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 21: Stark's Park

Stark's Park Main Stand

Game: Raith Rovers 2 v 2 Cowdenbeath

Date: Saturday 29^th December

Competition: Scottish Football League Division 1

Attendance: 1,877

Admission: £17

Programme: £2

It wasn’t supposed to be Stark’s Park today. I was hoping to keep it (relatively) local by attending Livingston’s home fixture with Hamilton. The West Lothian club had reduced prices for this game to £5, which was an offer too good to resist. I picked up my friend Gordon, and we headed to pick up my Dad who was also going to attend the game with us. By the time we arrived at my family home we received bad news – the game was off.

A quick scan of the fixtures saw that the only game we could make from the west of Edinburgh at 2.10pm was the Fife derby between Raith Rovers and Cowdenbeath. So it was off we went!

We arrived in Kirkcaldy at around 2.45 and got parked in the very pleasant looking Beveridge Park. We then made our way southwards under the railway bridge down Pratt Street where we found Stark’s Park. It’s an unusual stadium, being squashed into a small area with two large single tiered stands behind each goal. There’s also a fantastic looking L-shaped main stand from the 1920s, which hosts the tunnel and dressing rooms. The stand stops midway up the pitch where there is unused terracing. The far side stand has been built but currently does not have any seats due to Raith’s financial difficulties and lack of need for the ground to be completed.

This was the second time this season I was taking in this fixture having watched the dramatic 4-4 effort at Central Park back in October. We took our seats high in the South Stand which offered a great view of the pitch as well as of the town of Kirkcaldy.

Great views over the Lang Toun

The most extraordinary scene of the first half was watching a Raith fan two rows in front return from the catering stand with a burger and a pie. Nothing unusual there, until he inserted the pie between the two buns alongside the burger. Unbelievable.

Cowdenbeath took an early lead when Lewis Milne curled a cutback past Ross Laidlaw, but much of the first half was a drab affair being played on a heavy pitch. There were occasional glimpses of quality but they were fleeting. The Blue Brazil extended their lead just before half-time with a penalty converted by James Stevenson who had clearly been fouled inside the box. It made the visitors sitting in the McDermid Stand (sponsored by Scottish crime writer, Val McDermid) happy, although I was disappointed by the numbers of travelling Blue Brazil fans. There was only a smattering of them that had made the 10 mile trip to Stark’s Park.

Rovers’ manager Grant Murray must have given his troops a relocking at half time as Raith returned in the second half rejuvenated. They pulled a goal back within five minutes of the second half with a Dougie Hill header. Three minutes later they got their equaliser when Brian Graham was slipped in to put the ball in the net.

The rest of the game was Raith dominated but they couldn’t find a breakthrough to take all three points.

Once again, another entertaining if sometimes dour encounter between two sides hampered by a heavy pitch. Raith will be disappointed not to take all three points whilst Cowdenbeath must be wondering how many times they have to lead in these matches before they can get a win?

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 7: Central Park

Behind bars: Fife's answer to El Clasico

Game: Cowdenbeath 4 v 4 Raith Rovers

Date: 20^th October 2012

Competition: Scottish Football League Division 1

Attendance: 1,209

Admission: £15

Programme: £2

When I looked at the fixture list for this Saturday there was one fixture that stuck out like a sore thumb – the Fife derby. Raith Rovers visiting Cowdenbeath at Central Park, so I was off in the car and 35 minutes after leaving Leith, crossing the Forth Road Bridge, I found myself driving up Cowdenbeath’s high street and turning left to get myself parked.

I won’t do a social history of Cowdenbeath but any fan of Scottish football should so themselves the service of reading the Cowden chapter in the previously mentioned (and not for the last time) Stramash and also seek out a copy of Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil by Ron Ferguson. After reading both accounts I certainly saw Cowdenbeath in a different light and I would suggest that everyone else might too.

Perhaps it's me, but there is something charming and romantic about steps leading up to a football ground

There’s no question that Central Park has seen better days, and whilst that may be off putting to many, it’s one of the reasons I find the ground charming. I didn’t on my first visit to the ground back in the mid-90s when my Dad took my brother and I to watch the Blue Brazil take on Inverness Caledonian Thistle. It was a cold day, Cowden led 2-1 with minutes to go and my brother’s protestations that we should leave early was acquiesced by Dad and we departed, only to discover by the time we got back to car that ICT had netted twice to secure a victory. I’ve not left a game early since (even when I really wanted to. The 19^th May of this year springs to mind).

The pictures may not do Central Park justice, with the ground surrounded by a stock car track, so I’ve included a marvellous video at the bottom of this post. The short documentary features former Prime Minister Gordon Brown who has also in attendance at today’s game.

I hadn’t eaten lunch so I grabbed a coke and a pie and made my way into one of the main stands that make up Central Park. Watching the players warm-up, I couldn’t help but notice that Cowdenbeath looked very classy in their Umbro equipment – even the ballboys and girls had fetching Cowdenbeath baseball jackets. Being early gave me an opportunity to read the programme where I noticed that today’s match ball sponsor was Cowdenbeath’s Chairman, Donald Findlay QC. The programme was a ramshackle affair, a tad disjointed but certainly a lot of enthusiasm had gone into it.

Cowdenbeath for much of the 90s languished in the Third Division but recently have been very shrewd in their managerial appointments – Craig Levein (Scotland), Mixu Paatelainen (Finland), Danny Lennon (St. Mirren) have all started their managerial careers in Fife, and currently former Scotland international Colin Cameron occupies the hot seat as well as taking a starting berth in the Blue Brazil’s starting XI.

Cowdenbeath found themselves 1-0 up earlier on with a scrappy goal from Kyle Miller, but it was deserved as Raith were second to every ball and seemed short of ideas. In particular, they had great difficulty dealing with Cowdenbeath’s right winger O’Brien, he was short, had an interesting gait but there was no doubt he was a player and had the better of the Rovers’ left back. Whenever Raith had the ball their first thought was to play it long. Whilst the pitch at Central Park isn’t the finest there was no excuse as Cowden played the ball on the deck pretty effortlessly.

Jamie Stevenson put Cowdenbeath 2-0 up with a low, driven free kick from 30 odd yards. There was absolutely no doubt that Raith’s keeper should have done better. However, Raith found themselves back in contention soon after when a stramash in the box led to Cowden keeper Thomas Flynn picking up a pass from one of his own players. From the resulting indirect free kick, Brian Graham fired home. Player-manager Cameron and his goalkeeper had an exchange of views afterwards that looked quite fraught. Then just before half-time, the Fife derby was all-level as Greig Spence headed home a dangerous Joe Hamill cross.

The early stages of the second half weren’t up to much – with much of the game being played in the air, at one stage I counted nine consecutive headers!

However the introduction of Lewis Coult for Cowdenbeath looked to swing the game in Cowden’s favour. Coult took a few minutes getting up to speed with the game, but when he did he looked the best player on the pitch – he struck twice in three minutes to leave Raith shellshocked and Cowden in a promising position to garner all three points. Surely they couldn’t blow another two goal lead?

Well, yes, they could. Firstly Rovers’ substitute Patrick Clarke struck back from 12 yards with an intelligent one-two just a minute after Coult’s second. And then, in events that have been repeated already this season – Cowden, defending a lead stopped playing the game that had given them the lead and instead tried to hold on to their three points. Instead they only got some as Simon Mensing headed home in injury team to give both sides a point.

In all honesty, the last fifteen minutes of the game was absolutely breathless stuff and probably covered up for a disappointing half an hour before it. But I can’t imagine I’ll see many goals this season with eight goals in 90 minutes, a fantastic advert for Scottish football.

That’s why I couldn’t believe my ears when I walked out the ground to hear a guy behind me say “can’t believe I paid £15 for that rubbish”. I was flabbergasted, I thought I’d just watched a cracking and competitive game of football, which just goes to prove that as long as there is the Scottish football, there will always be room for pessimists!