Posted ‘4:13pm 🔔 bells’ Sunday 17th Novembaa 2024
A TRIBUTE TO LEN SHACKLETON IN THE CLUBHOOSE, WHO PLAYED FOR BOTH BRADFAAD PA AND NUFC!
I’d been to this groond before to watch a friendly in 2016 between Bradfaad PA and NUFC U21s (see ground 320) but not to watch mee 2nd team Dunston!
We travelled doon to west Yorkshire on the Dunston team bus (players at the back, committee at the front and fans squashed in the middle!) and arrived in good time for a few ‘gargels’ in the Braadfaad clubhoose!
It cost me a tenner to get in az a ‘zimmerframeite’ (golden oldie!) which iz the same price for mee NUFCs Leegue Cup qwaataa final ticket v Brentfaad at SJP next month!🥶
VIEW OF THE PITCH FROM THE CLUBHOOSE
The Braadfaad fans are a strange breed indeed! Most were wearin Bradfaad Bulls rugby 🏉 club’s hats and coats, az well az the green and white scarfs and shirts of Braadfaad Park Avenue!
But one old gadgie went a step forthaa, coz he woz wearin a Bradfaad Bulls hat, a Bradfaad Park Avenue scarf AND a Bradfaad City coat!—He woz takin nee chances!Anyway!- The game kicked off in absolutlee freeezin conditions and Bradfaad laid siege to the Dunston goal! The Bad Blue Boys (wearin an aall red strip!) had the odd attack, but the home side made the breakthrough in the 33rd minute when Hassan-Smith fired a shot into the net to loud cheers from The 350 or so Park Avenueites and large groans from the 25 Dunston fans and committee who had made the jorney doon! This aalso included a convoy of cars ( whey 2 actually!) includin ex Toon reserve player Justin Robson who had travelled doon to watch his son Scott, the Dunston number 9!
Bang on half time and against the run of play Dunston equalised through Dan Turner who fired a curling shot into the net from a Dale Pearson through baall, to loud applause from the ‘faithful’!
IT SAYS ‘NO STANDING’ BUT NOWT ABOOT ‘LOW FLYING’!
The second half woz more even, but neethaa side could get the winner and the game ended aall square!
It woz a mad rush back to the warmth of the clubhoose on the final whistle where anothaa Braadfaad ‘eccentric’ woz wearin a red woolly hat with a Northern Ireland army blatooon badge on the front!
He spotted mee Toon badge on mee jacket and said “Fcukin Newcastle!” and I replied, “You must be a fcukin mackem!” az I pointed to hiz hat!
It turned oot that he woz a Bradfaad fan and woz a Rangers loyalist az well! “I NEVER wear anything green!” he told me! Divvint forget their colours are GREEN and white! (White shirts with narrow green vertical stripes)
To compound things even forthaa Bradfaad’s old colours were(wait for it!) green and white HOOPS! The same shirts az Rangers most hated enemies CELTIC! (Yi couldn’t make it up!)
A Bradfaad fan wearin their old hooped shirt!
On the clubhoose waall there’s a great tribute to Len Shackleton who played for Bradfaad Park Avenue, before bein transferred to NUFC for the princely sum of £13,000 in the 1940s! He scored SIX goals v Newport Coonty in NUFCs record 13 goal win! (See top photo)
OFFICIAL ATTENDANCE: 411 (I guessed aboot 380)
Fink (the mad-sad groundhopper—74 groonds with Dunston, 371 with NUFC teams) (including 30 of those groonds watchin both teams). 415 different groonds in total!
Not bad for a full time NUFC fan and a part time Dunston fan “EH!?”
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