Swindon Town 2-0 Aldershot Town
County Ground, Capacity 14,700
att 7,526 (369 shots) (looked more)
26/11/11
PDM in Attendance: Daniel.
You ain't got no pies! You ain't got no pies!
I can't help but feel disappointed after a result like this. We didn't deserve to win. A point would have been fair. It was the manner we lost. I'll get onto that later though. Getting to Swindon is remarkably easy from PDM UKHQ. One stop and the the 12:24 to Swindon was the order of things. We left Swindon Station and an easy walk to the ground. You can see it from the Station. I made the customary trip to the club shop to get a Swindon Town Badge, £2.99. Bargain.
We were in relatively good spirits before the game. With me was Mitchell at his first ever away game and Del. Before entering the away end at Swindon you have to go to the side of The Stratton Bank and purchase your ticket from a man behind several railings. This was made oh so clear to a steward that wouldn't let us go round until he had told us about the bar 71. Did you know it is away fans only houses heating, a wide screen TV, Toilets and refreshments? well you do know. We went to purchase the Tickets for the match and, again, another Steward started talking to us. His specialty appeared to be winding us with absolute Bullsh*t facts. Some examples for you:
-Swindon have 7 home games left this season
-Aldershot had to make the rec bigger to meet FL regulations
-You can not smoke inside the ground (particularly useful when none of us do)
-Bar 71 is away fans only houses heating, a wide screen TV, Toilets and refreshments
Upon trying to cut down the conversation we made our way to sample Bar 71. After being told by the same guy as the first time it is away fans only houses heating, a wide screen TV, Toilets and refreshments. Not until he asked if we were Aldershot fans though! In truth it was a large conference hall with a few tables, a bar and a projector. Oh and a few rather tacky posters with Aldershot players. Upon watching the second half of the Stoke v Blackburn game we made our way into the ground. Built in 1896 it is one of the larger in the league. To the right of us was the Stratton Bank. It's obvious that it is an old terrace with seats bolted on top of it. It is uncovered and houses the away fans for larger followings. It also has a scoreboard and the famous Rolex clock. Opposite us was the Don Rogers Stand. This is the second largest in the ground with an approximate 5,000 capacity. It is the newest stand having opened in 1994 and also the steepest by far! To the right was where the main singing area was. The Town end. It has several pillars and a floodlight going through the top of the roof on one side. The final stand was the one the away fans were housed in. The Arkells stand. It is the largest stand holding 6,800 and offers good views. One word of warning, get your food early as by half time they had run out of pies and Hot Dogs!
The game was a rather lackluster affair. Neither side gaining control in the first half and went in even at the break. Both sides started brightly in the second half. Swindon took the lead with a goal I was right in line with. The guy must of been a yard offside. The shots upped the pressure and we thought they had be rewarded when the ball went in the back of the net. This was disallowed for an apparent *push* on a Swindon player. Swindon then went down the other end and scored a goal that was a) offside and b) blatantly a push. This dampened my afternoon but it was funny when Di Canio started shouting at the subs for not warming up hard enough!
Despite the result I enjoyed the visit to the County Ground and one I wouldn't mind going to again. Apologies for some of the photo's as I didn't take my lens with a zoom!
We were in relatively good spirits before the game. With me was Mitchell at his first ever away game and Del. Before entering the away end at Swindon you have to go to the side of The Stratton Bank and purchase your ticket from a man behind several railings. This was made oh so clear to a steward that wouldn't let us go round until he had told us about the bar 71. Did you know it is away fans only houses heating, a wide screen TV, Toilets and refreshments? well you do know. We went to purchase the Tickets for the match and, again, another Steward started talking to us. His specialty appeared to be winding us with absolute Bullsh*t facts. Some examples for you:
-Swindon have 7 home games left this season
-Aldershot had to make the rec bigger to meet FL regulations
-You can not smoke inside the ground (particularly useful when none of us do)
-Bar 71 is away fans only houses heating, a wide screen TV, Toilets and refreshments
Upon trying to cut down the conversation we made our way to sample Bar 71. After being told by the same guy as the first time it is away fans only houses heating, a wide screen TV, Toilets and refreshments. Not until he asked if we were Aldershot fans though! In truth it was a large conference hall with a few tables, a bar and a projector. Oh and a few rather tacky posters with Aldershot players. Upon watching the second half of the Stoke v Blackburn game we made our way into the ground. Built in 1896 it is one of the larger in the league. To the right of us was the Stratton Bank. It's obvious that it is an old terrace with seats bolted on top of it. It is uncovered and houses the away fans for larger followings. It also has a scoreboard and the famous Rolex clock. Opposite us was the Don Rogers Stand. This is the second largest in the ground with an approximate 5,000 capacity. It is the newest stand having opened in 1994 and also the steepest by far! To the right was where the main singing area was. The Town end. It has several pillars and a floodlight going through the top of the roof on one side. The final stand was the one the away fans were housed in. The Arkells stand. It is the largest stand holding 6,800 and offers good views. One word of warning, get your food early as by half time they had run out of pies and Hot Dogs!
The game was a rather lackluster affair. Neither side gaining control in the first half and went in even at the break. Both sides started brightly in the second half. Swindon took the lead with a goal I was right in line with. The guy must of been a yard offside. The shots upped the pressure and we thought they had be rewarded when the ball went in the back of the net. This was disallowed for an apparent *push* on a Swindon player. Swindon then went down the other end and scored a goal that was a) offside and b) blatantly a push. This dampened my afternoon but it was funny when Di Canio started shouting at the subs for not warming up hard enough!
Despite the result I enjoyed the visit to the County Ground and one I wouldn't mind going to again. Apologies for some of the photo's as I didn't take my lens with a zoom!