Ross Jack's Five Year Plan

Today, the news broke that Ross Jack and Elgin City “mutually agreed” to part company. It followed Elgin’s 2-0 defeat to Queen’s Park on Saturday where his side performed abysmally. The fact that Jack did not fill the bench at New Broomfield has led many to suggest that relations between the manager and the board were not on an even keel.

Jack was Elgin’s longest serving manager since the club gained admittance to the Scottish Football League, lasting one day short of five years. When he took over the club they were positioned bottom and finished the 2008/09 season in that position. That was followed by 9^th, 7^th, 4^th and 5^th placed finishes. However, this season has started badly, with the club performing inconsistently.

It was clear that the past two seasons saw Elgin’s best chances of promotion since their arrival in the SFL in 2000. The playoff defeat to a poor Albion Rovers side in 2012 was pretty galling for the club and last year the club had numerous opportunities to secure a play-off place, only to squander them.

Elgin’s inability to be clinical last season arguably cost them the services of two of their star performers – winger Daniel Moore and striker Stuart Leslie, who both joined Nairn County in the summer. The former is allegedly pocketing £1000 a week from County, and Leslie was offered a four year contract to join the Station Park club. Money that Elgin just couldn’t compete with. The loss of Moore and Leslie was compounded to injuries to key players such as Mark Nicholson and Sean Crighton, who were unavailable at the start of the season and Paul Millar out long term. The midfield situation was made worse by the injury of key man Brian Cameron.

Since Cameron’s injury, Elgin have looked utterly imbalanced. New summer signing Shane Sutherland has proved wanting – undoubtedly there is a player of talent there, but his attributes were not being used to their optimum by Jack. At times this season, and especially in recent matches away to Annan and Queen’s Park, there has been no structure to the side beyond the back four.

The signing of former Peterhead goalkeeper, Raymond Jellema solved a perennial goalkeeping problem for Elgin but he has not had the luxury of a settled back four in front of him. Club captain David Niven has looked poor at right back where his selection is all the more galling when he has a perfectly capable natural right back sitting on the bench in the young Graeme Beveridge.

The defensive frailties are there for all to see. After the losing the lead to Annan on 28^th December, Elgin were in 9^th place having dropped 15 points from winning positions – they would have been in 2^nd place had they held onto their leads.

Jack’s biggest weakness has been the deployment of personnel in the midfield and forward line. Frankly, at points this season, the defence and the rest of the team have looked alien to each other. There are a number of talented players on the books at Borough Briggs – Mark Nicholson, Paul Harkins, Ally MacKenzie, Shane Sutherland, Brian Cameron, Dennis Wyness and Craig Gunn are, on their day, some of the most talented players in the league – but under Jack this season, there was no balance and no positional awareness from the players, which often lead the defence exposed.

There is no question that bad luck has played a part in Ross Jack’s downfall at Elgin, but Elgin under his tenure have simply not been clinical enough to see games out when playing with a lead.

The rumour mill is in full flow and the early front-runners for the job are John Robertson and former player Barry Wilson. Both would be intriguing appointments for the club, but with the impending relegation playoffs from the bottom division, the board must be hoping for a gaffer who can salvage something from this season, consolidate and build for next season.

There’s potential in Elgin – attendances were reaching 1000 when the going was good in the last two seasons. Whether the new man in charge can harness that potential is another thing altogether. The club has wallowed in the bottom tier for the last 14 years, a new manager backed by a board with ambitions above mediocrity coupled with the fear of relegation back to the Highland League could be catalyst that City require.

Ground 40: Borough Briggs

Borough Briggs: about to witness a miracle? (No)

Game: Elgin City 3 v 2 East Stirlingshire

Date: Saturday 4^th May

Competition: Scottish Football League Division 3

Attendance: 786

Admission: £10

Programme: £2

In the end, it just wasn’t enough. Due to their inconsistent form, Elgin needed a miracle to happen on the final day of the season, to allow them to reach the play-offs. They needed to beat basement side East Stirlingshire and hope that Rangers would defeat Berwick Rangers. That in itself wasn’t difficult to imagine, but the margin of victories had to total seven. Given Rangers recent form, it looked inevitable that they would grind out a win by one or two goals (which is frankly an embarrassment to a team of handsomely paid professionals in a very much part-time league). Therefore, Elgin had to go all-out from the moment the referee blew his whistle at 12.30pm.

For some reason, this was the game I was most excited about all season. I even dreamt about it twice in the build-up to the game. It’s become increasingly evident to me this season that I really enjoy watching Elgin play, even if they are as frustrating to watch as my other team (Hibs). What I enjoy most about it, I suppose, is the intimate surroundings of the grounds and the fact you are so close to the action.

First, however, a confession: this wasn’t my first visit to Borough Briggs this season. Earlier in the season when we attended Inverness-Celtic, we mooted the possibility of a single day double-header, taking in Elgin vs. Annan following the SPL encounter. However, traffic getting out of the Highland capital was a nightmare and so we arrived at Borough Briggs at 3.25pm, with no turnstiles open. Thankfully, someone was around from the club who let us in (for free), but at that point Elgin were already two goals to the good. I didn’t think a post about that game would be particularly fair.

Borough Briggs is also the site of my first experience of the disappointment of postponements in football. As both sets of my grandparents lived in Elgin, we were used to spending Christmas there, and we’d try to catch City in Highland League action, which invariably would be called off due in inclement December weather. Back in those days, Elgin were a good Highland League side and Borough Briggs contained a unique feature: a pill box from World War 2, which sadly was removed when Elgin became SFL members in 2000, alongside Peterhead. Sadly, I couldn’t find a picture of the pill box on the internet, but a photo of it proudly sits in the club’s catering stall.

Aside from the lack of pill box, little has changed at Borough Briggs in the past twenty or so years. There’s a small main stand (with seats provided by Newcastle United) with a covered terrace on the opposite side and uncovered small terracing behind each goal. Borough Briggs is also home to one of the biggest pitches in Scotland, although that might change if plans for an artificial playing surface goes ahead over the summer.

East Stirlingshire started brightly, hitting the post before a powerful deflected header from Jamie Duff in the 16^th minute put Elgin in the lead. Suddenly a seven goal swing looked possible. However, that feeling of hope were short-lived as East Stirlingshire equalised through Jamie Glasgow in a well-worked move that had stretched Elgin’s three man defence.

The home fans weren’t worrying too much as Elgin piled on the pressure and by the 39^th minute found themselves in the lead once more. This time, Stuart Leslie coolly finishing to give Elgin a small chance of promotion. But, just four minutes later, East Stirlingshire had equalised again with a comical goal – a free kick was floated in that evaded everyone before bouncing and hitting the bar, falling to Paul Quinn who poked the ball against Elgin goalkeeper Joe Malin and the ball slowly dribbled into the net. It was a defensive shocker, combined with an element of bad luck, which summed up a lot of Elgin this season.

It was beginning to dawn on most fans in the ground that a seven goal swing was just going to be out of reach as Rangers slowly proceeded to a 1-0 win over Berwick. It produced a somewhat subdued atmosphere for the second half where Elgin kept trying to push on but without much luck – they genuinely looked like they had run out of steam. One couldn’t help but imagine a scenario where they had held onto their leads for a little longer and also to think back to a number of games this season where Elgin threw away points from a leading position. Close, yet so far.

The second half wasn’t much to write home about and Ross Jack made three substitutions in an attempt to change the score. Just as it looked like the teams would share the points – a long floated ball was headed on for Ceiran McLean to rifle a magnificent half volley right into the roof of the net. It was a magnificent goal, worthy of winning any game, yet somehow, felt underwhelming.

But Elgin fans can console themselves with the fact that the new season is just around the corner.

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/

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 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.

Ground 9: Links Park

Links Park, Montrose

Game: Montrose 2 v 2 Elgin City

Date: Saturday 27^th October 2012

Competition: Scottish Football League Division 3

Attendance: 346

Admission: £11

Programme: £2

A gloriously sunny Saturday in late October saw me and my Dad set off to Montrose for my second game of the weekend.

Setting off at midday we made our way over the Forth Road Bridge, past Dundee and then across to Montrose arriving around forty minutes before kick-off. We even managed to get parked on the street with the entrance to Link’s Park at the end of it. We were joined by my Dad’s friend Brian (who had been at the Falkirk game with us) and we set off in search of a cafe to grab a coffee before the game.

The town centre was around five minutes away through some very pleasant and wide streets. The town centre was pretty busy even for a cold day and plenty of folk seemed to be giving Link’s Park a miss for the comfort of the pub. It’s understandable but nonetheless must be disappointing for a club like Montrose.

We arrived just before kick-off and paid our £11 to get in. Link’s Park is a lovely wee ground, with a modern main stand dominating the ground. There’s an old fashioned terracing behind one of the goals and the rest of the ground is just tarmaced meaning you can get very close to the action on the artificial pitch. Which is what we did taking up a position opposite the main stand.

Elgin started the game strongly, and found themselves 2-0 up in the first half. The first goal was a result of a lack square pass from one Montrose centre half to another which was intercepted by Stuart Leslie who slotted home. Soon after Elgin were 2-0 up against ten men as Montrose goalkeeper Sandy Wood was sent off for a foul in the box. Daniel Moore duly dispatched the penalty past David Crawford to give Elgin the early advantage. Wood’s replacement was David Crawford whose previous appearance against Elgin saw him concede six just a few weeks earlier.

At this stage, against ten men and having beaten Montrose 6-1 in their last meeting there was surely a question of how many? But as I’d witnessed only ten days earlier at Clyde, Elgin are clearly catchable with a two goal lead. Instead of pressing their advantage, Elgin seemed content to keep the ball but not push on. Montrose seemed to gain confidence from this timidity and pulled a goal back through Garry Wood who scored from the corner of the penalty box. It was a fantastic goal.

Snow from the night before, swept to the side of the pitch

Elgin had a chance to put the game out of Montrose’s reach once more less than a minute later when Terry Masson was judged (fairly) to have handled the ball in the box. Moore, was handed an opportunity to grab his second goal of the day. However his penalty was desperately poor and possibly led to more doubts in the minds of the Elgin players. Then, in stoppage time, Elgin gave away a needless free kick, which was rifled into the net by Jamie Winter. The goal sent the Montrose crowd into delirium and left Elgin fans dejected, once again the Black and Whites squandering an opportunity to strengthened their position at the summit of the Third Division.

Ground 6: Broadwood

Broadwood: (artificial) field of dreams

Game: Clyde 2 v 2 Elgin City

Date: Wednesday 17^th October 2012

Competition: Scottish Football League Division 3

Attendance: 458

Admission: £10

Programme: £2.50

I arrived at Broadwood bang on kick-off. I’d have been there a lot earlier had I not taken an earlier exit on the way to Cumbernauld. And then when I arrived at Broadwood, I mistakenly followed the signs for ‘home crowd’ only to be turned away by a friendly steward who told me that there was parking at the away car park – only three roundabouts and less than five minutes away. Not the most auspicious of starts.

I’d only been to Broadwood once before – four years ago when Clyde played Airdrie in the SFL playoffs. I attended the game with an Airdrie fan and another friend from university in what was a thrilling game that saw Clyde cling onto their First Division status and deny Airdrie promotion.

Only four short years later, Clyde now found themselves as a struggling side in the Third Division, although there are signs of the green shots of recovery. Firstly, Clyde have a great deal of involvement from a committed, if not large section of fans. This combined with an innovative season ticket promotion (cheap and lots of discounts to local businesses, such a good idea that it’s unlikely to catch on in Scottish football). Secondly, in recent weeks, Clyde have agreed to return to Rutherglen, their former home adjacent to Glasgow.

Clyde are Scotland’s most nomadic club. They previously played in Rutherglen at Shawfield Stadium which they shared with greyhound racing (although not at the same time obviously). Then they were kicked out of their ground and played firstly at Firhill (home to their rivals Partick Thistle) and then at Douglas Park, former home of Hamilton Academicals. The club were then enticed to the new town of Cumbernauld in the early 90s were they had a ready-made home at Broadwood built for them. Sadly, that move has proven to be unsuccessful. Broadwood itself is in the middle of nowhere and those that have moved to the new town of Cumbernauld brought their own footballing allegiance with them. It was therefore not surprising to find that the club had taken steps to return to their ‘home’ westwards. This was a shining example of the falsehood of the maxim, “if you build it, they will come” - actually what you need is a stadium that’s integrated to transport and the local community.

For further information on both Clyde and Cumbernauld, I’d recommend Daniel Gray’s superb, Stramash (more of which in another post at a later date).

I must mention that last Wednesday it was absolutely tipping it down – the rain on the drive to Cumbernauld was bad and it barely late up for the rest of the night. Although I sat in a covered stand my heart went out to the players as they faced almost 90 minutes of torrential downpours. I was therefore surprised by the numbers who turned out for tonight’s game.

As I arrived just in time for kick-off, paying a reduced admission of £10 (and no parking charge either) and made my way through the concourse – where a stall had been set up to sell merchandise and another for Rangers visit to Broadwood in a few weeks. I picked up a dinner of a pie and coke and made my way up the stairs and into the main stand containing all the supporters for the game. Broadwood is made up of three complete stands with one end behind the goal being left exposed for many a year. It’s now been turned into a futuristic looking leisure centre, with another benefit that it stops the fierce winds coming into Broadwood.

Elgin took the lead early on from a corner they shouldn’t have given away and Clyde should have defended the corner better. Stuart Leslie put the ball in the net after he found himself alone after the ball had been knocked back into the middle of the box.

Elgin had the opportunity to go top of the league with a win and they continued to press home their advantage. Even on an artificial surface the ball was being held up in the rain which was Elgin’s advantage as they were able to move the ball and control it better. This led to Clyde’s manager Jim Duffy cutting a frustrated figure on the touchline. Duffy has an impressive list of clubs on his CV but in my opinion, he doesn’t have a particular great record (he was a terrifically poor Hibs manager in the late 90s). But you can’t doubt his enthusiasm and commitment for football as demonstrated by his place in the Clyde dugout.

The only brightspot in the opening section of the game for Clyde was their forward wearing no. 10 Stef McCluskey. I’d see him play once last season in the televised Juniors Cup Final playing for Shotts, but he looked impressive at this level. Aside from McCluskey at this point, it was easy to see why this Clyde side had recently been dumped out of the Scottish Cup at an early stage by Highland League Nairn County.

Elgin took a 2-0 lead when captain Niven scored a header that beat the Clyde goalkeeper at the near post. Everyone is the crowd saw the goal but no one can scarcely believe that such a weaker header has actually beaten the keeper and gone in.

At this stage it’s just too easy for Elgin, they have so much space on the ball and I share the sentiment of the old boy behind me who says “it’s a question of how many.” However, a vicious cross from Clyde’s right back, is met by Clyde’s no. 11, Stuart McColm who fires it home with a good finish just on the cusp of half time.

During the interval I managed to track down a programme seller and purchased a copy of Clyde View, a brilliant matchday programme it must be said – full of interesting features as well as a certain degree of realism about the club. If only all clubs took the same approach.

The second half begins and at this stage it is really peeing it down. Weather like this really isn’t conducive to good quality football, although this game wasn’t terrible perhaps in part to the artificial surface. I’m sure at a later point I’ll address the idea of summer football, but it certainly felt like a good idea at this point! I’m sure those doing a zumba class overlooking the ground must have looked down on us in the stand in bewilderment that this was how we were choosing our Wednesday evening.

In a lull in play I sit and look at this ground and wonder what will become of it in the future? Hopefully it will find a purpose, although I’m not sure what that will be.

Elgin didn’t start the second half, and so it proved when they conceded a penalty, which couldn’t be argued with. The penalty was to be taken by John Sweeney, who was much maligned by the Clyde fans during the first half.

Elgin responded with Craig Gunn hitting the bar with a shot from the outside of the box. It was to be a long day for Gunn, who plays for Elgin but lives in Wick. He wouldn’t be home until 4.30am and still had work to go to in a few short hours. The life of a footballer in the Third Division certainly isn’t a glamorous affair.

Having gone from nowhere in the game, Clyde suddenly find themselves in the ascendency, they even have the ball in the net again but it was ruled out (correctly) for offside.

In the last 20 minutes both sides go for a winner – with Elgin having most of the pressure, however Kevin Watt blows a glorious chance for Clyde right at the end when his shot is tipped round the post. But sides lacked that little bit of composure in the final third of the pitch to secure the three points.

Clyde will see the match as a point gained, whilst Elgin will be frustrated at blowing a 2-2 lead. It’s fair to say that this season will see Rangers (despite their poor start) finish champions which means that competition for the three playoffs will be even more competitive. Elgin will need to convert opportunities like these if they wish to be playing Second Division football next season.