Jamie Reid Testimonial
Sunday 23rd July 2023
Kick Off 13.00 Actual 13.04
Jeanfield Swifts 5 St. Johnstone U20 5, attendance 370
1-0 (6), 1-1 (15), 2-1 (26), 2-2 (38), 2-3 (42)
3-3 (50), 4-3 (58), 5-3 (60) pen, 5-4 (62), 5-5 (78)
@ Riverside Stadium
Bute Drive
Perth
PH1 3BP
£7 Admission
No Programme.
A decent crowd turned out for this and it would have been well in excess of 400 if you counted all the kids in the various bouncy castles installed as part of the event. Thankfully it remained dry, as the area of cover wouldn’t have been anywhere near big enough to accommodate a crowd of this size. It was odd that the only food on offer was from a mobile food wagon, which was very expensive and seemed to do little trade, but hardly surprising as it didn’t offer the normal fayre you’d expect at a Scottish non-League venue. Venison burgers didn’t really hit the mark somehow. No hot drinks either and ‘cold’ drinks were served from a table, rather than a fridge!
Jeanfield had played their first league match of the season yesterday in the East of Scotland League Premier Division, whilst the St. Johnstone team were still only recently back in training for the new season. With no pressure on either side it gave way to a good open game, with both teams playing with a positive attitude. Plenty of goals and numerous missed chances to boot. The visitors led 2-3 at halftime, but the hosts won the second half by the same score to see the honours shared in a 5-5 draw. I was quite surprised on checking my records afterwards that this is now the sixth time I’ve seen this scoreline.
A guard of honour from both teams had greeted the man of the day Jamie Reid onto the pitch before kick off and the biggest cheer of the day came when he stepped up to score from the penalty spot to put Jeanfield 5-3 up on the hour mark. Two late goals from the visitors would have done little to take the shine off his day and everyone would have gone home happy….apart from the defensive coaches!
Above : Jeanfield Swifts head in the opening goal of the day.
