Damson Park Conference North Saturday 5th April 2014
Trips to Solihull in the past have followed a simple formula. Get to the ground, watch a pretty poor game in front of not many fans in which Boston have a large share of the game but concede a single goal and watch on as home keeper Jaz Singh keeps us out on his own.
Despite our 4-1 home win against the Moors earlier in the year our away record meant that no game could be considered easy. I had not seen us win away since that memorable day in November at Southport but after a good point at Altrincham in midweek, I fancied us to get something.
Some lads were coming from Boston quite early, so it would be a real day out at the footy. I boarded the 1041 train from Nottingham, having paid £15.45 for a return to Birmingham International Station, meeting Tom, Callum and Ben (who had come from Boston and Grantham). Sadly, I’d come down with ANOTHER cold just days after getting rid of one, so I was on Greggs sausage rolls and teas whilst the other lads (those who were old enough) were on the Fosters throughout the hour long leg to Birmingham New Street.
By the time we got there, we’d pretty much cleaned up the box of 10 cans (well, Ben and Tom had- I’m a total lightweight when it comes to booze and Callum is only 15). We’d also pondered which horse to back in the Grand National. I’d done my bets the night before and all of them would let me down!
At New Street, I bumped into Chuck, my house-mate from Derby Uni who came to Telford with us and we boarded the 1209 to Southampton- only we’d get off at the next stop. It was full and in amongst families and kids, there were us cracking open the last remaining cans from the box of booze, which went everywhere upon opening…
10 minutes later, we hopped off at the station and decided a taxi into Solihull would be the best bet as it was still only half 12 and there are minimal amenities north of the ground. What seemed like quite a little hop (£15 for 5 of us) later, we did arrive and headed for a pub to watch the footy.
Ben had hoped to pile in a round of Jagermeisters but they weren’t serving them this early, so I had a bottle of Bud whilst watching Leeds concede the only goal of the game at Wigan. We weren’t in there ever so long, so much so that lightweight me still hadn’t downed his bottle before we were back on the move- in a taxi towards the ground. We then had the awkwardness of explaining to the taxi driver that there IS a footy ground in Solihull, but I’ve been there twice and knew to tell the taxi driver to head for the nearby Land Rover Works.
It was probably about half past 1 when we got to the ground, and we caught the boys getting off the team coach- wishing them well for the big game. There was a social club at the back of the main stand and somewhat weirdly, I had to give the bouncer my not quite empty bottle of Budweiser, yet when I ordered another one from the bar, they were OK with that.
The weather wasn’t too bad, so we parked ourselves outside and along came some bloke who was doing some radio work. Sadly for him, he picked Ben as the bloke to ask, and he just started any random chant whenever the bloke asked him a sensible question! I’d love to see how much editing needed to be done to cut out expletives and just generally shite answers! Eventually, Tom and I did bring some sensibility to the interview and the bloke seemed generally chuffed that we’d all made the effort to get to the game and wished us well.
Boston fans gather before the game
So once the rest of the fans arrived, we were having a good sing-along outside the bar, though the bouncers (and yes, they were bouncers and not football stewards- a subtle, but important difference) were eyeing up Ben. At around 2:40, most of the group went in, Chuck, Adam Hallgarth and I waited a bit but as we were about to go in, we were searched- they’d already found and confiscated a smoke bomb from one of the others and took no chances with us, even though we were totally innocent, as we had been with that group.
Once in, I soon made my way to the covered terrace behind one goal where shortly before the teams emerged, a big yellow smokebomb was left off. Predictably, the stewards/bouncers were all over us and I genuinely thought they’d throw most of us out. What they actually did was to pick on the youngest of our fans in that area and basically bully them into telling them who it was.
BUFC fans before the trouble began
After the smokebomb had been let off
The next time they came back, they wanted Tom Graves, which was totally false but as it turned out, Ben went to the stewards to say he was Tom Graves (even though he didn’t actually set it off either). The situation also wasn’t helped by the stewards kicking the smokebomb, thus setting it off further.
It was at this stage too my illness and too much gassy lager was taking its toll on my body- even singing and chanting was becoming an effort and it seemed like tissue was permanently in my hand wiping my nose.
There was a pretty good atmosphere under the roof. In a crowd of 459 (about 150 Boston), we were treated to a very tiht game early on. We had Jamie McGhee up top even though we had a natural striker (SWD) on the bench. McGhee actually went the closest early on, with his 20 yard free kick forcing Singh into a ood save to his left, but after that little was created by either side apart from a couple of comfortably saved long range efforts by the hosts.
Scott Garner had a header fly wide for us but the big moment came on 37 minutes, as Miller was sent through after neat play on the edge of the box and Alex Dean bundled him over. Miller got up and smashed it high to Singh’s right to send the Boston fans into raptures.
Ricky Miller about to smash home the first of his 2 penalties
Orgasmic jubilation as Boston go 1 up
That spurred the hosts on. Milnes did brilliantly to deny hotshot Omar Bogle before Piergianni, who had gotten away with a foul on Michael Taylor in the box minutes earlier, gave away a penalty in what seemed to be very soft circumstances. Fortunately, Bogle hit the outside of the post with his spot kick.
Lewis King then had to make a good reaction save from Rob Elvins on the stroke of half time as the game had opened up by this stage, but it was 45 minutes ticked off.
Into the second half and we had moved to the uncovered end behind the other goal. Jamie McGhee almost made Singh look like a fool as his cross was almost parried into the net but the keeper reacted to save his blushes. Solihull bean to apply a bit of pressure and on 63 minutes, they were given a free kick for handball, even though Jay Dowie could do nothing about the fiercely driven shot from point blank range.
Bogle stepped up and smashed the free kick- it cannoned off Rene Steer and with King committed to his right, the ball went in the other direction and into the net to make it 1-1. It was a real bitter pill to concede like that, especially given the somewhat harsh nature of the free kick, but that spurred us on as we pressed forwards.
Miller went through and tried to round Singh but the keeper did just enough to stop him- Miller ought to have just dinked it over the onrushing keeper there and also Scott Garner couldn’t get on the end of a corner at the back post with the goal at his mercy but with 15 minutes to go, Weir-Daley was put through and although Singh just beat him to it, the loose ball fell to Miller, who tried to go round the keeper, but was upended and the ref had no hesitation but to award the 3rd penalty of the game.
Miller is mobbed by players and fans after scoring his 2nd penalty
Miller got up again and his his penalty down the middle. It hit the bar and I briefly thought “shit”, but it came down in the bottom of the net and a few of us jumped the fence to join the players in celebration on the turf… probably not the wisest thing to do as the bouncers came after us and ended up slinging 3 more out for what was essentially just celebrating a goal with the team- there was no malice in anyone invading the pitch but the rest of the game was played out nervously as Solihull pressed and we had to clear a mass scramble in our 6 yard box on 90 minutes to get away, but after what seemed an age of added time (5 minutes), the ref blew up and we could celebrate a vital 3 points.
The result killed their hopes of a top 5 finish and with Hednesford and Guiseley both winning, it had to be followed by us. There was real belief among the fans as we chanted “GREENE ARMY!” as the players went down the tunnel. It is 5 unbeaten now, 3 aways unbeaten- that late show at Barrow could be the turning point.
Boston fans cheer the team off at the end
Game over, how to get back?
Solihull has a station 2.5 miles from the ground, but the line it uses only goes to Birmingham Moor Street, meaning a change to New Street is needed. The other option is Birmingham International, about the same distance, albeit north and along a busy road by the airport. With a bus having just passed us, we were left to walk it and upon joining the main road, the 5 of us then made the error of crossing the road- within metres, the concrete path disappeared and we had to navigate a muddy, bumpy ‘path’ on the side of the road. Now my shoes are knackered, so it made no bones to me but for some, the idea of ruining a £100 pair of shoes was less appealing and I probably wasn’t the most popular person at that point. After what seemed a age, we got to the airport, but having got lost there last year, I thought I’d obey the signs this time.
Sadly, the signs took us a long way round and we only arrived at the terminal building at 6pm (1 hour after we left Damson Park). We could’ve got on the 6:05, but with the others having the luxury of being able to wait because at Nottingham, there is no 7:50 train back to Boston (6:50 is too soon and 8:50 really is too late). So we had a sit down, met a couple of good lads from Fulham who’d seen their team win 2-1 at Villa. I made the error of ordering food from the station- £4.25 for a cuppa, a KitKat and a bag of crisps is robbery, but by 6:30, we were ready to hop on the train to New Street. Worst of all, the bloke serving me wished us well in the Championship- he’d wrongly assumed I was a Wolves fan! An increasingly common problem
This was also packed, so it was doorway standing, where we had a singsong on our own before arriving into New Street.
Once there, Chuck left us as his Walsall train was about to go and we made our way to Platform 10 for the 1919 train back to Nottingham. Apart from the fact by this stage I was dying and just desperate to get back and into bed, the journey was pretty uneventful until we hit Derby.
There, I saw a couple of blokes with a red scarf waiting on the opposite platform… I’d figured out they were Tamworth fans (they lost 5-0 at Gateshead- conceding 4 goals in the last 15 mins and 3 after the 88th minute). It was at this point Callum decided to show them who we supported, which didn’t go down well. Trying to keep a low profile, I didn’t stare at the bloke much but Tom, Ben and Callum did all the talking for me. Funnily, their train arrived and the blokes went straight for the window seats alongside us to continue the ‘debate’!
Shortly after, we rolled out of Derby and on towards Nottingham, we may well bump into those fans next year as they look certain to go down now. By 8:30, we’d touched down in Nottingham and I’d wished the boys well on their return (Tom would get to Grantham around 9:30, but Ben & Callum would have to get a rail replacement bus to Boston- due in at 11pm!).
I was hope by 9 and pretty much crashed- totally shattered and full of cold, but it wasn’t all bad- a £120 8-fold acca came in and we’d got 3 points. It could be worse.
Game Rating- 7/10- Opened up after the 1st penalty, few clear cut chances but both sides gave it a go.
BUFC performance- 8/10- Really good, battling display. Defended well when we had to, carried a threat going forward, even though few clear chances were created. Huge 3 points for us.
Atmosphere- 8/10- They were pretty muted for large parts and whilst we were slightly more subdued 2nd half without the roof, we gave it a decent go.
Ground- 5/10 1 end is alright, there’s a small main stand but nothing on 2 of the 4 sides. Middle of nowhere too, not ideal
Prices- 7/10- £5 entry was great, £2.50 each for a programme and a burger was a touch excessive, given that neither were mega.
Overall- 8/10. Would be 9 but for me feeling lousy all day. Their bouncers seemed intent on kicking up a fuss every time we broke into song- nightclub duties are different to policing a footy game. Good 3 points, good to catch up with the lads again- need to back it up with points at Colwyn Bay on Tuesday.
Solihull (4-4-2): Jasbir Singh; Alex Dean, Rob Elvins, Exodus Geohaghon, Jordan Gough; Junior English, Jay Denny (Gary Birch 58), Richard Taundry, Darryl Knights; Omar Bogle, Michael Taylor (Michael Blackwood 82). Subs (not used): Dior Angus, Reece Fleet, Michael Nottingham.
Boston (4-1-3-2): Lewis King; Zak Mills, Scott Garner, Carl Piergianni, Rene Steer; Jay Dowie; Ben Milnes, Junior Konadu (Spencer Weir-Daley 69), Liam Agnew (Indy Aujla 82); Jamie McGhee (Stefan Galinski 74), Ricky Miller. Subs (not used): Ian Ross, Andy Hewitt (gk).
Referee: Marvyn Amphlett
Attendance: 459 (approx. 150 Boston)
Next up- Colwyn Bay on Tuesday night… lovely!
Under The Floodlights 