18th September 2023 Angus Game Attended Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace Competition Premier League Date 16/09/2023 Why were you looking forward to this game and visiting the ground itself? Nice old stadium, and I have never been to Birmingham. Wasn't expecting much from this game, but I'm trying to go to all 38 EPL games this season. How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking? Took the train from London Euston to Birmingham New Street, then the train to Aston, which is about a 15 minute walk to the ground. Staff at Birmingham New Street were friendly. No barriers at Aston, which is good as I had got an earlier train than the one I was supposed to. What you did before the game pub/chippy etc, and were the home fans friendly? Walked to the ground down an alley with all the home fans, and was told by a home fan not to come back that way (I was wearing a Palace kit), as I may get in some trouble, especially if we won. He was friendly and willing to chat though, and so were other fans pointing me to the away end. <1 minute queue at the turnstiles and got into the ground 20 minutes before kickoff. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the stadium? Very imposing and old school ground from the outside, bricks and stained glass windows. The away end was very old school, with cages over the kiosks, and a William Hill betting kiosk in the concourse. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, facilities etc.. Villa are a very good team. We somehow went into halftime 0-0, then scored a great goal at the beginning of the second half. Managed to hang on until 87', where we conceded one brilliant goal, a questionable penalty, then another just for fun. 3-1. Home fans were very quiet up until their goal. The stands are incredibly close to the pitch, which is really cool. Bought a cheese and onion pie for around a fiver, which was very good. Helped that I was eating it when we were 1-0 up. Comment on getting away from the ground after the game Easy enough getting away after the game, and went to Witton, which is closer to the away end, and was recommended for us travelling fans. There were queues into the station, but they run extra football services on matchdays that go straight to Birmingham New Street. Again, no barriers. Getting onto the train is very organised as there are stewards preventing crowding on the platform and we got away quite quickly thanks to the extra service. Talked to a few Villa fans in the queue and on the train, they were all very friendly and had some good banter. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out Despite the result, a pretty good day out! Villa play some exciting football, so the game was really end to end, despite some of our timewasting tactics. See more
Curated by Taleb Kabbara · Source: footballgroundguide.com