Football League Cup

Preliminary Round

Tuesday 29th July 2025

Kick Off 19.30 On Time!

Barnet 2 Newport County 2 (2-4 pens), attendance 1,789

31’ 0-1 Antwi

42’ 0-2 Reindorf

90’ + 7, 1-2 Galvin

90’ + 9, 2-2 Browne

@ The Hive Stadium

Camrose Avenue

Edgware

HA8 6AG

£13 Admission

No Programme (saw a few Team Sheets).

Having completed ‘the 92’ back in 1990 (joined the 92 Club, but now a lapsed member) I always liked to keep up to date by re-visiting clubs that I’d already visited during their non-league days, just to see how the grounds have changed in the subsequent years. I never got here during their recent stint in the Football League, so thought tonight was as good a time as any to put that right. I’d actually made my first visit here in November 2013, on a midweek trip via Eurotunnel, when living in Brussels, for a 0-0 draw versus Welling United (att.1,172) in a National League game. At least I only had to drive 43 miles tonight, which still took close on two hours, despite the M25 being relatively quiet. Street parking was readily available, less than 10 minutes walk from the stadium and I purchased my ticket for a surprisingly cheap £13 (unlike the £12 cheeseburger and coke inside, which was very poor and tasted bland) from the ticket office at the corner of the stadium as you enter the complex. It’s still a three sided ground, with the near goal end just backing on to the car park. I chose to sit in The Legends Stand, being two rows from the back, right on the halfway line, where the view was excellent. The away section was in the stand behind the goal to the left, with around 250 present, in the end block adjoining our stand.

It was a decent game, with Barnet totally dominating possession, but not able to take advantage of it. Newport opened the scoring just after the half hour mark, when Antwi volleyed in from the angle of the 18 yard box, beating the ‘keeper high into the near top corner of the net and they doubled their lead three minutes before halftime, when Reindorf cut in from the left, weaving between two defenders, then bending a shot into the top corner. Barnet looked to have run out of ideas and quite a few of their fans had already left, when seven minutes into stoppage time they pulled a goal back, when a diagonal cross from the right was swept in at the far post by Galvin. Unbelievably, two minutes later, with what was the last action of the match, they grabbed an equaliser, when Kanu cut inside from the left, beat his man and crossed to the far post where Browne headed in.

So, it was straight to penalties. Newport went first, but their first effort was saved. Barnet scored their first two, but hit the post with the third and saw the fourth saved, leaving Newport to win it with all their next four being scored. Their reward is a first round home tie with Millwall.

West of Scotland League

Division 3

Saturday 26th July 2025

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.03

Girvan 0 Kello Rovers 0, attendance 110

@ Hamilton Park

Vicarton Street

Girvan

KA26 9HF

£6 Admission

No Programme.

I rounded off the trip to Scotland with a game on the coast of South Ayrshire. Girvan played in the South of Scotland League up until 2004 and as full members of the Scottish F.A. entered the qualifying rounds of the Scottish F.A. Cup. They then switched to the Scottish Junior F.A. and the West of Scotland League, but were one of a select few clubs to retain their place in the national cup competition. Hamilton Park certainly doesn’t disappoint. There’s a stand, with bench seating, on the right hand side as you look from the entrance/car park, with the club room and tea bar (hot and cold food/drinks) just beyond. The pitch, which was absolutely immaculate, is railed off and surrounded by a cinder track. Grass banking runs around the far side, where there’s a couple of modern dugouts and there’s even a memorial garden, commemorating the war dead, set against the wall running along the perimeter. The ground is also floodlit, which looks to be a relatively new addition. If all that’s not enough, you’ve got the scenery, as well as the occasional train to spot too, with Girvan Station being just behind the stand.

Unfortunately, the game was a let down. Apart from the last five minutes, when it was frantic end to end stuff, there was little of note happened. There was plenty of effort and it was fully committed, but it was as if they’d been told the two goal areas were out of bounds. If they were still playing now they wouldn’t have scored. On this showing, neither of these two will be challenging at the top end of the table and it was probably a better point for Kello, having just been promoted, than it was for Girvan, but I may be wrong…..

So, that rounds off another successful trip north of the border. I managed to get 16 new ground visits, seeing 70 goals and just the one nil-nil, as well as a bonus speedway meeting at Glasgow Tigers. The seven hour slog back south was on schedule, until getting back to the M25, where it was shut at J10, but wasn’t shown on the overhead signs or picked up by the SatNav, which added half an hour to the journey.

And the war memorial…..

Friendly

Thursday 24th July 2025

Kick Off 19.30 Actual 19.26

Meldrum United 1 Banchory St. Ternan 1, attendance 78

48’ 0-1

79’ 1-1

@ Oldmeldrum Pleasure Park

Park Lane

Oldmeldrum

AB51 0DH

No Admission or Programme.

Tonight’s game was Aberdeenshire Amateur F.A. versus North of Scotland League Championship. The ground here in Oldmeldrum is just an open pitch, which has a fair end to end slope and to a lesser extent side to side one. There’s a changing room block next to the small car park and a building on the right hand side of the pitch that has an overhang, providing cover, although not needed tonight, as it remained dry throughout.

I’d seen Meldrum on Sunday, when they thrashed Kemnay Amateurs 10-0 in the Marnoch Shield 3rd/4th place play off at St. Marnans and was very impressed. Tonight was a much sterner test though, with Banchory being a step up in opposition to what they faced at the weekend. The first half remained goalless, despite chances at both ends. It only took three minutes of the second half for the visitors to make the breakthrough though, when a one two on the edge of the box was finished emphatically from 12 yards. With eleven minutes left Meldrum grabbed an equaliser, when a quick break down the left saw the ball crossed in and as a defender failed to clear, the ball was controlled first time and smashed low past the ‘keeper into the corner of the net.

Another excellent game and certainly not played in the same restrictive manner that clubs in England adopt during their pre-season games. With the game having kicked off four minutes early and a halftime break of just seven minutes, where everyone stayed out on the pitch, we were done and dusted for 21.03.

Friendly

Wednesday 23rd July 2025

Kick Off 19.45 Actual 19.46

East End 0 Stonehaven 3, attendance 60

4’ 0-1

31’ 0-2 (pen)

73’ 0-3

@ Dyce 3G Pitch

Riverview Drive

Dyce

AB21 7NF

No Admission or Programme.

This was a bit of an unusual one, as both teams are in the North of Scotland League Premiership and are due to play each other again in ten days time, in the opening league fixture of the season. It was played at Dyce 3G Pitch, which is tucked away behind Asda and Dyce Academy. The changing room building is actually accessed from Asda car park and the majority seemed to have parked here. It’s a standard cage set up, but does have spectator access along the whole of one side.

An early goal for Stonehaven set the tone, when a cross from the right was finished with a downward header at the near post. They doubled their lead with a penalty just after the half hour mark and rounded off the scoring with seventeen minutes left, curling a shot into the far corner from the angle of the 18 yard box. East End were very poor going forward and the nearest they came to scoring was when a 25 yard free kick clipped the top of the crossbar with five minutes left.

Moray & District Welfare F.A.

Premier Division

Tuesday 22nd July 2025

Kick Off 19.30 On Time!

Buckie Rovers 2 Fochabers 1, attendance 86

42’ 1-0

66’ 2-0

84’ 2-1

@ Merson Park

Barhill Road

Buckpool

AB56 1DS

No Admission or Programme.

Last week I’d seen these two meet in a cup match at Fochabers, that the home side won 2-1, but tonight was a league match, with 3rd hosting 2nd in the table, both needing a win to close the gap on leaders Aberlour Villa. The added attraction, as far as I was concerned, was that Buckie play their home games at Merson Park, which has hosted Scottish Junior football in the past. The pitch is railed on all bar about a third of one touchline, with a pair of brick dugouts on the far side (only Buckie used theirs). Car parking is at the goal end nearest the entrance, with the changing rooms in the near right corner, where there was also a tea bar serving hot food and drinks. Great scenic views too, with hills and the town in one direction and glimpses of the North Sea in the other. The only thing that lets it down is the ridiculous distance the rail is set back from the pitch. It is at least ten yards, no matter where you stand and it’s like watching a game at those awful grounds that have a running track around the pitch.

The distance from the pitch probably contributed to how the game was nowhere near as enjoyable as last week’s meeting. The opening goal didn’t come until three minutes before halftime, going the way of the hosts, when a long clearance saw the ball cut in from the right, before finishing left footed from the edge of the box, going in off a defender. Midway through the second half Buckie made it 2-0, when a corner from the right was headed down into the bottom corner from six yards. An angled shot into the far corner saw Fochabers pull it back to 2-1 with six minutes left and despite playing six additional minutes of stoppage time, they were unable to grab an equaliser.

The win leaves Buckie just two points behind Fochabers now, whilst Aberlour retain their four point lead at the top, with all three now having played the same number of games.

Strathspey & Badenoch Welfare F.A.

Monday 21st July 2025

Kick Off 19.30 Actual 19.29

Cromdale 0 Badenoch United 3, attendance 21

15’ 0-1

28’ 0-2

34’ 0-3

@ Cromdale Park

A95 North

Cromdale

PH26 3LN

No Admission or Programme.

The Strathspey & Badenoch Welfare F.A. is down to just five teams these days, although they also compete for five different cup competitions. The other three clubs are Aviemore Thistle, F.C. Abernethy and Grantown Rovers, with tonight’s game being 3rd versus 1st in the league table. The club play at Cromdale Park, which is on the left hand side of the A95 when heading north towards Charlestown of Aberlour. The pitch is set down below the car park, fully enclosed with mesh fencing and a couple of dugouts on the near side, with the changing room building behind the near goal end.

It had been a wet start to the day, but had dried up by lunchtime, but it started spitting with rain again just under an hour before kick off. It got very heavy as the teams did their warm ups and there were rumbles of thunder and one flash of lightning in the opening five minutes of the game, but thankfully nothing more, although it did rain for the entire match. It only took Badenoch fifteen minutes to open the scoring, when a cross from the right was headed in from 6 yards. Just before the half hour mark they doubled their lead, when having cut inside, a shot was well saved by the ‘keeper, but followed in from close range with a stooping header. Six minutes later, a cross from the right was turned in at the far post to make it 0-3 and there would be no way back for Cromdale. The second half was more even, with chances at both ends, with both ‘keepers pulling off decent saves. Both teams had a man sent off in the last minute, with punches thrown following a challenge just past the halfway line, but too late to have any bearing on the outcome of the game.

The win sees Badenoch retain top spot in the table, having now won all five of their games played so far. The two teams meet here again on Friday, in the semi-final of the Capaldi Cup.

Marnoch Shield 4 Team Tournament

3rd/4th Place Play Off

Sunday 20th July 2025

Kick Off 12.00 Actual 12.01

Meldrum United 10 Kemnay Amateurs 0, attendance 40

19’ 1-0

23’ 2-0

31’ 3-0 (pen)

51’ 4-0

64’ 5-0

65’ 6-0

74’ 7-0

76’ 8-0

84’ 9-0

89’ 10-0

@ McRobert Park (St. Marnans F.C.)

Park View

Aberchirder

AB54 7AA

No Admission or Programme.

Today was the culmination of the inaugural Marnoch Shield 4 Team Tournament, hosted by St.Marnans, at their McRobert Park ground in Aberchirder. It’s just a pitch, but is fully enclosed and has three park benches on each touchline, with a car park behind the goal end, which also had the changing rooms/toilets, with a tea bar set up under a canopy, serving hot and cold food and drinks.

The four teams involved play in the Aberdeenshire Amateur F.A. Yesterday’s games saw hosts St.Marnans beat Kemnay Amateurs 2-0 and Insch A.F.C. beat Meldrum United 5-2, with the final and 3rd/4th placed play off held today. I would have preferred to see the hosts play, especially as they’d made the final, but it made more sense to do the earlier noon kick off, rather than wait until 15.30 for the second game. Kemnay Amateurs are in Division 1 of the league, whilst Meldrum United are two divisions lower, but it soon became obvious that Meldrum had a team of players who are well capable of playing at a higher level than they’re currently at.

It started off quite even and Kemnay created the better of the early chances. Meldrum broke the deadlock after nineteen minutes, quickly followed by a second goal. Just after the half hour mark a penalty made it 3-0 and surprisingly that was the end of the first half scoring. The second half was pretty much one way traffic, with Kemnay struggling with having fewer substitutes available and looked visibly more tired as the game wore on. Goal number four came just six minutes into the half and the goals kept coming. It was just a case of how many they’d get in the end as they ruthlessly cut through the Kemnay defence. When they hit their ninth with six minutes left, it was a case of when, rather than if, they’d reach double figures and sure enough, they scored again in the last minute, with a left footed shot into the bottom corner of the net from the edge of the box.

Above photos : Meldrum United in Navy, Kemnay Amateurs in Orange/Black.

Friendly

Saturday 19th July 2025

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.01

Fraserburgh United 1 Lossiemouth 0, attendance 83

76’ 1-0

@ College Park

Henderson Road

Fraserburgh

AB43 9GA

£5 Admission

No Programme.

It was back to friendly action this afternoon, where North of Scotland Championship Division were hosting Highland League. The College Park ground of Fraserburgh United has a fully railed pitch and a stand with five rows of bench seating, painted in the club colours of orange and black, with the dugouts situated on the opposite side.The ground is enclosed by mesh fencing, with the changing rooms/tea bar/toilets all situated on the outside, which seemed rather odd. With nothing to block the view, at least six cars parked in the road at one goal end, choosing to watch from there, rather than pay the fiver admission.

As I’ve found with all the friendlies I’ve watched up in Scotland, it was played with full commitment throughout. There was even a bout of handbags just before halftime, which resulted in quite a bit of pushing and shoving between at least half a dozen players involved, but the halftime whistle soon followed, giving them a chance to calm down. Both teams created plenty of chances, but none that were really clear cut. Having seen a thirteen goal thriller last night, it looked a certainty that this would end goalless, but with fourteen minutes left, we finally got the breakthrough and it went the way of the hosts. A cross was fumbled by the ‘keeper, with the ball spinning towards the goal, where a defender trying to clear never made a proper connection and the ball was forced in at the far post. Six minutes later, Lossiemouth were denied a penalty, when a Fraserburgh defender clearly committed a handball during a scramble to block a shot, but the Referee thought otherwise and waved away the appeals.

North East Scotland F.A.

League 2

Friday 18th July 2025

Kick Off 19.00 Actual 19.01

New Deer 7 Ardallie 6, attendance 22

1’ 1-0

7’ 2-0

10’ 2-1

14’ 2-2

34’ 3-2

38’ 3-3

48’ 3-4

50’ 4-4 (pen)

58’ 4-5

62’ 5-5

67’ 6-5

77’ 6-6

90’ + 1, 7-6

@ Fordyce Road

New Deer

AB53 6SB

No Admission or Programme.

This was the first game I’ve ever watched in this league and where better to start than with a game between the bottom two in the league (lowest division of two), who had managed just one win each all season. The ground is in Fordyce Road, with the set up also hosting tennis and bowls. There are two parallel pitches here, the main one being adjacent to the driveway leading to the car park at the rear of the changing room building. It has wooden fencing acting as a pitch barrier along one side and behind the goal end nearest the entrance, as well as a pair of wooden dugouts and there’s also a small bit of cover set back in the corner, which would be useful in wet weather, but has a blind spot in one corner, so far from ideal. It certainly wasn’t needed tonight, on yet another glorious evening.

As for the match. It was absolutely bonkers. New Deer were ahead inside ten seconds and two up after seven minutes. Ardallie replied quickly and were level at 2-2 before we’d even played quarter of an hour. New Deer went back in front after the ‘keeper was beaten from a tight angle, but a quick breakaway and low shot past the ‘keeper saw Ardallie level it up at 3-3 seven minutes before halftime.

The second half continued in the same vein as the first. New Deer had a goal ruled out for offside within a minute of the restart, before going 3-4 behind when an Ardallie player cut in from the right and finished low into the far corner. By the fifth minute of the half it was 4-4, courtesy of a New Deer penalty that went in off the underside of the crossbar. Just before the hour mark the visitors made it 4-5, after a ball across the face of the goal was put in at the far post. The lead lasted just four minutes though, when a cross was half blocked and poked past the ‘keeper from close range. With twenty three minutes left New Deer were back in front, after a defender diverted a cross into his own net, but the inevitable equaliser followed ten minutes later, when a cracking 25 yarder made it 6-6. Minutes later New Deer hit the post and just as it looked like we’d end all square, a long ball over the top was poked past the ‘keeper, from just inside the box, to win it for New Deer a minute into stoppage time.

An absolutely superb game to watch as a neutral. My highest ever draw I’ve witnessed is 6-6. I really thought the 7-7 might have been achieved tonight, as there were still a couple of chances for Ardallie in the dying seconds and to be honest, a draw would have been a fair result overall