Spurs had offered a very tempting deal for this pre - season game against The Basque side Athletic Bilbao with two adults and two kids getting in for £50.00. Not bad at all, and with the usual prices at The Lane much higher for the second summer in a row i took the family down, having been at the friendly against Fiorentina a year ago.
Trips to The Lane are always special for me, regardless of the opposition and whether it's The Champions League or a friendly. For the second weekend in a row i decided to use the overnight bus from Perth to London, and with Willie again joining me, along with the wife and three kids, we all got down on The National Express for just over a hundred quid, which seemed a bargain.
The journey was largely uneventful, with the kids well behaved and we all slept for most of the journey. Arriving in London around 7am, we headed for Breakfast at KFC in Victoria Train Station, before making our way up to Edmonton Green Leisure Centre for a swim. Essentially this was an excuse to all get cleaned up and have a shower as we were going home that same night on the overnight coach, rather than booking into a hotel.
The Paxton Scoreboard
The small band of travelling fans
Programme
That all done we headed back to White Hart Lane, stopping at Pandoos for a cracking lunch. This wee place, a hundred yards from the Station on White Hart Lane, is always worth a visit. From there it was onto the Spurs Megastore, where the second mortgage was well and truly walloped, with the three kids and myself all buying the dashing new third shirt as well as a whole host of other stuff.
The ground itself is a real favourite of mine. Of course there is probably a bias, but it still retains some character despite modernisation, and feels like a 'proper' football ground, with the fans close to the pitch.
We took up our seats in The Park Lane Lower, and typically, all the goals in Spurs 2-1 win were scored at The Paxton Road end. Bilbao took the lead in the first half, but goals from Crouch and Defoe in the second secured the win for Spurs.
Looking towards the Paxton Road end
The Shelf
Chirpy
Usually we would stay for a while in the area after the game, getting a few pictures and autographs from the players as they leave, but a bit tired from travelling through the night, and with another overnighter just ahead, we decided to head for Victoria, which given the events that later started in the Tottenham area, was probably a good thing.
Arriving back in Perth on Sunday morning, we found out the full scale of the disturbances in Tottenham, and were a little stunned that we had been so near to a place where a major international news event was taking place.
As ever though, a great trip to The Lane, enjoyed by all, and can't wait till the next time. If anyone, Spurs or not, has yet to visit, go on and get it ticked off your list.
No comments:
Post a Comment