Well, Saturday’s day was what can only be
described as a cracker, or even a sizzler – despite the cold weather. On the itinerary
provided by the wonderful University of Cumbria our first port of call was to
get to the ground for our 12.15 tour of the stadium. This was an 88.1 mile
journey and according to a well know computer map system it was going to take 1
hour and 38 minutes. We decided to set off at 10am and try and to fit in a trip
to Tebay Services on the M6 (featured previously in the 4th qualifying
round as Workington played Stourbridge when blog guest Frasier Sanderson drove
up on 27th October, 2013). The weather in Preston was horrendous as
heavy rain and cold weather suggested that heading further North was nothing
but a bad idea. However, the further
North we travelled, the nicer it got and some lovely snow topped scenery in
this beautiful part of the country enhanced our pleasant journey.
We
arrived at around 12.10 midday and drove into the stadium car park.
From left to right above Tim Webster, Russell
Hogarth and Adam Webster. I am behind
the camera.
It would appear that we had driven to the
supporters end and we had to walk all the way around the stadium to get the
main reception and ground tour.
As we walked around on to the street, we passed the
club shop and statue of Hughie Mcllmoyle, who had 77 appearances for Carlisle
United between 1962 and 1965. He scored 44 goals for the club.
Brunton Park main entrance – I apologise for the
shaky camerawork…
We somehow joined the stadium tour and ended up in
the Home Dressing room.
It was hear that I noticed the secret to Carlisle’s
recent success - Jaffa cakes and Wine Gums.
We entered the away dressing room to a slight smell
of sweat and we were informed that their shower facilities included an old
style giant bath for all the players.
The tour took us through the tunnel and onto the
pitch.
As we entered the pitch one thought came into my
mind ‘wow, this is amazing,’ and as I thought it, the 10 year boy next to me
said it aloud. I suppose there is a young child inside all of us and it was
great to connect to my former self.
However, as you can see – this was amazing and the
pitch looked incredible. I wanted to go
and lie on it, but perhaps that would not have been a great idea as there is no
working undersoil heating at Carlisle. This fantastic surface was down to the
great ground staff that mow the surface every day and the incredible work of
pump Desmond (it took away all the surface water from Thursday’s flooding). Michael
Knighton built the stand in his brief stint as club owner in the 1990s.
We got to sit on the bench that was designed for
Kenny Baker. I think that players must have been a lot smaller in the olden
days – either that or they had incredibly flexible spines.
We managed to straighten backup and move to Foxy’s Restaurant
for part two of our itinerary list.
It was here that we were given our match tickets and
game programme. Most exciting news was
that it was a free bar!
Food options were either a Steak Pie and Potatoes or
Chilli and Rice. Blog guest Tim Webster
had three helpings….
And I continued with the free drinks… A former
player gave a speech about his hatred of Michael Kington and then we moved to
the pitch – ready for kick off.
Our view was slightly restricted by the giant pillar
but that is the magic of old school football stadia.
This
was an ‘interesting’ turn of events before kick-off and once again I apologise for
the shacky camera work. In the centre of
the pitch is a taxidermined fox know as Olga. She is brought out before kick-off
in all home games and this tradition dates back to the 1950s and represents
Cumbrian huntsman John Peel.
Above
are pictures of Foxy and Olga.
The
game itself was entertaining and in the balance as Carlisle seemed to have the bulk
of the possession and chances but they did look vulnerable to Morecambe’s
counter attack on various occasions. As
the Cumbria University Cheerleaders started to arrive in the opposite stand
around 5 minutes before half time, I felt sorry for them in thier skimpy outfits – it
was not the warmest of days. However us
VIPs rushed back to foxes for our pre-ordered half time drinks. I had mini cakes and two free pints waiting
for me, but only managed to neck one pint before heading back to the stand for
the second half. By the time our Prawn
Sandwich Brigade got back to our seats it was already 1-0 to Carlisle – we had
missed the goal.
Morecambe
seemed to have much more possession in the 2nd half and equalised. With
around 10 minutes to go they got a penalty and the loudest cheer of the day was
when penalty taker Adam Campbell hit the cross bar and the game finished
1-1. I had predicted 4–1to Carlisle so
this proves that I know nothing!
We
headed back into Foxy’s Restaurant for the final part of the itinerary list -
Man of the Match awards and prize giving. Before kick off the VIPs had been
given the opportunity to guess the First Goal Score, the Attendance and the Man
of the Match.
Nobody got the attendance or the first
goal scorer correct, so a random draw took palce and blog guest Tim Webster
went and won himself a Carlisle United Shirt.
Next came the Man of the Match award and
once again Tim Webster won himself a crate of Heineken Beer presented by Man of
the Match Kelvin Etuhu.
After
all these awards and VIP treatments, we set off back to Preston after a thoroughly
enjoyable day. I need to once again thank Cumbria University for their VIP
invite and congratulate them on their 10-year anniversary. Thank you to Foxy’s for all the free food and
beer and thanks to Adam for driving. Thanks to Russell and Tim for their blog
guest appearances.
This
whole day cost me £10….. £5 for a half time raffle and £5 for petrol. By far the cheapest ever outing for the Giant
Killing Adventure and I hope you all enjoyed this one off VIP special…
However,
there is no such thing as VIPS, just Ps…
Take
Care, Nigel.
x
