A cold, windswept, Tuesday evening welcomes almost an impossible task of survival for the home side. They host Tamworth, at Tiger Turf, who are currently top of the table with an impressive defensive record. Meanwhile Gloucester leaked seven goals in their latest effort, against Boston United, to claw back any chance of remaining in this league. A tall nine points from safety to put it in its simpler terms.
Red and yellow coated seats are waiting to be filled but from whispers around the ground, the fans have little hope. “They’ve packed in”, I heard a few of the remaining faithful, speaking of their own. A chirp here and there leaves the impression of chaos, confusion and most of all fan anger and disappointment. Despite the doom and gloom around the club, there is still that feeling of togetherness. Smiles sprinkle, albeit a rarity among the loyal support. Tamworth looks like a well-oiled machine. Voices bellowing that carry all the way to the opposite end of the pitch during the warm-ups. Dressed in all black, the league toppers have that prowl about them, ready to take to the battle.
With kick-off just 15 minutes away, the home support is in a “frightening” way in terms of numbers, a fan said. Depleted is the word that springs to mind which almost shows me that the towel has been thrown in, nine games remaining of the season. The lack of numbers, the murmurs and anger on people’s lips has created a toxic atmosphere here.
Kick-off is under way and the away fans seem to be switching ends along with their team on the pitch which, again, suggest an assertiveness about the visitors. The groans of the scattered support echo in the wind as Tamworth chances arrive early on.
Outrage strikes. Danny Wright alongside the faithful, were robbed of a goal. The referee for some unknown reason disallows the goal. Bewildered looks soon become anger. A glimpse of toppling league leaders was almost a reality. The few that were at the ground now that something can be made of this game. I couldn’t help but still feel that it was hollow there with a feeling of unrest.
This was not my first experience of Gloucester City in action. It was my first home fixture though and even the away game at Banbury United, not so long ago felt fuller and felt more unanimous. When comparing the two the glaringly obvious factor was that City were three points off relegation. This time as mentioned the slip into the relegation zone was a steep one. The games around them and the fixtures remaining make it a toxic place where fans are dejected.
Striker Wright however breaks the deadlock in the 58th minute with a scrambling effort. The visiting goalkeeper Jaz Singh makes an error which is lapped up by the crowd which is followed up by an almighty roar from the Tiger Turf faithful. Wright capitalises on Singh’s mistake and lobs him. To the delight of the crowd, the unanimity is back. For only a moment as Tamworth just switched into their groove like they have done all season.
Gloucester City’s lead lasted 17 minutes before the yellow and red hearts were struck down. The energy soon sapped out of the ground and the fans turned their anger towards the referee and the opposition players. One fan shouting, “CHEATS! Dirty cheats!”. Despite the cries and profanities towards the opposition and officials, nothing can be said or done after the 90 plus minutes of disappointment. Bubbles of crowd filter out of the cold and the thought on the Gloucester fans’ minds is that the mountain to climb out of the relegation zone just got metres steeper.
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