Anfield: So Close But Yet So Far

Everything seemed fine as the wheels to our master plan seemed to be well in motion. Even the snow that threatened to ruin our plans the night before, mysteriously disappeared by early morning, leaving only a small bit on the ground, like lightly dusted icing sugar atop a cake.


Not wanting to miss our ferry, we made contingencies for delays because of the snow and arrived at the ferry terminal an hour earlier than expected. Better safe than sorry, I suppose.


After about an hour later, we were on the ferry and well on our way to Holyhead on board the Ulysses. Even the lack of sleep the night before couldn't dampen our spirits as my friends and I were all looking forward to the match and getting to know fellow Reds on the ferry, from Malahide as well as far as the Mauritius.


About two hours into the journey, the three of us started to get hungry and wolfed down my wife's delicious Nasi Lemak within the space of a few short minutes. We joked that, eating the Nasi Lemak while in international waters put a whole new meaning to the Antarabangsa in Kampung Baru's famous Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa. Anyway, a good walk around the ferry was in order especially after eating such a cholestrol-filled meal.


Wanting to feel like a cross between Jack Sparrow and a Cold War era submarine commander, I ended up with a bunch of smokers on the upper decks of the vessel. That didn't last long but I managed to snap a quick pic which should explain why my naval fantasy was a short-lived one...

It wasn't looking good but as we caught sight of land on the horizon, things began to clear up and the sun was shining on the ferry's intended destination.

As soon as the ferry docked, we walked up to the reception area, eager to get a hold of our match tickets from our travel agents' representative. Seeing us standing around at the agreed meeting point, the rep headed straight to the three of us. I knew something was wrong when I didn't see any match tickets in his hands...

Sorry lads...the match's been cancelled.

I looked the man straight in the eye, trying to gauge whether it was the Irish sense of humour coming through or outright seriousness.

You're joking...?

Nope. Nothing we can do about it. They cancelled it.

I was stunned. Utterly disappointed. One of my friends was in denial and was immediately looking for the nearest computer or Wi-Fi connection to confirm the news. The other was already thinking ahead and was taking a look into the small print of our booking confirmation.


By noon, it was clear we weren't going to watch the match. We weren't even going to get anywhere near Anfield or Liverpool itself. We were in Holyhead and within the next two hours, we were going to be back on the Ulysses, making our way back to Dublin...