Holyport 0-6 Maidenhead United (in the rain), then the 11th Maidenhead Beer Festival with my Dad and sister (the latter has a video of me subsequently murdering Margate by Chas 'n' Dave on karaoke at the Portland), was my debut pre-season friendly of the summer; this visit – my first – to Reynolds Field ("Are you winding me up?! I will refer to it as The Powerday Stadium") likely to be my only other one ... unless I can be bothered to attend the game with West Ham's kids (a precursor to that new crappy cup competition), primarily because it's on a Wednesday and doesn't clash with the local pub quiz that takes off-season precedence
After the disappointment of England's Euros Final defeat to Spain and my sister's return to Sydney following the conclusion of her month-long visit to the motherland, I was looking forward to a (non-beery) evening out watching the Magpies at a new ground; I made steady progress along the A404/ M40/ A40 – spray off the tarmac of the latter indicative of an earlier downpour, as was the photo of a rainbow above the flats behind the main entrance to the ground that accompanied the tweeted announcement of our starting XI – and arrived in time for a couple of photos featuring York Road-esque 'modifications' (some more botched and half-finished than others)
Not until half-time did I notice that the home side's keeper was ex-Magpie Sam Beasant (almost double the height of our Trialist shot-stopper who, as he did at Holyport, replaced Craig Ross at the break); at one point during a largely uneventful first half, Beasant was handed (and put on) a bright red baseball cap by an equally tall older gent who was stood next to us behind his goal – in hindsight, that must've been Dave
Worrying – albeit only to varying degrees, as it is pre-season, after all – that (1) Sam Barratt went off injured early on (Casey Pettit, Reece Smith, and the relatively impressive Zaco Bell also had spells on the deck), (2) our passing was generally sloppy and we created little (Beasant was required to make one notable save from the gangly Joseph Ajose), and (3) Tristan Abrahams felt the need to take his frustrations out on a drinks bottle that he booted near the end ... before a winning goal from lively substitute Ruben Carvalho, which was somewhat against the run of play and literally the last kick of the game
Enjoyable last fifteen minutes or so for LB and me, though, as we sat in plush red seats – which reminded me (genuinely) of those at the Emirates Stadium – on the top deck of the red bus-cum-kiosk-cum-viewing gallery (the row furthest away from pitch-side elevated by a plywood platform, which was a nice touch); I've since discovered that Deal Town has (or had) something similar at their ground, so I'm keen to go with the family if the black and white hoops have a home game when we visit the seaside once again during half-term in October
LB and his old man gratefully accepted my offer of a lift back (they had travelled by Lizzy Line and bus), so they joined me as we drove past what I thought was – but actually wasn't – the Hoover Building (where Alan Dev worked as a forklift truck driver when West Ham signed him from Southall for £5,000 in 1976); the heavens opened as we approached Holyport on the Windsor Road and I had to stay in the car for a bit when I got home to avoid getting drenched on the short walk to the front door ... and to think there's talk of an imminent 'heat bomb'!
Lots of our chat throughout the evening had centred on next season's away days – my first *should* be Aldershot on the last day of next month, although that depends on a prompt and hassle-free arrival back from holiday in Crete; otherwise, it'll probably be Tamworth on 14th September – train tickets already booked for that one!
More thoughts: pic.twitter.com/ND3LWnyt9I
— ɢᴏ ᴍᴀᴅ ᴏʀ sᴛᴏᴘ ᴄᴀʀɪɴɢ (@gomadstopcaring) July 10, 2024
