6 Top Away Followings this Week – GW1

What. A. Weekend. It’s really, really tough to put into words just how good it is to be back in grounds properly after 18 months away.

There were some top away followings this week, with plenty of miles covered by fans across the country. Gillingham, Crewe Alexandra and Portsmouth all came out as the top three fanbases this week, but there were fantastic efforts across the board.

So, without further ado, here are our picks for some of the best away followings over the weekend.

West Brom at AFC Bournemouth

Away Attendance: 1,200

The weekend kicked off with Valerien Ismael’s West Brom making the long trip down to the South Coast, backed by around 1,200 Baggies fans.

Everything else aside, great numbers for a Friday night game on Sky – but it didn’t stop there. Albion fans really made their voices heard throughout, completing outsinging the home crowd and cheering on their side as they pushed towards a great point away from home under their new manager.

Nottingham Forest at Coventry City

Away Attendance: 3,784

On the other side of the weekend, Forest made the somewhat short trip over to Coventry — but backed by a still very impressive near 4000 away crowd, made even more so by the fact it was another game on the telly.

A Brennan Johnson early masterclass caused mayhem in the away end as Lyle Taylor tapped home to give his side the lead, both players celebrating in front of the travelling Reds fans.

Unfortunately, though, it wasn’t meant to be for Chris Hughton’s side as they went down to a last-minute Kyle McFadzean winner. However, Forest fans can take plenty of pride in the fact they backed their team magnificently.

Sheffield Wednesday at Charlton Athletic

Away Attendance: 2,712

We always knew that Wednesday would take some impressive followings across the League One season – and they certainly kicked off with a big one down in South London on Saturday.

2,712 Owls fans were present as their side started their first campaign back in the third tier at the Valley, packing out the stand behind the away goal. Those travelling were in fine voice all afternoon, helping ensure Moore’s men were able to earn themselves a good point on the road.

On top of that, Wednesday fan benharris helped himself to a first-place finish this week on FanHub – great effort Ben!

Fair play, guys – can’t wait to hear that Hillsborough roar again soon!

Morecambe at Ipswich Town

Credit: Morecambe FC

Away attendance: 356

Morecambe are certainly not one of the bigger teams in League One – and their following this weekend will seem very average compared to other teams in the division – but it was certainly an impressive one, nevertheless.

356 Shrimps fans made the 10-hour round trip down to East Anglia, helping their side towards an important point on the road – and a very impressive introduction to League One football. For a club that has to compete with the likes of City, United, Liverpool, Wigan, Blackburn etc. all within just an hour or so radius, 356 fans down to Ipswich is a top effort.

I have a feeling that Stephen Robinson’s side could become a lot of peoples’ second favourite team this campaign as they look to retain their status in League One – or maybe even push further!

Bristol Rovers at Mansfield Town

Credit: Bristol Rovers

Away attendance: 1,388

Mansfield is notoriously a difficult ground to get to for many clubs – but that didn’t stop Rovers turning up this weekend for their first away game back.

A packed-out away end made the eight-hour round trip to the midlands and really got behind their team – something that could have been very hard after the way things went last season.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be on the pitch – Rovers going down to a 95th minute winner from Nigel Clough’s side. Cian Harries’ belter will certainly have given them something to cheer, though.

The weekend leaves them sixth overall on the FanHub clubs leaderboard – will they be able to break into that top three over the coming week?

Swindon Town at Scunthorpe United

Away attendance: 850

Swindon fans have been through a hell of a lot over the past few months – yet, as ever, they continued to back their team throughout and show incredible levels of support.

And that was no different on Saturday as 850 Robins made the long, long trip up to Scunthorpe for their opener – and they were certainly rewarded with a great 3-1 victory to start their campaign.

A Ben Gladwin screamer – shock – gave the Wiltshire side the lead shortly before the away mark, causing utter carnage in the away end. Harry McKirdy then wrapped things up shortly before the end, ensuring all three points were headed back to Wiltshire.

Are there any other away followings that impressed you this week? It was tough to narrow this down to just six, two from each division – and plenty were very close to making the cut.

Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

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