Fans Ground Reviews, Stonebridge Road, Ebbsfleet United FC

Stonebridge Road - Ebbsfleet United
Saturday, March 20th, 2010,
v Luton Town, Blue Square Premier 3pm
By Steve Bailey

1. Why you were looking forward to going to the ground (or not as the case may be):

This ground would leave me only needing one more (Tamworth) to complete a visit to all the current Conference grounds plus from the pictures I had seen this looked like one of the real old traditional grounds at this level. However given that Ebbsfleet had beaten us (Luton) at home there was a bit of trepidation but we needn’t have worried as it turned out!

2. How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking:

Easy journey out of London Bridge although the train stops everywhere on the way it seemed – the ground itself is very close to the station and well sign-posted.

3. What you did before the game pub/chippy.... home fans friendly?

As I know there wasn’t a plethora of good pubs near the ground I drank near London Bridge first but did grab a quick one at the Rose (not the Rose & Crown as stated on the main page) which is bit basic and had very loud music but on the plus side a decent real also from Shepherd Neame. Once I got over being deafened by the music it soon became apparent at least ľ of the people in the pub were other Luton fans! On the way to the ground walked past what looked like a decent chip shop but having already eaten I can’t vouch for the quality.

4. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the ground?

The ground was as I thought it would be, looking similar to Altrincham. Had to walk round the back of the ground for the away end, through a muddy car park and on the back wall fop the ground a very old and almost over-grown sign saying “Welcome to the Fleet” could be seen. On entering the ground you come on to an open terrace, we have about half the ground so there was some cover on the far side but being a wet day it was already full by the time I got in! The terrace itself had a fair amount of grass growing through the cracks in the stone steps. One odd things about the ground is that it is not totally rectangular – the pitch side touchlines are parallel with the stands but the end stands are both at a an angle to goal lines – it is hard to understand why unless the pitch has been moved at some time in the past.

5. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, toilets etc..

The home crowd did try and make some noise with a drum but as the game wore on it was only us making a noise as we ran out 6-1 winners – our highest away win since 1964 so it was an honour to be there! The stewards were actually our own who travelled down for the day so no problems there. The toilets are limited though, very small but probably quite adequate for the majority of away crowds except us, Oxford and Wimbledon.

6. Comment on getting away from the ground after the game:

Easy to get away, back on the 17:07 to London was no problem and even through they’d just been absolutely stuffed there was no hint of any problems at the end.

7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:

Not a great place to go for pre-match beers but a great old fashioned ground. And did I mention the score?

Are you an away or general football fan who has visited Stonebridge Road recently?
If so why not submit your own Football Ground Review of the stadium and general day out?