A day out in Salisbury

By Chester City Exiles on Sep 25, 09 09:34 AM in

My build-up to City's first ever game against Salisbury went far too swimmingly. For about the first time ever, both the M25 and M3 were totally devoid of traffic enabling me to spot the spire of Salisbury on the approach to the city with nearly three hours to spare before kick-off.

I decided to pay an early visit to the ground, via the twistiest of roads complete with thatched cottages, roses and ducks. The memorably-named (not) Raymond McEnhill Stadium has to be THE most isolated ground in the BSP and above.

It's obviously a real community club and was nice to see schoolboys having organised football practice on the training pitch next to the stadium car park. The only downer was that two of the boys participating were sporting Man United shirts and another a Chelsea top. We were hundreds of miles from Old Trafford, but their "supporters" seem to get everywhere!

With still more than two hours to go to kick-off, there was chance to head into town for a pre-match visit to a friendly hostelry. It took the landlord a while to work out that his pub was working as a meeting-point for City fans from far-and-wide, as supporters from Wimbledon, Leatherhead, Potters Bar and, yes, Chester gathered to talk tactics.

So my day out was going well and we reluctantly dragged ourselves away from the pub and back into the wilds of Old Sarum for the game. I parked up on the very pitch where the Man United fans had been playing just two hours before, paid my £13, and tried to find a few other City fans to stand with. It wasn't easy to find any fellow Blues supporters, but a handful of us somehow managed to gather together.

If truth be told, this was where the day got a tad disappointing. The first half was as dull as ditchwater and the second half didn't really get going until the 70th minute. Thankfully Ben Wilkinson almost made the whole day perfect when he scored on the 78th minute. But the excitement didn't last long, as the Whites equalised inside three minutes. There was added drama when Danby got injured and Salisbury had a last-minute goal disallowed.

To be honest, I could have seen just the last 20 minutes of the game and I wouldn't have missed anything. But life as a Chester Exile isn't just about the 90 minutes on the park and I still enjoyed my trip to leafy Wiltshire. Next up for me is Hayes & Yeading. Leafy it won't be, but it will still be a good day out.