FootyWanderer84

Getting back to work after my time off was always going to be a comedown, but my mood was lifted by coming back to confirmation of a new shift pattern, that further opens up the prospects of me getting to more football in more places, and releases me to get the more difficult grounds needed to complete the 42 grounds in Scotland’s to 4 Leagues.

2 years ago, I was at 10 of the 42 in the top leagues, and this particular blog will include ticking off number 30. Emboldened by a more positive working pattern, I can now really look forward to completing the 42 and beyond, with further leagues in the pyramid in my sights.

Before I got on to planning too far ahead, it was time for Rangers vs Hibs for the 4th time this month, as both the men and women couldn’t quite shake off the team from Leith! It was Ibrox this time, so I headed in early as I usually do, and parked up in the Albion, before heading in to the fanzone.

Main Stand for me for this game, as I continue moving around the ground while I hope to gain enough points for a season ticket in the summer. Not that I expect a wide choice of areas if I get an offer at all, but I still can’t fully make up my mind where I would choose!

The game itself was a good test for Rangers, and despite the blow of conceding a poor goal to allow Hibs to equalise, Rangers went in ahead at the break, although I missed this after leaving my seat before half time, taking advantage of the row in front emptying to get out easily. I’ve done well, it’s probably the first goal all year I haven’t seen for myself, which was a shame, as the replays I watched later showed it was a great goal! Highlight of the first half though was the comical Hibs free kick, where the taker smashed the ball off the head of his teammate! Only when watching the clip on social media later once it went viral did I realise it actually took out 2 of his teammates!!!

Second half was nervy, the nervous energy could be felt around the ground, as thankfully Rangers are in a legitimate title race and every point, every goal could be the difference maker. Not until the last few minutes were the points made safe with a superb effort from Rabbi Matondo, and it was job done.

Excess injury time in both halves had pushed on the full time whistle, with the game finishing after 5pm. With working at 6pm, this increased the challenge to get back, so while I stayed in my seat until the full time whistle, I made my way quickly back to my car, and was fortunate to be quickly on to the motorway. Possibly the best exit from the ground i’ve had this season, as I not only made it to work before 6, but even made it home to pick up a couple of things first!

With it being the Easter weekend, it was good to have a quieter than usual shift to go in to, so allowed me time to look ahead to Sunday’s game, and do a little prep for our podcast we do after Sunday games. The clocks going forward a welcome bonus, cutting down my shift by an hour and into bed quicker!

My alarm came around all too quickly, as I got up to get ready for, you guessed it, Rangers vs Hibs AGAIN! This time of course, it was back to SWPL action as the women returned to Broadwood for the first time since early February. It had been a struggle getting up, so it was shortly before 1 when I stopped in at McDonald’s just before the ground, which I quickly scranned before reporting in at reception for media access for the podcast.

For however long we get to do this at home games, it will never stop being surreal to walk through the front doors and out through the tunnel, before heading up to take a seat. With the growing community feel around the support, it’s always great to see many friendly faces and get chatting.

This game saw the team back to League action after last week’s cup success at Tynecastle, so the opportunity was there before the game to have pictures taken with the trophy in the concourse, before it was paraded before kick off.

The game itself was always going to be a test, despite Rangers having soundly beaten Hibs at Ibrox earlier in the season, that was something of a freak result against a very good side. Hibs proved they were a good side in the first half, with some of their star players really showing up, and both of them combined to provide Hibs with a lead they took into halftime. Not part of the plan.

The second half brought about a flurry of changes, and thankfully, 2 goals in 3 minutes deep into the match to turn the game around. A mixture of joy and relief, as much like yesterday, the tension and nerves of a title race may be stressful, but oh boy does it give you a buzz to be involved!

Post match I had the pleasure of chatting to the manager Jo Potter and match-winner Kathy Hill for our podcast later on, before heading out and chatting to some friends before heading home. As things transpired, once getting home I would be on solo duties for our podcast, so a little further out of my comfort zone, but with some prep done, it gave me the chance to finish it earlier, which meant getting to bed earlier, it had been a long weekend!

Easter Monday brought the chance to watch football on tele at home, as I had cancelled my plans to drive down south for some bank holiday football. I really wanted to get 2 games in to make it worthwhile, but I was unable to find a way to get tickets for the late game at Leeds, so felt it a wise choice to rest some, and have a day to relax at home. Felt like a missed opportunity, but probably a necessary one.

Tuesday took me a step closer to completing the Championship, as ground number 9 in the league at Arbroath leaves me only Raith Rovers to go, which i’ll visit next week. Planning ahead, I was out for breakfast, enjoying a late birthday treat having this bought for me, before filling up the car and having some down time before getting ready and picking up my Uncle Andrew.

Going to Airdrie games isn’t something I get to do too often, but is something to enjoy for me, having a soft spot for them. Not only do my family go to as many home and away games as they can, but the old Broomfield was the first ground I was ever in, and the only ground my dad took me to a match as a boy, when I saw my school team play in a schools cup final when I was 6 years old.

That is possibly a decent link to look back at for this trip, as for the largest part I wouldn’t say that Gayfield is much more modern than the long since demolished Broomfield, and a similarly cherished ground. The drive up was without delay, though at no point did we really see sign of the rain stopping.

Getting to the ground and parking up in the street leading to the ground, there was plenty of time to head across to the small pub opposite the ground, where it could be described as ‘cosy’ in the Tutties Neuk Inn. A homely pub where the staff and locals were friendly and jovial, despite their team’s lowly position and almost certain relegation.

As for the ground itself, it’s a shame almost to see this for the first time at night, with it’s well known place on the coastline, but I was delighted to see that all of the terraces had some covering on them. Though they didn’t cover the full terraces, it was enough to get the fans under, so I could stay reasonably dry as I enjoyed my steak pie!

This was a ground i’d long wanted to visit, and despite the non stop rain, i’m delighted to have finally seen a game here, as Airdrie were made to work hard for the win, scoring 2 as the second half wore on, before conceding a heavily deflected free kick in injury time.

As is often the case, the referee required commenting on, and I remarked to those around me that this referee had been the worst i’d seen since the last game I was at! Sadly, at any level in Scottish Football, the standard of officials are annoyingly poor.

The long drive up in the rain had been worth it, i’d ticked off one of my top grounds on my list, and saw an Airdrie win that kept them in the playoff places, and it was time to get back to the car and start the long drive home. With the rain and eventually the fog, this was a more cautious drive, the fog being as bad as i’ve seen it for quite some time. Once i’d looped round to drop off my Uncle, I was home shortly after and delighted to get back home and get a chance to chill out and look ahead to what’s next.

Having planned ahead for the next weeks and months to see what games I might be able to make, I should be ending April maintaining this year’s average of a little over 1 game every 2 days. I will run out of time to get the 42 completed this season, but I can now look towards the grounds which are further away and require days off to see. Most of these will likely have to wait until next season though.

I do have plans to get some further new grounds ticked off though as the last few weeks of the season kick on, but next up will be Saturday, and a 2nd visit to Stenhousemuir at Ochilview. Sacrificing the chance of a new ground, this could be the game where Stenny clinch their first ever League Title, so could be a notable game to watch and experience! Needing to be in work for 6pm again though, I won’t be able to hang around for any lengthly celebrations should the game go to plan for the hosts, but i’ll enjoy what I get to watch.

It’s nice to have plenty of games and chances to look forward to, and the post split fixtures yet to be announced will offer more chances for some extra games. This is now the business end of the season, and even as a neutral, I hope to see some Championship and Cup winning performances, but especially from my own teams!

Exciting times ahead, and a great time to go watch a game if you have the time and opportunity.