Away Days 25/26: Promotion Party? - Crewe

 How time flies. It only feels like yesterday I was writing the blog for the first away day of the season at Swindon and now I’m writing about the last away day! Going into the final weekend of the season Cambridge were in third place, the last automatic promotion spot. There were 27 possible scenarios that could have occurred and in those Cambridge would be promoted in 19 of them. This is my take on Cambridge United’s winner takes all last game of the season, I hope you enjoy it. 

The day before.

I made my way up to Stockport where I met Rach, Liz and John. We tried a few beers to settle the nerves. I was already nervous and was changing my mind about whether we were going to win promotion or not. Me and Rach had a beer in a Robinsons pub but I forgot to take any photos there so we start at Thread.

John made a mess

From Thread we walked about 50 feet to Produce Hall to get some food. 

The garlic chilli chicken was delicious! From here we headed to Fell.

Quite a lot of beer had been consumed.

Fell is brilliant! I really enjoyed their lager and it even came in a proper glass. We ended our night at St Peter’s Gate Tap, an absolute Stockport classic! 

Finished the night with a pint of Crafty Fox

The morning of the game: 

Woke up feeling not very well rested or confident, but once I have filed a couple of coffees into my face I was feeling better. A nice stroll through Stockport was enjoyed before we got the train to Crewe. 

Train beers were had!

Arriving at Crewe: 

We arrived in Crewe just after midday. We were welcomed by the police who told us that all the away pubs were already full. Luckily the police didn’t seem to mind that me and John were still drinking our beers. Therefore we went for a walk around Crewe and quickly found out that it’s a dump. 

Fan zone: 

As we arrived at the ground we were told by a steward that we could go into the fan zone for a beer, which we did. We set the trend as many more U’s fans soon joined us and we quickly outnumbered the home fans. Shane Lavery even walked past and confirmed that he was not in the match day squad. 

The Game: 

It’s safe to say that I was bricking it. All we had to do was win and there would be no need to check/ rely on results elsewhere, this was still a three horse race. An early goal would have really helped to settle the nerves. But this is Cambridge United after all. 

Cambridge United Penalty! 

As Knight picks up the ball I turned to Rach and John and stated that I don’t think I can watch it. I’m feeling sick. Knight sees his tame effort saved. I start to feel that it isn’t going to be our day. 

That bloke was nervous too

What followed was a game of mostly nothing happening, or at least that’s what it felt like to me, just one goal United please. I have to add that Crewe were not rolling over for us and they wanted something from the game despite their season being over. With time ticking on United had a couple of good chances blocked, the goal simply wasn’t coming. News spread around the away end that Ryan Loft had come on for Crawley (he’s on loan from Cambridge). Whilst that did not make me feel any less nervous, I’ve seen Loft play football, it did at least give agent Loft the chance to be the hero. 

The final whistle

The ref blows for full time. We failed to score and the Salford game hasn’t finished, if Salford score they leapfrog us and go up. Time stands still as the anxiety builds. This moment felt like an eternity as people desperately tried to get enough phone signal to check the Salford score. Then suddenly pandemonium!! Salford failed the score and The U’s were up! Next thing I knew is that I was on the pitch!

You don’t get many opportunities to celebrate on any pitch let alone a different club’s pitch! I would like to thank Crewe for letting us have this moment! Just when we thought the day couldn’t get any more dramatic we had to leave the pitch to allow the air ambulance to land.

Once the air ambulance had taken the unwell Crewe fan to hospital (since been told that they’re doing well) the players came out!

It turns out that if you finish third in League 2 you win a small silver coloured plate! The players took it in turns to the lift the plate in front of the amber army, much to our amusement! The celebrations on the pitch may have ended but our evening had only just begun. Of course we enjoyed a cheeky train beer!

This beer is only available on Avanti trains 

After a delicious meal cooked by Jo we headed to Runaway!

Before heading to The Crown for a wholesome evening of pints, laughs and planning for League 1 away days! 

Despite gaining promotion in probably the worst and most tricky way possible, the weekend up in Stockport and Crewe was incredible. I’ve been watching the U’s for 22 years and this is the third promotion in that time but first I have been able to properly celebrate and celebrate we did! Moments like this are so rare as in football you normally have more bad moments than good. It’s difficult to top watching the club you love winning promotion surrounded by your pals! My thanks go to Rach & Jo, John, DJ, the amber army, Neil Harris, Mark Boner, and the rest of the club! 

See you in League 1! 

Up The U’s! Thanks for reading.