Ground 24: Ochilview (Part 2)

Ochilview

Game: Stenhousemuir 0 v 0 Stranraer

Date: Saturday 12^th January

Competition: Scottish Football League Division 2

Attendance: 484

Admission: £13

Programme: £1.50

Two games into 2013 and I’ve still to see a goal. I hope that’s not an omen for the rest of the season. Although unlike the Edinburgh derby, there was a lot to admire at Ochilview.

This was my second visit to Ochilview having been here in November to watch Stenhousemuir’s tenants East Stirlingshire. This time I decided to travel by train to get here and an enjoyable 45 minute journey it was from Waverley before I got to Larbert.

It’s less than a mile from the station along the main road to Ochilview where I chose to sit at the back of the stand and have a read of the programme (I doubt I’ll be able to buy one for less than £1.50. Although the production values weren’t up to the standard of other clubs, it was clearly a labour of love for those involved).

What was clear from reading the programme and listening to the tannoy announcements was that Stenhousemuir is a club where a lot of activity is taking place. In 2009 Stenhousemuir registered to become a Community Interest Company and its clear that the community in where Stenhousemuir sees itself. The sooner other clubs realise this is the way forward and emulate Stenhousemuir the better. Football clubs have the potential to be great agents of change within their local communities and it’s disappointing how few are realising their potential.

The game itself wasn’t a bad one and I felt if there had been a goal, then the floodgates might have opened and we could have seen several. Sadly, that wasn’t the case and both sides were too ponderous in the midfield to get the ball forward quickly and cause panic within the defences. Therefore, there weren’t many scoring opportunities. It’s easy to see why both clubs find themselves in 7^th and 9^th in the league respectively.

Stenhousemuir controlled the bulk of the game, but as I mentioned were poor in the final third. They looked at their most threatening when their full-backs overlapped the midfield on the wings but frustratingly, the quality of crosses left a lot to be desired. Rarely did they go beyond the first defender and when they did Stranraer goalkeeper Mitchell was more than qualified to deal with them.

With not a great deal to get excited by on the pitch I was grateful to be surrounded by some characters in the stand, who were all knowledgeable and good humoured to boot. Unsurprisingly talk turned to the recently announced league reconstruction. There wasn’t a fan in my section that supported the 12-12-18 proposal and it could be summarised as “pish”.

Overall, it wasn’t a dreadful game, but was short on goals. This was my second visit to Ochilview and I’ve enjoyed both visits – any ground where the club shop is contained in a garden shed is always going to be a winner for me!