Knowing that we would miss the opening day trip to Swindon due to being abroad, the old man and I agreed that our first away day experience of the new season would be hosted by the city of Sheffield a fortnight later. It's easy to see why too, with neither of us having done either of the two stadiums in Sheffield, it seemed the perfect time to tick off another ground from the 92 (my 51st if you were wondering).
I suppose I had better explain the picture at the head of this post, as part of my photo diaries that I tend to put together, I usually make an introductory picture to give my viewers a taste of what it's like in the city I have spent the day in. Well, as I'm sure you can see yourself, the standout thought of the day from the trip to South Yorkshire was the impeccable tram system being used. I can assure you it wasn't my intention to include a power station in the background, but it is a fine tribute to not just Sheffield, but the north on the whole!
The journey up is easy, if not uncomfortable stuck in the back of a full car, in the middle seat as well which let's face it, everyone hates. However, this was no major issue as we reached our destination in good time, and by 12:30 we had pulled up outside Hillsborough in search of tickets for the away end as we had failed to buy in advance. We were told to pay on the turnstile, a rare but welcome method in this day and age, and on that note we set off in the attempt to find a nice pub for a few drinks and some food before the match. However, before we could do this it is worth mentioning that we did stop off at the Hillsborough Memorial for the tragic deaths of 96 Liverpool supporters in 1989. Walking through the gangway into the away later on certainly put a shiver down my spine, and certainly put things into prospective. 
Sheffield was unfortunately one of the more challenging places to find a pub that I have encountered, and we ended up eating in a place called Kimberworth outside Rotherham. The name of the pub escapes me, but the food was decent and the service was fine, meaning we had plenty of time to get to return to Hillsborough ahead of the game.
Time for a bit of trivia, did you know that Sheffield is built on seven hills, and is in this way similar to the structure of Rome, one of the finest architectual cities in Europe. I think it's unlikely that Romulus and Remus founded Sheffield however, more like 'Eggy' and 'Duck'.
Onto the game itself then, and in a strange atmosphere which struggled to really get going in the away end, the first real action of the game comes within the first ten minutes. The action is nothing to do with the football however, and involves handbags from Wednesday's Neil Mellor and Brighton's Adam El-Abd. They clash over a tussle following a cross from the left hand side, and when Mellor pushes El-Abd away, the Albion centre back flies over clutching his face in a way worthy of winning an Oscar. Having seen two team mates sent off for 'violent conduct' in the past two weeks, both in situations where they raised their hands in a similar way to Mellor, you can see what El-Abd was trying to do. However, the referee and linesman, who discussed the incident briefly before making their decision, decided correctly to book Mellor and get on with the game.
The first half was dominated by Wednesday but the Albion looked threatening on the break. It was first blood to The Owls however, in the 38th minute a well worked move involving Marcus Tudgay and Giles Coke saw the latter curl a beauty past Casper Ankergren in the Albion goal with his left foot. This was the wake up call the Seagulls needed though it seemed, and it almost sparked an instant response as Radostin Kishishev forced a good reflex save from the Wednesday keeper. Nonetheless, this was all in vain as the Albion trailed at the break.
The second half began in similar fashion, with Brighton pressing the hosts for the equalizer, and only the crossbar stood between them and young Jamie Smith getting it. The next incident of note took place on the half way line, where a horrendous tackle from Chris Segdwick of Wednesday on Brighton's Marcos Painter should really have been punished with a red card from the referee. Unfortunately he disagreed, most likely due to the intimidatingly loud Wednesday supporters, who to their credit were extremely vocal throughout.
The game drew towards a close, and whilst having plenty of possession Brighton failed to create any clearcut chances, and it was Wednesday who looked the more threatening on the attack, twice having should have put the game to bed with far post chances being headed over. In a last ditch attempt to salvage something from the game, Elliot Bennett was bundled over in the area, and once again the Albion will feel hard done by the referee, who dismissed any complaints from The Seagulls that Bennett was impeded. The Albion failed to score, giving the points to Wednesday.
Highlight of the Day: Without a doubt, overtaking an elderly lady in one of those motorised vehicles designed for the pavement, on the road. A close second was watching 'The Football League Show' later on that evening, and seeing that Albion boss Gus Poyet had emailed the show to complain about the comments of pundit Steve Claridge the week before, who claimed that the decision to give Rochdale a penalty against the Albion was the right one in The Seagulls' home game on the 14th. The look on Claridge's face was priceless, as it was proven that the penalty should not have been given and the show apologised! Lesson learnt, don't mess with Poyet!
RATING: 6/10 - Despite an easy journey there and back with minimal delay, the day itself was somewhat ruined for me by the poor atmosphere created by the some 1500 Brighton fans behind the goal. Although placed on the lower tier by some incompetent stewarding, it was still disappointing to be totally outsung by the Wednesday supporters with very little attempt to sing back. Hopefully just a blip.
Next stop, one of the longest trips in the English football, as I attempt to conquer Carlisle!
Thanks for reading,
Matt
