92 Again

Tottenham Hotspur U23  3  Manchester City U23  1

Premier League 2 (Under 23)

This season was always going to be something of a challenge when it came to re-completing the 92, a mission I achieved for the first time back in January at Fratton Park.

I had the proud record of achieving the goal that many had done before, but for only a matter of three months, because as we all know, Spurs moved into their new stadium prior to the end of the last campaign, I was back at 91 again!

So, how was I going to ‘do’ the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium?

Four options as I could see, the first being a vain attempt to get a ticket for a league game, and judging by reports that seemed to be nigh on impossible.

I could have waited for a favourable League Cup, FA Cup, or if it goes wrong, a Europa League tie, but that was purely dependant on how the die would be cast.

Bingo, they announced a pre-season friendly against Inter Milan, and that was very easy to get tickets for, except we were on holiday in Devon, so from a practicality point of view it simply wasn’t viable.

Finally, I know that the Premier League Under 23 sides usually have one or two games a season at their main stadium, and I had to just see if that were to happen, and indeed the dates fall favourably.

They did, the opening home game on a Friday night in August was to be at the stadium, against Manchester City. The capacity was to be limited to 9,999, and initially it was season ticket holders, members and such like that were allowed first dibs on the tickets. That window didn’t last too long and by the Tuesday the tickets were on general sale, and after a very simple registration process, a ticket was being printed out for just £5, oh happy days!

My mate Dave was also going, so we agreed that he would drive from Stone to Casa Hatt, and I would take the wheel for the trip down the M1. We left at 2pm, the sat nav said we would arrive at our pre-planned parking place in just over two hours, but courtesy of an accident just before the M25 turn we ended up going via St Albans, London Colney and South Mimms, never touching a motorway again before arriving in Enfield, an hour after the scheduled time.

Dave had a plan, he had found a street virtually opposite the Southbury overground station, where we could park for free, and he called it spot on, within two minutes of locking the car doors we were boarding the train for the seven minute journey to White Hart Lane.

Dave had another plan, it was called the Antwerp Arms, a Good Beer Guide listed pub on the edge of a park, and less than ten minutes walk from the stadium. We found it with ease, and guess what, no sooner had I turned my snout up at the real ales and gone for a Heineken, two of his like minded mates popped in, anyone would think he’d planned it!

Food beckoned, we found a Turkish takeaway and had something that tasted very good but probably in all honesty could kill you!

So, I’ve not been in the vicinity of White Hart Lane since the late Eighties when I made two consecutive trips to the old stadium to watch Derby County win on both occasions. My memories of the area outside the ground were pretty vague, but what I can say is that it’s not an appealing part of the World by any stretch of the imagination. The ground may have added a new dimension to the locality, but it remains a largely unattractive, run down, and somewhat menacing part of North London.

The ground though, now that is something special, we made our way through the various security checks and were soon in our seats in what was the clower tier at the North West corner of the stadium. It look hugely impressive, notably the South bank of seats which climbs from bottom to top in one huge tier. Also catching the eye was the golden cockerel on the South roof, while behind the North goals, two racks of executive boxes appear to be suspended from the roof.

It's immense, the best ground in England right now, but then we’ve got Brentford to look forward to of course…..

The only annoying element was the obscene amount of spectators who simply cannot get to their seats in time. It was a constant stream of bewildered people, all obsessed with photographs and selfies, from minute one all the way to half time, looking around aimlessly for their perches. The latest arrival, 70 minutes, now that is impressive!

The game was a bit of a tame affair for the 5,731 spectators in attendance. Troy Parrott gave Spurs the lead with a curling effort, before Paris Maghoma replicated his finish with a second goal before the break.

Parrott got his second and Spurs third goal from the penalty spot in the second period, before City scored a late consolation goal.

The train back left twenty minutes after the final whistle, and was busy, and that was with less than a tenth of the average crowd in the stadium. On a normal match day, I daren’t think what White Hart Lane Station might look like. The journey to the M25 was easy, as was the trip back up the M1, I was in the front door just after 11.30pm.

So that’s it, the 92 is done again, and one of the more difficult venues is in the bag. Spurs have done a quite brilliant job of it, it was definitely worth the wait.

Brentford next though, I suspect that might not be quite so onerous, but knowing my luck they’ll probably go and get promoted!