London Road, Peterborough United
v Ipswich Town, League Cup 1st Round 
Tuesday August 22nd 2006, 7.45pm
By Jimmy Young

1. Why you were looking forward to going to the ground (or not as the case may be):

The proposition of being accommodated on a safe terrace and the potential atmosphere which goes with that greatly appealed. The terracing also allowed for a bargain 10 pounds entrance fee which I was happy to pay even though my visit was only for a league cup match with Ipswich Town . The ground makes a change from the normal clone stadiums we have to visit in the championship where you are often forced to sit leading to a frustrating and quiet viewing experience.

2. How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking:

The ground was reasonably easy to find thanks largely to its large
floodlight towers. I came by train which passed the ground on its way into the station which gave us an idea of where it was. The station is about 20 minutes away but that can be reduced when you have to leg it back to get the last train of the day!

3. What you did before the game pub/chippy.... home fans friendly?

We clambered aboard the floating pub across the bridge near the ground which served an impressive array of real ales and lagers at reasonable rates (around 2 pounds a pint). I chose that 'little known' European lager Stella Artois at £2.60. The pub was a good mix of home and away fans and had a lively but friendly atmosphere inside and out.

4. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the ground.

The ground was exactly what I hoped for, many people will probably slate it in preference to rounded cloned arenas, and sadly eventually posh will probably move from it and move into such a soulless all-seater arena, but I thought the ground mixed old and new well. The main away terrace offered some good views with the occasional characteristic poles in the way which were no major problem. The seated away area was less popular but around 40 seats there were happily occupied by fans who couldn't or didn't want to stand, mostly families.

 

5. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, toilets etc..

The stewards were quite an anonymous bunch really, being incredibly well behaved fans we don't need much monitoring and being no seats they weren't constantly telling people to sit down all the time and so could successfully do their jobs keeping gangways and exits clear. Being able to stand up really brought out the best in our away support, the low roof also allowed for good acoustics and so the atmosphere was the best we are likely to make this season. The home fans were of competitive spirit too, given that this was a league cup match. They supported their team well particularly when they were winning, the noisy fans being based on the terrace at the opposite end, and small pieces of banter were shared between the fans during
the game. The fans in the rest of the ground were quite anonymous though, but most of their fans were housed in the stand opposite rather than in the seated stands to the sides. An atmosphere which bettered most Ipswich home games attended by 20,000 or so but created by 4,000 home and away fans. This was the lowest attending match I have been to but the atmosphere was one of the best.

The Chicken Pie comes highly recommended by my friend at £2.40. 
Bottles of drinks (without the obligatory plastic top) could be bought at normal inflated prices. It seemed as though alcohol was not being served in the away end. There was only one kiosk for the away end open which led to a ten minute queue and some people missing the first minutes of the second half.

All the goals in the 1-1 full time draw were scored at the away end which gave us a good view of the 'incident' which led to Peterborough receiving a penalty less than half way through the first half which they converted to gain a lead which they deserved through previous play, if not through the actual penalty decision itself. The rest of the game was pretty even with Town slightly the better but unable to convert some easy chances, with the Peterborough goalkeeper impressing with some decent saves. In the last ten minutes after several taunts from the Home end Town finally got an equaliser through centre back Jason de Vos' header from a stretched Matt Richards cross setting up a fraut last ten minutes and extra time.

Posh scored early in extra time through a decent cross and unmarked header manoeuvre only to be set back again with a last minute equaliser from Ipswich to set up penalties. Despite being taken at the away end Posh held their nerve and outscorerd the young penalty takers of Ipswich to win the penalty shoot out 4-2 to the delight of the home fans.

6. Comment on getting away from the ground after the game:

The train station is a ten minute jog away. With no seats it is much quicker getting out of the ground because you can make for the exit unobstructed.

7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out

My day at Peterborough was one of the most enjoyable football experiences I have had. Being too young to remember the good old days when football wasn't so overrated and football fans were still supporter and not customers to be exploited. But going to Peterborough's ground with the old style stands and atmosphere gave me a glimpse at what it must of been like in those days,
with the cheap admission to a standing terrrace. It is one of the few
grounds where you can still get classic football match experience.

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