Kent Seagull
Well-known member
GROUNDS TOUR FACTFILE
First Visit: Monday 28 May 2001, 3:00pm
Fixture: Bolton Wanderers 3 Preston North End 0
Competition: Nationwide League Division 1 Play Off Final
Attendance: 54421
Rating: 97
Return Visits: Bournemouth 5 Lincoln City 2 (24/05/03)
Review: The trip to Cardiff effectively started at 6:45am six days before the match itself. I was sure, however, that the early morning queuing for tickets at Deepdale, lasting nearly four hours, would be worth it, and I was looking forward to what would be a great day out in a fantastic stadium and, hopefully, Preston's return to the top flight of English football.
On the day of the match, I set off just before 6am, heading for Crewe station. I got there about 7am and caught the train to Cardiff just after 7:30, arriving soon after 10. On the way down, I managed to get a good look at Shrewsbury's ground as the train pulled out of Shrewsbury station. It looked more than a little different than the venue to which I was heading!
After arriving in Cardiff and purchasing a programme, flag and hat, I went to have a look at the Millenium Stadium. It was very impressive, light years ahead of Wembley, although it didn't seem as large as I'd imagined. Sadly, unlike Wembley, it wasn't possible to walk right round the outside of the stadium. The only access points to the ground were the various entry gates. However, it was only five minutes from the town centre, so passing the time before the gates opened wasn't to be a problem.
The town centre was packed full of football fans, and it was good to see the supporters of both teams mixing freely, with no sign of trouble. I knew before travelling down that Preston had sold over 30,000 tickets, with Bolton around 2/3 of that figure, and it was noticeable both driving to Crewe, on the train and in the town centre, just how many more PNE fans there were on their way to the stadium.
I decided to go for some lunch in BHS's restaurant, confident that it would be quieter than the other cafes in the town centre, packed to capacity. However, having reached the first floor of the store, I found the queue for food around 100 people long and almost out of the restaurant!
Having passed time in the (very noisy!) town centre, packed full of 30,000 Northenders, the stadium gates opened at about 12:50 and by 1:00 I had taken my seat in the stadium. The moment of walking up the steps, out of the concourse and into the stadium itself, was a truly breathtaking moment. The ground is simply fantastic, and the view from my seat, 8 rows back on the 2nd tier and behind one of the goals, was superb. The ground is 3 tiered, except for the North Stand (housing the Bolton fans), where limited space means it has to be reduced to 2 tiers for a small section. However, the upper tier is large, so it does not really detract from the look of the ground. There was a row of executive boxes at the back of the middle tier, whilst the front rows of seats in the middle tier were directly above the back rows in the bottom section. I doubt I will visit a more spectacular venue than the Millenium Stadium in the future and would urge anyone who gets the chance to visit to take the opportunity. It may not be a cheap day out but it will live long in the memory.
Although the roof wasn't closed for this match, it still extended well beyond the front row of seats giving the ground a very enclosed feel. Even with just a thousand or so people in the stadium and with two hours remaining until kick-off, there was already a real buzz and atmosphere about the ground, and the adrenaline was certainly kicking in.
The facilities within the stadium were superb and the food wasn't noticeably over-priced. It was interesting, however, that stewards outside the stadium insisted that fans took the tops off all plastic bottles for 'safety reasons', when bottles with tops were being sold in the ground.
The Preston players came out onto the pitch in their suits at about 1:20pm to thunderous applause and thousands waving flags. There was then pre-match entertainment with some children singing on the pitch. They went off about 1:50 and the Deepdale Duck then came onto the pitch (to huge applause and flag-waving again!) to entertain the crowd. One of the best memories of the day was a man about 50 on the front row of the bottom tier giving the duck a big hug! By kick-off, the only gaps in the Preston end of the ground were in small sections of the top tier, although the Bolton end was far short of its capacity. Indeed, in the week before the game, Bolton had given 3000 tickets from their original allocation to North End. It seemed that the Bolton fans were far from enthusiastic about a return to Premier League football.
The atmosphere building up to kick off was unforgettable, with the loudest cheer being the arrival of David Moyes onto the pitch to warm up his players. The only disappointment was that once the match started, the chanting was somewhat fragmented, possibly caused by the regular supporters being mixed in with those fans who didn't attend games on a frequent basis. Preston were poor in the first half and went behind to a Gareth Farrelly goal. They improved after the break, with the best chance falling to David Healy, but Bolton struck twice in the dying minutes to seal a somewhat flattering victory. The Bolton fans were quiet all afternoon, only bursting into life in stoppage time as the two late goals secured them promotion. The reaction of the Preston fans to the second goal was remarkable - standing to a man, applauding the Preston players.
At the final whistle I stayed to clap the Preston players round the pitch, before leaving just before Bolton got presented with the trophy. As I returned to the station to begin the journey home, fireworks from within the Millenium Stadium indicated that Bolton's promotion party was getting underway. It was a surprise when I reached Cardiff Central to find a number of Bolton fans already in the queue to get onto the platforms, looking like it was their side who'd just been beaten 3-0!
Although the result wasn't what I was hoping for, the experience of seeing a match in such a magnificent stadium, combined with the incredible pre-match atmosphere, made sure the trip to Cardiff was a day out I would never forget.
First Visit: Monday 28 May 2001, 3:00pm
Fixture: Bolton Wanderers 3 Preston North End 0
Competition: Nationwide League Division 1 Play Off Final
Attendance: 54421
Rating: 97
Return Visits: Bournemouth 5 Lincoln City 2 (24/05/03)
Review: The trip to Cardiff effectively started at 6:45am six days before the match itself. I was sure, however, that the early morning queuing for tickets at Deepdale, lasting nearly four hours, would be worth it, and I was looking forward to what would be a great day out in a fantastic stadium and, hopefully, Preston's return to the top flight of English football.
On the day of the match, I set off just before 6am, heading for Crewe station. I got there about 7am and caught the train to Cardiff just after 7:30, arriving soon after 10. On the way down, I managed to get a good look at Shrewsbury's ground as the train pulled out of Shrewsbury station. It looked more than a little different than the venue to which I was heading!
After arriving in Cardiff and purchasing a programme, flag and hat, I went to have a look at the Millenium Stadium. It was very impressive, light years ahead of Wembley, although it didn't seem as large as I'd imagined. Sadly, unlike Wembley, it wasn't possible to walk right round the outside of the stadium. The only access points to the ground were the various entry gates. However, it was only five minutes from the town centre, so passing the time before the gates opened wasn't to be a problem.
The town centre was packed full of football fans, and it was good to see the supporters of both teams mixing freely, with no sign of trouble. I knew before travelling down that Preston had sold over 30,000 tickets, with Bolton around 2/3 of that figure, and it was noticeable both driving to Crewe, on the train and in the town centre, just how many more PNE fans there were on their way to the stadium.
I decided to go for some lunch in BHS's restaurant, confident that it would be quieter than the other cafes in the town centre, packed to capacity. However, having reached the first floor of the store, I found the queue for food around 100 people long and almost out of the restaurant!
Having passed time in the (very noisy!) town centre, packed full of 30,000 Northenders, the stadium gates opened at about 12:50 and by 1:00 I had taken my seat in the stadium. The moment of walking up the steps, out of the concourse and into the stadium itself, was a truly breathtaking moment. The ground is simply fantastic, and the view from my seat, 8 rows back on the 2nd tier and behind one of the goals, was superb. The ground is 3 tiered, except for the North Stand (housing the Bolton fans), where limited space means it has to be reduced to 2 tiers for a small section. However, the upper tier is large, so it does not really detract from the look of the ground. There was a row of executive boxes at the back of the middle tier, whilst the front rows of seats in the middle tier were directly above the back rows in the bottom section. I doubt I will visit a more spectacular venue than the Millenium Stadium in the future and would urge anyone who gets the chance to visit to take the opportunity. It may not be a cheap day out but it will live long in the memory.
Although the roof wasn't closed for this match, it still extended well beyond the front row of seats giving the ground a very enclosed feel. Even with just a thousand or so people in the stadium and with two hours remaining until kick-off, there was already a real buzz and atmosphere about the ground, and the adrenaline was certainly kicking in.
The facilities within the stadium were superb and the food wasn't noticeably over-priced. It was interesting, however, that stewards outside the stadium insisted that fans took the tops off all plastic bottles for 'safety reasons', when bottles with tops were being sold in the ground.
The Preston players came out onto the pitch in their suits at about 1:20pm to thunderous applause and thousands waving flags. There was then pre-match entertainment with some children singing on the pitch. They went off about 1:50 and the Deepdale Duck then came onto the pitch (to huge applause and flag-waving again!) to entertain the crowd. One of the best memories of the day was a man about 50 on the front row of the bottom tier giving the duck a big hug! By kick-off, the only gaps in the Preston end of the ground were in small sections of the top tier, although the Bolton end was far short of its capacity. Indeed, in the week before the game, Bolton had given 3000 tickets from their original allocation to North End. It seemed that the Bolton fans were far from enthusiastic about a return to Premier League football.
The atmosphere building up to kick off was unforgettable, with the loudest cheer being the arrival of David Moyes onto the pitch to warm up his players. The only disappointment was that once the match started, the chanting was somewhat fragmented, possibly caused by the regular supporters being mixed in with those fans who didn't attend games on a frequent basis. Preston were poor in the first half and went behind to a Gareth Farrelly goal. They improved after the break, with the best chance falling to David Healy, but Bolton struck twice in the dying minutes to seal a somewhat flattering victory. The Bolton fans were quiet all afternoon, only bursting into life in stoppage time as the two late goals secured them promotion. The reaction of the Preston fans to the second goal was remarkable - standing to a man, applauding the Preston players.
At the final whistle I stayed to clap the Preston players round the pitch, before leaving just before Bolton got presented with the trophy. As I returned to the station to begin the journey home, fireworks from within the Millenium Stadium indicated that Bolton's promotion party was getting underway. It was a surprise when I reached Cardiff Central to find a number of Bolton fans already in the queue to get onto the platforms, looking like it was their side who'd just been beaten 3-0!
Although the result wasn't what I was hoping for, the experience of seeing a match in such a magnificent stadium, combined with the incredible pre-match atmosphere, made sure the trip to Cardiff was a day out I would never forget.