West of Scotland League

Premier Division

Saturday 10th August 2024

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.01

Johnstone Burgh 3 Troon 0, attendance 350

52’ 1-0

77’ 2-0

85’ 3-0

@ Keanie Park

56 Auchenlodment Road

Johnstone

PA5 9PE

£9 Admission

No Programme.

I rounded off the two week trip north, by visiting the last of the traditional big old skool grounds of the Scottish Juniors I’d never seen a game at, Keanie Park, home of Johnstone Burgh, twice winners of the Scottish F.A. Junior Cup back in the 1960’s, during which a record attendance at the ground saw a reported 13,000 for a game versus Greenock. The ground is still impressive today. It is set in a bowl, with grass banking around the sides. There is an old covered stand on the far side, oddly offset from centre, whilst a small ‘homemade’ cover is on the changing room side, where there is also a small section of concrete terrace on the corner nearest the entrance. As with most grounds at this level, a tea bar selling hot pies and drinks doing a brisk trade. Even the old ‘gents’ is still in use….a wall that you go behind to do your business! The warm weather will have helped with a good sized crowd, including a small group of Burgh ultras, complete with flags and drum and the occasional chanting. No doubt pleased to meet up with their mates during the school holidays.

The game was 7th versus 4th in the league table, both teams having played three games so far, Burgh with a win and two draws and Troon two wins and one loss. A very disappointing first half, with little of note at either end, not surprisingly finished goalless. Burgh broke the deadlock seven minutes into the second half, when a cross in from the left was met with a stooping header that found the bottom corner from eight yards. They had a first time shot come back off the crossbar, before finally getting their second goal with thirteen minutes left, when a cut back from the right was controlled and finished into the bottom corner and they rounded off the scoring when they curled one in off the far post with five minutes left.

So, another successful trip north was complete. As well as the two English grounds visited during the first couple of days, another dozen were managed in Scotland. The new season is well and truly under way……As you can tell by the number of photos taken, I liked this ground! Even better, the 438 mile drive back from Renfrewshire was trouble free (apart from a diversion off the M25 between J11 and J10) arriving home just before 11pm.

Club Academy Scotland

U18 Elite League

Friday 9th August 2024

Kick Off 15.00 On Time!

Queen’s Park U18 3 Motherwell U18 1, attendance 68

26’ 1-0 (pen)

49’ 1-1

75’ 2-1

89’ 3-1

@ Lochinch Sports Pavilion, 3G Pitch

Pollok Country Park

Dumbreck Road

Bellahouston

Glasgow

G41 4SN

No Admission or Programme.

The Lochinch Sports Pavilion, a former police sports ground, is a new training base for Queen’s Park, located within Pollok Country Park. Today’s game was played on the 3G pitch immediately in front of the clubhouse/changing room building (there are also grass pitches here). It is fully railed off and unusually, has three dugouts (24 seats ) situated either side of the halfway line. In front of the clubhouse are some raised steps, but the view is slightly obscured from here. Although there is access around the full pitch, all spectators remained on the clubhouse side. A phone call to the home club this morning confirmed venue and kick off time and no problem gaining access to watch.

It was very windy, which didn’t help the game as a spectacle, as the pitch is very exposed to the elements and having started off in under blue skies, the rain finally arrived with about five minutes left. The only goal of the first half was a penalty for the hosts. Motherwell levelled four minutes into the second half, riding two tackles before beating the ‘keeper with a shot into the far corner. Queen’s Park went back in front with fifteen minutes left, when a ball pulled back across the box was finished into the roof of the net from six yards and they made the game safe in the dying minutes, finishing with a first time shot into the bottom corner after a misplaced back pass was intercepted on the edge of the D.

Friendly

Thursday 8th August 2024

Kick Off 18.45 Actual 18.51

Bridge of Earn A.F.C. 3 Luncarty A.F.C. 2, attendance 45

18’ 1-0

31’ 1-1

67’ 2-1

81’ 2-2

86’ 3-2

@ Victory Park

Main Street (A912)

Bridge of Earn

PH2 9PL

No Admission or Programme.

Tonight’s friendly was Kingdom of Fife F.A. League versus Perthshire Amateur F.A. League. It had rained quite hard in the hour up to kick off and there was light drizzle for the majority of the match, but the pitch here at Victory Park was in superb condition. It is located on the left hand side of Main Street, as you enter the village on the A912, when coming off Junction 9 of the M90. It is just an open pitch, but enclosed on all four sides and there’s a brick changing room building on the Main Street side of the ground.

Bridge of Earn opened the scoring courtesy of an own goal, but Luncarty levelled it at 1-1 scoring at the second attempt after a corner wasn’t cleared. Midway through the second half Bridge of Earn went back in front, when a free kick to the far side of the box was controlled and finished with a shot that took a slight deflection. Luncarty made it 2-2 with nine minutes left, finishing from just inside the box, but there was still time for Bridge of Earn to grab a late winner, when a free kick on the angle of the 18 yard box sailed over the ‘keeper and found it’s way in off the far post.

East of Scotland League

Division 1

Wednesday 7th August 2024

Kick Off 19.15 On Time!

Kinnoull 1 Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts 2, attendance 84

17’ 0-1

20’ 0-2

73’ 1-2

@ Tulloch Park

Tulloch Road

Perth

PH1 2SN

£6 Admission

No Programme.

Tonight’s game was 8th versus 14th (out of 16) in the league table, with Kinnoull having one win and one defeat from their opening two games, whilst Inverkeithing had managed a draw and a defeat from their two played. It was the visitors who got off to the better start, opening the scoring after seventeen minutes, with an angled shot into the far corner. They doubled their lead three minutes later, when a cross from the right was volleyed in from inside the six yard box. They dominated the first half and could have been further ahead, but were unable to add to their tally and it looked like their job would be much easier when Kinnoull had a man red carded for dissent five minutes before halftime.

Although Inverkeithing did the majority of the attacking in the second half, Kinnoull remained in the game and they pulled it back to 1-2 with seventeen minutes left, bundling in a corner at the far post, but never really looked like adding to it and the visitors deservedly hung on to take the three points.

Kinnoull play at Tulloch Park in Perth. Entering behind the goal, the changing rooms/tea bar are in the near left hand corner, where there is cover and a few benches, but set back too far from the pitch to afford decent viewing. The pitch is fully railed and runs lengthways away from the building, with a pair of dugouts on the left hand side. There are also floodlights, but they looked to be more for training use.

S.J.F.A. North Region

League Cup Group 3

Tuesday 6th August 2024

Kick Off 19.30 Actual 19.32

Cruden Bay 0 Bridge of Don Thistle 10, attendance 33

6’ 0-1, 10’ 0-2, 22’ 0-3, 27’ 0-4, 32’ 0-5

51’ 0-6, 56’ 0-7, 67’ 0-8, 78’ 0-9, 83’ 0-10

@ Watson Park

off Auchiries Road

Cruden Bay

AB42 0PJ

£6 Admission

No Programme.

I was expecting a big away win here, although perhaps not by the double figure score that it ended up. Cruden Bay had finished bottom of the Championship last season, losing all 26 league games and even finished on minus three points, due to fielding an ineligible player in one of those matches, whilst Bridge of Don Thistle had finished second to champions Culter in the Super League. As far as the early group games in the League Cup go, it had been two defeats out of two for Cruden Bay (0-4 v Colony Park and 1-5 v Maud), but they were unlikely to pick up any points anyway, as they are a division below the three other teams. Bridge of Don Thistle had won their two games (1-0 v Colony and 3-2 v Maud), so only needed a draw tonight to guarantee them topping the group and advancing to the quarter finals.

The game was done and dusted after ten minutes, by which time it was 0-2. By halftime it was 0-5 and it was a case of when, rather than if, a double figure score would be achieved. In the end they managed it when they hit goal number ten with seven minutes left. It could easily have been at least another six, such was their dominance and the fact that they never took their foot off the pedal, even though the win was secured well before halftime.

Watson Park is to the north of the village, turning right off the road towards Auchiries, along what is basically a farm track, with the ground about 100 yards on the right. There is a small car park, which just about coped with tonight’s crowd, with changing rooms/tea bar/committee room to the left as you enter. The pitch runs lengthways. It is fully railed and has a small seated stand on the left hand side, with the dugouts opposite.

S.J.F.A. North Region

League Cup Group 4

Saturday 3rd August 2024

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.01

Stonehaven 3 Deveronside 0, attendance 63

17’ 1-0

27’ 2-0

74’ 3-0 (pen)

@ Glenury Park

Mineralwell

Stonehaven

AB39 2SP

£6 Admission, including 4 page programme.

Today I decided to visit the most southern based club in the S.J.F.A. North Region, at the Glenury Park home of North Premier League side Stonehaven, who were hosting Championship club Deveronside, one level below them. Both sides had won their opening group matches, Stonehaven winning 1-0 away at Buchanhaven Hearts and Deveronside beating Sunnybank 6-1 at home, with Owen Christie scoring five of the goals.

Stonehaven had the game sewn up within half an hour. They opened the scoring after seventeen minutes, heading in a cross from the left from 8 yards out and goal number two followed ten minutes later, when a free kick from the edge of the D was bent round the wall into the bottom corner. Deveronside had a great chance in the closing minutes of the half, missing an easy chance when through on goal, shooting high over the crossbar. Unfortunately for them, the chance didn’t fall to Owen Christie. In fact, he never really had a look in all afternoon and was well marshalled by the home defence for the entire ninety minutes. Any chance Deveronside had of getting anything out of the game disappeared when they had a defender sent off nine minutes into the second half. His offence was calling the Referee ‘a clown’ following an award of a free kick against them. As expected, Stonehaven were well on top for the remainder of the game, but were only able to add one more goal, which came from the penalty spot after a foul on the corner of the six yard box.

Glenury Park has the changing room building/tea bar (plenty of hot food on offer) behind the entrance goal end. The pitch is railed off and there’s a pair of dugouts on the left hand side. No cover here, but not needed on a glorious afternoon. Approaching the ground along a lane running alongside the river, you first come to a cricket ground, where there was a match taking place, before reaching the football club. At the far end of the car park there is a 3G pitch, which was also hosting a match, presumably a friendly, that kicked off half an hour before the Stonehaven game.

S.J.F.A. East Region

Midlands League

Friday 2nd August 2024

Kick Off 18.45 On Time!

Kirriemuir Thistle 2 Brechin Victoria 0, attendance 162

63’ 1-0

74’ 2-0

@ Westview Park

Westmuir Road (A926)

Kirriemuir

DD8 5AZ

£6 Admission

No Programme.

With one of the Midlands League’s Referees getting married tomorrow, as well as a number of other Referees attending the wedding, the league asked if clubs would switch their games to Friday evening, to help ease the possibility of games being postponed due to a lack of available officials and luckily for me, of the three clubs that did agree to change, Kirriemuir Thistle were one of them (the other two were Blairgowrie and Forfar United, where I’d already been) and it was only forty minutes drive north east from our hotel in Scone, so fell perfectly.

It was the opening league game of the season tonight. It was 6th versus 16th (out of 20) as far as last season’s final placings go and saw a decent turnout for this Angus derby, with the two clubs some 17 miles apart. Westview Park is on the south west edge of town, on the left hand side of the A926 heading towards Westmuir. There is car parking available inside the ground, as well as in a car park on the other side of the road, which was the chosen option. Entering in the corner, the clubhouse, changing rooms and tea bar run along the left hand touchline, whilst on the opposite side is a raised seated stand, with a pair of dugouts in front. The pitch, which was in absolutely superb condition, is fully railed, with plenty of advert boards and there are also floodlights, although I’m not too sure if they were more for training under, rather than for match use. They certainly weren’t needed tonight anyway, despite drizzle falling during the first half and light rain in the second, as the game was done and dusted by half past eight and still light on arrival back at our hotel at 21.15.

As for the game, it was full blooded throughout and although there were chances at each end, Kirriemuir always looked the more dangerous in the attacking areas. The hosts had the best chance of the first half, but a point blank header was pushed wide by the ‘keeper. The opening goal came just after the hour mark, when a cross from the right was headed in from 10 yards by a midfielder arriving late into the box. They saw a free kick, heading for the top corner, brilliantly tipped over the crossbar, before finally making it 2-0 with sixteen minutes left, when a ball into the box was flicked past the ‘keeper into the bottom corner from six yards.

Friendly

Thursday 1st August 2024

Kick Off 19.00 Actual 19.03

Bridgeton United A.F.C. 3 Luncarty A.F.C. 1, attendance 41

10’ 1-0

57’ 2-0

74’ 2-1

87’ 3-1

@ Main Street

Almondbank

PH1 3NJ

No Admission or Programme.

This was a game between two teams who play in the Perthshire Amateur F.A. It was 3rd versus 2nd in last season’s final placings in Division 2 of the league, with Luncarty newly promoted into Division 1 for this season. It was an excellent game, end to end and edged by Bridgeton as they made the most of their chances. A free kick from the edge of the D saw the hosts take an early lead and they added a second goal twelve minutes into the second half, powering in a header from six yards. Luncarty pulled a goal back when they headed in from a corner with sixteen minutes left, but Bridgeton made it 3-1 late on, scoring another free kick from the edge of the D.

The ground is in the village of Almondbank, to the northwest of Perth, sandwiched between Main Street and the River Almond, on the right hand side as you enter the village from the A85. It’s just an open pitch, with a changing room building that’s on the other side of the lane that leads to the bowling club behind the north goal end. A very pleasant setting on a nice sunny evening.