Most Grim Away Game EVER

[overseas shrimper]

Something on another thread got me thinking:

What is the most grim of away trips when following SUFC?

What's your story behind why?

Mine has to be Walsall at their old ground (late 80's I think) for a Leyland DAF game. Drove up there in howling winds and driving rain. Legs were frozen as we got drenched and found a chippy. Place was an utter dump and all the pubs looked VERY unwelcoming.

The ground was falling to bits and we were out in the open as winds picked up to near hurricane strength. A precarious gantry / tower construction was creaking and swaying above us and I thought it would come down at any moment.

Stuart Rimmer tore us apart and we lost 4-0 (or was it 4-1?).

Had to make our way back though the Walsall ghetto before driving back to Southend with the wind attempting to blow the car from one lane to the next on the motorway.

Second up must be Grimsby end of last season.

 

[Leeboy]

Quote[/b] (overseas shrimper @ Jan. 19 2006,09:57)]Second up must be Grimsby end of last season.

Number 1 for me.

second was Darlington away in 01/02 - we left London on the train in beautiful sunshine, and the further North we went the darker and wetter it got.

Arriving in darkness and fog, we walked thru the cobbled streets and found a nice little pub where the Darlo fans were playing dominoes whilst supping their pints of mild.

Then a nice stroll through the wet and muddy cricket ground to Feethams, which made Layer Road look like the Mill Stad.

we lost, with Tes missing a penalty.

Change at Doncaster on the way back, with an hours wait.

What a great day  

 

[Napster]

A v Yeovil lost 4-0, got drenched on the terrace...

 

[* ORM *]

Any awayday where Leeboy turns up.

Anglo-Italian Cup Final, arriving in Nottingham at the second attempt having taken the previous day off. sh!t game, sh!t result and an even sh!ttier journey home on my own in sub-zero thick fog conditions.

 

[Ljubljana Branch]

1. Grimsby Away. Years ago, Alvin Martin was in charge and apologised at full time. Lost 5-1 - Regis Coultbolt scored our goal. First away game and went on my own. Crap (but caught the bug).

2. Grimsby Away - Last year - not just the defeat and the lack of promotion, but also the circumstances with the Grimbsy fans inside and outside the pitch - plus the infamous Bury have equalised rumour - if we didn't go up the person to have said that should have been shot - the players stopped trying for the last five minutes.

 

[Uncle Leo]

Yeovil away in the 2003/04 season.

Left Chiswick at about 9:30 and turned up at Reading train station an hour or so later to meet my mate Gav, laden with beer and ready for a nice boozy journey down.

Alas, Gav was really ill, but being a mate turned up anyway so as not to let me down. He slept on the way there, whilst I had a couple of the beers, not exactly the good laugh you normally have on these journeys.

When we got to Yeovil Pen Mill, we realised we were in the middle of nowhere. Thought we'd ask the ticket office how to get in to the town, but it closed for the weekend at 1:30 on the Saturday!

So we walked in to town and eventually found our way to the ground.

Match was fecking awful - 4-0 defeat and a player sent off.

After the game, Gav was still no better, so a very quiet pub in Yeovil before heading off to Yeovil Junction. The statio took an age to find and after a couple of aborted journeys down dark country lanes, we got a bus.

The one bright spot of the day was a cracking little cafe at Yeovil Junction station, but that was only a brief respite. It was then back on the train not getting back to Chiswick until 10:30pm.

Oh and I'd backed NZ to meet England in the Rugby World Cup Final and that bet went down that day as NZ got beat by the Aussies.

What a truly fun day all round

 

[Kent Shrimper]

Blackburn away, Tueaday night. Thinking we are gonna win 2-1. Last kick of the game and the c%&t David speedie equalised. Long trip home.

Scarborough - Nuff Said

Grimsby - Nuff Said

 

[SUFC_Al]

This goes back to 89/90 season.

Chester away 22nd December playing at Macclesfields Moss Rose. Went up with my dad and two brothers on the coach.

There were two coaches that day and the coach we were on broke down quite a long way the motorway, so all we could do was pile on to the other coach, so 100-odd people on a 50-60 seater coach! Us four had one seat to share between us and I found myself with my older brother sitting on the stairs that go down to the toilet!

We get to the ground early despite the coach fiasco and it's horrible whether, cold, damp, murky, the one bonus of the day was the fine chap on the turnstile let us in for free and my dad a fiver because it was near Chrimbo and he was obviously in a good mood.

I think we were top or 2nd and Chester were near the bottom and after kicking their arse all game they scored a last minute winner right in front of us to win 1-0, funny thing was you could sense it 2nd half, we come all this way, sharing one between four (luckily we were young, i was 10 i think), it was freezing, wet and horrible and they scored with their only worthwhile effort on goal.

The drive home weren't exactly comfortable!

 

[hexagon_sun]

Quote[/b] (Leeboy @ Jan. 19 2006,10:08)]

Quote[/b] (overseas shrimper @ Jan. 19 2006,09:57)]Second up must be Grimsby end of last season.

Number 1 for me.

Me too - could have been such a great day but alas. I think the easy drive up there and amazing pre-match atmosphere just made the horrible post-match atmosphere and long drive home even worse

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Yeah, Grimsby away last season... it doesn't get much worse than that.

Of my numerous trips to Moss Rose, there was one in which we not only went behind (and stayed behind) during the second half, but then a storm of quite biblical proportions unleashed itself on the uncovered away terrace.  I'd have been drier had I jumped fully clothed into the sea...  

 

One of my least favourite away grounds has to be Kenilworth Road... so depressing, squeezing between terraces into that poky away end.  And we lost on the one & only occasion I went there... although at least we outsang them.

Other than that, I've been pretty spawny.  I've seen us win plenty of times when I've travelled.

 

[Murkey_Mouse]

In 2003/04 season, losing 4-0 at Yeovil was worst ever for a reason as we was 2nd from bottom & have one of the worst goal difference (only Carlisle was worst than us) & the next day after that, I boughted my first ever Non-League Newspaper to learn about teams we may play in the future in the Conference. Glad I got it wrong

 

[canveyshrimper]

Somerton Park, Newport about 1977.
This stadium was a complete and utter dump, and in fact had been knocked down and converted into a slum. The terraces were muddy and halling down. From memory it was a Tuesday night and p%&sing down, we got stuffed 3-0.

Ended up getting chased by a group of local heavies armed with iron bars into a dark corner of the ground and having to vault a 10ft wall to escape.

Best thing they ever did was going out of the league.

 

[Interpol Shrimper]

Oxford Utd 96/97 season 0-5.
Even though this was late August you could see we just weren't strong enough for Div1, emergency measures should have been put in place but weren't and look what happened, 8 years in the wilderness.
Their family enclosure was near to the away end and to see loads of cocky smiling 8 year olds laughing at a team you love made it even harder to take.

 

[Shrimper in India]

Grimsby last season for obvious reasons and the 5-0 mauling at Oxford at the Manor which has already been mentioned.

Also have particularly bad memories of my one trip to Selhurst Park, just after fat Baz jumped ship to Brum.

Crystal Palace is in the most inaccessible part of London (well it's not on the tube) and it poured on the hundreds of Shrimpers on the large crumbling away terrace.

Crap ground, terrible game, but just when it looked like we might bag a point they scored a late winner.

 

[Firestorm]

Quote[/b] (canveyshrimper @ Jan. 19 2006,10:34)]Somerton Park, Newport about 1977.
This stadium was a complete and utter dump, and in fact had been knocked down and converted into a slum. The terraces were muddy and halling down. From memory it was a Tuesday night and p%&sing down, we got stuffed 3-0.

Ended up getting chased by a group of local heavies armed with iron bars into a dark corner of the ground and having to vault a 10ft wall to escape.

Best thing they ever did was going out of the league.

F**k me I was at that one,

I didn't see any other Shrimpers there...

IIRC it was the last game of the season and Colin Adison have saved them from going out of the league, Kids ran on the pitch every time they scored.

But as I was at Cardiff Uni at the time it wasn't too grim

Getting thumped by 5 or 6 away at Crystal Palace wasn't fun. I reckon anyone who was at Gillingham when they put 8 past us might have something to say as well.

Grimsby , last year had the added fun of the car being broken into at the hotel so we had to stay an extra night

 

[DTS]

Quote[/b] (overseas shrimper @ Jan. 19 2006,09:57)]Something on another thread got me thinking:

What is the most grim of away trips when following SUFC?

What's your story behind why?

Mine has to be Walsall at their old ground (late 80's I think) for a Leyland DAF game. Drove up there in howling winds and driving rain. Legs were frozen as we got drenched and found a chippy. Place was an utter dump and all the pubs looked VERY unwelcoming.

The ground was falling to bits and we were out in the open as winds picked up to near hurricane strength. A precarious gantry / tower construction was creaking and swaying above us and I thought it would come down at any moment.

Stuart Rimmer tore us apart and we lost 4-0 (or was it 4-1?).

Had to make our way back though the Walsall ghetto before driving back to Southend with the wind attempting to blow the car from one lane to the next on the motorway.

Second up must be Grimsby end of last season.

It was 4-1 - peter Butler scored for us....My dads birthday.

Agree that was crap.

 

[Shrimper James]

Grimsby away last season without doubt.

However, giving it a close run for it's money was Crystal Palace away in 199... something, can't remember.
Anyway, my mate at school at the time was a Palace fan and his Dad drove me and him up to Selhurst Park for the game. Them two being Palace fans, i had to sit in the home end with them.
We lost 6-1 and i got absolutely canned on the way home.

 

[Beefy]

Scaborough

 

[canveyshrimper]

Quote[/b] (Firestorm @ Jan. 19 2006,11:05)]

Quote[/b] (canveyshrimper @ Jan. 19 2006,10:34)]Somerton Park, Newport about 1977.
This stadium was a complete and utter dump, and in fact had been knocked down and converted into a slum. The terraces were muddy and halling down. From memory it was a Tuesday night and p%&sing down, we got stuffed 3-0.

Ended up getting chased by a group of local heavies armed with iron bars into a dark corner of the ground and having to vault a 10ft wall to escape.

Best thing they ever did was going out of the league.

F**k me I was at that one,

I didn't see any other Shrimpers there...

IIRC it was the last game of the season and Colin Adison have saved them from going out of the league, Kids ran on the pitch every time they scored.

But as I was at Cardiff Uni at the time it wasn't too grim

Getting thumped by 5 or 6 away at Crystal Palace wasn't fun. I reckon anyone who was at Gillingham when they put 8 past us might have something to say as well.

Grimsby , last year had the added fun of the car being broken into at the hotel so we had to stay an extra night  

Couldn't have known you then mate, because the sight of me vaulting over that sodding wall would have stayed with you forever. There weren't too many of us that day for sure.

I think you are right, certainly Colin Addison had worked a miracle there as they were dead and buried at Christmas.

That Gillingham hammering was hard to take as well as they scored our goal to add insult to injury.

 

[Uncle Leo]

Quote[/b] (canveyshrimper @ Jan. 19 2006,10:34)]Somerton Park, Newport about 1977.
This stadium was a complete and utter dump, and in fact had been knocked down and converted into a slum. The terraces were muddy and halling down. From memory it was a Tuesday night and p%&sing down, we got stuffed 3-0.

Ended up getting chased by a group of local heavies armed with iron bars into a dark corner of the ground and having to vault a 10ft wall to escape.

Best thing they ever did was going out of the league.

Don't suppose any of my relatives were there were they?