VENUE #33 ACCRINGTON STANLEY The Crown Ground

N-POWER LEAGUE TWO

Accrington Stanley... 1
Bristol Rovers... 0

Saturday 27th October 2012

@ The Crown Ground, 
           Accrington
        Kick Off 15:00


     "Accrington Stanley, who are they", "EXACTLY"!!!  I think we all can remember those lines from the TV milk advert in response to one young chap saying to another, "If you don't drink your milk you'll only be good enough to play for Accrington Stanley".
     Stanley formed in 1891 from players who used to live in Stanley road, Accrington and played league football from 1921 to 1961 but sadly went out of business five years later in 1966.  They managed to reform in 1968 back playing non league football working their way up to reach the Conference premier league the English fifth tier finally regaining league status with promotion to the N-Power league two in 2006 an absence of 40 years and a fitting response to that embarrassing advert.
     Paul Cook was the Accrington manager until two days ago when he was snapped up by Chesterfield and so Stanley have opted to appoint Leam Richardson as caretaker manager of this game.  Richardson was Cook's assistant for the eight months he was boss here and makes no changes to the team picked by Cook that lost to the only goal here on Tuesday night.
     Mark McGhee manager of Bristol Rovers has made two changes to the side that lost 3-1 to Wimbledon in mid-week, Parkes and Virgo are out while Lee Brown and Fabian Broghammer take their places.
     I really thought I was going to encounter my first no score draw of my renewed campaign as the first half closed at this scoreline.  Accrington took the game to Rovers but looked very poor in the final third and unable to capitalise on their domination.

Padraig Amond goal saved the day

     The second half started in the same manner as the first and I could see that dreaded 0-0 like the shadowy eyes of the mysterons in a captain Scarlet episode descending upon me but then with onlyeleven minutes of normal time remaining Luke Joyce found Romuald Boco on the left and his cross was met by Padraig Amond who got in front of the Rovers defence to fire home from inside the six yard area to secure Stanley a win after losing their last four games.
     It wasn't the best of fixtures to have to sit through especially with that October cold chilling your bones and not much happening on the pitch to put warmth inside you.  Rovers did have their chances in the game with Tom Eaves bringing some fine saves from Dunbavin the Accrington goalkeeper.  Losing today has left Rovers looking very likely candidates for the drop at the end of the season, they're in the bottom four now and it will be very interesting to see how or if they can manage to get out of the situation.

     The First Store Stadium or as it is more commonly known the Crown ground as it has the Crown pub just yards from it's turnstiles, is a shabby looking venue but is set in an area of open fields and hills behind the Coppice terrace which is used by away fans and subsequently open to the elements.
     The Main stand and the Thwaites are two separate stands with a gap in the middle that run either side of the half way line on the same side of the pitch, both are covered and all seated.  Thwaites stand has less seats due to the slope of the pitch running up from the Coppice terrace to the Sophia Khan end.
     Opposite the Main and Thwaites is the Whinney Hill stand which is very small and built into a hill.  It used to be a terrace but had seats put in to meet with football league regulations.  The Coppice end part of this stand is also for away supporters.
     The Sophia Khan stand is another wired looking construction with rows of seats at the front
and terracing at the back, I think that this used to be a terrace but had seats put in for the same reason as the Whinney Hill stand.

Main Stand

     I was seated in the Main stand and because of reserved seats for season ticket holders I found myself in the very front row which is good for leg space but not so good for viewing the game as you're almost below pitch level and if it's raining you're going to get wet.  The people there are very friendly especially the ground staff and because the game was a little on the boring side I found myself talking to the chap sitting next to me but I think he didn't appreciate what I had to say about the game.  There was a young lady seated behind us who reminded me of the old lady that lived in a shoe for she had so many children that she also didn't know what to do or how to control them.

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VENUE #32 LIVINGSTON Almondvale

IRN-BRU DIVISION ONE              


Livingston... 1  Cowdenbeath... 1

Saturday 6th October 2012

@ Almondvale / Braidwood Motor                             Company Stadium
                 Kick Off  15:00

     This is the game I've been waiting for a 600 mile round trip to Almondvale Stadium, also known as the Braidwood Motor Company Stadium in Livingston, Edinburgh.  It's another sunny day but not the warmest as you would expect in the month of October.
     Livingston manager John Hughes makes no changes to the team that thumped Dumbarton 5-0 here last Saturday while Cowdenbeath boss Colin Cameron makes one alteration to his squad that drew 1-1 with Falkirk at Central Park last weekend bringing in Greg Stewart for Lewis Milne up front.
     The game started very tactically with both defences cancelling out any attacking play and this was the theme for the majority of the first half.  A chance for Anthony Andreu of Livingston and a header from Marc McKenzie of Cowdenbeath were the only main talking points of the first half worth mentioning.
     It got a bit livelier in the second half, (thank God), with Livi laying siege on the Blue Brazil goal but it seemed as though Cowden had a charmed life and were going to come through this onslaught until the 55th minute when their captain John Armstrong saw a straight red card for a two footed challenge on Andreu.  John Hughes then made a tactical substitution bringing on Ruben Garcia-Rey for Greg Stewart in a attempt to fill the hole left by Armstrong's departure but Livi made the extra man count and their domination of the game got more intense and finally got their just reward in the 71st minute when Iain Russell's effort was blocked and fell to Keaghan Jacobs to fire a cracker from about 25 yards which deflected past Thomas Flynn in the Cowdenbeath goal.

Anthony Andreu home MOTM

     You would have thought that Livingston would of capitalised on the situation being a goal and a man up but in the last ten minutes of the game it was Cowdenbeath who looked the most likely very rarely allowing the home side to venture out of their own half.  I think that Hughes taking off Mckenzie for Lewis Milne in the 79th minute had a lot to do with this. Lewis Coult was playing a lone roll up front up at this point and seemed displeased, constantly shaking his head and making hand gestures in a moaning manner at what he'd been asked to do.  I mentioned to my Son who had made the trip with me that Coult looked lost and cumbersome to which he remarked "A bit like a beast of burden", (Whoops).
     The change had put a spring in the step of Cowden who started to look like more of a football team as they came forward at Livi and it was the blue's number eleven Jamie Stephenson who brought out the best of the home side's keeper Andy McNeill with a twenty yard shot that was well saved by the Livi number one.  Stephenson then had a free kick just outside the Livi 18 yard box palmed wide for a corner by McNeill, but it was third time unlucky for the Livingston keeper in the 90th minute who managed to tip another rocket of a free kick from Stephenson onto the bar but the ball rebounded straight to Lewis Milne who had the easy task of heading into an empty net.  And so it ended a point apiece, one gained for Cowdenbeath and two squandered by Livingston.

     Almondvale is a very modern looking ground built in 1995 to re-house Meadowbank Thistle who used to play their games at a Stadium with the same name in Edinburgh City.  Meadowbank fans wanted to keep their name but the people of Livingston saw this as an opportunity of putting their town on the map.

Livingston Turnstiles

     We arrived at the ground about a hour before kick off and so had a couple of pints in the bar before making our way into the ground.  We had a rucksack with us containing food and drink which was searched by a lady steward as we approached the turnstiles.  She confiscated a bottle of coke because it had been opened and she said that, "It could have contained anything" as a result which is fair enough I suppose.  There was only one stand in operation for this game, the West stand, as it was easier to keep the ground clean and tidy and could keep costs down by not using so many stewards.  We were directed to a dual turnstile and told to go to the left side and as I handed over the money I was asked, "Is this a concession", to which I replied, "No", and was told to go next door.  This was a bit annoying as I  WAS TOLD to go to this gate and there were no markings to say that one gate was concession and the other full payment.
     We sat in the half nearer the North stand, the view was good and as comfortable as you're going to get from plastic seats and there was plenty of leg room which was a bonus.    

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