Pundeavon

There were 63 possible opponents for Burgh/Ladeside to be drawn against, one of which was Thorniwood/UofS. A 1 in 63 chance is not that unlikely in the grand scheme of things.

This photo brings back memories. I was only there once in the early 80s. Nice late February day when I left Kilbirnie but when we got to Muirkirk we had to walk through snow in the field in your photo, with sheep wandering round about us looking in vain for some grass to eat! The park had been cleared of snow and was perfectly playable. It was a proper old junior park with a decent sized enclosure for much needed shelter from the elements. It would have been a great place to watch a game on a summer day, but bloody freezing in winter.

They should have had their first point(s) at Kilbirnie the previous week. After they equalised they missed several great chances to win it. They looked gutted when they conceded our winner in the 93rd minute.

What's the best way to get to their park along the sea front and turn right? Various ways to get there. The only entrance is from the road that runs parallel to the seafront. If you go along the seafront, turn right at Nardini's cafe and then turn left, that will take you to the park. You should be able to park somewhere on that road or on one of the side roads. And wear something warm, there is often a biting wind there!

I think a number of clubs were hoping for a once in a lifetime chance to jump right up to tier 6 of they had a successful season next year. The signings that Drumchapel and St Caddoc's are rumoured to have made suggest that is what they had in mind.

Some years ago Ladeside had a winger called Martin Walsh - smashing player on his day, but he had a short fuse and was always getting booked for dissent. In one game he was already on a yellow card when he was denied an obvious free kick and reacted by screaming abuse at the assistant ref right in front of the Ladeside fans in the shed. A second yellow seemed inevitable, till a voice called out from the crowd "Martin, shut yer mooth. MARTIN, SHUT IT!! You job's tae play fitba, it's oor job tae gie this c**t abuse! The assistant ref and the player both burst out laughing and a second yellow was avoided.

I saw Ladeside play on black ash at Maryhill Harp in 1966 and at Perthshire in 1972 or 73. Can't think of any others since then.

For 35 mins, we did ok. Nothing much happened for either team. We then passed up a glorious chance to take the lead, Largs went straight up the park and scored and added another within 2 mins. If we had scored first it might have been a different outcome, but when we had to chase the game Largs just ripped us to pieces on the break. If we can keep playing the way we did in the first 35 mins, and take our chances when they come we can survive, but it is going to be a long hard season.