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(This article was originally published in the WFC Programme in the 2002-03 season. It has not been changed, and may no longer be fully up-to date)
After the recent Bryco Cup game away at Tooting & Mitcham was called off at the eleventh hour (well, the half-past six hour anyway), a number of Worthing fans en route were able to get in touch with each other and arrange a rendezvous at Fetcham Grove, where Leatherhead were due to host Whyteleafe. (who we had drawn 0-0 with the previous weekend). In the end, 11 fans travelling in 6 different cars converged at the game.
We had been the first in the South London area having left Brighton at 4.40pm "to beat the traffic" - we stopped at a Harvester 2 miles south of the ground just an hour later, after every road was clear and every light green! We then got a call just as we finished our meal from the bus (cheers Tim!), called the ground "just in case" (can't trust those Northerners – they love a wind-up!), then rang various people including Ian, who replied "No it's not, we're in the bar".
After sorting it out and getting hold of a paper, we decided upon Leatherhead vs Whyteleafe, as it was on the way home, and handy for where we were. The alternatives were Met Police vs Dulwich (nice ground, but too far across South London), Molesey vs Croydon Athletic (worse ground in same area) and Crawley vs Chippenham (nice ground - if you like lego - but no parking that close to kick-off with the crowds they have been getting recently).
Leatherhead were all very friendly, and particularly the stewards, the raffle ticket seller and the announcer made us all feel very welcome, as did the fans behind the bar and in the clubhouse afterwards.
We stood on the halfway line (watching in "landscape" rather than "portrait" view as someone put it), and with the smaller of the Worthing flags in attendance and us all stood together, there was no doubt where we were from. As the game took shape, we naturally leaned towards our A24 neighbours, as they were playing the far more attractive football (relatively speaking, mind!) and besides, a Whyteleafe win would have dropped us to seventh at the time.
After hitting the bar twice, Alex Inglethorpe headed the only goal of the game after 71 minutes, and Leatherhead deservedly withstood late Whyteleafe pressure for the win. The game also saw some good natured singing (the Rebel's anthem "Goodnight Horse" and "Can we watch you every week?") as well as some singing from the Leatherhead fans. Whyteleafe, on the other hand, were actually visibly outnumbered by us (we counted 8, although there may have been some stragglers in the stand).
Ironically enough, when the Tooting match was finally played the following week, any gaps in play saw the Rebels fans behind the goal turning 180 degrees to face the floodlit 5-a-side pitches behind us, where we somehow found an affinity with the team in yellow (well, the other team were wearing green, and present company from Leatherhead excepted, it’s a rare occasion Worthing fans will cheer on a team in Bognor colours!). After a few shouts of encouragement and some choruses of “yellows, yellows” we inspired our adopted team to a 3-1 victory. Further chants of “can we watch you every week?” prompted an immediate response – “yes, if you pay!”.
Strangely for club as geographically peripheral as ours, the Leatherhead match is not the first instance of Worthing fans turning up en masse to another Ryman match. A few years ago we were en route to Romford, some of us on the A13, others still on the M25, when a call came from bus-travelling fans in the pub (Romford did not have a clubhouse at this stage) informing us that the players had just trooped in for a beer following the postponement. What followed was a strange chain of events, as armed with a Non league Directory every club in Essex was called to see if they had a home game. Eventually, Aveley responded in the positive, and eight or so Worthing fans (including ex-Worthing striker Adie Miles) descended on Aveley’s picket-fenced “Mill Field” ground.
Aveley made a big fuss over us at the gate (but then we did raise their crowd by over 10%!), and we were treated to a Beckham-like wondergoal by Clapton before the home side took control in a 3-1 win. The main memory Aveley’s ground, aside from the picket fencing around the main stand, was the massive landscape-view window in the clubhouse, affording a very warm executive box style view over the pitch.
Of course, it’s not unknown for Worthing fans to agree to meet up at local matches, sometimes (though rarely) at Bognor, or more likely, at County League matches. When ex-Worthing manager Sammy Donnelly took up the reins at Old Barn Way, a number of us made a concerted effort to watch Southwick games when Worthing were not playing. A number of circumstances, not least of which the sometimes daunting experience that is the clubhouse at Southwick, but mainly fixture clashes, have meant that the numbers of Worthing fans cheering on the Wickers dwindle of late. As for our local County League cousins, Worthing United, just try and find a Worthing fan who admits having been to Lyons Farm (not through rivalry, mind!)
From my own point of view, as a travelling Scotland fan I am no stranger to watching other people’s matches. This all started at the France 98 World Cup, where as one of the lucky few who actually got through on the infamous phoneline, I was able to secure tickets to a total of 8 games (Scotland vs Norway and Morrocco, plus 8 other matches, including USA vs Iran). Away from the international carnival that is the World Cup, I have also attended the Czech Republic vs Belgium WC Qualifying Play-off, and the recent Iceland vs Lithuania Euro 2004 Qualifier, as well as league matches in Spain, Portugal and Croatia, each time in a kilt and with a Scotland flag. In my experience, I have always found these games to be enjoyable and very friendly – particularly with the Czechs and Belgians, when both sets of fans treated us as long lost fans.
So, next time you find yourself en route to a postponed game, or holidaying in a foreign country, don’t be afraid to make a diversion to a local match in your club colours – it’s a rare occasion when you won’t find yourself made to feel welcome by fans who are touched that you have made the effort to see their team.
7th Feb 2004