I just couldn't wait for the alarm to go off. My first ever trip to St James' Park.

While I was excited at the prospect of a trip to one of the best grounds in the country, I wasn't looking forward to the near 300-mile trip up and back. So at 6am we set off along with my friend, Simon's son Zac and my nephew Jack.

I wasn't disappointed, driving through the centre of Newcastle and seeing the ground in the distance, rising up into the sky, brought the hairs up on the back of my neck

I knew we would be sat up in the 'Gods' but hadn't quite realised how high up we would be.

Walking in through the gangway and looking out on to the pitch was brilliant and seeing my team on such a big stage was magic.

As the teams were read out, I couldn't help but think that Zac's prediction of a 5-0 away win was somewhat optimistic.

The ref blew the whistle for kick-off and the noise from the away end was immense. More than 2,500 fans made the trip to Tyneside and the fans should take some real credit for a very hard-earned point.

A great deal of credit has to go to Dean Gerken. Deano was called up with five minutes to go before kick off after Adriano pulled up with a groin injury. Gerken was on top form and his performance alone was worthy of a point. I felt that early on we sat off of Newcastle and allowed them to take control of the game. After the first 15 minutes, we started to get a foothold in the game and for the next 20 minutes I felt we were the better side.

Tactically, I think Gary Johnson got his selection right and our biggest problem was that we gave the ball away far too cheaply. Lee Johnson, Evander Sno and Marvin Elliott all saw plenty of the ball but too often lost it and didn't create enough with the opportunities they had. That said, Alan Smith gave a big performance for the Geordies and was the best player on the pitch. I was amazed to be told by a Geordie before the game that Smith had yet to score for Newcastle.

Our other problem on the day was that we once again failed to deliver any real quality into the box. I hate to harp on about it but if we are not going to play with wingers we have to ensure that our full backs improve on their crossing. We hung on in there and had plenty of the ball and with a bit more composure may even had sneaked a win.

It was a great day out and one that will leave long in the memory.