Abruptly awoken at 10:15 this morning to shouts that I had very little time to get ready for the trip to Lancashire didn't get my day off to a great start. I stumbled around my room bemoaning being woke up at this hour mumbling something about it only being around sixty miles and therefore, only about 90 minutes drive. Well, i'm glad it wasn't up to me. A crash on the M1 earlier in the morning which involved an air ambulance meant that we took the scenic route via the Peak District. It definitely isn't so scenic when the rain is coming down so hard your window screen wipers barely have time to sweep the water away before it's covered again. But I digress. 3 unpleasant surprises were to follow. I had forgot to put on my accumulator which I had Notts, Lincoln and Aldershot all down for draws - cheers guys. We were stuck in queues in Stockport for 20 minutes so we did not have time for pre-match fish and chips and Davies was not in the team. This was not the pre-match I had hoped for.
I worked my magic on the turnstile and by making no eye contact avoided being asked my actually age and managed to save a massive £2. There's something satisfying about having a pre-match pint (legally) then gaining entry for a juvenile - much like seeing someone just miss the bus. However, scant consolation for the rumbling tummy which clearly had made plans for the evasive fish and chips.
Gigg Lane is one of those grounds. One of those very shit grounds that wherever you sit in the stand your view will either be obstructed by a supporting beam or you will be sitting so far down in the stand you will be at foot level with the players so you cannot see the sidelines. Myself and Jacob made our way to the middle of the stand to the sight of the referee and the fourth official trudging across the pitch. Drenched in rain, this sight was not amusing. Fortunately a few minutes after they scurried off back down the tunnel the players emerged. After 20 minutes and 2 sloppy goals - I was beginning to wish they hadn't. However, Lee Hughes popped up with two goals to level things up to the Notts fans delight. However, I believe that Bury will be lodging a formal complaint to the F.A after Notts had an extra player on the pitch by the name of A. Mud-Patch. His goal saving tackle came just before the break as Nardiello rounded Schmeichel and slotted the ball in - he wheeled off celebrating before Mr. M-P intervened and stopped the ball dead just in front of the goal-line to the travelling fans bemusement as I witnessed possibly the most surreal moment of my career as a Notts fan. Half-time came and went. Notts started the 2nd half as badly as the first and Bury poked their noses in front again before Bury finally yielded to the Notts pressure and Ritchie levelled the game up - much to Jacob's despair. (In-depth match report to follow).
The match ended 3-3 and just as I thought the events for the day had ended, the Notts fans found themselves locked inside the stand for 10 minutes as the notoriously hard Bury fans were baying for blood. Even chants of "we paid for your hats" and the odd hilarious comment about the berk who decided we needed to be kept in struggled to keep my spirits up as I checked my phone for the results and compared with my unsubmitted Ladbrokes accumulator. Bugger.