Gigg Lane Saturday, December 1st, 2012   FA Cup Attendance: 2,391       Bury AFC 1-1 Southend United
2012 /13

Comments :

Was watched as Bury FC who went bust. Bury AFC is the phoenix club and as they play at Gig Lane I consider it reasonable to include them here. A cold but enjoyable day. Never got above 3degC and the legs blanket (Charlie''s idea) was a stroke of brilliance. Very welcoming club with lots of nice people with lovely Lancashire accents. Bought my scarf and it is the strangest ever - more like a tea-towel i.e. made of printed cloth instead of knit. We were in the 1885 Lounge (for hospo) which is also the trophy room. A funny little step back in time but warm, cosy and made us feel like part of the family. Saw Uriah Rennie as well !! Had a couple of pre-match pints with meat and potato pie, peas and gravy. Scrumptious !!! Then up to our seats in the directors'' box (a wired off bit in the middle of the main stand). The ground inside is best described as fit for purpose - nothing spectacular but wholly adequate, neat and well looked after. Just a shame there it was less than a quarter full. But - given the standard of football, Bury being near bottom of the league, the match being an early round FA Cup tie against not particularly glamorous opposition, it being a bloomin'' cold day and in the Christmas shopping period - it was probably not surprising. Half time back in the lounge and a fantastic spread of pies, pasties, sandwiches, etc with tea or coffee. What an excellent idea - especially in the middle of an ice age. Second half the footy picked up and the last 15 minutes were great entertainment - especially when Southend hit the left upright only for the ball to rifle back out of the penalty area. They picked it up again and fired in a second shot that hit the righthand upright, cannoned onto the keeper''s back and up onto the bar before pinging back out again. I have never seen anything like it before (or probably ever again). The drive home was an easy 1:25 and we had just about warmed up by the time we reached the front door. Another fab day out !!!