AWAY DAYS

(Kettering Here We Come)

There are some games in a season you look forward to more than others and this was one. Us in second place against them in first. It was a big one in every sense of the word, we could be 2 points 5 points or 8 points behind with 4 games in hand.

Thankfully it was the former and what a way to do it, to say we were awesome just about sums it up. You just don’t win 5-0 away at one of your main title rivals do you? We do!

It was an early start as we had planned a few ground visits on the way and we called in at Rugby Town (we couldn’t find Rugby United) but they had the wrong set of posts up as the ground is also a rugby ground, indeed, I was advised it was the place where William Webb Ellis invented Rugby in er…Rugby! We then called in at Rothwell Town and Corby Town which looked like an awful ground for football as it is another athletics stadium.

We had also called in at the battlefield at Naseby on the way. I am not a great historian in anything other than football and I am not sure what I was expecting but I can’t say I was impressed!

Arriving at Rockingham Road around 2.50 I was impressed with the number of fans who had made what was quite a long journey. I had been told the ground(number 138) wasn’t that good but I have certainly seen worse. It was £8.50 to get in and the programme was £2. I actually enjoy games when we are segregated away from home as everyone stands together and it makes for a better atmosphere. After 4 minutes the atmosphere was electric when Syd scored. I was confused why Steve Daly was being booed right from the kick off, apparently it was because he had ginger hair and if that isn’t the saddest thing you have heard I don’t know what is. You could tell he enjoyed his goal.

We proceeded to tear Kettering apart at will and went in 2-0 up and against 10 men. I was still anxious but after 2 second half minutes I relaxed as Syd’s second goal made it comfortable. Kevin Lynch’s contender for goal of the season made it 4 followed a minute later by Leady’s cool finish and we were in dreamland.

I had even been asked to turn off the flash in my camera by a steward as I think it was putting the keeper off!

What a game, what a day it just couldn’t have been any better. The fans were brilliant, the lads responded and every goal seemed to be celebrated better than the previous one so that by the 69^th minute and the fifth it all became a blur. I even dropped my gloves in the excitement behind an advertising hoarding and couldn’t retrieve them!

Martyn Lancaster finally made his league debut (for five minutes) to become Non League Player number 513 and Steve Dickinson equalled Alan Spence’s league game appearance record of 225 games.

The journey back to Preston was very quick but as my pick up from Preston was out on the town I had to get from Preston to Southport by bus. I’m not sure if anyone has done Preston bus station at 8.30 at night but to say there were some strange goings on is putting it mildly. A couple were very clearly enjoying themselves on one of the benches, there was a guy smoking a very dodgy substance stood at the bus stop, I was hoping he wasn’t getting on my bus, he didn’t, several vagrants were doing the bin search and then there were the youngsters in various states of undress going to the pubs and clubs. My goodness. As the bus left Preston (15 minutes late) there was a fullscale punch up going on outside one of the pubs with the police charging around like mad devils. The journey on the 102 Preston to Southport is horrible taking in all the country roads so it was 9.50 before I got to the town centre and 10.10 before I got home absolutely worn out but elated. I had a laugh on the bus when a young lad was talking to his mate about hearing that we had won 5-0 and thought it was wrong. I advised him it was correct and he asked me how I knew. I told him I had been and he was surprised that people followed Southport away from home! If only he knew. He was a Liverpool “fan” mind you, you know the sort, a fan without ever going to the games!

Thanks to Liam and the lads for a memorable day!