Match: v Northwich Victoria - Blue Square Premier

Date: Saturday, August 9th, 2008

Result: Northwich 0 Cambridge United 1

THE JOURNEY

Departure Time: Although we set off at 9am, the beautiful sunny weather that greeted 'le grand depart' turned out to be a false dawn. Torrential rain soon set in, making the day feel more like late October than early August.

Arrival at Ground: The journey was straightforward enough until we reached the tollbooths on the M6 Expressway, where holiday traffic brought long queues - a situation that was exacerbated by the lack of manned booths to give change. Presumably the staff was on holiday... possibly in the queues.

The understaffed themed continued at Stafford Services, where the weather was too inclement even for the ducks that regularly patrol the grounds. While waiting in line for a cup of overpriced coffee, there was plenty of time for the customary football shirt spotting. We counted six different clubs, including one Dunfermline Athletic supporter. By some strange quirk of coincidence, we later discovered that all six clubs had won.

The grandly named Marston's Arena is so far on the edge of Northwich that it feels as though it's miles from anywhere. It doesn't stand in complete isolation though, given the evidence of the final stage of the journey. Newish roads pick their way through a maze of iron railings bearing ominous names in large letters. Once simply carried the word 'Thor'. Had we come to Asgard? We didn't appear to have crossed the Rainbow Bridge and although the skies were dark and brooding, there was no sign of thunder so the Norse mythology theory was ruled out by the time we parked at the ground just before 1pm.

AT THE GROUND

The Ground: It only seems like five minutes since we last visited Northwich. Okay, with the play-offs and an eventful summer maybe it felt more like ten minutes, but you get the idea.

Not surprisingly, little had changed since our last visit although the pitch was considerably more moist. Behind the smart façade that gives so much more precedence to Manchester United Reserves over Northwich Victoria that the Conference side almost feels like an afterthought, the stadium turned out to be a ground of two stands - each lined by advertising boards for various Manchester United products.

The main stand ran almost the length of one side of the ground. With a back wall of corrugated metal painted waiting room green and glass-fronted hospitality areas, the stand was filled with comfortable seats that all provided an excellent view from beneath a roof that had no pesky supporting pillars to get in the way.

Opposite, a large bank of terracing mirrored the main stand and was split unequally between the two sets of supporters. Although covered by a roof, the prevailing wind encouraged the rain to soak the steps in the lower half of this stand. Fortunately, the rain abated before kick off so supporters felt able to stand closer to the front should they so wish.

Flat standing areas, not unlike those at another ground that apparently isn't suitable for the Conference South, were behind either goal. Each had a breezeblock back wall and similarly constructed toilet and turnstile blocks. Behind the goal to the right of the main stand, the salt works stood perfectly silhouetted against the backdrop of a battleship grey sky. Since our last visit, it appeared to have gathered more rust than salt.

United Fans: Sang and drummed their way through the afternoon from 2pm to after 5pm. Plenty of flags and banners gave their section of the ground a continental feel - which was no mean achievement in a two-sided ground somewhere in the middle of the Cheshire Plain.

View from Away End: U's fans enjoyed a good view, but not as good as that of Greater Manchester Police, whose light aircraft buzzed the ground at half time.

Home Fans: Gave their side decent support until they conceded, after which they were subdued for long periods. Although Northwich were chasing the game late on, their fans were obviously convinced United's goal would remain un-breached judging by the mass exodus long before the final whistle.

Stewards: Having moved in once or twice to give United fans a ticking off, the stewards looked less than impressed when someone let off an orange flare towards the end of the match. Well, I think it was meant to be a flare - it went off like such a damp squib it looked more like a chalk bomb thrown in a Fathers 4 Justice protest... although any similarity between the Marston's Arena and the House of Commons was purely imaginary.

Programme: £2 for 42 pages. No expense had been spent on this programme - the one I got didn't even have staples to hold it together. It was an inauspicious start to the season for the programme designers, with the cover showing a match date of August 7th (a mistake we've all made at some stage). More surprisingly, the Blue Square North logo was on the front. If this turns out to be a premonition, I'll ask the designers for some lottery numbers at the end of the season.

Food/Drink: With long queues at half time, it was perhaps just as well that many United fans had refreshed themselves in the bar before the match. Those patiently standing in line were rewarded with a reasonable cup of tea for £1, while 'chips 'n' gravy' also proved popular.

State of Toilets: Huge and spacious, the facilities nearer the away terrace had a lurid green floor.

AFTERWARDS

The Journey Home: A contented journey home and a stop at our favourite M6 watering hole, where we were amused to find a KFC that had run out of chicken. Surprisingly, the staff didn't seem to spot the irony - unlike the Chester fans for whom this put the tin hat on a thoroughly miserable day. Chester fans weren't the only ones at Corley feeling rather less than happy with their opening day exploits. United fans were amused to see Stevenage supporters crying into their burgers after a mauling by the Welsh Dragons of Wrexham.

Mileage: 358 miles

Mark Johnson, with additional reporting by David Gray, Paul Johnson, Ryan Johnson and Gordon McMillan.

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