In the next of our 'best and worst' away days feature, Max Bailey nominates his top two.
BEST: Whitby v Chester 12th Nov 2011
A typical gloomy November morning as myself and 3 mates jumped in to a
rusty Ford Focus for the long trip to the East coast. We were meeting 3
others in the town as parents of one owned a flat on the sea front which
was our accommodation for the night. The plan was a Chester win and to
paint the town blue and white.
Upon arriving, we made our way to town and the weather had cleared up
meaning Whitby looked resplendent in the Autumn sun. The omens were
good! A big lunch to line the bellies and then we were off to the
ground.
The hospitality in the clubhouse was second to none. Probably the best
I've seen since our reformation. We were welcomed with open arms and the
atmosphere was electric. Days like that epitomised the enjoyment of our
journey back through the leagues.
We camped behind the goal for the first half and soon Chester were ahead
with a powerful drive from Luke Holden. In the pub before the game, we
had a wager on "How many balls will be kicked out of the stadium" so it
was probably greeted with some confusion by players and fans alike when
we let out a huge cheer after Simmo skied an effort which soared out of
the ground and in to the neighbouring streets.
Soon though, the same player had been fouled........yes, it was
definitely a foul and not a dive......honest......and we were 2 up and
cruising.
The game finished 4-0 to the Blues and the banter with the opposition
goalkeeper and throwing our mate Jonno on to the pitch after the game
just added to the entertainment.
We headed back in the clubhouse for yet more rum based revelry and an England win against Spain added the cherry to the cake.
At this point, my memory gets a bit hazy but I do remember a cracking
fish and chips, meeting someone from New Zealand with the same name as
me and visiting possibly the world's tackiest nightclub, Raw!
All in all, an absolute belter and the gracious welcome from our hosts means I still look for Whitby's results today.
WORST: Exeter City vs Chester City 1st Nov 2008
Exeter's a long way away. It really is. I hadn't quite computed just howf ar it was when myself and two friends talked about marching down there to cheer on the Blues. In hindsight, we should have flown!
The match itself was dire from the Blue perspective. Out-played and out-fought from start to finish and the 2-0 scoreline flattered us. The match was tempered by Chester fans almost coming to blows on the terraces over the "performance" of Stephen Vaughan jnr.
We left cold and depressed at such a comprehensive defeat and jumped in to my Peugeot for the long trek back to Chester.
What was a long trek though, turned in to a epic journey matched only by the works of
Tolkien.
Just after the junction for the M54, my trusty motor decided it had had enough of life and died right there on the motorway. The gearbox was knackered and I didn't have any breakdown cover.
Therefore, 6 hours and £150 later I had the car recovered to small street in Birmingham and we got on the train and arrived home over 12 hours after we started.
Despite shelling out another £200 to have the car recovered to Chester, it couldn't be saved and was sent to the great scrapyard in the sky.
All in all, a really bad away day!
* We want to hear about Exiles' best and worst away games, which sum up
the ecstasy and the agony of being a Chester fan on the road. Your
choices needn't be all about the result - perhaps a funny incident or
disaster en-route makes them memorable. Send yours by email to: blog@chesterexiles.co.uk.
