Ground 20: East End Park

Great views at East End Park

Game: Dunfermline Athletic 0 v 1 Falkirk

Date: Wednesday 26^th December

Competition: Scottish Football League Division 1

Attendance: 5,746

Admission: £17

Programme: £3

Another trip to the Kingdom of Fife for a Boxing Day derby. Twenty miles and the Forth separate the two teams but I’m not quite sure why their duel is so intense. Seemingly it’s a rivalry that has nothing to do with football but instead as a result of a falling out at the Dunfermline ice rink in the early 70s between young lads from Dunfermline and Falkirk. It’s certainly an odd way for a footballing rivalry to start.

What is also clear is that Dunfermline Athletic are in a financial mess. They’ve not paid their players on time and had difficulties with the tax man. Part of the problem is due to the board’s own poor management. In their budget for this season they estimated an average crowd larger than two seasons previous where they won the First Division. For a recently relegated club, intent on slashing the size of its outgoings you have to question how the board felt they’d get those folk back through the door. Last season, the club whilst in the SPL took the decision to close the North Stand of the ground as a cost-cutting measure.

Perhaps part of the problem why so few people turn up to East End Park could be the prices they charge? My Dad and I balked at the £19 it would cost for us to sit in the Main Stand and so chose to sit in the west stand, named the Norrie McCathie stand. To get into the stand we first had to queue for ten minutes in the club shop to buy tickets to hand over at the turnstile. This is an unnecessary palaver, which is a hassle for fans. At a point where you are begging fans to come back to the ground and give you money, why make it more difficult for them to hand over their cash?

Safely inside the ground with good seats at the back of the McCathie Stand, I realised I’d forgotten my camera, so apologies for the pictures which were taken with my phone camera. The aforementioned North Stand was open for today’s derby and Falkirk had brought with them a sizeable away support. From our seats I didn’t have a clear vantage of the Main Stand, but the ground was over half full and this was Dunfermline’s best home crowd of the season.

The bumper crowd were treated to a good old fashioned derby match that could accurately be described as ‘lively’. We had two players sent off and Jim Jefferies, the Dunfermline manager was also sent to the stand for apparent ‘dissent.’ Jefferies never looks a happy guy at the best of times, but was livid at half time when he confronted referee Stephen Finnie as the officials came off the pitch.

There weren’t too many clear cut chances for both sides in this game with Falkirk dominated possession but rarely troubling Paul Gallacher in the Dunfermline goal. In fairness Falkirk were fielding a side with five players 18 or younger which is some achievement in a division where the pressure is on to achieve. Dunfermline had the better chances in the match and if it hadn’t been for Darren Dods marshalling the Bairns’ defence I think Dunfermline might have nicked it. However, Falkirk managed to steal the points on the cusp of full time with a well worked move (they had really struggled all game in getting their crosses beyond the first man). Blair Alston was on hand to slot the ball home from close range in front of the Falkirk fans to send them home happy. I’d question the stoppage time afforded by the referee but in a list of complaints that Dunfermline will have with Finnie’s performance, I’d imagine that timekeeping was far down the list.

Another absorbing if ‘towsie’ affair, once again reiterating my belief that Scottish football has a lot to offer in terms of entertainment. I’d love to know why Dunfermline fans aren’t turning up in significant numbers to see their side.