Bishopton v Stonehaven

Bishopton Ladies v Stonehaven Ladies
SWFL Division Two Cup Quarter Final
Park Mains High School
Sunday 1st April 2018

It’s quarter final day in the SWFL League Cups and I took a short hop across the Erskine Bridge to take in a clash between teams representing the West and North divisions of the SWFL2.

The Venue

Park Mains is a modern high school on the outskirts of Erskine, built in 2012. The 3G pitch is surrounded by the familiar green cage, which has the unusual feature of an eight lane gravel running track outside the cage.

The pitch is lined for 11-a-side and 7-a-side, with the small goals being stored together in one of the corners. There’s a permanent spectator rail down one side of the pitch, with a substantial area of hard standing. It’s the first high school pitch I’ve seen with a spectator barrier. It’s a basic but high quality facility.

The Teams

Bishopton Ladies are a section of long standing amateur side Bishopton FC. The ladies side formed in 2014 and have played in the SWFL Second Division West since their inception. Bishopton were awarded a walkover in the Preliminary Round of the cup, when Jeanfield Swifts Development were unable to raise a team. Their first round match at home against fellow SWFL2 West side Stranraer resulted in an 8-1 win. Their second round tie saw a short trip to neighbours St Mirren, which saw them record a 4-1 victory to take their place in the quarter final. Bishopton went into this game unberaten this season, having taken six points from their first two league games in addition to their cup run.

Interestingly, Bishopton played today in at least three different strips. One set had striped sleeves with white numbers, which most of their girls were wearing. However, a couple had black numbers, and another couple had solid red sleeves. It’s the fist time I’ve seen this happen in a competitive fixture.

Stonehaven Ladies were formed in 2008 from a group who had come through the youth setup together for the previous seven years. Their experienced side plays in the SWFL Second Division North. They came agonisingly close to promotion last season, finishing second behind Buchan. They started their cup run in the first round with another trip to Renfrewshire where they dispatched Glennifer Thistle 9-0. It was to be a trip south again in the second round, where they defeated United Glasgow 3-0 at Scotstoun to setup a third away trip in this quarter final. Like Bishopton, Stonehaven have six points from their first two league games.

The Game

The game started with both teams in full flow. Bishopton had the first chance of the game, but after a good move the final shot was fluffed harmlessly wide. Stonehaven were next to attack, and a fizzed cross-cum-shot from the left wing had to be pushed clear by the Bishopton keeper with just five minutes played. It was a frantic start to the game, and Stonehaven were starting to take control. Their dominance of possession was aided by some slack passes from Bishopton and led to a period of sustained pressure. They couldn’t find the finish though, as several shots fell wide.

Their constant pressure paid off after twenty minutes however when another break down the left hand side saw a powerful shot from the angle of the box saved by the Bishopton keeper. She could only push the ball out in front of her, however and the rebound was pounced on by Lynsey Urquhart who rolled the ball into the empty net to give Stonehaven a deserved lead. The goal woke the home side up a bit and they created a few chances over the next fifteen minutes. None of their efforts troubled the Stonehaven goalkeeper though. Stonehaven began to take control of the game again towards the end of the first half, with goalscorer Urquhart in particular causing all sorts of problems for the defence. The visitors came close to doubling their lead from two corners, but couldn’t find the finish they were looking for.

The second half started with renewed vigour from the home side, and they created a couple of decent half chances in the opening minutes. A frantic three minute spell saw Bishopton come close on three separate occasions, but some spectacular last ditch defending kept the visitors ahead. Bishopton pressed throughout the second half in the hunt for an equaliser, but couldn’t execute the all important final ball.

Conversely, Stonehaven were looking dangerous on the counter attack, and only some fine goalkeeping and heroic defending kept the hosts in touching distance. The game went right down to the wire with both teams creating chances and pushing for a goal. There were huge celebrations mixed with relief from the Stonehaven delegation as the final whistle went. A fantastic game of football that was competitive right until the final whistle. Stonehaven will have been delighted to pick up the win, while Bishopton will take a lot from running a highly experienced team so close.

The Pies

There were no catering facilities on offer, which was not overly surprising given that it’s a high school and it was both a Sunday and the school holidays. However, there is a Morrison’s across the road and I managed to pick up a rather tasty steak pie which had been reduced to just 66 pence. A bargain by any means.

Admission: Free
Programme: None
Pie: None at ground, Steak pie reduced for 66p at Morrison’s across the road
Bovril: None
Attendance: 29 (+1 dog) (headcount)