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)
Pies on the Terraces 