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No.54 - Sun. 13th April 2008; Coca Cola Football League Division 2 12.00 noon at the New Meadow, Oteley Road, Shrewsbury, Shrops. (Att: 7095 ; Admn: £15; Prog: £2.50) |
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Shrewsbury Town (1) 4 Wrexham (0) 0 Great ground, poor game An unexpected Sunday fixture is always a real bonus. This was especially the case as it tied in very nicely with our intended trip to take daughter Jo back to Lufbra Uni on the same day. After a hassle-feee journey (nearly all completed on dual carriageway) we arrived at the New Meadow with plenty of time to spare before for the eagerly anticipated Football League Division 2 encounter between Shrewsbury Town and Wrexham. Much has already been written about the new stadium which opened less than a year ago. There is really very little I can add to the excellent ground desciptions and observations made so far by Mike Latham and Andy Gallon contained in previous Travellers Tales articles (see TT report nos. 119 and 186). As my camera battery decided to pack up I am also indebted to Mike for providing the ground photos. Many grounds enthusiasts despair at the very thought of visiting another modern football stadium, complaining that it is bland, lacks character and individuality, comes in flat pack form and looks very much like all the other new builds. I can quite easily sympathise. After all Gay Meadow with all its faults was one of my favourite ever grounds when I 'did the 92' back in the mid 1980's. Set beside the River Severn it had a wonderful charm about it and was unlike any other football arena. So any comparison made between the old and new is a bit unfair. Despite its short comings, well documented in the football journals, I personally like the new stadium. Being out of town the venue is well sign posted and is very easy to reach; there are plenty of places to park which are only a few minutes walk from the ground and as a spectator you are offorded a great view of the action from all sides of the stadium. With so many clubs going into administration, the new site provides some much needed stability and Town can develop the ground should the need arise. There is already talk about 'filling' in the corners of the ground at the end of the season to increase it's capacity. The match itself was a tense affair. With games running out Wrexham could still avoid the drop out of the Football League (mathematically) if results went their way. But it was a tall order. Shrewsbury desperately needed to string a few wins together themselves to build much needed confidence and to help Paul Simpson prepare for next season. After a fairly even opening forty-five minutes Town eventually got into their stride to win 4-1 in front of just over 7000 fans, the third highest crowd at the New Meadow. Some of the home supporters were merciless and persistently taunted the visiting fans with chants of 'You're going down, you're going down...' It was in truth a dire game and somehow you just knew that Wrexham were doomed to non league football. As one of the locals sitting next to us put it: 'They're down and out!' With no money at the club and plans go to part-time next season it will be some time before Wrexham return to the Football League. Only time will tell. And finally, I would just like to thank Mike Latham for providing such expert travel and parking arrangements which helped to make our visit so enjoyable. As Mike suggests in his TT Report (no.119): '...in the event it was all remarkably easy- after by-passing the town centre on the A49 and briefly joining the A5 the ground comes into view on the right just behind the FGIF Rating: 5* Shrewsbury Town FC website |
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edited on 01/05/08 |
