As I described in this post here, tickets booked, we had to collect them at the ground, we hooked with our pals Smithy and Mushtaq and were genuinely excited about a day out in South Wales.
Once we stepped off the Arriva Trains Wales service that skims through the beautiful border country from Shrewsbury, Hereford and Abergavenny, the heavens opened. We ducked into Nando's for lunch as we watched the bedraggled masses sheltering outside the trickle of people between where we sat, and the stadium over the river Usk, seemed to be in the other direction.
"Match off, lads," everyone seemed to say to us, as we headed down to pick the tickets up, in order to claim a refund (I never did).
Bizarrely, chalking off Newport yesterday wasn't the plan either. We had planned a day out in Cheltenham Spa with a couple of friends and then to watch the local team alongside the visiting Tranmere Rovers fans, to chalk off my 85th of the 92. Except the game got called off because 20th placed League Two side Tranmere Rovers had three players called up for international duty.
So, with an investment in train tickets to Gloucestershire made, unrefundable, a chance to skip along to Newport to take in my 85th ground opened up.
These adventures aren't just about the football, but a match is a great way to see anywhere, in any country. Which is just as well, because a nervy encounter between two struggling teams, in a wind swirled Rodney Parade, was the worst game we've seen this season by some margin. It was rescued by a peach of a winning goal from Newport's Bobby Kamwa, right in front of us.
The stadium, which they share with a rugby team, is effectively two permanent stands along each side, one very modern, and the one opposite, that we were in, that has a terrace in front of a covered wooden grandstand.
The away fans were in half of the temp open seats at one end, and a section of the modern new structure.
Lunch in Newport Market in as good a food hall as we've seen anywhere else was almost worth the trip itself. From Sri Lankan stall Ceylon M8 we had fried butter squid, mutton rolls and chicken koththu,
and a jar of cheesecake each from The Cheesecake Guy.
Since I last posted I've ticked off Barrow (82) on a freezing cold New Year's Day, Everton (83), and a solo jaunt to Lincoln City (84) in the sold out away end against my local team Stockport County. We got turned away in December, but the return visit found Lincoln on top of the table and on a record 20 game unbeaten run and real winning streak.
With Lincoln on the rise, I’d fully expect Sincil Bank to be massively redeveloped. Props to their fans for keeping up a barrage for most of the game.
I really liked Hill Dickinson stadium, Everton's brand new ground. It was walkable from the city centre and I was lucky enough to be a guest of the law firm that sponsors the new home of the Toffees. It reminded me of the Stade De Drago in Porto, and I feel pretty sure that the atmosphere will get going once the fans build some institutional memory and people find their favoured places.
We've got a firm plan to do Stevenage (86) next week and are eyeing Crawley (87) on the last day of the season, which will leave me short of the 92, but these are expensive and long days out.
Brentford will be tricky to get tickets to because they sell out every week in the Premier League, it may necessitate taking in a game when their women's team play at the Gtech, which some purists will tell me doesn't count. A weekend that could take in Wimbledon or Bromley would work.
I have massive respect to anyone who has done them all. It is no small effort, but great fun.
