Saturday 3rd December 2022 12.30pm – The National League – Gateshead International Stadium, Gateshead
It goes to show how pessimistic some leagues were that they decided, on behalf of their clubs, that games would kick off at 12.30pm on Saturday 3rd December. The reason being was that IF England would have finished as runners-up in their World Cup group, then the round of 16 game would have kicked-off at 3pm. So rather than waiting until the final group game against Wales, a decision was made to move all games forward to 12.30pm.
But, should the worst have happened, and the Three Lions finished second, would fans have still attended a game at 12.30pm? It is unlikely that most 12.30pm kick offs would be finished by 2.30pm, and not all fans would have been keen to watch a game in a club bar – many would want to watch it at home and would thus give the game a swerve anyway.
So here I was, at possibly one of the most difficult grounds to love in the English pyramid. But I was here completing a mission of watching a game at every ground in the top five levels of English football – “Doing the 116” as some people would say. Choosing to visit Gateshead International Stadium in July normally means putting a couple of layers on, but visiting in December really does require a bit coat. The ground has its own micro-climate which consists of squally rain and a fierce wind blowing from all directions irrespective of the time of the year.
After Friday night’s escapades in Darlington I headed up to Newcastle. First mistake of the day, jumping on a train full of Millwall fans heading to their 12.30pm game against Sunderland. I did contemplate taking my West Ham socks off before boarding but braved it out…and sat in First Class.
Second mistake of the day was thinking the excellent pubs around Newcastle station (Newcastle Tap, Head of Steam and Beer Street) would open for 11am. Nope, midday. Rather than heading to the bar at the station with the Millwall fans, I started walking towards Gateshead. It was an impressive sight to see a couple of young girls who appeared to be at the beginning of the end of their Friday night out rather than the end of the beginning. The education programme teenagers go through in Newcastle in be oblivious to the elements is world-class, and one of the reasons to be proud to be British.
Forty minutes later and I’d arrived at The Schooner Inn, a Steve Backley javelin throw to the ground. The pub was already filling up with traveling fans, who had also come up to enjoy the delights of the North East. What a pub…amazing beer, fantastic pies and 80s Christmas songs on the jukebox. If the £3.50 a pint wasn’t enough to tempt you, the offer from the previous week caught my eye of “£2.50 a pint during England v USA until the first goal”, which according to the barmaid had cost them a fair bit.
The Aldershot Town fans were placed in the “al-fresco” stand. There’s a roof structure in place, but just missing a roof. Fortunately, the rain seemed to only fall on the main stand, where the five hundred or so home fans were huddled. I have a lot of sympathy for the club who have tried everything possible to advance to the Football League but sandwiched between Sunderland and Newcastle United who get crowds of 40,000+ they struggle to attract the floating fans, or the Geordie/Mackem exiles. With the World Cup taking away the Premier League you’d have expected a fair turnout for this game from Newcastle fans, but less than 1,000 were present for the early kick-off. A few miles down the road, Step 3 South Shields got double that for their 2pm kick-off against Ashton United.
It hasn’t been the best of season’s so far for The Heed after winning the National League North last season. There’s no doubt the standard of the league has been raised significantly since Gateshead were last here a few seasons ago. The fact that they could look down the table at Oldham Athletic (who played in the first ever Premier League season) and Scunthorpe United, whilst immediately above them are another former Football League side, Torquay United. Recent acquisitions hope to see the club rise up the table, starting with three points against mid-table Aldershot Town, who themselves had slightly struggled and were manager-less (at 12.30pm on Saturday).
Whilst the first half was very even, with Gateshead having the best chance with a header from Owen Bailey hit the post and bounced to safety, the meagre contribution from a poor half of football. But after the break the game came to life. The home side should have taken the lead within seconds of the restart, but it turned out to be the Shots who broke the deadlock in the 51st minute, Ryan Glover taking his chance with perfection. Aldershot’s second was a work of art with Amulazor’s effort from the edge of the box leaving the Gateshead keeper with no chance and securing the points for the visitors from Hampshire.
It could be a hard second half of the season for Gateshead if they are to stay up, especially hard with four going down. But perhaps their greatest asset is the thing that makes them so unattractive to fans – the stadium and that micro-climate.
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