Day 7 – Old Trafford Stadium, Chester, Game Three

Day 7 – Old Trafford Stadium, Chester, Game Three

Trafford

In the morning the team went to Old Trafford Field. As one team member told me – it was the holy grail of fields. I did not go on the Old Trafford trip – but all who attended assured me that it was a great experience. http://www.manutd.com/en/Visit-Old-Trafford/Museum-And-Stadium-Tour/Stadium-Tour.aspx

Chester

Chester, a “walled” city was founded as a "castrum" or Roman fort in the year 79 by the Romans. Chester's four main roads, Eastgate, Northgate, Watergate and Bridge, follow routes laid out at this time – almost 2,000 years ago. Some of the boys walked around the wall others walked by the river or in the shopping district.

Recently rediscovered, the civilian amphitheater, which was built in the 1st century, could seat between 8,000 and 10,000 people. Points of interest are the Castle http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/chester-castle-agricola-tower-and-castle-walls/ http://www.virtualchester.org/view/view_location.php?id=13 or and the Chester Cathedral (formerly the church h of St. Werburgh’s Abbey http://www.chesterwalls.info/cathedral.html . Its architecture dates back to the Norman era, with additions made most centuries since

Outside the walls is St. John’s the oldest church in the city. St. John’s was at one time the cathedral church. The church was shortened after the dissolution of the monasteries and ruins of the former east end remain outside the church. Much of the interior is in Norman style and this is considered to be the best example of 11th–12th century church architecture in Cheshire. http://www.parishofchester.com/

Mostly Chester was shops, some of which were restored (or made to look like restored) buildings in the Tudor style which were typically constructed using English oak timbers then painted with black tar for protection from the weather. Portions were painted with a white paint which was a lime wash. There were hundreds of shops in Chester but the only one of interest to the boys (other than those that sold food) was the Official Liverpool store.

Game 3

Game three was a surprise to the boys. There were up against a team that was better than they were stylish and very physical. Our boys jumped out to a two goal lead. With Eric scoring the first goal by lobbing the ball strategically over the goalie’s head and Brian following shortly after with the second with a beautiful run down the left side of the field where he beat the goalie to score. The opposition reacted by playing very physically – which caught our guys somewhat off guard. A good lesson was learned by both teams. The opposing team did not respect the Frederick team and found themselves down two to nothing quickly. Our team got up two to nothing and decided that the team was not all that and then found themselves down three to two at the half. There were no sideline referees and the English team was a beneficiary of a suspicious goal that hit the crossbar and bounced straight down – Jeff picked it up immediately. The referee from mid-field insisted that the ball crossed the plane and awarded the goal.

The opposing team scored one goal in the second half that Tim Howard himself could not have stopped. But the opposing team did not score again and our guys did not quit. David stopped a penalty shot. The final score was Frederic 2 and the opposing team 4.

The guys played hard and should be commended for their effort. At this point I would like to make a personal observation – my son has been on a few international trips and it is easy to believe that your team is going to come to a country where football is religion and that they are not just going to be competitive – they were going to win. Our guys may not have won, but they acquitted themselves well. The other kids had the benefit of sleeping in their own beds, eating their own food, and playing on their own fields. Our kids are sightseeing with their peers all day, changing on the bus, and playing with referees who look for and make calls differently than American referees. This game was physical – we had two players who were on the bench with minor injuries at the end of the game and couple more who easily could have been sitting.

Kathleen