Kidderminster Harriers 0-0 Peterborough United

Saturday 4th January

FA Cup 3rd Round

Attendance: 3,800

Admission: £14/£5 - Adults/Children (Terrace)

As a non-league supporter I have supported non-league clubs in the FA Cup such as Altrincham in their campaign last season but today was a different experience, being amongst the Peterborough fans when they visited Skrill Premier side Kidderminster Harriers.

Kidderminster Harriers, formed 1886 play in the Skrill Premier and their home is at Aggborough which is a 6,250 capacity with two seated stands along the lengths of the pitch and two terraces behind both goals. The Peterborough fans were placed in the South Stand terrace with some seated in the East Stand, with around 800 making the journey across to Kidderminster.

The admission in the terrace was £14 for Adults and £5 for children, which was no increase from their league prices so it’s pretty good value for when a league side but maybe less so in the league games. Around there ground there is large amounts of parking though it was quite expensive but it was good to see it facilitate for the large crowd at the game.  When we got in the ground we picked up ‘The Harriers’, the match programme on offer at Aggborough, the professional programme with good content but some mistakes when it came to the Peterborough line up. There were many adverts but the 52 paged programme is good value at £3 and on par with all the football league programmes.

The game itself was very entertaining despite the misleading 0-0 result may suggest, there was a near full crowd and a good atmosphere from both supporters.

At half-time we sampled the food at Aggborough. We went for the ‘Famous Aggborough’ which is loved by all except I didn’t like it. It was so hot so whilst waiting for it too cool down it had skin growing on top. We went back got a pie and they were out of the Cottage pie so we went to a Cheese, Onion and Potato. It was nice  and massive but because of the size it becomes boring after a while. For the size £4 is good but I would much rather a pie half the size at £2. So the Admission/Programme/Pie combo in the terrace is £21 which was very good for the entertaining game and the calibre of the away side in comparison to their normal league games.

Overall a nice ground but there didn’t seem to be anything special to this day out and famous food was quite disappointing.

Price: 7pts
Programme: 6.5pts
Food: 6.5pts
Entertainment: 8.5pts
Parking: 3pts
Staff: 1.5pts
Facilities: 1pt

Total Score: 34pts

Stadium Pictures

Ashton United 2-1 FC United Of Manchester

Thursday 26th December

Northern Premier League

Attendance: 1,008

Admission: £9 (Adults)/£6 (Concessions)

Boxing Day was upon us, the football derby day, and Ashton United welcomed FC United Of Manchester to Hurst Cross, in what was definitely an entertaining game. Ashton United, nicknamed The Robins were formed in 1878 and they ply their trade in the Northern Premier League, premier division. They play their home games at Hurst Cross in Ashton-Under-Lyne and managed a 10^th place finish in the league last season. Hurst Cross is made of 4 main sections, one seated stand to the side of the pitch and opposite that was the large covered terrace which housed much of the visiting fans for the match. Behind one goal was a large open terrace stand and opposing that was a curved terrace where the refreshments were.

This match was a very attractive affair for us to do an ‘Away Chips’, short trip, new ground and a largely supported visiting team. The admission was £9 for adults which seemed very reasonable but it was £6 for concessions, so U16’s pay £6 which seems very expensive, especially in non-league where they should be trying to attract more younger fans to come along. There was a small amount of parking directly outside of the ground and not far from the ground there was many cars parked along a long road, just minutes away. With an average crowd there would be an adequate amount of parking but there was an extremely large attendance for the match. We picked up a programme from those selling them outside the ground and the ‘We are United’ programme is pretty good, giving a good insight about the visiting team and has a lot of content looking back at previous matches with pictures and also general football columns and for £2 it’s not bad value. The ground has a nice charm and it’s a very traditional looking ground which is great for taking pictures, and after a walk around the ground we headed into the club shop, which had loads of old programmes on sale and Ashton merchandise and the person running the shop was very friendly. There was a very good atmosphere building in the ground with many of the FC United fans watching the Manchester United game in the clubhouse prior to the match and the match winner was greeted with a very loud celebration heard from the other side of the stadium. Ashton United have had an average attendance of around 150 this season but this match attracted just over 1000 people and the FC United faithful in the terrace where vocal throughout the game.

 

The game was a very even affair with chances for both sides and it was FC United’s keeper Ed Wilczynski’s saves that denied Ashton opening the scoring. As the game was approaching half-time we decided to grab something to eat. The opener came from the visitors through Michael Norton. The queue was considerable in length and it took 40 minutes before parting with £3.10 for pie and chips. The steak pie we had was nice enough and the chips were great for £1.50, they were better than most that we’ve had this season but nonetheless 40 minutes is way too long to wait for pie and chips. Supposedly they usually have more food and drink outlets open but being a bank holiday they weren’t and considering the crowd size, it had a huge effect. The second half saw Ashton take more control of the game and they equalised through a Gary Gee penalty after Tom Davies was sent off for handling on the line. Ashton’s pressure paid off after they found a winner on 82 minutes as Dale Johnson poked home after the visitors failed to clear. It ended 2-1 and it was a very entertaining game. The Admission/Programme/Chips combo at Ashton United for adults cost £12.50 which for the overall match is very good.

Overall Ashton United was a good visit with an entertaining match. It’s been a while since we’ve had chips so that’s a plus. Hurst Cross is a great ground for a match and the atmosphere was brilliant adding to the game.

 

Price: 5pts

Programme: 8pts

Food: 6.5pts

Entertainment: 9pts

Parking: 3pts

Staff: 2.5pts

Facilities: 2pts

Total Score: 36pts

Match Pictures

Manchester United 1-0 Shaktar Donetsk

Tuesday 11^th December

UEFA Champions League

Attendance: TBC

Admission: £35 

Manchester United play in the English Premier League and were formed in 1878. They play their home games at the 78,000 capacity Old Trafford.

The admission for us was £35 for adults, whilst considering the stature of the competition and the opposition, that is still a lot of money for a football match, especially since it was a fiver at the match we were at on Saturday. Outside the ground there is a great match day feel to the place with the plethora of people selling their flags and scarves, and all the fans walking down to the ground. We picked up our programme for £3 and went in the ground. The facilities inside the stand were very good with the toilets, food places and bookies there. As always the food is the first port of call. The food there was limited, and the pie of choice for us was their Peppered Steak Pie. Coming out into the stands you see the size of the place and it’s a great site of a great ground. As you take your seats you realise how cramped the ground actually is, definitely get acquainted with the person next to you. The pie was nice enough for the £3 you shell out, they do a deal of 3 items for £6, so Pie, Drink and chocolate, not bad but earlier in the season at one club we spent £2.80 on the exact same thing. The programme is the nice, professional programme you expect from the football league teams. The match was very disinteresting, with very little chances worth noting.

 

The Admission/Programme/Pie combo costs £41 at Manchester United. I didn’t actually see the parking but from past experience know there is a decent amount nearby. The staff were very friendly at the ground.

Overall it’s still a nice place to watch football in a large stadium with the pre-match hype but our return will not be that quick.

Price: 4.5pts

Programme: 9pts

Food: 6pts

Entertainment: 5pts

Parking: 2pts

Staff: 3pts

Facilities: 1.5pts

Total Score: 31.5pts

Fan-View Pictures

Hyde 1-2 Chester

Saturday 9th November

Skrill Premier

Attendance: 1232

Admission: £14 

Hyde play in the Skrill Premier after winning the Conference North in 2011. Their home is Ewen Fields which also plays host to Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad (EDS), it can hold around 4073 people. The club formed in 1885 and nearly went out of business in 2010 but they were saved by Manchester City. Ewen Fields has 4 terraced sections to the ground, on one side you have the seated stand and the famous Shed End home to the vocal Hyde fans.

The Admission at Hyde is £14 for Adults which at this level is cheaper than a considerable amount of teams with Under 16’s getting in for £4. The first port of call is to check out the food, pouring rain wasn’t helping the overall atmosphere and doubts were cast whether the game was even going to go ahead. The Chip cone at Hyde costs £1.50, quite expensive considering its size and taste. The chips were average and with the cost it wasn’t brilliant. The programme’s at Hyde are £2.50 for a decent 40 paged programme with decent features and good use of images, so that makes the Admission/Programme/Chips work out at £18 for Adults. A large noisy contingent had made their way from Chester to watch their team and the overall game was entertaining, two sides battling at the wrong end of the table. Hyde never got going in the second half and so Chester won the game 1-2.

The parking outside the ground is of a reasonable amount but there is also a large amount of parking just around the corner of the ground. In addition to that the staff there were friendly and easy to talk to and showed some excitement to the match.  There is also a large social club inside the ground open before and after the game, a nice place with some photos of their Conference North winning season.

Overall a great visit, one of my favourite grounds to go to watch a game, a shame to see where they are in the league and a shame that the chips weren’t of the quality we have witnessed earlier in the season.

Price: 7.5pts

Programme: 7.5pts

Food: 5pts

Entertainment: 8pts

Parking: 3pts
Staff: 2.5pts

Facilities: 2pts

Total Score: 35.5pts

Match Pictures