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.
This story is from the July 26, 2020 edition of The Non-League Football Paper.
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This story is from the July 26, 2020 edition of The Non-League Football Paper.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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