tynevalleyblackcat
Striker
Took advantage of our blank weekend and the fact my wife was on nights to knock of my 13th new English league ground this season. I had a choice of Coventry v Walsall or Shrewsbury v Southend United and was still deliberating which one to choose over breakfast at home on Saturday morning. In the end I decided to go with the original plan which involved a drive to Shrewsbury, camping at Iron Gorge campsite near Iron Bridge, then a cheeky visit to Solihull Moors today to watch Sunderland Ladies v Birmingham Ladies thereby knocking off another National league ground.
The new ground at Shrewsbury is not great. Its a typical lower league out of town 4 identikit stands type effort and they have a small car park at the ground charging stupid money and every street for miles around on residents only parking. I was prepared for this and parked approx a mile and a half away at 2pm on the first street I could find outside the restricted zone and walked to the ground.
The match itself was decent as Shrewsbury still had relegation concerns and Southend were very much in the play off hunt. It was an edgy close game with a good atmosphere eventually won by the home team with a header from a corner midway through the second half.
I have some footage of a lone Shrews fan who spent much of the game walking/running up and down in the front of the stand I was in trying to motivate the crowd. Sadly even after years on here and asking many times, I still do not know how to upload my own photos or videos to this site.
It was the Shrews last home game of the season and a pitch invasion ensued at the final whistle as their victory and results elsewhere meant they stay in league one.
That's number 78 for me of the 92 and only Bristol City next year in the Championship after Brighton have gone up. Probably two more seasons to complete them I reckon if my Scottish experience is anything to go by. You do half of whats left so say 10 one year, then you will be lucky to do 5 the next year as the dates don't tally and so on. The less you have left the harder it is to fit them in.
I camped near Iron Bridge at Iron Gorge campsite, which is basic but a lovely spot and recommended if anyone is into that sort of thing, the Coalbrookdale Inn down the road from the campsite is also one of the best pubs I have been in for years.
Drove over to Birmingham after a leisurely morning to watch the lasses expecting another plucky defeat against a side who defeated Chelsea last week to reach Wembley in the womens FA Cup, but I (and a handful of other Sunderland fans who were there) were pleasantly surprised as they put up a very good display and held out for a 0-0 draw. No Beth Mead up front as an easy target meant the lasses actually had to play some football rather than just hoof it forward and they did it very well to be fair. Brum hit the bar and had the better of things particularly in the first half but the lasses were in the game throughout and the home crowd were getting very agitated by the end. They were blaming everything from the ref to the weather, but the fact was they just were not good enough to force the win.
The new ground at Shrewsbury is not great. Its a typical lower league out of town 4 identikit stands type effort and they have a small car park at the ground charging stupid money and every street for miles around on residents only parking. I was prepared for this and parked approx a mile and a half away at 2pm on the first street I could find outside the restricted zone and walked to the ground.
The match itself was decent as Shrewsbury still had relegation concerns and Southend were very much in the play off hunt. It was an edgy close game with a good atmosphere eventually won by the home team with a header from a corner midway through the second half.
I have some footage of a lone Shrews fan who spent much of the game walking/running up and down in the front of the stand I was in trying to motivate the crowd. Sadly even after years on here and asking many times, I still do not know how to upload my own photos or videos to this site.
It was the Shrews last home game of the season and a pitch invasion ensued at the final whistle as their victory and results elsewhere meant they stay in league one.
That's number 78 for me of the 92 and only Bristol City next year in the Championship after Brighton have gone up. Probably two more seasons to complete them I reckon if my Scottish experience is anything to go by. You do half of whats left so say 10 one year, then you will be lucky to do 5 the next year as the dates don't tally and so on. The less you have left the harder it is to fit them in.
I camped near Iron Bridge at Iron Gorge campsite, which is basic but a lovely spot and recommended if anyone is into that sort of thing, the Coalbrookdale Inn down the road from the campsite is also one of the best pubs I have been in for years.
Drove over to Birmingham after a leisurely morning to watch the lasses expecting another plucky defeat against a side who defeated Chelsea last week to reach Wembley in the womens FA Cup, but I (and a handful of other Sunderland fans who were there) were pleasantly surprised as they put up a very good display and held out for a 0-0 draw. No Beth Mead up front as an easy target meant the lasses actually had to play some football rather than just hoof it forward and they did it very well to be fair. Brum hit the bar and had the better of things particularly in the first half but the lasses were in the game throughout and the home crowd were getting very agitated by the end. They were blaming everything from the ref to the weather, but the fact was they just were not good enough to force the win.
