Pre Season Friendly
Shepshed Dynamo 0 v Bedworth United 4
Attendance: 73
Gate: £4
Ground: I liked this little ground tucked away. Some stands a little old but that added to the character of the ground- 8/10
Conditions: Very Pleasant
Food/Drink: Had a yummy cheeseburger with extra oinions. Was freshly cooked and good value at £1.80 Coffee was good 60p and i later had a luke warm tea 60p with a kitkat 50p- 7/10
View all Photos from Shepshed (37)
After a long journey with M1 hold ups i still arrived in plenty of time in this Village in Leicestershire.
I met a nice chap on the gate who allowed me in in order to take some pics , we started to chat and he told me his life story with some very private details he was obviously in need of talking to someone and he chose me - had only met the guy for five minutes. I was made very welcome by all the Shepshed guys who were shocked to see a long distance groundhopper at their ground that evening. A few minutes later i got chatting to 'Colin' who turned out to be a life long Bedworth United fan - he follows them home and away with a group of them along with his son. Colin was great company telling me all his stories including the gang from the "Bedworth Bootroom".
The teams came out and paraded all what was missing was the National Anthem ! seemed a bit odd just for a pre season friendly. Shepshed made the brighter start for the first 20 minutes with Bedworth hardly touching the ball. Then the home team decided to play their version of 'crossbar challenge' - the ball came in from the left flank and the golaie was beaten and with an open goal the forward headed the ball against the bar from 3 yards out and then as it rebounded a teammate did the same thing from 2 yards out - two unbeleivable misses ! Then 3 minutes later Shepshed were made to pay , the goalie had a rush of blood came out of his area took a swing at the ball and missed completely. Instead of retreating he came further out only to find a Bedworth player No11 getting his 'Lob Wedge' out and chipping the ball in the top corner , 1-0 !.
As so many Away fans were in the ground they kindly opened the Club Shop
Bedworth were now in control of the game and on 29 minutes they made in 2-0 with a well worked goal. H-T 0-2. The seond half started and within three minutes it was already 0-3 and i actually missed the goal ! i was watching but the ball hit the advertising board and as the Net was literally tied to it so there was no gap between the net and the advertising board so when the ball rebounded out the net didnt even ripple ! Luckily the Bedworth Gang were watching closer than i was !
The Tea Hut
Then a few minutes later there was mayhem !!! The Bedworth Gang didnt know who had won the raffle and they were most concerned , it had become more important than the football ! and they couldnt relax until they found out who had won the 'start prize' - 6 small bottles of beer !
I then decided to go to the toilet only to find i had to leave the ground and walk hundred yards down the road behind the main stand- must admit it was the first time i have had to leave a stadium to go to the loo ! On my return Bedworth made it 4-0 and wrapped up a well deserved victory.
On the whole i had a really enjoyable evening plenty of good humoured groundhopping stories with some really nice people. The football was average at best and both teams will end up halfway at best in their respective league tables. Was the visit to Shepshed worth it ? YES it most certainly was !!
I leave the ground very happy in the knowledge that for my first new ground the ball has been in the Onion Bag no fewer than 4 times , a good start.
Glad you enjoyed...come back soon!!
ReplyDeletethanks i will !
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