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| 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.
