17 Sep 22: BSC Glasgow v Campbeltown Pupils

Another foray into WoSFL Division 4 as I travelled to Peterson Park, the new home of BSC Glasgow.

The name BSC Glasgow has been on my radar for some time, initially as a Lowland League side but they hadn’t taken any sort of priority as they had been groundsharing at a ground that I’d already been to (I want to say Alloa but that may not be correct).

In more recent years things have become more complicated and, for reasons I’ve not been able to discover, in 2021 the club split into two. The Lowland League side rebranded themselves as Broomhill FC while the BSC Glasgow name lived on as a separate team in the development section of the WoSFL – now Division 4.

Having been homeless for a time, the new BSC Glasgow announced in May 2021 that they had secured a home of their own: Peterson Park in the Knightswood area of Glasgow. By the sounds of it, Peterson Park was an unremarkable grass pitch at the time but the club have ambitions to develop it into something more substantial over the coming years. I wasn’t expecting much of a spectacle today but it might be worth a re-visit in the future to see what has been achieved.

Form

Obviously, it’s still very early in the season and the table may not be telling the full truth just yet but, going into the game today BSC were in 5th place (of 12 teams) having won 3 and lost 2 of their five league games to date. Visitors, Campbeltown Pupils had played a game fewer and their 1 win, 1 draw and 2 defeats saw them sitting 8th in the table.

My (totally uninformed) pre-match prediction was a 2 – 0 win for the hosts.

Having experienced navigation issues before, I wasn’t overly surprised when my SatNav heralded my arrival at my destination with no pitch in sight. Switching to Google maps, I was directed to an alternative destination a mile away but this turned out to be a cul de sac in the middle of a housing area. Some friendly locals took pity on me and gave me a series of confusing directions, mostly involving left turns but, having got no closer to finding the park, I ended up driving in the rough direction of some pitches I’d spotted when driving over a flyover. This led me back to where the SatNav had initially directed me and, after driving into another dead end, another local tipped me off to where I was going wrong. It turns out that an innocuous metal gate, alongside what had appeared to be a row of derelict shops, actually led to a small car park and the elusive Peterson Park.

I finally arrived having missed nearly ten minutes of action although the game remained goalless at that point.

The ‘ground’ was much as I’d expected, a grass pitch surrounded by brand new white plastic railings and two temporary tent-like dugouts on one side. There was nothing else to see although a whiteboard advertised toilets and refreshments in a hall alongside which evidently also housed the changing rooms.

The Match

The first half was very poor and I didn’t regret missing nearly a quarter of it. The deadlock was broken by Campbeltown courtesy of a penalty after one of their players had been upended in the corner of the box. Just before the break BSC were reduced to ten men when one of their players failed to learn his lesson when being booked for dissent and saw a second yellow card almost immediately afterward when he obviously said something else.

The second period was an improvement and surprisingly it was the 10 man hosts that pressed the advantage. Two quick goals with only ten minutes or so on the second half clock saw them turn the game on it’s head and they went on to pretty much control the game thereafter . With only minutes to go, BSC forced a corner and, ignoring one of the supporters on the touchline telling him to “keep the ball in the corner”, the player delivered the ball into the box where it was met with a team mate’s boot that directed it into the back of the net to seal the points.

FT: BSC Glasgow 3 Campbeltown Pupils 1

27 Aug 22: Eglinton v Rossvale Academy

After another ‘week off’ from football, it was time to return to WoSFL Division 4 to visit another of this season’s new boys. This week, this meant journeying to Kilwinning to see Eglinton host Rossvale Academy.

Eglinton are a brand new side, born out of Kilwinning Sports Club. They had a team (Kilwinning Rangers AFC) in the amateur league in 2021/22 but have now taken on the name of a former Kilwinning-based junior side, who folded in 1936, as they move up to the WoSFL.

They even have a brand spanking new nickname of ‘the jousters’ which apparently comes from the ‘famous’ Eglinton Tournament which took place in 1839. Plenty of history for a newborn side.

Form

After three league games to date, the hosts propped up the 12 team league in bottom place having lost all three games and shipping 12 goals in the process. Rossvale had won 2 and lost 1 of their games which saw them in 5th place at the start of the day. I predicted a comfortable 0 – 4 win for the away side.

Once again, the Satnav tried to educate me that a postcode covers a wider area than a single address but I still managed to get to Kilwinning Sports Club in plenty of time for kick off. After experiencing a sense of deja vu as I got out of the car (the sports club also plays host to Kilwinning Rangers’, Buffs Park, which I have visited before) I made my way to the Ian Cashmore Memorial Park, the AstroTurf pitch alongside which Eglinton call home.

The ground is nothing to write home about, a plastic surface with standing room along one side and dugouts on the other, but my money was taken by a couple of very friendly ladies who didn’t charge me again when I walked back from a trip up the slope to the sports club building in search of refreshment.

The Match

The first half lived up to a friend’s comments that I was scraping the barrel by coming to another Division 4 game. There was little quality on show except from a very neat chipped finish which gave Rossvale the lead on the half hour mark. In fact, the only other memorable thing that happened in the 45 was a header off the line late on which prevented the lead from being doubled.

The game on an adjacent pitch sounded like it may have been more interesting and the number of cheers I heard suggested a high scoring game.

Six minutes into the second half, Eglinton found an equaliser and a minute later they had turned the game on its head with a second goal. While no one could add to that, the home side could (should) have scored a third right at the death and they fully deserved their win based on their second half performance.

FT: Eglinton 2 Rossvale Academy 1

So much for my pre-match prediction. A first 3 points of the season saw Eglinton move up two places to 10th in the league and give them a little confidence for the rest of the season.

13 Aug 22: Yoker Athletic v Craigmark Burntonians

After a flurry of pre-season friendlies, my groundhopping activities have slowed down dramatically of late with ‘other things’ (I know, outrageous) getting in the way of my traditional Saturday afternoon footy. This week however, I was determined to get a game in, even if it meant getting someone else to collect my daughter from the airport after returning from a week in Cornwall.

My initial plan was to tick off a new ground by watching WoSFL new boys, Thorn Athletic at home but their pitch “wasn’t yet ready” so their game was moved elsewhere. There weren’t any other nearby fixtures at yet unvisited grounds and so I opted for a return visit to Holm Park, home of both Clydebank and Yoker Athletic.

I previously attended Holm Park on 21 August 2019, almost exactly three years ago, to see a Clydebank game on a wet Wednesday evening. Now, in the middle of a heatwave and expecting sunburn rather than a soaking from above, it was the turn of Yoker Athletic to host me.

My customary search of Wikipedia didn’t tell me much but I did discover that Yoker Athletic were founded in 1886 – the same year that saw the formation of England’s finest football club, Plymouth Argyle. I know this as I have many t shirts proclaiming this fact.

I also found out that Yoker’s nickname is the ‘Whe Ho’ although no amount of internet searching could answer why

Form

It’s probably a little early in the season to read too much into this but a quick look at the WoSFL Division 2 table showed that this was a top of the table clash between the teams in 1st and 2nd spots. Admittedly, the sides had only played two games each and two other teams also maintained 100% records from their starts. Something would have to give today though.

Despite waking to an overcast and ‘slightly’ cooler morning, by the time I set off for the match, the blue skies had returned and temperatures were in the low 20s and climbing. Liberal application of the factor 50 was in order to protect my delicate skin. Give it another hour and it was going to be El Scorchio!

The Satnav failed me once again, dumping me in a housing estate about 10 minutes from the ground but, not for the first time, Google Maps came to the rescue and I pulled up outside the ground with a quarter of an hour to spare before kick off.

The outside of Holm Park was exactly as I remembered it with its murals of both Clydebank and Yoker Athletic players and badges on the wall but, once through the gate, I found quite a difference with two (three if you count the small enclosure at one end with room for two or three wheelchairs) new covered areas, one on each side of the pitch. I could have done with these three years earlier to save me from the rain but, this time, the larger stand was perfect shelter from the blazing sun.

As the teams came on for the game, I first thought that one of the Yoker shirts hadn’t been washed as it looked as though there were mud stains on the bottom at the back. It was only on closer inspection that the ‘mud stains’ was a Glasgow skyline design at the bottom of the blue shirt. It’s actually quite smart! While on the subject of shirts, Craigmark’s shirt sponsors are CSD Air Conditioning: I imagine the players would have appreciated some of their expertise in the heat of the afternoon.

As for the game, it was a relatively even affair with two teams that wanted to attack wherever possible. It was niggly at times and tempers weren’t helped by some frankly baffling refereeing decisions.

The visitors came closest to scoring in the first half, hitting the post and forcing a couple of decent saves from the home keeper. In the second half however, I thought Yoker shaded it, right up until the 76th minute when Craigmark scored what turned out to be the only goal of the game. Before the restart, Yoker were reduced to ten men when one of their players was given his marching orders (I didn’t see why but presumably for dissent) and the game was effectively over.

The only other thing for me to report is that my Argyle shirt was spotted and resulted in a shout of “Pilgrims!” as I walked past. I discovered in conversation that his friend’s brother-in-law is an Exeter City fan. Unlucky!

FT: Yoker Athletic 0 Craigmark Burntonians 1 (Renfrew go top on goal difference)

30 Jul 22: Rossvale Academy v BSC Glasgow

After a (surprisingly) few weeks with no football other than pre-season friendlies and the Women’s European Championships on the telly, it’s time to get back to league football on a Saturday.

With the WoSFL now having settled down into a stable 5 tier system, Division 4 has grown a little and I have a few new grounds to visit on my side of Scotland. I chose to begin with a visit to Huntershill Sports Hub to see new boys Rossvale Academy kick off their season by hosting BSC Glasgow.

I’ve learned not to expect much from webpages of teams at this level and Rossvale Academy are no exception in this regard. Given that there is another Rossvale FC (ex Juniors) side in WoSFL Division One and a prominent (in social media terms at least) Women and Girls Academy team in existence, it proved impossible for me to find out anything about the men’s Academy team, even when bringing Facebook and Twitter into play. Online photos of the Huntershill Sports Hub did little to build my excitement as it looked like I would be visiting an AstroTurf pitch in a leisure centre but, if I’m going to visit them all, I suppose I needed to tick it off the list.

Obviously, there’s little I can say about form either. I’ve taken no notice of pre-season for either of these two clubs and this would be the first game of the season. Although BSC Glasgow graced Division 4 last season (finishing 7th of 7), Rossvale Academy are one of six new teams in the new-look 12 team league.

My totally uninformed prediction for the game was a 2 – 1 home win.

Arriving at the Huntershill Sports Hub about twenty minutes before kick off, I was immediately confused by the signage. As I drove into the car park, I clocked a sign saying that there was no parking at peak times…I wonder what they use the CAR PARK for at such times? I ignored that sign, parked up and then wondered where I should go next. As expected, the ‘ground’ was a leisure centre with a number of outdoor pitches, two of which were showing activity. As there was a game obviously underway on the top pitch, I opted for the one closer to the leisure centre block and ignored another sign which told me that the only way in was for players and officials only.

This proved to be the right thing to do and I was relieved of my £5 entrance fee and directed to the far side of the astro turf pitch where the spectators would be housed. At that point, I was one of only seven people in that area although by kick off time, that number had swelled to an impressive nineteen.

The Match

The crowd had grown to thirty by the time Rossvale made their brighter start count in the 19th minute. A red and yellow hoop shirted player reacted first to a ball into the box, swivelled well and fired the ball into the net to give the home side the lead. Not long afterwards, Rossvale hit the post and, around the half hour mark they certainly should have doubled their lead but a free header sailed over the bar from close range.

The visitors came back a bit in the final stages of the first half, putting their hosts under a bit of pressure but Rossvale certainly deserved to go into the break in the lead. For anyone who still cares, by the time the half time whistle was blown, the crowd was up to about forty five, probably as a result of other nearby games finishing

BSC started the second half like they meant business and nearly equalised in the 50th minute when the ball found a striker on the edge of the six yards box and the close range volley cannoned back off the crossbar. As is often the case however, just when it looked like BSC might get back into the game, they were punished when, on the break, a Rossvale player rounded the keeper and doubled the lead by stroking the ball into an empty net.

BSC forced the Rossvale keeper into an important save almost straight afterwards but their task was about to get a whole lot harder. A BSC player was fouled in the middle of the pitch and the referee raced after the Rossvale perpetrator to show him a yellow card. While this was happening, I’m told (I was watching the referee so didn’t see it) that the wronged BSC player kicked out at another opponent. Much argument and shouting followed but I’d thought the ref hadn’t seen it either until I realised later that the visitors had been reduced to ten men.

Any doubt on the outcome of the game was put to rest in the 71st and 72nd minutes when Rossvale hit a quickfire brace to kill the game once and for all.

As the game played itself out, I had a brief conversation with a fellow spectator who wrongly identified my Argyle shirt for Hibernian (to be fair, it’s an easy mistake to make this season) but told me that the reason there are two Rossvale sides, and possibly explaining why I found it hard to find out anything about Rossvale Academy, was that there had recently been some sort of dispute regarding control of the Division One Rossvale FC team and name and this had resulted in the original owner/founder setting up a new team which needed a slightly different name. My understanding is that Rossvale Academy are a very new team who are now starting on their own path in Division 4.

So, the 2022/23 season starts for me, in short sleeves in the sun with four goals and an entertaining encounter. The ground is nothing to write home about but it’s another ticked off (No. 157 for the record).

2 Apr 22: Harthill Royal v Glenvale

As we move into April, I find myself with only two WoSFL grounds yet to visit. Campbeltown Pupils looks, particularly in the current climate of astronomical fuel prices, a step too far but Harthill was a little more ‘in range’, so Gibbshill Park it was.

Harthill Royal (formerly Harthill Royal Bar) are based in Greenrigg, West Lothian. Sitting almost exactly halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh they fall within the catchment areas of both the East and West of Scotland football leagues and, although they have spent most of their life in the East Region in previous years, they currently ply their trade in West of Scotland Football League Division 4.

Form

With only two games left to play, Harthill were languishing in 7th place of the eight teams in Division 4 with only 4 wins and 5 draws to show for their 26 games to date. Only 1 point separated them from bottom placed Campbeltown at the start of the day and they wouldn’t want the ignominy of finishing bottom in their first season in this league.

Visitors, Glenvale, sat in 5th place but their 11 wins and 2 draws meant they had double the points tally of their hosts. With only two games still to play, their position was such that they were destined to remain in 5th place regardless of the results over the rest of the season so they really had little to play for at this point other than pride.

My pre-match prediction was a 0 – 2 win to the Vale.

Gibbshill Park proved easy to find and I arrived with about a quarter of an hour to go before kick off. There was nobody manning the gate so I walked in, without charge, to find the home side warming up but no sign of the visitors. With only five or six ‘spectators’ in evidence I was concerned that the game may have been called off but the snack bar was open so I decided to offset my free entry by indulging in some food. The scotch pie seemed tasty at first but it was VERY greasy and soon outstayed its welcome.

The ground itself is a fairly typical junior ground: a grass pitch with a bit of a slope end to end, a small covered area on one side, a grass bank at the far end and full access to walk around the pitch and watch the game from whichever angle you choose.

Glenvale had turned up and the crowd had grown to a massive 38 (I counted) so I took up my place to the left of the ‘stand’ to watch the game.

The Match

The game started at a blistering pace and was only four minutes old when the visitors from Paisley took the lead. The hosts weren’t phased however and levelled the game just three minutes later only for an equally quick response from Vale. Only ten minutes on the clock and it was already 1 – 2!

The game continued in an end to end fashion and Glenvale looked the better side for the first quarter although Harthill were always in it and grew into the game as time progressed. In the 37th minute, their efforts were rewarded and a headed goal levelled proceedings at two all.

The second half began in a similar competitive manner and the Glenvale No. 10 missed two great chances to re-take the lead before, of course, his side was made to regret their poor finishing as Royal took the lead for the first time just before the hour mark.

Now Harthill came into their own and took control of the game. In the 83rd minute, they were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box and this was superbly dispatched into the top corner to seal the win.

FT: Harthill Royal 4 Glenvale 2

Post script: Harthill’s 5th win of the season proved doubly gratifying as, with Campbeltown losing to Harmony Row, it was enough to guarantee that they would not finish bottom of the league in 2021/22. Indeed, if they win their final game of the season and BSC Glasgow lose theirs, they would actually move up another place.

19 Mar 22: Royal Albert v Carluke Rovers

Last week was my final WoSFL Conference A ground, this week I complete Conference B with a visit to Tileworks Park, the home of Royal Albert.

Royal Albert are currently based in the village of Stonehouse, near their traditional home of Larkhall in South Lanarkshire where the club were born. Their ‘parents’ were two Larkhall pit teams and they were named Royal Albert after the boat of a Captain Johns who owned the pit. This explains the boat on the club’s badge which, in my opinion, bears some similarity to that of English West Country giants, Plymouth Argyle!

The Royalists were founder members of Scottish League Division Three in 1923 but, following the abandonment of that league three years later, have spent the rest of their existence at non-league level (sorry but I’m English and don’t know a better description for the Scottish amateur and junior leagues).

Since then, they’ve had a few skirmishes with senior sides in cup competitions, notably a 16 – 0 mauling at the hands of Partick Thistle in 1931.

I also discovered that Royal Albert also have the distinction of being the club that scored the first ever penalty kick in the history of football! This honour went to a James McLuggage who hit the back of the net from twelve yards against Airdrieonions on 6 June 1891, four days after the rule was introduced by the International Football Association Board. I really hoped I would see a penalty on my visit to Tileworks Park to recreate such a historic occasion.

Form

This game would be the last of a disappointing season for Albert which would see them finish in bottom place regardless of the result of this game. Their 27 games to date had returned only a solitary win and three draws, their goal difference a nightmarish minus 90 (having conceded 108 goals).

Visitors, Carluke Rovers weren’t exactly on the crest of a wave either, sitting three league places above them in 12th having won 6, drawn 2 and lost 18 of their 26 games. They had also proved to have a leaky defence, having conceded 92 goals through the season (minus 55).

I predicted a 0 – 2 away win.

For once, the day began with no worries about the game going ahead. The sun was shining and I looked forward to a pleasant afternoon’s entertainment. The journey was uneventful and the SatNav brought me to the ground with no issues at all.

Tileworks Park is fairly unremarkable, basically a (quite bumpy) grass pitch surrounded by a low fence. There’s a small shelter on one side and wheeled dugouts on the other. Changing rooms are in the adjacent (small) leisure centre and there were no refreshment facilities so I had to make do without a pie.

I wandered around the pitch before kick off and settled in a spot to the side of the shelter with the sun at my back to give me warmth and not blindness. My fellows in the vicinity were a friendly pair of Carluke supporters with who I shared some banter throughout the game.

The Game

There were only six minutes on the clock when I was granted my pre-match wish and a penalty was awarded to the Albert for handball. I thought it was a fair decision but my companions vociferously disagreed. In a replay of that historical moment 131 years previously, the spot kick was dispatched successfully and Royal Albert had the lead.

Somehow, there were no further goals in the first half although this was largely down to bad decision making and poor finishing as Carluke hit the bar twice and could easily have scored four. Albert also had a chance to double their lead but were thwarted by a decent save.

Carluke continued to dominate in the second half and had a strong penalty shout of their own which was met by a yellow card to their player for diving. Once again, my companions were far from impressed. This adversity appeared to spur Rovers on however and three goals in a nine minute spell; a glancing header, a penalty and a close range finish, turned the game completely on it’s head and looked to have guaranteed the visitors the three points.

One of my new pals seemed to want Rovers to shut up shop and just run the clock down at that point although I couldn’t see any way back for Albert, even when they pulled a goal back with ten minutes to go.

Unbelievably, in the 3rd minute of stoppage time, Albert forced a corner and the resultant cross was headed firmly into the net by their goalkeeper who had come upfield in an ‘all or nothing’ gamble!

The whistle went seconds later to signal the end of an entertaining 3 – 3 draw. A great way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon!

12 Mar 22: Forth Wanderers v Irvine Victoria

A visit to Kingshill Park was a landmark game as the last WoSFL Conference A ground for me to visit to ‘complete the set’. It’s also been a long time coming since my last ground in this league (Bellshill) nearly four months ago to the day.

As is par for the course at this time of the year, the weather hadn’t been kind in the days leading up to the game and rain on the Friday and on the Saturday morning left me nervous about whether the game would go ahead. A Facebook message to enquire about the pitch (answered very quickly, thank you Forth) was greeted with “the pitch is heavy in places but the game is on” and, despite me still wondering as the rain continued for at least half of the hour’s drive to Forth, that proved to be the case.

Kingshill Park proved to be quite an open ground, even more so given that the fence at the end of the pitch nearest the road had blown down at some point in the past, comprising a grass pitch surrounded by railings with a very small covered area on one side, next to a “Pie and Bovril Lounge” (portacabin) serving, amongst other things, a tasty Steak Pie, and a changing rooms block. On the other side of the pitch are a couple of small dugouts and you’re able to walk all around the pitch (if you’re willing to risk a broken ankle on the uneven ground). It was unspectacular but I quite liked it.

Pre-match ‘research’ didn’t reveal much about Forth Wanderers but I did discover that two Scottish international goalkeepers had played for the club in the past: George Wood and, more recently, Rab Douglas.

During my pre-match wanderings, I met and had a good chat with a couple of fellow groundhoppers (I think I may have come across them somewhere else) who were attending this game before heading for Tynecastle afterwards to see their team (Hearts) in Scottish Cup action against St Mirren. They will have been happy chappies at the Jambos won that one 4 – 2.

Form

Having watched bottom of the table Irvine Victoria being soundly beaten the previous week by a 10-man Johnstone Borough, I wasn’t expecting them to put up much resistance to Wanderers in this one.

Forth sat in mid-table (8th out of 15) having won 11 and drawn 4 of their 24 games. Their 37 points dwarfed the Vics paltry 9. A 53 goal gap in the two sides’ goal difference also suggested that this would be a routine home win.

My prediction was a 3 – 0 win for Forth.

The Match

The game started very evenly with no real difference between the sides but when the hosts were awarded a penalty midway through the first half, I thought this was it. Forth duly converted the spot kick but, less than a minute later (when I wasn’t even looking), the Vics levelled and it was game on once again.

After that, despite a lot of huffing and puffing from both sides, there were no further chances of note for either side and the half time whistle was blown with the game all square at 1 – 1.

Forth started the second half better and re-took the lead about ten minutes in. Five minutes later, one of the Vics players was shown a second yellow card and departed the field to leave his side on a hiding to nothing. Surprisingly, it took until the closing minutes for Wanderers to make their extra man count and deservedly finish off the game with a third goal.

FT: Forth Wanderers 3 Irvine Victoria 1 (the closest I’ve come for some time to a correct prediction).

26 Feb 22: Kello Rovers v Cambuslang Rangers

Recent weather has thrown my groundhopping plans into disarray as I try to visit a few ‘target’ grounds before the end of the season.

Kello Rovers, based in Kirkconnel in Dumfries & Galloway is the furthest destination left for me in the three WoSFL Conference leagues and I’ve been thwarted a few times from making this journey in recent weeks by heavy rain, snow and high winds. Despite more snow earlier this week, Twitter correspondence on the Friday night gave me hope that today could be the day I got to Nithside Park and, when I woke on Saturday morning, the game was still on!

As usual, one of the first things I did pre-match was have a look at the table. This revealed that ‘Super K’ sat in the not so super 11th spot (of 15) with 5 wins, 5 draws and 20 points to show from their 22 games. A minus 22 goal difference also suggested a potentially leaky defence.

In contrast, their Glasgow-based visitors, Cambuslang Rangers, sat proudly, 5 points clear at the top of the table with games in hand over their three nearest rivals. A record of 19 wins and 2 defeats from 21 games had amassed 57 points and an impressive plus 57 goal difference.

My pre-match prediction was a 0 – 3 win for Rangers.

Google Maps told me that it would take an hour and thirteen minutes to drive to Kirkconnel and I left the house with the Satnav telling me I would get to the ground twenty minutes before kick off. Wrong!

I started badly my taking a wrong turn within minutes of setting off and, just as I’d made up the resulting lost time, I hit slow traffic which started to eat up my contingency time. Worse was to come as I approached Kilmarnock as, following a traffic jam caused by roadworks, those same roadworks then prevented me from taking the required exit from the motorway and immediately, my predicted eta shot from 10 minutes before kick off to 5 minutes after! A further road closure and diversion made things even worse but, in the end I clawed back sufficient time to park up outside the ground at two minutes to two.

It wasn’t enough. Not unusually in my WoSFL experience, the game kicked off early and, as I got out of the car, I could clearly hear the shouts of the players on the other side of the wall signalling that the game was underway. Never mind, I doubt I missed any more than a couple of minutes.

After the unexciting leisure centre AstroTurf pitch of Kilsyth Athletic last week, Nithside Park proved to be a much more interesting ‘proper’ ground comprising a large covered standing area on one side of the grass pitch and a smaller one on the other. Snacks were available from the back of this smaller area and, although closed on the day, there was a portacabin bar (the Rovers Return) alongside the dressing rooms.

It was clear from the start that Cambuslang were the better team but, although they offered little threat, Kello kept them at bay until a Rangers player broke through on the left and put the ball past the keeper into the far side of the goal with about ten minutes on the clock. There were loud appeals for offside from the home bench but I was to learn over the next eighty minutes that they made similar appeals every time their opposition got into the last quarter of the pitch, regardless of whether or not their was any merit in that appeal.

Less than ten minutes later, Rangers doubled their lead and I sensed that my 0 – 3 prediction might not have been high enough. As things turned out though, that was the end of the scoring for the first half and, while the visitors remained in firm control, the Kello defence repelled their attacks effectively.

I wandered around the pitch at half time and ventured into the snack bar thinking that I was too late for a pie. I shouldn’t have worried as one of the two pies remaining in the heated cabinet was a very tasty chicken curry pie. Definitely the league leader in footy pies so far in 2022.

Into the second half and, just when I was telling myself that Kello were defending well, two more quick fire goals from Cambuslang, the second a very well taken lobbed effort, effectively ended the contest.

Kello pulled one back with 25 minutes remaining but there was no real chance of a comeback (sorry Francis) and Rangers added a fifth before the final whistle was blown.

FT: Kello Rovers 1 Cambuslang Rangers 5.

As I left the ground and headed back to my car, a group of lads made a comment about my hat and asked if the badge was Plymouth Argyle. When I answered yes, two of them chorused “Green Army!” and I drove home with a smile on my face that, even in a small village in Dumfries and Galloway, close on 500 miles from Home Park, there is still an awareness of my English League One heroes.

19 Feb 22: Kilsyth Athletic v Finnart

After a fortnight’s distraction from the ‘junior leagues’ (watching Plymouth Argyle’s heroics against Chelsea in the FA Cup and then St Mirren’s comfortable win against Kelty Hearts in the Scottish Cup) it was time to return to the WoSFL.

Unfortunately, the aftermaths of storms Dudley and Eustace meant that my options were severely limited, mostly due to frozen pitches. AstroTurf came to my rescue however and I settled on Kilsyth Athletic v Finnart in Division 4.

My timing may have been perfect in the end as a look at the table showed that I would be watching a top of the table clash with second place hosting first. I haven’t worked out how meaningful that is this season as I’m not sure whether Division 4 are playing for promotion while the ‘conferences’ above them are sorting themselves out: this is the first season of the new WoSFL structure and my understanding is that the finishing positions in Conferences A – C will establish who will be playing in Divisions 1 – 3 next season.

Before this game the two sides were separated by 4 points, having both played 26 games and there was a massive 16 point gap between Athletic in 2nd place and St Peter’s in 3rd. Neither side were unbeatable though with Finnart having lost 4 and Kilsyth, 6 of their league games to date. I predicted a home win by a solitary goal.

Kilsyth Athletic is a community club which has existed since 1999 to promote health, fitness, wellbeing and community spirit through amateur football, open to all ages and sexes. The number of children at the game suggested that their inclusive aims have been successful.

I like to leave myself plenty of time to get to games, particularly if I’ve not been to a ground before. Unfortunately, I miscalculated my leaving time today and was running things a bit closer than I would normally do even before I got held up with heavy traffic on and around the Kingston Bridge. I got back on track however and, as I entered the town of Kilsyth, the Satnav was estimating my getting to the ground with six minutes to spare before kick off.

Of course, it’s never that simple. I was directed into a large industrial estate and the “you’ve reached your destination” message sounded in between two industrial units and at a dead end in the road. This felt very familiar as I remember a very similar experience when visiting the town’s other side, Kilsyth Rangers back in 2019.

With time running out, I turned round with the idea of finding a local to direct me but, as luck would have it, just as I was about to take a left turn and head out of the estate, I glimpsed a set of goal posts to my right. While the goal posts were just an open playing field, they proved to be right next to my planned destination and I entered the ‘ground’ just before the teams came onto the field.

Kilsyth Sportsfield itself isn’t actually a field but rather an AstroTurf pitch surrounded by a high fence and with a railing down one side of the pitch for supporters to stand behind/lean against. That’s about it really with not even any dugouts for the coaching staff and substitutes to use for shelter in incliment weather. Luckily, whilst quite cold, it was a bright and sunny afternoon so there was no risk of a soaking.

Interestingly, there was no attempt to do anything with the chainlink fence surrounding the pitch to hide the action from those outside so it was quite impressive that more than 100 people had paid their money to stand on the inside.

The game was a keenly contested affair which burst into life midway through the first half when Finnart struck twice in six minutes before being pegged back to 1 – 2 by their hosts five minutes later. When Kilsyth struck the bar not long after that, it looked like we may have a goal-fest but, in the event, we had to wait for the last five minutes of the game before a fourth an final goal. It went to the visitors to seal a 1 – 3 win which, if I’m honest, they thoroughly deserved.

As I left the ground, I heard a chorus of “championees, championees…” coming from the changing rooms and it was only then that I understood the raucous celebrations for each of the Finnart goals. A quick check of the league table confirmed it, this was the penultimate game of the season for both sides (there are only 8 teams in Division 4 and, even though they play each other four times, there are only a limited number of games) and today’s result meant that Finnart’s lead at the top of the table had stretched to an uncatchable 7 points.

Kilsyth Athletic 1 Finnart 3

Finnart are Division 4 champions!

29 Jan 22: Glenvale v St Peter’s

After the excitement of the English Premier League the previous weekend, it was time to return to the grassroots of Scottish football and the WoSFL Division 4.

My plan had originally been to see Harthill Royal v BSC Glasgow but, waking up to what sounded like a Force 10 Gale and hearing stories of fallen trees, downed powerlines and such like, I spent a bit of time scanning Facebook and Twitter looking for postponements. A message to the Royal’s Facebook page was answered straight away (kudos to the club for that) and I was told that, although the game was still on at 10.30am, the league wanted a final decision from the referee before giving the go ahead. As that was unlikely to happen until half and hour before kick off (Harthill is a 40 minute drive for me), I wasn’t going to take my chances.

Luckily, I’d kept back a local game for such contingencies and instead, I opted for a trip down the road to the Ferguslie Park area of Paisley to see Glenvale v St Peter’s.

I don’t really know much about Glenvale to be honest and a (very quick to be fair) didn’t tell me anything other than that they’re a sports club with football teams at all ages. Our friend’s son used to play for them as a kid but I’m guessing they’re a relative newcomer at the junior (in old money) league level.

Form

In a league of only eight teams, this game was the epitome of a mid-table clash with Glenvale in 5th place with 32 points from 23 games and their visitors a league position and two points above them having played three games less. Goal difference was perhaps quite telling for two teams so close together in the table though. A 22 goal swing with Vale at minus 11 and Saints at plus 11.

I predicted a close game but a St Peter’s win.

To add a bit more spice (if it needed any given Ferguslie Park’s reputation), this was a local derby with St Peter’s based in nearby Renfrew.

Ferguslie Sports Centre proved to be much as I expected. An AstroTurf pitch with spectator standing behind a rail along one side of the pitch and no cover. There was no obvious sign of any refreshments available although there may have been a vending machine inside the leisure centre building (I didn’t look).

When the teams came out, I thought I’d found a level where shirt sponsors fear to tread. St Peter’s definitely had no logo on their shirts but, on closer inspection, the Vale did. If I’d paid to sponsor the shirts however, I think I would be feeling a little ripped off as the gold writing on a red shirt was practically invisible, as least to my 55 year old eyes.

The Game

The first half proved to be a fairly even affair with both sides playing their part. Glenvale hit the bar in the first ten minutes but, in the next ten, they found themselves two down thanks to clinical finishing by their visitors. Despite these setbacks, they kept plugging away and pulled one back with a nice turn and shot before the break.

The second half belonged to the Saints although they only managed to add one more goal to their tally.

The hosts still played their part however and hit the bar for a second time five minutes before time.

FT: Glenvale 1 St Peter’s 3

PS. The Harthill Royal game did go ahead and they lost 1 – 2 to BSC Glasgow.