Macclesfield Town FC - Moss Rose Stadium

- Ground Number 22 -

- 01/02/2011 -

- Macclesfield Town FC 2-4 Bury FC -

My trip to Macclesfield was a rather unplanned one. I had originally planned on staying at home and watching Leigh Genesis v Chester FC at Crilly Park, Atherton. The Chester match was possibly the biggest sporting event for my hometown since 1992 when Aldershot Town came to Crilly Park.

I rang up my mate Danny asking him if he was coming to the Chester match when he told me he was off to Macclesfield to watch his beloved Bury. He put me in a massive dilemma; Did I want to watch Chester at my local club? Or did I want to tick another ground off my list?

As it was, I chose to spend the evening at Moss Rose with the Pilling family.

The drive down to Moss Rose was a comfortable one, and it wasn't long before we arrived in Macclesfield. After parking the car we walked down to the ground. Along the way we stopped at a lovely little outlet of the Co-Operative. Now, I use the term lovely in the lightest of terms. Whilst Danny was in the shop purchasing his Cherry Cokes, Gary and I were subjected to abuse off some local chavs. WELCOME TO MACCLESFIELD!

Carrying on up the road the ground suddenly appeared. Right out of the middle of nowhere. It appeared to have been built in the middle of a main road. It was at this point I asked Danny which stand the away end was... He pointed at what appeared to be a brick wall.

See, this is the problem with not researching a ground before you visit. You don't know what to expect! Had I have known that I'd be on an open terrace on a cold, wet, February evening I'd have stayed in Atherton watching the mighty Leigh! It would have been exactly the same conditions, but at least I'd have only been a minute walk from my shower!

After having my usual photo outside, we went straight into the ground. Well, I say we went straight into the ground... I fell over a raised kerb along the way. I somehow survived and made it to the turnstile. There was already quite a big queue at the turnstiles and it took us a couple of minutes to get in.

The away fans had been given the Silkmen Terrace which holds 1,530 fans. Bury had brought about 800 fans, which meant it wasn't too cramped and uncomfortable.

Through the turnstiles I went. What greeted me was a totally new experience... It was a far cry from the luxuries of The Reebok.

There were a couple of burger vans to the left, and a big blue, wooden/brick structure which towered in front of you. This was the rear of the terracing. The route up to the terracing isn't for people with a nervous disposition, with two sets of metal steps being the only way up. I might being a bit dramatic, but still!

My next mission was to find a programme seller, who I was informed would be stood next to the goal. Sure enough, he was and I bought a programme for £2.50, and to be honest, if I was forced to pay £3 I would have hit the non-existent roof.

Having purchased a very poor programme, we had to decide where to stand in the terrace of endless possibilities. After choosing to perch ourselves just behind the net, I hung up my bag and prepared myself for 90 minutes of proper football.

Me and Danny sat down on the terracing

To my right was the McAlpine Stand, the newest stand at Moss Rose. Holding 1,550 it is the only fully seated stand at the Moss Rose. Macclesfield offer around 400 seats in this stand for away fans who prefer the seated option.

To the left is the iconic London Road. This side of the ground has a stand and terracing, which gives it the non-league feel. There is space for exactly 1,371 standing spectators, whilst there are 563 seats in the stand. London Road also houses the players changing rooms and dugouts.

Opposite the away end was the Star Lane end. This is where the vocal Macclesfield supporters congregate. Behind a few rows of seating there is terracing, which makes it rather unusual. Altogether the Star Lane holds 1,321 home fans. Unlike the away, the club have supplied a roof on the Star.

Bury had gone into the match in impressive form, and found themselves just outside the automatic promotion places. Macclesfield on the other hand were hovering just above the relegation zone.

However, it was the silkmen that started off the match the better of the two teams with Ross Draper causing problems for the shakers defence. As expected, Bury soon grew into the match and it wasn't long before they opened the scoring.

Michael Jones picked the ball up on the edge of the area and curled the ball into the bottom right hand corner to beat Jose Veiga in the Macclesfield net. The rain began to pour but it wouldn't dampen the Bury fans spirits.

It was again Ross Draper causing problems for Bury, and after beating the nervy Shakers defence it was down to goalkeeper Cameron Belford to prevent him from equalising for the home side.

Yet again, as Macclesfield began to pile on the pressure they were made to pay. On 34 minutes Bury doubled their lead when Ryan Lowe dispossessed Nat Brown on the edge of his own area. Lowe then threaded Nicky Ajose - on loan from Manchester United - through on the left, before setting up Lowe for his first of the match.

Moments later Lowe returned the favour for Ajose when he knocked a ball over the Macclesfield defence. Ajose's pace proved too much as he rounded the keeper and passed the ball into an empty net. 0-3 after 36 minutes, not much more could happen in this half could it?

Well, I was wrong. Macclesfield claimed a goal back just a minute later when Ross Draper dispossessed Michael Jones in his own half. Draper then ran past five Bury players before finishing expertly past Belford in the Bury net. It was a fantastic goal, and one that Ross Draper fully deserved. 37 minutes... 1-3.

39 minutes, and Macclesfield pulled another goal back! A goalkeeping error from Cameron Belford allowed Tyrone Barnett to head the ball into an empty net. Bury had thrown away a 3-0 lead in a matter of minutes.

The first half unfortunately came to an end. It had been a fantastic first 45 minutes of football, and we were left praying for more of the same in the second half.

The second half started at a blistering pace, and it was Bury who nearly scored when Nicky Ajose's shot was cleared for a corner by Jose Veiga. By this time Daniel and I had created a new name for the Macclesfield keeper 'Jose Viagra'. Why Jose Viagra you may be asking? Well, simple really. It was more a less his last name, and all he did was get it up (The ball that is!).

It was again Ross Draper who created a chance for Macclesfield on 66 minutes, but he was unable to double his goals tally for the evening.

Macclesfield continued to press and should have equalised on 73 minutes when Ricky Sappleton made the most of a poor defensive header from Phil Picken. Sappleton fired towards and empty net but Damien Mozika somehow sprinted back to keep Bury in the lead.

Bury sealed a crucial win on 86 minutes when substitute Andy Bishop set Ryan Lowe up for his second of the evening to send the drenched Bury fans home celebrating.

It had been a very good match, with both teams giving 100%.

I really liked Macclesfields ground. Yes, it is lacking in modern facilities, but what it lacks there, it certainly makes up for in history and tradition. I hope to visit Moss Rose again sometime in the future... However I hope I will be in a stand with a roof!

Walking up to Moss Rose

The rear of the away end

Welcome to Moss Rose

Macclesfield Town v Bury

Me outside the Moss Rose

Turnstiles

Me inside the Moss Rose

Danny inside the Moss Rose

The McAlpine Stand

The Star Lane End

London Road

The Silkmen Terrace

The rear of The Silkmen Terrace

Floodlight and speaker

Bury celebrating their first goal

Match action

The Bury fans

Accrington Stanley FC - The Crown Ground (Revisit)

- Ground Number 8 (Revisited) -

- 20/03/2010 -

- Accrington Stanley FC 3-0 Dagenham & Redbridge FC-

One thought dominated my mind - 'I hope to never experience weather like that again.'

Torrential downpours and 70mph gusts, complete with open terracing resulted in awful conditions in which to watch a game of football.

After setting out from a sunny Bolton, I arrived at a very damp Crown Ground at 13:30. After walking around taking a few photos I met Nick and Charlie who had travelled up on the coach from Dagenham. Before going through the turnstiles we bought a programme off a well mannered young lad with a strong Blackburn accent.

This was my second trip to Accrington, and having seen how poor the away end was on my previous trip I wasn't exactly looking forward to an afternoon of getting wet.

As we entered the ground we could see an undercover terrace on the right hand side (The Whinney Hill Terrace) which looked as though it could keep us dry for the afternoon. However, the joy was short lived when we realised the gusts were blowing the rain straight into our faces.

I then decided to have my usual photo inside the ground. I walked to the perimeter wall of the pitch, and leant against a gate. The gate was not stable, and I somehow broke it... I'll just blame the wind.

After that near death experience we hiked up the terracing of The Coppice to help tie the Daggers flags down. With the prevailing winds and lack of help, the whole thing failed really- resulting in the whole thing being abandoned.

The rain continued to bounce down on the dark degraded terracing. Well, it wasn't really terracing anymore... it was more of a river. A steward even rowed past us in a kayak at one stage. It was getting ridiculous.

The view from the Coppice Terrace (Away end) was actually very good. With the Crown Ground being so small and compact there were no problems seeing across the pitch. Nor were there any problems watching the game of rugby which was going on behind us.

Meanwhile in the newly named Sophia Khan Stand the Accrington fans were in singing mood as usual. They sounded like hardcore Lancastrians and the Dagenham fans seemed scared. With popular chants such as ♫ Oh Lancashire is wonderful ♫. However, Dagenham fans soon had the wit to change the lyrics to; ♫ Oh Lancashire is full of rain ♫.

I would love to talk about events of the first half, but to be honest... not a lot happened. Accrington were playing their usual way - fast flowing, physical football. Dagenham on the other hand were just playing long ball, which doesn't work on a slick pitch.

The first chance of the match fell to Accrington when Micah Evans latched on to a great through ball from Craig Lindfield. Evans struck the ball well, but it went just wide of the post.

Luke Joyce (Who went to my Primary and Secondary schools) then played Evans through again. With the Dagenham fans thinking Evans had to score this time, he fired wide of Lewingtons goal yet again.

Moments later Joyce and Evans linked up again to cause more problems for the struggling Daggers defence. This time it was Evans who was provider, and Joyce was unable to beat Lewington who had been in inspired form so far.

The teams went into half-time goalless, with potty mouthed Ian Dunbavin in the Accrington goal having not made a save. I have had past experience with this foul mouthed professional at Gigg Lane. He was coming out for the second half, and I was stood behind his net. "Iannnnnn I like your pink shirt, it really suits you darling!" - Ian wasn't happy and he then fired a few obscenities in my direction.

Now usually at half time, you would go down to the concourse and huddle together to reclaim some warmth. However, the only place we could huddle was inside a portacabin with a urinal. After getting bored, and slightly uncomfortable in the portacabin we ventured to the burger van to see what was on offer.

It was reasonably priced, with a double cheeseburger costing £2.50 and a cup of tea costing just £1. However, they had no pies. What kind of Northern ground doesn't serve pies? Especially when The Hollands Pies Factory is less than a mile down the road. There was also a beer stand on offer, but not even the biggest alcoholic would have wanted an ice cold Budweiser in the conditions.

The rain eased off slightly in the second half. This gave me a great opportunity to teach Nick and Billy some Northern laws. The most valuable one they took away from their Accrington experience was;

"NEVER mention the fact that it is not raining. It will soon begin to rain."

Dagenham came out for the second half looking slightly more fired up than in the first, and it wasn't long before they had their first shot. Brian Woodall volleyed the ball just past Dunbavin in the Accrington goal. Momentum stayed with The Daggers for a few minutes.

Stanley however scored their first goal which they fully deserved. Evans cut the ball across Dagenham penalty area and Lindfield fired the ball past Lewington to score his first goal of the season.

Dagenham were extremely unlucky not to equalise when Christian Montano beat the defence before then rounding Dunbavin. Abu Ogogo then received the ball but the midfielder’s shot was somehow cleared off the line by the outstanding Joyce.

With 15 minutes remaining John Coleman brought on Charlie Barnett and Padraig Amond for Accrington, which proved to be a tactical masterclass.

The two substitutes doubled Stanley’s lead on 83 minutes. Barnett ran well down the wing before delivering a pinpoint cross to the front post for Amond to head home.

One minute later and the match was put beyond the tiring Dagenham. Amond the scorer again. He picked the ball up on the edge of the box and fired a low shot past Lewington in the Dagenham net.

The result leaves Dagenham in the relegation zone, and Accrington gradually climbing up the table.... and hopefully towards a playoff position!

It had been an entertaining day at the Crown Ground, despite the awful conditions. It still remains one of my favourite grounds in the football league due to its compact and Northern feel.

It was also very nice to meet Nick and Billy and a few more of the Dagenham fans who I will no doubt keep in touch with. If you want to follow them on Twitter - '@NickDRFCMurphy' and '@EssexDaggerBC' is what you need! You can also find Nicks' blog here - http://thedaggersscale.blogspot.com/





The road to the Crown Ground




WELCOME TO ACCRINGTON STANLEY




THE LONG ROAD BACK




Rear of The Twaites Stand/Main Stand




Charlie, Nick and Me




Nick




Me inside the ground




The Sophia Khan Stand




The Main Stand




The Coppice Terrace (Away End)




View from The Whinney Hill Terrace, looking towards The Sophia Khan Stand




Debating on which flags to put up




Competing against the gusts





Me with my Dagenham 'football fwiends'




Brian Woodall




The teams emerging on to the pitch




Billy, Me and Nick



The Globe Arena - Morecambe FC

- Ground Number 14 -

- 28/09/2010 -

- Morecambe FC 1-4 Bury FC -

Morecambe are another football team that I have seen regularly on the local news as I have been growing up. They had recently moved from their home of 89 years, Christie Park to their brand new stadium The Globe Arena. The name of the stadium derives from the company which constructed it - Globe Construction. I am personally not a fan of the name, or the stadium.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think the stadium is awful. It has it positives and its negatives just like any other stadium, but I think the negatives slightly outweigh the positives with this modern day development.

I would love to know what was going on through the architects mind when he was given the task of creating a brand new, modern looking stadium, at a low budget (£12 million.) His thoughts were probably along the lines of;

"I shall design a car park! We will leave the front of the stadium covered in gravel and rocks, but we will lay a car park towards the rear of the stadium."

"Lets design an away end! Morecambe won't recieve that many away fans so we'll make an uncovered channel to the rear of the stand as a concourse. This will be where you queue for food and toilets. I will then also feed the traffic from the turnstiles into this space aswell. OH AND I KNOW! I will make all the supporters squeeze through here to get to the terracing!"

Okay, I'll stop moaning now. It is a modern stadium which is nice on the eyes, and with a bit more care and funding it would have been brilliant.

The journey to Morecambe began when the Pillings picked me up from the top of my street as usual. It was a fairly mild night, so I didn't have to wrap up much - which can only be a positive.

Travelling up to Morecambe was comfortable and the traffic was kind to us. Parking just over the road, we didn't have to walk far to the ground. Parking could be quite a problem if/when Morecambe get promoted or when they draw a bigger team in the cup.

My first impressions of the stadium were that it looked very modern, but at the same time unfinished... which was a given really as it had only opened around a month prior to my visit.

I had my picture outside, and went inside the club shop to buy my programme. It wasn't really a club shop, it was more of a clothes shop. If you want cut-price 'Bench' clothing, then The Globe Arena is a must for you! (Bench sponsor Morecambe).

We didn't walk around the stadium, instead choosing to go directly to the turnstiles. Admission cost me £6 in the away standing terrace, and I recieved a souvenier ticket stub when I had paid.

The visiting supporters were housed in The Bay Radio Stand, which is capable of holding 1,389 supporters.

My initial thoughts of the away end were... "What idiot designed this?"

To the left hand side was a breeze-block wall which ran the length of the stand, and to the right were the toilets, food outlets etc. This resulted in the food queue blocking the doors to the toilets, which then in turn blocked the whole alleyway. You can imagine the scene really can't you?

As I turned the corner, into the 'arena' I saw the away terracing. Again, a very strange decision was made during the design process. I can't really describe what was wrong with it, but it just didn't look right.

The Main Stand was situated to my left. With a capacity of 2,173 it is the only stand which offers seating. A small section of the stand is offered to away fans, and the rest is used for home fans and media. This stand looks very good, possibly because it's surrounded by terracing?

Directly in front stood The Morecambe Bay Wines Stand, also known as the West Stand. It can hold up to 2,234 standing home fans, and it is where the atmosphere generally comes from on a matchday. It mirrors the opposing away end.

To my right was the Open Terrace. Running the length of the pitch it holds 606 standing supporters. Now, in my opinion it is a crime to build a stand without a roof in the north of England, but this is what Morecambe went for. It apparently gives it the 'feel of their home - Christie Park'.

It may have only been early on in the season, but Bury FC had a real buzz around it. Alan Knill had brought in many young players on loan, and they all seemed to be coming together to form a young, skilfull squad.

Morecambe were still waiting for their first win at their new home. However, the omens were still in their favour as Bury had never won away at Morecambe.

Bury couldn't have started off the match any better, scoring a goal within the first two minutes. Phil Picken fired the ball out wide to the determined Mike Jones. Jones then cut inside the defence and fired a low shot from the edge of the box which beat Barry Roche in the Morecambe net.

Bury should have then doubled their lead just two minutes later when Lennel John-Lewis had a shot which flew just wide of the post.

Early dominance continued when a long ball upfield found Ryan Lowe. Lowe did well to beat the keeper but unfortunately he couldn't beat the post. The Shakers also had a free kick and another oppurtunity, both of which were blocked.

Less than 20 minutes into the match and the referee couldn't keep up with Burys' fast flowing football, and he pulled his calf. The replacement referees first job was to blow his whistle to signal another Bury goal. This time it was Steven Schumacher who netted his first goal in the white of Bury after a corner from Jones.

More Bury pressure continued to rain down upon The Shrimpers net, before they finally had a shot of their own in the 38th minute. Stuart Drummond was denied by the Bury goalkeeper Cameron Belford.

After a number of corners in quick succession the Bury defence was finally broken. The ball had been cleared, only for it to fall to Stuart Drummond who volleyed it in superbly.

The teams went in at half time, after a thrilling, quick paced first half of football. I would have gone for a walk at half time, but as it was more congested than the M60 at rush hour I stayed where I was.

Morecambe had the first chance of the second half when ex-Shaker Paul Scott put the ball in the net. However, the linesman on the near side had raised his flag for offside. The match was an end to end affair with both teams looking capable of scoring at any given moment.

Ryan Lowe was replaced by a young unknown loanee from Manchester United - Nicky Ajose. I had seen Ajose play in the reserves at Manchester United and had been impressed with him. Alan Knill also brought on Andy Haworth. These two substitutions swung the match in favour of Bury, and Morecambe couldn't cope with the injection of pace.

77 minutes, and the pace of Ajose made an impact. He ran past Morecambe defender Tony Capaldi, before squaring it to Andy Haworth who scored his first goal for The Shakers.

Ajose then did exactly the same around 10 minutes later, this time supplying Michael Schumacher for his second goal of the evening. Ajose had only been wearing a Bury shirt for a matter of 20 minutes, but had already earned himself a song!

Bury fans were in a party atmosphere all evening and when they scored their 4th, we began to sing ♫ You're 4-1 down and you're pissed wet through! ♫ - This was directed at the fans on the open terrace who had been soaked, and subjected to a defeat.

I really enjoyed my evening at The Globe Arena, and hope to visit there again.




The Globe Arena - From the main road




Welcome To The Globe Arena - (Still a building site)




Me outside The Globe Arena




Morecambe FC




The Main Stand




Club Shop




Me inside The Globe Arena




The Main Stand (Left) - The Morecambe Bay Wines Stand (In front)




The Open Terrace (Right)




The Open Terrace





Inside The Bay Radio Stand

 


The Concourse (Taken from http://www.tims92.co.uk/) - I couldn't take a photo



Bury celebrating the 1st goal




View from The Away End




Bury fans