SATURDAY, APRIL 20
Selston 2 Wollaton 2
The first of four Notts Senior League Hop matches today is a 10.10am kick off at Selston.
I arrive at The Parish Hall Ground before 9.00am but am far from the first here. I reckon football clubs are judged by the welcome afforded to visitors and Selston can be proud of the very warm reception from the gaggle of stewards gathered by the main entrance.
I pay £3 to get in and £1 for the very thin programme (The Whistler). A handful of teamsheets appear and just as suddenly disappear again before I can nab one. It turns out they were printed last night so bear no resemblance to the line-ups this morning. I console myself with a rather large bacon butty kindly purchased by Groundhop UK's Chris Berezai. Yum, and indeed yum (the butty not the Berezai).
After deciding that 9.15am is a tad too early to sample some of the local real ales on offer, I decide for a circuit of the ground. League officials look resplendent in their NSL blazers. It looks like today has been nominated ‘Double Burger Day' being as every Hopper around the ground seems to be tucking in to two.
There is a one-level raised terrace behind one goal and a covered terrace in one corner (The George Elliott Stand). This is the only cover but a couple of marquees have been erected to cope with the demands of the record 358 spectators.
Wollaton hit the bar after 30 seconds, setting the tone for the rest of the end-to-end, hard-fought match. Selston take the lead against the run of play before falling behind in the second half. A player from each side should have been sent off, the home offender going on to back-heel a late equaliser to add insult to injury time.
Selston were extremely well organised and coped with the influx of people admirably: they did the club (and the League) proud. I then leave The Bonanza to head north to a generic breeze block and tin bowl in the form of The Keepmoat Stadium: the contrast to the earlier pleasant surroundings is stark.
sad.hopper@ntlworld.com
