Tumbling ‘round the Tech End
That’s why we do it.
The thousands of pounds spent on match tickets. The weekends being cattle-herded through unfamiliar, unfriendly streets by surly police. The nights curled up in tatty hotel rooms. The bleary-eyed morning-afters where we’re monosyllabic during work meetings. The bus journeys that begin at daybreak and end in the moonlight shadow of The Turf. The train delays. The petrol costs. The nauseating toilet trips to Welcome Break. The pain. The disappointment. The anger.
Wrexham vs Notts County is why we all keep going back again and again. This mesmerising, energy-sapping, topsy-turvy Easter Monday tie played out by two wonderful teams was our reward: An Oscar-worthy match with a shocking twist in its closing scene that left the audience stunned and reduced grown men to tears.
Football does not come much better.
Few games successfully live up the kind of hyperbolic frothing that engulfed the National League’s “biggest ever” fixture, but Wrexham vs Notts County somehow managed to meet the lofty expectations set by a duo of sides who have both amassed more than a century of points in a single season.
It had the lot. And after 96 minutes spent tumbling around the Tech End, fans turned to their phones to check the texts and calls that had been flooding in from people around the world.
Everyone wanted to comment. Everyone wanted to be a part of it. And it will never be forgotten.
Yet, amazingly, it could all count for absolutely nothing.
It seems cold-hearted to state this fact when every man, woman and child from Wrexham is still dancing on Cloud Nine to the twangs of Status Quo, but you can bet your bottom dollar it’s what Parky will be repeating to his squad as they trundle into London on Saturday.
Barnet (A) will be no picnic. The play-off pushing Bees are not the same side we stuffed seven goals past in Autumn, and if the Good Friday version of Parky’s Promotion Hopefuls turn up, we’ll be in for a tricky afternoon at The Hive.
We know all that. The players know it, too. But what everyone also knows is that a win in North London puts us within touching distance of the title.
Notts fans already think it’s over. Their manager Luke Williams has made several disingenuous claims that we won it weeks ago. But now, I think, he truly believes there is too much for his Magpies to do to catch us. 7 points is all we need to make that a reality.
Now - reluctantly - it’s time to get back to work.
The conclusion of our pulsating table-topper tie on Monday also signalled the end of the long weekend, and Reds attempted to stretch their bank holidays as far as they possibly could - with celebrations running long into the evening. Town was full of sweat and smiles. The Parish got so packed the windows threatened to burst open. Visitors from Detroit slurping pints in The Royal Oak declared it was the best sporting fixture they’d ever seen. Fans who weren’t falling into bushes by nightfall were singing “Super Ben Foster in goaaaallll!” all the way home.
It had been perfect. And we were so proud. But then came a moment that threatened to spoil the magic.
Crossing back over the border at Chester train station, some Reds bumped into a bunch of blues who were returning home from playing WhoCaresFC in the National League North. Encountering Seals supporters was never pleasant on the eyes or the ears when we had to face them twice a season. Indeed, nothing has changed in the five years since, as they bellowed “Welsh scum!” at Reds trying to make their connecting trains further into North Wales.
An older woman draped in a Wrexham scarf, who had been plodding across the bridge minding her own business, should have been scarred by the whole experience. But she simply shook her head and tutted back: “Chester dickheads”.
Just when we thought our civic pride couldn’t swell any more…
What a day.
Great read again…thank you.
Chester dickheads…made my day!.