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.

Ground 19: Bayview

Bayview

Game: East Fife 0 v 1 Stranraer

Date: Tuesday 18^th December 2012

Competition: Scottish Football League Division 2

Attendance: 441

Admission: £13

Programme: £2

Apologies for the short break I’ve taken in getting this ground posted. Excesses of the season and a busy schedule have meant delays. New Year’s Resolution for 2013 is getting these posts up sooner.

A Tuesday night and a visit to Methil, situated in the kingdom of Fife. East Fife to be more precise. It must be said that Methil is not the easiest place to get to, and Bayview is not the easiest stadium to find. It must be said that it was a blessing not to be heading along the M8 for once.

After only one wrong turn-off and a single check of Google Maps on the phone, I found myself parking the car on Ajax Way (how cool is that?) next to the ground. East Fife may not play like the Amsterdam greats but at least there’s an attempt to emulate the Dutch giants.

Bayview opened in 1998 under the name New Bayview and was previously overshadowed by Methil Power Station which has now been demolished. The new ground is made up of a single main stand which can hold 2,000 fans.

I had travelled to Methil straight from work so arrived with half an hour to spare. This gave me the opportunity to grab something to eat and drink (a substantial sausage roll and Ribena) and a read of the East Fife programme, The Bayview. The programme notes gave a frank and far from uplifting account of the club’s finances but also about future plans for the introduction of terracing to maximise income should the club find itself in the same league as Rangers next season.

This was my second time seeing both clubs this season and both had left me a little underwhelmed on their first performances. The teams ran out to Sam Sparro’s Black and Gold which for this night didn’t quite work as the Fifers were wearing their away strip! I had a seat in the front row which meant I was very close to the action – not quite Ochilview close, but good enough.

Coming into this game East Fife were on a three game winning streak after a boost in their fortunes since Billy Brown arrived as manager whilst Stranraer had lost six straight games away from home. Therefore it was quite a shock for Stranraer to leave Bayview with three points. Spearheading the Stranraer attack was Armand One, the Frenchman is in second spell at the Blues having played at five other SFL clubs. There is no polite way of putting this, but One does not have the physique that one would expect of a footballer – he carries a lot of lumber, which may be the reason why he was substituted after 60 minutes. His size might also explain why he wears the no.19 shirt as the usual shirts may have been a little tight on the striker’s body.

Stranraer scored the game’s only goal in the 34^th minute when East Fife failed to deal with a looping Robert Love ball allowing Craig Malcolm to delicately lob the ball into the net. One of those goals that appears to be happening in slow motion.

The second half belonged to East Fife who dominated proceedings without managing to find the back of the net. Stranraer’s back four held up well against the pressure and East Fife’s inability to get players on the overlap and pass crisply meant they finished the game empty handed.

Ground 18: Ibrox

Ibrox with the sun out shining brightly

Game: Rangers 3 v 0 Elgin City

Date: Sunday 2^nd December 2012

Competition: Scottish Cup 4^th Round

Attendance: 23, 195

Admission: £15

Programme: £3

Rangers Football Club. I know of no other club that divides football fans so much. They are Marmite. You either love or loathe them. There aren’t many shades of grey when it comes to the team from Govan.

When I first started watching football, Rangers were dominant. The absolute kings. Rulers of all they pervaded. Remember at this time, Celtic were hopeless and for seven of Rangers’ nine in a row triumphs finished outside the top two in the Premier Division. Rangers were an exciting team to watch – they’d always start the season badly and then steamroller every other club to a double or a treble. And twenty years ago they were playing in the fledging Champions League and I was finally allowed to stay up and watch games on TV. They defeated Lyngby from Denmark and then Leeds United in a ‘Battle of Britain’ that was to a 7 year old, really very exciting. They were drawn in a group against Club Brugges, CSKA Moscow and Marseilles and I remember watching every game. They were exciting games and that Rangers side contained players like Andy Goram, David Robertson, Ally McCoist, Alexei Mikhailichenko and Mark Hateley (although to be fair, I always disliked Hateley), all of whom were capable of wowing and winning games (hell, even Scott Nisbet got involved in the action, from 50 seconds on this video). Rangers narrowly lost out on progress to the final to Marseilles, who we later found to be cheating.

Cheating, breaking the rules, not playing to the spirit of the rules. Amazing how things can come full circle in 20 years? This is not a post about the rights or wrongs of what has happened at Ibrox, much better writers than I have covered what’s gone on in the past few years at Rangers. Me? I’m none the wiser as to whether Rangers broke the rules, but I certainly have reservations about rich institutions not paying tax. Legally, it may have been within the rules. Morally? Well, let’s just say I think if you’re earn a fortune then perhaps you should help those less fortunate than yourself and build a better society. Hospitals, schools and roads aren’t built by accident.

So we now find ourselves in a situation where Rangers Football Club have died, been resurrected and now find themselves playing football in the Scottish Football League Third Division. We now have a unique experience where the Third Division has two UEFA five star grounds and the SPL has none. But this is Scottish football and nothing is as it seems. Today’s Scottish Cup encounter between Rangers and Elgin was due to be the second clash in a week between the two sides but Elgin were forced to postpone the game following revelations that they had oversold tickets for the fixture due to be played at Boroughbriggs the week before. Like I said, Scottish football, where nothing is as it seems.

And so to Ibrox for a Scottish Cup 4^th Round match (at the start of December, madness), between the top clubs holding first and second place in the Third Division. Not exactly the usual encounter that finds its way onto Sky’s schedule, but this season is far from ordinary. I took my Dad along to the game as a thank you for taking me to Stirling-Elgin a few weeks before, and we found getting to the ground very simple – along the M8 (again) and got parked just off Helen Street. It was a bitterly cold day and I almost ended up on my backside several times as we walked for about ten minutes to find ourselves approaching the ground from the west.

I had only been to Ibrox once before, for a rearranged Scotland match when they played Bosnia Herzegovina, a match I remember for the Mexican wave which was infinitely more impressive than the game taking place on the park. The game took place in 1999 on an October night and I can’t say I have many memories of the game (evidenced by the fact that I had convinced myself it was a 0-0 draw when in fact Scotland won 1-0 with a John Collins penalty – clearly a classic match).

What’s clear is just how impressive Ibrox is. It is massive. Redeveloped during the 1980s, it bares all the hallmarks of a stadium of that era – that is, large, bricked and shall we say, built for comfort? The Broomloan Stand especially looks absolutely massive. We approached the ground seeing the famous gates (always used on news stories about the club) and I’ve always been in thrall to the brick and glass construction at either side of the Main Stand, although I was disappointed as a youngster to learn that all that was in there was an enclosed stairwell. Still impressive though. The main stand at Ibrox, now known as the Bill Sturth Main Stand sits on Edmiston Drive and is B listed building, designed by Archibald Leitch which was described by Leith’s biographer Simon Inglis as an “imposing red-brick facade, with its mock neo-classical arched, square and pedimented windows, exudes prestige and power”. It is really quite difficult to argue with that sentiment.

We arrived about 45 minutes before the game kicked off yet there were a lot of people milling around the ground, with the unofficial merchandise guys out in full force, you could even buy ‘Not Guilty’ scarves celebrating the outcome of the recent tax tribunal. We headed up to our turnstile and entered the home of Glasgow Rangers Football Club.

I found Ibrox a strange experience – especially as an away fan – deposited in a small corner in the north-west between the Broomloan and Govan stands. Admittedly, there weren’t a great number of travelling Elgin fans and the sheer scale of Ibrox means that from our corner it feels like a proper arena, and in certain moments feels like you’re actually indoors.

This season I found that sometimes the matchday programme offers an insight into the club you are about to watch, and certainly the Rangers’ programme gives an insight into the psyche of the club, with comments from writers inside talking about how “the world is watching at the way Rangers fans conduct themselves with great humanity” and how Rangers have been victimised and punished like no other club. It’s pure fantasy of course, but I now understand where certain Rangers’ fans get their sense of entitlement from.

What Rangers do well though, is a sense of theatre – they have a terrifically loud singing section in the bottom section of the Broomloan Stand, and they have flag-wearers that come out ten minutes before the start of the game to make kick-off seem like some sort of event. The music, however, is rotten. All tin whistles and horrendous throwback anthems. Never has one longed for the latest chart hits…

The game itself was actually a very good one – which Rangers won deservedly. Although, it wasn’t all one way traffic, but any side that has Lee McCulloch and Lee Wallace as a centre half pairing means they are always going to be difficult to break down. Add into that mix, Ian Black (who is still a nasty player at this level), McKay on the wing and two stars up front in Kevin Kyle and Dean Shiels. All these players would and should be playing at a much higher level. Kyle had the ball in the net within two minutes but it was wrongly ruled out for offside. It was fortunate for Elgin, and fortunate for the tie as it kept the game competitive. As thehighlights demonstrate, Rangers had plenty of chances, but were highly profligate in front of goal – it’s not so much a problem at Division 3 level, but when they face Dundee United in the next round of the cup they might be struggling.

Rangers made a break through just before half-time to stir the Gers support, who aside from the Broomloan section had been quiet throughout the game aside from a minute’s applause in the 2^nd minute for Sandy Jardine.

Elgin started the second half brightly and had three good chances to get back into the game. They didn’t take them which is costly when playing teams of the standard of Rangers and the blues responded by going 2-0 up from a whipped in corner. Kal Naismith put the game beyond doubt with his first touches after coming on as a substitute.

In reality, the gap in quality was just too much for Elgin, although they gave a good account of themselves. There’s no doubt in my mind that Rangers will walk the Third Division and will probably do the same in the Second, but they are not dominating games in the way one would expect.

All in all, an enjoyable day out at Ibrox. I’ve always fancied being there for an Old Firm game, but that may have to wait unless the two clubs draw each other in the cup in the next few seasons!

Ground 17: McDiarmid Park

Game: St Johnstone 0 v 1 Hibernian

Date: Wednesday 28^th November 2012

Competition: Scottish Premier League

Attendance: 3266

Admission: £22

Programme: £2

This isn’t going to be much of a match report. In the first instance, Perth was freezing and it was a much better use of my time keeping my hands warm in their gloves than getting my phone out to make notes, but more realistically, the game was rotten.

I’ve always had a soft spot for St Johnstone ever since my parents told me we used to live across the room from their old ground, Muirton Park (now a supermarket). It may have only been for the first ten weeks of my life, but I’m a romantic about these things and so a little affinity with the Perth Saints was formed. Another reason is that on long journeys to visit grandparents in Elgin, there was still a sense of excitement from my brother and I seeing football grounds from a distance, and you see McDiarmid Park as you speed around Perth on the A9.

I’ve been to McDiarmid Park on numerous occasions, although I cannot remember once being warm, and previously we would sit in the Willie Ormond Stand and the games were usually so dire that my younger self would be captivated by the animations on the scoreboard at the other end. Sadly, the scoreboard has been downgraded to only show the score.

Hibs fans for this game were housed in the North Stand as the Ormond was closed and after paying £5 for the pleasure of parking, we sorted our dinner of a pie and drink (both not bad, and reasonably priced also) and took our seats.

Our pre-match entertainment consisted of the Glenalmond School pipe band and truthfully, they offered much more entertainment that either St Johnstone or Hibs in the first half. A lack of composure and propensity to play aimless high and long balls meant that the game never really got going. I’m sure there are some excuses to be found – lack of squad depth, cumulative fatigue and weather conditions that weren’t conducive to a quality game of football, but the summation at the end of the first half was, “well that was dreadful.”

Most of the second half wasn’t much better but the game sprung to life when St Johnstone were awarded a penalty. Even from the other end of the park it was clear that the referee had made the correct decision as David Wotherspoon suffered a moment of madness tripping up Dave Mackay. Nigel Hasselbaink lined up the spot kick only to see his effort saved by Hibs keeper Ben Williams, who was alert to make another save from the rebound.

Moments later, Hibs broke further up the field and midfielder Paul Cairney managed to trickle an effort (it felt like the shot was taking place in slow motion) past Alan Mannus in the Saints goal.

The game ended with further incidents, with David Robertson of St Johnstone breaking his leg and Dave Mackay being sent off for an off-the-ball incident to which everyone was quite bemused by what got him so exorcised that he tried to headbutt Leigh Griffiths.

Another ground, a poor game and ultimately a Hibs smash-and-grab. Up until the goal this was looking to be the poorest game of the season so far, but I can’t pretend to be impartial, you always enjoy games a lot more when your team gets the three points!

Ground 16: Ochilview

Game: East Stirlingshire 0 v 1 Berwick Rangers

Date: Sunday 25^th November 2012

Competition: Scottish Football League Division 3

Attendance: 327

Admission: £10

Programme: £2

Arriving at Ochilview, one thing is very clear: this is not East Stirling’s ground. Yes, they may play here, but they have a groundshare arrangement with Stenhousemuir, whilst they seek a new ground. East Stirling have been here since the 2007-08 season. East Stirling had to leave their ground, Firs Park in Falkirk and hope to return once it has been redeveloped. You can relive a season behind the scenes at East Stirlingshire in Jeff Connor’s excellent Pointless, one of the finest books about football I’ve read.

It’s a very tight ground – all the fans on this day arrived through two turnstiles and had no choice but to sit in the main stand. I very much wanted to stand and so to stave off the cold but sadly this wasn’t to be. I’ll write more about the ground when I return to watch Stenhousemuir later on in the season.

What was emerging that there was a theme for this weekend: coldness. In fact at certain points of the first half I felt that I might be forced to buy a hot drink at half time just to warm up my hands!

East Stirling took control of the match early on but the game was fairly even with Berwick still capable of creating chances. This was the first time I’d seen Berwick since the opening day of the season and my impression of them was similar – they are a decent, efficient side that doesn’t quite have enough quality to dominate games. However, they took the lead through Ross Gray scoring after East Stirling failed to clear their lines. This is a familiar trend to goals scored in games I’ve watched: a lack of composure in doing basic things leads to problems/goals.

The goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of East Stirlingshire which was a shame as they had looked promising. East Stirling looked happy to reach half time still at 0-1 and as the players and officials came off the pitch, it was up to the referee to pull out the half-time draw ticket. A nice touch I thought. There were a lot of elements about the matchday ‘experience’ that was refreshing – the PA system didn’t blare out music at half-time which was actually very nice (I’ve also never understood the propensity for football clubs to play the latest pop music at a high volume – have they seen who is paying it get through the gate? I’d imagine the majority of them are not aware of One Direction’s oeuvre). The man on the tannoy was also very entertaining if in a ‘scatty’ way, I couldn’t quite hear him a lot of the time, but his chat was full of information and cheeky asides about other clubs.

I couldn’t help but reflect that it must be difficult for the fans not having a permanent home to call your own. Your ground is an essential part of a club’s makeup and to not have one must hamper the club and its support.

The second half was much the same pattern as the first, with both teams scrapping it out. My enjoyment of the game was enhanced by the gentleman behind me who whenever a Berwick player committed a foul, regardless of severity, he would shout “Dirty, dirty, dirty.” Perhaps under the influence of this incessant pressure from a Shire spectator, the referee created a rod for his own back by booking players for challenges that certainly weren’t bookings. This led to the sending off of Berwick’s Steven Notman who was dismissed for two bookable offences within minutes. In another game they might not have been yellows, but it was clear what the standard the referee had set and Notman’s lack of game intelligence cost him dearly.

But not the rest of his team as East Stirlingshire struggled to take advantage of the extra man. It seemed as if they were afraid to shoot but were creating lots of good chances down the left with Ricky Miller overlapping Jamie McKernon (on loan from St Mirren). Even in the final minute, the Shire had a great chance with the ball whipped in from the left, the goalkeeper tried to claim it only to miss it completely, and yet the Shire conspired to hit the post. It really was an unbelievable miss – definitely the sort you miss when things aren’t going your way.

It was a shame that East Stirling didn’t get more from the encounter and they had a right to feel unlucky, perhaps a bit more confidence in front of goal would see them turning defeats into draws and draws into wins?

Ground 15: New Broomfield

New Broomfield

Game: Airdrie 0 v 0 Raith Rovers

Date: Saturday 24th November 2012

Competition: Scottish Football League Division 1

Attendance: 747

Admission: £16

Programme: £2

When I sat down to write this post I checked my phone where I keep the notes that I keep when watching games. Tellingly I didn’t write a lot about this game. There were a few reasons for this: it was very, very cold and there wasn’t a great deal to write about. I was also sitting with my friend Graeme and his family who are great company and kept us entertained.

A trip to New Broomfield meant another trip along the M8 and we made the game just in time for kick-off. Getting parked was simple as there are two car parks at the ground but I was very impressed in the recent changes to area surrounding the ground – where was once wasteland there are now several five-a-side pitches.

New Broomfield was built at the time that SPL clubs were insisting that clubs in the top division must have a ground capable of holding 10,000 seated fans. Why this rule was necessary was never quite explained but it cost clubs like Airdrie who harboured ambitions of returning to the top flight but had to divert cash away from their playing squad to finance grounds they would rarely fill. Unsurprising, Airdrie got into financial difficulties and are only in existence today because of the collapse of Clydebank.

As a sign of the times, all the fans for this match were held in the main stand meaning that three quarters of the ground were closed.

As I mentioned, Airdrie have invested in artificial surfaces outside and in the stadium too which are all available to hire, showing initiative that many other clubs could follow. If I could summarise this game it would be to say the game was played at a quick pace but sadly without a great deal of quality. Especially in the final third. The more games I watch this season, the more it becomes apparent that having a serious frontman with a bit of quality could be the difference between midtable and relegation.

Throughout the 90 minutes both teams huffed and puffed but unfortunately there was no breakthrough. Arguably Airdrie were on top for most of the match until they were reduced to ten men then Rovers were able to ratchet up the pressure. No goals sadly, my first this season, but plenty to enjoy about this visit to New Broomfield. 

Ground 14: Hampden Park

The lights are on...

Game: Queen’s Park 2 v 1 Stirling Albion

Date: Friday 23^rd November 2012

Competition: Scottish Football League Division 3

Attendance: 557

Admission: £12

Programme: £2

Another Friday night adventure and this time it was at Hampden Park for what is one of Scottish football’s most surreal experiences.

But first I had to get there – I couldn’t physically get there in time to make the game by train so I was on the M8 again. It’s fair to say that I’m getting sick of this road. I also had to endure a shocking edition of Sportsound on the way there. Like most football fans I enjoy listening to coverage of the football to build up anticipation for the game. The whole hour wasn’t a pleasant experience. Firstly, there was coverage of the news that Elgin’s clash with Rangers was postponed due to Elgin overselling the number of tickets. Rightly, Elgin will be hauled over the coals for their lack of ticketing oversight but asking luminaries such as Billy Dodds to speculate on a story that the BBC had not further news on was ridiculous and patronising. Then followed twenty minutes on Celtic, including Neil Lennon’s foray into the league reconstruction debate. Why the manager of a team whose club has never been relegated is being asked for his opinion I’ll never know. The hour long show featured no coverage of the SFL aside from the sneering comments on Elgin. All in all, I find that pretty disappointing.

As I mentioned, watching Queen’s Park play in Division 3 is one of football’s surrealist sights as they play their home games at the Scottish football national stadium, Hampden Park. Hampden Park can hold 52,063. Queen’s Park attract an average crowd of 500. In comparison to other stadium’s in the division it is luxurious. You can get tours of Hampden Park as part of the Scottish Football Museum (which I highly recommend) the tour guide told me that the changing rooms for the ballboys is bigger than most changing rooms in other grounds in the SFL. As I parked up, Hampden was full of people entering the BT Scotland Stand dressed up to the 9s, clearly going to functions in one of the many hospitality suites. The fact that the football fans don’t go through this entrance demonstrates that football might not have been the biggest attraction in Mount Florida that night. Near the turnstile you get a good view of Lesser Hampden, which is a smaller stadium where a game was also underway. To get the history of Hampden, Lesser Hampden and sport generally in Glasgow, I can highly recommend Played in Glasgow which is a wonderful history of sport in Glasgow with some fabulous photographs too.

I paid my £12 admission and bought a programme and headed to get my dinner for the evening opting for a pie and coke which came to £4.70! Whilst I acknowledge that the catering will be run by a private firm on behalf of the stadium – that is a ridiculous sum of money to pay. I looked at the rest of the menu - £2.50 for chips, a cup of tea is £2.20, a packet of crisps £1.50, hotdog £4 (yes, £4), what planet are these people living on? On my way to the ground I spotted an enormous Asda superstore and another Tesco Express within sight of the West Stand – if I’m going to games in future I know where I’ll be stocking up because at those prices it feels like the catering operators are taking liberties.

I took my seat just in time for the Queen’s club song (every club should have one) and reflected that this is the clash of the idealists in Scottish football – the amateurs (Queen’s Park) versus Scotland’s first ever fan owned club (Stirling). But sadly, both teams were struggling for form in Scotland’s lowest division – both sides hadn’t won in five and four respectively, so I was fully expecting a goalless draw.

As you would expect, the pitch was immaculate but it wasn’t able to elevate the quality of play on it. Both teams were playing without confidence, with Queens looking slightly better but struggling in the final third of the pitch. Without much action in the first half it allowed me to reflect on my surroundings. There were a lot more female fans that I would expect but I couldn’t help feel that there were many things that could make the evening’s entertainment better. Firstly, beer and wine should be allowed in Scottish grounds – it would add to the atmosphere and give the clubs much needed revenue. Admittedly it wouldn’t work for all games but licences could be applied for on a game-by-game basis. Secondly, a move to summer football wouldn’t go amiss. I understand that the weather is not always better in the summer but for sheer comfort of the fans (heaven forbid this might be considered) a summer move might be better than fans in eight layers shivering for 90 minutes.

At half-time the majority of fans returned to the concourse to try warm up a little. Luckily, the second half was a vast improvement on the first and within three minutes we had a goal. Queens broke down the left and the ball was whipped in to Aidan Connolly who slotted home from 12 yards.

Ten minutes later Stirling equalised (unlike six days earlier when they had wilted under pressure from Elgin). Strong running from Stirling striker Scott Davidson saw him get his shot away and it hit the back of the net after coming off the bar.

Queen’s manager Gardner Spiers moved Aidan Connolly in from the left and into the centre of the park and this change had a desired effect. Connolly is the son of former Dundee United and St Johnstone striker Paddy Connolly and he had impressed me all evening, despite his short stature he was confident on the ball and gave the Spiders a lot of impetus in their forward play. I couldn’t believe when I heard others around me referring to the fact it was his debut. I couldn’t believe it, he looked far more accomplished than his 17 years suggested.

Even though it was 1-1 it was clear that Queens were the better side – they were playing a better standard of football, whilst Stirling offered a more robust approach (in fairness they are struggling with a lot of injuries – I’d seen three limp off last weekend) but the referee was missing a lot of fouls on the young Queens side. There’s a lot to admire about Queens – they’re an amateur side trying to mix it with the rest of the Division and they have a whole host of young, exciting players but as an alternative it’s not cheap to come and watch the Spiders.

Then in the closing stages Queens put together another good move and Stirling player-manager Greig McDonald brought down Ian Watt in the penalty box. Queen’s striker Anthony Quinn stepped up to fire home and the PA system played Manfred Mann’s The Mighty Quinn. Obviously. The goal secured the three points for the Spiders.

For the second Friday in a row I’ve enjoyed the game in spite of poor first halfs. But overall I can’t say that a visit to Hampden is anything but surreal. The club will move away from Hampden next season whilst the stadium is prepared for the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and the Queen’s committee may use the time to reflect on how they can make the stadium work better for them as a club. The history of both Queen’s Park and Hampden are forever intertwined and the fact they still play at Hampden is one of the eccentricities that makes me love Scottish football. 

Ground 13: Forthbank

Forthbank Stadium's East Stand. Plenty of room to spare

Game: Stirling Albion 1 v 4 Elgin City

Date: Saturday 17^th November 2012

Competition: Scottish Football League Division 3

Attendance: 454

Admission: £10

Programme: £3

Confession time: I’d didn’t pay to get into this game. In fact I wasn’t going to attend any games this Saturday as I was a tad cash-strapped. Thank goodness then for my Dad, who stepped in and met me in Stirling and paid us both through the turnstile (in return it looks like I’m taking him to Ibrox in a couple of weeks, so I’m not sure who’s the winner in the long run).

This was only my second visit to Forthbank – in 2009 I saw Dundee turn them over 2-0 in the Challenge Cup, but it’s a compact little ground to the east of Stirling town centre. Forthbank hosts 3,808 but all fans for today’s Third Division clash were held in the main stand. Stirling in the past few years have very much been a yo-yo club flitting between all three SFL divisions. Hence this was Elgin’s first visit to Forthbank since 2004.

We entered the ground to be greeted by fans selling lottery tickets and tickets for the away visit to Ibrox. Rangers were defeated here at Forthbank earlier in the season in a result that shocked Scottish football. Another appealing aspect of Stirling Albion as a club is they are Scotland’s first fan-owned club through the Supporters Trust. Hopefully this a model that is replicated throughout the country as the community value of these clubs are recognised.

We took our seats at the north end of the Main Stand but not before I picked up a copy of The Albion, Stirling’s official magazine. It’s a substantial A4 production costing £3 but covers a month’s worth of games. This is something I’ve seen before in the United States and I welcome the innovative. The magazine is well designed and put together and clearly they’ve done their work getting lots of sponsorship from local businesses. If they could provide an insert with that day’s teams like they do in America then that would be perfect!

Kick-off in the game was delayed by a linesman checking the net and discovering something was amiss. Another first in this 42 Grounds adventure! Who knew there was actually a reason for the assistant referees to be checking the net.

The game finally got underway and both teams were feeling each other out – Stirling are struggling near the foot of the division whilst Elgin are flying high in 2^nd behind Rangers. My Dad turned to me and said “Elgin haven’t offered much – they are just looking for that quick through pass to Gunn”, which less than three seconds later happened and Craig Gunn put the Black and Whites 1-0 ahead.

At this point, the rain started to lash it down obscuring the great view of the Ochil hills you get from the ground. The game was still a bit of a battle for the next twenty minutes before Gunn doubled Elgin’s lead with a cool finish after some neat interplay and a good advantage played by the referee.

Gunn completed his hat-trick five minutes later when he tucked in from close range, whilst Elgin extended their lead to 4-0 when Stuart Leslie netted a pass from left-winger Daniel Moore. Stirling were shell-shocked – they really hadn’t played that badly yet found themselves four down! They managed to pull a goal back just before half time with a deflected shot that looped over Gibson in the Elgin goal.

At half-time we discussed the likelihood of more goals in the second half – I went for two more whilst Dad, ever the optimist, predicted none. Unfortunately for us both, my Dad was correct. The game really petered out and any chance of a Stirling comeback looked unlikely as they were forced into their third substitution of the game in the 52^nd minute with a sub replacing an injured replacement. Elgin threw on a few of their fringe players but neither side pushed hard for more goals, but after a cracking first half we could have very few complaints as we filed out of a lovely but cold Forthbank.