside the seating area
there is ample leg room although the stand
curves away from the pitch slightly, meaning
that some seats seem to have been crammed in
slightly. I was in row M which was the back row
because the last 2 were netted off. At first I
was slightly concerned that there were Wolves
fans directly above us but there were no
problems and both sets of
fans engaged in some friendly banter.
Behind the seats in the lower tier are some
rather small looking executive boxes. All of the
stands are fairly similar in design (apart from
the new one of course) so Molineux has quite a
smart look to it although it will look even
better once it has been redeveloped.
5. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, facilities etc.. The first half was
scrappy with several bookings in a spicy affair
which helped to create a terrific atmosphere.
Lampard was lucky not to see red for a late
tackle early on and both sides had good chances
in the first half. In the second half Chelsea
upped their game and were rewarded when Ramires
turned and fired into the top corner. However,
Wolves came back and Stephen Ward scored from
close range to equalise for the home side after
Jose Bosingwa's defensive frailties were
highlighted once again. Within 7 minutes though,
Chelsea regained the lead. Frank Lampard tucked
home Ashley Cole's cross from 6 yards on 88
minutes. Chelsea held on and Wolves were
unfortunate not to snatch a point when Petr Cech
pulled off a super save in the second minute of
added time.
The stewards were very
relaxed and friendly. The only action they had
to take was to kindly ask a middle aged man to
stop standing on a seat which was fair enough.
6. Comment on getting away from the ground after the game: It was straight out the
ground upon the final whistle with a brisk walk
back to the train station and onto the train
back to Euston in no time.
7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out: Very enjoyable day out
and good value for money. I had no problems with
the home supporters despite hearing bad things.
A great away day and a great football match. I
will certainly be returning next year if
possible.
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