Lowestoft Town FC 1 - 4 FC United of Manchester:
What a lovely, almost life-affirming day this was. At 2:30GMT I was up, and caught the train to the airport, before landing in London. I was picked up from the station, had time for a quick shower, and then we were on the train to Lowestoft. Due to it being close to Redjons birthday, a few friends had come down to visit, so it wasn’t the usual meagre numbers travelling up from the south. The two hours or so, passed by quickly with beer and catching up.
Once in Lowestoft I stopped for chips and then we went to a pub near the ground called The Triangle. They had a good selection of ales, including one named after the football side (Trawler Boys), an excellent jukebox filled with soul & punk/new wave, and the locals there were endearing freaks (in the most positive sense of the word). The Giddys had also arrived, and were in ahem “high spirits”. I got my new FCUM sweater, and in return handed them the bag of new scarves we got produced. After a couple more beers it was off to the ground, with the exception of D and H who didn’t make it out of the pub. They should’ve come, as beer was being served and no one was trying to prevent people drinking on the terrace. Due to the queues on the turnstiles, we arrived about 5 minutes after kick-off, and took up a spot in the sparsely populated stand along the side of the pitch. The atmosphere, due to the lack of fans in our end was just alright, but fortunately the football was excellent. FC were rampant, and by half time we were leading 3-1.
At half time the rest of the FC fans came around and suddenly the terrace was fuller. The beer was also taking its effect. With scarves aloft and flags waving, everyone sang through the halftime break and the atmosphere got better and better throughout the rest of the match. In the second half United were just as good, and the game was topped off with an incredible overhead kick from Sam Madeley. In all the years of watching FC, I think it was one of the most finely executed goals Ive seen us score. And that was only one reason why this was just a great day following the Reds. In general, we played some assured, exciting football, and it was all accompanied by a travelling support who regardless of group or background, acted as one. No divisions, no sniping at individuals, just a good old singsong and an away win.
The Refugees Welcome flag was also up again, and perhaps due to recent tragic events, it received far more attention than in previous weeks. I’m happy to say that the reaction was always positive, with both home and away fans wanting to get a photograph of it, or thanking the person who made it. A flag is just a flag, and won’t help any refugees, but I’d like to think that it at least gives an indication of how people’s attitude towards them is positive. There is talk that alongside the flag, a campaign with more substance i.e. providing funding or provisions for refugees will follow in the near future.
After the match, we had a chat with Margy and Jerome, and then headed back to the pub for one. Then it was time to buy cans and catch the train back to London. We rounded the evening off in a massive beer garden in Woodford, even trying to convince a local Polish lad to sack off living in East London, and come and live in Manchester. It remains to be seen whether the promise of non-league football, plus a couple of beers and a few cigarettes on the night convinced him. On the basis of today, it would be the greatest decision he could make.
