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England v Wales, Old Trafford, Manchester, World Cup 2006 Qualifier, 9 October 2004

Daniel Campbell and Tim Weymouth, Dagenham & Redbridge/England

Having taken over two hours in our ticket buying attempts, we were relieved to become the proud owners of not 1 but 2 tickets to one of the biggest Home International matches in 20 years. On numerous occasions, in the weeks running up to the game, we were asked to sell our precious tickets but obviously, having seen our country play over 30 times, we would never sell out!

Originally, the plan was just to attend the full international. However, after many discussions it was decided that we would travel up to the Under 21 International as well, staying in the Blackburn area to save a bit of cash.

After a week of waiting, watching as many news bulletins as hot dinners and reading most of the newspapers, Friday morning finally comes round and the excitement mounted. London to Blackburn isn’t exactly the shortest journey in the world, but the weather was fair and for the first 5 minutes at least, the journey was fantastic…that was until we had to refuel and I forgot to take the £16.50 change…great start! We were heading back to Dagenham before we had even started…

From then on, there we no major complications - apart from a serious accident on the M6 - entertainment was aplenty…ever tried karaoke to the whole England album? A big "no no" after this showing...

After safely finding the hotel, we enquired how far the Blackburn ground was from the hotel (bear in mind we were next to the M56 motorway, we didn’t have a clue!). The receptionist told us it was 10 minutes and there were pathways…cue an argument between her and me! Of course, no pathways just mud, new trainers are now black and as for the walk? More like 25 minutes! We found a nice pub a couple of minutes for the ground and sank a few beers before heading off to Ewood Park.

The people we met (English & Welsh) were fantastic; we all had a good laugh and no sign of trouble. As for the game itself, we sat next to the press area gaining an official team sheet and various ticket stubs plus a few autographs in the process.

The game was dull. England was always in control, while the only real chance for Wales was a snap shot from David Vaughan that struck a post. The two goals certainly didn’t flatter England and although it brought respect to the score line, they should have scored several more. James Milner was an inspiration in the middle; he took his goal fantastically while Darren Bent, as always came off the bench to score - Supersub! Unfortunately, these affairs are not always the most entertaining in the world, but it’s all about qualifying and England put themselves in prime position with 9 points from 9.

At this stage it was beginning to get a bit nippy, despite this the Northerners didn’t seem too bothered, although obviously being Southern fairies we were decked out in scarves and gloves. Food was needed, but did we find any? No. There was one chip shop and a McDonald’s both packed out. So we headed back to the hotel expecting to see something but there was nothing.

The experience of the Under 21's is always a good one, but the big game was just around the corner…

Saturday morning and the early alarm call was not welcomed! We knew that we wanted to be at Old Trafford as early as possible but 10:00am was maybe a bit extreme. After a satisfyingly delicious breakfast we made the 40-minute journey from Blackburn to Manchester via Bolton. As Tim insisted that we stop at the Bolton Wanderers ground, we headed off the motorway to the ground, and thank God we did, it was unmissable. What’s always struck me is the cost of these trips, £6 to park your car is a bit steep to say the least. But from the moment we stepped out of the car, you could sense that the day was going to be something special. All 14 programmes and "Free Lions" were collected, match badges aplenty and the customary visit to the Manchester United megastore.

As this was Tim’s 1st visit to Old Trafford (my 3rd for England Internationals), I decided to give him a guided tour instead of just going to the pub. Lancashire County Cricket Club was visited…how anyone would sit there during the supposed summer of Manchester is beyond me! The Trafford pub became appealing as we headed back, it didn’t last long though; let’s just say this isn’t the nicest pub we’ve ever visited. On our walk back down Sir Matt Busby Way we were stopped by the Sky Sports News crew asking us both for interviews. Without hesitation, we obviously agreed and from that moment on phone calls were rife from various people who spotted us on telly. With our own team, Dagenham & Redbridge, playing live on Sky, we headed into the ground as early as possible. By the time we were inside the ground and watching the screen we were already 2-0 down. Battle lost, it was more a case of enjoy the atmosphere and get the photos taken. Finally 2:50pm came around and the two teams entered the arena… the atmosphere was electric to say the least. For the first time in my life I have never been so sickened by the "so called" English fans during a minutes silence for Ken Bigley. The comments made were certainly not called for.

England controlled the match at the pace they wanted, and as soon as Lampard struck his shot (so what if it hit Owen?) I shouted "goal" before the ball even struck the net. Great start. The lads for the rest of the 90 minutes continued this, Okay, we did go a little dull for patches but Wales never really threatened the defence, only one save for Robinson to make from Speed’s header. Beckham’s goal was fantastic but again his temper let him down, let’s just see what happens with all the controversy that’s coming out at the moment in the newspapers.

The result should, and maybe, could have been far greater, but the 3 vital points in our qualifying campaign have put us in prime position, next stop Madrid, Spain all that more easy or so I hope!

Daniel Campbell and Tim Weymouth
Dagenham & Redbridge/England

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