On Saturday I made the 195 mile trip to Moss Rose as The O's faced Macclesfield Town who needed a win and other results later to go their way to win promotion back to the Football League. Here is my recount of the day.
My own picture- @quaneroman twitter
1. The Journey 7/10
A relatively easy journey on Saturday with Macclesfield, located in Cheshire, only an hour and 40 minuets away from London by my preferred route of away day transport- train. Due to BT Sport moving the kick off time to 12:15, by the time our train arrived at around 11:40 the taxi rank was packed with people so we decided to try and walk to Moss Rose. We arrived to the ground with about 10 minuets before kick off.
2. The Pubs 7/10
Not having time to go to one before the game, following the match we had 4 hours until our return train back to London we ventured out near the station to find a range of good pubs in the area. We ended up at the George & Dragon which had a nice pool table next to the TV (which showed the Grand National) with loud speakers playing music. Nice place to spend a few hours and It was in eyesight of the station so there was no rush.
3. The Area 6/10
Quite a nice area, better than some places I've seen this season, a few cobbled streets and stone houses down the road leading to the ground. But again I only saw one street that lead from the Station to the ground so I couldn't really give Macclesfield as an area any higher than a 6 or a 7.
4. The ground 8/10
A good ground for this league, a good stand behind the goal and a good modern stand at the side, the other stand to our left was an old stand full of character. The ground looked even better as it was packed with a crowd of over 3000 in attendance. I think if they stay in the Football league they should keep the terracing but renovate parts of the ground.
5. The View 9/10
Situated next to the BT Sport camera behind the goal I had a great view of the pitch ,the two floodlights, the 3 stands. The top row of the stand, where I was, hanged above the street bellow so I had a good view of the street leading down towards Town, the houses and the railway line next to green spaces.
6. The Food 4/10
I had chips in the ground it wasn't the greatest I've had and the fork and container they gave me looked a bit dirty. So I would rate food low on my opinion, however a mate of mine had a pie and quite liked it.
7. The Atmosphere 5/10
In my opinion a bit of a dull atmosphere Saturday, there was moments in the game were chants broke out and were flowing but again that possibly reflects when we were playing well in the game. For example- it was quiet at 1-0 in the first half.
8. Programmes 6/10
I finally got a programme this week and I felt they had a detailed section on Orient, I liked that they interviewed the Outlook Podcast boys Steve & Paul for the game and then the rest contained the basic information on Orient, recent form and key players.
9. The Performance 7/10
A good performance by The O's, several squandered chances at the end but a good point against a team that since early on this campaign have walked the league. Hopefully we can continue this run of form. A good performance on the TV meaning Adam Virgo couldn't dig us out again.
10. Away Support 6/10
Not the best travelling numbers of the season, but we can blame BT Sport for that, but 230 odd fans is still decent support once again from The O's.
Overall- 65/100
Not the ideal away day with the fixture change but still a good day out at a good ground to see The O's pick up a good point. This will be the last "Away Days" article of the season as I cant make Hartlepool on Tuesday and Gateshead on the final day but we'll hopefully be back next season for a full series or even earlier in pre season.
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