Wakefield 1-2 Salford City
Northern Premier League Division One North
19.3.2011
Admission: Adults: £7.50 Children: £1
Programme: £1.50
Attendance: 100
Capacity: 2,400
Seated: 250
Covered: 250
Town: Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Shop: Yes
Floodlights: Yes
Step: 8
Wakefield were formerly known as Emley Town, however the side moved to Wakefield as Wakefield & Emley before becoming Wakefield while Emley formed AFC Emley.
The side used Belle Vue, home of Wakefield Wildcats Rugby League team, before moving to the sports club. However once again the club finfd themselves on the move again. Wakefield Sports Club told the side they would not renew their lease and would have to leave at the end of the season. Therefore it was important to visit the ground before football left it (I believe American Football is still played there).
However Wakefield was not the primary destination for the trip that saw me get a rare lift in a car for part of it. Once at Leeds station I went to get a ticket to Wakefield Westgate where, for the first time, I was asked for ID to prove I was still under 16. Thankfully when I told the person behind the desk that I didn't, they didn't seem to be too bothered to persue an extra £5.00.
Leeds station is very easy to get lost in. Knowing that there were regular trains to Wakefield I glanced at the departure board and saw Wakefield, leaving in 10 minutes time. I hurried over to the other side of the station to find that the train was going to Wakefield Kirkgate, which wasn't on the map I had printed off. I then had to run back to the other side to jump on an East Coast train that took me to the right destination.
Wakefield isn't the nicest city in the country. It doesn't even feature in the Rough Guide despite having a cathedral. It has all the shops you'd expect to find ina big place, but they were all low standard and I found myself heading towards the ground with an hour to kick off.
Arriving at the ground you have to walk through the car park and around the corner to the turnstile. You pick up the programme here as well. As you walk in there is a burger van in front of you. The near end is flat standing with the clubhouse behind. This is a neat building, if a little depressing, with TVs inside showing the scores. The near side is flat standing except in the middle where there is one step of terracing running for a few metres. I think this used to be for the hockey pitch next door and served as a step before Wakefield FC arrived at the complex. The ground then had to be enclosed to avoid people watching the hockey and getting into the football. The far end is very narrow. It starts with 5 steps of terracing from the far side and fades to nothing behind the goal. There is a temporary cover on this terracing which covers about 150. I didn't count this in the cover section at the top as it is merely a few pieces of scaffolding witha plastic sheet put over the top. The far side features the main stand in the centre which contains 250 yellow seats with some sort of star shape picked out at both ends. On either side of the stand are steps of terracing with crush barriers.
The match was very average. Salford played the ball well and were rewarded when they took the lead through Mark Ayres, not long before half time. Wakefield made an instant impact in the second half when South headed in to make it 1-1. However Redshaw scored for Salford less than 20 minutes later, with a goal that would seal three points for Salford. Salford brought a dozen supporters with them however, as always with away fans, the made much more noise than the Wakefield support. After the game a brisk walk got me back to Wakefield in time to catch a full East Coast train back to Leeds to find an AA van next to our car. We were stranded in Leeds for a couple of hours before we were finally taken home in a breakdown truck all the way back to Middleham. Turns out the brakes had broken. Not the best way to end an enjoyable trip to Wakefield.
The programme is 28 pages on glossy paper an in colour throughout. Only 7 pages of ads with the content being very informative. There were views from all sorts of people including fans, information on Salford, reserves, academy etc. fix., tab. and res., league news and lineups on the back. A high quality programme that will hopefully extend to next season's groundsharing spell at Ossett Town.
Wakefield matchday pictures
