Ground 38: Cappielow

Cappielow in the April sun

Game: Greenock Morton 0 v 2 Hamilton Academical

Date: Saturday 27^th April

Competition: Scottish Football League Division 1

Attendance: 1,541

Admission: £15

Programme: £2

Although I’ve only got four grounds to go, I think I can safely say that I’ve found my favourite ground in Scottish football. Welcome to Cappielow, home to Greenock Morton. Obviously, all these things are subjective, and should I have been here in a wet and windy February evening I might have said something different. But I was in Greenock on a mild spring afternoon and the sun was shining. Perfect conditions to watch some football.

Perhaps the fact that this was Morton’s final home game of the season and second place was assured added to the relaxed atmosphere my Dad and I experienced. There was little tension, just a leisurely encounter between two teams who are no doubt already dreaming of next year. Hamilton could potentially finish 3^rd in the First Division, but it would be some distance behind Morton, who ran Partick Thistle close until the start of April.

We arrived at Cappielow around thirty minutes before kick-off which gave us enough time to admire the old ground. Home to Morton since 1879, it’s a compact but fantastic ground. We entered at the Sinclair Street side of the ground and stood for a bit admiring the view of the big crane in the distance. As you can see from the photos it’s a smashing ground and I’d thoroughly recommend you going if you get the chance.

We took a standing position on the half-way line in the covered Cowshed. A pie and a Capri Sun later, I couldn’t help but notice that it wasn’t the first SFL ground I’ve been to this season where the ground didn’t stock the league sponsors product (Irn Bru). I have to say, I find this very bizarre and I’d be interested to know why this isn’t the case.

Another terrific aspect of Cappielow is the playing surface. It looked immaculate, only Peterhead could compare from what I’ve seen this season. The pitch also had an ‘old school’ feel to it as there was a definite slope on the pitch, which reminded me of Easter Road when I first started attending games. The Cowshed was also terrific at retaining a lot of noise, I bet it sounds terrific at big cup games and matches against local Renfrewshire rivals St. Mirren.

The game, however, was far from a classic. So far this season, Morton had failed to register a victory over the Accies and today was no different. Accies, who are in the midst of six (now seven) game undefeated streak looked more comfortable and confident on the ball. Morton seemed to have their tactics all wrong. They pumped long balls forward (not the first team I’ve seen down this against the towering Accies’ centre halves) unsuccessfully. More disappointedly, whenever Colin McMenamin or Archie Campbell did break, the support from midfield was lacking.

Even in a benign game like this, there’s still the potential for the referee to wreak havoc, and Alan Muir did that, with a series of poor decisions that were inconsistent and hard to explain. He never once looked in charge of the game.

Accies took the lead in the 39^th minute when an Ali Crawford cross found the prolific Stevie May just inside the box. With some good play he managed to curl the ball into the corner of the net. It was a well-worked goal that even some of the ‘Ton fans surrounding us applauded. A nice touch that was only making it easier for me to enjoy my trip to Cappielow.

May never stopped moving the entire 90 minutes and it will be interesting to see where he’ll be next season after his year-long loan to Hamilton from St Johnstone finishes. He’s had a terrific scoring record in both this and last season, and he grabbed his 14^th for the month ten minutes into the second half when a Michael Devlin header was knocked to the back post for May (who had lost his marker) to poke in.

Morton shuffled the pack, making all three substitutions by the 63^rd minute, but truthfully they were too lumbering on the ball and were caught in possession far too often. They looked most like scoring through Martin Hardie free kicks, but nothing came off for the SFL1 runners-up.

The final whistle brought celebrations from the small band of Accies fans housed in the main stand and warm applause for the Morton players, who were being recognised for a great overall season, rather than today’s off-key performance. 

Ground 37: Celtic Park

'Paradise' in the sunshine

Game: Celtic 4 v 1 Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Date: Sunday 21^st April

Competition: Scottish Premier League

Attendance: 55,000

Admission: £17

Programme: £3

This was only my second ever visit to Celtic Park. My first was in 1997 to watch Scotland defeat Austria 2-0 (back in a period of time when Scotland won by scoring more than one goal and qualified for international tournaments. Halcyon days). Back then Celtic Park was still undergoing redevelopment and the ground had just three stands (the old main stand and the redeveloped north and east).

I was here for Celtic’s penultimate home game of the season and one, that if they picked up a single point, then they would retain their SPL champions title and win their 44^th league championship.

The Lisbon Lions Stand

I was coming to the game from Elgin, which meant an early start for me so I could get to Glasgow’s east end for the lunchtime kick-off. Fortunately, I timed by journey well and arrived with plenty of time to allow me to get parked and mill around the ground. One thing is for sure is that Celtic Park is not set up for people visiting by car – there’s little signage or help for drivers who have never been to the ground before. And, as a fan experience, getting out from around the ground was not the easiest either. I accept that there are serious infrastructural and logistical issues in getting 50,000+ people away and out of an area, but it’s definitely something that the club and local authority should be looking at together.

The Emirates Arena

As I mentioned, I arrived in plenty of time after parking near the brand new Emirates Arena. The arena will be a key venue in next year’s Commonwealth Games and also houses the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. From the arena it’s a two minute walk to Celtic Park, which dominates the surrounding areas.  I took some time to buy my programme and take pictures of the main entrance to the ground and the famous red brick façade. When I was growing up, it was Celtic that were Glasgow’s ‘club in crisis’ and almost every Friday night Sportscene featuring coverage from outside the ground as the latest takeover/stadium plan/boycott was taking place. There were loads of folk hanging around and getting their photograph taken in front of the statutes of Jimmy Johnstone, Jock Stein and Brother Walfrid (soon to be immortalised in a film starring Daniel Day-Lewis if the rumours are to be believed) that sit in front of the entrance. Most Scottish clubs have great histories and it would be great to see recognition of that through statues and other artefacts at grounds.

My £17 seat

I headed into the ground to take my seat in the upper tier of the North Stand and I soon discovered why I’d paid just £17 for my seat. This is what greeted me:

Actually it wasn’t too bad and I had plenty of legroom, so I wasn’t too perturbed by it. It didn’t really affect my enjoyment of the game and didn’t block my view.

What was noticeable when I first got in was the slick pre-game production that Celtic put on for the fans via the two big video screens behind each goal. The show featured footage of the team arriving, interviews with assistant manager Johan Mjällby and captain for the day, Joe Ledley, highlights from other games as well as information, adverts and song choices chosen by fans. I’ve seen the use of video screens work exceptionally well in American sports and Celtic have done a cracking job with their effort too (despite a slightly stutter-y matchday presenter).

What Celtic do not do better than their Old Firm rivals is pre-match music. Both clubs are guilty of crimes against humanity for some of the tunes they play. They may be ‘traditional’ but to a neutral the quality and twee-ness of the songs are just appalling! Granted, it’s different from hearing the latest chart hits, but different is not necessarily better…

For about an hour before kick-off we were treated to rain and a lot of wind which made the upper tier just a little bit chilly, even in April. Then with 15 minutes to go until kick-off the sun came out. It was almost a sign.

Celtic crowds over the season have been probably a bit disappointing for the club, but today was an exception, with 55,000 fans turning up. What was noticeable for me after many games this season in grounds with lots of empty seats is that a full ground, and one that is full of 55,000 people can make a heck of a lot of noise. Especially if they’re in party mood. And that was definitely the case for Celtic fans. The game was only five second old when the first “We’re going to win the league” chant went around the stadium. That was followed for the next ten minutes by “Here we go, 10 in a row”. The almost monastic singing was led by the Green Brigade, a group of Celtic ultras, who sang the entire game and created a great atmosphere, despite some tasteless moments (songs associating Rangers with Thatcher).

It’s fair to say that the first half was a bit of a damp squid. I noticed that the trackside boardings were advertising an SPL trophy with the strapline “We’re having a party” ahead of the match against St Johnstone. It felt a little presumptuous and I noticed it didn’t appear again. The fact I was noticing the trackside advertising probably gives you an indication of how riveting the first half action was. It seemed as if the home side were treating the game as a formality and they didn’t play with any sense of energy. They had a few chances in the first half, but Inverness looked comfortable, with Gary Warren looking particularly comfortable at centre back. Celtic had plenty of possession but lacked a final ball that could clinch the title for the Bhoys.

Celtic shuffled the pack at half-time when Emilio Izaguirre replacing James Forrest, which saw Charlie Mulgrew move into midfield. Gary Warren went off due to injury after 50 minutes and then ten minutes later Celtic broke the deadlock with a threaded ball from Kris Commons (who was really quite excellent in the second half as he was able to float further forward) played into Gary Hooper who poked the ball into the far corner. That got the party started at Celtic Park.

The Green Brigade

Celtic doubled their lead just five minutes later when Ledley found himself unmarked just inside the box, He fired a shot away and killed off the game. After the second goal, Celtic found another gear – they were sharper, faster and stronger than they’d been earlier. Celtic’s third and Hooper’s second goal of the day was superb – Commons drove the ball low and Hooper directed the ball into the net with a backheel. It was both nonchalant and superb.

With ten minutes to go, the party was in full flow – all the home fans did their version of the Poznan, called the huddle. Then the Green Brigade would sing one line of a song and the rest of the stadium would repeat it back to them. It sounded superb and it was good fun, although I couldn’t help but feel like a tourist at this match.

Celtic got their fourth of the day when substitute, the mercurial Georgios Samaras dribbled down the left wing and into the box and thrashed the ball against the bar and into the net. It was a peach of a goal.

The Green Brigade protest the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 

Inverness grabbed a consolation in the final minute with a well-worked goal from Aaron Dorans. But by that point, there weren’t many Celtic fans who cared.

Final whistle

At full-time we had the farcical episode of a countdown clock appearing on the big screen as Neil Lennon wouldn’t be allowed onto the pitch until 15 minutes after the final whistle due to the fact he is currently serving a three-game touchline ban. It was a clever move from Celtic to poke fun at the nonsense. The players went down the tunnel to get changed into their title winning t-shirts (as is de rigueur these days) and then came back out for a lap of honour. The club also decided to not play music and let the fans sing, which was a good move.

After Neil Lennon’s speech the fans vacated the stadium. Whilst inside there was a happy delirium, by the time everyone was outside it felt quite muted. Perhaps because there was a sense of inevitability all season about it? There was no real danger of Celtic not winning the league and from November onwards there was little drama in the title race, only a creeping inevitability as Celtic slowly steamrollered their way into the record books.

Ground 36: Braidwood Motor Company Stadium

Spring sunshine at Almondvale

Game: Livingston 0 v 0 Hamilton Academical

Date: Tuesday 16^th April

Competition: Scottish Football League Division 1

Attendance: 787

Admission: £17

Programme: £2

Highlights: http://www.livingstonfc.co.uk/livitv/hamilton160413/livitv.php

All things considered, my visit to Livingston didn’t quite work out as I’d planned. The game was first scheduled to take place on the last Saturday of December, but was postponed. And then postponed again. And again. So I was getting to the Braidwood Motor Company Stadium (or Almondvale) on the fourth attempt. The original game was scheduled to be Livi’s Football for a Fiver match, but due to postponements, Saturday’s clash between the two teams was designated as the £5 gate match. Great for fans that attended Saturday’s match, not so great for my wallet!

Compounding my misery was the fact I’d managed to forget my camera when leaving the house in the morning, so apologies for the quality of photos as they were taken with my phone camera.

It was a very windy day in Edinburgh when I set off from work to Waverley to catch my train out to West Lothian. Due to unfortunate timing, this was the second time Livingston would be facing Hamilton at home in the space of four days. Sometimes, the arguments for league reconstruction write themselves…It was little wonder that only 787 fans turned out for the fixture – less than half of Saturday’s attendance.

Livingston have a complicated history. Formed in 1943 as a works team, Ferranti Thistle – the club was admitted to the Scottish Football League in 1974 and became Meadowbank Thistle, playing at Edinburgh’s Meadowbank Stadium. Following financial difficulties in the early 90s, the club relocated to the West Lothian new town of Livingston in 1995 and changed their name once more.

Livi play at Almondvale Stadium. The ground opened in 1995 as a joint venture between Meadowbank and the Livingston Development Corporation. When I first started attending Livingston games in their inaugural season, Almondvale was just two stands, facing each other. As Livingston started to march their way up the leagues, the ground had to be expanded to meet Scottish Premier League standards with 10,122 seats. Livingston stayed in the SPL for five seasons which included a third placed finish and a League Cup win (against Hibs. I’ll make no further comment).

Livingston were then plunged into financial difficulty, which saw them placed into the 3^rd Division from the 2009-10 season. Two consecutive championships followed and this is their second season back in SFL1.

The legacy of the SPL will be that many clubs are now playing in grounds that are too big for them, and sadly for Livingston, there were a lot of empty seats on show at the game, with all supporters housed in the main stand. After paying for my double-header programme I took my seat to the left of the away dugout with great sightlines and plenty of legroom. I arrived just before the teams emerged onto the field and I was disappointed to learn that Stefan Scougall, Livingston’s great young prospect would not be featuring after injuring himself in the warm-up. He was replaced by Ross Docherty, wearing the no.12 jersey.

Hamilton took to the pitch wearing their change kit of black and blue vertical stripes. Inter Milan-esque while Livi wore their yellow shirts with black shorts.

Having won Saturday’s game 3-0 I was expecting a reaction from Livingston, and they started the game brightly. The referee was letting a lot go and he didn’t see a handball from Stevie May which led to a spectacular overhead kick from Gary Fisher which stand-in goalkeeper Darren Jamieson managed to tip onto the bar.

There were two flashpoints in the game, which ultimately decided the momentum for the game. In the 26^th minute, Accies right back Ziggy Gordon put in a reckless challenge on Livi defender Garcia Tena, which he received a yellow card for. From the subsequent free-kick, a loose ball saw Ross Docherty make a poor retaliation challenge on Gordon. Referee Steven McLean wasted no time at all in producing a red card which I felt at the time was harsh. It was more premeditated than Gordon’s tackle, but nowhere near as reckless. You can judge for yourself in the highlights from 1 minute in.

Hamilton almost took the lead from the resulting corner when keeper Jamieson once again had to leap to tip the ball over the bar.

What was dispiriting to hear afterwards was every time Gordon was on the ball there were shouts from the crowd of “nail him” or “go right through him”. Gordon, who I’ve seen already this season, is by no means a dirty player – he just got his timing wrong on his challenge on Garcia Tena. This is not a tendency that is unique to Livingston fans of course, but it got me wondering – when did football fans becoming so cruel and unforgiving? Or was it always the case?

The red card also had an impact on Livingston’s gameplan. Instead of the neat passing there was a tendency to knock the ball long to Danny Mullen up front. The tactic didn’t work too well as the Accies’ centre halves had about half a foot each on Mullen.

Livi did start the second half better than they ended the first and I was impressed with how hard the 10 men were working for each other and how adept they were at filling in for each other if one of their team mates went to press the ball.

The majority of the second half was what could be described as towsy, with not a great deal of quality but plenty of endeavour. There were a few half-chances and Hamilton probably looked the more likely to score with Stevie May always looking dangerous, but sadly neither side could break the deadlock.

Another enjoyable evening’s entertainment (less so the trudge up the hill to the train station afterwards) but it was a game that didn’t really kick-on from the sending off in the first half which was a shame. It was also a shame to see Almondvale with a great number of empty seats. It would be fantastic to see West Lothian really embrace their club and hopefully initiatives such as Football for a Fiver will see that happen.

Ground 35: Bet Butler Stadium

Bet Butler Stadium, in the shadow of Dumbarton Rock

Game: Dumbarton 1 v 2 Raith Rovers

Date: Tuesday 9^th April

Competition: Scottish Football League Division 1

Attendance: 553

Admission: £15

Programme: n/a

My original plan for a visit to Dumbarton was to get to the town early, climb Dumbarton Rock which overlooks the ground and the town to get some spectacular photographs of the town, ground and coastline. However, it didn’t quite work out like that. My brother and I got stuck in terrible traffic several times along the M8 which meant we didn’t arrive at the Butler Butler Stadium until after kick-off.

Dumbarton have played at their current ground for 13 years now – after moving from the lovely sounding Boghead in 2000. Originally called the Strathclyde Homes Stadium (until the company entered receivership in 2011), the ground, which fans call ‘The Rock’ was given its third name of the Bet Butler Stadium in July 2012.

The ground is built on what was originally Denny’s shipyards and current has one main stand holding 2,025 seats. Sadly the stand is in the shadow of the Dumbarton Rock. If it faced the Rock it would surely be one of the most picturesque stadiums in Scottish, nae, world football. Instead, from our front row seats we were afforded a nice view of Dumbarton in the distance as the set over Scotland’s west coast. It’s a picturesque setting for watching a game of football, although the temperature dropped noticeably after the sun went down.

I’ve already seen both teams this season, with Rovers performing better in the league where they currently hold a midtable position of 6^th. It looks unlikely that they will finish any lower in new manager Grant Murray’s first season in charge. Dumbarton looked odds-on certainties for relegation until Ian Murray took over in December. The former Hibs, Rangers and Norwich star has a player registration too, but has yet to pull on a jersey for the Sons this season as his side have slowed accumulated points. They might just avoid a relegation play-off yet.

They have been aided in this mission by Dunfermline, whose 15 point reduction for entering administration was announced on the radio as we made our way to the game. It’s trying times at East End Park, a club that played European football before Liverpool did. It would be a terrific shame if they were to disappear from the Scottish Football League.

Raith took an early lead with 14 minutes gone as sloppy Dumbarton defending saw Greig Spence nod his team in front after a clever knock-down from Brian Graham.

For the second Tuesday in a row we watched a game where both teams wore their away kits. Not sure I’ll ever understand why teams in amber and blue respectively needed to be wearing white and red kits.

Despite going a goal behind, Dumbarton didn’t change their game plan. They impressed me with their range of passing. They were also able to mix it up, causing Raith problems with goalkicks that had Jim Lister chasing the Rovers’ centre backs.

Both teams tried to attack, with pace at every opportunity. It was one of the better games I’ve seen in the First Division this season.

The second half started and Dumbarton came out the blocks faster, with three good chances early on, which they were unable to convert. The game was getting niggly and you could foresee at least one red card ahead.

To counter Dumbarton’s pressure, Raith manager substituted himself with Joe Cardle, a recent free agent signing after being released from Dunfermline. It was an astute move, with Cardle upping the tempo of the game. In one of his first moves, he cut inside and shot, forcing a save from Stephen Grindlay, who could only divert the ball to the feet of Brian Graham, two yards out. Unfortunately for Raith, Graham dithered on the ball and his shot was cleared off the line by a covering Dumbarton defender.

The missed sitter looked like it might cost Rovers the three points when Dumbarton scored a well-worked goal. The ball was put back in the box with Jim Lister getting the ball to Mark Gilhaney (arguably Dumbarton’s best player on the night) who shot from the edge of the area across the goal and past David McGurn.

Parity didn’t last for long as five minutes later Brian Graham scored a really good low glancing header into the bottom corner. Dumbarton will understandably be frustrated by the defending that lead to the goal, but there wasn’t much they could do about Graham’s assured finish. One suspects that Graham will attract attention from SPL clubs if he continues his current scoring spree.

The first goal aside, there was little between the teams until the introduction of Cardle, who gave Raith the pace they needed and cause problems for the home team. Dumbarton tried for an equaliser but their efforts were in vain. A draw would have probably been a fairer result but Raith were more decisive in taking their chance and that’s why they have the comfort of a mid-table finish whilst Dumbarton will have to fight for their place in the division.

The only downside to the night was the crowd. Or lack of it. Only 553 people turned up. Of course there are many reasons for this, but it must be a concern for clubs that people are not turning up for midweek fixtures like this.

Ground 34: Galabank

Galabank's Main Stand

Game: Annan Athletic 2 v 2 Elgin City

Date: Saturday 6^th April

Competition: Scottish Football League Division 3

Attendance: 379

Admission: £10

Programme: £1.50

Apologies for the lack of detail, my notes from this game were another victim of my phone falling down the drain.

The ecstasy and the agony, that’s what football can bring you. And that’s exactly what this game at Galabank brought those of us standing in the away end supporting Elgin.

When Dennis Wyness scored Elgin’s second in the 90^th minute to give Elgin an undeserved lead, the footballing world suddenly seemed full of possibilities – three points would have made a serious contribution to Elgin’s play-off push. Yet somehow, still in stoppage time, Elgin managed to throw their win away.

In what had been a drab first half – it says a lot when the highlights were the songs being played at the start of each half as the teams made their way out (“Heroes” by David Bowie and The A-Team theme). It allowed an opportunity to reflect on Galabank. It’s a tight but lovely ground on the outskirts of the town. Housed in the middle of a social club and another artificial pitch. There’s a small main stand and two terraces behind the goal. The away fans are housed in one of these, with an elevated position which makes it brilliant for watching a game. The far touchline is a wooden fence as the road runs right next to it.

Annan were very different from the side that we had watched a week ago in Peterhead. Perhaps they are more comfortable playing on their own artificial pitch, but they were much improved. Elgin on the other hand, didn’t really get going.

Elgin looked at their poorest when Annan attacked down the right. Elgin substituted left-back McMullan for McKinnon, but neither had a good game. It was down this flank that Annan got both their goals. With twenty minutes to go, Iain Chisholm scored a fantastic goal from 18 yards out that hit the top corner.

 

Gavin Morrison lines up his free-kick to earn Elgin's equaliser

Elgin pushed back, attempting to get themselves back in and eight minutes later, Gavin Morrison scored a fantastic free kick from the edge of the box.

Elgin took an improbably lead when they broke forward and after good work from the fantastic Stuart Leslie, the ball bounced and Dennis Wyness thrashed the ball home. The celebrations were short-lived, as less than a minute later, Annan once again broke down the right and David Hopkirk ran with the ball powering into the box and putting it past Joe Malin to salvage a point, which they rightly deserved.

Highlights from 16:53 on SFL TV (a service I didn’t know existed until this week) here: http://www.scottishfootballleague.com/sfltv/league/