Prestatyn

Ground: Bastion Gardens

Visits: 1

Date: 2nd January 2015

Match: Prestatyn - Rhyl 1-2 (Welsh Premier League)

Attendance: 1 028

On Friday evening there weren´t many fixtures to choose from. Cardiff and MK Dons played at home in the FA-Cup but since I have already been there I looked at the Welsh Premier League. Prestatyn and Bangor were at home and in the end I decided for Prestatyn vs Rhyl. Prestatyn was around 90 minutes with the train from Manchester Piccadilly and at 12.30 I was at Prestatyn train station. The weather was glorious with sunshine and an almost blue sky. It was quite windy though and as I made the walk towards the beach, where my hotel was, I had problems standing up-right at times. On my way to the hotel I passed the ground and from a nearby road I could take some overview pictures. After checking-in I returned to Bastion Gardens, the home of Prestatyn Town FC, hoping to find an open gate. With the weather being as nice as it was I wanted some pictures of the ground before it became dark. The groundsman was working the pitch and I had no problems getting inside. Bastion Gardens is a very basic football ground. There are flat standing on three sides and the only stand has three rows of seating and a capacity of 540. The record attendance at Bastion Gardens is 1 280 and since that record is from a match against Rhyl I was hoping for a decent attendance at this match as well. As I was taking pictures the groundsman drove up to me with the lawn mover. We chatted for a few minutes and he told me he was going to play this evening as well. At least I couldn´t have any complaints about the pitch! I was also told the last time a match was postponed at Bastion Gardens was eight years ago and back then it was because of high winds. Good drainage (sand) and mild weather the reason for that impressive run. Anyway, after taking my pictures I went back to my hotel for a rest.

At 17.30 a German friend of mine, Andreas, showed up at my hotel. He had been in England since last Saturday and we had something to eat and drink at my hotel before heading towards the ground. Rhyl is only 5 km or so from Prestatyn so this was a proper derby. Entrance was £7, slightly cheaper than the English Premier League. Once inside I realized the attendance this Friday evening was to be a really good one. Bastion Gardens was packed for this match and although the attendance record was not beaten 1 028 is by far the best crowd this season for Prestatyn. As expected the quality of the football wasn´t the best but it was an intense game where players gave it their all. Rhyl was 1-0 up at half-time and in the second half they scored again to make it 2-0 to the visitors. Actually they didn´t score the goal themselves. A back pass from a Prestatyn defender was too hard and the goalkeeper missed the ball and could only look on as the ball crossed the line. With 10 minutes to go Prestatyn pulled a goal back but they couldn´t find an equalizer and the match ended 1-2. This was my first ever match in the Welsh Premier League and I wouldn´t mind coming back for a Rhyl vs Prestatyn game. At 21.45 I was then back at my hotel. Tomorrow I head towards London and the FA-Cup game between Brentford and Brighton.

beach