Match: v Halifax Town - F.A. Cup Round One

Date: Saturday, November 13th, 2004

Result: Halifax 3 Cambridge United 1

THE JOURNEY

Departure Time: 9am

Arrival at Ground: It may have been a second consecutive Saturday spent on the A1 and M62, but there could barely have been a bigger contrast between the driving conditions. Last week's rain and spray was replaced by bright sunshine, making the drive from the M62 into Halifax particularly picturesque.

It was a relatively straightforward journey until we reached Halifax where the roads, rather like the staircases at Hogwarts, appeared to keep changing position. So while we could see the ground quite easily, actually reaching it was another matter. After visiting most of the side-roads that lead to various turnstiles and walls around the ground, we finally parked at the front shortly after 12.45pm.

AT THE GROUND

The Ground: Once in the ground, the first impression you get is of being on a building site, as the new stand being constructed along one side of the ground seems to dominate everything. Once finished, this will go a long way towards making the stadium into a very impressive venue, but completion appears to be some way away yet with just the few seats bolted into place for home and visiting dignitaries looking like blue life rafts in a concrete sea. The portacabins and the steel skeleton on a car park in the corner complete the picture along that side of the ground.

A huge, covered terrace is behind each goal and this gave an indication of what the ground is morphing into. Although the speedway track that used to run around the pitch had long since vanished, there were still signs of the Shay's past in the stand that ran along the other side of the pitch.

This stand, which included a press area with legroom that made a transatlantic economy flight feel capacious in comparison, was cut into the side of a hill and had a grass - or rather a weed - bank separating it from the visitor's terrace. This was the one area of the ground that had a pillar-obstructed view, although the facilities themselves in this stand were actually not too bad & as long as you didn't have any legs.

United Fans: Although you can't blame them for their frustration in these difficult times, there were far more anti-board chants then anything actually supporting the team. Frustration boiled over at the end with a couple of fans getting involved in a heated exchange with Warren Goodhind, who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and was quite rightly not prepared to let some of the personal abuse aimed at him go unanswered.

View from Away End: The visitor's terrace was not just huge; it was incredibly steep. From the back, you needed a good head for heights and a telescope to see the action.

Home Fans: Quiet, until they took the lead for the second time.

Programme: With its A5 size, 40 pages and basic design the only thing not non-League about the programme was the £2.50 price.

Food/Drink: Hot dogs, at £1.80, were tasty enough and for £1 you got a good-sized cup of tea for which you could help yourself to milk from a plastic jug on the counter.

State of Toilets: A larger version of Swansea's notorious facilities, those at the Shay were probably okay for when Leigh RMI visited, but they struggled to cope with the travelling U's fans.

AFTERWARDS

The Journey Home: We started the drive back with the sounds of Tony Christie's 'Amarillo' still ringing in our ears. They'd played it before the game, and used it again afterwards to celebrate their victory - I wonder if we have a song like that!

Mileage: 341.2 miles

Total Distance for Season: 3,095.2 miles

Mark Johnson, with additional reporting by Paul Johnson, Ryan Johnson and Gordon McMillan