Glasgow City v Hibernian

Glasgow City 1-3 Hibernian Ladies
SWPL Cup Semi Final
Falkirk Stadium
Sunday 29th April 2018

The draw for the semi-finals of this year’s SWPL Cup has already thrown up the second battle of the big guns of the season. Following the teams’ 2-2 draw just two weeks ago in their first head to head meeting of 2018, all eyes are on the Falkirk Stadium for act 2.

The Venue

My last visit to the Falkirk Stadium was also the second post I made on this blog. Having already spoken about the ground, albeit in less detail than I’ve gone into with subsequent posts, there’s not a whole lot more ground to cover. I will though mention one of my favourite rumours I’ve heard about any stadium. While there has been a temporary stand in front of the fence on the east side of the ground in the past, the ground is currently three sided. It’s a bit of an urban legend that while Falkirk own the ground behind the east side fence, the reason they haven’t expanded the stadium isn’t financial. The rumour says that if they built the fourth stand in line with the other three, it would end up in the blast zone of the Grangemouth refineries, while not having a stand there means that none of the stadium sits in said blast zone. Perhaps my favourite thing about this rumour is that I’ve never been able to find any evidence to debunk it. Whether it’s true or not, it’s a great story, and an amusing thought that if there was to be a major explosion during a game, no matter where you were sitting in the stadium, you could watch the chaos unfold in safety.

The Teams

City started their SWPL Cup campaign at home to newly promoted SWPL2 side FC Kilmarnock. Goals from Kirsty Howat (4), Abbi Grant, Joanne Paton and Magan Foley saw City cruise to a 7-0 win. Their quarter final tie saw them travel to Ainslie Park to take on Spartans. A Leanne Ross penalty was added to by goals from Howat and Paton to seal a 3-0 win to set up the semi final. City have won the competition on a record six occasions.

Hibs began their defence of the SWPL Cup away to Edinburgh rivals, SWPL2 side Hearts. Despite being held for the first 73 minutes, goals from Shannon McGregor, Lia Tweedie, Katey Turner and Kirsty Smith saw them run out 4-0 winners. A home quarter final against Rangers, played just after the Spartans v Glasgow City quarter final at Ainslie Park, was a tense affair, with Lucy Graham’s goal being the difference. Hibs have won the cup on five occasions. Today’s teams have won the SWPL Cup on eleven of the sixteen times it has been contested, and every year since 2008.

The Game

Both sides started with their usual second choice goalkeeper for this cup semi, with Erin Clachers in goal for City, and Hannah Reid for Hibs. City had the best of the opening exchanges, with Abbi Grant and Hayley Lauder combining well early, but they couldn’t break down the solid Hibs defence. With eleven minutes gone, City were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead when Christie Murray was tripped by Reid while heading away from goal. Despite the Hibs’ fans protestations, the penalty was given, and City captain Leanne Ross stepped up. The former Scotland international, usually so reliable from the spot, saw her effort well saved low by Reid, however, and the game remained goalless.

Hibs gained momentum from the missed penalty, and the always impressive Abi Harrison immediately began to cause City problems. Harrison used all her speed and strength to muscle through the midfield before being tackled well by Donna Paterson on 13 minutes, and four minutes later she almost turned provider as her ball to Lizzie Arnot resulted in a shot that was well blocked by Jo Love. City were to pay the price of not staying close enough to Harrison though with 21 minutes gone. A mix up in defence saw the ball break to the Hibs striker, who ran into the box and unleashed a shot. The strike was blocked by Paterson, but Harrison pounced on the rebound and fired it past Clachers.

The next ten minutes were a cagey affair, with neither side really able to win the midfield battle. Hayley Lauder had a decent chance from distance after Hibs could only half clear a corner, and Harrison got herself on the end of a long Ellis Notley ball before being called for offside. With just over half an hour played, Hibs capitalised on another defensive mistake, as Kirsty Smith picked up an errant pass on the left hand side. Her surging run down the left led to a cross that was met by the head of Harrison who powered home her second of the afternoon. City looked shellshocked, and Harrison was looking like she could take on their entire team on her own.

City did manage to press before the break, winning a series of corners that were just about cleared by Hibs. Sam Kerr had the best chance as a half cleared corner landed under her feet, but she wasn’t able to set herself quickly enough to get a clean shot away. Harrison had another chance at the other end after beating Nicola Docherty on the turn out wide, but her shot sailed past, and another questionable piece of defending allowed Rachel McLauchlan a chance to shoot just before the whistle. Despite being fairly even in terms of possession, Hibs were well ahead at the break, with City looking decidedly off the pace.

City brought on Megan Foley in place of Leanne Crichton at half time, but just 30 seconds after the restart found themselves further behind. Smith again found space on the left and her cross was once more met by the head of Harrison, who’s header squeezed past Clachers to make it 3-0. The hat trick was no less than Harrison deserved, as she looked dangerous every time she picked up the ball. City tried in vain to respond, but all too often found themselves outmuscled and outworked by the Hibs midfield and defence. Lauder did force a good save from Reid just a few minutes into the half, but City were in large part being restricted to long range efforts and crosses that failed to find their target.

With 67 minutes gone, there was a glimmer of hope for City when Grant broke down the left wing. Her cutback was met by the onrushing Kerr, who slammed a shot past Reid from the edge of the box. The goal seemed to revitalise City, who started to play with more urgency and fluidity. But within ten minutes, Hibs had regrouped and were managing to neutralise the threat again. Maddie Hill was introduced to give City some height up front, but too often she was being left isolated and her knock downs from long balls were being mopped up by the Hibs defence.

Smith and Kerr had half chances at either end as the game drew to a close, but the game fizzled out, with City looking well off the pace and Hibs deserving winners. Harrison in particular had a stand out game up front, and it’s easy to see why she won her first senior Scotland caps at the end of last season. We didn’t stick around for the second semi, where Celtic defeated Forfar Farmington 4-1 to set up a repeat of last year’s final back here at Falkirk on May 20th.

The Pies

There was a full catering service at Falkirk today, which was much appreciated. Kaitlin and I plumped for the same pies as on our last visit and once again both the steak and macaroni varieties were excellent. The pies here don’t necessarily look the best, but on taste they can’t be faulted.

Admission: £5
Programme: Free
Pie: £1.90 – £2.50
Bovril: £1.60
Attendance: 320 (approx)

 

Kelty Hearts v Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale

Kelty Hearts 3-1 Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale
East of Scotland Football League
New Central Park
Saturday 28th April 2018

My original plan for this Saturday was Clydebank v Kilwinning Rangers in the West Junior Super Premier, but when I mentioned that I was slightly considering this game, Kaitlin peaked an interest due to the road trip, so it was off to Fife for the East of Scotland League championship shootout.

The Venue

New Central Park is situated pretty much right in the middle of the town, which is handily situated just off the M90. It is almost unrecognisable from just a few years ago having under gone major ground improvements over the past few years, with even more work in the planning stage. The old grass pitch was replaced by a state of the art synthetic surface in 2015, and the facility is used by the youth and women’s setups associated with the club, as well as several other youth sides from nearby teams such as Cowdenbeath and Burntisland Shipyard. It’s a fantastic community facility, and much like I spoke about the other night, it is important for places like this to exist in order for the sport to keep on being attractive to the younger generations. This really is a benchmark for the community football facility.

NCP is a mixture of hard standing and grass banking and has stepped terracing within the enclosures. The two large enclosures on the east side of the pitch were installed in 2016, and can reportedly hold around 500 each. There’s a smaller enclosure on the halfway line on the opposite side of the pitch that can hold about 250, and the official listed capacity of the ground is 2,271 (down from the 3,000 that was notional before the club gained their license.) Plans have been approved by Fife Council for a new 300 seat grandstand, which will sit atop new changing and corporate facilities between the two east side enclosures.

The ambitious plans for the ground match with the club’s on field ambitions, and by the end of the works, Kelty will have one of the best grounds in the Scottish non-leagues (that is if they’re still in the non-league part of the pyramid that is)

The Teams

These two teams have steamrollered the rest in the EoSFL this season, and going into this last game only one point separates them. It really is a true title shootout, with today’s visitors having the upper hand by virtue of a 1-0 win against Kelty just last Saturday at Saughton. A huge fixture backlog had left LTHV forced to play five games in eight days over the last week or so, and incredibly they won all five without conceding, leaving them needing only a draw to take the title and a place in the Lowland League Promotion Playoff with South of Scotland champions Threave Rovers (provided that their SFA License application has been approved, which seems to be a bit up in the air at the moment.)

Kelty Hearts were formed in 1975 and joined the Fife Junior League, winning it on six occasions before reconstruction created the East region. After working their way up to the East Superleague, they won it in 2014-15 and 2016-17, finishing runner up in the season between their triumphs. They also reached the Scottish Junior Cup final twice before resigning from the junior system at the end of last season to enter the EoSFL and the Scottish football pyramid. As the first junior club to make the jump since the advent of the Lowland League and the pyramid, Kelty have been trailblazers, with an influx of applications to the league from the junior ranks being accepted for next season just two days ago.

Kelty’s first season in senior football has been a roaring success. Unless they have played LTHV. Until meeting today’s visitors in the league last week, they had a 100% record, scoring 140 goals and conceding just 10 in their 22 league games. Last weekend’s defeat has left them needing a win today to become champions in their first season and playoff for promotion. The cups have been an entirely different prospect though, although a 3-2 defeat to newly crowned Lowland League champions Spartans in the EoS Qualifying Cup was far from a bad effort. They were eliminated on penalties by Threave Rovers in the 3rd Round of the South Challenge Cup, showing that any potential promotion playoff will be no walk in the park. But it was in the Scottish Cup 1st Preliminary Round and League Cup semi final that LTHV prevailed. Both games were 1-0 wins for the Edinburgh side. Kelty, managed by Tam Courts will have to be at their best to win today.

Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale were formed in 1969, originally as a works team for Lloyd’s Finance. After renaming themselves to Lothian Thistle, they joined the EoSFL in 1995. The club made a formal merger with noted Edinburgh youth side Hutchison Vale in 2011 and won the EoSFL for the first time in 2013-14, the first Lowland League season. Issues at their Saughton Enclosure ground have stopped the club obtaining their SFA license, and the club have therefore been denied the possibility of promotion despite winning the league three of the past four seasons. A license application has now been made, but it is unclear whether this has been ratified in time for them to take up the promotion playoff spot if they win the league today.

Much of LTHV’s season has been detailed above, including their incredible five wins in eight days earlier this month. The club’s only dropped points of the season came in a remarkable 5-5 draw with Leith Athletic a few weeks ago. They reached the final of the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup, although they lost to East Kilbride in the final at Blackburn. It was their Scottish Cup run that caught the attention, beating Kelty and Coldstream in the preliminary rounds before eliminating Highland League side Inverurie Loco Works in the first round proper. The second round saw the team create one of the shocks of this year’s competition as they travelled to League 2 Stirling Albion and came away with a remarkable 5-3 win. The win set up a scintillating 3rd round tie at home to eventual Championship winners St Mirren. They were beaten 7-1 by the Paisley side, but their cup run had turned some heads. A surprise 4th round defeat to Glasgow Uni ended their South Challenge Cup run, they are in the final of the League Cup and remarkably still to start their King Cup campaign. I did mention the fixture backlog. Raymond Carr is the current man in charge.

The Game

With glorious sunshine beating down and almost no parking to be found in Kelty, it was no surprise to see a massive crowd – estimated to be in the four figures – crammed into New Central Park. The crowd were treated to a cracking game of football, with two quality teams going hammer and tong throughout.

Kelty almost took an early lead with only a minute played when Murray Carstairs’ header from a free kick was batted onto the post by Kevin Swain in the LTHV goal. Neil McCabe followed up and although he blasted his shot over the bar, it was a statement of intent from the home side. Lothian’s Paul Crawford dealt well with a cross from Stephen Husband just a few minutes later before the visitors broke forward themselves with Willis Hare’s inviting cross being well defended by the towering Sean O’Neil. It was a frantic opening with the home side knowing that nothing less than a win would do.

Kelty continued to have the lion’s share of the chances, and after some good work to keep the ball in by Scott Dalziel on fifteen minutes, Stuart Cargill was presented with a chance but his poor header was cleared. Six minutes later it was Cargill’s turn to cross for Dalziel, who could only put his header wide of the post. Less than a minute later, Swain was called into action when left back Murray Courts drove a powerful strike at goal from 25 yards. The Lothian keeper did well to keep the shot out and smother the danger. Kelty were dominating possession, but Lothian were also looking dangerous on the counter attack. But despite both sides having decent chances, neither keeper was being particularly tested.

With 38 minutes on the clock, Kelty broke down the left hand side and Dalziel found himself with the ball in the box. His shot was blocked and fell to Courts, who also saw his shot blocked. The rebound was lofted back into the box and despite a couple of his team mates being in offiside positions, Cargill had gotten out quickly enough and launched himself into the air to connect with a spectacular overhead kick that sailed past Swain and sent the home support into raptures. The joy was doubled just four minutes later when Carstairs rose unchallenged to meet Husband’s corner and head into the net to make it 2-0 to Kelty.

The first half action wasn’t over though as Lothian were handed a golden chance to get themselves back in the game right on half time. A misplaced passback was picked up by Kevin Brown who was tripped as he ran into the box and referee Craig Wilson showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Louis Swanson stepped up and drilled his penalty past Scott Christie to make it 2-1 at the break.

The cutest supporter of the day

The second half was a much cagier affair than the first, with Kelty happy to sit back and let Lothian come at them, confident in their defensive abilities. With that said, it was the home side who had the best chance of the early goings. Brian Ritchie picked up a through ball from Courts and raced through on goal. He rounded Swain, but found himself too wide to take a shot. His hooked cross was met by Dalziel who powered a header goal bound, but it was somehow saved by the recovering Swain. It was a truly remarkable stop. It was the clearest chance in the first half hour of the second half as the defences of both teams were more than equal to the attacks.

With 75 minutes gone, Lothian were pushing for the equaliser that would see them crowned champions. Kevin Brown struck with power from 25 yards and saw his shot tipped over the bar by Christie. The Kelty keeper was called into action again from the resulting corner as Connor McGregor rifled a shot at goal, but Christie held well. Lothian continued to push but couldn’t find a way through as Kelty attempted to kill off the game. And kill it off they did deep into stoppage time. Substitute Scott Taylor McKenzie picked up the ball wide on the right, cut inside and unleashed a strike from the edge of the box past Swain to start utter pandemonium in the ground. Coach Murrsy McDowall was dismissed by Wilson after joining in the celebrations with his players and reacted to his sending off by sprinting sideways in front of the packed enclosure to celebrate with the fans.

On the day, Kelty were the better side and deserved the win. It may well have been just one game too many for Lothian after a hectic schedule. To miss out on winning the league after losing just one game all season must be absolutely devastating. Kelty will now play Threave Rovers over two legs to determine who will replace Hawick Royal Albert in the Lowland League next season. Those should be two cracking games.

The Pies

When I initially went for a pie they had run out and were waiting on another batch being cooked (according to someone further up the queue, I must add in case this isn’t actually true!) Being so engrossed in the game I never got back to try one. Which seems a shame because the snack bar menu looked excellent. I’ll make sure to get one next time.

Admission: £6
Programme: £2 (plus free team sheet available on request)
Pie: £1.60
Bovril: £1
Attendance: 1,400

Port Glasgow v Yoker Athletic

Port Glasgow 0-2 Yoker Athletic
SJFA West Region Central District League Division One
Parklea Stadium
Wednesday 25th April 2018

The weather from last Wednesday’s round of midweek madness seems to have deserted us, but with plenty of fixtures still to play (not least Wishaw, who still have a ridiculous 19 league games to go) it was off to Inverclyde and a first visit for me to Port Glasgow.

The Venue

Port moved to this ground, officially called the Port Glasgow Community Stadium in 2012 after a twelve year period sharing with their local rivals Greenock at Ravenscraig and Battery Park. Their previous ground at Woodhall Park had been sold by the local council for an industrial development. As suggested by the “Community Stadium” part of the ground’s name, this is one of the increasingly prevalent 3G cages, albeit with a bit more to it than the ones that tend to stand in public parks and high schools. Inverclyde Council spent £4.4 million on the facility.

Both sides of the excellent surface have a permanent spectator rail installed, and on the side that houses the impressive changing facilities and amenities are two reasonably sized covered enclosures. The enclosures have a couple of steps of terracing, while the rest of the spectating area is hard standing. The cage also boasts some screening on the lower portion to give the pitch a more enclosed feeling. While this is clearly one of the “council sports centres” that are so derided by the traditionalists, Port have done a really good job of making it a pleasant place to watch football.

Both old school traditional venues and modern facilities have their place in football in my book and I for one am just as happy watching a game somewhere like Parklea as I am at somewhere like Dunterlie Park where I was last week. They are undoubtedly very different, and the experience isn’t the same, but personally I enjoy the contrast. You make your own experience. Again using Dunterlie Park as an example because it’s fresh in my mind, cracking old fashioned venues like it have history which seeps out of them. I had never visited before last Wednesday, and I’ll hope to go back and take in another (hopefully better quality!) game there in the future because it was a fantastic place to watch a game. But I also enjoyed my time here. The two types of venue offer something different for sure, but there’s absolutely no problem with enjoying both. I take each ground on it’s own merits, and when facilities are as good as they are at Parklea, I can find little to complain about.

The Teams

Port Glasgow were formed in 1948 as a breakaway team from local juvenile side Clune Rock. They are the second junior club to serve the area, following Port Glasgow Athletic who were around from the 1890s before disbanding at the outbreak of World War II. Their most successful season was in 1978-79 when they won the “A” division of the Central District, just three years after playing in the “C” division. Their most recent triumph came in 1999-2000 when they won Evening Times Cup after winning the Central District Second Division. They were promoted to the Superleague Division One in 2008 after winning the Central First Division, but lasted only one season at that level. They are currently managed by Brian Heron and go by the nickname of “The Undertakers”

Port currently sit in fifth place in the Central League Division One table, although they are ten points behind Neilston, who occupy the promotion playoff spot. With six games still to play, they are clinging on to slim promotion hopes, but would need a spectacular collapse from the teams above them. They finished second in their Sectional Cup group behind Renfrew to start the season, but have fallen at the first hurdle in all the other cups, losing out on penalties to Wishaw in the Central League Cup, to Neilston in the West of Scotland Cup, and exited the Scottish Junior Cup after a replay to Petershill.

Colloquially known as the “Whe Ho,” Yoker Athletic were formed in 1886 and play out of Holm Park. Yoker itself sits right on the boundary between Glasgow and West Dunbartonshire, and while it is technically part of Glasgow, Holm Park is situated just on the Clydebank side of the border, meaning they play in West Dunbartonshire. The club were extremely successful in the 1930s, winning the West of Scotland Cup in the 1930-31 season, and the Scottish Junior Cup in 1932-33. They also reached the final of the Scottish in the 1935-36 season. They haven’t reached the top league since the West Region reconstruction, but have played in the Superleague First Division. Last season they reached the final of the Central League Cup, but were beaten by Petershill. Graeme George appears to be in caretaker charge of the team after manager Steven Reilly left sometime after their December game with Troon (who’s online programme from that day is the only reference I can currently find)

Yoker currently sit in eleventh place in the league table, but still have ten games to play including tonight. Mathematically they could still reach the promotion or playoff spots, but it seems unlikely at this point. Their season started by finishing third in the Sectional Cup group, with a point against their derby rivals Clydebank being the highlight of a disappointing campaign. They have exited at the first round stage of the Central League and West of Scotland Cups to Shettleston (on penalties) and Maybole respectively. The main talking point of Yoker’s season has been their run to the quarter finals of the Scottish Junior Cup. They dispatched of Ardeer Thistle, St Anthony’s, Troon and Whitburn, before succumbing to fellow Central District League Division One side Wishaw in a twice postponed quarter. The cup run was a big talking point around the club and reinvigorated their season. A seven game unbeaten league run was only halted by table topping Benburb on Monday night.

The Game

The advertised kick off of 6.45 had been switched to 7.15 without my knowledge, so when I showed up just after half six, there were multiple kids’ teams still in full flow on the pitch. It was suggested to me by someone who seemed to know what was going on that the kids always have the pitch on a Wednesday until 7. I almost reconsidered my defence of community facilities above on hearing this, but it is important to get youngsters involved, so I digress.

I have to apologise that there isn’t really much of a match report here tonight. My phone was very quickly dying, and I didn’t want to drain the battery any faster by using my usual note taking app. In all honesty it wasn’t really a game to write home about anyway, this was the third game in five days for both teams, and the fatigue was definitely showing. The main highlights of the first half saw Yoker break forward with a good passing move before skewing a shot wide, and a 25 yard Port strike being pushed just round the post by the Yoker keeper.

Yoker had the ball in the net five minutes before the break, but after initially appearing to award the goal, the referee gave a free kick to the home side for a foul in the build up. The Yoker players were furious, but the ref’s mind was made up and it was 0-0 at half time.

Ten minutes into the second half saw the breakthrough in controversial fashion. A through ball from midway inside the Yoker half was collected by Hynes, who beat the offside trap, ran through and rounded the Port keeper. Hynes dragged the ball wide but managed to squeeze his shot into the net. The Port players and coaching staff protested vigorously as the visitors celebrated, but the goal stood. From where I was standing, it was a borderline decision, and without assistants, it was a tough call for the referee to make.

The rest of the half was of slightly higher quality than the first, but neitehr side could really get much going in front of goal. Yoker hit the bar with a long range strike with two minutes remaining, and in stoppage time added a second through Henry. I actually missed the goal, as I had left thinking there were only about 30 seconds left! Not the best game I’ve ever seen, but definitely not the worst way to spend an evening.

The Pies

The pie stall is in the club room inside the main club building and is staffed by an absolutely delightful woman who was making funny conversation with anyone who came in to see her. The pies were a standard Scotch pie, nice and meaty and peppery. I had two. I was hungry and it merited a second bite!

Admission: £5
Programme: None
Pie: £1.50
Bovril: £1
Attendance: 31 (headcount – there may have been an extra 3 or 4 in the second half)

Gartocharn v Drymen United

Gartocharn 1-1 Drymen United
Forth and Endrick Football League
Shandon Park
Friday 20th April 2018

After the entire card of opening round fixtures fell foul of the weather last Friday night, the Forth and Endrick Football League – a summer season league falling under the auspices of the Scottish Welfare FA – got under way on a gloriously sunny evening. I’ve never taken in a game in this competition before, and made the short trip with no idea what to expect.

The Venue

The fixture list that the Forth and Endrick League posted a few weeks ago had this listed as a home game for Gartocharn, but it was played at Shandon Park, the home of their local rivals Drymen United. Driving past Gartocharn’s usual park on the way here, it didn’t look in a playable state, and I’m unsure if there’s an underlying issue. I’m not totally clear if the game had been officially switched to a home tie for Drymen, or if Gartocharn had been forced to give up home advantage.

Shandon Park is situated just before you enter the village on the right hand side if approaching from the Stirling direction, or once you pass through the village on the left if you approach from towards Balloch. It’s hidden behind some hedges and could easily be mistaken for a field if you don’t know where exactly it is you’re looking for. Once inside, the ground is a very tidy little setup, with a decent quality grass pitch (which did cut up a bit as the game progressed, but held up relatively well). There’s a wooden pavilion on site and wooden spectator barriers down the two sidelines, both of which are covered in sponsor boards. This is an excellent little ground that wouldn’t look out of place at all in the lower junior leagues.

The Teams

For the purpose of this blog, there is frustratingly little information on the teams available online. As a summer league that is playing Friday night games this season, I’ll probably be frequenting the Forth and Endrick League, and will figure out some sort of format as I go.

The Forth and Endrick League is a Welfare league, a grade of amateur football that was originally set up for works teams. The Forth and Endrick Football League actually predates the Welfare Association, having been set up in 1910, with the first league competition being played in 2012. It operates on a summer season, and from this year moved from Saturday teatime kick offs, to Friday evening games. There are currently eleven teams, primarily from the Stirlingshire area, competing, with Fintry currently in abeyance. The clubs represent small villages throughout the region. The members also compete in four cup competitions, with some league matches doubling up as sectional cup ties. Balfron Rovers have won the league the past two seasons.

Tonight’s teams are the two most local to me, and therefore most likely to be ones I visit again this season. Being situated only four miles apart, they are fierce local rivals. Gartocharn were formed in 1957 and are the youngest team in the league despite celebrating their 60th anniversary last year. Drymen United were founder members back in 1910, having formed the same year. Drymen have Vale of Leven captain Craig Cowan in their side, with the Vale only having one game left of their season and no chance of promotion, Cowan has registered with his home town side for the start of the season.

The Game

I got held up and missed about the first fifteen minutes of the game but arrived to find Gartocharn on the attack and looking dangerous. With 17 minutes played, they opened the scoring when Dougie Wilson latched onto a through ball and placed his shot well across the Drymen keeper and into the net. Having missed the start, I don’t know if the goal came against the run of play, but from that point on it was pretty much one way traffic in favour of Drymen. Over the following ten minutes they bombarded the Garto goal, with Cowan heading just wide from a corner, the keeper being forced into two good saves, and seeing the ball hit the post following a good old fashioned goalmouth scramble.

The one way traffic continued after the half hour mark, with Garto’s keeper making two good saves in quick succession and another header from a corner flying inches over the bar. The pressure paid off with 36 minutes gone when right back Davie Cowan burst down the wing and cut into the box. His shot was blocked but the rebound was turned in by David Fraser (according to Gartocharn’s Facebook report, although the Drymen supporters next to me thought it was a young lad by the name of Cammy who had scored). As half time approached, Craig Cowan saw a 30 yard free kick fly just wide of the post, and despite Drymen’s dominance, the two sides went into the break level.

The second half started in cagey fashion, with neither side really able to string anything together. With fifty minutes gone came an amusing interlude when a dog got loose and invaded the pitch. The dog stood in front of Cowan as he was preparing to take a free kick, took a shit on the pitch and then ran off with the ball. The mess was picked up by the dog’s owner, the mutt was captured and put back on his lead, and the game was able to continue with most of the crowd in fits of giggles. Drymen continued to dominate possession, but long serving Garto captain Graeme McKenzie was marshalling his defence well and restricting United to long range efforts.

With an hour gone, Garto made a rare foray up the field, but goalscorer Wilson snatched at his shot and saw it fly past the post and get stuck in a tree. McKenzie came close to restoring Garto’s lead with a 35 yard free kick that took the Drymen defence by surprise, but it flew just past the post. The short spell of danger from Garto fizzled out and Drymen took over pressing again, but still found themselves unable to make the final connection. Craig Cowan was controlling the midfield, and he had two similar long range chances midway through the half, but both of them fell just past the post.

The last fifteen minutes were played at a frantic pace as the light faded, and both teams were stretched on a couple of occasions. Again, the finish just couldn’t be found and the game finished 1-1. Drymen will I’m sure be disappointed not to have picked up all three points in a game where they dominated possession, but just lacked the killer touch. Gartocharn will be extremely pleased with their defensive performance, as the restricted their opponents to mainly long range efforts. All in all a good game, a really decent standard, and I look forward to seeing both teams again over the summer

The Pies

No pies or other catering as would be expected at this level. Instead I made a visit to the always excellent Palombo’s chippy in Balloch on my way and devoured my favourite sausage supper.

Admission: Free
Programme: None
Pie: None
Bovril: None
Attendance: Fluctuated between 40 and 60

Arthurlie v Clydebank

Arthurlie 2-0 Clydebank
SJFA West Region Superleague Premier Division
Dunterlie Park
Wednesday 18th April 2018

The annual fixture pile up in the junior game is something that frustrates the life out of teams and many supporters. But the silver lining that I take from it is that I can pop into a game on my way home from work once or twice a week. With Barrhead only a few miles away from my work, so not much of a detour, Dunterlie Park was my destination for the first midweek madness trip of the season

The Venue

Dunterlie Park is well situated within Barrhead, right across the road from the train station. The ground opened in 1919, and is the third home of the club to bear the same name. It’s a proper old school junior ground with concrete stepped terracing on two sides, one of which houses a moderately sized covered enclosure capable of sheltering a couple of hundred souls from the elements. The opposite side from the enclosure has a small hard standing area that the diehard home support seem to use.

The ground has a current notional capacity of 3,000, which doesn’t look too far off the mark for me. Somehow 10,500 crammed in for a Scottish Junior Cup tie with relative neighbours Cambuslang Rangers in March 1939. Given that I’m told the footprint of the ground was the exact same back in those days, it’s a bit mind boggling. Health and safety has come a long way from the interwar years.

The Teams

Arthurlie can trace their history back to 1874 and the original iteration of the club were members of the Scottish Football League for two spells between 1901-1915 and 1923-1929. They won the SFL Division Three title in the 1923-24 season and were regular competitors in the early rounds of the Scottish Cup. The club folded in 1929 due to financial difficulties and were immediately reformed as Arthurlie Amateurs. After only a year in the amateur setup, the club once again became Arthulie FC and joined the junior setup. The club won the Scottish Junior Cup for the first time in 1937, just a few years into their tenure in the junior game. They won the showpiece competition for a second time in 1998, beating their fierce rivals Pollok 4-0 at Motherwell’s Fir Park. Arthurlie were also Central District League champions on four occasions before the West Region was formed.

It’s been a tough season so far for Arthurlie, despite a good start with three wins from four games in the Sectional League Cup. They sit bottom of the Superleague Premier Division, with just one win and seven points from their thirteen games so far, with their lone win coming on the second day of the league season. Their Scottish Cup run did take them to the fifth round when they were eventually defeated by Carnoustie Panmure, but they have exited the West of Scotland and Central League Cups at the first hurdle. Billy Ogilvie is the current man in charge.

Clydebank’s history is long, storied and tumultuous, and is going to take way longer than my usual spiel about the teams in action. Given that I’m intending to see them again in a couple of weeks, today I’m going to focus on the current iteration of the club, which has been active since 2003. With the fans of Clydebank left without a team to follow after their club’s collapse, the supporters group UCS secured the rights to the club’s name, badge and history from Airdrie United and began the process of setting up a new club. After a year out of the game, Clydebank returned as a junior club, in the fourth tier Central District League Division Two for the 2003-04 season. Groundsharing with Drumchapel Amateurs at Glenhead Park, the club won the league at the first attempt, often playing in front of four figure crowds, unprecedented for the division. A second promotion to Superleague Division One followed in 2006-07, with promotion to the Premier League coming at the end of the 2010-11 season. The club were relegated in 2015, and after two seasons in the First Division, gained promotion to the top level again last year.

Clydebank reached the Scottish Junior Cup Final in 2008-09, losing 2-1 to Auchinleck Talbot in front of over 8,000 fans at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock. Since returning to the junior game, the Bankies have won the Central League Cup twice, and the Sectional League Cup another twice. This season has been a tricky one for the club, hovering at the bottom of the league table. A recent run of good form however, has lifted them to eighth, although they still do only have 11 points from 14 games and are not yet safe from relegation playoffs. The club lost at the first hurdle in the second round of the Scottish Junior Cup to Kennoway Star Hearts, won the Sectional League Cup and are still active in both the West of Scotland and Central League Cups. The club’s members recently voted to rejoin senior football, and a deferred application to the East of Scotland League for the 2019-20 season has been made to allow ground improvements to be carried out at Holm Park. Kieran McAnespie is the current manager, having taken over from the long serving Budgie McGhie in January 2017. McAnespie retired from playing just a few weeks ago.

The Game

Clydebank almost had the perfect start to the game just seconds after kick off. A poor clearance from the Lie defence allowed Steven Higgins to get a shot away, but Grant Hay got down well to save. Just a few minutes later the Bankies came close again from a corner, but Jamie Darroch’s header flew just past the post. The home side took advantage of their first real foray up the field with eight minutes gone. A free kick was given around 25 yards out on the left hand side. Despite the protestations of the Bankie’s support, Lie captain Kieran McAleenan curled a superb strike past the despairing Waters in the Clydebank goal to give his side the lead.

It was to be the high point in a largely drab first half, as despite the glorious sunshine overhead, the Dunterlie Park pitch was cutting up badly, and was making things difficult for both sides. Clydebank continued to attempt to play a passing game, but time after time found the ball bobbling away from the intended target. The Lie had the best of the chances, but despite James Marks working hard up front and showing good strength and movement, there was little final product to show. Marks himself had a header just wide from a corner midway through the half, and should have done much better with a poor shot from inside the box with halftime approaching. Marks pouncing on a poor clearance should have cut the ball back to James MacLennan instead of firing well wide. The Bankies had the last chance of the half, but MacLean fired a shot from just outside of the box wide after a promising run.

Not a whole lot of quality on show in the first half, and it was confounding why Clydebank didn’t try to change up their gameplan when it became clear that the surface was less than perfect.

The second half brought a lot more action as Arthurlie began to adapt to the underfoot conditions. An attack straight from the kick off gave the Bankies defence a fright, but Waters smothered the ball. The visitors had a great chance with fifty minutes gone when the ball broke to Steven Higgins, but the normally reliable striker hit a soft shot straight at Hay while bearing down one-on-one. Five minutes later it was Lie on the attack again, but Marks’ cutback wasn’t picked up by any of his team mates. Arthurlie continued to look more dangerous, restricting Clydebank to mainly long range efforts, including a Ryan Deas free kick which sailed over the bar.

With 71 minutes played, Marks picked up a long ball, but could only hit his shot right at Waters. But only a matter of seconds later, Marks had doubled the home side’s lead. The Bankies attempts at playing out of defence backfired as Marks pounced and drilled a powerful low strike across Waters from 30 yards out. Marks almost doubled his own tally about 90 seconds later when Waters’ kick out hit him on the back, but the spin on the ball didn’t allow the striker to get the ball under control quick enough to find the target.

Clydebank tried in vain to get themselves back into the game, but the damage had been done and the visitors never really looked like scoring. It wasn’t the greatest game I’ve ever seen, and Clydebank’s performance was as bad as I’ve seen from them. Arthurlie were more than worthy of only their second league win of the season, and with Hurlford not playing this midweek, it’s 3 points that lifts them off the bottom of the table.

The Pies

Heading to the game straight after work meant that I was using the pie stall for my dinner. I decided to plump for two steak pies, which were packed to bursting with really tender meat. Good job.

Admission: £6
Programme: £1.50
Pie: £1.50 (Scotch) £1.80 (steak)
Bovril: £1
Attendance: 170 (approx headcount)

Hibernian v Glasgow City

Hibernian Ladies 2-2 Glasgow City
SWPL1
Ainslie Park
Sunday 15th April 2018

It’s the battle of the titans as far as women’s football in Scotland is concerned. Hibs and Glasgow City have held a duopoly on the three main trophies since 2011 and are very much the “Big Two” in the women’s game. The rivalry between the two sides has made for some fantastic games over the past few seasons. Hopefully today’s trip to North Edinburgh will be another good one.

The Venue

Ainslie Park opened in 2008 and is the home of Spartans, who relocated from City Park, which was just across the road on the other side of Pilton Drive. Hibs Ladies moved in at the start of the 2016 season, and the ground is also being called home by SPFL League 2 side Edinburgh City for a three year period from the start of the 2017-18 season. The fantastic facilities on offer, as well as the excellent synthetic pitch, mean that it is also used as an alternative venue for several other local teams, as well as the multitude of youth sides from The Spartans academy setup. The main stand, that runs just over halfway down one side of the pitch seats 504, and the overall capacity is set at 3,000, with the rest being hard standing and some shallow grass banking.

The facility also has a second full size synthetic pitch, which sits on the other side of the stand, as well as several small sided pitches. The impressive club buildings host changing rooms for up to six teams, and a cafe/bar, which has a balcony that overlooks the pitch. It’s a cracking facility, and has been in virtually constant use, 7 days a week since it opened.

The Teams

These two met each other five times during the 2017 season, with City dominating the league fixtures – including winning the title at Hibs – but Hibs prevailing in the cups, winning the League Cup semi-final between the two sides, and ending the season by winning the Scottish Cup Final.

Hibs Ladies played their first season in 1999, but the club had been running for two years previous under the banner of Preston Athletic. Since becoming Hibs, they have 3 SWPL titles under their belts, winning the championship in 2003-04, 2005-06 and 2006-07. They have won the League Cup five times and have lifted the Scottish Cup on seven occasions. They have a 100% record in the league so far this season with three games played. Goalkeeper Jenna Fife and full back Kirsty Smith have just returned from international duty with Scotland, while captain Joelle Murray, Rachel McLaughlin, Rachael Small and Abi Harrison have also been called into the national squad over the past six months. Ellis Notley, Jamie-Lee Napier and Shannon McGregor have also all been mainstays in the Scotland Under-19 setup. Kevin Milne, who managed Hearts Ladies and Hawick Royal Albert before taking over towards the end of 2017 when Chris Roberts left for Bristol City, surprisingly resigned as head coach a couple of weeks ago. Grant Scott is in caretaker charge while a new head coach is found.

Formed in 1998, Glasgow City are well known as the premier women’s team in Scotland and with good reason. Their SWPL1 title last season was their eleventh in a row, and twelfth overall. They have also won the Scottish Cup a record eight times and the League Cup a record six times. City had six players in the Scotland squad last week, with goalkeeper Lee Alexander saving a penalty against Poland on Tuesday night. Abbi Grant and Leanne Crichton didn’t play in either of the World Cup Qualifiers, but Hayley Lauder, Jo Love and new signing (for her second spell at the club) Christie Murray all played a part. Sam Kerr and Erin Clachers both played in the Under-19 Elite Round held here in Edinburgh last week. City have played in the knockout stages of the UEFA Women’s Champion’s League on seven occasions, memorably reaching the quarter finals in 2014-15. Former Scotland international Scott Booth has been their head coach since 2015.

The Game

The game started off in lively fashion with both sides having chances within the first five minutes. Leanne Crichton firing wide for City after good work from Sam Kerr, and Lucy Graham’s shot following a good run from Kirsty Smith going just over the bar. With ten minutes played Cailin Michie tested Lee Alexander in the City goal with a stinging effort from just outside the box. City broke directly up the park, but Nicola Docherty’s left wing cross was well held by Hibs keeper Jenna Fife. Despite playing in an unfamiliar central defensive role, Jo Love came close with twelve minutes gone, but saw her shot from the angle of the box rise over the bar. With seventeen minutes of an even game gone, Hibs took the lead. Graham won a free kick on the right wing which was swung into the box by Emma Brownlie. City failed to clear the enticing ball and Jamie-Lee Napier was there at the back post to knock it in to the empty net.

City went straight back on the attack after going behind and a long ball from Love fell at the feet of Hayler Lauder inside the box. She couldn’t get it out from under her feet though, and after eventually laying off to Abbi Grant, the chance was blocked. The visitors weren’t behind for long however, as with 22 minutes to go they were given the golden opportunity of a penalty. Crichton darting into the box knocked it past Smith, and the full back stuck out a leg to bring the City midfielder down. Captain Leanne Ross stepped up and drilled a well struck penalty past Fife for the equaliser.

City continued to look dangerous going forward as the first half progressed, piling the pressure on Hibs, for whom Abi Harrison was looking increasing isolated up front. With wingers Napier and Graham being forced into defensive duties given City’s pressure, Harrison was being left with the unenviable task of holding the ball up and waiting for support. City came close on a couple of occasions, with Fife looking worried as a Docherty cross landed on the roof of her net, and Lauder striking the outside of the post from 25 yards after an excellent through ball from Christie Murray. As half time approached, Murray herself hit the side netting after getting on the end of Docherty’s cross. The best chance of the half came for the hosts seconds before the break, when Chelsea Cornet pounced on a poor clearance from City and fired a shot agonisingly across the face of the goal. All square at the break in a competitive game, with City creating the better chances, but Hibs looking dangerous when they attacked.

The second half started off cagey, with both sides seemingly just trying to get a hold on the game. With 52 minutes gone though, Hibs’ fans were wondering how their team hadn’t just taken the lead. Graham sent a fantastic ball through to Harrison, who muscled past the City defence and fired a shot past Alexander. Somehow though, Jo Love managed to throw herself at the ball and clear it off the line in spectacular fashion. From the resulting corner, Abbi Grant showed exactly why you keep a player on the posts at corners when she diverted Sam Kerr’s misplaced clearance off the line for the second time in as many minutes. City weathered the storm and five minutes later created a good chance down the right through Ross, Kerr and Megan Foley. Hibs captain Joelle Murray – returning from a spell out injured – cleared the ball high into the stands to stub out the move.

Hibs were beginning to dominate possession around the hour mark, with Harrison, Napier and Graham all looking dangerous without managing to create any real chances. City were starting to show signs of frustration, and picked up a flurry of yellow cards in this period of the game. From one of those free kicks came a decent chance, but Lisa Robertson’s 25 yard strike sailed over the bar. Despite being under the cosh, City did look bright on the counter attack, and Abbi Grant had two decent chances, stinging the hands of Fife with one, while somehow managing to control a fizzing pass from Docherty before shooting wide with the other. And at the other end, substitute Shannon McGregor fired just wide from Harrison’s cross with almost her first touch of the game.

The game was turning into a scrappy affair, but Hibs were looking threatening, especially with the introduction of Lizzie Arnot, who returned from a long injury layoff to a fantastic reception from the home support. Harrison had another chance with five minutes to go when she powered through the City midfield, but she saw her strike charged down by City substitute Maddie Hill.

There was late drama to be had in this game, and with two minutes remaining, City won a corner on the left hand side. Fife came to collect the corner but lost her grip on it and it was stabbed in a yard from the line by Donna Paterson, scoring her first goal since signing for City from Aberdeen. But any thoughts of snatching a late victory were quelled a minute into stoppage time, when the interminable Harrison bowled her way down the right and sent a stunning strike over the head of Alexander. It was a fabulous goal, and no more than the striker deserved for her tireless efforts over the game

A quite fantastic game of football between two top class teams. It would have been harsh on Hibs to lose this one, and a draw for me was a fair result on balance. With the two remaining league fixtures between the two sides to be played at Petershill, City should definitely travel home along the M8 happy with their point.

The Pies

There was a good selection of pies on offer today, with Scotch, macaroni and chicken curry all on offer. We both plumped for the macaroni variety this afternoon, and found a delightfully gooey filling that satisfied the appetite really well. The snack bar at Ainslie Park is really well stocked in general and offers an excellent variety of hot and cold options. Well worth popping upstairs to check out.

Admission: £5
Programme: None.
Pie: £2 (Scotch, macaroni, curry)
Bovril: £1
Attendance: 215 (approx headcount)

Whitehill Welfare v Gala Fairydean Rovers

Whitehill Welfare 4-2 Gala Fairydean Rovers
Scottish Lowland Football League
Ferguson Park
Saturday 14th April 2018

After watching Whitehill at Ochilview last week and catching up with some old friends, I was struck with the urge to get through to Rosewell before the end of the season. I hadn’t immediately expected it to be quite this soon, but with no other games on the fixture card jumping out at me, it was into the car for a long overdue trip to Midlothian.

The Venue

I have spent a lot of time at Ferguson Park over the years, on the terraces, in the seats when we installed them back in 2013, on both sides of the bar, and many a Saturday morning on the pitch trying to get it ready for a referee’s inspection while being bellowed at by Rosewell legend Peter McGauley. I have so many great memories of this ground that I’m going to have to rein myself in and not ramble on forever.

Ferguson Park has been the home of Welfare for their entire existence, and was the former home of Rosewell’s former junior team Rosedale. The name comes from the farmer who provided the turf for the pitch. The ground has evolved a lot over the decades, and especially in the last 20 years or so. The impressive pavilion was constructed in 1997, with funds from the previous year’s Scottish Cup tie with Celtic being utilised to modernise the facilities. As I previously mentioned, around 150 seats were bolted onto the steps of the existing covered enclosure in 2013 and have proved a popular addition for home and visiting fans alike. There is a large uncovered terrace on the same side as the stand, with the rest of the ground being surrounded by grass banking. The official capacity is 2,614, as stipulated by Midlothian Council when appraising the club for licensing.

The beating heart of the ground is the Eddie Thomson Lounge. Named for the former Welfare player who went on to play for Hearts and Aberdeen before moving to Australia, the lounge hosts a well stocked bar with ample seating and a big screen TV, open to fans before and after home games. The hospitality room is also located in the building. I have spent many a Saturday evening (and well into the night) in the bar, and to this day it is one of my favourite places. I popped in for a beer at halftime, and had a good catch up with some old pals. The fantastically maintained pitch took a battering on Wednesday night, and Peter told me in the bar that he was worried by the rain over the last few days, but with a bit of sand and a lot of hard work, it held up. Ferguson Park is a wonderful ground which the club can be very proud of.

(Photo credit Whitehill Welfare)

The Teams

Having watched Whitehill Welfare just a week ago, I’m not going to rehash the same spiel again. But there’s a lot to say about this club, so I’ll go into a wee bit more history today. Rosewell has a long history of being a mining village, and it’s not surprising that Welfare were formed by a group of miners. The team’s name comes from the Whitehill Colliery, the mine where the founders of the club were employed. The Colliery closed in 1961, but the club’s mining heritage has lived on to this day, mining equipment is prominently displayed in the top left hand corner of the club’s badge.

1974-75 saw one of the most dominant seasons in juvenile football history, as Welfare won an incredible nine trophies, including the East of Scotland and Scottish Juvenile Cups. This huge success at under 21 level, coupled with the dwindling numbers in the Midlothian Juvenile League was a huge influencing factor when the club decided to turn senior in 1979.

Gala Fairydean Rovers have existed in their current form since 2013 when Gala Fairydean and Gala Rovers, who had a longstanding informal link dating back to the late 1940s, formally merged. Their history is actually highly interesting in that the team who originally formed in 1894 were called Gala Fairydean Rovers and split into the two sides in 1907. Following World War II, Fairydean were Galashiels’ semi-professional club, while Rovers were the town’s main side in the Border Amateur League. As full SFA members for almost a century, Fairydean have a storied history in the Scottish Cup, but have never gone further than the third round. They unsuccessfully applied to become SFL members on four occasions and were East of Scotland League champions on eight times, a total that is second only to today’s opponents.

The merged club were admitted as founder members of the Lowland League in 2013, and received their entry level club license shortly after. They have been a lower mid-table side in the Lowland League, reaching a high of 8th in 2014-15. This season, they sit in 12th position, three points ahead of Whitehill. Gala however, finish their league programme today, and could find themselves sliding down the table, with Whitehill, Dalbeattie Star and Vale of Leithen all having games in hand below them. Manager Steven Noble has announced that he will step down at the end of the season, and the club have already revealed that former Hawick Royal Albert boss Dean Shanks will take over in the summer.

The Game

Due to an accident causing some horrendous traffic on the Edinburgh City Bypass, I arrived at the ground just as the match was kicking off, and didn’t see the build up to Fabio Neto putting Welfare ahead with just a minute played, but did see the ball hit the back of the net. Less than two minutes later, however, I did see a goal in full, as Mark Smith’s break down the right sent Kyle Mitchell through one-on-one with Gala goalkeeper Lewis Moore. The Welfare striker slipped the ball under the on loan Rangers stopper to double the lead with less than three minutes played. It was a frantic start to the game that had the home support in high spirits in the glorious sunshine.

Gala could have crumbled after conceding two early goals, but instead rallied and dominated possession for the majority of the first half. With only seven minutes on the clock, Grant Rose found himself on the end of a through ball, but was forced wide by the Welfare defence and keeper Ross Jardine eventually held onto the ball. Reece Craigie was next to attack for the visitors, but saw his shot hit the side netting, and with 13 minutes gone, Welfare had to deal with another Gala attack with the visitors looking dangerous. Mitchell was given another chance on 18 minutes, but Muir was quickly out of his goal and cleared well. From the clearance, Darren Smith broke for Gala but his inviting cross was cleared by Craig Reid.

Gala continued to press, with Welfare struggling to get a grip on the game. Their pressure paid off with 36 minutes gone when David Brown’s cutback was slid in by Craigie low under Jardine. As Gala pressed trying to find an equaliser before the break, Welfare almost restored their two goal lead. With the ball at the feet of Neto following a corner, his hooked ball back found the head of Gary Nicholson, but his looping header landed on top of the net, and the half ended 2-1.

The second half started at the same high pace as the first as Welfare found themselves piling on the pressure, but it was Gala who found themselves with the best chances in the early going. With 57 minutes gone they almost had their equaliser, when a free kick wasn’t properly cleared. Rose made a good connection with his strike but Cammy Watson threw himself at the ball and cleared off the line. Gala were made to rue their missed chances a little over a minute later when Welfare substitute Darren McCraw burst through from the halfway line. His pace took him past the Gala defence into the box where his shot was well saved by Muir. It was the Welfare man who reacted quickest though and he sent the rebound into the net to make it 3-1.

Both sides continued to play at a high tempo, and were creating chances with no one being able to find the final touch. Reece Craigie fired just over the bar with a 25 yard strike, while Kyle Mitchell had a great chance when he rounded Muir, but the Gala keeper had pushed him wide enough that he couldn’t find the net. With the game entering it’s final ten minutes, Jack Wright won a free kick for Welfare and swung it into the box only for Neto’s excellent headed to be cleared off the line by former Welfare player Ross Aitchison. Neto had another chance two minutes later when substitute Josh Morris cut the ball back, but Muir saved well from the striker’s shot.

With 84 minutes gone, Welfare killed the game off when they won a free kick on the left around 25 yards out. With everyone expecting a cross, Josh Morris lofted the ball over the head of Muir into the top corner. It was a fantastic goal that drew a huge reception from the crowd. Gala kept pushing despite being three goals down and were rewarded for their persistence with two minutes to go. A long ball wasn’t properly cleared and landed at the feet of Rose who held off the defence and turned the ball past Jardine. Welfare held on though and recorded a vital win that guarantees Lowland League survival. It was an entertaining, competitive game from start to finish, and an excellent three points.

The Pies

Welfare’s Scotch Pies have always been excellent and today was no exception. A crunchy crust, and a soft meaty filling on the inside, perfectly seasoned. And always served with a smile.

Admission: £6
Programme: £2
Pie: £1.50
Bovril: £1
Attendance: 135 (approx headcount)

Scotland v Poland

Scotland 3-0 Poland
2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifying – UEFA Group 2
St Mirren Park
Tuesday 10th April 2018

A Tuesday night qualifier in Paisley for the second time in this campaign as Scotland reach the halfway stage of this qualifying tournament for next year’s World Cup in France. This will be an unapologetically biased post, I’m sure.

The Venue

St Mirren Park, which is still technically known as the Paisley 2021 Stadium – in a sponsorship deal with Renfrewshire Council to promote the city’s failed bid for UK City of Culture 2021 – sits in Paisley’s west end and is accessible from just off the M8. The stadium was opened in January 2009 when the club sold their previous Love Street ground to Tesco. In my opinion, it’s one of the best examples of a modern, purpose built all seater stadium.

Built with four stands, the ground has a capacity of 8,023. The East Stand, which houses the changing and corporate facilities has a slightly lower capacity than the West, while the North and South stands, which sit behind either goal are virtually identical. All four stands have a fantastic, unobstructed view, with the North Stand being the usual section for away support. Only the East and West stands were open for spectators tonight. The first game at the ground was a Scottish Premier League tie between St Mirren and Kilmarnock on January 31st 2009 that finished 1-1. The crowd of 7,452 that day is still the stadium’s attendance record.

The Teams

Following on from competing at their first ever major international tournament at last summer’s European Women’s Championships, Scotland were full of hope as they looked to qualify for the World Cup for the first time. Former Arsenal Ladies and Stirling University manager Shelley Kerr took over from longstanding head coach Anna Signeul following the Euros. Record cap holder and captain Gemma Fay, Leanne Ross and Ifeoma Dieke all also retired following the campaign. New captain Rachel Corsie, currently at Arsenal, and midfield talisman Kim Little, who has returned to Arsenal after a spell in the States, have both returned from injury in recent months to give the squad a boost. Kerr has picked a squad with a solid mix of youth and experience.

The campaign started last October with a 2-1 win in Belarus, with goals from Jane Ross and a second half own goal cancelling out the home side’s opener. It was followed up with a 5-0 win over Albania in Paisley five days later, with another own goal opening the scoring before Ross, Fiona Brown, Claire Emslie and Lisa Evans added to the comfortable scoreline. Winter and spring training camps saw a defeat to Norway, a draw with Russia and two 2-0 wins over New Zealand before resuming the qualifying campaign in Switzerland last Thursday. A 1-0 defeat to the top ranked Swiss means that with 3 games played, Scotland sit third in the group with 6 points from 3 games. Tonight’s opponents Poland are second on 7 points having played 4 games, and Switzerland have a 100% record from their five games played to top the group.

Poland have never reached a major international tournament and are currently ranked 30 in the world, seven places lower than Scotland. Their campaign started with a 4-1 home win over Belarus in September, which was followed by a narrow 2-1 defeat in Switzerland four days later. Their third game saw a 4-1 win in Albania back in November, but the Albanians secured a surprising 1-1 draw in Poland last Thursday to leave them with 7 points at the halfway stage of their qualifying campaign.

The Game

It was a scrappy start to the game, with neither side really able to get any footing on the match in the opening ten minutes or so. Poland had the first meaningful attack of the game after 7 minutes, but captain Rachel Corsie’s well timed tackle put pay to Ewa Pajor’s attempts. It took fourteen minutes for Scotland to mount any real attack, but when they did it was very close to the opening goal. Claire Emslie picked the ball up on the right wing and cut inside, leaving Paulina Dudek in her wake before firing a shot just inches over the bar from the angle of the box. Scotland attacked down the right again four minutes later when Lisa Evans was played in on the overlap by Emslie, only to see her cross sail over the heads of everyone in the box.

With 19 minutes played, Poland actually had the ball in the net, but Ewelina Kamczyk had been blown for offside well before she poked the ball into the empty net. The game was opening up by this point, and Emma Mitchell’s cross was met by Emslie on twenty minutes, but she couldn’t direct her header past the Polish defence. Two minutes later, Kim Little linked well with Evans, but the defence shepherded the ball harmlessly behind. Poland’s best chance of the first half came after 24 minutes from a well worked corner routine. Katarzyna Daleszczyk found herself with the ball at her feet around 12 yards out, but she blasted her shot high into the South Stand. Jane Ross was cutting a lonely figure up front on her own for Scotland, but her hold up play was bringing opportunities. With twenty seven minutes gone, she did extremely well to keep the ball in on the bye line and laid it back to Emslie. Her inviting cross was however a couple of inches too high for the onrushing Fiona Brown to reach and the ball drifted behind.

Scotland were in the ascendancy but couldn’t find the finishing touch to round anything off. Brown’s searching run down the left a little after the half hour mark resulted in a cross that fell agonisingly behind Ross and Caroline Weir, and Emslie, who was causing the Poles, and left back Dudek in particular, major problems every time she got hold of the ball sent in another sublime cross on 36 minutes, which none of her team mates could manage to get on the end of. It was however the Poles who finished the half stronger, with two good chances in the last five minutes. Kamczyk first beat Mitchell on the left hand side, but could only fire her shot straight at the grateful Lee Alexander. And with just a minute left in the half, Aleksandra Sikora found space on the right, but saw her cutback cleared by Corsie. 0-0 at halftime in an engaging game. Scotland just about looked the better side, but there really wasn’t much between the two teams.

Poland started the second half quickly and strongly, with Pajor sending a good effort into Alexander’s arms just ninety seconds after the kick off. Scotland did create a wonderful chance to take the lead with 51 minutes gone when Brown sent a delectable cross into the box. Kim Little almost had her head on it, but it was clawed away brilliantly by Polish keeper Katarzyna Kiedrzynek only inches from her head. Scotland were finding it hard to keep hold of the ball, and Poland were granted a huge chance to capitalise. Jennifer Beattie sent a poor clearance – pretty much her only misstep in a colossal defensive performance – straight to the feet of Sikora, but she could only force a corner. In the aftermath of that corner though, German referee Riem Hussein pointed to the spot for handball against Jo Love. It looked like a harsh decision from where I as sitting, and Love was absolutely furious with the call. With the large and vocal Polish support poised, Ewa Pajor stepped up and drilled a low penalty to Alexander’s right. But the Scotland keeper got down quickly and saved the spot kick, gathering the ball at the second attempt to the delight of the home crowd.

Despite the penalty miss, it was Poland who continued to attack, and with just over an hour gone, they worked a free kick down the right wing. Sikora’s cross was met by the head of Dudek, but Alexander saved well. Ten minutes later Kamczyk was released by a wonderful pass from midfield, and her shot flew across the Scotland goal before falling just wide. Scotland had weathered the storm though, and began to find openings, mainly through Emslie on the right hand side as she continued to terrorise Dudek, but her crosses into the box couldn’t find their targets. The game swung after 75 minutes when Dudek’s night was ended prematurely. Two almost identical fouls on Emslie around ten minutes apart resulted in a pair of yellow cards. The Polish left back left the field in tears, and the player advantage ramped Scotland up.

The introductions of Zoe Ness and Erin Cuthbert gave Scotland a new found spark as well, and both substitutes had decent long range efforts well saved by Kiedrzynek as Scotland pressed. Finally, with 79 minutes gone the deadlock was broken, and Emslie unsurprisingly had a big hand in the goal. Emslie found space on the right and rushed past the Polish defence to the byeline. Her cross was met by the diving head of Ness for her first international goal. The home crowd was buoyant, and they nearly had more to cheer after 84 minutes, but a scramble from Little’s free kick saw Emslie’s shot sneak past the post.

There was however, more to celebrate, as with 87 minutes gone Emslie got the goal her performance deserved. Kim Little’s stunning cross field pass found her in acres of space on the right and the Manchester City winger cut inside the box before shooting low under Kiedrzynek to double Scotland’s lead. Emslie had a chance to score again only a minute later but blasted her shot well over the bar after finding herself in space again. Scotland still had more, though, and two minutes into stoppage time Lisa Evans’ cutbuck was collected by Cuthbert, who fought off two defenders and somehow managed to get a powerful shot away as she fell to the ground. Cuthbert very nearly scored a fourth seconds later, but Kiedrzynek held the shot and the game finished 3-0. Scotland left it late, but dug deep for an impressive win against a tough opponent. Lee Alexander was named player of the match, understandably given that her penalty save changed the course of the game, but for me Claire Emslie was the outstanding player on the pitch, involved in just about everything Scotland created.

The Pies

Tonight, Kaitlin and I decided to skip dinner before the game and instead treat ourselves to two pies each for our main meal of the day. There are no regrets. St Mirren’s steak pie is a fairly standard one, not much to write home about, but a tasty snack. Their chicken curry pie is fantastic. A bit larger than the rest of them and packed full of a surprisingly and pleasingly spicy chicken curry. It’ll definitely be my choice of pie on any return visits. Kaitlin had both vegetarian options tonight, despite not being of that persuasion. The macaroni pie got top marks, and the cheese & bean pie, one I’ve never seen at a game before, was everything she wanted it to be. A good night of pie tasting! Steak and macaroni are pictured.

Admission: £5
Programme: Free
Pie: £2.20 (Scotch) £2.60 (Steak, chicken curry, macaroni, cheese & bean)
Bovril: £1.50
Attendance: 2,121

Cumbernauld Colts v Renfrew

Cumbernauld Colts Ladies 8-2 Renfrew Ladies
SWFL Division One South
Broadwood Stadium Complex
Sunday 8th April 2018

I’ve been making the most of my week’s annual leave and seen nine games in my ten days off. This short trip to North Lanarkshire was game number nine, and my first look at SWFL Division One this season.

The Venue

Due to what I alternately heard was an under 19 cup final or an amateur semi-final on the main stadium pitch, the game was played on the outside pitch at the Broadwood Complex. For as much as it’s maligned, I actually quite like Broadwood and I’m sure I’ll write about the main stadium at another time. So today I’ll just talk about the outside pitch that I watched today’s game on.

The 4G outside pitches were relaid by North Lanarkshire council just last year and are in fantastic condition. The 11-a-side pitch is also marked for 7-a-side use, and there are four smaller pitches attached for 5-a-side use. The usual green cage surrounds the pitch, and there’s a permanent spectator rail down one side of the pitch. The changing facilities are located within the main stadium. The outside pitch has the same basic facilities that any council 4G has, but the relatively new pitch is pretty much perfect for a game of football. In a bizarre scheduling quirk today, Cumbernaul Colts Development team actually played their SWFL2 game in the main stadium just after this game finished.

The Teams

Cumbernauld Colts have been running youth teams at various age groups since their inception in 1969. The club are currently the primary leaseholders at Broadwood, and with their large number of teams ensure the facility is in near constant use. They’ve been running girls teams for a number of years, and in 2009 launched their ladies senior team. The club had instant success, winning SWFL Division Two East in their first season. They were relegated from Division One after just one year, but bounced back and were promoted after only one year back in Division Two – this time finishing 2nd in the West section. This season is their seventh at this level.

The club are currently led by player/manager Julie McSherry, and went into today’s game in second place, with six points from three games. A heavy opening day defeat at home to Rangers Development was followed by victories at Thistle Weir and Boroughmuir Thistle. They exited the SWFL Division One Cup in the second round, losing to Queen’s Park after extra time.

Renfrew Ladies were officially formed in 2014, with the main structure of the club coming from Viewfield Rovers, who had been based in nearby Lochwinnoch. A successful first season saw them win the SWFL Division Two Cup, and narrowly miss out on promotion. An unfortunate administrative error saw them sit out the 2015 season, before returning to play in SWFL Division Two West in 2016. A remarkable unbeaten season saw them promoted, and they finished their first season in SWFL Division One South in fourth place. The club play at New Western Park, also home to the town’s junior side. Due to the inclement weather, and scheduled opponents Hibs 23s requesting a postponement due to international call-ups, Renfrew have played just one league game this season, losing 4-3 at home to Blackburn United. They also exited the league cup at the second round, going down 1-0 at Hibs 23s.

The Game

There was no hanging about today, this game lit up right away. With just three minutes gone, Renfrew won a throw on the left hand side. Midfielder Ruadh Houston picked the ball up and lofted a shot over the head of Julie McSherry in the Colts’ goal from the angle of the box. The goal sparked both teams, and Colts were almost on level terms just three minutes later. Renfrew keeper Sam McQuillan struggled to deal with a heavy back pass, but Frances Fern couldn’t find a way to squeeze the ball home. The frantic opening continued with first Renfrew’s Karen Baillie, then Colts’ Lauren Shaw both coming close in a back and forth sixty second spell.

The frenetic start to the game was eclipsed though, as three goals were scored in a madcap five minute spell. Colts equalised through Fern after eleven minutes as she picked the ball up from a wide left position before cutting inside and sending a deft lob over the head of McQuillan. Renfrew retook the lead just over two minutes later when the Colts defence failed to clear a corner and the ball fell to SammyJo Smith at the edge of the area. Incredibly she scored the third lobbed goal of the game in some style. The visitors were ahead for just about two and a half minutes though, as the impressive Fern sent a fantastic ball through to the feet of Cheryl Watt, who slid the ball under McQuillan to make it 2-2. The back and forth nature of the game continued with Bethany Kerr shooting just wide for Colts, before Smith forced McSherry into a good save when Renfrew broke from the goal kick.

With 24 minutes played, the home side took their first lead of the game when Joanne Morrison pounced on an errant goal kick and fired a spectacular 25 yard strike into the back of the net. Taking the lead seemed to give Colts confidence and they very nearly doubled their advantage a minute after taking the lead when Morrison’ wonderful through ball was collected by Fern who forced McQuillan into a good save. Emma Baird had a decent chance to equalise with a free kick around 25 yards out after twenty-seven minutes, but her attempt sailed over the bar. Renfrew’s hopes of getting back on level terms were dashed though as Colts scored another two quickfire goals with just over half an hour gone. Kerr released Fern with an excellent through ball, and she smashed a shot into the net to make it 4-2. Four minutes later it was 5-2, when Watt’s shot was well saved by McQuillan and Kirsty Gilbert was quickest to react and knock in the rebound.

If going three goals down was a setback, you wouldn’t have known it by the way Renfrew were playing. Both Baillie and Smith worked McSherry in the Colts goal as half time approached, but their push to get back in the game was leaving them exposed at the back. Bethany Kerr sent another fantastic ball forward to Watt, whose shot snuck inches wide of the post on 40 minutes, and Colts weren’t finished yet. On the stroke of halftime, Gilbert’s cross caused Renfrew defender Eilidh McDonald collide with her goalkeeper. The ball came loose and Watt tapped in the rebound to make it 6-2 at the break.

The second half had a lot to live up to, and inevitably wasn’t as action packed as the first, while still having plenty of chances on display. Houston failed to really test McSherry with a speculative long range effort just after the break, while Gilbert worked McQuillan at the other end following some excellent hold up play from Watt. Five minutes into the second half, it was 7-2 to the hosts. Watt collected the ball near the edge of the box and after some good footwork saw her shot blocked by the Renfrew defence. The ball broke to Frances Fern who completed her hat trick with a fine shot high into the net.

There was a lengthy delay to proceedings with just shy of an hour played, when Renfrew’s goalkeeper Sam McQuillan went down with an injury to her hand. Efforts to patch her up failed, and midfielder Karen Baillie – with a warm up jacket functioning as her new top – had to take over in goals with no replacement keeper on the bench. Baillie handled herself well, rarely looking troubled in her new position. She did concede once though, as Fern scored her fourth of the game on 72 minutes. An outstanding searching ball from Morrison found her in the box and no mistake was made against the makeshift keeper. It was a fantastic performance from Fern, who looked capable of causing problems for Renfrew every time she got on the ball.

Despite being 8-2 down, Renfrew didn’t give up at all and created several half chances without really troubling the Colts goal as the game fizzled out somewhat in the last 15 minutes. It was an assured performance from the home side, who went top of the Division One South table with the win. Some very good performances should give them plenty of confidence before travelling to play Hibs 23s next week. It was a sore one for Renfrew to take today, but they showed enough quality to make me think that they’ll not be on the end of many scorelines such as this.

The Pies

I don’t know if there’s catering facilities when the Colts Ladies are in the main stadium, but there were none on the outside pitch today.

Admission: Free
Programme: None
Pie: None
Bovril: None
Attendance: 26 (+1 dog)

East Stirlingshire v Whitehill Welfare

East Stirlingshire 3-1 Whitehill Welfare
Scottish Lowland Football League
Ochilview Park
Saturday 7th April 2018

When I was first perusing fixtures, this one stood out as a good opportunity for me to see Whitehill Welfare without having to travel too far. When it was announced in the past week that it would also be East Stirlingshire’s last game at Ochilview it held even more of a pull. It’s a second Lowland League game in as many days.

The Venue

Ochilview is another old ground in central Scotland, being home to Stenhousemuir since opening in 1890. Like the other grounds of its era, it has undergone many facelifts and is unrecognisable from when it was first built.

The main feature of the ground is the 626 seater main stand, opened in 1996. It is known as the Norway Stand, due to a sponsorship with the Stenhousemuir Norwegian Supporters’ Club. The story of that particular group is one for another day. The stand houses the changing rooms and toilet facilities, as well as a hospitality area. The large roof is a fantastic shelter from the elements. The only other side of the ground used for spectators is the terracing behind the goals at the Tryst Road end, which has a large enclosure almost the entire area. With the standing areas on both sides of the stand also added in, the capacity is 3,746.

The pitch is a FIFA approved two star 3G, and there are also smaller sided community pitches behind the goals at the east end of the park. I wish I’d managed to see the ground when the famous “Doll’s House” stand was still there, but it’s still a fantastic place to watch football, and I’m glad to have been here on a somewhat historic day.

The Teams

East Stirlingshire were founded in 1881, and were first elected into the Scottish football League in 1900. Most of their existence has been spent in the SFL and it’s successors, but there’s an undercurrent of turbulence that rears it’s head at several times throught The Shire’s history. Following World War II, Shire were one of the clubs that were denied re-entry to Division Two, and became founder members of the C Division, alongside several reserve teams. The club were promoted back into Division Two two years later, but after being relegated and finding the C Division abolished,were forced to play in regional leagues for six years until the SFL expanded in 1955. In 1964, the club merged with junior side Clydebank to become ES Clydebank, and were moved to the Dunbartonshire town. A legal challenge from Shire shareholders saw them move back to Falkirk after one season, with both clubs retaining a place in the league.

Recent years saw Shire frequently finish bottom of the Scottish Football League including five consecutive seasons from 2002-03 to 2006-07. Two third place finishes in 2008-09 and 2009-10 gave Shire fans hope, but they never finished higher than eighth again, and had the indignation of becoming the first club to be relegated to the Lowland League at the end of 2015-16, losing the relegation playoff 2-1 on aggregate to Lowland League champions Edinburgh City. They finished second in their first season in the Lowland League behind East Kilbride, and sit third this season, with just two games remaining. Sir Alex Ferguson began his managerial career at the club, who at the time played at Firs Park in Falkirk. They left Firs Park at the end of the 2007-08 season, citing that the refurbishment costs would have been prohibitive. This is a controversial topic for Shire fans and I’ll leave it for another time, because it’s a rabbit hole of a story to get into. Since 2008, the club have shared Ochilview with neighbours Stenhousemuir, but today is Shire’s last fixture here, as they will move home to Falkirk from next season as tenants at the Falkirk Stadium.

I mentioned when watching their Under 20 team last week that I have a longstanding history with Whitehill Welfare. When living in Bonnyrigg a few years back, I started going to games along the road in Rosewell, and ended up joining their committee for a few years. I was there at the exciting time when they were accepted as founder members of the Lowland League, and enjoyed several trophy wins in my time at the club. Since moving back west, I’ve seen them precious few times, but have held the club close to my heart and keep a keen interest in their results and off the field goings on. Welfare were founded in 1953 as an Under 21 side. After 26 trophy laden years, the applied in 1979 to join the East of Scotland Football League, and were accepted as a senior club. Welfare went on to become the most successful club in the East of Scotland League’s history, winning the league in their first four seasons, going on to amass sixteen titles. Their last was the 2012-13 season, their last season in the league before being elected as founder members of the Lowland League.

Welfare have had tremendous cup success over the years, winning an incredible 46 cups as members of the East of Scotland and Lowland Leagues, as well as numerous trophies when competing in juvenile football. Welfare are probably best known for their 1996 Scottish Cup 3rd Round match at “home” to Celtic. The game was played at Hibs’ Easter Road in front of over 13,000 spectators. After finishing fourth in the inaugural Lowland League season, Welfare have found themselves frequenting the mid table in the league. Gary Small is the club’s current manager, and after having to assemble a new squad from scratch last summer, the club have been stuck in the bottom half of the table. Due to the ridiculous winter though, Whitehill have games in hand over most of the teams around them, and will be confident of doing enough to guarantee survival, even if a second relegation place opens up. I’ll be writing about Whitehill on a semi-regular basis on here and look forward to sharing more of this fantastic club’s history.

The Game

The game started tentatively, with neither side really getting a foothold on the game in the early stages. Whitehill had the first real venture forward with about seven minutes played as Robbie Carter attacked down the left hand side, but the chance fizzled out. Shire were next on the front foot after thirteen minutes when a free kick wide on the left was floated onto the head of Steven Brisbane, whose attempt slipped inches wide of the post. A couple of minutes later, Scott Lucas sent a ball through searching for Josh Morris, but Shire keeper Jamie Barclay was quick off his line to intercept. Morris forced Barclay into a good save after twenty minutes, and Steph Murray came close from the resulting corner.

The game was swinging back and forth, and after a good spell from Welfare, Shire took a bit of control back. The home side were awarded a free kick right on the edge of the box with 29 minutes played when Ryan McKenzie was adjudged to have brought down Brisbane. Andy Rodgers’ free kick was struck just wide of the post. Three minutes later, Shire attacked again through Drew Ramsay, but he was forced wide by the Welfare defence, and by the time he worked the ball to Rodgers the chance had gone. With half time approaching though, Shire were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead when Ryan McKenzie brought down Rodgers in the box. The Shire captain picked himself up and dispatched the penalty with aplomb to give the home side the lead going into the break.

Shire started the second half buoyed by taking the lead just before the break. Rodgers was causing problems for Welfare every time he ventured forward, and three minutes into the second half, he slipped a shot just wide of Ross Jardine’s post after latching onto Simon White’s pass. Rodgers did get his second goal of the game after fifty minutes though when he sent a wonderful chipped shot over Jardine just under the bar. It was a real piece of quality from the veteran striker, drawing applause from even the visiting supporters. Welfare introduced Fabio Neto shortly after the goal, and the big striker gave them a directness that had been lacking up to that point. With 54 minutes gone, he made a searching run past several Shire defenders, but couldn’t find the final ball.

Welfare were in the midst of a good spell, and Lucas forced Barclay into a decent save. From the resulting corner, Murray picked up the ball and drove into the box, where he went down under a heavy challenge from Andy Grant. Referee Gavin Ross pointed to the spot and Josh Morris sent his penalty into the bottom corner to equalise. Five minutes later Murray had a chance to score himself when Jack Wright was fouled just under 30 yards from goal, but the Under 20 captain fired the free kick well over the bar.

Any hopes of a Whitehill comeback were undone after 69 minutes when Graeme McGregor won the ball and fired a stunning strike past Jardine from the corner of the penalty area. The goal was the first of McGregor’s career and was met with jubilation from the home support. The goal killed the game off, and neither side was really able to create much in the closing stages. Steph Murray received a late red card after picking up a second yellow for dissent, and the dismissal sealed Welfare’s fate.

There wasn’t a great deal between the sides, especially in the first half, but two real moments of quality from Shire in the second half really were the difference. A great way for Shire to end ten years at Ochilview, and enough on show that Welfare should be confident of securing their Lowland League status in their remaining games.

The Pies

There must be something about this part of the country and fantastic snack bars. After the varied fare on offer at Alloa last night, I was treated to Stenhousemuir’s fantastic pie and other delights selection today. And I have to admit that I was a fat bastard and had two different pies today. Firstly their steak pie, pictured below, which was simply superb. You can probably see the flakiness of the pastry from the photo. I then decided to sample their chicken curry pie, and that was my best decision of the day. A delicious chicken curry, wrapped in the same flaky pastry. A very reasonably priced snack bar, and well worth a visit if you’re at Ochilview.

Admission: £8
Programme: I didn’t see any, but not sure if I just missed them.
Pie: £1.60 (Scotch) £2 (steak, macaroni, chicken curry)
Bovril: £1.50
Attendance: 176