Away Days - Huddersfield Town
First Impressions -- Around the ground -- The Game -- The Stand -- Overall -- Pictures
Fixture: Huddersfield vs PNE
Competition: NPower League One
Ground: Galpharm Stadium
Date: Saturday 22nd October 2011
Kick off: 3pm
Final Result: 3-1 Tsoumou
I had been looking forward to this trip for some time. I had previously visited this ground in 2001 (can't believe its that long ago!) so I had been eager to revisit it as I had left with a good impression of the ground last time. Therefore, these aren't strictly speaking my 'first impressions'.
Unlike my first visit, I
had opted to go on the train to this game which was certainly
an experience to say the least. I got on the train to Manchester
Piccadilly which was absolutely heaving with people - plenty
of North End fans on board, and then switched over there
for the train to Huddersfield, which was also packed (luckily
I managed to get a seat!).
I arrived in Huddersfield in plenty of time so headed to
the 'Kings Head' which is one of two excellent real ale
pubs at the station. I can't remember the name of the ale
I had but it was from 'Durham Brewery' and was certainly
a thirst quencher.
After a walk around and
taking a few pictures, I decided to walk to the ground even
though I still had time to spare. I thought it was best
to try and find my grounding!
It didn't take long to get to the ground at all, only about
15 minutes and along the way I took a photo or two of the
ground from a distance. It has to be said, it looks absolutely
fantastic and very much like Deepdale, leaves a fantastic
impression.
I thought the ground looked fantastic when I first visited and my opinion hadn't changed despite the 10 year gap.
With plenty of time on my hands I decided to go for my usual wander around the ground. One exception though is that I couldn't walk all the way around as there's a hill behind one the side stands.
After 15/16 years since it was first built, the impression I got of the ground from the outside is that it has really stood the test of time. Its largely very well kept and still impressive. Most importantly though is that its different and certainly not bland in the slightest.
I visited the club shop which I have to say was far, far better than the ones than I've previously visited. It had an excellent range of goods and the best thing was they actually sell fridge magnets!
After hanging around for a while and talking with a mate, I headed into the ground and onto the open concourse. Luckily for us though it was a nice day so queuing at the catering bar wasn't much of a problem, well except for my mate who was trying to carry two pies, a pasty, a bottle of pop and a hot chocolate! (I helped him with the hot chocolate but he ended up dropping the pasty on the way to his seat!).
Delightfully, it was unreserved seating so I got to sit with my mate and his dad. I decided it was a good opportunity to take some pics of the rest of the ground. Just like from the outside of the ground, it was mightily impressive. The stand opposite and the stand to our lefts are two tiered affairs, and the stand to our right was just the one tier (this is where most of the noise from the Huddersfield fans came from and fair play to them, their support was fantastic). I have to say, the way the stand's roofs are arched just really makes the ground stand out and makes it unique. You can see why it won an architecture award.
The game wasn't necessarily a bad one but it has to be said it was yet another clueless North End performance which was highlighted by another goalkeeping gaffe from Turner. North End had actually made a bright start to the game and weren't under any pressure until Turner failed to clear a ball in the 4th minute and Jordan Rhodes made the most of his 'gift'. From then on it was mostly Huddersfield.
Again though, North End's defending was truly awful and Huddersfield added a second before half time. I thought things would improve in the second half but that wasn't the case and Huddersfield soon added a third.
It was fair to say that North End, like in previous games, were completely hopeless and deservedly lost. It left me wondering if we would ever get back to the kind of run we saw when we won seven on the trot.
Unlike at Walsall, I can't say I had many negative points about the stand. Unlike the outside of the ground though, it was starting to show its age a bit with the faded seats and the open concourse would be a ball ache if the weather was awful (as said though, we were lucky it was a nice day).
The view from the stand was excellent despite only being sat a few rows from the front and the legroom was fantastic. The stand was quite different from most though as you enter from the top of the stand, not that this is a bad thing though!
After the experience of Walsall, it was nice to get back to having a good experience of a ground, except this time the pies weren't as good!
Away fans can make quite a lot of noise too as the stand has good acoustics, unfortunately though North End fans didn't have a lot to sing about.
Despite the result and another dire PNE performance, it still turned out to be a cracking away day. I stopped in the 'Head of Steam' at the station for a pint before catching my train back to Manchester. It was perhaps an error of judgment as I should've stayed for another pint - the train back was ram-packed full of largely North End fans and it took longer than expected getting back to Manchester due to some idiot running on the tracks!
Still though, it really is a cracking ground to visit and I really do suggest you make a day of it and take advantage of the two pubs at the station (Head of Steam and Kings Head). I was glad I revisited it and would gladly revisit it again and again (sadly I don't think that'll be happening in the near future the way North End are going!).
Ratings
Appearance: 10/10
Game: 7/10
Enjoyment: 9/10
Fans: 8/10
Away Stand: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
