Match: v Eastbourne Borough - Blue Square Premier
Date: Saturday, December 5th, 2009
Result: Eastbourne 2 Cambridge United 2
The Journey
Departure Time: 9.50am
Arrival at Ground: Last season's journey had been something of a frustrating one along single carriageway A roads and through bottleneck towns like Tunbridge Wells, so a Plan B was the order of the day this time - a plan that basically involved heading for Brighton and turning left just before you got there. By and large it kept to free-moving dual carriageways and although it was certainly further and probably took longer, it later transpired that this was the way the locals generally go.
So after only a little bit of winding our way through rolling countryside towards the end of the journey, we arrived in the large car park at the ground a little after 12.30pm.
At The Ground
The Ground: Some distance from the sea, the ground is down one of the bungalow-lined side streets on the edge of one of the newer suburbs of Eastbourne and, as a result, seems to have a lot of land with which to play. This is evidenced by the large car park around the side of the ground, the large, single-storey social club that stands deferentially a little to the side of the ground and the pitch on which Eastbourne's A Team usually play. It wasn't Eastbourne's A Team in action when we got there though; by happenstance, we arrived just in time to see the United fans' team losing narrowly to their Eastbourne counterparts.
A few turnstiles allow access from the side car park into the ground. However, you follow a wide, puddle-strewn path between the A Team pitch on your left and the social club on your right to get to the main entrance. Here, a two-storey building contains dressing rooms and corporate entertaining areas; the main turnstiles are in a corner of the ground, abutting this building.
Inside the ground, to your right, a low, covered area of terracing almost fills the area behind the goal. Set slightly to one side of this, a metal cage marks the area where the players emerge from the dressing rooms in that two-storey building behind this end of the ground. We saw various Eastbourne players disappearing down the caged tunnel to the dressing rooms before the match and they were accompanied by someone dressed as 'Stewie' from Family Guy! It turned out that the Eastbourne players were holding their Christmas party after the match and a certain Danny Brown - late of this Parish - was the man in the costume.
The access to the dressing rooms is not the only way in which this part of the ground interacts with that two-storey building. The roof over the terrace here is flat and surprisingly wide - well, surprisingly until you realise that it is also the floor of corporate hospitality areas on the upper storey the windows of which peep out over the roof of the terrace.
Continuing around the ground, after a red metal gate in the corner, a short stretch of uncovered terrace runs to a point about level with midway inside the main entrance end of the pitch where it meets the end of the main stand.
The only area of seating in the ground, eight rows of comfortable red and blue flip-up seats continue to a point about level with the edge of the penalty area at the other end of the ground. The low, red brick wall that runs along the front of this stand is punctuated at regular intervals to allow access from a paved area at the front.
The final stretch along this side of the ground consists of a small section of covered terrace that, as though just getting the hang of things and not wanting to stop when it reaches the end, turns the corner and continues behind the goal and back along the remaining side of the ground until it reaches a point where it faces the start of the main stand. The low roof and metal back wall sit atop red bricks that match the front of the main stand. These give this part of the ground a very pleasing air of continuity.
A small copse of Cordylines and a confectionary stall combine to place a full stop firmly at the end of the terrace, and we complete our tour of the ground beside the pea green walls of a Nissen hut. In front of this, the red numbers on an electronic scoreboard shine brightly, illuminating the point at which we entered the ground.
United Fans: They seemed to be there in smaller numbers than last season, perhaps due to the time of year and the novelty of it being a new ground to visit having worn off, but they were in good form with banter and songs. They unfurled a number of flags and banners of varying sizes before the match, including a large black and amber flag on an even bigger stick. Unfortunately, the combination of long stick and low roof meant a hasty retrieval was required after some over-enthusiastic waving led to the flag became detached and stuck on the adverting hoardings that hang from the front of the roof.
View from Away End: Although the match was unsegregated, most U's fans kept to the end of the ground opposite the main entrance. Here the terrace steps weren't particularly high, but there was plenty of room in which to move around and - perhaps even more importantly - reasonable cover from the inclement elements.
Looking out from main stand and, for that matter, the end occupied by the majority of United fans, you could see the weather closing in over the hills above the town. And while it was dramatic to watch the brooding black clouds smother the hills in a swathe of rain as they headed in our direction, it was not as dramatic as the air display from the murmuration of starlings that swooped and swirled in intricate patterns as they came in to roost behind the ground.
Police/Stewards: There were no police to be seen and very few stewards present due to unavailability. Those who were about couldn't have been more helpful. This was particularly the case with the Head Steward who, when he saw me unpacking assorted broadcasting paraphernalia from the back of the car, made a point of making sure I knew where I needed to go to get my ticket. Having discovered that not being able to get into the ground until 1.30pm was not the ideal match preparation, he was only too happy to arrange for me to get in immediately.
Programme: No price on the front and no page numbers either, but you got 48 photocopied pages for your £2.50. Adverts were virtually on alternate pages, but the remaining pages contained some interesting reading, including a little bit about the City of Cambridge itself.
Food/Drink: Burger and chips (£4.20) went down well without being spectacular, while tea made up in strength what it lacked in warmth.
State of Toilets: Basic facilities were available at one end of the seated area and just inside the main entrance.
And Another Thing: With the incessant rain starting to form puddles on the pitch, many thought the game was going to be abandoned with 15 minutes to go. Eventually, it became clear that the stoppage was due to an injury to the referee, which came as a relief to many - although, obviously not the referee. Pleasant as our visit to Eastbourne had been, the prospect of a Tuesday night trip in the middle of February was not an edifying thought!
Afterwards
The Journey Home: Wet! Constant, heavy rain for the duration of the journey home threatened to make Noah's of mode of transport an appropriate option.
Mileage: 270.3 miles
Total Distance for Season: 2,168.9 miles
Mark Johnson, with additional reporting by David Gray, Paul Johnson, Ryan Johnson, Gordon McMillan and Jon Claire
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