FFS. This was a bit of a sickener in the end. Having made the trip up on a cold, wet day we looked to be heading for a fully deserved point. Until disaster struck late on.
I had planned to go to Guiseley two weeks ago before bad weather and a postponement gubbed me there. Not being able to make the trip for the home tie against Billericay, meant I was an absolute shoo-in to go to Bradford. I needed another hit.
The journey from King Cross took just over three hours, including the change at Leeds. Train companies continue to make the prices an absolute joke. I’m paying though, so it might be time to stop moaning. The damage was in the 80s, which I supposed compared to Darlo is slim pickings.
Uber is fully functional in Bradford and the cabbie was a top bloke. I don’t think he could quite believe what was going on though. He dropped me at Bradford City to start off with, even though I had put Bradford Park Avenue in on the Uber app. In fairness, they were also at home, against Scunthorpe. As Tinie Tempah said ‘I’ve never been to Scunthorpe’.
The traffic in Bradford was appaling as people made a late dash for Xmas shopping. I think a fifteen-minute ride turned into about fifty-five. I asked him to drop me at the nearest pub to the ground which he did. It was aptly named The Northerner, drinks were as cheap as usual. It was 20 minutes before kick-off so all good. Their home ground is at the Horsfall Athletics Stadium, a five-minute walk from the pub.
There was no segregation at the Stadium and noticeably no trouble, in fact, there was some decent banter. See we ain’t that bad are we now? Sniff that Darlo. I thought the home hospitality was superb all in all. They let us into the Clubhouse at half-time after a bit of deliberation. There was probably only 50-75 away fans on the day. Unusual by our standards. It was the Saturday before Christmas though.
Now, after all my antics on the last few trips I told myself that I had to behave, not get too pissed, you know that sort of thing. I knew there was a train strike in the evening and if I missed the 18.31 from Bradford Interchange, I was stuck there for the night again. Unfortunately but also very, fortunately, Bradford PA let us drink in the stands, so the sober plan fell out of the window. I just needed maximum concentration to complete the journey instead, partly relying on my inbuilt radar.
As for the match, we went toe to toe with the home side and were very unlucky to end up with nothing. It was a match of few chances but we looked comfortable. Libs almost put through his own net in the first half and they also had one chalked off for offside but they didn’t offer much apart from that. Yates will be kicking himself for the only goal of the game. He seems to be one of these keepers that is better when he hasn’t got time to think about things, you could say more instinctive. As Liburd ushered a ball back to him he went down and seemed to let it go under him, giving their striker a simple tap-in from five yards out. Incidentally, I did try and go behind the goal for the second half but the athletics track put me miles away and I was getting soaked as the rain fell, so I moved to the side with the other away fans in the end. In the first half, we were behind the (other) goal and were right on top of the action.
Roberts came off the bench and as usual, was as bright as. I thought it was a stonewall penalty with him at the end and how the ref didn’t think so I will never know. A point would have been a great result against the (now) league leaders, that goes without saying. To concede as we did and then not get the peno left us all feeling pretty hard done by.
I popped or should I say staggered into the Clubhouse and then the Club Shop after. The Shop was class, I even picked up a 1972 Hereford programme in there for a few quid. I wish teams like this all the best. A proper old skool club with a history and a friendly fan base, including the staff.
All that remained was for me to get a cab (I can barely remember that) and get my ass to the station on time and it was mission complete. Some decent banter followed on the train back home as everyone on there had consumed a skinful. I almost felt underprepared but the main thing was there were no hiccups/missed stops and I got home in one piece. Bonus.
A trip to Kiddy looks on the cards now for New Year’s Day, after going to the home games against Kiddy and Chester. It might be a quieter January after that for me sadly. Certainly on the away front.
All that remains is for me to wish you all a Happy New Year and I hope that you had a top Xmas.
We go again.
Al Davies
The Gubbage and the Glory! 