Away Days - Brentford
First Impressions -- Around the ground -- The Game -- The Stand -- Overall -- Pictures
Fixture: Brentford vs PNE
Competition: NPower League One
Ground: Griffin Park
Date: Saturday 17th September 2011
Kick off: 3pm
Final Result: 1-3 Mellor (2), Hume
After ticking off another new ground at Chesterfield, I continued my quest to visit as many new grounds as possible this season with a trip to Brentford. This ground being more of a traditional affair and the massive plus of having terracing, this was a 'must do'!
After traveling down on the coach, we arrived at the ground in plenty of time - thankfully enough time to have a drink at one of the four pubs that are in each corner of the ground, on this occasion we went in the nearest one to us The New Inn. I had a decent half of 'Courage' and we watched the last 20-odd minutes of the Blackburn Vs Arsenal game.
I must add, we couldn't see much of the ground at first as its practically nestled behind houses, but we of course did have a glimpse of the floodlights. With so many grounds now not having traditional floodlight pylons, this was a welcome sight and makes a change from the usual 'stick-like' affairs you get at most new lower league grounds.
Other than that, there's not really much to say with regards to 'first impressions'!
Unfortunately there wasn't a great deal to see of the ground outside as, like I said above, the ground is nestled behind houses. Plus, it had just started chucking it down anyway as we were anxious to get inside before we got a good soaking.
The turnstiles were of the old fashioned variety and a bit of a pain to get through - well we did want to get through asap and take cover since it was raining! After we got through we headed straight onto the terrace and thankfully undercover.
From where we had stood, we had a pretty good view. There are pillars that can impede your view but we picked a good enough spot so it wasn't much of a problem. I could then finally make a good judgment of the ground. The our right was the Braemar Road Stand. This seemed an interesting looking stand - whilst it seemed quite 'uniform' with the roof, underneath it seemed quite a 'mish-mash' with pillars in various places rather than one straight line, and a strange patterned seating arrangement. It seemed strange but interesting none-the-less.
To our left was the Bill
Axbey Stand - I had noticed whilst walking past before that
the seemed an odd array of steel girders stretching behind
the stand - I can only assume it was intended for the stand
to stretch further back.
Anyway, this had number of supporting pillars and the usual
standard seat lettering you see at most grounds, here spelling
out the club's nickname 'The Bees'.
At the far end was the Ealing Road Terrace. This was another traditional terrace but with a modern roof which was only added few years ago (it was previously an open terrace). It seemed to compliment the ground well.
Overall, the ground seemed a decent place to watch football despite the obvious drawbacks you'd get from certain parts of the ground. It just seemed to scream 'proper football ground'.
To my joy, North End came away with another win! I can't remember the last time I saw North End win two away games which I had attended in succession. Hopefully we'll see a repeat of this (several times obviously!).
It was a very good performance from North End and a deserved three points. Brentford didn't look a bad side but you could tell which side had just come down from the Championship. The way the PNE goals were worked was a joy to watch, particularly the free kick which lead to Mellor's second goal. North End just oozed class at times and back by a vociferous North End faithful, it was a joy to watch at times.
Brentford's goal was very poor from our perspective - the set up coming from our problem left side, but Arestidou really should've come out and collected the ball. That was the only negative from our point of view. We took the lead again later on from a superb goal from the workaholic Iain Hume - he's one of many who have shone so far this season. Saying that he was one of our only bright sparks last season.
Whilst North End have played better, it was still a very good performance and enjoyable to watch.
It was just fantastic to be able to stand on a terrace again to watch football. As said above, there were a few pillars in the stand that would impede some people's views but thankfully we had picked a very good spot so could see all the action.
The stand did have some negative points - the entrances/exits from the terrace were very tight to say the least, so it was a bit of a pain trying to get out at the end of the game. Secondly, the stand didn't have a proper concourse so there was no shelter from the elements if you went to queue at the catering bar at half time (and hence why I never bothered with it).
The positives probably outweigh the negatives though - the acoustics were excellent so a lot of noise could easily be created, and of course the ability to stand without jobsworth stewards interfering was a refreshing change!
Whilst the ground does have its drawbacks (not many don't!), it didn't take away the character the ground has (from the inside at least) nor the fantastic location it is in. It is nestled behind houses, but how can you complain about that when there's a pub in each corner of the ground?
This certainly ranks as one of my favourite away days - a good game, good atmosphere, terracing, a good day out and most importantly a North End win.
Ratings
Appearance: 8/10
Game: 8/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Fans: 8/10
Away Stand: 7/10
Overall: 8/10
