East of Scotland League

Conference C

Saturday 30th March 2019

Kick Off 20.00. On Time !

Linlithgow Rose 3 Jeanfield Swifts 2, attendance 530

7’ 0-1

16’ 1-1

39’ 2-1

46’ 2-2

64’ 3-2 (pen)

@ Prestonfield

Braehead Road

Linlithgow

EH49 6HF

£6 Admission

Programme available, but I won’t buy one at any event organised by Groundhop UK.

So, onto the fourth match of a long day and another ground that I had already visited. I came here back on 29th May 2004 when I saw Linlithgow lose 1-2 to Tayport in a Scottish Junior F.A. East Region Super League match. The match that day had a far bigger crowd than tonight, whether you believe the 618 figure claimed by Groundhop UK on their twitter, or the 530 crowd announced by the club over the tannoy.

At least I remembered this ground, well, the impressive main stand anyway, unlike my revisit at Camelon this morning. The match was second versus third in the league table and was far and away the best match of the five games so far on this weekends ‘hop, with a really good contest between two evenly matched teams. It was a shame it didn’t finish as a draw, because Jeanfield did enough to have got something out of the game.

Today has been something of an endurance test, especially with two of the matches being revisits, and it is a shame that cramming in a fourth match means the games blur into each other a bit and it would be much better if just three matches were scheduled instead. It would be nice to have a little more time to relax between matches.

East of Scotland League

Conference C

Saturday 30th March 2019

Kick Off 17.15 Actual 17.16

Blackburn United 4 Preston Athletic 1, attendance 328

3’ 1-0 (pen)

6’ 2-0

65’ 3-0

78’ 3-1

83’ 4-1

@ New Murrayfield Park

Ash Grove

Blackburn

EH47 7LL

£6 Admission

Programme available, but I won’t buy one on any event organised by Groundhop UK.

Back on 11th October 2003 I attended the noon kick off between Blackburn United and Clydebank in a Scottish Junior F.A. Cup 1st Round match, which finished 1-1 (doubled with Pumpherston Juniors 4 Fraserburgh United 2, in the same competition, at 3 o’clock). The ground used that day runs parallel to New Murrayfield Park and is behind the trees that run behind the stand on the halfway line, which is the same stand from the old ground, having been dismantled and rebuilt next door.

If Dunipace won the award for being the biggest rip off club of the weekend, then Blackburn would easily take the prize for being the best value for money and they showed you can still make a good profit without fleecing your customers, even if it is the only time you are ever going to see them. The chicken curry with rice, at just £2 per portion, was well received by all those that managed to get some before it unsurprisingly sold out.

The match got off to a lightning start, with Blackburn 2-0 up in the first six minutes and Preston never really recovered, in what was a bit of a shock result.

There was a discrepancy with the crowd figure. Groundhop UK were claiming it was 372, but the club announced over the tannoy that it was actually only 328.

East Of Scotland League

Conference C

Saturday 30th March 2019

Kick Off 14.15 Actual 14.16

Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts 2 Heriot Watt University 4, attendance 301

27’ 0-1

32’ 0-2

58’ 0-3

71’ 1-3

73’ 2-3

82’ 2-4 (pen)

@ Ballast Bank

Preston Crescent

Inverkeithing

KY11 1DS

£5 Admission

Programme available, but I won’t buy one at any event organised by Groundhop UK.

I wasn’t expecting much here, as I knew it was nothing more than a railed pitch inside an old cinder running track. However, on a sunny day, the lack of any cover would not be a problem. There was also the view of the Forth Road/Rail Bridges, although as it was only the tops that were visible, unless you knew what they were, they could easily go unnoticed. At least this would be a new ground for me, following the two revisits of last night and this morning.

This is the debut season for Inverkeithing at this level and they have found it difficult, coming into this third bottom in the league table. Heriot Watt were far superior, racing into a comfortable 0-3 lead and Inverkeithing only came into it once they had a man red carded, but having a further two players sent off towards the end of the match meant a comeback didn’t look on. However, they certainly made it interesting when they scored twice in three minutes to pull it back to 2-3, but the students wrapped it up when they scored their fourth goal from the penalty spot.

With two games down and a further two still to go today, it was south over the Forth for the next instalment.

East of Scotland League

Conference C

Saturday 30th March 2019

Kick Off 11.00. On Time !

Camelon Juniors 5 Edinburgh United 1, attendance 352

10’ 1-0

12’ 2-0

27’ 3-0

41’ 3-1 (pen)

45’ 4-1

48’ 5-1

@ Carmuirs Park

Fairlie Drive

Camelon

Falkirk

FK1 4NP

£6 Admission

Programme available, but I won’t buy one at any event organised by Groundhop UK.

So, after only ever revisiting two grounds in Scotland before last night, I was now doing my second in a little over 13 hours. My last visit here was on a Friday night, when Camelon drew 1-1 with Bo’ ness United (who will play their remaining matches here this season whilst an artificial pitch is laid at their own ground) in a Scottish Junior F.A. East Region Super League match on 11th May 2007. Despite it only being 12 years ago, I had little recollection of the ground, which is very surprising considering what a gem it is. From the outside, it felt very familiar, but once through the turnstiles, it was as if I was stepping into the unknown. These days I take photographs, so hopefully it will help me remember some of the places a bit more clearly in the future!

Edinburgh United were never really in this and were lucky to escape with just a 5-1 thrashing, as Camelon dominated throughout. The win means Camelon finish third in the league table.