Away Days - Buxton

Compared to some of the journeys this year we are almost neighbours with the team from the lovely spa town so it was a leisurely noon start for Tony’s Bus Tours.  Sadly we were missing our toffee provider and general  organiser  Tintin, but the Silver Fox reported he is recovering well in hospital from his recent surgery.  Everyone sends him very best wishes for a speedy recovery and return to the club – after all someone needs to repair those divots.

It was a very pleasant journey, stopping to pick up several players at Hazel Grove, and listening to Brian’s stories of when he played for Buxton and training on pitches covered in a foot of snow.  Well Buxton’s Silverlands stadium is the highest ground in the country so anything could happen. It was at the top of a rather steep hill so we were very happy to hear the club house was open and showing a bit of football on the telly. A very nice chap went to open the club shop for a few of us to buy our badges, the thing I love most about non-league are the characters you find at every club helping keep this level of football alive. Long may they continue.  We settled into a very nice clubhouse for a few drinks and to see a rare Manchester United win on the telly (and I am a fan so I can say it).  Our numbers were growing as lots of Trafford fans had made the journey by train, the shorter journey certainly makes it easier for dads and lads to come along. 

With kick off 15 minutes away  it was time for a spot of lunch, and a very nice burger it was too, the pie and chips seemed to score highly as well.  There was a nice “tribute” wall by the Brassiere – small engraved bricks with names of fans past and present and some sponsors too,  something we could look doing in the future maybe.

Well it was a bit breezy out in the open so I left Sempie and went to sit in the stands with Smarty’s mum and dad  and Nia’s  Auntie Gillian -  I am just a glory hunter really, sticking close to the family of our “superstars” 

Unfortunately the game wasn’t as pleasant as the view, we were playing uphill on a pitch that wasn’t too good. Both teams were falling over a lot and plenty of pushing and pulling going on but not much flowing football. Tom Read pulled off some great saves from close range to keep it level but there wasn’t much he could do on 42 minutes when Buxton favourite “Kingy” scored.  We sloped off at half time for some much needed refreshment.

Second half we abandoned the stand for a pitch side seat. Yes after all these years Sempie really did make the bench!!  The second half was like a different game, we started passing the ball around and sure enough on 63 minutes Michael Oates (is Trafford’s number 9) popped the ball in the net.  Oh the relief, obviously playing downhill really did make a difference – well it did to Simon Hackney who scored a fabulous goal on 76 minutes to send his team mates and fans into a frenzy.  When the final whistle eventually came – a good 5 minutes after it should have, Trafford had reached a magic 50 points in this league!  Not bad for the “little team from behind The Bird in Hand”  The Buxton fans were very complimentary but are getting a bit nervous about their own teams prospects for the rest of the season. I hope they do ok as I liked the ground and the people very much and look forward to going there again next season. Even Mr Brown Senior, a confirmed pessimist, thinks we are safe now.

A few drinks later and a speedy journey saw me “home alone” while Sempie went to discuss tictacs or something like in The Nag for next week. Hopefully by then, our supporters club will be heading back to full strength with Tim returning to fitness – sales of hotdogs have slumped without him.

My Man of the Match  -  Tom Read