NOWHERE ELSE I'D RATHER BE

Author and superfan STEVE HILL made up Chester’s sole representation at Moss Lane last Sunday and, despite the result, he would’ve had it no other way

- STEVE HILL

Four days after the game and I still can’t bring myself to watch the highlights. Maybe I never will. Just pretend it never happened, or simply dismiss it as a bad dream. There were certainly dreamlike qualities to the occasion as I effectively made up the entire away following for the club I have supported since childhood. You couldn’t make it up.

Altrincham v Chester in the National League North Play-Off Elimination Round. An enormous game by any standard. Official attendance: zero. However, those at home watching the live stream may have spotted a grown man in short trousers stood among the flapping Altrincham flags on what is traditionally the away end. Reader, I was that fan.

The wonderful world of journalism has provided me with many privileges over the years, from playing football with Keegan, darts with Bristow and snooker with Davis. But a ticket for a match with no tickets is an honour that almost justifies the decades of deadlines and despair. On that terrace, at that time, there was nowhere on earth I’d rather be.