Bucket List

Portadown  3  Belper Town  1

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It had been a long held dream of mine to see Belper Town take to the field across the water.

I’ve been a regular visitor to be the South and the North of Ireland since 2005, having seen over seventy games in that period, and combining that with a deep rooted love for the place, a game featuring the Nailers was high on the bucket list

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So imagine my excitement when the Nailers Twitter feed teased us with the fact that they were about to announce details of a pre-season friendly, in the North. Various guessing games were played and a wish list drawn up, but we didn’t have to wait long, it was Portadown, one of my favourites.

Portadown Football Club’s Shamrock Park was a ground I visited in 2008, for a local derby against rivals Glenavon, a game which they lost 1-0 through a late goal. The game was memorable for I got to meet the Club Secretary Bill Emerson, he took me onto the pitch for a chat, gave me a lift back to the Railway Station and presented me with a club tie, which I still have.

So, how did it come about?

Nailers Chairman Ian Woodward, is married to Mrs Woodward, and to cut a long story short, her family is from the area, where they still live. So on their returns to Ulster, they are regular visitors to the football club. Conversations were struck, arrangements were made, we were going!

The official club party was to set off by bus on the Friday morning, then after catching the Holyhead to Dublin ferry, they were due to arrive at base camp in Portadown that evening. The plan was to then travel up to Belfast after the game, have a night out, and then make their way back via the ferry on Sunday.

Mrs H does not do ferries, plus, we had a small matter of Master H’s School Prom on the Friday night, so we had to create a plan of our own. Problem was, it was the British Open Golf in Portrush, so flights to Belfast were extortionate, so using my experience and knowledge of getting to, from and around the Country, we needed to think of something a little different.

Flight to Dublin on the Saturday morning, bus to the City Centre, and then the Belfast bound Enterprise train that stops in Portadown just after 11am. We would then stay in the team hotel on the Saturday night, travel to Dublin on the Sunday and then fly back on Monday night.

Excitement was building at the club as the game got closer, we’d played in Scotland (Gretna), Wales (Rhyl & Colwyn Bay), Cornwall (Falmouth) and even Goole, but never had water been crossed to play a game of football.

3.30am is not a good time to be hearing an alarm clock, but as our flight was touching down in Dublin, the travelling party were waking from their slumber at the Seagoe Hotel having been royally entertained by PFC at Laurelvale Cricket Club the night before. They would hit the gym, hit the Ulster Fry and generally chill, whereas we would be boarding the train for the trip North.

The train journey from Dublin over the border towards Belfast is a stunning route. Hugging the coastline North of the Fair City, the train crosses the Boyne into Drogheda before landing in Dundalk. The border is crossed into ‘Bandit Country’ with the Mourne Mountains as the backdrop, as Newry can be seen down in the valley below. Eventually the train halts in Portadown, we had reached our destination.

Our taxi driver took us a detour down the Garvaghy Road, made famous for the infamous Orange Order marches from Drumcree Church, before he dropped us off at the superb Seagoe.

It wasn’t long before we started to see familiar faces, Mr H Senior was back in the North for the first time since I took him back in 2006, while as we moved towards the departure time for the bus to the ground, more members of the party arrived in the reception area.

Shamrock Park has changed a bit since I last went. The old main stand remains, but is now out of bounds, with a brand new structure having been built on the opposite side. The seated away end remains behind the South goal while the area behind the North goal isn’t accessible for spectators. The pitch I must say, was superb.

The first thing to strike you, other than the fact our bus was too big to get up the drive to the parking area (I bet Porto, Standard Liege and Red Star Belgrade didn’t have that problem in European ties!), was the fantastic welcome we received, Portadown officials were superb and so friendly towards us. I was re-acquainted with Bill after all those years, although, being honest, I don’t think he could remember me!

Portadown Football Club is an institution in Northern Irish football, they have won the league four times, most recently in 2002, and on top of that, they’ve played a total of 36 games in various European competitions, winning four of them. Sides to succumb to the Ports have been Valur of Iceland, OFK Belgrade of the then Yugoslavia, Skonto Roga of Latvia, and most recently Shkendija of Macedonia.

Recent years have seen the club drop down into the second tier of football in Northern Ireland, finishing third last season behind big spending Larne, and Carrick Rangers whom they lost to in the Play Off’s. Even so, this was to be a massive test for the Nailers, and a very proud occasion against a club of such stature.

An extra bonus for us was the fact that my long time friends from Derry, John and Lyndon Coyle had travelled down for the game. John and Lyndon have been superb to me over the years, and I try to meet with them at least once a year in Derry, which usually involves watching Derry City, having a curry and then drinking until the early hours.

So, after all the planning and the travelling, we had a game to watch.

The Nailers took the lead through Derry Robson (the irony!), but almost immediately Danny South put the ball into his own net for the Ports equaliser. Virtually on the stroke of half time, Chris Lavery worked his way into the box to score from a tight angle to give the hosts the lead.

Portadown looked that little bit fitter and stronger in the second period, getting a deserved third goal from an Adam Salley header. They could have got more but Belper battled until the end and performed well against a side who many make favourites to return to the Northern Irish top flight this season.

After the game, the travelling party were treated to a barbecue and beers in the bright sunshine, while presentations and speeches were made. Portadown were perfect hosts, something Belper will be hoping to reciprocate next Summer.

The bus headed North to Belfast so the players and officials could take advantage of the nightlife, while we made our way back to the Seagoe for a more sedate evening after a tiring day.

A dream fulfilled, a tick on the bucket list, and nothing but praise for Portadown and Belper Town for managing to put it all together so brilliantly.

I’m sure both clubs will be watching each others progress with interest.