 |
| Gayfield |
Game: Arbroath 3 v 1
Forfar Athletic
Date: Saturday 26th
January
Competition: Scottish
Football League Division 2
Attendance: 843
Admission: £12
Programme: £2
I’ll
visit more salubrious grounds this season, but I think I’m going to be hard
pushed to find a visit I’ll enjoy more.
With
snow bombarding great swathes of Scotland I was concerned my visit to Arbroath
was going to fall victim to the weather like many a fixture in the Scottish
Football League. Fortunately my fears were unconfined as my Dad and I set off
up the road to the Angus coastal town of Arbroath.
By
the time we arrived in Arbroath and grabbed a bit to eat at the marina the sun
was even shining. It wasn’t warm but it was certainly nowhere near as bad as
I’d anticipated.
We
had a short walk from the harbour, past the Signal Tower Museum (which looks
great) and through Inchcape Park to find Gayfield Park, home of Arbroath for
the past 93 years. I’ve read much about how close Gayfield is to the North Sea
(5m during high tide) and I think the photos show the proximity between ground
and water. I’m just thankful that the weather wasn’t too bad, in fact I’d
describe the conditions as benign for this time of year.
Arbroath
are famous of course for holding the world record for the biggest win in senior
football, when they defeated Bon Accord 36-0 in the Scottish Cup in September
1885. Coincidentally, on the same day, Dundee Harp beat Aberdeen Rovers 35-0.
Not a good day for teams from Aberdeen that day! Those halcyon days have rarely
been repeated with Arbroath being one of a number of yo-yo clubs that flit
between the First, Second and Third Divisions.
This
season they find themselves in mid-table territory alongside their opponents
today, Forfar Athletic. The clubs are only fifteen miles apart and before
today’s game were only separated by three points with Arbroath in 5th
and Forfar holding onto the final playoff place in 4th. By 4.50pm,
however, Arbroath had leapfrogged their rivals in a convincing manner.
We
had a walk around the ground before settling in the front row of North Sea-side
stand. Thankfully the wall at the back of the stand protected us from what
little wind there was. At 2.50pm, we thought the ground was sparsely populated
but suddenly, just before 3pm it filled up a bit more, clearly the locals timed
their arrivals to perfection.
In
another first for the season, two sides were led out onto the pitch by a piper.
It certainly added to the occasion and it’s the sort of thing that I enjoy
seeing, making the match special, a spectacle. There was a few nice touches – a
West Country tannoy announcer while the mascots had their photos taken with the
captains and their mum came out onto the pitch to take a picture. You don’t get
that in the SPL.
Arbroath
were in their maroon shirts with Forfar wearing a change strip of neon orange.
Quite why they couldn’t play in their traditional sky blue shirts I’m not sure but
it hardly detracted from the game. After the coin toss, the sides swapped ends
and suddenly we were inundated with Arbroath fans around us who obviously
fancied their chances of goals in the first half.
And
goals they got. Within seven minutes, Arbroath opened the scoring. Forfar didn’t
deal well with a corner which was knocked down in the box for Lee Sibanda to
rifle into the roof of the net.
It
was shaping up to be a good game, with both sets of fans ‘noising’ up the
goalkeepers when they were taking goal kicks. It reminded me of my first games
at Easter Road when the entire family stand would try to put the keeper off.
Brilliant stuff. Also, standing so close to the pitch we also got to observe
Arbroath player manager Paul Sheerin on the left wing. It was fascinating to
watch him coach, cajole and shout at his team, whilst playing a part in the win
too.
Arbroath
made it 2-0 less than ten minutes after their first with a well-worked goal.
Arbroath’s crisp passing was too much for the Forfar defence who put in a
series of wild lunges that were nowhere near the ball or player, which made it
easy for Graham Bayne to slot home.
Despite
their sometimes agricultural tackling, Forfar did try to play some passing
football on a difficult pitch. The programme had noted their thanks to
volunteers who had come down to Gayfield on Tuesday night to cover the pitch,
allowing the game to go ahead.
 |
| Arbroath 3rd Division Champions flag |
Before
half-time we had another little walk around the ground to allow my Dad to get a
pie and tea and I took in the scene. Frankly, I’d fallen for Gayfield. There
was something wild yet welcoming about it as a place to watch football. And
then I saw Forfar fans call Arbroath keeper Tony Bullock a “wanker” which
ruined the scene.
The
second half was another full of drama – Arbroath put the game beyond doubt with
a great team goal started in their own half with a fantastic dummy by Ross
Chisholm. They worked the ball up the field before a stramash in the six yard
box saw the ball break to Graham Bayne who slammed the ball home for his second
of the match. His strike partner Steven Doris may have been on trial recently
at Birmingham City but it was Bayne who was grabbing the headlines with a
robust performance.
We
were surrounded by a passionate home support, who despite being three goals to
the good, were hypercritical of the referee, David Somers, who I felt had a
good game. I’ve been very impressed with Somers in the few matches I’ve seen
him in this season. Admittedly, he got a few decisions wrong, but in a
full-blooded derby I felt he handled both sets of players very well, despite
the protestations of the Red Lichties’ support.
Somers
was forced to award Forfar a penalty twenty minutes from time, which from our
end looked justified. Iain Campbell dispatched the ball from the twelve yard
spot with aplomb. But any chance of an unlikely Forfar comeback was thwarted
when they were reduced to 10 men after a dreadful challenge from Willie
Robertson. It was unnecessary challenge and Somers was quite right to give him
his marching orders.
The
game petered out over the remaining ten minutes with Arbroath fans enjoying the
chance to laud their team, greeting each touch with an “ole” and booing each
Forfar touch.
After
two goalless draws, I was delighted to get back to seeing a game with goals, as
well as one that was as competitive and enthralling as this one. Alongside with
Tannadice, I’d safely put Gayfield in my top three of the season so far. As
ridiculous and cliché as it may sound, it was one of those days that made me
realise why I’m doing this adventure and why I love football
No comments:
Post a Comment