War of the Roses

Only three short days after the honourable point at The Goldsands stadium and we were off to the Macron stadium in Bolton. This is another one of those stupid grounds which change their name at the whim of sponsors. It was originally the Reebok stadium, it's first sponsor, when it was built in 1997 replacing the old Burndon park. We have always looked longingly upon it as we pass it. You can see it from the M6 and it looks magnificent so it was one of the first away fixtures we looked for when they came out. Suffice to say it was a Tuesday night. No problem, I had a few hours hols left from work and this was one visit I didn't want to miss. 

The day started badly however, with a single magpie staring in at me as I ate my breakfast. Usually that means a defeat.

Checking the web I noticed that our referree was to be Neil Swarbrick, of Lancashire, not good. A premier league referree, even worse. They always fall for the cheating Prima Donna type player, and never give Alex Revell anything when he gets battered. Oh well.

We left Rotherham in good time, heading over the Woodhead Pass and round the Manchester Ring Road, following Tara past Bolton. Just when I was wondering where we were going we saw it, the magnificent Macron (formerly Reebok) stadium. 

We pulled into the stadium car park aroun 7pm and wound the window down. '£7 please' said a pleasant young Lancastrian Lass. 'How Much?' Said a grumpy old Yorkshire Lad. Still, it was very close to the stadium. 'I need the toilet' said Ian, and off he trotted to the nearby MacDonalds. He returned a few minutes later with three cups of coffee and we settled in to play spot the fans. We were waiting for Wooly and Caroline to arrive. They had been to the lakes for the weekend and were calling on the way back, much to Caroline's delight. Ian had purchased their tickets for them. A text came in from Wooly around 7.15. 'We are in Bolton but can't find the stadium'. Ian replied. 'How can you miss it, you can see it from space!' 'Maybe you can, but you can't see it from Bolton town centre.' By now Vicky and I needed the loo too so we left Ian waiting (having wrestled the tickets off him) and wandered over to the stadium. 

We strolled right around to the away fans entrance, passing Nat Lofthouse on the way.

Went in, went to the toilet, and sauntered to our seats, where Ian, Wooly and Caroline had already arrived. 'Where have you been?' Was the cry.

Our seats were quite low down and right behind the net. The seats were shallowly banked, but there was only a little old man and a little old lady in front. No problem then. 

The teams came out and once again Revell had been dropped for Becchio. The game kicked off and the Bolton fans cast aspertions on the Rotherham fans parentage, at which point the little old man leapt up and, pointing fiercely, began chanting 'who are you' while pointing visciously back at them. He did this at several points during the match, and joined in every song, as did the little old woman. Ian and I were looking into our future, and we liked it. Next to Ian sat a guy who was Ian's kindred spirit, liking all the same players and giving the ref and players the same advice. They got on like a house on fire. The guys behind let us down though. 'Who is the big Bolton centre forward and who did he play for?' Said one. 'Not sure' came the reply. How I longed for the twitchers. 

True to form, the ref didn't have a clue. At one point the ball went out, the linesman looked at the ref, and the ref scratched his head, before going with the majority decision and giving Bolton the throw. Towards the end of the half we got a free kick and scored. We were 1-0 up at the Reebok. Wow. Half time came and Bolton were booed off. We were very happy though. 

The second half was full of flowing football and mistakes. Bolton equalised then took the lead. Lindsey beside me was beside herself with anger and screaming for Steve Evans head, LOM and LOW were very subdued. Then Jordan Bowery was introduced and we were soon back on level terms. Unfortunately Bolton once again took the lead almost straight away. Then, wonder of wonders, we scored again, only for the blind Lino to rule it offside. Then the goalkeeper, Colin, rushed upfield, and scored!! Once again it was disallowed. We went all out but failed to score again, and our first visit to the Reebok ended in defeat. Still, a brave performances, and Steve Evans kept his job despite Lindsey's urging. 

Final score 3-2 to Bolton

Men of the match

Ian-Taylor

Jackie-Wordsworth

Vicky-

Funniest moment

Sids tattoo parlour being the sponsor of one of the Bolton players

Toilet watch

Not so good. The doors didn't shut, there were pools on the floor and no hot water. 4/10

Ian's award

The disallowing of two perfectly good Millers goals. Grrr.