Middlesbrough

Ground: Riverside Stadium

Visits: 1

Date: 2nd April 2013

Match: Middlesbrough - Peterborough 0-0 (League Championship)

Attendance: 13 683

After five nights in Manchester it was time to move on. There was a couple of Championship matches being played on Tuesday evening. Luckily for me one of them was Middlesbrough vs Peterborough at Riverside Stadium, a ground I haven't yet visited. My train left Manchester Piccadilly at 10.50 and by 13.30 I arrived in Middlesbrough. I was supposed to stay at a cheap hotel a 30 minute walk from the station. This hotel was closed for renovation though and I was transferred to the 4-star Thistle Hotel instead. The booking agency made sure I didn't have to pay extra and being only a 7-minute walk from the station I had no complaints. After checking in and leaving my bags at my room I made the 20-minute walk to the Riverside Stadium. Riverside Stadium was opened in 1995 and has an all-seated capacity of 35 000. For most matches this year the attendance has been around 15 000. I realized a Tuesday evening fixture against Peterborough would have quite a low crowd. It was a new ground, #64 of the 92 grounds and #69 in total in England, for me though and at least I knew it would be easy to get a ticket.

Later in the afternoon I had something to eat and drink at the Walkabout bar in central Middlesbrough before once again making my way to the Riverside Stadium. At 17.45 I met up with my German friend Andreas outside the ground. He had been in England for 10 days and this was his 17th match, not bad. An hour later Stefan and Jocke showed up and we then headed towards the ticket office to buy our tickets. I ordered four tickets for block 45 in the East Stand but was told they needed my postcode. I don't understand why I need a postcode to buy tickets and explained to the girl in the ticket office I was from Sweden and don't have an English postcode. She seemed confused and looked for help. A home fan next to me heard our conversation and gave her his postcode. Problem solved! Once inside the ground it was obvious there would be plenty of empty seats for this match. Hardly any people and no queues at all to buy food and drinks. The attendance was later given as 13 500 but I actually doubt that figure, non-attending season ticket holders must have been included. Peterborough brought 276 fans and it was a bit strange to hear both sets of fans chant "Come on, Boro". There was a group of Middlesbrough fans to my left doing their best to create an atmosphere but it wasn't easy for them. The match itself wasn't too bad but neither team were able to find the net and it finished 0-0. After the match I said good bye to Stefan and Jocke who were flying home to Sweden on Wednesday morning. I am sure we will meet again on future trips to England though. Andreas and I will meet again tomorrow at Macclesfield, my sixth and final match on this trip.

teesside