The title of this blog post is a double entendre but a clean one. You see the track I follow is my plans, my plans often ‘screw up’ unexpectedly. I had plans to go to Cambridge City’s last ever game at their Milton Road home. When it was announced they were moving next season I still decided to go (train tickets from Leicester to Cambridge) I had a back-up of Haverhill Rovers and that came into play during Friday. These were concrete plans until 6am the next morning, the 24th April, the day I was supposed to be going. I woke up and had a terrible feeling that something was about to go wrong, I went back to sleep and instead got up two hours later to plan something else.
It is one of the key things I’ve learnt in ground-hopping, never ever plan something that well as you always know something will go wrong in the process. I had ambitions to the complete the Vodkat League but being a tight sod decided against the available options down to cost and general ‘can’t be arsed’ attitude. I have incidentally done 11/22 Premier, 7/15 Division One (2 clubs share, 1 done). I looked down to the Cheshire League and in Division Two, a fixture instantly caught my eye, Crewe v Denton Town. A venue I had a vague idea about and a town almost too easy to get to, I was off there.
In past posts I’ve explained how I’ve done a couple of trips, ‘just a couple of trains down to Crewe and off to Chester’, it really was so simple. At 11:30 ish I printed a map off, had a cup of tea before heading out the door at 12:10, it was a very warm day. I took a leisurely walk up to the station, doing the longest of the four possible ways. I got there at 12:30, the station was packed and I stood there looking at my map waiting for the 12:39 to arrive.
Once on I found a seat (surprisingly!) on the Class 150 train, the common enemy of anyone who wants a view out of the window! The 33 minute ride into Stockport passed well, passing Middlewood altogether! The train was however running late, 3 minutes late. As I got off the clock struck 13:15:10, I ran down the stairs, showed my ticket and ran to Platform 1 to find the train standing.
The train was an electric one, it stopped quite a few times before arriving in Crewe just before 2pm. This left me with a quandary, an hour until kick off with a 15 minute walk to the ground, great. I decided to undertake a circuit on the roads near the ground, I left the station, passed Crewe Alexandra’s ground (which I have visited as ground 73) and took a right into Mill Street and ended up on the top of Vernon Way. From here, down Henry Street, Queen Street onto Earle Street and a right into Thomas Street. The venue was the Cumberland Sports Arena, a multipurpose ground with an athletics track.
It was 2:40pm and I saw the pitch was fully roped off on the inside of the track, round the near end and down the near side it was railed off on the outside with a 3G surface next to the modern pavilion type building. I had a walk round the venue, around the athletics track and took many photos as Denton Town warmed up.
Kick off approached and I remembered Crewe produced programmes, one of VERY FEW at this level to produce one. I saw a man buying one near the pavilion so went myself to buy one, I paid £2 and although shocked at first I reminded myself that free football on offer for what I expected to be cracker. I wasn’t wrong either as I stood behind the rope for the first half.
From the word go in the 5th v 4th encounter both teams tried to played football and attack. Denton got the ball furthest forward very early on sticking the ball into threatening areas yet it was Crewe who had the chances. The Denton Town keeper was called into action to save a 12 yard effort then when a brilliant volley was struck saved fantastically with his legs to keep it 0-0. Crewe took the lead just before the 20 minute mark when they sliced into Denton, the right back ran through to run onto a through ball, he took it into the box and slotted before the keeper for 1-0, a wonderful goal.
Denton went 2-0 down on the half hour after more great Crewe football, a left foot cross was swung in and headed down into the goal from 6 yards, 2-0 and Denton were against the ropes. They didn’t lie down and showed effort to get back into the match, they did not however score and went into the break trailing.
The shock of losing at half-time prompted the visitor’s manager to have his team talk on the pitch while the navy blue Crewe went to the dressing rooms. The view of the pitch was good, even behind the rail the view of the pitch wasn’t terrible as I sat down on the rail to check how my club were doing.
Second half Denton started to seize control of the game and were awarded a penalty, maybe harshly for a handball it did go straight in the bottom left corner, 2-1 and with 4 minutes of the half gone: game on! The match didn’t produce a great deal of chances until a moment of madness saw Denton get a chance to level, a long free-kick was stuck forward by the away side’s keeper and the Crewe keeper flattened the striker, clear penalty and struck into the bottom right corner, 2-2.
Denton thought they had the advantage, so did many of the 30 watchers. This game twisted again as a bit of bad defending allowed a Crewe striker to nip in front of an on rushing keeper to roll it in in almost slow motion, 3-2 Crewe! Town’s club official linesman almost found himself sent off as he berated the referee continuously for no apparent reason but it was he who was happy as the game entered the second minute of stoppage time a cross was scrambled in, 3-3!! A goal that wasn’t quite expected so late on but a 3-3 draw was a fair reflection of the match.
I left the ground and went straight back to the station, I was in a good mood after seeing 11 goals in just two games. I got there to find my train was fifteen minutes away. Crewe station is not very easy to find your way round, some call it a ‘mess’. It was called one of the worst three stations in Britain and will be given money towards helping it return to a nice station. My question is, was it ever?
The train back was Pendolino stopping at Wilmslow and Stockport. It went fine taking just under half an hour. Stockport was also in the list of ten worst stations along with Preston, it seems the idiot who compiled the list had a bias towards the South and its image of perfection as just 3 of 10 were in the South.
I had a 25 minute wait for a train home, yes you’ve guessed it… it was late! I shouldn’t really have seen this as a shock but I was left to reflect on a good day out. Crewe F.C, it is not about the track. You have a superb little venue and should be well hopped.
Next up: Dukinfield Town v Elton Vale (exclusive!) report.
Tom
