Well today I took the 15 minute drive down to Airdrie to take in Gartcairn vs Shire. Was it worth the £3 entry & braving the elements.......yes it was, read till the end for the hard to believe end (all happened after the final whistle) Gartcairn look very dangerous going forward but Shire didn't look comfortable defending (when the ball was on the artificial turf) both centre halves when the ball was in the air for shire looked in there element, that said I think one of there centre halves should have seen a second yellow, Gartcairn were down to 10 men for a second yellow and the game went Shires way from then on....Shire aren't pretty to watch but know what works for them in going long & they get results with it. Gartcairn at the back looked leaky except for the goalkeeper who at 4-2 down made 5 great saves one on one which was great to see as he looked quite young. Then it gets slightly comical , Shire 4-2 up & cruising could easily have seen the game out and made an unusual substitution with number 9 being replaced by number 90 & yes that's how old he looked! I thought it was a strange substitution to make but clearly thought the game was done.....The home team had other ideas, goal from a corner put cairn within 1 then last minute Gartcairn get another corner & send the keeper up......Yep they score from it unsure who put it in but it ended up in the back of the net. Then the referee who had a very challenging game decided that was time.....to which Shire players management & fans weren't happy with.....then as hands are shaken a melee breaks out over by the benches and exit towards the changing rooms, all I was missing was my home brew & pipe to make it ideal viewing! However it settled down & I retreated to my car thinking it was over......as I was on the phone I see a shire player going for one of the Gartcairn players and this was 15 minutes after full time! I must say this was the ugly side that no one wants in our game and I was shocked as commitee members stood by and watched. With only a few trying to calm the Shire player who refused to leave or get in his vehicle. However he did open his boot and sit on that whilst contemplating what one can only think was a spot of DIY with what appeared......! A game that had everything you want on the park & everything you don't want off it!
