Manchester United U21 - Leigh Sports Village
It was whilst scrolling down
Twitter after another hard day of work at school, a day which consisted of
double maths (never a good thing, trust me), I came across this wonderful
offer. The Leigh Sports Village Twitter account tweeted an advert to notify
many bargain hunters like myself of the offer.
Instantly, I penned this fixture
into my rather free football diary. For those of you that don’t know, it’s exam
season in England and this year I am sitting my final, but most important, GCSE
exams. Exams, of course, equal revision. Revision equals less time. Less time
equals less football filled Saturdays.
So with the United vs Chelsea
game being on a Friday night the deal was made even sweater for myself.
So, after seeing the game
advertised and officially deciding I was going to my first, and no doubt last,
Barclays U21 Premier League game I did some research about the Barclays U21
Premier League, here is what I gathered from various forums and Wikipedia
pages:
Well firstly, the whole idea of
this division was raised via the Elite Player Performance Plan back in early
2012, it was to be the successor of the following: Premier Reserve League,
Premier Academy League and the Football Combination. What I like most about
this league is that you don’t have to be in the Premier League to be in the
Premier League U21 League – the U21/Reserve status is not linked to the first
time, unlike the old Reserve Divisions. And that’s where we are today, we have
a very professionally run system of youth leagues controlled by the Premier and
Football League.
Fair to say it’s a job well done
by the FA.
All this research and planning led me to the
realisation that the game was a good two weeks away, looks like I had to wait
for my first taste of the Barclays U21 PL.
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Finally, the day had arrived. A
day I had been waiting for. A day I had been looking forward to. Friday was the
day. The day that I was to taste U21 football for the first time.
The plan was this, my Grandad
(Hayes – whom I invited in the days leading up to this game, also a die-hard
Manchester City fan) was to meet me at my house at around 4:30(ish) and we
would travel down to Leigh for something to eat for tea round his house.
Sorted.
So, after another long, hard,
slog at school it was time for the plan to be put into action. Catching the 921
bus from Thornleigh to Bromley Cross, I was excited; I am not going to lie. A
quick change of attire and a snack, I have a big appetite, and we were away.
Next stop, Leigh. The journey
there was halted several times due to typical Friday night rush hour traffic
but that wasn’t a problem because we had time to spare and also conversation
was flowing, a good catch up opportunity.
Stopping off at a chippy in Leigh
(which name now evades me) we arrived at my Granddad’s house at around 17:30. I
opted for my usual Steak Pie, Chips and Gravy; all three were of good quality –
a recommended place, if only I could’ve remembered the name….
Anyway, after an episode of
Midsummer Murders cousin and City fan Jake was dropped off by his mother, the
three amigos were now complete. A catch up in the warmth of my granddad’s
living room followed and then we were on our way.
The three off us jumped into the
car at around 18:25, normally I do like to get into the ground about an hour
earlier than kick off, which tonight as at 19:00. However, I wasn’t to fussed
tonight because of a) I have been to Leigh Sports Village (I’m now going to
refer to it as LSV) plenty of times b) My granddad only lives around the corner
of the stadium and c) It wasn’t exactly a massive game. I honestly can’t
believe I just used the later as an excuse, bad Zach!
Now, I thought that LSV was only
about a two-three minute drive away from Granddad’s house but obviously I did
not take into consideration the awkward and annoying one way streets which so
proudly mess people around in and around the town centre. However, it only
added one or two minutes onto out journey which wasn’t at all a problem.
A quick flash of my Granddad’s
blue disabled badge and we were parked directly outside turnstile twenty three
and twenty four, all for free! We headed through the two turnstiles directly in
front of us and with it being a free ticketless match the turnstiles were
queless and easy to get through, no problems at all. I picked up an official
Team Sheet on the way and headed out into the stand.
As I mentioned earlier, this was
a ticketless game so all seats were unreserved. To put it into the words of the
larger than life stewards at LSV “take any seat you like, but make sure you
give it us back” – “sit anywhere, as long as it’s not on the green”. For once,
it was nice to see a friendly steward who you can have a joke and a laugh with
rather than the usual soulless stewards you see stamped up and down the
football league.
As for LSV, well, to be honest, I
quite like it. Despite it being a new build I feel the ground has got a bit of
atmosphere and character about it, as with most new Rugby League grounds.
The £50million project was built
as a multi-use stadium for the local community, officially being opened by the
queen in December 2008. The ground manly stages Rugby League games, Leigh
Centurions, but has also been used for the Rugby League World Cup – Tonga vs
Cook Islands, I game I went to and thoroughly enjoyed. On the football side of
this the current tenants are Blackburn Rovers Reserves who play in the same
league as Manchester United and Chelsea U21. In the past, Leigh Genesis played
at LSV but sadly, the now defunct team couldn’t get a fan base together so then
had to move onto Atherton LR’s Crilly Park.
I was sat in the Main Stand,
which is officially named the ‘West Stand’ this is your simple bog standard
stand really. A good number of rows deep of red and white seats offering good
views of the pitch no matter what row or seat you decide to sit in.
To my left was the ‘North Stand’,
an all standing terrace. That’s the stand I stood in for the Rugby League World
Cup game I went to at LSV and I have to say it is my favourite of the three
simply because it provides a good atmosphere and anything is better than
sitting down for a full game of Rugby and Football. The sooner they bring
standing into football the better I say!
Opposite me is the East Stand,
despite being the same size this stand looked bigger than the West, maybe
because the West homes the dugout, I don’t know but wither way this again, is
your bog standard new build seating stand. My first visit to LSV was when
England and France
To my right is the fourth and
final stand called, yes, you’ve guessed it, the ‘South Stand’. To be honest, I
can’t say an awful lot about this stand because I’ve never been in it but what
I can tell you is that it’s all seated and behind the goal, there we go.
Sorted.
After taking in my surroundings
the rather un inspiring PA announcer turned on his microphone, bringing an
abrupt end to Mika – We Are Golden, to welcome the two teams onto the pitch.
Here it was, the moment hand
finally arrived, yes, finally, I would be watching my first ever Barclays U21
Premier League football match. I was evidently, over excited.
As for the game in itself, well
it wasn’t too bad!
I was surprised at the level of
competitiveness from both sides, let me rephrase that, I was surprised at the
level of physicality from both sides, especially from the United side. They
were diving in for everything and anything.
The Blues started the game the
better of the two sides. Most people in the ground, including myself, expected
the young Chelsea side to go in at half time with the lead. Winger Alex
Kiwomya's cross-cum-shot was tipped over by Ben Amos (the only name I
recognised in the team sheet) and impressive save from the ex Hull City loan
player.
Ben Amos followed up his earlier
impressive save with a few moor good saves to ensure he had a clean sheet
heading into the dressing room at the break.
Referee Jonathan Hunt brought an
end to the first half and United had Ben Amos to thank for going in level at
half time.
During in the break myself and
Jake were sent down below to get some half time snacks. Now when I say down
below I don’t mean the home of Satan (hell for those of you that don’t know) I
mean the concourse, silly! When it was our turn to be eventually served we
ordered: 1 Boost Bar, 1 Dairy Milk, 1 Packet of Crips, 1 Tea and 1 Hot
Chocolate. The prices of which I am not 100% sure on but I’d say we didn’t get
much change from £5.00.
Just like any ground home to a
Professional Sports team the food was good, the usual. I had the hot chocolate
and the Dairy Milk which were good and a welcomed snack as the wind was now
beginning to pick up and any extra energy or heat was welcomed with open arms.
Second half started and straight
from the off it was a case of more of the same really. Ben Amos being, again,
the star of the show repeatedly pulling off fine saves.
I was impressed with the way
Chelsea played their football in this half of the game, they were tried to keep
it on the deck and tried to get forward but were halted by the strong United
defence who were as equally impressive.
£8million summer signing Marco
van Ginkel was introduced at half time making his return from a nasty injury
and even he failed to help liven the game up.
The best chance of the second
half fell to substitute van Ginkel who cut in and unleashed a shot into the
direction of United keeper Amos. However, Amos threw himself in front of the
ball to make yet another impressive stop. I hope some scouts were watching that
game as Amos deserves a chance after only being played in dribs and drabs on
loan at clubs like the mid-table (in the Championship) Hull City and Carlisle
United.
The referee soon saw it fit to
bring the game to an end, after the ninety minutes were up of course. I, Jake and
Granddad made out way back to his car, on the doorstep of the stadium and a
quick getaway followed. Granddad said he’s drop me off at a Bus Stop in
Atherton instead of waiting twenty minutes for the bus to leave from Leigh, which
he did and I appreciated as it saved me a good ten minutes of standing in the
cold.
I got talking to an elderly man
from Wigan about the ins and outs of Rugby League and just as the conversation
was about to get awkward the 582, thankfully, arrived.
I spent the majority of the bus
journey writing my Blog then getting ready for the change at Bolton Bus Station
to 538 to Bromley Cross, a service which I hate because it goes in and out of
every estate in Bolton.
I arrived home at around 22:45, I
had made good time.
Overall, I had an excellent night
out in Leigh, it’s not often you hear that. I felt it was very generous of
Manchester United/LSV to offer the game out for free, both of them clearly
trying to get the fans supporting the stars of tomorrow.
I would also recommend visiting a
game in the Barclays U21 Premier League as it is worth the watch and you do get
to see tomorrow’s footballers in a good game of football. My next U21 game
planned is in the Easter holiday, Manchester United U21 (again) vs Norwich City
U21 at Old Trafford, see you there Blog Buds!
Ground: - 6/10 – Nice little
place, good atmosphere.
Programme:
- N/A
Food:
- 6/10 – Nice hot chocolate.
Standard Dairy Milk.
Match: - 5/10 – Not bad for a
0-0.
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