Ground 32: Balmoor

Advertising the match of the day

Game: Peterhead 2 v 0 Annan Athletic

Date: Saturday 30^th March

Competition: Scottish Football League Division 3

Attendance: 483

Admission: £12

Programme: £2.50

Highlights on the match (excellent quality by the way) are available on Peterhead’s website: http://www.peterheadfc.com/blue-toon-media

During the week, many newspapers had marked the 50th anniversary of the Beaching Report which savagely cut much of Britain’s rail network. Good timing then to be taking a trip to a town that fell victim to Beaching, Peterhead. The town hosts Peterhead FC, who are the club with the furthest distance to a railway station (Aberdeen is 29 miles away).

 

Temporary terracing

I was joined by my brother for the journey north. We went by car due to uncertain weather conditions that has been gripping the nation I didn’t fancy splashing out for train tickets in advance only for them not to be used. Peterhead is a mere three and a bit hours away from Edinburgh, but the weather conditions were fine and allowed us to make good enough time to visit our youngest brother in Aberdeen.

Peterhead FC were established in 1891 and have been members of the Scottish Football League since 2000.  They’ve spent six of the those seasons in the Second Division and another six in the Third, having suffered relegation from SFL2 last season. Peterhead’s first game back in SFL3 was a home game with Rangers, with whom they drew 2-2.

 

Balmoor's Main Stand

The Blue Toon play at Balmoor and have done since 1997 after selling their previous ground, Recreation Park to Safeways. Like many grounds in the lower leagues, Balmoor has two stands on either touchline with space behind the goals for standing (however, the scaffold terracing was still in place from Rangers most recent visit). Balmoor has 1,000 seats and can host 4,000 fans in total.

 

Told you the sun was shining

This was my second visit to Balmoor, having attended a game in 2008 when I was still at university as the Blue Toon were routed by Airdrie United. One of my recollections of that day was buying a cup of tea (I don’t drink hot drinks) only to warm my hands up as it was that cold! Not such problems on this day as Balmoor was covered in glorious sunshine. As we took up standing positions by the touchline on the far side of the ground, both my brother and I reflected that we really should have brought sunglasses. We also saw a game played on one of the best pitches I’ve seen this season. It would have looked look in August, never mind March. The groundsman at Balmoor is putting SPL clubs to shame.

The game itself was not a classic, although much better that the last 42 Grounds outing to Alloa. Peterhead were on top for much of the match, but for much of it, struggled to convert their pressure into goals.

Peterhead’s main man is striker Rory McAllister, a former Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Brechin City player who has attracted a lot of attention from clubs on both sides of the border. What’s unusual about McAllister is that he has turned down moves to clubs in the central belt  at a higher level (he’s turned down a move to St. Mirren, whilst Aberdeen, Sheffield United and Charlton Athletic have all shown interest in the past) on the basis that he’s completing his apprenticeship as a plumber. Reportedly McAllister is on wages of £500 per week at Peterhead, which is unheard of at SFL 3 level.

However, on the basis of his performance against Annan, it’s money well spent. I wouldn’t want to castigate Peterhead as a one man team because they were assured at the back, but any attacking threat has McAllister involved. As you will see from the highlights. Every time McAllister is on the ball, the level of excitement within Balmoor is ratcheted up a little.

Peterhead had the best of the chances in the first half: they somehow managed not to score quite early on when Annan indulged in some ‘Scotland-esque’ defending. Peterhead even had the ball in the net but the goal was ruled out as referee Andrew Dallas (son of Hugh) adjudged Jamie Redman to have kicked the ball out of Alex Mitchell’s hands. Mitchell had a really good game between the sticks for Annan.

The second half kicked out with D:Ream’s Things Can Only Get Better ringing in our ears and the half was played out in a familiar pattern with McAllister creating chances for his team mates to squander. At this stage, it looked like the only way Peterhead were going to be capable of breaking the deadlock was for McAllister to do it all himself. Which duly happened twenty minutes from time, as a flicked on ball thirty yards out saw McAllister dash past a falling Annan defender and round Mitchell put poke the ball home.

Annan tried to respond but rarely looked like scoring, with a shout of “Get up the pair of ye” from the Athletic bench telling the two centre halves to go forward at a corner perhaps showed the level of desperation. As they chased an equaliser, Blue Toon right back Graeme Sharp was able to get forward and fire a shot across the goal, which Mitchell could only parry right into the feet of who else, but McAllister who made it 2-0 in stoppage time. It sent the Blue Toon faithful home happy as the fans departed a sunkist Balmoor.