Sam Winnall wheels away in celebration after putting the Iron 1-0 to the good at Morecambe.
I awoke on Good Friday at the time of 8am and after a party the night before where I didn’t get in until 2am I was understandably relatively tired. A good shower later and a beautiful fried breakfast I made my way to the Pizza Hut next to Scunthorpe’s ground. Today was the last away day of the season for me, Morecambe away. A game which is only about 3 hours away on coach and the chance to see the Iron possibly get promoted along with another 1,200 Iron fans. The makings of a good day surely?
The coach arrived at 9:15 and inevitably someone was late which delayed the time we set off until 9:25. Cue boring coach journey until 11am. I despise travelling to away games on coach if they’re over 1 hour and a half away. Far too boring. Anyway, 11am came and we arrived at some service station for a toilet break and food. Quick 15 mins elapsed and we’re back on the coach. Another 30 mins passed and we were about 1 hour away from Morecambe, speeding down the M6 when we hit traffic. Driver decided to turn off and go down the A6, right through Chorley. This sped the process up until we hit Preston. Jesus Christ, we travelled down 1 street, for about 1 hour until 1pm when the bus driver let us all off at a pub for a pint. 30 mins later and back on the coach again. Cue another hour on the coach until we finally reached Morecambe’s ground at 2:30pm. A mere 5 hours and 5 mins after we set off. Nice going.
Morecambe’s ground is horrid. One nice stand which is obviously the main stand and 3 terraced stands, one which runs parallel to the main stand on the touchline which doesn’t have a roof on it. Lovely new build ground for a L2 team. Morecambe’s pie and a pint is also a rip off. £6.50 for pie and a pint of Strongbow. Also managed to feel like a knob as for the first time ever at an away ground I got asked for ID. Thankfully I managed to convince them I was 18, although I look about 14. Pie and pint demolished, toilet break done and we entered the terrace which would be housing around 1,000 Iron fans with the other 200 situated to my left in part of the main stand which was seated. Kick off got closer and the atmosphere amongst the fans got more and more party like as we felt like we had a great chance of getting promoted at the first time of asking here. Kick off came and went and the atmosphere was insane, half the stand bouncing in support of the Iron. The scenes that celebrated Sam Winnall’s 23rd of the season, a header into the ground which evaded the Morecambe keeper and covering defender on the line, were insane! Thrown left, right and centre, hugging random fans screaming about how much we ‘fucking love Sam Winnall!’ About 10 minutes after that we were convinced we had scored again but a defender on the line just about hacked to safety with half the stand already celebrating, me included. Half time came and went and me and my mates relocated ourselves more towards where the atmosphere was coming from and for the first half hour of the second half I was immersed in the best atmosphere I have ever witnessed at a football match. A section of 200 or so fans constantly singing our hearts out for the lads and bouncing like we were on drugs. The atmosphere died down at about the 70/75 minute mark when we noticed that Morecambe were starting to demolish us. We couldn’t get out our half, time after time Sam Slocombe saved us from a goal along with the odd clearance off the line. 90 minutes elapsed and the 4th official held up his board, 6 mins added time. Load of shit considering no-one had been injured in the second half, no-one took the piss when being subbed off either. 91 minutes, Morecambe still smashing us, 92 minutes, still smashing us, getting closer, 93 minutes, still getting closer, 94 minutes, getting closer and I was about to shit myself with how tense the game had become. 95 minutes and it fianlly happened, slack defending from the striker Paddy Madden let Jack Redshaw get past him easily and to the byline where he stood up a cross for the big man Jack Sampson to nod into an empty goal. The second time in a week we had been denied by a 95+ minute goal. We have let an almighty 17 points slip from our grasp in the closing minutes of games, hold out for 10 of those points and we’d have walked the league about 3 games ago.
Back on the coach for 5pm, another massive delay as getting out of Morecambe takes forever thanks to the roads around the ground. Took us about 40/45 minutes to reach the motorway and then halfway home someone on the coach came down with food poisoning. Stopped at a service station for about an hour whilst an ambulance took him to hospital and the coach was cleaned uup before we all piled back on the coach to finally arrive in Scunthorpe at 9pm. Almost a 12 hour day, 9 hours on coach to watch Scunny blow their chance of being promoted in the dying minutes yet again. It’s the reason we love football though isn’t it? Following our club up and down the country hoping to God that we get a good result. Can’t beat it.
Thanks for reading.
Jake.
Under The Floodlights 