Our first ever visit to Crewe would be Crewe Alexandra v Wrexham which took place on Saturday 20th April.
Back in 1988 as a twelve year old kid, I wrote to most of the football clubs around the country, asking for free programmes as I had started to collect them. The response from Crewe Alexandra was a personal letter from club legend, then Manager, Dario Gradi who thanked me for my interest and included several matchday programmes. It was one of the nicest responses received, and I wish I knew where it was now.
Tickets
Attempting to purchase tickets was a little frustrating. It appeared that tickets were available however we needed to register and whilst we could then put tickets in the basket, we were not allowed to complete the purchase as we had no previous purchase history.
Whilst we accept that this will be based on security, not wanting Wrexham fans in the home end, rather than just blacking out the opportunity for neutral fans to attend, perhaps there should be consideration how this can be handled better, rather than allowing many seats to go empty. It took the club three days to respond to an email for assistance and after a firm rejection we spoke to a friend who was able to obtain two tickets for us – we are sure many Wrexham fans managed this route too which then makes a nonsense of the whole rule.
The two clubs are big rivals and the kick-off was moved earlier in the month to a 12.30pm kick-off based on police advice. At that time the visitors had looked like competing for a second successive promotion, and this became reality last week when Wrexham beat Forest Green 6-0 to clinch the third automatic spot.
The Mornflake Stadium
It was great to visit an original stadium which many will know previously as Gresty Road given due to the name of the road it sits on. Built in 1906, the current incarnation is a 10,153 capacity arena
Our approach to the stadium in the video below shows the strong police presence, the entry to the stadium and the great view from the top of the stand.
The Programme Shop
If you are a Pin Badge or Matchday Programme collector then arrive early at The Mornflake Stadium and you will find outside a Programme and Pin Badge shop. Inside it was quite small but programmes are laid out well and easy to find with bargain hunters able to grab programmes from as little as 20p each.
The Boughey Stand
The ground is dominated by one giant main stand, The Boughey Stand, which opened in 1999 following the 1990 Taylor Report. This is where we sat for the match which offered a fantastic view.
Inside the stadium we were able to purchase from a good selection of food and we opted for the Steak and Ale Pie for £4.50. For once at a football stadium we didn’t have to burn our mouths as these were served at a perfect temperature.
It was a nice sunny day in Crewe whilst the large Boughey Main Stand created a large shadow across the pitch. Meanwhile the Wrexham fans in the brilliantly named Ice Cream Van Stand stood in glorious sunshine.
The Railway Men
The club nickname is The Railway Men and this is simply due to the links with the rail industry.
Crewe Alexandra v Wrexham
The match attracted a large crowd of 9,033 and whilst the home crowd had to suffer a defeat it was a great game of football.
Whilst Crewe started the match well and looked threatening in attack, it was Wrexham who took the lead after 24 minutes via Ollie Palmer.
In added time at the end of the first half, Paul Mullin made it 2-0 to the visitors which saw the away fans really get into party mood. You can see the fans celebrating their teams second goal in the Ice Cream Van Stand here.
Early in the second half Ryan Cooney was alleged to be the last man when he broke up a Wrexham attack and to the surprise of many in the crowd, received a red card.
Just after the hour, Wrexham would run into a 3-0 lead via Andy Cannon and at this time it looked like the score could become embarrassing however that would end up as the final goal as many other chances were missed.
Regardless of this result. Crewe Alexandra remain fifth in the table and will be confident of securing that play-off spot when they face Colchester United next week in their final league match.
Who are Covert Football Trips?
Who are we? Covert Football Trips create Mystery Football Weekends. Choose from 2 or 3 Night experiences which include your flights, accommodation and match tickets. We are a travel agent so your trip is ATOL protected whilst we use our own experience to create amazing weekends.
Choose grounds to avoid, select the dates you want to travel and note the airports you would prefer to fly from and then sit back and let us do all the hard work.
Check out our packages here.
