Random Matches You Are Going To...

[The Mantis]

Watching ICT so it's not random, but hey, Stark's Park is a classic ground to visit and we've not lost there since about the Boer War.

[An Eejit Abroad]

Hibernian 0-3 Heart of Midlothian, 22/01/23;  Att: 18,622

Went to my first Edinburgh Derby a couple of weeks back and what was my first time at Easter Road in the best part of a decade. I'm never in Edinburgh anymore so quite enjoyed the walk down to Easter Road - with a couple of stops at the Waterloo Bar and the Conan Doyle and a look in the new St James' Centre. I was a bit concerned about the small crowds on London Road but there was a pretty decent home crowd by the time I got to Albion Road and in the ground, at least until Hearts got their second.

Nothing really to add to everything that has already been said about the game itself. The police diversions for Hibs fans after the game, I assume with the idea being that they ensure Hearts fans don't have to wait in the ground, are as pointless as any I've seen at a derby. 

 

Edited January 30, 2023 by An Eejit Abroad

[An Eejit Abroad]

Gala Fairydean Rovers 1-0 Cumbernauld Colts, 28/01/23; Att: 202

A pretty decent game between two teams in the bottom half of the Lowland League. This was the first Fairydean league game I'd seen since before the Lowland League came about and the first since they re-added the Rovers to their name. Both teams tried to play football and Fairydean probably should have won by more in the end. Interesting to see Danny Galbraith back at Fairydean too.

Decent little setup at the ground and the Eildons provided a nice backdrop on a crisp and clear day. I'd planned to pop into the bar beforehand but ended up catching the first half of Gala Hotspur 2-1 Hawick United (Borders Amateurs Division B) up the road instead. There's not a lot of decent options for pubs in Gala nowadays unfortunately.

Edited January 30, 2023 by An Eejit Abroad

[atfccfc]

 

TSV 1860 Munich V Dynamo Dresden 1-2. 15000 sell out. (felt like more and the stadium holds a lot more than 15k! 

My travels continue with a trip down to Munich to see two pretty big clubs languishing in 3.Liga. I felt pretty lucky to get a ticket for this one after cheekily asking if any spares were going on a Facebook group and an 1860 Season ticket holder answered my prayers. 

Another cracking atmosphere from both sets of supporters with a game to do it justice. 1860 came out of the traps quickly and scored after 5 minutes after awful defending when the midfield and defence just opened up to let Albion Vrenzl jog through the middle to fire the Löwen into the lead. They really should have been out of sight because Dynamo Dresden were awful in the first half of the first half. But a tactical change sees to settle them down and they began to take control and create the better chances. 

It wasn't until the 56th minute until they equalised when Stefan Kutschte looked offside to me but no flag came and he slotted past the goalkeeper for 1-1. Dresden looked confident now and deservedly took the lead on 75 minutes when Dennis Borkwoskl had the penalty area to himself to put the visitors ahead. 1860 worked hard to get back into the game and missed several guilt edges chances. But Dresden deserved the 3 points. 

Ticket 31 Euros 

Programmes 1.50 Euros. Fanzine 60 cents 

 

 

Edited January 31, 2023 by atfccfc
Spelling

[atfccfc]

Rasenballsport Leipzig V 1899 TSG Hoffenheim in the last 16 of the DFB Pokal. 

Could the draw have put together the two most unpopular clubs in German football if it tried. Well it did and I was here to witness it. 

I'll get the main negative out of the way first. I've now been to 21 matches in Germany and this was by far the quietest I've seen. I don't the think the RB fans have Ultras and there was only 250 away fans. The match was very one sided for a cup match. Hoffenheim had absolutely no ambition to attack until the 78th minute. 

The positives. A brilliant stadium, which has been built inside the original bowl of the old Zentralstadion. 

Leipzig controlled the game from the start. Stifling the life out of Hoffenheim. They took the lead early when Emil Forsberg cut in from the left to fire a right footed shot past the goalkeeper. The reaction from Hoffenheim... None. RB continued to control the game without creating much. Until the 40th minute when Konrad Laimer had a left footed shot inside the area go in. RB then opened up a bit and really should have added a third before half time. 

The second half was much the same. But RB frustratingly kept getting caught offside. Hoffenheim punished them with a goal on 78 minutes when a cross from the left was met by Kasper Dolberg who's header bulleted past the Leipzig goalkeeper. Could this turn into a cup tie after all? NO! Timo Werner finally managed to stay inside at a counter attack to make it 3-1. And see RB Leipzig through. But not until Stanley Nsoki seen a second yellow and was sent off. 

Ticket 19 Euros. No programmes of any kind. 

Bier 4.50 Euros

Bratwurst 3.60 Euros. 

[tamthebam]

53 minutes ago, atfccfc said:

Rasenballsport Leipzig V 1899 TSG Hoffenheim in the last 16 of the DFB Pokal. 

Could the draw have put together the two most unpopular clubs in German football if it tried. Well it did and I was here to witness it. 

I'll get the main negative out of the way first. I've now been to 21 matches in Germany and this was by far the quietest I've seen. I don't the think the RB fans have Ultras and there was only 250 away fans. The match was very one sided for a cup match. Hoffenheim had absolutely no ambition to attack until the 78th minute. 

The positives. A brilliant stadium, which has been built inside the original bowl of the old Zentralstadion. 

Leipzig controlled the game from the start. Stifling the life out of Hoffenheim. They took the lead early when Emil Forsberg cut in from the left to fire a right footed shot past the goalkeeper. The reaction from Hoffenheim... None. RB continued to control the game without creating much. Until the 40th minute when Konrad Laimer had a left footed shot inside the area go in. RB then opened up a bit and really should have added a third before half time. 

The second half was much the same. But RB frustratingly kept getting caught offside. Hoffenheim punished them with a goal on 78 minutes when a cross from the left was met by Kasper Dolberg who's header bulleted past the Leipzig goalkeeper. Could this turn into a cup tie after all? NO! Timo Werner finally managed to stay inside at a counter attack to make it 3-1. And see RB Leipzig through. But not until Stanley Nsoki seen a second yellow and was sent off. 

Ticket 19 Euros. No programmes of any kind. 

Bier 4.50 Euros

Bratwurst 3.60 Euros. 

I've seen pictures of the modern stadium sitting within the old bowl- here is a DDR stamp featured in my vintage copy of "The Football Grounds of Europe" (it was published the year the Berlin Wall came down so a bit of a time capsule in regard to Eastern European football)

[Crow]

Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Liverpool @ AMEX Stadium. FA Cup Round 4. The visitors take the lead but Brighton levelled before the break. With a replay looming the home side snatched it with a Kaoru Mitoma injury time winner knocking out the holders. Crowd 31,000 odd.

[Crow]

Carlisle United 5-1 Barrow @ Brunton Park . Sky Bet League 2. A brilliant night under the lights. A tight first half ended with on form United breaking the deadlock . They ran riot in the 2nd half to win big in the Cumbrian Classico and move into 3rd place. Crowd 9351.

Edited February 2, 2023 by Crow

[tamthebam]

3 hours ago, Crow said:

Carlisle United 5-1 Barrow @ Brunton Park . Sky Bet League 2. A brilliant night under the lights. A tight first half ended with on form United breaking the deadlock . They ran riot in the 2nd half to win big in the Cumbrian Classico and move into 3rd place. Crowd 9351.

That's the same Moxon that played for Annan. He's done ok for himself then. 

[cowdenbeath]

6 hours ago, tamthebam said:

That's the same Moxon that played for Annan. He's done ok for himself then. 

It is.

[DG.Roma]

20 hours ago, tamthebam said:

That's the same Moxon that played for Annan. He's done ok for himself then. 

Better than ok, he's been one of the standout players in that league and supposedly has been watched by Championship clubs, Swansea were heavily linked. Not bad for a guy who was playing part time at Annan last season.

[Marten]

I'm a bit behind, 3 weeks ago I went to London but I haven't been on here much. So now I'll catch up. Main aim of the trip was catching up with friends but obviously I ended up squeezing 2 random games in.

Crystal Palace U21 1-1 Sheffield United U21
Champion Hill,  home of Dulwich Hamlet FC, Friday 13/1
I arrived in London in the morning and had no plans during the day, I was already in South London and noticed on the Futbology app that there was a 3pm kick-off in the area, so I headed towards Dulwich for this game. Considering it was a Friday afternoon, the attendance was actually quite decent. There were a few German groundhoppers around who did a long groundhopping weekend in London and started there. The game itself was entertaining. There were definitely some skilled players on the pitch, especially with the visitors. The only thing Sheffield United did wrong was forgetting to finish off the game. They took the lead in the first half and for a long time it looked like it was just a matter of time before they'd score a second. What often happens in football is that then eventually the opposition does take their chance. And that's exactly what happened, Palace equalised in stoppage time. The Palace fan who sat next to me immediately said to me "I don't think we deserved that".

 

[Marten]

Arsenal Women 1-1 Chelsea Women

Emirates Stadium, Sunday 15/1

My second random match of the weekend was at the Emirates, where Arsenal Women were hosting Chelsea Women. I've never been to the Emirates before and still had some time spare before my flight back to Dundee, so I decided to go to this one. I paid only £ 12 for a seat with an excellent view in the middle of the pitch. It was very busy, attendance nearly 47K, which is amazing to see for a domestic women's game. And this wasn't even a record as Arsenal got (slightly) more on 2 occasions. The stadium itself is definitely impressive but being the romantic sod I am, I still prefer Highbury. The game was again an entertaining 1-1 draw. Early in the second half Arsenal took the lead through a Kim Little penalty. They were the better side, but just like the game 2 days earlier, if you don't finish your chanced the opposition eventually will... It was Sam Kerr who equalised for Chelsea. Definitely an entertaining afternoon and I'm glad I took the detour via the Emirates to go back to London City airport for my flight to Dundee.

 

[Guest]

Thorniewood United 2-1 Cumbernauld United 

West of Scotland first division action today at a soggy Robertson Park. Don't think I'm complaining though, this was a brilliant game at a cracking ground.

Never been here before but very impressed. Good folk at the club too. Would recommend if you are in the area.

Cumbernauld dominated the early stages and had a goal harshly ruled out in my opinion. Both teams traded stonewall penalties to be level at half time. An early goal in the second half put Thorniewood ahead and they were far more likely to add to it as Cumbernauld were to equalise. Big three points in the relegation battle.

 

[Jute]

Bonnyrigg Rose 1-2 Annan Athletic.

All the goals in the first half in this one with Annan opening the scoring with what looked a soft penalty. Bonnyrigg equalised a couple of minutes later. Annan’s second was a result of some nice football from Chris Johnston,  who looks like he could be playing at higher level, and a good finish by Goss. Second half became a bit scrappy as rain came on. Bonnyrigg have covered the seated area since I was here last and seem to be making gradual improvements which is great. 

[The Mantis]

WOSL Div 1. Johnstone Burgh 5 St Rochs 3
At long last a visit to the fabled Keanie Park. Quite impressed and a good atmosphere created by the Burgh Ultras in a crowd of 200. As usual a healthy Candy travelling support. Got the impression Callum's Bar is the best in town but willing to be proved wrong (must have cask beer though).

 

[atfccfc]

Back in Scotland. And my original plan today was to head up to Elgin to tick borough Briggs off. But I arrived back home at quarter to one in the morning and was I f*** getting up early to travel the length of the country as I was very tired. So I had a choice of matches in the East of Scotland league and South challenge cup close to home. I chose a trip to Millfield to see Haddington Athletic V Penicuik Athletic.

 A decent if very competitive game. Penicuik took an early lead and almost made it 2-0 in the first half but the offside flag went up. Haddington really should've been down to 10 when number 9 stamped on his opponent, but the linesman and referee missed it as play raged on. The home side fought back and got their way into the game. They managed to get an equaliser in the second half. It was Penicuik though who went down to 10 men when their caption managed to take out two Haddington players and also injure his arm in the process. He'd already been booked so a second meant an early bath to add insult to injury. 

Haddington then dominated the rest of the game and had a late goal chalked off for offside. I was in line and he was at least a yard onside. So the home team can feel hard done by at not getting the three points. A good game with approx 200 fans. 

£7 to get in. 

£2 programme and £1 for half time draw 

[tamthebam]

Newburgh 1 Edinburgh United 4

East Shore Park is one of the more picturesque grounds in the East. It was fairly end to end stuff in the first half, and Newburgh took the lead. The visitors from the Capital got better in the second half and were helped by a Newburgh player receiving a second yellow for a late, high, tackle. 4-1 was a bit flattering for the visitors but after a run of bad results they'll take it. 

Programme £2.00

Badge £4.00

Decent steak pie too. 

[forfarton]

Coupar Angus 2 Kirrie Thistle 2

[DoingThe42]

38/42: Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2-2 Greenock Morton, Championship, 4/2/2023

My trip to ICT brings down the curtain on my first completed division of the season, as I chalk up the last remaining Championship club on the list.

Attempts to buy a ticket through ICT's website were abandoned after it wouldn't let me access the payment page, and since nobody was answering the phone in their shop (shut, it seems), I missed out on the early-bird price, costing me TWO QUID! So, in a fit of pique I decided to sit in the away end with the Morton fans. A noisy bunch who seemed to enjoy their day out.

A great shot from Calvin Miller put them ahead early on, and Morton deserved their lead for a composed start. ICT came into it, and Doran fumbled a good chance to equalise when one-on-one, and Mackay could have scored too.

The equaliser didn't come till after half-time, Mackay scoring on the rebound from close range. But Muirhead put Morton back in front after some catastrophic home defending, and they looked on for a great three points and a move into the play-off places. They switched off at the back though, and Cairns punished them with a good finish to make it 2-2 and a share of the points.

This was a pretty decent game.Both sides had a go at winning it, and I found the 90 flew by quite quickly. Chicken curry pies were excellent.

So, that's my first division finished, and my last big trip of the season done. A hint of sadness about that, but the end is now in sight. Edinburgh, Celtic, Dunfermline, and Stenny still to go.

The ten Championship grounds saw me take in league games as well as matches in the Scottish Cup and Challenge Cup. The eight Championship games cost me an average of just over 20 quid each.