Happy (Valley) memories of previous trips to The Shay – wins and losses – going back 20 years to our legendary FA Trophy tie, and I was looking forward to another visit, particularly after missing our decent performance (by all accounts) and much-needed result vs Yeovil Town at York Road in the week; my pre-purchased ticket for that going to waste due to a family emergency, albeit it wasn't me this time in A&E at Wexham Park Hospital
An unusual outward journey, thanks to engineering works at King's X rather than Craig messing up the tickets (honest!), began with the 06:37 from Maidenhead and saw us leave the nation's capital from Farringdon, changing at Stevenage where there was time for a McDonald's breakfast – debates about our least favourite school subjects, prompted by a teenager tackling maths homework opposite Craig, a thorough assessment of the runners and riders in the SNP leadership contest, and a not insignificant delay outside Newark-on-Trent – before meeting Steve H. in Leeds, and finally arriving in Halifax just after midday to begin a pre-match pub crawl that went as follows: København (Meandering Bear wasn't open), Meandering Bear (with the Smiths), Royal Oak (as recommended by Wealdstone; at least it was cheap!), and Three Pigeons (Titanic's Cappuccino Stout is the best beer I have had since Tiny Rebel's Press Start in Chesterfield last season)
Less than ten minutes in, we were one up thanks to Ashley Nathaniel-George (to the tune of Go West by Pet Shop Boys); we hung on for the rest of the game as the home side huffed and puffed, with a few goalkeeper-induced nervy moments towards the end, but the 49 away fans were ultimately left understandably delighted with another clean sheet and three more points
I had implored Macleod (M), and anyone else who would listen during the game, to go and get some roast potatoes with chilli – the best food I've ever had at a football match *chef's kiss*
Further pints of Cappuccino Stout and a celebratory group photo in Three Pigeons before we said our goodbyes to the Smiths and Rainey – they were staying over, sensible people – and went to catch the train to Leeds
A couple of quick rounds in the consistently excellent Head of Steam (soundtracked by the likes of IDLES and Nirvana) and then a supermarket sweep at M&S – the subsequent journey home was somewhat messy (it had been a long day) and complicated by the fact that I lost Macleod (M) and Craig on the underground, my phone perilously low on battery
XIVth in the table now, and we can start to look up again rather than down; a third successive win – for the first time this season – vs managerless Dagenham & Redbridge on Tuesday would set us up nicely for a free hit against Ryan Reynolds' boys, live on TV, next weekend
(BBC report; match highlights)
That winning feeling 👏😍 pic.twitter.com/aHZH3H5j2k
— Maidenhead United (@MUFCYorkRoad) February 25, 2023
