Shildon vs. Pools (Durham Cup)

It's a funny one the Durham Challenge Cup. It's a secondary competition that Pools (reserves) take part in yearly, yet it's seldom advertised and I don't find out about matches until too late. Had an annoyingly poor run of form of late. One year we were playing Brandon United, a ground I could see from my bedroom round my mams in the distance. I even noted the floodlights were on one November evening, wondering who they were playing. It was fucking Hartlepool. Another crushing moment was when I was at a league game reading the programme, only to find action photos of a midweek game held at the Vic against Durham City. My first and second team playing each other and the club website negated to tell me. Twats. A final insult to injury was in 2005, freshly out of uni, unemployed and without car, Pools reached the cup final. But being Easter Monday there were no buses running to take me to the other side of town to Durham City's ground, where they crushed Billingham Town.

So this time I was well prepared. Checked Durham FAs website for the date of the draw and it was Shildon who earned the plum tie of Hartlepool United at home. A midweek evening fixture so with work not interfering as usual at weekends, it was off to Shildon - the self publicized 'Cradle of the Railways'.

Its a strange place. A semi large County Durham town, just off from Bishop Auckland. For a decent sized urban area it has no town centre to speak of, just a few shops of bargain basement types and a handful of evil pubs. Even the towns railway station is hidden away in the middle of a housing estate away from what would be dubbed the centre. My mate who's a Durham fan came along and offered to do the driving, boasting that he'd been to a building next door to the ground with work. Half an hour later we were the only football fans at Shildon's athletic stadium. Google maps showed were Dean Street ground was and another five minutes on the journey required.

As with most Northern League grounds its very ramshackle and run down. A main stand with a hundred or so seats and a covered terrace, with netting behind goals. Terraced houses peep over the walls but no one was in their bedrooms catching a free glimpse of cup football. Except some bloke, who with ladders propped up next to him, was sat on a deckchair on his garden shed roof, exposed to windy rainy elements - supping a few cans of Fosters. We questioned a few Shildon fans and they said 'oh, aye - that's Gary. He does it every game'. Legend.

Very much boys against men for Pools. The Durham FA have shot themselves in the foot, imposing that the 'big fish' who take part only select players who haven't been near the first team within the past two months - which means half of the usual reserve team have to sit out, meaning Mickey Barron had to select a handful of U16 players. This rule used to apply to Sunderland but they don't take part anymore and not 100% certain if it'll apply to non league Darlo and Gateshead. But surely the prospect of allowing us to select a few out-of favour-professionals, or those coming back from injury, would generate a few extra bob for the hard up Northern League? I can understand it's done in the interest of fairness on the part-time/amateur clubs, but I think the DFA have misunderstood just how seriously Hartlepool would take the competition if they could - Since 1884 United have only won it five times.

And thus because of the absense of any pros, Pools didn't win owt with the kids. They applied themselves well enough, the young defence in particular closing down well. But a dubious penalty decision and a quick breakaway made it 2-0 to Shildon at the break. United changed the formation, went attacking and  made it 2-1 through Lewis Hawkins. A stunning third goal killed it off and the kids suffered a collapse, conceding two late goals. At 5-1 it was highly unfair but Shildon were always going to win.