Game Thirty Seven - Carlisle away

13 December 2008

Well we knew that this day would come sooner or later. The day that we had to travel for the longest journey of the league one campaign to take on Carlisle at Brunton Park. A ground so far north that I was expected a half time haggis instead of a pie.

A stupidly early start was needed and it was little past 7am when Katy's car pulled into the drive to pick me up before heading off to the Walkers Stadium for another fun filled adverture on Fox Travel. Having used it on the mammoth journey to Plymouth last season, I was braced for the numb arse and lack of leg room for the majority of the 200 odd mile treck.

We set off a little late as is tradition with the coaches and in heavy rain, something that we would grow used to through the course of the day. Random chattage and tiredness started to set in and my eyes started to close for 30 seconds..... schoolboy error!

Like a panther, she pounced on her phone and got a pic of me in my traditional Fox Travel pose. From then on, I knew sleep wouldn't be an option on this trip! Cheeky Minx!!

As an "X-mas Special" all hot drinks were 'complimentary' for this trip so it would be rude to turn them down on a free cuppa to wake us up in the wee hours. That was to prove the second mistake and we hadn't even left Leicestershire yet. In a cup so small, you wouldn't expect them to keep the tea bag in it... but of they did as we found out 10 minutes later when we went to drink it. The tea was so strong a chisel was needed to remove the tea bag and a spoon was needed to drink it.

The journey was a good laugh with Katy though and we put the world to rights with random chatter and most topics must have been covered during the journey... some of the things she comes out with too - the girl has balls that's all I can say! The old game of 'shag, marry or avoid' also threw up a few erm... interesting results and made the time fly by as we got further and further north. She really is great fun to be with and made what was a massive journey seem like minutes rather than hours.

As we got through to the lake district and the peaks of Cumbria, the rain was still pouring but that didn't take away from the pretty amazing views of snow tipped summits as we sped on on our journey. Having been up here for a few days earlier in the year, I can't wait to go back again and explore more of the countryside and climb the mountains further.

It was around here though that the tiredness really started to set in though. Katy had done her makeup and straightened her hair on the coach (surely a first for Fox Travel!), her eyes started to droop and we curled up on the seats and nearly drifted off....

..... except for the fact that we had arrived.

With the rain still coming down, blue Santa hat firmly on head and tickets in our pockets, we headed off to explore in the bitter cold. We bumped into Jodie and her other half Sam outside the turnstiles and Foz with his old man also made an appearance (thankfully with his shirt still on - god bless the flu!). After that we decided to make our way around the ground to see if there was anything at all...... and there wasn't. We couldn't be bothered to head off in search of a pub so just made our way back round to the away entrance and into the ground... although Katy looked like she struggled to push the turnstile.

The concourse was pretty much a smaller version of those at the Walkers Stadium... except with a tiny portable TV placed on a temporary shelf and showing the snooker as you would at the football. The perfect pre-match ice breaker to get you into the mood.

But we had officially made it and another ground was ticked off the list - one that I never would have done had it not been with Leicester. It's the type of ground that I'm really loving at this level though and a proper traditional ground that seem to be disappearing as time passes by. A Peterborough style terrace behind one goal....

.... mixture of terracing and seating on the main stand opposite ours....

... and another open terrace for away fans behind the other goal. Sadly due to the northern position of the club and the whole league one thing, they don't get massive amounts of away fans making the trip so I'm assuming that this stand rarely gets used. Swindon-esque fun could have been had in here though!

A moment of quiet contemplation ahead of a tough game and overlooking the stadium and the bit screen placed on top of an Eddie Stobart lorry.... possibly the most random thing I've ever seen at a football stadium. Loved it!

The unreserved seating proved popular and we were soon joined by Lisa and Carl (complete with Bovril), who had opted to spend the weekend across the border rather than do the whole trip in a day - probably the sensible option! Why didn't we think of doing that?!?!

It wasn't long before the rest of the FoxesTalk lot arrived having travelled up through a variety of different travel methods. Turned into quite a collective of people as we headed over to join them. Bert, Maybes, LD3, C-Man, SUAS, Joe., Fez, Tommeh and others all joined the northern party! As per usual, LD3 stole any type of headwear that was going - this time my santa hat and ended up doing his best impression of a christmas elf. Very festive!

But not as festive as Jobber who donned his traditional santa outfit for the christmas games. The lack of beard was a disappointment but putting a pillow under his coat as padding was a nice touch.... (I may regret saying that!) Top effort from him and his mates though as a variety of Santa and Mrs Clause outfits were spotted around the away end.

With Katy grabbing pictures of anyone and everything, she took one of the two of us in the stand. Titch and Lanky at Carlisle!!

We'd been warned that we may be kept behind after the game and the police started to gather before the game, obviously concerned about a larger following coming to town. We'd heard from Carlisle fans in the build up that they didn't know how to handle football fans but to their credit, we didn't even notice them during or after the game - the way the policing should be at football. Played lads!

Random pic of the away fans from the Carlisle website. Pretty good following considering the distance and the fact that we're so close to christmas (some of us still havent done the christmas shopping yet - dammit!)
And so to the game itself. After all the fun of the journey and in the stands, I'd almost forgotten that we had a match to look forward too. Carlisle started strongly and looked keen to cause an upset from the off. As early as the second minute, Graham was clean through on goal but Kerrea Gilbert produced a brilliant last ditch tackle as he was about to pull the trigger - he's fast becoming a fans favourite with his quality interviews and on pitch performances.

Leicester offered little going forward and there were very few chances until the home side took the lead mid-way through the first half. A bit of head tennis ended up with Graham prodding the ball past Martin, then running round him and tapping it into the empty net. The celebrations in front of the Leicester fans by him and Michael Bridges raised the temperature as we realised we were really in a game here.

The rest of the first half was mainly Leicester's but we were restricted to a few long range efforts that hardly troubled the defence at all meaning that for the first time in 7 games, we were behind at half time.

Half time left us scratching our heads over how we would get back into this game... although the main confusion was why Bert was wearing Dexter's pink hat.

The second half was a much different story though and Nigel Pearson must have unleashed both barrels at the boys in black as they were really fired up at the start of the second half. Matty Fryatt saw a shot well saved by the feet of the home keeper, and Oakley fired inches wide from the edge of the area with me ready to leap in the air as it seemed destined for the net.

Against the run of play, Carlisle nearly doubled their lead. A mistake at the back left Bridges clean through but Martin produced a brilliant save with his legs to keep us in the battle and this proved to be the real turning point. Some good play down the left by Howard and Dyer saw the ball pulled back to Andy King who placed a great effort into the top corner. The celebrations were immense as always although Katy suffered the brunt of it as a stray elbow from behind caught her in the back of the head as we all jumped and bounced around.

The win was in our sites and from a corner, the ball narrowly evaded everyone when a goal that would give us the lead looked certain.

It was from another corner though that the lead did come though. After a bit of a scramble, Bruno Berner prodded the ball in from three yards out and you'd have thought we'd won the cup from the way we reacted. I leaped the chairs down to the row in front and a mass huddle / rugby scrum of hugging and jumping saw many sore body parts in the excitement. Tommeh bore the worst this time as he took one for the team in the face. C-Mans coat also saw some damage thanks to a certain elf who shall remain nameless.

We continued to press and look for the goal that would seal the victory and the three points but it was not to come despite excess pressure on the Carlisle goalmouth.

Instead it was Carlisle who nearly snatched a final goal of the game but again Bridges fired wide with a volley from the corner of the area. With this miss, we knew that the three points were ours. The sounds of "We are top of the league" and "Jingle Bells" rung around the emptying stadium as the players headed over to applaud our efforts and we responded by raising the volume louder still.

Still buzzing from the thrill of the ride, we said our goodbyes and made our way out of the ground and back to the coaches ready to welcome the long drive back to the East Midlands. With the rain still falling and the lights around the stadium still on, it made for the chance for some artistic shots of the ground from the coach window.

Pretty funky even if I do say so myself - think the stewards must have wondered what we were messing around at though as a variety of different flashes lit up the dark coach.

And with that, we were back on the road with only 200 odd miles and 5 hours to go before we'd be back in the warmth of our homes reminiscing about the day. Katy though, bless her heart, was starting to feeling the effects of the bang on the head that she got during the celebrations and so took the opportunity to rest her eyes and try to get as comfortable as possible. By the time we reached Manchester, and after 652 different positions, I think she found the one that suited her. We were still awake though and going strong thanks to our good friend Mr R. Bull - in fact I think we must have descended into madness as one of the cans seemed to have been turned into an olympic torch for some reason....

As we trundled along the motorway, annoying others who were trying to sleep with our random laughter, the sound of voices could be heard from the back of the coach as Jobber and his friends decided that they wern't yet tired. Random songs such as how you wouldn't get asda mince pies in the championship were sung and Fox Travel coach two was just a good place to be at that time. Fun and games, three points, and with a great friend beside me giggling away.

Of course this win couldn't have been possible had it not been for the now famous "lucky scarfs" which have seen 6 wins from 6 since they were first both worn together. Lucky boxers? Nah! Rabbits foot? Ha! Scarfs is where it's at folks and long may the random run of good fortune continue!
We arrived back at the walkers stadium at about 9:30 after a quick stop and we all rushed off back to the cars and set off for home. Tired but happy after the days activities!

And so that was Carlisle. I said before the game that it had the potential to be either one of the best or one of the worst away days of the season. There would be no middle ground and I was proved right. For me it was right up there as one of the best I've done as from start to finish, the laughter never stopped and I got to spend a quality day with some quality people. That, for me, is what football away days should be about. Yes the three points on the pitch helped but in cases like Carlisle away, there is the potential for so much more. Memories are formed from days like this and whilst I'm in no hurry to take on the adventure to Brunton Park again in a hurry, the thought of the place will always cause a smile...

Next stop on the league one tour.... the posh boys come to town!