Bury FC - Gigg Lane
Under Kevin Blackwell Bury have had it hard this season, low
crowds, a transfer embargo and poor performances both on and off the pitch and
as a result of this the Shakers find themselves in second to bottom place.
Whereas Crewe Alexandra have took League 1 by surprise. They
have received superb support from the Alex faithful both home and away and
manager Steve Davis (ex Burnley) has guided Alex to a safe and respectable 13th
position.
Joining me on my trip to Gigg Lane is my two mates Tom
Gornall, who is featured in my trip to AFC Darwen and making his debut for The
Half Time Whistle we have Jack Walton who, may I add, is a Bury supporter and
currently plays for Bolton Wanderers academy. I am sure you will hear his name
on the Tannoy sooner or later.
Gigg Lane is a simple place to travel to, me, Tom and Jack
opted to travel by Bus. This meant getting our head round the very poorly put
together Good Friday bus timetable, joy!
I caught the number 1 Lancashire United service from Dunscar
War Memorial to Bolton which cost me £1.10. And after meeting Tom and Jack in
town before buying a few snacks from my beloved Pound Bakery and Home Bargains
to buy a few snacks and drinks and of course, my diner, we caught the 524 from
Bolton to Gigg Lane (Bury). With me being the Super Scrimper that I am I bought
a First Day Saver for £2.00 which allows you to go on any First Bus, which
saved me around £1.50!
On the way to Gigg Lane me, Tom and Jack had a good catch up
and disguised the strange goings on at Gigg Lane in recent weeks, sending your
nest player out on loan, Kevin Blackwell resigning, which of course he didn’t!
I was looking forward to this game for many reasons. One
being I have not watched Bury play in a while and with them being my
"second" team I thought it was about time went again. And, of course,
Bury are in trouble they needed both my vocal and financial support.
We arrived at Gigg Lane pretty early, an hour before kick-off.
I picked up a very well presented and put together programme for £3.00 and as I
read through it now, it is an all coulor document, but it is covered in
adverts, it’s not the best I have seen but certainly not the worst!
You had the option of paying on the gate for this game but
with me being the football geek that I am I went and bought a match ticket for
the East Stand for £10.00 for a bit of memorabilia.
We went through the historic turnstile and as we turned to
our right Gigg Lane opened up in front of us. As there was still about 50
minutes till kick off the ground was still pretty empty I decided to go and
take some photos whilst I had the opportunity. Once I have done so, I go back
to Jack and Tom only for Jack to be casually chatting away to one of my favourite
goal keepers Cameron Belford.
Gigg Lane is an all seated stadium and has been home to bury
since the clubs formation in 1885, it is currently tempory home of the famous rebel
team FC United.
I was sat in The East Stand which was converted from
standing to seating in 1999, this is the stand that offers the best view of the
pitch as this is the only stand in Gigg Lane without supportive pillars.
Directly in front of me was The Manchester Road End, this
was where the Alex faithful were placed. To be honest, I don’t know a lot about
this stand, all I do know is don't sit on the front row as you will find a concrete
trench between you and the slightly higher up pitch.
To the right was The Main Stand, this gives spectators a
lifted view of the pitch in front of them. However, the stand has supportive
pillars all along the bottom of it so view can be restricted.
And final, to the left was The Les Hart Stand which is
single tired and can offer some good views of the pitch, again some restricted
views due to the supporting pillars.
The stewards at Gigg Lane seemed nice enough, it's not a
derby game and there's no history between the fans so they had a pretty relaxed
job, for today!
As for the game
itself, well Bury need every point they can get and Alex just wanted to gloss
up what has already seen them to the JPT Final at Wembley.
The Shakers started the brighter of the two sides and on the
7th minute they saw their first shot on goal, David Worall played the ball
through to Nicky Ajose (who has the best chant ever!) after being picked out by
Steven Schumacher but Ajose's shot was held by Alex keeper Steve Philips.
Crewe took the lead against a run of play on around 29
minutes, Kelvin Mellor crossed the ball short to Max Clayton and it was him who
poked home for the Alex.
Up until the Crewe goal the atmosphere was decent but after
it went drop dead silent, the drummer stopped playing, the crowd stop singing,
okay, Bury are second to bottom in the league, but come on get behind your
team!
HALF TIME
In the second half the game livened up a bit and with the Shakers
attacking the home end you could feel a goal coming on fast.
And on 59 minutes the Shakers were back on level terms, Tom
Soares got the all-important touch in a very scrappy goal mouth scramble.
But sadly, Crewe again took the lead with only 7 minutes
remaining, Alex sub Bradden Inman fired the ball past Belford, despite his very
best efforts.
Chance after chance for the Shakers come and then went and
it looked like a second defeat in a row was on the cards. But wait, Steven
Schumacher was brought down in the box in the very last second and shouts of
"PENALTY" came from the Bury faithful, around the ground, the ref
blew his whistle and pointed from the spot, Andy Bishop steps up . . .
SCORED! Sends the keeper the wrong way.
FULL TIME att 2,749
Our journey home was simple, get the 524 back to Bolton,
although, stupidly, we stood at the wrong bus stop, anyway a quick sprint across
the road and we were on the bus and back in Bolton in no time.
I got the 538 back to Bromley Cross whereas Jack and Tom
opted to walk, pfffft, strange I know!
Whilst I was on my own I reflected on day I just had. Another enjoyable trip to Gigg Lane.
Entertaining football. A good catch up with Tom and Jack.
Bury played some really good football and I think they deserve
red the three points more than Crewe did, whom I wish the best of luck in the
JPT Final!
Weather Bury are in league 1 or league 2 next season I will
be definitely try and pencil in a few Home and maybe a few Away games.
Overall, superb day out!
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