The hashtag controversies flowed from Dulwich Hamlet's table-topping home fixture against Maidstone United. The week before the game, my daughter, Z, and me turned up to help with the big clean up of the ground, along with a few other individuals who looked slightly worse than usual at 9.00 am on a Saturday morning. We worked hard for a couple of hours and the ground looked a good bit tidier by the time we departed for the promised hot chocolate.
Fast forward to the following Saturday, 19 January and #Snowgate. Me and Z again arrived at 9.00 am in response to the club's call for volunteers to clear the snow from the pitch and terracing. All of last week's cleaning work had been covered up by the snow from the previous day and night. Even at 9.00 am there were already over a dozen people at the ground working hard to try to ensure the game against Maidstone went ahead. The pitch seemed in decent condition as the snow was slowly cleared. Everybody's spirits were lifted, not only by the tea and biscuits served up in the boardroom, but also by the news that a local referee inspecting the pitch at 11.00 am, considered the pitch playable. Additionally, the rumour was that the match referee was Russian and therefore likely to ask what all the fuss was about. Z and me left to get some lunch at home, with high hopes we'd be back for the game.
We were ultimately reduced to watching Twitter updates on a laptop for news. I feared the worse when several people tweeted that players from both sides didn't seem to fancy it. When a tweet was finally posted that the game was off Z was a bit distraught having by then got excited about seeing the game after all her efforts over the past week. It was certainly very disappointing for the many Maidstone supporters who had already set off, some of whom were already at the ground or in local bars, when it was called off. Particularly disappointing also for the large group (30+) of Dulwich supporters that had worked hard for several hours to try to get the game on. #Snowgate left an empty feeling on that Saturday, despite the beer and burger vouchers from the club.
Speaking as a 'bitter' (bitter blue), and therefore somebody with long experience of football disappointment, #Wallgate was in many ways more annoying than #Snowgate. The week after #Snowgate, Dulwich played at Leatherhead. This again involved keeping an eye on Twitter for the results of a pitch inspection, while also watching MCFC's FA Cup game on TV at Stoke. I wasn't going to travel all the way to Leatherhead for a wasted journey.
Ha. Informed via Twitter that the game was definitely on, I managed to get to Fetcham Grove only 10 minutes into the game. There was a decent amount of Dulwich supporters already there, the younger element having decided that onesies might be a good idea. Dulwich scored mid-way through the first half to make the half-time pint that bit more enjoyable, especially as I'd also heard the score from the Britannia Stadium. Joined in the bar by one particular Dulwich supporter, we decided to maximise our options for the second half by watching from just outside the bar area. Dulwich seemed largely in control of the game and it was no surprise when the second goal arrived on 78 minutes, but unfortunately led to #Wallgate. The goalscorer, Daniel Carr, ran to the supporters behind and to the side of the goal. The supporters ran towards him and a section of wall between them then collapsed. From our vantage point near the bar on the sidelines it was it seemed clear that none of the rubble was actually on the pitch. There were no players injured, although one Dulwich supporter later attended at a hospital with some minor injuries.
There immediately seemed to be attempts by the Leatherhead players to use the situation to their advantage by indicating to the referee that he should abandon the game. Clearly this was an attractive option for the Leatherhead team, having just gone further behind. After about ten minutes of inspecting the damage and without taking the players off the pitch, the referee decided to abandon the game, despite no debris being anywhere near the pitch. This was when #Wallgate turned really sour as several Leatherhead players began punching the air as they ran past their supporters towards the dressing rooms. It was as though they had achieved a famous victory. The journey home demonstrated I wasn't the only 'bitter' that day amongst the away supporters. The Ryman League subsequently ruled that the game should be replayed.
The following weekend Dulwich were away at Horsham. Easy enough to get to and apparently no need even for a pitch inspection. I arrived in time to pop into a local boozer and watch some of both QPR v Norwich City and Wales v Ireland in the Six Nations. It was useful to have maxed-out as I suddenly became aware that it was all the sport I was going to see that day. Checking Twitter, I found that the match referee had found a boggy patch on the pitch on which to bounce the ball and decided to call off the match just before 2.00pm. After the events of the two previous weeks, it quickly became #Boggate on Twitter.
Trudging back to the train station I met another disgruntled Dulwich supporter, J, who happens to support a different team from the Manchester area, and had also been at the Leatherhead game as well. He put forward an interesting suggestion relating to the state of non-league pitches and the frequent late postponements during the winter. Facilities at this level have clearly not kept pace with justifiable concerns over potential injuries to players or a desire to see the game played on decent pitches. This means that during winter supporters are regularly inconvenienced and out of pocket, while the postponed games are played in mid-week with a considerably reduced attendance income for the clubs. Given that most non-league clubs are not about to invest in under-soil heating or new drainage systems, J suggested that it might be an idea to move to a summer league system.
The idea might not be well received by all supporters, but it seemed a sensible suggestion at least worth debating after three weeks of #Snowgate, #Wallgate and #Boggate.
No comments:
Post a Comment