Glasgow City v Somatio Barcelona

Glasgow City 0-1 Somatio Barcelona FA (2-1 aggregate)
UEFA Women’s Champions League Round of 32 Second Leg
Petershill Park
Thursday 27th September 2018

There have been some great Champions League nights at Petershill for Glasgow City, and last season’s so close it hurt comeback against BIIK Kazygurt will still be on the minds of many inside the ground tonight. City are in much better shape this year, with a 2-0 win in Cyprus a fortnight ago putting them in pole position to qualify from the tie.

The Venue

There’s no need to talk more about Petershill. There’s plenty of posts detailing it. The big net is taken down for Champions League games, and I wish it stayed down full time!

The Competition

The top 12 nations in the UEFA coefficients have the top two teams in their domestic league qualify for the competition, with the top 8 having both directly qualify for the knockout stage. In addition, the champions from the nations ranked 9-12 have their champions qualify directly. All other nations have their champions (and the runners-up from nations 9-12) enter a series of mini-tournaments, held over a week in a single location. There were ten groups of four, which the winners qualified for the knockout stage, along with the two best runners up.

Annoyingly, Scotland are ranked 13th in Europe, so have only one entrant this season, Glasgow City, who dramatically qualified in the closing minutes of their group. The knockout stage consists of two-legged home and away matches, right up to a one off final in a neutral venue – this year The Groupama Arena in Budapest.

The Teams

Since I last saw City, they have played just once, a comprehensive 6-0 win over Rangers at the weekend. Scott Booth has pretty much his entire squad to choose from this evening, although captain Leanne Ross is suspended after picking up a red card in the first leg.

Somatio Barcelona Football Academy are based on the outskirts of Limassol in Cyprus and were only formed in 2016. They won the Cypriot First Division in only their second season playing football and therefore qualified for the Champions League. They won all three of their qualifying group games in Slovenia against Olimpija Ljubljana, Slovan Bratislava and FC Minsk.

The Game

The tie was blown wide open after just six minutes when Barcelona’s American striker Krystyna Freda broke free of the City defence and slammed a shot high into the net beyond Lee Alexander. The sizeable crowd was silenced, but City didn’t crumble and began to come into the game on their own account.

There were chances at both ends, and in Particular, Ivorian winger Rebecca Elloh was causing serious problems for the City defence with her pace and strength. She also became somewhat of a pantomime villain with her rough housing tactics, and it’s only due to a lack of strength from the referee that she didn’t end up in the book. The shouts from the partisan crowd went a bit over the top at times, but the referee definitely didn’t do enough to stop the elbows and nudges from the Cypriots, and let them away with far too much play acting as well.

But despite the battering they were receiving, City held firm, and Sam Kerr in particular was an absolute star, winning absolutely everything that came her way on the ground and in the air. It was also another remarkably assured defensive performance from 16 year old Carly Girasoli, who was the modicum of calmness, even with the stakes as high as they were. Lee Alexander produced several good saves as the visitors piled forward, but it was to be City’s night despite the second leg result. Such a stark contrast from being eliminated at this stage last year despite a 4-1 home victory.

The Pies

Petershill’s pie stall did an absolute roaring trade tonight, with large queues throughout as the 500 plus crowd tried to keep warm as the temperature plummeted. I had eaten before the game, but couldn’t resist the pull of a portion of chips, which went down an absolute treat.

Admission: £10
Programme: None
Pie: £2
Bovril: £1
Attendance: 511

Partick Thistle v St Mirren

Partick Thistle Reserves 1-0 St Mirren Reserves
SPFL Reserve League
Lesser Hampden
Monday 24th September

It’s September Weekend Monday, and I’m one of the lucky ones who gets the day as a public holiday. With the SPFL Reserve League playing mainly on Monday afternoons, it’s a competition I don’t usually get to see. Today I’m taking advantage of being off and the unexpected sunny bank holiday to take in my first game in the revived league.

The Venue

Lesser Hampden is covered in some depth in this post. I must say it is a far better venue in weather like today compared to the day I had here back in April, despite a couple of heavy showers. With the SFA agreeing to buy Hampden from Queen’s Park after the 2020 European Championships, Lesser will be due for another upgrade, as it will have to be brought up to licensing standards in order to be used as the home venue for Queen’s. I look forward to seeing how they do the revamp.

The Competition

It’s back! I could actually use that simple phrase to refer to this section of the blog and for the return of the Reserve League itself. After a number of years of a development league for Under 20s, this season sees the SPFL returning to the reserve concept. While most teams will continue to use the competition to give their young players a run out, the reserve moniker means that fringe players, first teamers returning from injury and new signings can be incorporated into the side with less hassle.

There are eighteen teams in the SPFL Reserve League this season, with each team playing every other team once either home or away. Teams are also playing in the Reserve League Cup, which has a substantial group stage in order to give more games. Professional teams are featured in the SPFL Reserve League, with part time sides competing in the newly rebranded SPFL Reserve League 2, with additional games being made up in the SPFL Reserve League Challenge Cup.

The Teams

Partick Thistle have had a rough start to the reserve league campaign, with three losses in their three games played against Hibs, Ross County and Falkirk. Thier cup campaign began with a 3-1 loss to Kilmarnock.

St Mirren are conversely in pretty good shape so far, with wins over Dundee United and St Johnstone, and one single loss to Rangers. The team have also been playing in the Irn-Bru Cup, where they have reached the third round via victories over their counterparts from Kilmarnock and Hamilton. They will play Queen’s Park in round three. They lost their opening Reserve League Cup tie 2-0 to Hamilton.

The Game

Saints started the game well on the front foot, and Thistle barely got a look in throughout the entirety of the first half. With six minutes gone, Cody Cooke played in Sam Jamieson, who forced Thistle keeper Jamie Stevenson to turn the ball past the post. From the resulting corner, Max Potter got a free header, but could only nod the ball straight at Stevenson. Five minutes later, Saints won a free kick about 20 yards out. Cameron Breadner tried his luck, but the ball was easily held by Stevenson.

With 22 minutes gone, Saints won a corner, and Stevenson had to be on his toes to punch it over as it looked to be dipping in. From the follow up corner, Potter saw his nudged effort scrambled off the line by Ruaridh McIntyre. With 27 minutes on the clock, Saints were awarded a penalty when Breadner was brought down in the box by Mohamed Niang. Breadner dusted himself off to take the penalty, but Stevenson made a fantastic save to keep the game goalless.

With ten minutes to go until the break Cooke picked up the ball and turned well before playing in Jamieson. Stevenson was again the equal of the Saints attack as he did well down low to deny the striker. Three minutes later, Breadner delivered a corner that Cooke met with a powerful header. Once more, Stevenson pulled off an excellent save. Saints’ first half frustrations were brought to a head on 42 minutes when Jamieson could only shoot wide after a good move. The half time whistle went with the game somehow still scoreless.

It had taken until three minutes into the second half for Thistle to make their first venture forward of any note, and they very nearly took the lead from it. A cross from Aiden Fitzpatrick fizzed across the goalmouth, only just being missed by Jordan Kemoe. The ball was picked up at the back post by Max Melbourne, who forced David Wilson into his first save of the afternoon. Ten minites later, Saints right back ben Cameron played an excellent ball through to Jamieson, who saw his shot somehow stopped on the line by Thistle defender Tam Scobbie. Antony Eadie blasted the follow up well over the bar. Less than a minute later, Stevenson was again called into action when he made another excellent save from Breadner.

With 66 minutes played, Thistle took an unlikely lead. Melbourne’s cross was scuffed by Kemoe, but the ball fell to substitute Dean Watson, who calmly slotted the ball past Wilson to make it 1-0. The goal seemed to spark the hosts into life, and three minutes later, they had a chance to double their lead, when Fitzpatrick made an excellent run down the right, but took the ball too close to the byeline to cause Wilson any issues. Less than a minute later, Fitzpatrick again called Wilson into action when he shot from the angle of the box after getting the break of the ball.

With 77 minutes gone, Jamieson found himself with the ball inside the Thistle box and reached the byeline before flicking a pinpoint cross onto the head of Cooke. His header was full of power and looked like the equaliser, but flew just an inch or two past the post. With ten minutes to go, the referee gave a corner to Thistle despite it looking (and sounding) like Melbourne was fouled in the box. Niang forced Wilson into a great save from the corner, and then again from a second corner in quick succession, but Saints were holding on. They were to get one last chance to equalise, when Thistle failed to clear a free kick and the ball fell to Cooke just outside the box. His dipping shot fell just over the bar, and Thistle held tight to claim a victory that looked extremely unlikely for the first 65 minutes of the game.

The Pies

The cafe was selling hot and cold drinks, plus crisps and sweets. The chippy across the road was also open, and I enjoyed a roll and chips at half time, followed up by a Bovril!

Admission: Free
Programme: None
Pie: None
Bovril: £1.70
Attendance: 142

Ashfield v Vale of Leven

Ashfield 1-1 Vale of Leven
SJFA West Region League Two
The Peugeot Ashfield Stadium
Saturday 22nd September 2018

I hadn’t actually planned on a game today, but when I realised the West Juniors weren’t taking the September Weekend off this year, a quick scour of the fixtures threw this one up. Not too far from home, a venue I really like, and a chance to see my local team again, it was into the car for the short trip to Possilpark.

The Venue

Saracen Park, currently known as The Peugeot Ashfield Stadium in a sponsorship deal, has been the home of Ashfield since 1937. Due to the ground also being used by the Glasgow Tigers professional speedway team, it is one of the most well kept and best appointed stadiums in the West Juniors. The ground has a capacity of around 3,500, of which 600 are housed in the all seater (padded bench seats) main stand, which despite a couple of support poles, gives a great view of the pitch. There are also two large standing enclosures next to the stand, which seem to only be used when the speedway is on. The rest of the ground is stepped terracing and banking.

You are a wee bit further away than normal from the pitch due to the speedway track that encircles it, but it’s not as noticeable as some other tracks. An interesting sidenote is that the pitch is as narrow as permitted by the laws of football. This is because if it was any wider, the speedway track would encroach onto the pitch. In fact, while taking a corner, players will have to take their run up from the track. The ground has also been used in the past for greyhound racing, and between 1956 and and 1998 it was a huge revenue stream, before being converted for speedway in 1999 – as it had previously been used between 1949 and 1953. My favourite quirk at this ground is that you buy your match ticket from the bar at the ground’s entrance before handing it over at the door to the main stand to gain entry.

The Teams

Ashfield were formed in 1886, and have been based at Saracen Park in the Possilpark district of Glasgow since 1937. The club were one of the most successful in the early days of Junior football, winning the Scottish Junior Cup on four occasions between 1894 and 1910. They won the West of Scotland Cup twice in the 1920s, and the Glasgow Junior League six times between 1906 and 1921. They have had a leaner time of things in more recent years, but did win promotion to the West Super Premier by winning the Super First Division in 2011. A slide down the leagues unfortunately followed, and with reconstruction this season, they found themselves in the bottom tier League Two.

Club legend Paul Maxwell took over as manager in the summer, and after finishing bottom of admittedly tough Sectional League Cup group, Ashfield went on a bit of a run and were sitting unbeaten at the top of League Two before a surprise defeat at Newmains United last weekend. They remain top of the table, however and will be looking to bounce back with a win this afternoon.

As readers of this blog will know, I saw the Vale last week as they were beaten 4-1 at home to Lesmahagow. They will also be looking to bounce back, and will be without Andy Biddulph, who is suspended after picking up a red card last Saturday.

The Game

There wasn’t a whole lot of quality on show in the first half, with both teams struggling to keep a hold of the ball and get anything going in the early stages. With four minutes gone, Scott Gallagher broke through the Ashfield defence and forced John Mullen into a good one on one save. With 13 minutes gone, an excellent sweeping move from Ashfield resulted in Ciaran Friel having the chance to shot, but his effort was blocked by Stuart Bryson. Two minutes later, the league leaders had the lead though. Graeme Hearton was played in just inside the box. His shot was muffled by Andrew Campbell in the Vale goal, but Billy Stevenson managed to bundle it over the line at the back post.

Two minutes later, Ashfield almost doubled their lead when Keigan Parker sent a fantastic cross into the box, that Friel just failed to get his head on despite an acrobatic effort to get there. The home side continued to have the better of the ball and with 25 minutes gone, there was a bit of pinball in the Vale box, and they eventually managed to clear after shots from Hearton and Friel were blocked. Vale’s best chance of the first half hour came as the thirty minute mark approached. Mark Butler nodded on Lee McGeachy’s long throw, but the ball was cleared for a corner before a Vale foot could get onto it.

Vale were having a decent spell of it, and with 34 minutes gone, Gallagher was released from a Richie Stewart throw. He sent a tantalising ball across the six yard line, but no-one could get on the end of it. Five minutes later an Adam Monaghan free kick was picked up in the box by Butler, whose shot on the turn went just wide and rippled the side net. Stevenson had one last chance in the half for Ashfield, but after a good move, he could only fire over the bar. 1-0 at the break, and the home side merited their slender lead.

The second half was a spicy affair, and burst into life after fifty minutes. David McNaught was the beneficiary of some slack defending by Ashfield as he found himself with the ball inside the box. His shot bounced off the base of the post and into the grateful arms of Mullen. Two minutes later, an impressive passing move from Ashfield saw Parker chest the ball to Mark McManus on the edge of the box, but his shot flew just over the bar. With an hour played, McGeachy’s corner was headed goalwards by Vale substitute Ben Craig. His header was cleared off the line by Patrick Cullen, to huge shouts of handball from the Vale bench. The protests were waved away and Ashfield retained their lead.

The action was flying from end to end, although ball retention was still proving elusive for both sides. With 68 minutes on the clock, an Ashfield corner very nearly ended up ion the net before being scrambled away by the Vale defence. Five minutes later, Campbell was forced into an excellent save from Hearton, as Ashfield looked to double their lead. With ten minutes remaining, McGeachy made an excellent run down the left hand side and found Gallagher inside the box. Despite having two defenders stuck to him, Gallagher just about managed to get a shot away, but it fell just wide.

Just a minute later though, Vale had the equaliser. A deep cross from Butler seemed to have drifted out of the danger zone, but was picked up by McGeachy. He put it back across goal and Gallagher stepped onto the ball to strike it past Mullen and into the net. Two minutes later, McGeachy once again found the ball in a wide area and found McNaught with his cross. McNaught was never really on balance though, and his effort was held easily by Mullen.

The game was in for a frantic finish, and with just five minutes left, Vale were reduced to ten men when Greg Ross was shown a second yellow card after tangling with McManus after a heavy challenge. Two minutes later, Stevenson had a golden opportunity to seal the three points, but sclaffed his shot well wide after getting the break of the ball. There was still time for one last chance, and Vale have Campbell to thank for saving the point, as he made a fine save from Friel at the end of a good run.

The Pies

The Tiger Den cafe/bar only had Scotch pies on offer today, and it was a fairly decent, if very standard effort.

Admission: £5
Programme: £1
Pie: £2
Bovril: £1
Attendance: 43

Stadium Series: PLU Baseball Field, Parkland

Located in Parkland, a suburb of Tacoma, Washington, Pacific Lutheran University is a small, liberal arts college with a current enrolment of just over three thousand. It’s also where Kaitlin got her Bachelor’s Degree, so since we had a bit of spare time while visiting, we went to see the campus. While there I saw a small baseball stadium, and decided to have a look around.

The stadium was constructed in 2012, and features a first for me, a totally synthetic infield, with a natural grass outfield. The basepaths, bases and pitcher’s mound are all synthetic before the field transitions to grass past the diamond. It’s a pretty good little setup on the field.

The stadium has metal bleacher seating for what I estimated to be about 400-500 spectators. There is a large manual scoreboard in the outfield and substantial dugouts for the home and away teams. There’s also a fully serviced press box at the back of the bleachers. It’s a really nice setup for the NCAA Division III side. Division III is the lowest level of NCAA college athletics, catering for smaller schools. PLU play in the Northwest Conference and have won the Conference Championship on five occasions, including three of the last four years. Their women’s softball team, who also use this facility were NCAA Division III National Champions in 2012.

Renfrew v Glasgow City

Renfrew Ladies 0-11 Glasgow City
Scottish Women’s Cup Quarter Final
New Western Park
Sunday 16th September 2018

The Scottish Women’s Cup reaches the quarter final stage this weekend, and with several non-top flight teams left in the competition, there’s potential for some surprise semi-finalists. It looks unlikely to happen here as third tier Renfrew host 11 in a row champions Glasgow City, but stranger things have happened in football.

The Venue

I’ll refer back to this post for details on New Western Park, while mentioning what an excellent experience was put on today. It’s a fantastic venue, and the club went all out for the occasion.

The Teams

I saw Renfrew back at the start of the season when they were heavily beaten by Cumbernauld Colts. Since then they have gone onto have a pretty good season and sit in fifth place in SWFL Division One South. With development teams taking up the top two places in the division, there is potential for the club to win promotion with a strong end to the season.

Renfrew’s route to the quarter finals started with a thumping 13-0 win over Bonnyrigg Rose in the preliminary round, followed by a 3-2 win over United Glasgow in Round One. Their second round game saw them travel to Aberdeen, where they prevailed 12-0 over Dee Ladies, and they reached the quarters with a tight 2-1 win over Edinburgh Caledonian.

Since I last saw Glasgow City, they have beaten Stirling University to stay top of SWPL1, and this past midweek travelled to Cyprus to play Somatio Barcelona in the Champions League Round of 32. An excellent 2-0 win has put them in pole position to qualify for the last 16. They have defeated fellow SWPL1 sides Forfar Farmington 3-0, and Stirling University 5-0 to reach the quarter finals.

The Game

There may be two divisions between these two sides, but for the opening twenty minutes the gulf in class wasn’t as apparent as could have been expected. Renfrew were well organised defensively and were frustrating the eleven in a row Scottish champions. Lara Ivanuša and Jordan McLintock were linking up well on the left hand side, but Renfrew’s defence were coping well. The home side lost influential midfielder Emma Baird to injury after twenty minutes, and it seemed to knock them off their game plan as City started to find their feet.

With 25 minutes gone, Hayley Lauder played a lovely ball down the line to Ivanuša who cut inside and knocked the ball back to the advancing Lauder. Lauder’s shot took a deflection that took it past Sam McQuillan for the opening goal. From this point it was pretty much one way traffic, and Ivanuša had another chance two minutes later, but could only hit the side netting with a shot following a good run. Two minutes later, Kirsty Howat controlled the ball well just inside the box and forced McQuillan into a good save with a shot on the turn.

With half an hour played, City doubled their lead. Leanne Ross played a short corner routine with Lauder and Lauder’s cross was met by the head of Lidija Kuliš, who had been left unmarked in the centre of the box. The Bosnian’s first City goal was quickly followed by her second when she came off the front post to meet Ross’ corner to make it 3-0 with 33 minutes played. With 38 minutes on the clock, Hannah Stewart found space on the right wing and sent a low cross into the box. Lauder stepped onto the cross and side footed the ball into the back of the net for her second of the afternoon.

With three minutes remaining until half time, City hit their fifth. Kuliš played a ball forward from midfield that was met by a truly wonderful flick from Lauder. The flick found it’s way to Howat, who slipped the ball past McQuillan. City should have been further ahead by the break, but some wasteful finishing coupled with some excellent goalkeeping kept the score at 5 at half time.

It took just three minutes of the second half for City to extend their lead. Murron Cunningham played the ball back to McLintock around 30 yards out, and the former Hamilton player unleashed a spectacular high curling effort into the top corner of the net. It was a goal of real quality and five minutes later, it was followed up by quality of a different kind. City strung together almost twenty passes before Ivanuša hit the byeline and sent a ball across the goal. With almost too much time on her hands, Stewart bobbled the ball over the line from two yards out. With 57 minutes gone, Stewart had her second in almost identical circumstances. Ivanuša again beat several players down the left hand side and sent another low cross into Stewart who simply had to tap the ball in to make it 8-0.

With an hour gone, City were awarded a penalty when Howat got a push in the back from Kirsty McGunnigle while facing away from goal. It was a fairly soft award, but Renfrew’s pain was kept down when Ross’ penalty was saved well by substitute goalkeeper Lindsay Crawford. Ivanuša was continuing to cause Renfrew all sorts of problems and with 62 minutes played she skated by two defenders before cutting in and forcing Crawford to make a really smart save.

Ivanuša finally got her goal with 70 minutes gone when a defensive error from Eilidh McDonald allowed the Slovenian to slide the ball in to make it 9-0. The goal was no more than Ivanuša deserved for a fine performance on the left wing. She nearly had a second just a couple of minutes later when she was played in by Cunningham, but Crawford did very well to tip her shot off the bar and over. City reached double figures on 73 minutes when Megan Foley danced her way down the right and cut the ball back to Howat who squeezed her shot just inside the post.

With 76 minutes gone, Ivanuša once again found herself in space on the left following an excellent through ball from Sam Kerr. Ivanuša cut the ball back into the box and it was met by Jo Love who side footed City’s eleventh into the back of the net. City had chances to add to their lead, but it stayed at eleven, and despite the resounding scoreline, Renfrew can be proud of their performance against a team that contained several current international players. All eyes will now be on the semi-final draw, as City will find out who of Hibs, Spartans and Motherwell they will play in Stirling on October 14th.

The Pies

Renfrew’s snack bar offers a really good menu, and we both plumped for a cheeseburger today, which really hit the spot. It’s nice to see a club at this level giving punters a choice, and every time I’ve been here they’re always doing a roaring trade.

Admission: £3
Programme: £1
Pie: £1.50 (cheeseburger £2.50)
Bovril: £1
Attendance: 153

Vale of Leven v Lesmahagow

Vale of Leven 0-4 Lesmahagow
SJFA West Region League Two
Millburn Park
Saturday 15th September 2018

It’s not the best of days weather wise, but Millburn is just a few minutes from my house and has a large shed that (just about) keeps the rain off, so a wee trip to see my first league game since the West Region switched to region wide leagues.

The Venue

Thankfully, the forecast rain actually stayed away today, so I didn’t even have to venture over to the shed with the visiting support. I always prefer to stand at the top of the terracing on the entrance side, and pleasingly got to do so today, even though I forgot to lift my brolly!

The Teams

Since I last saw the Vale in the Sectional League Cup, they have had a very good start to their league campaign, and sit third in the League Two table with five wins from their six games. They will travel north to Aberdeenshire to take on Islavale in the second round of the Scottish Junior Cup in two weeks time.

Lesmahagow play at Craighead Park in the Lanarkshire town and were formed in 1885. They won Division One of the Central District in 1989 and 2005, and were Scottish Junior Cup runners up in 1990. They finished towards the bottom of Central District League Division One last season, meaning they would be part of League Two this year.

Their season has been a roaring success so far, having defied all the odds to reach the Sectional League Cup Final. They will play Auchinleck Talbot at Newlandsfield in four weeks time. Their league campaign has also started strongly, with 14 points from seven games having them sitting in fourth place. Robert Irving is their current manager.

The Game

I don’t like to make these match reports all about the referee, because that usually means an “it’s all about me, never mind the game” referee gets exactly the type of self-serving publicity he wants and doesn’t deserve. Two red cards, two questionable at best penalty decisions and a host of yellow cards might point at the referee having lost the plot. That would suggest that he had the plot to begin with though. Yes, Vale’s discipline did leave them somewhat in the second half, but this admittedly biased spectator (and I would like to think anyone who was at least neutral) could completely understand why they were reacting in such a manner, having seen everything that had gone before. I’m led to believe that this referee has previous for this type of performance, and that’s something that surely has to be looked at.

That opening salvo is to take nothing away from the Gow, who took their chances well and were worthy of the three points this afternoon, even if the four goal margin was a tad on the flattering side. Vale started well, and good work on either win from Lee McGeachy and Richie Stewart gave Andy Biddulph and Mark Butler chances that were dealt with well by Gow’s keeper inside the first fifteen minutes. With sixteen minutes gone, came one of the strangest refereeing decisions I’ve ever seen. McGeachy was fouled just outside the box, stayed on his feet, continued into the box and was brought down again. For some inexplicable reason, the referee gave a free kick for the first offence, rather than a penalty. No-one watching could quite believe it, and the free kick came to nothing.

Gow took the lead against the run of play after 24 minutes when Jonny McStay broke down the left. His cross took a deflection off Stuart Bryson which took it past Andrew Campbell into the net. McStay will definitely be claiming the goal, but it looked more like an O.G. from where I was standing. Vale tried to get back into the game, but couldn’t find the final ball.

Gow had taken confidence from taking the lead and with 36 minutes played extended their lead in controversial circumstances. Gary Nicholson broke on the left and knocked the ball well past Adam Monaghan inside the box. The Gow striker appeared to run directly into Monaghan while making what looked to be an in vain attempt to collect the ball. The referee decided that this was a penalty, much to the disgust of the home side. Kyle Weir stepped up and slammed the penalty straight down the middle to make it 2-0.

Gow came out strongly in the second half, and Weir forced Campbell into a good save after fifty minutes. Two minutes later, a defensive mixup allowed McStay a chance, which again Campbell managed to keep out. With just less than an hour played, Vale were reduced to ten men in controversial circumstances. Gow’s keeper reached a loose ball just before Vale striker Ben Craig, who couldn’t stop his run on time and made what looked to be minimal contact with the keeper. Craig, who had already been booked for “dissent” was shown a second yellow card.

Five minutes later, Vale were down to nine, but there could be no complaints about this one. Biddulph lunged in with two feet from behind and was shown a straight red card for what was a shocking tackle. Five minutes later, Gow took charge of their two man advantage. Nicholson found space down the left hand side and sent an excellent cross into the box. Monaghan was left with no choice but to try and clear it, but could only turn the ball into his own net. The game was sown up with nine minutes to go when McStay found himself on the end of a long ball and slid his shot under Campbell to make it 4-0. A comfortable win in the end for Gow, who go second in the table, and Vale will need to regroup ahead of a trip to table topping Ashfield next weekend.

The Pies

The steak pie at the Vale is a real contender for the best pie in Scottish football. This is no hyperbole, it is absolutely perfect. I’d say if you’re in the area and there’s a game on, it’s worth coming along as much for the pie as the football.

Admission: £5
Programme: None
Pie: £1.60 (scotch) £2 (steak)
Bovril: 90p
Attendance: 57

 

Cumbernauld Colts v Arniston Rangers

Cumbernauld Colts 4-0 Arniston Rangers
SFA South Region Challenge Cup Second Round
Broadwood Stadium
Friday 14th September 2018

It’s a break from league action tonight for these two clubs as they begin their battle for the biggest senior non-league cup in the Lowland region. Clyde are at home tomorrow, so this game has handily been switched to Friday night, which is good news, as you all know how much I enjoy a Friday night game.

The Ground

I’ve spoken a fair bit about Broadwood recently, so won’t go into any more detail today. Other than mention the new addition to the stand behind the goal, a wooden/metal fox designed to stop birds from roosting on the roof. As you can see from the picture, it works wonderfully.

The Competition

It’s a brand new section here, which will be used from time to time going forward when I’m talking about a competition that is new to the blog. I’ve thought back, and I could definitely have utilised it previously, but I’ve never actually thought of it before today.

The SFA South Region Challenge Cup (usually referred to simply as the South Challenge Cup) came into being in 2007, effectively replacing the Scottish Qualifying Cup (South) when the SFA restructured the Scottish Cup to allow direct entry to full members. It has been played out between all senior non-league teams in the Lowland region since it’s inception, with finals being played at a variety of neutral venues. Spartans are the most successful team in the cup’s history, having won it on three occasions. Whitehill Welfare and East Kilbride have each won the cup twice. Teams play for the impressive trophy pictured above, which I am holding following Whitehill’s win over Dalbeattie Star at Annan in 2013.

The cup has expanded in size almost every year, and this season, with the influx of new teams in the East of Scotland League, it has grown to include 69 teams. An abridged first round saw five ties, to bring us to the second round of 64 teams this weekend. Teams are drawn from the Lowland League, East of Scotland League and South of Scotland League, with amateurs Glasgow University also entering. Civil Service Strollers are the current holders. The parallel version in the North Region was scrapped after just two editions in 2009. Edinburgh United produced the absolutely wonderful programme cover above for their first match in the competition, featuring all 69 teams in this year’s cup.

The Teams

I’ve seen Cumbernauld Colts a couple of times already this season and they have actually only played once since I last saw them against Spartans, with their match last weekend being postponed due to East Kilbride’s participation in the Irn Bru Cup, and their previous match being scheduled against Selkirk, who folded and resigned from the Lowland League. The one match they have played was a 3-2 win in Annan against Edusport. They currently sit 6th in the Lowland League table.

Arniston Rangers are based in the Midlothian former mining village of Gorebridge. They were formed in 1878 and named for the local Arniston Colliery – one of many Midlothian teams to be named after the nearby mines – and the village of Arniston, very close to Gorebridge itself. Until this summer they were a junior side, who had a fair amount of success in the twentieth century, including seven East of Scotland Cup triumphs, and winning the East Region twice in the early 1970s. More recently, they struggled near the bottom of the East Region, with only fleeting limited success.

This past summer they were one of the influx of junior sides who moved to the East of Scotland League. Their move was one of the last to be confirmed, and came after every other junior club in Midlothian had already indicated their intention to go senior. Life as a senior side began poorly as they finished bottom of their Qualifying League section, with just one point (a draw away to Hawick Royal Albert) and heavy home defeats to Tranent and Blackburn United. Since league games begun, they have fared better, and sit in eighth place in Conference A, with two wins and three defeats. They have played the most games of anyone in their conference. Their current manager is Ryan Bissett.

The Game

It was fairly obvious right from that start that Colts were the better team, but they were near constantly frustrated throughout the first half by poor final balls and lacklustre finishing. With five minutes gone, Scott Davidson broke from the back and beat several Arniston defenders before shooting wide of the post. Ten minutes later, a superb run down the right hand side from Callum MacDonald, making his debut on loan from Stirling Albion, saw a wonderful cross put straight across the six yard box. It was crying out to be knocked in by someone, but Paul Nash couldn’t quite get on the end of it.

With 28 minutes played, Michael Wallace got himself in a good shooting position around 25 yards out and stung the palms of Darren McBey, who managed to turn the ball away for a corner. Five minutes later, MacDonald one again broke free on the right and played in Wallace, who really should have done better than screwing his shot harmlessly wide. It was all Colts at this point and on 35 minutes, Pedram Ardalany – back in Scotland after a spell in Japan, Korea and at home in his native Iran – fired a long distance strike only just past the post.

As half time approached, Colts stepped up their game further, but a spell of really good football between Wallace and Stephen O’Neil ended with O’Neil’s cross failing to be converted. Just before the half time whistle, O’Neil again caused problems when he forced McBey into a good save, before turning provider with a cross that was met by the head of Davidson before being held well by McBey. 0-0 at half time, with Colts well on top but being frustrated by their own wastefulness.

It looked like it was going to be more of the same for Colts in the second half, when Craig Henderson’s corner with 48 minutes gone was headed by Davidson and held easily by McBey, but they did finally get the breakthrough just two minutes later. Arniston failed to clear an attack properly and were punished when the ball broke to MacDonald, who slammed the ball into the net from a tight angle. Just before the hour, Nash just failed to get his head on O’Neil’s cross, and Jordan Marshall struck just wide from distance after Arniston could only half clear the danger.

Colts pressure was looking like it could pay off, and with 62 minutes gone, Henderson was unlucky to strike the bar with a 25 yard free kick. Three minutes later, it was 2-0, when O’Neil swung a wonderful free kick into the top corner after Adalani had been fouled around 30 yards out. It was a moment of real quality, but things went from the sublime to the ridiculous almost straight from the kick off. Arniston made a complete mess of things trying to play it out from the back and allowed Henderson to pounce. He sent what looked to be a harmless ball into the box, but it bounced off Dean Boyne, and that touch somehow managed to take the ball past McBey. It was full on comedy own goal territory, and to be honest, just about summed up Arniston’s night.

Colts were enjoying their football now, and with 72 minutes played, substitute Craig Holmes broke in the midfield and played O’Neil through. O’Neil took the ball wide and sent in a cross that was met by Fraser Team – also on as a substitute – who fired just over. Team made amends for that miss two minutes later when he got on the end of Henderson’s cross and smashed a cool finish at the near post in off the post to make it 4-0. Arniston pushed for a consolation goal as time ran out and came close with four minutes to go. Captain Paul Power – just minutes after being involved in some handbags – dispossessed Greg Pascazio and cut the ball back to Kyle Houldcroft-Doig. His shot was saved well by Andy Wilson in the Colts goal, and the game ended without any further incident. The gulf in class between the two sides was evident, but Arniston never gave up, and despite being second best, can be pleased with the way they handled themselves.

The Pies

I didn’t bother with a pie tonight, but did get a Bovril at half time. It was 8 degrees, which meant that it felt a damn sight colder than even that at Broadwood, and the Bovril definitely helped keep me warm for the second half!

Admission: £6
Programme: £2
Pie: £2
Bovril: £1.50
Attendance: 73

Dumbarton v Montrose

Dumbarton 0-1 Montrose
Irn Bru Cup Round 2
The C&G Systems Stadium
Saturday 8th September 2018

International break weekend once again brings round the second round of the Challenge Cup. The Welsh, Northern Irish, Irish and newly invited fifth tier English sides enter at this stage, but unlike last year, Dumbarton avoided the foreigners and today play Montrose, coincidentally also next weekend’s league opponents.

The Ground

Having visited the C&G Systems Stadium just a matter of weeks ago, I’ve not really got any further details to go into today.

The Teams

Since I saw Dumbarton knock out an experimental Morton side out of this competition, their league form has taken a major turn for the worse. A 1-1 home draw with Arbroath has been the highlight of their recent fixtures, with away defeats to Brechin City and Stenhousemuir following. Former Portland Timbers, Houston Dynamo and Kilmarnock midfielder Brad Spencer has joined the club after impressing as a trialist, and the squad has also been boosted by the loan signings of Scott Allardice from Dundee United and Jack Aitchison from Celtic. Both of the youngsters are cup tied however, and will not play today.

Montrose, based at Links Park in the Angus town, were formed in 1879 and were first elected to the SFL in 1923. They have perennially been a lower league club, with their most successful period being in the mid 1970s-80s when they were a somewhat regular fixture in the second tier and reached the League Cup semi-finals in 1975-76. The club won their first league championship in the 1984-85 season when they won the third tier Second Division. The club have spent most of the past 30 years in the fourth tier, and actually finished bottom of the SPFL as recently as the 2014-15 season, where they maintained their league status with a 3-2 aggregate win over Highland League Champions Brora Rangers in the SPFL Relegation Play-off. The club’s fortunes were turned round last season, when they won only their second ever league title, pipping Peterhead to the League Two championship on the last day to win the league and gain promotion to League One.

Under the stewardship of former Dunfermline legend Stewart Petrie, who has been in charge since 2016, Montrose have started life in League One relatively well. After being thrashed on opening day by local rivals Arbroath, they picked up back to back wins over Airdrie and Brechin, but have lost their last two games away to Sranraer and at home to East Fife. They reached the second round of this competition with a penalty shoot out win over Highland League champions Cover Rangers after a 2-2 draw.

The Game

I usually take notes during games I’m at in order to facilitate a match report, but sometimes the notion just doesn’t take, and I instead simply watch the game and try to enjoy it. Today was one of those games, although it was definitely more frustrating than enjoyable.

It was a first half low on quality, with two struggling sides failing to do much with the ball. Some catastrophic defending from Dumbarton with sixteen minutes played allowed Craig Johnston a free header from Danny Cavanagh’s cross and Grant Adam in the Dumbarton goal was helpless to stop the visitors from going ahead. Neither side really carved out another clear cut opportunity, although Bobby Barr did his best to set up his strikers Calum Gallagher and Rory Loy.

Loy had a golden chance to equalise less than a minute into the second half, but his powder puff effort from Cammy Ballantyne’s through ball was as disappointing as it was inept. Ross Forbes did manage to come close for the Sons when a speculative shot on the turn from close to 30 yards out cannoned back off the post.

Dumbarton pushed for an equaliser in the last ten minutes, and only a superb last ditch tackle from Michael Bolochoweckyj prevented Iain Russell from tapping home. Andy Little hit the top of the bar with a header from the resulting corner, and then got himself in the book for a ridiculous dive in the box a couple of minutes later. Montrose then kept hold of the ball to see out the victory. I can’t help but think if Dumbarton had shown the same urgency throughout that they showed in the last ten minutes that the result could have been different.

The Pies

The steak pies were on point today, as was the pint I enjoyed in the bar pre-match since we had arrived early. The catering outshone the football today.

Admission: £10
Programme: £2.50
Pie: £1.90 – £2.60
Bovril: £2
Attendance: 456

Stadium Series: Sunset Stadium, Sumner

Sumner is a city of around 10,000 residents around 35 miles south of Seattle and rather ominously, second in line to be hit by lahars in the vent of Mount Rainier erupting. Despite the threat of impending doom though, it is a delightful little place with some wonderful one off shops and restaurants.

At the end of Main Street, sits Sumner High School, and beside the school is the standard in this part of the world fully tricked out multi-purpose stadium. Sunset Stadium (sponsored by Chevrolet) is another in the line of fantastic high school stadiums I’ve seen on my travels, and another that is used by the larger community than just the Sumner High School Spartans football team. The Spartans play in Class 4A in the South Puget Sound District, the highest class of high school sport in Washington.

Sumner High School was formed in 1898, and Sunset Stadium was first built in 1959, before undergoing a huge $1.7 million redevelopment at the turn of the century. The redevelopment turned the site into the excellent ground that stands today. The stadium contains a full sized artificial pitch, lined for American football, football and lacrosse, and is surrounded by a fully artificial 400m 8 lane running track. There are also long jump pits with removable covers and a large electronic scoreboard behind one of the goals.

There are two large, bleacher seated stands on either side of the field. The main stand has seating for 2,400 spectators, while the “away” stand on the opposite side seats around 900, giving a total seated capacity of 3,300, with plenty of space for standing room if the occasion required.

A nice feature is the Sumner “Wall of Fame” adjacent to the main entrance, which celebrates the championship teams that have come from the school over the years. Sunset is an excellent facility, well utilised and what I can imagine a wonderful place to play.

Falkirk v Boroughmuir Thistle

Falkirk Women 1-12 Boroughmuir Thistle
SWFL Division One South
Falkirk Stadium
Sunday 2nd September 2018

It’s international week which means that there’s no top flight women’s action this Sunday. Thankfully, the SWFL is still in full swing, and with a plethora of games to choose from, the inclement weather meant we headed for a proper stadium where we’d be sheltered from the rain. So a trip to the familiar surroundings of the Falkirk Stadium it was.

The Venue

This is my fourth visit to Falkirk since the inception of this blog, so no need to go into details. Although today was a little different as we entered through a gate to the side of the main stand, walked along the warm up track and then found a seat.

The Teams

As sometimes happens in the lower reaches of the women’s game, I’ve found it fairly difficult to get too much information on Falkirk. The club are a fully connected women’s and girls branch of the SPFL Championship side Falkirk, and as far as I can gather have been active for at least the past three seasons. They are unconnected with the former side Falkirk Ladies, who were formed in 1993 and counted Leanne Ross, Frankie Brown and Nicola Docherty among their former players. This side were absorbed by Stirling University and while initially a partnership, took on the branding Stirling University Development for the 2017 season. Falkirk played in SWFL Division One North last season, before transferring to the more geographically appropriate South division at teh start of this season. They are currently bottom of the table, with just one win to their name from 14 games.

Boroughmuir Thistle formed in 2007 and are the largest exclusively women’s and girls club in the Edinburgh area. The club won SWFL Division 2 in 2014 and have been members of the current Division One South since 2016. They are coached by Suzy Shepherd and are based at the Meggetland Complex. The club currently sit in ninth place in the league table, with 18 points from fourteen games, and are just two more wins from guaranteed safety from relegation this season.

The Game

This was one of the most one sided halves of football I’ve ever laid my eyes on, with Falkirk’s young team crumbling under a constant barrage of pressure from their clinical visitors. The scoring was opened after just eight minutes when Hannah Markley crossed into the box after some good work on the right wing. Her cross was met by Samantha Duncan who crashed a shot in off the underside of the bar. It was 2-0 five minutes later, when Ashleigh Clark kept the ball in play and found captain Alix Hogg Wilkinson six yards out. Wilkinson knocked the ball past the despairing Hannah Dean to double the visitors’ lead.

Less than a minute later it was 3-0, when Falkirk defender Connie Smith was dispossessed by Robin Gallagher, who rounded Dean and slotted the ball into the net. Gallagher had her second, and Boroughmuir’s fourth with 17 minutes gone, when a long ball beat Falkirk’s offside trap. Gallagher beat the onrushing Dean to the ball before taking it round her once again and squeezing it into the net. Only two minutes later, Borougmuir had a fifth when Duncan proved too strong for the Falkirk defence and squared the ball to Helen Templeton, who tapped it into the empty net.

It was constant pressure at this point, and Borough should have been further ahead with 23 minutes gone when Gallagher showed some excellent skill on the right before laying it to Markley, who somehow manged to skew her shot wide. A minute later though, the visitors had their sixth when Duncan broke from her own half and slotted past Dean in a one-on-one situation.

Falkirk did manage to stem the tide for a time, and were getting some payoff from playing a high line and catching Borough offside with alarming frequency. Some of the decisions looked borderline at best, but without the benefit of assistants, the referee’s job was difficult in that respect. Falkirk managed to get themselves on the scoresheet with 38 minutes gone, when Borough keeper Megane Steel badly sclaffed a clearance and allowed Rebecca Reid in to roll the ball into the empty net. A minute later though, Borough restored their six goal cushion, when Templeton’s shot from the edge of the box proved too powerful for Dean and almost went right through the keeper on it’s way in.

With three minutes until the break, Smith headed Markley’s shot off the line to prevent any further damage, but it only delayed what seemed to be the inevitable for around 45 seconds. Borough finally sprung the Falkirk offside trap and Gallagher pounced with a beautiful lofted shot over the head of Dean for her hat-trick. Not to be out done, Duncan had her own hat trick a minute or so later, when Falkirk’s high line was breached again, allowing the Borough forward to break free and slip a shot under Dean to make it 9-1 at the break.

Several Falkirk players left the field in tears at half time, and it was evident that they didn’t want a repeat performance in the second half as they came out far more composed and competitive. Bethany Adamson stung the hands of Steel in 49 minutes from the edge of the box, but it was still Borough who were creating the more clear cut chances, despite massive improvement from Falkirk.

The game looked to be fizzling out, but with the hosts tiring, Borough once again turned up the heat in the final fifteen minutes. With 76 minutes gone, Gallagher did well to time her run to beat the offside trap and cut the ball back from the byeline into the path of Duncan, who scored her fourth of the game with a powerful strike in off the underside of the bar. The roles were reversed six minutes later, when Duncan pounced on a defensive error and knocked the ball to Gallagher who rolled the ball into the net to grab her fourth.

As the game entered it’s final minute, Templeton became the third Borough player to score a hat trick when she latched onto a long ball into the box, and despite looking initially like she had taken too long, managed to squeeze the ball past Dean one final time. An afternoon to forget for the Falkirk side, who can at least hold their heads up high for the improvements they showed in the second half. A comprehensive victory for Borough, who take one more step to safety this season.

The Pies

I didn’t spot any of the serveries open today. In the absence of pies though, here is the Westie who made up part of the crowd.

Admission: Free
Programme: None
Pie: None
Bovril: None
Attendance: 41 (+1 dog)