Away Days - Brighton & Hove Albion
First Impressions -- Around the ground -- The Game -- The Stand -- Overall -- Pictures
Fixture: Brighton & Hove Albion vs PNE
Competition: Sky Bet Championship
Ground: Amex Stadium
Date: Saturday 24th October 2015
Kick off: 3pm
Final Result: 0-0
Ever since the ground was built, I had this high on my 'must visit' list and once the fixtures had been released back in June I was already making plans. Brighton's troubles in building a new ground had been well documented but it was a good sight to see once the battle against the nimbys was won and construction began.
Anyway, due to the cost, travelling down on the train wasn't an option so it was a long journey down on the coach - although long it wasn't too bad despite a bit of traffic on the M25.
I got the first glimpses of the ground as the coach was travelling down the A27 and it was certainly an impressive site - I particularly liked the curvature of the roof. The coach soon turned off the A27 and began making its way to the ground - I was a little surprised the road wasn't wider as with it being a match day there was obviously quite a lot of traffic. Nonetheless, we soon parked up behind the away end.
It's quite good how they've built the ground as it's built into an 'incline' where part of the ground is essentially shadowed by a hill so this meant walking down some steps to the away stand. I knew this was one condition they had to stick to due to the surrounding area being an 'area of outstanding natural beauty' - not sure I quite agree with that!
Unfortunately, the weather was awful but this didn't put me off taking my usual stroll around the ground - thankfully I was able to walk all the way around whilst also took in a visit to the club shop too.
As I said above, the ground is very impressive and whilst others have drawn similarities with other grounds, I thought it had it's own uniqueness. The ground is certainly very imposing and the way it is set 'into' a hill, as mentioned, was impressive too.
There wasn't a lot to do around the ground so after a trip to the club shop I opted to go inside and get something to eat from the catering bar. I opted for a beefburger - admittedly it wasn't the best I have had as it seemed quite dry but still edible. As you would expect from any ground, it was quite pricey.
The posters on the concourse I the concourse I thought were a nice touch - some thanking us for making the trip whilst others were about Howard Kendall's recent passing which I thought were lovely and an absolute credit to Brighton.
The concourse was spacious and I also thought it made a nice welcome for a club to sell real ale - why can't anyone else do that? Sadly I had to pass on the opportunity as I would be driving home after arriving back in Preston.
After I had finished my burger, it was time to take my seat which was easy enough to find and I could then 'take in my surroundings'. The ground was just as impressive inside as it was outside with both stands either side very imposing, even with one of the stands having an extra tier, there still seemed to be a very good balance to the stadium - largely helped with a 'sloping' roof at either end.
Although the game finished 0-0 it certainly wasn't boring. It was very much a game of two halves with Brighton being the better team in the first half and perhaps unfortunate not to go in with a lead, but North End being the better team in the second half. In the second half, North End restricted Brighton to half chances at best as we snuffed out their attempts to go forward. We had most of the attacking play too (in the second half) and very nearly scored but we just weren't clinical enough.
At the end of the day, a point against an excellent Brighton side who we managed to snuff out, was a very good result.
As with the ground as a whole, the stand was very impressive. Although on the slightly negative side, I think it's set back from the pitch quite a bit (but not too bad) and I think the rake of the stand is quite shallow - other than that it was a good stand to watch a match from. The seats are padded too but I spent most of the match stood up as everyone else around was too.
Although the roof is quite high, you can make a decent amount of noise too.
The facilities were top notch too as you would expect from a still relatively new stadium. One thing I had noticed after the game was that Brighton re-opened the bars which I thought was an excellent idea - after all why rush to leave? Sadly, since I had to get back on the coach I couldn't stay.
Despite the long journey, I was very happy to get this ground ticked off as this was one I very much wanted to visit. Thankfully, I wasn't disappointed and I have to say this ranks as one of the best grounds I have been too - an impressive looking stadium, good facilities, good view from the away end, just perfect really. I mentioned the shallow rake of the away stand - perhaps this may lend itself to safe standing in the future? Lets hope so!
I thought that with the posters in the away end too, we had a very warm welcome from Brighton and I have to say they have done a superb job with the stadium. With all they had to go through, they certainly deserve it.
It's one I'd love to revisit in future but I think next time, I'll try and make a weekend of it and take advantage of the real ale!
Ratings
Appearance: 10/10
Game: 7/10
Enjoyment: 7/10
Away Stand: 10/10
Overall: 9/10
