RTG’s totally and utterly (we hope) indispensable guide to this season’s away grounds.
THE OPPO Sheffield Wednesday
DATE – Saturday 20 January
KO TIME – 3pm
THE GROUND – Hillsborough Stadium – click here and here for maps of the area – the red circle shows where the ground is.
Hillsborough Stadium is north west of Sheffield city centre and close to the A61 and M1. The stadium seats just under 40,000 supporters.
Up to 8,000 away supporters are accommodated in the West Stand (Leppings Lane End).
A memorial to the 96 who died in the tragedy on 15 April 1989 is just outside the stadium main entrance.
TICKETS
TICKETS FOR THIS FIXTURE HAVE NOW SOLD OUT: Sunderland sold their initial allocation of 5,800 tickets very quickly. The club was given an extra 339 tickets which also sold quickly and no further allocation will be given by Sheffield Wednesday.
GOING BY CAR?
Travelling from Sunderland, get yourself onto the A690 then the A1/A1M southbound. Leave the M1 at jcn 36 and join the A61. Stay on the A61 for approximately five miles. When the road turns into a dual carriageway, it goes underneath a railway bridge at Wadsley Bridge then you arrive at a roundabout – take the third exit onto Leppings Lane and you’re there.
There are several large car parks on the A61 as you approach the ground who charge a few quid to park, or some on-street parking (please park considerately for residents!) Alternatively stay on the M1 until jcn 34 and park at Meadowhall shopping centre and catch a ‘Supertram’ to Leppings Lane.
GOING BY TRAIN?
The 11 am GNER service from Newcastle arrives in Doncaster at 12.24pm then change for the 12.42pm Transpennine Express which gets to Sheffield just after 1pm.
Or the 11.29pm GNER service from Newcastle gets to Doncaster at 12.55pm, then change for the 1.02pm Northern Rail service which arrives in Sheffield at 1.41pm.
The train station’s in Sheffield City Centre, a few miles from the ground; either get a cab to the ground or walk to the nearby bus station and get a bus to Hillsborough.
Going home, the 5.21pm Virgin service from Sheffield gets you to Newcastle 7.33pm, or the 5.54pm gets you back at 7.53pm.
SCRAN AND BOOZE
The Horse and Jockey pub welcomes away supporters and is only a short walk from the ground (click here for map).
SAFCMark tells us, “A lot of bars in city centre will welcome away fans and not too far from ground by catching a tram which takes about 10minutes. The Howard and The Globe are near the train station and the dedicated
pub for away fans when playing Sheff Utd. However although a distance
between the two grounds; again only 10minutes on Tram. The Old Monk is also a short walk away and serves food.”
If you have any recommendations for pubs near the ground, email [email protected] and we’ll include them in the away guide.
*Note: alcohol is not served to supporters in the away end of Hillsborough stadium*
LEND US A FIVER I’M OUT OF CASH
There’ll be cash machines in Sheffield city centre and one inside Sheffield railway station.
LAST MEETINGS
30.09.06 Sunderland 1 Wednesday 0 (Leadbitter 58)
12.09.01 Wednesday 4 Sunderland 2 (Phillips 43, Laslandes 75) – League Cup
22.04.00 Wednesday 0 Sunderland 2 (Phillips 86,90)
25.09.99 Sunderland 1 Wednesday 0 (Schwarz 51)
12.03.97 Wednesday 2 Sunderland 1 (Ball 28)
23.11.96 Sunderland 1 Wednesday 1 (Melville 68)
FORM
Wednesday are 11th of 24:
P28 W11 D7 L10 F39 A38 Pts 40 GD 1
Credits Leicester City FC, Link, Multimap, Rough Guide to English Football, Soccerbase, streetmap.co.uk, National Rail, BBC, Leicester City Council.