It was an early start for myself. I got my arse out of bed at 5.30 am so i had time to cook myself some Lincolnshire sausage sandwiches(what else could they be?) and pack my bag. Getting up was quite easy due to the fact i had a Friday afternoon session on the ale and was asleep by 8.00pm. Yep that's what drinking in the afternoon with a couple of shady Scotsmen does to you. I picked up a kebab on the way back but as i can't remember eating it i am unable to review it for you but all that was left in the morning was a few bits of salad so it can't have been that bad.
I was picked up and bundled into a car at the cash point and we made our merry way up to the train station for the 7.50 train up to Berwick. As i normally do i added a touch of class to the party by picking up the independent newspaper for the journey. I enjoyed the paper and, until i moved out, used to buy it everyday but £1 a day is a tad on the steep side so i stick to the Daily Mirror.
Berwick is famous for two things. Firstly they are the only side in England playing in the Scottish league (the town is right on the border from what i can make out) and secondly their 1967 Scottish cup win over the mighty Glasgow Rangers. The town is quite scenic and is popular with walkers and cyclists, and now four football fans from Retford with little better to do. The normal banter was exchanged on the train, everything from football, politics, work and the arses on the girls in the hen party that got on at Newcastle were discussed and debated with great diligence. We arrived at about 10.30 and set off looking for our lodgings; a backpackers place in the centre of town, and after a few wrong turns we found it.
The place was nice enough, although a couple of us managed to fall up the stairs which to say we hadn't had a drink yet was a tad worrying and didn't bode well for later. The nice Canadian lady gave us the run down on the rules of the house and told us what was going off in Berwick which wasn't alot by the sounds of it. Some more good news was received when we found that the toilet wasnt to far from the room at all. Although this did mean that the expected smells from the bogosphere had a high chance of reaching the room.
The plan was to have a few beers then head over to the Ground. Though Berwick is in England it is very much a Scottish Town, but the town does seem to pride itself on its dual nationality. We found a nice little pub and sat outside in the sunshine drinking very nice if slightly expensive tennants lager. One of our party had been given some material from one of the more dubious political parties seeking votes in the upcoming election so we had a quick flick through those before setting off for the ground.
Over the bridge that splits the town we found a fish and chip shop and thought it would be rude not to try a Scottish "fish supper" and it didn't disappoint. The fish was cooked fresh and the chips plentiful, as it was served up in a cardboard box. It took a while to arrive and even at £4.60, it was worth it, even if the wait did test one of our number's bladder strength to the limit. And for once it wasnt mine!
Berwicks sheffield park is set in a residential area of the town and and is about 10-15 minutes walk from the town centre but when you are bursting for a piss it seems alot further
We got to the stadium at about 1.45 and had a quick look around the ground. A few East Stirlingshire players were arriving by car and there seemed to be more away fans milling around than home fans. We took a few more pictures and headed for Berwick's social club "The black and gold"
I was bit disappointed with the clubhouse; It was quite modern and felt more like a bar in a town centre than a football clubhouse. I must admit i prefer the old fashion style of clubhouse with pennants and memorabilia on the walls both of which were missing here. I would have thought the club would have picture after picture from that famous cup win over Rangers alas there was nothing. Speaking of cup upsets the main talking point in the bar wasn't the upcoming match but the news that first division Ross County had dumped Celtic out of the Scottish cup in the semi finals 2-0. To think Celtic got Robbie Keane in January to help them win the cup to salvage something from this season. Oh and they are paying him £65,000 a week.
There was an old fashioned style juke box in the club. However most of the tunes being played were way before my time, my traveling chums seemed to remember them all though. We got chatting to a Berwick fan who asked what a group of Lincoln city fans were doing up in Berwick. He told us how you see more people on Berwick station heading south wearing Newcastle kits off to watch the toon, than you get going to Berwick matches and how it fucks him off, which is something every lower league fan can sympathise with. Speaking of Newcastle can anybody tell me why do they bang on about being a big club and their huge fan base when they haven't had more than a couple of sell outs this season? big club? never my friends.
So after guzzling more tennants we headed into the ground. It was £10 to get in and a couple of quid for the programme. As i was feeling in a good mood i even bought a 50/50 ticket for 50p. The club shop is positioned just inside the turnstile and had all the normal stuff on sale.
The metal badge was a bargin at £2 and featured both an English and Scottish lion on it. There was a good range of programmes for different clubs on sale as well, including alot of English non league clubs. Worksop Town being one of them.
The ground consists of a seated covered stand down one side and a smaller covered stand on the other side of the pitch which is flanked by uncovered terracing on either side. Berwick share the stadium with the local speedway team so you are a little further from the pitch than at some other clubs. You can walk around 3 sides of the ground with the bottom end being closed off. The first thing you notice is the slope in the pitch, but it looked in decent condition if a little heavy.
We ambled over to the far side and stood on the covered terrace to watch the first half. East Stirlingshire had a good away following of maybe 40-50 fans and were very vocal. They were soon cheering as their side took the lead after 5 or so minutes.
Berwick were very poor in the first half. After going 1-0 down they showed no urgency to get back into the game and the away side who were kicking down the slope in the first half totally ran the show. The home side struggled to put more than two passes together and produced as poor a show as i have seen this season, and with the amount of Lincoln games i have seen, that is some claim. The "Shire" went 2 up with a cheeky chip from the edge of the box and it looked as if they would run away with the match as Berwick went from bad to worse.
To say the home fans were unimpressed was an understatment. Here are a few comments that stood out:
"Pish Berwick totally fu##ing pish"
"come on Berwick fu##ing try ya c##ts"
"fucking awesome Berwick" said as another move broke down.
"can i have my ten pounds back this is shite!!
" Well done Berwick you have made the c##t work today fantastic! said as the Shire keeper picked up a shot than ran along the ground from about 20 yards at the pace that an average Guinea pig walks.
Shire continued to waste chances and Berwick continued to be poor.
HT 0-2
Berwick put in a much stronger performance in the second half. Their first goal came down the left when the winger cut in and just when it looked that he had let the ball get too far infront of him, he managed to poke it beyond the advancing keeper. Berwick made it 2-2 with about 15 mins to go from the penalty spot and from then on it was end to end stuff. The shire still played the better football but Berwick made the better chances. At the end it felt to me as The shire had thrown 2 points away after there great first half showing.
Elsewhere the mighty Imps had beaten 3rd placed Bournmouth 2-1 at home. I had missed three home matches this season and the Imps have won all three hmm.
Post game we didnt do much. We had a stroll around the town, had a couple of drinks, and a meal at one of the towns few restaurants. Here i saw a sight i thought i would never see; Baz didnt eat all his Pizza! The food was filling and cheap, although i was disappointed that there were no Penguin ice creams left.
So after a rock and roll night of watching Match of the day and the football league show we hit the sack. The journey back flew by due to the fact i bought VIZ and it was enjoyed by all. Its still a bargin at £3.40! Well i think it is anyway.
I would like to say that it was another top draw weekend away and i would like to thank Baz for sorting it out. Take a bow good sir.
Addmission £10
Programme £2 3/10 nice to look at but not a great deal to read poor value for 2 quid
Clubhouse 5/10
Ground 6/10
Fish and chips 8/10
Match quality 7/10
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