FootyWanderer84

I always love taking time off work (who doesn’t?!) and coming around to my birthday, this is usually the first full week I take off work each year. And with my goal to get to as many games as I can this year, it gives me a great opportunity to get to a load of games over the next 10 days.

The first game of my time off can be quickly glossed over, a trip to the Excelsior is neither a long trip, nor a new trip. And as for the result, let’s just say that defeat in an Old Firm doesn’t get any easier to accept as I get older.

Having reflected on my progress on completing the 42 league grounds in Scotland recently, Tuesday night saw game number 39 let me chalk off ground number 28, (I had thought it was 30, but have mis-counted somewhere when planning ahead!) as I visited New Central Park, at the second attempt. Having thought it was a great chance to see a game here last year, as they kicked off a 17:30, I had been to Cowdenbeath just a few miles away for a 15:00 kick off. However, as luck would have it, this Scottish Cup tie at Central Park went to extra time, and by the time I got to Kelty and couldn’t get parked, i’d missed too much of the game to make it worth it.

So this time I was early, having had the bonus of some work being done in the house finishing ahead of schedule, i’d left early and had a leisurely drive up to Kelty across the ever impressive Queensferry crossing and got parked in a quiet residential street.

Having plenty time to get my bearings, I sat in the pub on the corner with a (soft) drink to waste some time browsing socials, before heading along to grab a chippy on the way around to the ground.

Even taking my time, I arrived at the ground with chippy in hand long before kick off, so after purchasing some half time draw tickets (pointless, never got close to winning as usual) I went and stood on the terracing to eat the roll and chips before grabbing some pictures of the ground and heading in to the social club behind the terraces.

While the facilities here at New Central Park are all made up of rather temporary looking buildings, there is a nice and welcoming feel to the place. After watching some of the Women’s Champions League game on the tele, I went back out to the terrace. The end I had chosen started to fill up with visiting Alloa fans, so in with the away fans it was.

On the way up, I had been listening to the Big Scottish Football podcast, and heard of Kelty’s recent poor run. Would I see it end? Turns out I did, as they came from a goal behind to win 2-1, a 6th time in 39 games I had witnessed a 2-1 home win. I think I need to start putting money on this scoreline.

Being a neutral means I am often going to games without a real care about who wins. But I feel that you can’t help get a bit sucked in to wanting the team whose support you are among to win, and not simply for an easy life! The game itself wasn’t a great watch, with the ball spending more time in the air during the 90 minutes than I have in recent weeks, however at least I had witnessed a game that had goals and went to the wire.

I am now at 7 of 10 grounds in League One, and may get to complete this league before the end of the season. The Championship should also be done in a few weeks, with only Arbroath and Raith Rovers left to visit for me. However, the next one I should get to complete is the SWPL2, and due to groundsharing, my next game takes me 1 step closer to that.

A drive up the A9 to Perth was my Wednesday night, as I headed for The Riverside stadium, home of Jeanfield Swifts, and where St Johnstone’s women play their home games in SWPL2. This was an East Of Scotland Premier Division clash. A division that i’ve barely touched, but offers some lovely grounds that i’ll get round to ticking off in time.

Arriving around an hour early, I found parking at the ground and could relax before heading to the gate and paying my £7 entry, before grabbing a drink and wandering to pitchside to take in the surroundings.

Not much to this ground, a small clubhouse is contained within the building, at the back of which is cover over a modest standing area, with the remainder of the pitch being surrounded by a barrier around the grass. Surrounded by trees, it is a serene little setting.

As kick off arrived, I did something that I should do more of going to random games, and checked out the league table to have some idea of form. Jeanfield kicked off in 4th place, with a few games in hand over those above, while visitors Kinnoull FC arrived with only 5 points to their name.

The game started with an excellent chance for the hosts to score after only around 15 seconds of play, but they were denied by the keeper. It didn’t take long for them to go ahead though, as the first goal was scored just a couple of minutes later. This would surely open the floodgates at the Riverside.

Only it didn’t. Kinnoull were well organised and fought for everything, while Jeanfield appeared angry and frustrated from the start that they weren’t rolling over the visitors, and though they got a gift from the keeper to go 2-0 up, they were pegged back by a well taken goal by the visitors.

I was certainly rewarded for this trip up to Perth, as the game delivered a 4-3 win for the home side after a pulsating second half, at times looking like the visitors would take something from the game. In the end, 2 penalties conceded plus a horror of a mistake from their keeper cost them, but what an effort they put in for being in such a lowly league position in March.

Driving back home all I wanted was the rain to stay off, and thankfully it did, making for a quiet drive home, via Tesco for some petrol, and less than 90 minutes after the game I was back home. Hopefully Scotland U21’s would live up to this entertainment, though I went without that expectation.

I’m not usually one for going to Scotland games, though this season I have been to some of the women’s internationals. But with the International break falling during my time off, and the U21’s playing at St Mirren’s SMISA stadium, where away tickets were proving elusive, this gave me a good chance to add another ground to my list.

With regular trains to Paisley St James, which is just opposite the ground, I decided to park up at Bellshill and get the train to the game, not expecting it to be off puttingly busy. I made my way out of the station and down to to Wetherspoon’s for a cheap dinner.

Making my way up to Central Station and having a wander around WH Smith, I found my old habit of poor planning might have bit me again, as I realised that the game was a 7pm kick off, and I had just missed a train to Paisley St James, the next one being in 25 minutes, getting me there 7 minutes before kick off! I keep saying I will learn, but those who know me will doubt that!

The train was on time though, and I made it across the road and into the ground as the teams were lining up for the anthems. Noticing the row I had a ticket in was looking full, I sat in the slightly padded seats just behind the home dugouts, and enjoyed the game from there.

First impressions for me of this ground was that while there are little frills to it, it is a tidy ground, though like many new grounds, I don’t think it’s terribly unfair to say that it lacks the charm of Love Street. I do prefer when these newer stadiums don’t have such big gaps in the corners, I feel they would benefit from being more closed off, but that’s just my take on it.

The game itself didn’t start well, but Scotland settled and grew into the game once they realised they could get after their visitors, and took control of the game, eventually running out 4-0 winners. 41st game of the year in the books, ground number 9 in the Scottish Premier League, and ground number 29 of the top 4 leagues in the country.

My timing was good when getting back across the road to the station, as the train back to Glasgow came into sight just as I got across the bridge on to the correct platform, which is always a welcome sight. A short wait for the platform to be confirmed at Central, and it was back on my last train to Bellshill, and then home.

No Friday night football was to be had, as I quietly ‘celebrated’ my 40th birthday, with nothing of note until I went for a family dinner at the Mailcoach, as I share a birthday with my cousin, David. A nice night, and included some football chat, as we spoke about the respective cup finals that we would be at on Sunday – Rangers women at Tynecastle for me, Falkirk for my family to watch Airdrie.

Early start on Saturday, as it was a drive over to Motherwell to catch the train to Preston at 06:45, where I would change to head through to Manchester Piccadily. This was to go to the Etihad for a first time, where it was the WSL Manchester derby, and I had my ticket safely secured for the away end.

Annoyingly, when i’d initially planned this weekend, the cup final at Tynecastle was on Saturday, and the derby was on Sunday, so I had a hotel booked in Manchester Sunday to Wednesday, to make a short break of it. But with the fixtures being swapped independently, while I could still go to both, it doubled the travel. Fortunately I got a good deal for the train which made it affordable, as the driving both times would have been seriously draining.

But as it went, there were no issues on the trains, and no delays, so having had plenty of help sent to me by a City supporting friend Louise on getting to the ground, once I got to Piccadily other than stopping to pick up a drink from WH Smith, I went straight to find the tram stop.

Once i’d found the correct stop, after a wrong turn or two, I took the tram out to the stadium and had a wander around. I’d never been to a game in the main stadium, but on this weekend last year i’d been down to a triple header of WSL games, at Goodison Park, Old Trafford and then the City Academy Stadium, so I got to see what had changed in a year, as construction works had changed the landscape a little, as the stadium and plazas continue to expand.

I met Louise briefly before heading into the ground and had a chat, before making my way into the ground and finding my seat. On the way in, i’d purchased a fanzine from a seller outside the away gates, and while at this point I haven’t finished reading it, I think it’s cracking that the United fans have their own fanzine dedicated to the women’s game.

Getting to the seating bowl, there is no denying that this is a cracking ground. Knowing it wasn’t built solely for football originally, it’s been slowly developed into a smashing venue, though definitely not as close to the park as maybe you would like to see, with a number of rows of seating having been removed from the front, presumably as they were too low and wouldn’t allow those sat there to see over advertising boards.

The game itself was frustrating, as though United had the best of the first 30 minutes, they went in at the break 2-0 down. An early 3rd goal in the 2nd half killed the game, and though United pushed and pulled a goal back, it was never going to be enough. Sadly the game had turned out as i’d expected, and it was time to head back into the city centre.

Though the queues at the tram station were long, they moved a large volume of people quickly and back into the centre, where I had a few hours I could kill having a wander round.

I find it easy to fall for places, and Manchester is one of those places I love to visit, even if i’m just aimlessly wandering around with little purpose. It’s a great city for me to venture to, easily accessible whether by train or driving, so i’m finding myself down often for short breaks, just to get away for a little bit.

I took an earlier train to Preston, and then left the station here and found a Wetherspoon’s for some food, before heading back to catch my train back to Motherwell. With it running on time, there were no real issues, just the end of a long day and needing to get some rest before Cup Final day!

Having a decent sleep, it was time to get up for Cup Final day! Heading out to Ibrox where we had arranged a supporters bus, first I had to stop off for petrol, and also some snacks, as once I was back to the car tonight, I would be driving back down to Manchester, having been unable to change my dates, I was not losing out on my break!

it was once I had stopped off I found that my sister couldn’t go with the kids, so I had no need to pick them up, and it was straight out to Ibrox to meet the bus. Many were already here and on the bus already, so I met Laura, Kar and Grant as they checked off the names and had a chat before getting on.

This was the latest highlight of my time following the women’s team, becoming far more than i’d ever expected when I first went to a match 18 months back. It has been an adventure of making friends, having new experiences, stepping out of comfort zones and generally having a really good time around going to games, and being involved with such a good bunch of people.

Doing my bit to help out, I walked up and down the bus taking names and money for the football card, learning (and probably forgetting!) names and faces, as there was a good atmosphere on the bus. Once we had picked up the rest at Broadwood, it was off to the capital!

Arriving about 90 minutes before kick off, it gave us time to sample the growing atmosphere in the fan plaza in front of the stand, much like last season’s final here, the SWPL had done a good job of making a day of this. Last year’s final was my first visit here, and then i’d checked out the club shop, which is quite impressive within the new Main Stand.

Seeing many familiar faces around as always was a welcome part of the matchday experience, and eventually we headed in. For this game, we had made the choice for front row seats, and we were delighted to get to them and find that they did not come at the expense of a bad view, it was a cracking choice to make.

Graeme had joined us at Broadwood, while Greig, Chloe and his dad had joined us at the ground, sitting just behind us, so surrounded by friends for the game, as we got chatting to even more around us. The bonus of sitting front row was that we got to dump jackets over the fence, with them being hidden by the advertising boards a few feet away. This was a bonus, as it had surprisingly got pretty warm in the capital!

A cup final in the sunshine always lifts the mood, and though the game started a little scrappy, we soon had an early goal to cheer! Any thoughts that this would be a procession were sharply cast aside as Partick equalised with a superb strike! Game on!

Fortunately, we scored a wonder goal of our own, before adding a 3rd just before halftime, and the mood was definitely high now! A 4th goal in the second half, before some welcome subs to see getting on the pitch, and it was time to celebrate what had been a cracking cup final, with a record attendance of a little under 5,000.

As we watched the players celebrating, we were joined by Wilf and Demi, who had hot footed it down from their hospitality seats, before, much to the panic of some organisers, captain Nic Doc came over and handed us the trophy for a picture! Picture taken by the club photographers, we handed it back over and hung around, getting to speak to a few of the players before leaving.

The bus back was in jovial mood, a calm satisfaction and excitement at how the day had unfolded. Dropping off at Broadwood, we made it back to Ibrox and put some bags in the car before waiting at the main doors of the stadium for the team bus to return.

Once it did come back, we got to see the players and staff off, getting some pictures and chatting to some, before we made our way, leaving the players to continue their celebrations within the ground.

I had a long night ahead, as this was now 7pm, and I was heading to Manchester. Deciding it best to make a quick stop at Asda, I then checked Google Mapswhich gave me a 3hr 26 minute drive time. Oh joy! I did though make the most of the pre trip stop at Asda, and make it all the way to the hotel with no further stops, just some questions to myself about turning back until I had passed Southwaite! By the time I got parked, I had dropped 10 minutes from Google’s prediction, so the run down had been as easy as it could be, and stayed dry, which as it gets darker, is a godsend.

Being familiar with the Trafford Hall hotel having stayed here last year, I got checked in quickly and made my way up to the room. A lovely room as it was previously, though this time the bed wasn’t quite as comfy. Shame, but I wasted no time getting my head down and getting some rest after a very long couple of days!

Monday was going to see a game for me, but after a day trip to York, where I got to visit the National Railway Museum, and walk around The Shambles, by the time I got back I was completely against the thought of getting in the car and driving for 40 odd minutes to where i’d planned a game. I may have pushed it if it was a ground in the 92, but it was several levels below, so a night in the hotel watching podcasts was an ideal night.

Tuesday brought about a trip over to Old Trafford (which I could see from my hotel window), which cost me a few quid in the megastore, before I headed further down to Wharfside and caught a tram to the Trafford Centre. This really is some place, it’s no St Enoch Centre for sure! Thankfully I avoided spending too much here, a couple of T Shirts and Becky Lynch’s book which had been released today, and it was time to head back to the hotel.

Grabbing a meal in the hotel restaurant, which was absolutely lovely, I had plenty time to get back to the room, have a shower and get changed before heading out to see England U21’s take on Luxembourg at Bolton’s Toughsheet Community Stadium, or the Reebok in old money.

A ground i’d long wanted to see, having driven past it many times on the way to Manchester, id decided to drive over getting public transport, but this left me little time to explore around the ground pre match. I did manage in to the club store and picked up a pin badge though. What i’m going to do with these badges i’m accumulating I have yet to decide.

For the majority of the first half, the game had me bored to tears, played at a training pace and players not taking responsibility to make anything happen, just playing safe. I’m not always a big fan of watching age group football, and this game was looking like an example of why. However, as the first half wore on, and the second half turned out, England made their superiority count as they ran out 7-0 winners. The scoreline though didn’t tell the full story, as Luxembourg hit the woodwork twice, and had some great chances themselves.

Overall I was impressed with the ground, and was glad i’d made it, though will try to go see a League game here at some point to get a different experience of it. A nuisance trying to pay for the car park though. But once I eventually got out, it was an easy drive back to the hotel, stopping on way to fill up with petrol ahead of heading home on Wednesday.

On checking out, I headed through to Warrington to make a quick stop to visit family, before hitting the road, intending to take my time and go via Ayrshire, to watch Darvel play. Only on my second stop though did I find out that the game had been postponed, and there weren’t many other options. I was sat at Southwaite, and with my night’s plan’s gone, I was suddenly tired and wishing I didn’t have another 90 minutes to home.

Gathering myself, I eventually hit the road, and after picking up some essentials from Tesco, I was home for 6pm. A quick check on games on, the only 2 that were reasonably close held no appeal, so other than a brief trip out to collect a ticket ahead of Ibrox on Saturday, it was a quiet night, happy to be home.

A long stretch off work, 11 nights, and I managed 7 games, taking me to 44 games for this year, keeping up an average of a game every 2 days. Come the summer that will become very difficult to maintain mind you! But time to get back to work, and start preparing for the next round of games, and the next trips! Next week will be quieter than I had planned, unable to get a ticket for Leed’s, i’ve scrapped that trip in favour of a day of football on the TV and some rest!

But for this blog, I think i’ve rambled enough. Last thoughts. Going to football on my own is a great experience, but being with friends, being part of a community. It just hits different. Enjoy it while we can.

Alan