On the road to...Crystal Palace

A second away derby in succession today as West Ham made another short journey south of the river, this time to Crystal Palace. Of course, while any local derby is a spicy affair, this was nothing like the previous one, given the fact that both sets of fans were allowed to mingle happily outside the stadium.

Date: 01 October 2011
Stadium: Selhurst Park
Capacity: 26,309
Attendance: 20,074
Away Section: Arthur Wait Stand
Score: Crystal Palace 2-2 West Ham United
Nearest station: Selhurst, Thornton Heath or Norwood Junction
Local Rozzers: Metropolitan Police
Total Travel Cost: £2.80p (2 x Oystercard PAYG Single)

Rail journeys:
13:41 – New Cross Gate to Norwood Junction (Southern Class 455)
17:28 – Norwood Junction to New Cross Gate (London Overground Class 378 Capitalstar)

Station to Stadium: Selhurst Park is one of those stadiums that has been around for decades, and thus it is surrounded by houses on all sides, and one has to wander through residential streets. But, unlike Watford, there is no wandering in circles – instead, there is a ‘Z’ shaped route between the stadium and Norwood Junction station; you walk up one street, along another, and down a third and you find yourself at the away turnstiles. Nice straight lines, and there are even signposts to guide you.

Anything else?: The main entrance at Norwood Junction is closed at the end of the day, so the crowds are funnelled through a side entrance. It might be an idea for them to cut a larger hole in the wall to make it easier for the crowd to get through.

Norwood Junction railway station

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