Fans flies 8,000 miles from China to look at Bolton play – however match deserted

A loyal soccer fan flew 8,000 miles from China to see his favorite crew play – just for the sport to be deserted attributable to a waterlogged pitch.

Andy Bebbington, 36, was heartbroken after seeing simply 9 minutes of his beloved Bolton Wanderers‘ sport in opposition to Cambridge United earlier than play was cancelled. The English trainer had spent roughly £800 jetting in from Shanghai to look at The Whites play the away fixture along with his dad on the Abbey Stadium on Tuesday (February 6).

But he received a “sinking feeling” after watching the deluge of water coming down – and realised earlier than the beginning of the sport that it was unlikely to achieve full-time. Andy stated: “An hour earlier than kick-off, I used to be strolling to the stadium and the heavens simply opened and that was simply it.

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“I received a sinking feeling, it was horrible, and while you see the gamers go off you simply suppose – that’s unbelievable. I simply felt like each fan in that away stand.

“But when I got back to the hotel, I was lying there and that’s when it hit that it was a bit of a wasted journey, pretty much. It was a bit of a nightmare, to be honest.”

Andy, originally from Bolton, Greater Manchester, said he had supported his hometown club through thick and thin after seeing his first game aged four.

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He went on to be a season ticket holder for 15 years earlier than leaving his job in admin to work in China in 2018 as a major college English trainer near Shanghai. And after a pause in the course of the COVID pandemic, he went again out to Southeast Asia for work once more in August final 12 months.

But he had made positive to consider a visit to look at his crew once more along with his dad, Tony Bebbington, when he returned to Britain earlier this month. Following his 20-hour flight, that they had pushed 4 hours from Bolton to East Anglia on Tuesday so they might see their beloved facet in motion.

Andy stated: “I said to my dad, because he has still got a season ticket at the moment, ‘listen, Cambridge is playing Bolton, why don’t we get tickets and we’ll book a hotel?’

“When we left Bolton it was maybe 11am. It was raining here, and we checked the forecast at Cambridge and luckily it was dry all night. We got to Cambridge at 4pm and the weather wasn’t perfect – it was a bit overcast, but not real danger.

“But within two minutes of the game, watching them trying to pass and the ball, you realised that this is not going to last much longer.”

Andy stated he was gutted that his plans, which had been put in place eight weeks in the past, had been derailed on the final minute. But he agreed it was in all probability for the perfect that play was known as off to keep away from on-field accidents on the claggy turf.

He stated: “When players are coming at full speed, you get mis-timed challenges, and I think it would have been an injury waiting to happen if they played on.

“And with the style of football Bolton play now, I feel like it wouldn’t have suited us as a team at all. I think it would have been detrimental to us.”

Andy said despite missing the live action, he was able to shelter from the terrible weather and get over his disappointment with a pint. He added: “We found a little pub near the hotel, which was empty and we just drowned our sorrows.”