I am planning on going to 16 matches during the Women’s Euro’s and thought I would write a diary type thing about them, plus other matches I watch on the telly. Not quite sure how this will turn out but I will probably write about things I remember, see, people I talk to and maybe a bit about the actual matches! I will probably publish it a couple of times a week. Here is a look back at the first two days.
Wednesday 6th July
Arriving at Euston station in London, it was nice to see quite a few other people wearing Lionesses/England shirts. No issues on the train journey up to Manchester. As the train pulled into Piccadilly station, there were a few spots of rain on the window. Leaving the station, I walked under some Euro’s banners that were hung up.
The fan festival in Piccadilly Gardens looked busy as I walked past on my way to the Banyan bar and the Free Lionesses Fans’ Embassy. It was nice to see Debs and it is a good place to meet other Lionesses fans. I also picked up a copy of a free supporters guide there.
The hotel I was staying in was a few minutes walk from there. There were three lifts but only one went to the lower ground floor where reception/entrance was whilst the other two went to the floor above and there were escalators down to reception. My room was on the seventh floor and offered a view of a car park below. Having booked a lot of hotels over the next month, I did have to check if I had booked breakfast in this one or not (I had)!
Just after 4 o’clock, I got the Metrolink tram out to Old Trafford. Well to be honest, I got on the wrong tram and had to walk a bit further than planned (maybe I should have checked the ground guides I wrote!). I passed Old Trafford cricket ground walking up to the football stadium. There were lots of burger vans and merchandise sellers as I got closer to the stadium.
It was already very busy around the stadium when I got there at 5pm, three hours before kick off. There were official merchandise stalls about and I bought the official tournament programme which cost £8. I had a look around the fan festival there before waiting for the turnstiles to open at 6. There was a cool breeze and I am pleased I had taken a jacket with me. My seat was in the upper tier of the east stand. Getting to it involved climbing a lot of steps!
Before the match there was a DJ playing in the ground, finishing with the crowd singing along to Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”. Then there was the Opening Ceremony but I couldn’t see much of it due to the amount of smoke from the fireworks and pyrotechnics. There was a good atmosphere and the cheer after the national anthem was one of the loudest I have ever heard at a Lionesses game. There were some Austria fans there too with a large group sat below where I was. Tiny Football Car (or Tiny Buzz) drove on with the ball which also got a loud cheer.
Beth Mead scored the only goal of the game for England during the first half. England had other chances but didn’t take them. I thought both defences played well though I was getting a bit nervy in the last 15 minutes with the score still at 1-0, especially when Austria had a few chances. The attendance was 68,871, which is a record for the Women’s Euros. After the final whistle, “Sweet Caroline” was played which got a lot of the crowd singing again!
There was a long queue and wait for the tram back into Manchester at the Old Trafford stop. The tram was packed and I could hear someone singing “Footballs Coming Home” as it made its way back. I got back to my hotel at about 11:15pm after a very good day!
Thursday 7th July
No match for me today. After having breakfast at the hotel, I got the train back to London. Again there were no issues but I am waiting for some train problems during the Euro’s for me. I was home in north London by 1:30pm.
I watched Norway v Northern Ireland on the telly in the evening. Norway’s attack looked very good with Caroline Graham Hansen and Guro Reiten especially impressing me. Norway were 3-0 up before half-time and I worried for Northern Ireland. Julie Nelson scored Northern Ireland’s first goal in a major tournament early in the second half which was a special moment. Reiten’s free kick for Norway shortly after made it 4-1 and that is how it finished. It will be interesting to see how England defend against Norway’s attack on Monday.
Written by Paul Donegan (@PaulDonegan1980 on Twitter and Instagram)
Paul's Football Page 