Away Days; Middlesbrough

The harsh knowledge that a loss all but ended Leeds' already slim play-off hopes overshadowed what was a fairly impressive away performance on a day where Middlesbrough opened up an eight point gap over the Whites thanks to a late Curtis Main header. Perhaps the season is over, but its arguable that the fans' frustration at the final whistle was a culmination of the performances they've seen over the course of the season. We weren't that bad last night were we?

I don't think so. Being at university, I can't find the time or the money that the ticket and train fare would cost me to get to Elland Road. With this in mind, the last time I attended a game was the infamous "Barnsley debacle", arguably one of the lowest lows I've witnessed during my life-long support of the club. Since then, we've sold top-scorer Luciano Becchio, brought in three new faces but haven't picked up many more points. It could be argued we've been slightly unlucky; the last two games perfect representation of how we sometimes do need what Warnock calls "the rub of the green". 

I couldn't concentrate on the match until I was settled on the train to Middlesbrough. My knowledge of trains is similar in ability to Danny Pugh's right foot and after somehow negotiating my way to Darlington, I did manage to locate the correct train to Middlesbrough. I quickly worked out that the lads next to me were Leeds fans but I refrained from exposing myself as one of them and didn't join in their discussion. They were posher than me and from what I heard, were talking complete shite. Standard.

Finding the ground from the station wasn't difficult; I simply followed the crowd of Middlesbrough fans that had joined the train at Thornaby. My step-dad's coach had been subject to a police escort and so I located my seat whilst checking Twitter for the team news. Un-changed. No Barkley in the squad. I was a little disappointed; Barkley in for Brown was the only change I'd wanted. Anybody in for Brown. 

With the horrors of Barnsley still embedded in my thoughts, I expected nothing less than Middlesbrough having the first clear-cut chance with some abysmal marking by the Whites allowing Rhys Williams to volley a free-kick onto the top of the net. Hardly the convincing start we needed. But from then on, things improved. Compared to Barnsley, we started playing a thing called football. Some neat, flowing moves brought about two chances in two minutes, both falling to David Norris. One was screwed wide, but the second hit the target and brought about a good save from Steele. Middlesbrough looked void of confidence and although we never really turned the screw after a solid start, we were well in the game. Morison and McCormack were linking up well and a clever back heel from the latter nearly found the ex-Norwich front-man in the box, but Steele smothered well. Then came the best chance as a hopeful, some would call useless, ball into the box from Green turned dangerous. The approaching Steele slipped, allowing McCormack to nip in behind him. It cried out for a first-time finish that never came and once McCormack had steadied himself, the home side had bodies behind the ball and Woodgate made an excellent clearance off the line. Leeds were carving out chances and Middlesbrough were looking threatening from set-pieces in what was a very good advertisement for Championship football. The home side had an excellent chance before the break, but Kenny spread himself well to deny Haroun.

Both teams were going for it, clearly representing the fact that both desperately needed a win. I hoped that we would be equally as positive in the second half, but alas we weren't. Middlesbrough took control of the early stages of the second period forcing pressure and mistakes as Leeds repeatedly gave the ball away. They should have taken the lead in what was a mass scramble, with a Paddy Kenny double-save and an incredibly block by a Leeds player (couldn't see who), keeping it level. Leeds were starting to rely on counter-attacking football and could only create half chances, as Steve Morison planted a firm header at Steele. The away faithful began crying out for a change and in fairness, we probably needed one. Warnock refused to make one; presumably believing that the team on the pitch were firmly in the game. That was understandable, but still, Michael Brown had to be removed. And, after sarcastically applauding the Leeds fans' chants of "Warnock, Warnock, make a change", Middlesbrough took the lead. Substitute Ishmael Miller's cross was met with real quality by Main who looped his header over Kenny and into the far corner. Some Leeds fans used this opportunity to take the moral high-ground over Warnock in saying that they were correct in the sense that a change should have been made. Idiocy. There is no empirical evidence suggesting a change would have prevented the goal.

A goal down, Warnock did make changes, bringing on Diouf, Austin and Habibou with the latter almost equalising with his first touch but an excellent header by the substitute was matched by an even better save from Steele. A few corners, a few poor crosses and a few goal-mouth scrambles were as close as we came to levelling the match and the full-time whistle signalled another defeat on the road for the Whites. 

The "Warnock, Warnock, time to go" chants again sounded around the majority of the away end, seemingly born out of frustration of the lack of substitutions. Understandable. But Leeds fans are far too quick to crucify those they dislike and protect the ones they love. There is far more to suggest we'd have gone on to win had McCormack not missed a golden opportunity in the first half, than if Warnock brought Diouf on earlier. Ross walked away blame-free...had the criticised Steve Morison missed that one chance, I fear things would have been slightly different. I think we'd have heard how "shit he is" or how "we lost out in the Becchio deal". Yawn.

Some of Warnock's post-match comments were slightly bemusing, particularly the one about Barkley; how we can guarantee Michael Brown matches but not one of England's finest young talents is beyond me. But the comments about the missed chances were fairly accurate; we have been guilty of that in the last three games and that is not Neil's fault. 

A WACCOE poll was fairly damning on the continuation of Warnock's reign with only 2% of 520 suggesting he should remain in his position. I'm not sure as, with the season being practically over, I don't see the point in getting rid. A Warnock sacking would be celebrated, but harshly so. He's had a go. He's done his best in a tough position albeit letting himself down with some bemusing comments, awful team selections and questionable tactics. The one comment that I agreed the most with was simple. 

"I think we have the makings of a good team".

And we do. Perhaps with a few changes, a few signings in summer and a squad selection including the better players, the basis for a good squad is here. Fans are allowed to be frustrated at what has been a disappointing season. But there was nothing wrong with how we played tonight. The lads did well. 

Away Days: Barnsley

Once the majority of Leeds fans formulate a negative opinion of something it is very hard for that something to change their opinion. On the flip side, the supporters' "golden boys" can never do anything wrong. Last year's visit to Oakwell saw Leeds suffer a humiliating 4-2 defeat against the Tykes, a result which manager Simon Grayson received little criticism for. Today, the reaction that greeted current manager Neil Warnock can only be described as hostile. Very hostile. The same can be said about the reaction that club captain Lee Peltier received. Just imagine if he'd have given away the penalty that ultimately costed the Whites a result. He'd have been crucified. However, the perpetrator, "golden boy" Sam Byram walked off blame-free.

Admittedly Leeds were awful, continuing their run of terrible performances which also saw them extend a disappointing win-less run at Oakwell. The first half saw the home side, who hadn't won in fifteen, take total control as they carved out a vast amount of chances. Leeds goalkeeper Paddy Kenny was in good form, making two or three smart saves and the lively Marlon Harewood struck the post as Barnsley continued to defy their lowly league position. Historically, they always raise their game against us and the array of opportunities, combined with an abundance of corners ensured that the first half today was no different. Somehow, Leeds went into half-time at nil-nil. The atmosphere in the away end through the latter stages of the first half were as hostile as ever and the players were greeted by a chorus of boos as they walked off. Justified, possibly. Correct thing to do, no. It only makes things worse.

Anyone at the game could appreciate that the opening stages of the second half were a little better. David Norris and El Hadji Diouf were replaced by Paul Green and Ross McCormack and fifteen minutes into the second half, Leeds finally had a worthwhile attempt on goal. Debutant loanee Ross Barkley's turn and shot rebounded unluckily off the bar and finally we looked like we could get something out of the game. Had it gone in, maybe things would have gone differently.

The game-changing moment came on 63 minutes. A positive run to the Leeds by-line by Dagnall was stopped illegally by young Sam Byram with the referee correctly pointing to the spot. Despite his undoubted talent and potential, the young right back has played poorly for a few weeks and again showed a real misjudgement caused by inexperience. Ultimately it was to cost Leeds the game and Dagnall sent Kenny the wrong way to give Barnsley a fully deserved lead.

It was always going to be a long way back for Leeds and the task got even harder when Dagnall added his second three minutes later. As ever, Leeds made it far too easy but the impressive build up play and even more impressive finish across Paddy Kenny was worthy of sealing any game. Despite a few long strikes from distance, Leeds never looked like getting back into the game and could even have conceded a third, but Harewood screwed his shot wide.

So where are we going wrong? Probably just abut everywhere. Byram's form has slipped in recent weeks and his selection slides Lee Peltier into a position that he has no idea how to play. I've never been convinced by Alan Tate and although Jason Pearce alongside him is a battler, we never really look assured at the back. But for once, the defence isn't the main problem. The midfield is. Its the area where we're really getting punished. Despite being seemingly declared fit, Rodolph Austin again showed that he is a long way short of the pace with a frankly awful performance. David Norris had a rare shocker and Michael Tonge was uninspiring despite battling hard. Diouf was poor again; last time I saw him play well was around early October and Becchio did nothing. The only bright spark was arguably Ross Barkley; despite being a little greedy at times he showed effort and a touch of class that wasn't matched by anyone else.

I was as disappointed as anyone with both the result and the performance. But the reaction from the fans at full time was nothing short of a disgrace. I understand that fans pay their money and expect better but booing and gesturing abusively at a captain and manager of our football club is a new low.

A good performance and a win is normally dependent on two things; a solid performance by the team and positive encouragement from the start. None of that is happening at Leeds right now. Its all well and good booing the players but it doesn't help at all. The team needs to take a long, hard look at itself. But so do some of the fans.

Altrincham 3-0 Harrogate Town

Studying at university and following Leeds United home and away upon your return is quite time-consuming, so much so that I don't see much of my Dad. With custodial requirements fading into the distant past, weekends spent at my Dad's are rare and have to be planned well in advance. But, as Birmingham City were plucked out of the famous F.A. Cup draw to face a trip to Elland Road, I started formulating plans. There was no way I was paying in excess of £20 for that; Birmingham away maybe, Birmingham at home, no.

It's not exactly the Anfield Kop but it's the Carole Nash main stand.

Nowadays, no trip across the Pennines to Dad's is complete without a non-league football visit. Dad, having fallen out of love with Leeds, "supports" local Blue Square North side Altrincham FC and having been numerous times since childhood, I now class them as my "second team". Anyone that knows me well will know that, for a second team, I follow them quite religiously. I could tell you their starting eleven, I could probably tell you who they're playing next week and, after checking various scores in order to confirm the presumption that I haven't won any of my accumulators, I always check their result. I've even been on an Alty away day with a trip to Stalybridge last season that sadly ended in a 5-1 reverse. They're someone who most football fans haven't heard of; a real shame given most will have heard of fellow Blue Square North rivals Chester, Guiseley and for Leeds fans, Histon...just to name a few. 

Most football fans will have also heard of their opponents today, Harrogate Town. Three points below Alty in the table but with three games in hand, Town are certainly fellow play-off contenders and the game was therefore billed as a big one. We arrived twenty minutes before kick off and took our seats in the smallest of Moss Lane's two seated areas; a seat Dad had selected over recent years due to its proximity to one of the linesmen. Its also near to one of the goals where twenty Harrogate fans had stationed themselves for the first half with their team kicking towards them; non league football allows fans to move wherever they want throughout the game.

Alty are on a bit of a good run and started well, with summer signing Jake Moult taking full control of the game in centre midfield. Inside ten minutes, three chances had gone with top scorer Damian Reeves' lob rebounding off the crossbar before Harrogate keeper Craig McGillivray was forced into two fine saves. Harrogate grew slowly into the game but Alty's centre half pairing of Gianluca Havern and Danny Hall were looking strong. Half an hour in and Alty finally got their reward for their pressure by taking the lead. The impressive Moult found space on the right before delivering a low cross which was converted after a small scrap by Simon Richman. Then came non-league footballing excitement at its finest.

With top scorer Damian Reeves through on goal, a second Alty goal was on. Drama. Toppled by McGillivray, Reeves went down and the referee had no choice but to award the penalty and Moss Lane waited for the card colour. You felt it had to be red. It was red. Harrogate protested but McGillivray was dismissed and replaced by...an outfielder. With no goalkeeper on the bench, Town sent Number Eight (name unknown to me) in to face the penalty. Matt Doughty stepped up for Altrincham and the rookie goalkeeper, in true Phil Jagielka style, made the save. Only at non-league football.

The rookie keeper formed much of the excitement in the second half with a string of outstanding saves that made you wonder whether he had secretly played in goal for Chelsea youth when he was little. After a stunning save from a Nicky Clee free kick early in the second half he was however beaten, with a looping header from the otherwise unimpressive Carl Rodgers looping in to the goal. We felt sorry for the Harrogate rookie keeper; his poor effort at keeping it out representing the idea that maybe he wasn't a Chelsea youth goalkeeper after all. As mentioned though, his string of saves did keep the scoreline down, but didn't prevent Alty scoring again, with Damian Reeves rifling a fine finish into the bottom corner late on. Harrogate had no reply until the 80th minute when, in one of their rare excursions towards the Altrincham box, they were awarded a penalty. Yet again, in true non-league fashion, it was missed, with Alty cult hero Stuart Coburn making a fine save to keep the home sides clean sheet in tact. The 3-0 win sees the Robins close further in on a play-off place.



No football report on January 5th can be complete without mentioning the famous F.A. Cup 3rd Round. Credit must go to minnows Macclesfield Town and Luton for producing giant-killings, if you could consider the latter a giant-killing given the recent fortunes of their opponents. I would also Leyton Orient for an excellent 1-1 draw away at Hull City, had the result not cost me £100. Since out-playing my beloved Leeds, Hull have lost their way slightly. No surprises there then. Speaking of my beloved Leeds, it was another grim day. A 1-1 draw in front of a measly 11,400 reinforces the common idea that we've seen better days. Hey, at least we're still in the draw. Roll on Barnsley next week. 

Leeds United 1-0 Bolton Wanderers

The game was awful. Leeds got a penalty mid-way through the second half which Becchio converted. Nothing else happened. At all.

Away Days: Hull City

Even the world's greatest journalists find it difficult to transform the worst matches into elegantly transcribed pieces of writing and this, combined with a lack of time, formed the reasoning behind me not writing a match report of the Nottingham Forest game on Boxing Day. Therefore, having also not attended any matches since September due to being at university, I promised myself I'd produce a write-up after the trip to the KC Stadium. If only I'd have known just what I had to write about.

Despite a poor performance on Boxing Day, I still woke up on Saturday looking forward to the match, hoping rather than expecting that we could steal something. Kez was driving, which meant for once we could control what time we set off and therefore, for once, we set off on time. Hull is just under an hour away from mine and so with plenty of time on our hands we stopped almost immediately at Ferrybridge services. Kez had helped himself to some toast beforehand and was clearly still hungry. I hadn't eaten anything as I couldn't be arsed and was therefore hungry myself. Upon leaving the services, we'd almost spent up our student loans, Kez in particularly who was robbed just under £8 for a sandwich, a packet of crisps and a bottle of water.

The weather was nothing short of ridiculous and with me in control, the sound-track shifted from Westlife to the Vaccines, ensuring that the rest of the journey was tough but entertaining nonetheless. We arrived at 11.30, and parked in one of the club car parks, completely ignoring the supervisor who whispered a command that he expected us to understand. Somehow, the inside of Kez's boot, was piss wet through and as the boot contained our coats,we were piss wet through before we stepped foot outside. Hull was just as bad as I had remembered it last year. A shit-hole. At least last year the game was on a Tuesday night and we couldn't see much of it.

I'm afraid that's where the excitement ends. Warnock's team selection was a strange one and did nothing to improve the non-existence optimism felt in the away end. Despite a bright-ish start, Leeds were again awful, with Hull looking dangerous every time they crossed the half way line. Their attacking four of El Mohamady, Koren, Brady and Aluko, in particular the latter were on fine form and Leeds rode their luck with a number of crosses fizzing through the penalty area unharmed. The only thing worse than Leeds was the referee; many times in favour of ourselves. I've always commented on football rather fairly and I thought we were extremely lucky to have not conceded an early penalty with referee Eltringham turning down two valid shouts from the home side. Perhaps even luckier was Leeds winger Aidy White, who was only shown a yellow card after what looked a fairly shocking tackle on Ahmed El-Mohamady. What followed however was diabolical refereeing and nearly gave the home side the first goal. Without being waved back onto the pitch, El Mohamady, who had gone off to receive treatment, rejoined play and picked up the ball straight away. After a weaving run, he sent in a low cross which could and should have given Hull the first goal. Had it gone in, I'd have feared for the referee Eltringham's safety, but it thankfully went wide.

That was about it for the first half; Hull looking by far the better side, Leeds looking like relegation candidates. But nothing to worry about; Warnock had his trump card to play at half-time. Bring on Luke Varney. Oh.

As expected, this inspirational substitution achieved nothing and after forcing Kenny into a good save low down to his right, it was Hull who took the lead. Superb hold-up play from the outstanding Aluko resulted in Corry Evans being slipped in down the right and the midfielder finished well into the far bottom corner. A good goal, yes, but it was also far too easy.

Its possible that every Leeds fan in the KC knew that the game was now over; Leeds had never looked like scoring and would surely look less like scoring now they were behind. Any Leeds fan that still believed didn't believe two minutes later as David Meyler rose well to head Hull 2-0 in front from a corner. And that was that. In fact it wasn't. By the time the full-time whistle blew, Leeds had been embarrassed by a Hull side that played out the last twenty minutes as a training match. Two-nil could even be considered flattering; Steve Bruce was said to be disappointed with the way his side took their foot off the gas and he probably has reason to be. It could quite easily have been five or six.

It's hard to think of a Leeds player that came out with any credit. Ross McCormack worked hard with little support, as did Paul Green who most Leeds fans have a lot of time for. Aidy White was alright for Aidy White and that was about it. Michael Brown was awful, Alan Tate continued his run of poor games and Davide Somma looked rusty. I can't blame Somma though, most players would struggle to shine when attempting to win a number of long-balls against what looked like twenty foot of Hull City centre half. Tactically, manager Neil Warnock got everything wrong for me today, including the team selection.

Although Leeds were frankly embarrassing, credit has to be given to Hull City who, as the league table suggests, are one of the best sides I've seen this year. The back three of Hobbs, Faye and the always impressive James Chester are solid, the midfield does the simple tasks well and their forward play is exciting to watch. Despite the fan's poll crediting Corry Evans as man of the match, my vote would have gone to Aluko who was simply outstanding. He was at the centre of every move Hull put together and tore the Leeds defence into pieces all afternoon.

The reactions of the travelling support after the match said it all with a mixture of boos, abusive gestures and chants of "what the fucking hell was that?" greeting the Leeds players as they trudged off. I hope for their sake that they got home quicker than we did; the hour long wait in the club car park after the game did nothing to improve our moods.

I'm only nineteen but I found out at a young age that supporting Leeds United isn't an easy thing to do. I've seen some disappointing things connected with the club, but I think today tops them all. I've seen us lose to Walsall and Histon. I've seen us concede five at home to Blackpool and four at home to Cardiff. But I've never seen anything as bad as I did today. We're not quite Aston Villa and we're maybe not quite Wolves or Blackburn yet. But we're heading that way.

Durham City 0-1 Marske United

Friday was the coldest day I'd had here. For a sports science student, three hours of contact was considered busy and I therefore had perfect reason to feel tired after my long day. Mum was up visiting before she jetted away to Tenerife and so I enjoyed a hearty Italian in town before saying goodbye and having an early night.

I was due to play for my college first team on the Saturday but snow had fallen over-night and the game was pending a pitch inspection at 11. Eleven came and past and at ten past I received confirmation that the game was off, a shame after the morning sun had done its best to thaw out the pitches. Embarrassment had been delayed for the opposition; the magic of the Durham University Inter-Collegiate Cup had drawn us, Hild Bede A, against Collingwood college G. Yes G. That's Collingwood's 7th team.

The cancellation meant that I wasn't to miss Saturday brunch; the finest meal in college which allows you to choose seven items of a full English fry-up. Its actually six items and a croissant or a crumpet and I made the huge mistake of attempting to choose seven normal items. Beans were sacrificed for a hash brown and ultimately, my breakfast was ruined. Can't win them all.

Today was Durham City day, the first time we were to attend a Saturday fixture and so this meant one thing; pub. At home, the pre-match pub trip completes my footballing experience and so at 1.30, the eight of us piled into the Queen's Head, a pub we'd found was en route to the ground. The lunchtime kick off was on and Jack Pepper a.ka. Sergeant Pep, Doctor Pep, Pep Guardiola etc. wasn't happy; his beloved Norwich were 1-0 down to the Villa. Ben and his brother, who was visiting for the weekend, both support Reading, both wanted a draw to keep Reading away from the Premier League summit and along with Pep Guardiola, were delighted to see Michael Turner flick in a late equaliser. The rest of us weren't bothered, it was all about the Citizens for us.

Somehow we made it into the ground ten minutes before kick-off which gave Toby the chance to try fulfil his life-time ambition of owning a Durham City scarf. We were instructed that there wasn't a club shop, but items were for sale behind the bar. The bar itself was large and cheap, but sadly they had no scarves in stock. Toby was gutted and so I bought him a programme, price £1.50, to cheer him up. The glossy non-league programme also came with a classy photocopied handwritten team sheet, which was great in helping us learn the names of our non-league heroes.

The team was a lot different to the one we'd seen two weeks ago against Penrith. In two weeks, new manager Adam Furness had brought in nine new faces and released three. Six of the new signings were unknown to us but we knew three. Both Spencer Brown and Johnny Giles are university students, with Furness managing our university side. Johnny is actually a fresher in our college, but was out through injury. Spencer also wasn't to feature. The final name I recognised would be wearing number eight; the name of Olly Hotchkiss was one I knew, potentially because he's a Leeds academy product or potentially because I'm the world's biggest Football Manager player.

Pale blue socks, green jersey and ridiculous side-burns. He must be non-league.

Since our last visit, Durham had picked up a point from two games, hardly revolutionary. But they started brightly, stroking the ball about with real purpose. Number four, who I identified after a quick look at the photo-copy as Craig Ellison, was the stand-out, playing the simple game that non-league football requires so much. Our Twitter hero Scott Fenwick was looking lively and rattled the bar early on before being adjudged offside. To our despair, he was to go off injured, replaced by Jack Pounder and the excitement for the rest of the half was over. Durham looked in control, but lacked quality in the final third and never created an out and out scoring chance. Marske's goalkeeper clearly felt confident, he was sporting pale blue socks alongside a green goalkeeping jersey.  He also had tights on and after a confident "do you like my tights lads?" he was swiftly dismissed by Preston's one-line-wonder George who remarked "yeah but you've mixed your colours and your whites with your socks". Non-league banter. We also found great amusement in the keeper's side-burns, which made him look like Wolverine.

The half-time meal was dismissed in favour of an agreed post-match KFC and so we settled behind the other goal for the second half. It continued in the same fashion, Durham attacking, but with moves breaking down in the final third. Wolverine was on good form, collecting crosses with ease and distributing the ball quickly and as the game wore on, Marske looked to threaten on the break. For non-league, the crowd started to get a little rowdy; the Durham fans frustrated that they weren't ahead and a large group of Marske fans frustrated with the performance of the linesman on the far side. Mine and Dem's betting skills on the accumulator front were frankly shambolic, Leeds were losing 1-0 and as Durham's Connor Winter accidentally cleared his own midfielder's goal-bound shot off the wrong line, we started to realise it wasn't going to be our day. And, after dominating for eighty-nine minutes, it was Marske who stole the points. Un-impressed with the outcome yes, but we had to be wholly impressed with the goal, which was an outstanding strike. We learned that there were more away fans than expected, as half of the people in the seating area chanted "Sea Sea Seasiders". More disappointment for the Citizens.



Both Leeds and Durham had lost which made for a pretty sad day. The KFC went down a treat though; we tucked into our Boneless Banquets and Big Daddy meals whilst discussing the football, university and the things we'd like to do to Katie, the girl who served us our food. We'll be going back there again if the food is as good and the service as beautiful.

Durham City 4-4 Penrith

Nine days into my time at university and there were two things I wasn't so happy about. The first was physical; fresher's flu had kicked in and wasn't easing up despite two quiet nights in. Secondly, I was missing football. Attending every game for a number of years is all well and good until the opportunity to watch your home-town club is no longer there. I'd missed Bolton away and a win in the Yorkshire derby against Barnsley. Every day my Leeds United poster stares back at me from my university room wall and it makes me miss football. Something had to give and it did. In the first week I'd been lucky enough to get friendly with a couple of football mad lads like myself, one proudly supporting his local Chesterfield and the other, sadly, supporting Manchester United. Even so, football fans stick together and so it was decided that with an army of fellow football loving students, we would go and support our local Durham City in their Tuesday night fixture against Penrith.

Somehow we managed to convince ten others that it would be a good thing to do and at 7pm we met in our college bar, The Vernon Arms. I'd been put in charge of organising taxis to the ground but by ten past had realised that taxi firms in Durham are fucking useless. They're like Danny Shittu. But worse than Danny Shittu; try a Danny Shittu with no legs. Taxi firm after taxi firm took pride in announcing that there were "none available" and it was hastily decided that we were going to have to make the two mile journey on foot. My iPhone was the leader; tracking your progress on Maps still excites me to this day.

The Citizens play at New Ferens Park which as mentioned previously is approximately two miles outside Durham city centre. We approached the ground's version of "Wembley Way" just as the referee blew his whistle to begin proceedings. After picking our way through the muddy, grassy "Wembley Way" we pay our admission of £3 and settle behind the far goal. First observation. There's barely anyone here. Second observation. The pitch is astro-turf! Its not great. But we're here to enjoy it all the same. Chesterfield supporting Demetri is loving it; he's been talking to the Citizens' star man Scott Fenwick all week on Twitter and is clearly enjoying the fact he can see Old Fenners in the flesh. He's a big lad and shows early ability in holding the ball up in the face of Penrith's giant centre half.

Durham haven't won in five and have recently appointed Adam Furness as their new manager; this being the new man's first game in charge. And with us egging them on from behind the goal, the unbelievable happens. City take the lead. For non-league football, its a fine goal; an excellent move completed by a fine finish from Gary Shaw. As well as putting the Citizens ahead, there's also another positive to be taken from the goal; we've learnt the name of another player. Our tally stands at two.

Toby and myself get chatting to one of the locals; an elderly gent with a Durham City scarf on. True fan. He tells us tales of the problematic managerial reign of Dickie Ord, as well as explaining about the club's voluntary relegation last season. Ironically, this was the act that saved my local club, Wakefield FC, from playing in the division Durham are in now. The man's continued cries of "Come on Elliott" lead me to ask whether he's a father or grand-father, but he's not; he's just a die-hard fan, but even so, Elliott Cutts is now added to the list of players we know.

In amongst our tale-telling with said gentleman, Durham concede twice. The first is a soft penalty, very soft, one in a long line of questionable decisions by the referee. The second is appalling, bog-standard non-league defending, something which we see a lot more of as the game wears on. But spurred on by ourselves, City equalise again. Another excellent move this time finished off by Number 9. The tannoy announces the goal-scorer to be Connor Winter - its only half-time and we already know four members of the team. Two-two is a fair reflection.

Half-time is spent experimenting with Durham's food kitchen; my late night snack of a cheeseburger, chips and a Diet Coke costs £4.50. Although this is more than the admission to the game, its well worth it. The chips are especially excellent. I attempt to book a taxi to pick us up an hour later; once again my attempts are in vain and when the last firm hangs up I concede defeat, believing that my number has been blocked by every taxi company in Durham. How I miss Ace Taxis of Wakefield.

Penrith re-take the lead instantly at the start of the second half; more suspect defending allowing Martyn Coleman to turn and shoot from a corner. The goal wakes Durham up and here begins their best spell of the game. Our hero Fenwick comes close twice, firing once into the side-netting before finding the roof of the net with an ambitious chip. Finally the pressure gives; the referee awarding a second penalty after a foul on Craig Ellison. Dan Madden makes no mistake; Durham are level at 3-3.

Our one and only chant of "ohhhhhh Durham Cityyy" isn't catching on amongst the locals, but we feel our thirteen man show is working wonders. And with 78 minutes on the non-existent clock, Durham take the lead. After been sent through by Fenwick, Connor Winter shows excellent composure, rounding the goalkeeper before rolling the ball into an empty goal. We erupt. Its such a huge moment that even the fifty or so sat in the seated area are off their feet for the first time since their first game in 1984. Durham lead 4-3.

So far, our Fenners isn't living up to his pre-match Twitter promise that he will "bag a hat-trick". But the self pronounced "top bagger" has the ball in the goal on 83 minutes. After planting his header in the far corner, he actually storms over to us, running down our thirteen man line for high-fives. We can't believe it, we're touching our non-league hero. The referee's assistant has alternative ideas; adjudging Fenwick to be offside. And a minute later, the should be 5-3, turns into 4-4. One final act of poor defending from the Citizens ensures that Penrith would be heading back to Cumbria with a share of the spoils.

It wasn't ever going to make any news headlines, but the 109 that attended were thoroughly entertained. In my life I've paid £35 to watch Leeds lose 2-1 to Walsall, 5-0 to Blackpool and 3-0 to Swindon to name a few. So to pay £3, see eight goals and have a quiet-ish night with some new university friends was a perfectly acceptable way to spend my Tuesday night.


No matter what level, football is football. Tonight's game proved why its the best game in the world.