After Saturday’s fixture against Hull was called off, Pompey will travel to Birmingham City on Tuesday night for their third away game in a row – another trip to Blackpool on Saturday will make it four!
Pre-match warm-up
Looking for a pub for a pre-match pint? Well the Football Ground Guide reckons: “Most of the pubs near to the ground can be quite intimidating for away supporters and are not recommended. However there is the Brighton pub on the Coventry Road which does tolerate away fans in small numbers.”
There are also a couple of nice pubs that serve a decent range of Ales such as the Anchor on Bradford Street and the Wellington Pub on Bennetts Hill.
Travel
If you are travelling by train, chances are you’ll be heading to one of the three main train stations – Birmingham New Street, Birmingham Snow Hill or Birmingham Moor Street. All of these are probably at least a 20-minute walk, and depending on what time you arrive in Birmingham, we’d probably advise grabbing a taxi to the ground for a mere £6.
However, if you’re looking to catch a closer train, you can get a train to Bordesley which is a lot closer but waiting around for the change at the station probably isn’t worth the time, effort or extra money.
If you’re brave and you’ll be driving up instead, then as well as some street parking in the vicinity, you can find a small car park at the ground and one on Garrison Lane. Alternatively there is a large secure outdoor car park at the Birmingham Wheels Park on Adderley Road South – this is approximately ten to 15-minutes walk from the ground. All three of the car parks are about £5.
There are a few minibuses arranged by Pompey fans heading to Birmingham, and we’ve been told by Pompey fan Tom Dearie that a couple of spaces are available for only £20 per person, and leaving Fratton Park at 15:00. Further details can be found on the ‘Pompey on Tour’ Facebook group.
Half-time Refreshments
Beer is available inside the ground but could potentially be quite hard to get hold of, depending on the numbers heading up, as everyone has to crowd around one tiny hatch but at least it is on sale!
The infamous Chicken Balti Pie can be picked up for £2.50 along with a decent range of pies, hot dogs, burgers etc. Pretty much your standard football food.
Programmes
Official match day programmes ‘Blues’ are sold at £3 each inside and around the ground, and if you’re looking for a insight in to the mind of the opponents, the Zulu fanzine can be picked up around the ground as well.
Your Home For The Next Ninety Minutes
Pompey fans will be housed in the Railway Stand’s lower tier behind the goal. Unfortunately home fans are above and to the other side of the stand, so dodging semi-digested burgers is part of the rich experience. The legroom is absolutely horrible, and personally having recently just come off a few weeks on crutches, I’m not looking forward to squeezing in to those seats.
The concourses designed to hold about a tenth of the average half-time pie queue. The Police are pretty humourless around the ground and to be completely honest, it’s all a bit gritty.
Looking back to our last fixture at St Andrew’s, which was also a mid-week game, the atmosphere was shockingly quiet from the home fans, despite only a few empty seats and renowned for being passionate and loud fans.
Tickets
Tickets are no longer available to buy online or over the phone for Tuesday night’s trip, however, tickets can be purchased from the Frogmore Road ticket office until 1pm on Tuesday afternoon.
The prices are as follows:
Adults: £18
Seniors (65+): £12
Students (with a valid NUS card): £12
Juniors (13-18): £7
Children (under 13): £5
All fans who buy concession tickets are advised to bring proof of age identification or a student card.
Tickets will be available to buy on the gate ahead of kick-off however it will be cash only. From personal previous experience as well, student tickets can’t be bought on the gate and the stewards on the gate make it pretty hard to blag any concessions.
Finally…
Safe travelling to all fans heading up to Birmingham, and let’s bring back another three points!
Discussion
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