My train pulled out of Harlesden station and Wembley came into clear view in the distance. I looked to the streets below to see young kids playing football, in the shadow of England’s most iconic sporting venue.
Just as those young people may dream of one day walking out onto the Wembley pitch as a professional footballer, it has always been my dream to write about football and cover the sport from the press box.
It was Saturday November 9 and I was about to live out that dream.
As part of my Sports Journalism degree, I’ve had the opportunity to cover football in press boxes for Premier League through to League Two clubs – but always accompanied by another journalist or as part of a university trip.
As the Lionesses were preparing to face Germany in a friendly, in what was shaping up to be a historical fixture in women’s football, I was preparing to reach a milestone of my own and cover a game from the press box completely on my own for the very first time. To say I was nervous would be an understatement.
You could sense the occasion the moment you stepped out of Wembley Park tube station, met by banners boasting the faces of every member of the current Lionesses squad – faces the nation have grown to recognise and admire.
Touts could be heard around the ground, English and German flags were dotted everywhere and young girls had smiles beaming across their faces, excited to watch their heroes play.
Past all the crowds gathering outside the ground, I headed to the media entrance to collect my pass. It was hard not to feel slightly out of place, especially as the group of journalists that cover the women’s game are close and know each other well. I felt like I was a kid again and it was my first day at a new school.
Too nervous to take advantage of the free buffet provided in the press room, I headed straight out to the stands and took in Wembley for the first time, the empty seats soon to be filled by supporters ready to roar the Lionesses on.
The game itself was a disappointing display from Phil Neville’s side, England fell to a 2-1 defeat to Germany, conceding in the 90th minute.
It was a cold November night in London, but it’s easy to forget that you can’t feel your fingers or toes when you’re sat in a press box, covering football at international level and doing what you love.
I was able to challenge myself, I live tweeted the game whilst also writing a match report ready to be sent off on the final whistle, of course the late winner from Klara Buhl made my job a whole lot more difficult, forcing a late rewrite.
READ MORE: Klara Buhl sinks England with a last minute winner
But this was the environment I’d longed to be in for so long, to experience the intensity of the press box on my own, especially covering a match of this magnitude and significance. For the first time, I felt like a proper journalist.
After the post match press conferences had concluded, a few journalists remained in the warmth of the press room, frantically typing away on their laptops – but I headed back out into the stands one last time.
Wembley was now silent, except for the few groundsmen below – I could get used to calling this place ‘the office’.
Hannah Pinnock Sports Blog 