VENUE #44 SHEFFIELD UNITED Bramall Lane

SKY BET LEAGUE ONE

Sheffield United... 3
Tranmere Rovers... 1

Sunday 29th December                     2013

@ Bramall Lane Stadium
           Sheffield


     Here I am on my travels again just two days before seeing in the new year and this time it's Bramall Lane home of Sheffield United that is my venue for this Sunday afternoon's football.  I've not been too well as late in fact I've been off work for the past two months with a back and hip injury which makes walking a difficulty so one hopes I don't have to make a quick get away at some stage.
     I was a bit apprehensive once more about coming here as both Sheffield clubs have a bit of a reputation for not being good hosts and I don't think my impression of a Yorkshire accent would fool anyone and thought it might be best to keep my mouth shut as much as possible.  My last visit to Yorkshire though was at the beginning of the year when I went to Doncaster's Keepmoat stadium and found the fans very friendly and welcoming and the football was the best I've seen up to yet as well, so if I get a repeat of that day I'll be well chuffed.
   
   

View outside GAC stand

 Sheffield United and Tranmere Rovers both played three days ago on Boxing day.  The Blades were at home to Oldham managing a 1-1 draw with the Latics and manager Nigel Clough makes two changes for today's game, Andy White and Shaun Miller step aside for Ryan Flynn and Jamie Murphy.  Tranmere travelled to the New Meadow, Shrewsbury and clocked up a 1-0 victory.  Ronnie Moore makes just the one change swapping James Wallace for Steve Jennings.
     Both sides have a crucial battle this afternoon as they are occupying a place in the bottom six with Sheffield United in 19th position and Tranmere just one place below them, a win for either side could ease their relegation fears a little.
    It was United that got off to a good start scoring a goal after nine minutes when Jose Baxter's corner was headed down to Jamie Murphy who turned in a crowded Tranmere six yard box to hit the ball under Owain Fon Williams in the Rovers goal.
     Murphy almost became provider when his cross from the left was hit against the bar and was close to bouncing over the goal line off Liam Ridehalgh who was trying to clear the danger for Tranmere.
     Six minutes into the second half and United did extend their lead when a ball played from mid-field to Chris Porter on the edge of the eighteen yard area was slipped across the box to the penalty spot where Jose Baxter was running in to side foot the ball into Williams left hand side corner of the net.
     In the 67th minute the game was put beyond Tranmere's reach when a break down the right

Kop end stand

saw that man Murphy again play a ball to the exact spot as Porter did for the last goal but this time it was my man of the match Ryan Flynn who was there for a carbon copied goal of Baxter's eleven minutes earlier.
     Tranmere did get a consolation goal in the 85th minute when Jason Koumas fired the ball into the United six yard box where an attempted header clearance found Ash Taylor running in to fire home from twelve yards.
     This triggered a late surge from Rovers who could have reduced the deficit even further when the two substitutes combined with Max Power, (Yes this is the players real name), pumping the ball into United's box to be headed out but only as far as Jake Kirby who hit a twenty five yard shot that clipped the top of the bar and over for a goal kick.
     So it ended with a 3-1 victory for Sheffield United and I can honestly say that I've been treated to another marvellous game of football in Yorkshire, the best yet again so far this season.  I look forward to coming to this part of the country again in the future..

 

Jessica Ennis Stand

 Bramall Lane is a 32,700 all seated Stadium with all corners filled in but mainly with office blocks, unfortunately.  The two stands that run the touch lines are the Visit Malta stand which is a smart looking stand with executive boxes and the GAC stand, which is where I watched the game and is a more plain looking feature of the Stadium.
     At the Bramall Lane end behind the goal is the Jessica Ennis stand which is two tiered and covered while opposite this is the Kop end which can't be good for spectators as it has two pillars holding the roof up and so will restrict the fans view from certain places.
     Away fans are housed in the lower tier of the Jessica Ennis stand with the upper tier made available also when more space is needed to accommodate larger opposition followings.

                                                         Match Details

     

VENUE #43 ROSS COUNTY Global Energy Stadium

SCOTTISH PREMIER

Ross County... 1

Aberdeen... 0

Saturday 5th October 2013

@ Global Energy Stadium/

     Victoria Park, Dingwall,

               Inverness

     Absolutely loved it when this one came out of the bag, a nine hundred mile round trip to Dingwall in the Scottish Highlands to see Ross County who's ground is the furthest away from where I'm situated in the ten divisions that are being covered by myself and they're playing fellow highlanders and one of the most distinguished football teams in Scotland, Aberdeen.

   

Inverness castle taken from outside the hotel

My Wife is accompanying me on this trip which will start about 5:30am on Friday morning to reach Inverness about 2:30pm in the afternoon.  We're staying in Inverness at a Premier Inn hotel on the banks of the river Ness for two nights, starting the journey home at 9:00am Sunday morning.

     When we arrived at the hotel we unpacked and then I suggested that we take a walk up to the Caledonian Stadium so I could take some pictures of the ICT ground.  Baring in mind that we had just embarked on a nine hour journey and so the Wife was a little reluctant, shall we say, to come with me on this trek but after a little persuasion agreed to tag along.  The Inverness Caledonian Thistle ground is just across the road from the North sea and some of the views are breath taking, so to me, it was well worth the visit.

     On the Saturday morning we took in the sites of Inverness around the town, river and castle before I made the further journey by train to Dingwall while the Wife scouted around all the crafting shops she could find locally.  When I actually arrived at Dingwall station I ended up following the crowd thinking that everyone was heading for the football ground but nearly ended up in the pub,(again).  The majority of people getting off the train at Dingwall were Aberdeen fans making their way from the East coast to see the match or just to get drunk somewhere different whatever the case may be.  It suddenly came to me that I had to cross the railway bridge to reach the ground and not head in the direction of the town.

Teams shake hands before the match

     

     Last weekend Ross County travelled to Fir park to face Motherwell in the SPL and were on the end of a convincing 3-1 beating from the South Glaswegian side and the manager Derek Adams names an unchanged side to face Aberdeen this afternoon.  St. Mirren Park was the destination of the Dons on Monday night last where they managed to get a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw and manager Derek McInnes makes just the one change, Niall McGuinn comes in for Calvin Zola.  Ross County go into this match fourth from bottom while their opponents are doing slightly better holding the fourth from top spot.

     The first half started with Aberdeen dominating the play and it seemed as though they would end their dismal record at the Victoria ground, only managing to draw one and lose two in the last couple of seasons.  But, for all their dominance of the game they couldn't manage to break down a resilient County defence.  The staggies were restricted to two chances in the first period and both of them fell to Rocco Quinn, the first was a shot from distance that sailed high and wide of Jamie Langfield's goal and the second came near to the end of the half when he was a little closer but still wide of the target.

     After the break County looked fired up and came out with intent toward the Aberdeen goal when Steven Ross's shot went wide of the visitors post but seven minutes in they took the lead when a ball from Melvin De Leeuw to the right side of the Aberdeen penalty area found Rocco Quinn who smashed the ball into the roof of the net from six yards.  County nearly extended their lead moments later but Graham Carey's shot from an acute angle was well saved by Aberdeen's keeper Langfield.

     The game opened up toward the end with both sides obtaining corners with County looking more likely to extend their lead than to lose it but in the dying embers Michael Hector thought he had earned the Dons a point but was denied by Mark Brown in the Staggies goal.

   

Five minutes to kick off and the Aberdeen fans are still in the pub

The Victoria ground or Global Energy Stadium as it was re-named in 2012 is a 6,300 all seated stadium.  The East and the West stands run along the touch lines with the East being the bigger, both are fully covered and the West, where I was watching the game from, has the left third designated to away fans.  The two stands behind the goals are the Jail end which is right side of the West stand and houses the vocal part of the home support while at the other end is the North stand which is the bigger of the two stands and where the opposing fans were watching the game.  The gate for this game was just over 5,000 and most of them were Aberdeen fans who filled the North stand and created a great atmosphere even though quite a number of them were a little over intoxicated, (So says the man after last weekend in Aberystwyth).

                                           Match Details

 

            

VENUE #42 ABERYSTWYTH TOWN Park Avenue

WELSH PREMIER

Aberystwyth Town... 1
Bala Town... 1

Saturday 28th September
               2013

@ Park Avenue Ground
        Aberystwyth


     I just knew that it was a mistake when I agreed to meet my old work colleague and drinking partner Andy to go and watch the Aberystwyth V Bala game.  Andy upped sticks, sold his house and moved his family to the mid coast Welsh town several years ago to live in a caravan on site in an attempt to escape the rat race and stress of meeting mortgage payments every month, I only wish that I'd got the guts to do something similar.  He's now doing a job that he loves whilst living in a most beautiful part of the world with lots of lovely sea air, what more could you want?
   

The Control Tower

 We met up in Wetherspoons inside the Aberystwyth train station a couple of hours before kick off and like the good old days we strolled from pub to pub around the town until we eventually got to the pier where we got talking to two chaps from Shrewsbury who's names, unfortunately, I can't remember but not surprising really with all the alcohol I'd consumed.  They had come to watch the game as well with the intent of getting plastered at the same time.
     By the time we managed to get to Park Avenue, between us, we must have had enough beer to sink a small battleship and I had just a vague idea of the reason why I had come to Aberystwyth.  Low and behold if there wasn't a club house inside the ground and with the game live on Sgorio, the Welsh TV sports channel and the rain coming down pitch side we decided to watch the game in the club house while supping more ale.  The rain did ease off for the second half so we did see some of the game from the touchline but by that time I was unable to take in what I was watching and so have to rely strongly on web information for this report.

Picture from where I stood in second half

     Last weekend Aber took on Gap Connah's Quay here at Park Avenue and earned a point in a 3-3 draw, manager Tomi Morgan names an unchanged line-up for the game today.  Bala travelled to Y Morfa to take on Conwy Borough in the league cup on Tuesday night last and came away with a 4-2 victory.  Colin Caton makes three changes for today's game, Edwin Renaud, Steve Brown and the old Crewe favourite Kenny Lunt sit it out on the bench while Ben Collins, Ryan Valentine and Mark Connolly take their places.
     The Lakesiders started the more positive and were unlucky not to take the lead in the early stages when Mark Jones's shot went wide of Ashley Morris's goal.  The Seasiders came into the game and started to dominate with Craig Williams sending a shot just over the bar before having a free kick blocked on the Bala goal line.  Just after Stuart Jones headed wide from a corner and brought a fine save from the finger tips of Morris who managed to turn the ball over the crossbar.  Geoff Kellaway managed to get on the end of a William's cross only to head wide with the goal gaping at his mercy.
   

The Dias Stand

 0-0 at half time and just after the break a last ditched challenge from Stuart Jones denied Ben Collins giving Bala the lead but in the 59th minute Ryan Valentine broke the Aber hearts when he unleashed a twenty yard plus shot into Mike Lewis's near side corner of the net and brightened up a scrappy Welsh Premier league fixture, well, for Bala fans and neutrals such as myself.
     Kellaway came close to levelling things but fired a good chance wide of the Bala goal.  Then, in the 71st minute an inspired substitution by Tomi Morgan, bringing on Stuart Fraser for Craig Williams and within a minute the Aber academy product returning home after a brief spell with Newtown, netted with his first touch after some good play between Antonio Corbisiero and Mark Jones.
   
     Park Avenue has a 2,500 capacity of which 1,000 are seats.  We came in across the car park and stood in front of the clubhouse, (at first), which is on the riverside that runs along the touchline.  The main stand covers the centre circle and the club shop is behind the club house.  On the other side of the pitch the Coedian Y Parc has the control tower covering the centre circle and to the left is an uncovered seating area which is designated to away fans, with a grass verge to the right.  Behind the goal to the left of the riverside end is the Dias stand end, a covered stand which straggles the eighteen yard area with a flat standing area to the left of the goal and a arriva bus depot behind it.  At the other end behind the goal is a grass verge.

View from car park of bridge crossing river

   
     The drinking continued for a couple of hours after the game back in the Wetherspoons inside the station so as our new found friends as well as myself didn't have too far to travel to catch our relevant trains home.  Mine was the first to depart and I quickly found a seat to pass out on hoping that I would wake up in time to alight at Wolverhampton.  Andy and his new pals stayed on in the pub until the Shrewsbury train came in and whisked them away.  I read on a social network that Andy did arrive home safe that night to slump in his chair unconscious wearing his tea to the annoyance of his wife Jenny.

                                                         Match Details

         

VENUE #41 STIRLING ALBION Forthbank Stadium

SCOTTISH LEAGUE TWO

Stirling Albion... 1
East Stirling... 3

Saturday 24th August 2013

@ The Forthbank Stadium
             Stirling



     Back in Scotland again already, just a week after visiting Stamford Bridge with a crowd of 41,000 plus I'm in Stirling to see the Binos take on the Shire in a local derby which will bring around 700 people in to watch it.
     The Forthbank Stadium is located in the Springkerse area of Stirling set in the backdrop of Stirling castle and the Wallace monument which is a tower situated on the summit of Abbey Craig and commemorates the Scottish legend of the 13th century Sir William Wallace.  It's also very close to the banks of the river Forth, hence the name.
   
   

View from the car park

 Last weekend Stirling Albion won comfortably here at the Forthbank 2-0 against Peterhead putting them third in the table and manager Greig McDonald makes just one forced change to the line up, skipper Jamie Bishop suspended for this game after being sent off last Saturday for fighting with Andrew Rodgers of Peterhead, he is replaced by Jamie Clark for this match.  East Stirling also played at home last week beating Elgin City 3-0 and are currently top of the table.  John Coughlin makes two changes to his team, Jordan McKechnie takes the place of Ross O'Donoghue and Paul Quinn replacing the ex Celtic youngster Jamie Glasgow.
     Seeing that the Shire have never won here and the fact that they lost 9-1 on their last visit in March I was expecting them to get a right pounding today but it seemed as though the table may have turned in their favour as they started the game the much brighter and hungrier of the two teams and took the lead after just five minutes when Max Wright forced a corner out of David Crawford the Albion keeper and took it himself floating the ball into the Binos six yard box for Michael Bolochoweckyj, (I hope I haven't dropped one of those in the spelling), to head home from close range.

Bino the Bear looks dejected and the game hasn't started yet.

     Soon after Wright was clean through on the Albion goal but his shot struck the post and rolled along the goal line before being retrieved by a relieved Crawford
     But in the 23rd minute it was 2-0, an attempted header back to the keeper by Ross Forsyth was intercepted by Wright and played across the centre of the Albion penalty area for Paul Quinn to fire home from about ten yards.
     The Binos looked poor and didn't offer much in the first half and continued their lacklustre ways in the second finding them selves three down after 53 minutes when a free kick just inside the Albion half taken by Iain Thompson was headed back from the by line by Paul Quinn into the path of the industrious Wright who's shot, once again, hit the post but this time the rebound was tucked away by Jordan McKechnie who was the quickest to read and judge the situation which leaves the question, where were the Albion defenders?
   

When the footballs bad just look at that scenery.

3-0 and the game was as good as won and so East Stirling took it easy a little letting Albion, for the first time in the match, go and do some goal hunting for them selves and their first clear cut chance came in the 78th minute when a ball played down the right for David Weatherton to chase and play across the Shire six yard box for Jordan White to tap in an easy consolation goal.

     The Forthbank Stadium is only 20 years old and Stirling moved here after playing the first 48 years of their existence at a ground called Annfield, (Nothing to do with a club from Liverpool).  Capacity of the ground is 3,800 of which 2,500 are seated.
     The ground has a most beautiful picturesque setting with the countryside and the Scottish hills in the background.  From outside, the Stadium has a strange metal structure around it that looks like scaffolding.  There is a little office building near the main turnstiles which houses the club shop that looks a bit of an afterthought stuck in a back room of the place, there are no directions to the shop, I would never have found it without asking the lady receptionist at the desk as you enter the main doors of the building.

Is that scaffolding?  Or is it framework holding up the stand

     Opposite this building are some five-a-side pitches where the players train/warm up and they can be used by members of the public, for a fee I should imagine.
     Inside the ground there are two stands running alongside each touchline, the West and the East stand.  The West is the slightly bigger of the two length ways, it is fully covered and used by home support.  The East stand is very similar to the West, it is also fully covered and is intended for away support use.
     The two ends behind the goals are the North and the South end and both are open terraces with some lovely views of the surrounding area as I mentioned earlier, something to look at and admire when the football is poor as it was today but that doesn't excuse the bad language that was repeatedly directed at the players from members of the home support especially as there was a lot of young children in the area.

                                                         Match Details

     

VENUE #40 CHELSEA Stamford Bridge

BARCLAYS  PREMIER

Chelsea... 2

Hull City... 0

Sunday 18th August 2013

@ Stamford Bridge Stadium

        South West London

     What a start to the new season!   Doing the reverse to the last one I'm starting with the Premiership and ending with the Conference and what a match to start off with, visiting Stamford Bridge on a Sunday afternoon to watch the Sky sports televised game between Chelsea and Hull City.  My Daughter Samantha is accompanying me as she is a bit of a Chelsea fan and I asked if she would like to come with me as her birthday present.

   

Daughter Samantha proudly showing off the colours

The media are in their element here as for not only is it the first match of a new season but Jose Mourinho is back to take charge of Chelsea after an absence of six years.  The majority of Chelsea fans are loving it also for they weren't happy to see him go in 2007 for they consider him the best ever Chelsea manager, "The special one", and since his return was announced have been looking forward to this moment when he is once more back at the helm.

     

     Chelsea have been busy in the transfer market during closed season and brought in Andre Schurrle from Bayer Leverkusen for just over £19 million.  They also bought Marko Van Ginkel  from Vitesse Arnhem paying a little over £8 million for the Dutch central midfield player.  Michael Essien returns for a second spell at Stamford Bridge for an undisclosed fee and goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer comes from just down the road Fulham on a freebe.  Romelu Lakaku returns after his loan spell at West Bromwich Albion last season and all five of them start on the subs bench for today's match.

     Hull City have been a little more cautious with their spending bringing in George Boyd, Maynor Figueroa and Steve Harper the Newcastle goalkeeper on a free transfer and spending £1.8 million for Allan McGregor from Besiktas.  Yannick Sagbo joined the Tigers for an undisclosed fee and so did Tom Huddleston and Jake Livermore but the ex-Tottenham duo can only make the subs bench for the start of today's game.

Players take to the field

     Chelsea got off to a great start as expected and were almost gifted the lead when Hull keeper Allan McGregor made a terrible start to his debut appearance by colliding with Fernando Torres and the referee Jonathan Moss  pointed to the penalty spot.  Up stepped Frank Lampard to take it but the Chelsea number eight's chance of scoring the first goal of the 2013/14 campaign was thwarted by the Hull City keeper as he redeemed himself for his early error.

     Chelsea did take the lead after twelve minutes though as Kevin De Bruyne slid a ball through the Hull defence to Oscar who poked the ball past McGregor for the opener.

     Lampard atoned himself for the spot kick miss in the 25th minute when he blazed a twenty yard free kick into the roof of the net to double the Chelsea lead.

     The Blues looked as though they were going to record another cricket score as they had chance after chance but McGregor stood strong and kept them out with some fine saves from Lampard again and Ivanovic.

     Chelsea took their foot off the gas in the second half looking content with what they had, chances were few and far between with Hull who looked dead and buried in the first half looking the most likely to score but score they didn't as the match ended 2-0 to Chelsea and a winning start for the re appointed manager.

   

West stand and the adjoining Shed End

 When I was plotting my rout to Stamford Bridge I found that repairs to the line on the tube between West Brompton and Fulham Broadway meant that we had to elite at West Brompton and walk through the cemetery.  I was expecting some graffiti on the cemetery wall  like there was at Springfield Park, Wigan some 30 odd years ago when visiting supporters were asked to collect their coffins on the way in.

     Very nice, big ground as expected, 41,837 all seated Stadium.  Modifications made in the 1990's filled in the corners so the ground is now totally enclosed.  The two stands that run along the touch line are the West and East stands and both are three tiered with the West being the newer of the two and so, of course, we were watching the game from the East stand in the upper tier with the Gods. The seats were OK not a lot of leg room but still quite comfortable.

     The stands behind the goals are the Matthew Harding stand and the Shed End.  The East stand end of the Shed's lower tier is reserved for away supporters.

                                                                    Match Details

           

VENUE #39 STOKE CITY The Britannia Stadium

BARCLAYS PREMIER

Stoke City... 1

Norwich City... 0

Saturday 27th April 2013

@ The Britannia Stadium
         Stoke-On-Trent


   
     My last game of this particular season and it's finishing on a high with the Barclays Premiership and a visit to the Britannia stadium home of Stoke City who take on Norwich City this afternoon.
     After all the travelling I have done in the past couple of months it's nice to have a relatively short trip only half hour on the train and a 10 minute bus ride to the ground.  I tried to plan a rout on Google from the train station to the ground but apparently you have to walk along the river Trent pathway for a distance as there are a lot of roads not safe for pedestrians and Google's not the best tool to use for plotting a journey alongside a river.  I wish I had of trusted my navigational instincts and walked as the journey back by bus was horrendous, I waited in a queue of over three bus loads of people and only just made it back to the station in time for my train.
     The game is a relegation battle with both sides needing a win to help secure a place in the Premiership next season.  Stoke went to Loftus road last weekend and came away with a 2-0 victory, Tony Pulis makes one change to the squad that won at QPR, Andy Wilkinson stepping in for Marc Wilson.  Norwich's boss Chris Hughton makes two changes to the side that beat Reading 2-1 at Carrow Road last Saturday, Javier Garrido sit's it out on the bench and Michael Turner is left out of the squad while Steven Whittaker and Alexander Tettey make it onto the pitch.
     The first half was a scrappy affair with both sides having chances to score but making nothing of it.  Robert Snodgrass should have given Norwich the lead early on but hoofed his shot well over the bar when really he should have scored.
     Stoke took the initiative and had a series of corners and free kicks but unfortunately for them they all came to nothing.
     Steven N'zonzi was lucky to escape a red card later in the half when he brought down Kel Kamara which led to a sour patch in the game with several players from both sides receiving yellow cards for some bad challenges.
     Three minutes after the half time break the Stoke fans had something to cheer about when Peter Crouch nodded on a long ball into the path of Charlie Adam who volleyed a shot from 12 yards into the back of the net.
     Adam tried to return the favour a couple of minutes later squaring the ball from the right to Crouch who was free in the middle of the Norwich penalty area but the lanky striker missed kicked the ball and the chance went begging.
     A few minutes later Crouch found Matthew Etherington on the left who slipped a pass to Walters inside the Norwich area, he knocked the ball back to N'zonzi who fired a shot from 25 yards which was parried by Mark Bunn and the ball dropped for Crouch in the six yard area but once again he muffed his lines and sent the ball flying over the bar in an unorthodox manner but this time his blushes were spared as the linesman had his flag up to rule him offside.

Monument to Sir Stanley Matthews

     The Britannia is a 28,383 all seated Stadium opened in 1997 at the cost of £15 million to rehouse Stoke after their old home the Victoria Ground didn't meet up with the standards set by the Taylor report in 1990.  The Victoria had been home to Stoke for 119 years and it's grass was trod by one of England's greatest footballers Sir Stanley Matthews.  Matthews died in February 2000 and his ashes were laid to rest under the centre circle of the Britannia Stadium.
     The ground is made up of four stands although the North stand or Boothen as it's better known joins the Seddon stand and sweeps round half of the ground.  The Seddon is where I watched the game from and is situated on the east side running along the touchline.  Across the other side of the pitch is the West stand which is two tiered and has two sets of executive boxes, top and mid-level.

The Boothen stand

Opposite the Boothen/North end is the South end which is allocated to away fans.
     The ground interior is very new and clean looking as you would expect from such a new build Stadium and as you take your seat and look around you can't help being impressed by the view.
     From the exterior, it stands out from afar as it's perched on a hill with very little to obscure the view but not so easy to get to if you're not travelling by car, my advise to those travelling by train such as I did DON'T TAKE THE BUS, GET A TAXI OR WALK.



                                                                     Match Details

         

VENUE #38 QUEEN OF THE SOUTH Palmerston Road

IRN-BRU DIVISION
             TWO

Queen of the South... 2
Stranraer... 0

Saturday 13th April 2013

 @ Palmerston Road                   Stadium, Dumfries


     A month after my first visit and I'm back in Dumfries but this time to the actual town and not just the county of Dumfries and Galloway.  There are great scenes here also, walking along the white sands pathway that runs in between the river Nith and Brewery street, it was time to take my camera out again and capture some of this Scottish beauty.
   

Robbie Burns Mausoleum

 Having, once more, a little time I found myself at St. Michael's churchyard to visit the grave and mausoleum of Robbie Burns the ploughman poet and Scotland's favourite son.
     I eventually made my way to Palmerston Park for this afternoon's game between Queen of the South and Stranraer.  I have a bit of a soft spot for Stranraer and toyed with the idea of sitting with their fans but  as this is an adventure of experiencing every league ground in the top ten divisions of the UK excluding Northern Ireland I thought it only right to make it a complete experience and so opted for the home stand.

     Queen of the South's last game was last Sunday when they took on division one league leaders Partick Thistle at the Braidwood Motor Company Stadium, Livingston, in the Ramsden cup final.  The game finished 1-1 after extra time and

Plaque on Robbie Burns house

so went to penalties in which Queens beat Thistle 6-5.  The home side had already secured the league title and so manager Allan Johnston rests five players from that gruelling ordeal of last weekend, Chris Mitchell, Chris Higgins, Marc Fitzpatrick, Stephen McKenna and Derek Lyle and taking their places are Ryan McGuffie, Stephen Black, Kevin Holt, Patrick Slattery and Paul Burns.  Stranraer got a 1-1 draw with East Fife and are five points clear from the second from bottom fifers in the league and are not quite safe from the relegation play off spot yet.
     A sporting gesture from the Stranraer team as Queens came out the tunnel they formed a guard of honour as the division two champions came onto the pitch.
   

Upstream View of river Nith

 It was a very tentative start from both sides Queens finding it hard to find their feet with so many changes to the side from last weekend and a very cautious looking Stranraer as the border side had a 100 per cent record against them so far this season.  But it wasn't long though before Queens took up the pace and started to threaten the Stranraer goal with a 25 yard shot from Patrick Slattery which went wide of the visitors post.  Queens as expected now were taking control of the game and had several chances before their opening goal in the 31st minute, the ball broke for Derek Young inside the blue's penalty area and he slipped a pass through to Kevin Holt who's cross rebounded back to him off a defender and he fired the ball into the back of the net for his very first goal for QotS.

     1-0 at half time and Queens fans could complain that it should be more considering opposition

Downstream View

and the fact that they were starting to dominate the game since the goal and when the second half started things continued in the same vein but queens couldn't seem to break down a dogged Stranraer defence to put this game to bed.  In fact we had to wait until the 76th minute for them to increase their lead, Nicky Clark out paced a Stranraer defender on the left and hit a shot from 12 yards that went in off David Mitchell's near side post.
     And so it finished 2-0, it wasn't a great performance but it didn't need to be they had already won the league and the Ramsden cup which they paraded around the pitch with a lap of honour.

   

Stanraer guard of honour for Queens

 Palmerston Park has a capacity of 7,620 of which just under half of the capacity are seated.  I watched the game from the Dumfries and Galloway Standard stand which to me seemed a bit old and tired and a might uncomfortable.  The stand has a small terraced area in front and straddles the centre circle.
     On the other side of the pitch is the Galloway News stand, this is a fairly new build and runs the full length of the pitch with a small portion to the right as you look at it allocated to away fans.
     Behind the goal to the left of the Dumfries and Galloway Standard stand is the Portland Drive terrace which is a fairly big structure partially covered at the rear.
     At the other end of the ground is the Terregles Street End which is an uncovered terrace that is, at the time of writing, not in use but I am told that it will undergo some repair work and should be open again for next season.
     The club shop is situated outside the ground opposite the turnstiles of the Dumfries and Galloway Standard stand next to the ticket office.  Tickets must be bought for as at Annan money cannot be taken at the turnstiles.

                                                            Match Details

VENUE #37 ANNAN ATHLETIC Galabank Stadium

IRN-BRU DIVISION
         THREE

Annan Athletic... 2
Berwick Rangers... 2

Saturday 2nd March
           2013

@ Galabank Stadium
            Annan


     What a beautiful afternoon to watch football and an even more beautiful part of the world to watch it in.  Annan are a new addition to the Scottish league joining in 2008 after their near neighbours Gretna fell into money difficulties and went out of business earlier the same year.  In fact, I had a little spare time on my hands before the game so after having breakfast in Carlisle, double sausage and egg McMuffin meal with hot chocolate of course, I went on to visit Gretna and the old blacksmith's shop where people from England used to cross over the border and get married over the blacksmith's anvil, hot stuff eh?  I then, of course, strayed off track to visit Raydale Park home of Gretna f.c. and took some pictures before making my way to Annan to watch today's game.

The Blacksmith's shop

In the courtyard of Blacksmith's shop

   Annan travelled to Montrose last Saturday and got thumped by the Gable Endies 5-1.  Manager Jim Chapman makes three changes to his squad, Alex Mitchell returns in goal to replace Craig Summersgill, Ally Love replaces Harry Monaghan who's on loan from Hibernian to the end of the season and Daniel Orsi partners David Hopkirk up front in place of Michael Daly.  Berwick beat Elgin City 2-1 in mid-week and make just the one change, like for like, Neil Janczyk replaces Steven Notman in midfield.


     The visitors took the initiative from the start and deservedly went 1-0 up in the 14th minute when a corner from Frazer McLaren swung in and onto the head of Scott Dalziel who scored from close range.
     The home side didn't manage a shot on target until fifteen minutes into the second half and two minutes later they were level when Hopkirk played a ball through to Ally Love who slotted it home from twelve yards.  Annan went back to their sloppy ways after getting back into the game and in the 67th minute found them selves behind again when a cross from the right by Damien Gielty was met and finished by McLaren.

Corner of street leading to Raydale Park

The Galabankies refused to be beaten and three minutes later were back level again when Scott Chaplain got on the end of a Christopher Jardine cross to header home.  They could have gone on to win the game but for some fine goalkeeping by Berwick keeper Marc McCallum to insure that the Wee Gers deservedly got something out of the game.
     It's quite evident that this wasn't the best game of football and therefore the fans had to make their own entertainment at times.  A club official was making announcements via tan ahoy from the stand and every other word or so he would add an Errr... and so the fans would try to predict where these Errr's... would go in his sentence's.  It was very funny and
unfortunately more entertaining than the game.

Raydale Park

     As I said earlier, Annan is very picturesque in places, when I was making my way to the ground from the railway station I turned left at the town high street and walked down to where the road bent towards the right and there's a pub called the Blue Bell Inn just before a bridge that crosses the river Annan and the scenery from that bridge is beautiful, I had to take some pictures.          Walking up through the town to the ground you feel as though you're going out more and more into the countryside and in the middle of nowhere but you soon come across the Galabank Stadium on the left hand side of the road.  The club shop or a little hut as it looks like is outside the ground gates next to the ticket office you must purchase a ticket to get inside as money

cannot be taken at the turnstiles.  I entered the ground at the back of the clubhouse end which is a small uncovered terrace and this is where I watched the game from behind the goal.  It's called the clubhouse end for obvious reasons and you can get served there before, during and after the game.  There is a little kiosk where you can buy food and soft drinks from outside the clubhouse, the infamous Killie pie seems to go down well with the natives selling out just after half time.
     The ground capacity is 2,500, 500 of this is seated and the stand is at the West side of the clubhouse end looking at the pitch and runs between the two eighteen yard areas.  It's a modern looking build with yellow painted seats with some black ones to form the words Annan Athletic.  The East side where the dugouts are runs along North street the country road that gets you to the ground and is a small uncovered terrace.  The North end or Astro end as it's sometimes called because of the astroturf training pitches behind it is used to house away supporters and is also uncovered terracing.

                        

                            View from the right side of the bridge

View from the left side of the bridge

    Match Details

VENUE #36 KILMARNOCK Rugby Road

SCOTTISH PREMIER 

Kilmarnock... 2
Motherwell... 0

Saturday 9th February
            2013

@ Rugby Road Stadium
          Kilmarnock


     This game is the first of three trips to Scotland in a row.  It will be my first experience of Scottish Premier league football in the flesh and I'm a little apprehensive as I'm not quite sure what to expect.
     The weather is not too bad still a little rain about but the weatherman says that it will brighten up later around kick off time.
     Kilmarnock make two changes to the line up that beat Inverness CT in the Scottish cup last weekend, Rory McKeown replaces Manuel Pascali and Paul Heffernan goes up front instead of Cillian Sheridan.  The Well haven't played a game in three weeks with no fixture last weekend and the game against Dundee United being postponed the week before, we have to go back to Sunday January 20th when they played St. Johnstone at Fir Park a game which they won 3-2 and manager Stuart McCall decides to make only one change and that's Stuart Carswell stepping in while Robert McHugh is resigned to the bench.
   

Players shaking hands before the game

 The game started pretty evenly with most of the play in midfield.  It took a low hard cross from the right in the 12th minute from Ross Barbour to cause mayhem in the Motherwell penalty area and Steve Hammell's attempted clearance ended up in the back of his own net.
     You would have thought that this would spur Killie on and take control of the game but no, Motherwell came out with all guns blazing and totally dominated the rest of the first half and should have been leading at the half time interval.  A header from Shaun Hutchinson was cleared off the line by Killie striker William Gros  Gros popped up again five minutes later to deny the same Motherwell player and they say thing's come in threes for a Tom Hately corner was met by Simon Ramsden's head and palmed onto the bar by Kyle Letheren the Killie keeper and cleared from danger by, yes you've guessed it, William Gros.
     Watching Gros in the early stages of the game I thought to myself that this player would be condemned to the Soccer AM archives under the category of "Some tekkers are bad" as some of his touches and fancy flicks left a lot to be desired but as the game progressed he was most certainly starting to impress.
     Kilmarnock didn't improve much after the break as it was Motherwell still looking the most likely but still not able to stick the ball in the back of the Killie net and in the 71st minute of the game their failure in the final third took on more significance as that man William Gros rose high to meet a James Dayton cross and headed Killie into a 2-0 lead.
     Desperation turned into frustration for the Well in the last five minutes of the game as they lost two players to a straight red card, substitute Fraser Kerr in the 85th minute and midfielder Keith Lasley in the 89th for reckless challenges on the same player Killies winger James Dayton and so ended a most miserable afternoon for Motherwell at Rugby Road.

     The ground is a 18,128 all seated Stadium that opened in 1899 but as obviously been redeveloped since.  The Frank Beattie stand where I watched the game from is somewhat smaller and older than the other three stands and you have to sit near the front as not to have your view obscured by supporting beams.

Chadwick Stand

     The two end stands behind the goals are almost identical, both two tiered with an electric scoreboard in the roof, the Moffatt stand for home support and the Chadwick for away fans.
     Opposite from where I was sitting is the East stand also two tiered and a fare size but it doesn't run the full length of the pitch.
     There is a bar under the Frank Beattie stand and also food outlets where you can try the infamous Killie pie if you so wish.  I, myself prefer the traditional English pies they're a lot bigger and the pastry isn't as hard, I suppose it's a case of what you're used to.
     The club shop is a porto cabin at the back of the car park directly opposite the turnstiles of the Frank Beattie stand. I must have looked suspicious as I entered the shop for I was watched around the place by the female staff behind the counter, they seemed to be nervous of me which in turn was a pretty unnerving experience for myself and not one I would like to repeat.

                                                      Match Details