Hartlepool away.
It’s good fun watching Jeff Stelling’s team, it’s easy to park near Victoria Park and the media get some half time grub, but the big issue is that it’s at least a three-hour trip to get there. And when it’s a mid-week match, double the trouble!
That was certainly the case for the Carling Cup first round tie with Sheffield United on Tuesday night. I arrived in good time, tested out my equipment and was ready to broadcast when, 30 minutes prior to kick off, something went off… the electricity in the ground! The tie started half an hour late but, with no floodlights, there was no guarantee that it could even be completed. Eventually the lights came on and with Sheffield leading one-nil with 10 minutes left, I thought I might get back home before sunrise. And then Hartlepool equalised, then it went to extra time, then it went to penalties and then it went to sudden death penalties… then I got in my car for a three-hour journey back home!