2009-10 Season Preview

Around a three week break now until the pre-season friendlies begin and this blog kicking off. I intend to make my blog entries similar to the Meadow March On entry, before that I was just giving myself a wee taster of attempting to do a blog, and I've quite enjoyed it so will do my best to keep it going as next season progresses. I'll also attempt to add my own photos.

The cup draws have been made, and the league fixtures announced, I know that my first trip to Annan Athletic's Galabank Stadium will be on Saturday 25th July as Queen's visit in the first round of the Challenge Cup. Boxing Day will bring about my Station Park début, weather permitting of course. I'll be jetting off to Oslo for Scotland's World Cup qualifier against Norway, sadly poor trip planning means I miss a jaunt to Elgin.

I'll be mainly attending Queen's Park games, but will hopefully get to a mix of friendlies and a bunch of junior games also. Some interesting friendlies are being arranged with Ayr United playing hosts to Romanian champions Unirea Urziceni and Queen's playing Fleetwood Town in Largs.

Fixtures Attended 2009-10

This blog entry will be edited throughout the season as I add matches that I attend and some details on them.

Date, Competition, Fixture, Score, Attendance, Report Link
Thu 02.07.09, ELQ1L1, Motherwell v Lllanelli, 0-1, 4307, Report
Tue 07.07.09, FR, Queen's Park v Partick Thistle, 1-2, unknown, Report
Sat 11.07.09, FR, Albion Rovers v Crawley Town, 1-3, unknown, Report
Sat 11.07.09, FR, Queen's Park v Fleetwood Town, 4-1, unknown, Report
Mon 13.07.09, FR, Queen's Park v Clyde, 1-1, unknown, Report
Sat 18.07.09, FR, East Kilbride Thistle v Ayr United U19s, 3-0, unknown, Report
Sat 18.07.09, FR, Alloa Athletic v Petershill, 4-1, unknown, Report
Sun 19.07.09, FR, Petershill v Ayr United U19s, p2-2, unknown, Report
Sun 19.07.09, FR, East Kilbride Thistle v Alloa Athletic, p1-1, unknown, Report
Mon 20.07.09, FR, Albion Rovers v Celtic XI, 0-0p, unknown, Report
Tue 21.07.09, FR, Rutherglen Glencairn v Cumbernauld United, 3-2, unknown, Report
Thu 23.07.09, ELQ2L2, Motherwell v Flamurtari, 8-1, 4641, Report
Sat 25.07.09, CC1, Annan Athletic v Queen's Park, 2-0, 411, Report
Mon 27.07.09, FR, Queen's Park v Daily Record XI, 2-1, unknown, Report
Sat 01.08.09, LC1, Queen's Park v Queen of the South, 1-4, 886, Report
Sat 08.08.09, SLC, Pollok v Benburb, 4-2 (2-1 @ HT), 429, Report (click below) - (until HT)
Sat 08.08.09, SFL3, Queen's Park v Forfar Athletic, 2-2, 595, Report
Tue 11.08.09, NOR, Skeid Oslo v Sparta Sarpsborg, 0-2, 1750, Report
Wed 12.08.09, INT, Norway v Scotland, 4-0, 24083, Report
Sat 15.08.09, SFL3, Elgin City v Queen's Park, 0-1, 570, Report
Mon 17.08.09, FR, Queen's Park v Ayr United, 0-5, unknown, Report
Sat 22.08.09, JUN, Pollok v Bellshill Athletic, 4-2, c600, Report
Sat 29.08.09, SFL3, Berwick Rangers v Queen's Park, 1-0, 519, Report
Sat 05.09.09, INT, Scotland v Macedonia, 2-0, 50214, Report
Wed 09.09.09, INT, Scotland v Netherlands, 0-1, 51230, Report
Sat 12.09.09, SFL3, East Stirlingshire v Queen's Park, 1-0, 393, Report
Mon 14.09.09, FR, Rutherglen Glencairn v Clyde, 0-2, unknown, Report
Sat 19.09.09, SFL3, Queen's Park v Annan Athletic, 0-0, 581, Report
Mon 21.09.09, RES, Queen's Park Res. v Partick Thistle Res., 0-0, unknown, Report
Sat 26.09.09, SFL3, Livingston v Queen's Park, 2-1, 961, Report
Mon 28.09.09, FR, Rutherglen Glencairn v Larkhall Thistle, 4-0, unknown, Report
Tue 29.09.09, SFL3, Queen's Park v Albion Rovers, 0-1, 376, Report
Sat 10.10.09, SFL3, Queen's Park v Stranraer, 1-2, 598, Report

Fixtures Attended: 32.5
Goals Witnessed: 96
Goals Per Game Average: 3
Penalties Witnessed(Scored): 12(8) (not including penalty shoot-outs)
Red Cards: 5

End Of Season Review

Another long football season comes to a close, although pre-season fixtures are already being lined up for early July. I can't wait. Over the course of the 2008/09 football season I managed to attend seventy-six games, something I'll aim to beat next campaign. Surprisingly I didn't see any penalty shoot-outs, although one cup game went to extra-time.

Being on holiday meant I missed the majority of pre-season friendlies but when away I managed to see Toronto play hosts to Colorado Rapids. A few familiar faces from the British game were playing such as Tam McManus, Danny Dichio (who scored a peach of a volley) and Rohan Ricketts (who was by far the best player on the park).

The majority of my season was spent watching Queen's Park eventually fail to maintain their SFL2 status after being relegated by Stenhousemuir in the play-off's. I still enjoyed three trips in the gale to Peterhead, the winding roads to Stranraer, a glamour cup tie away to Celtic and the rare victory. The end of Queen's season meant I could watch my second priority, Pollok, as they cram in their remaining fixtures in the lighter summer nights. Also witnessed Motherwell's home European game to Nancy, Scotland's latest failings, a few reserve, under nineteen and other junior matches.

Biggest crowd from my attended games was Scotland's home 0-0 draw with Norway, the game where Chris Iwelumo had a début open goal miss to forget, 50,205 people where there in the flesh to witness a 'my granny could've scored that' moment. Highest scoring match was a end of season friendly between Arthurlie and Neilston, an eleven goal thriller that The Farmers Boys from Neilston edged 6-5. Unfortunately I had to endure seven scoreless encounters, the most painful being a toothless display that confirmed the relegation of The Spiders. Over the course of the seventy-six matches I witnessed 213 goals, an average of 2.8 goals per game.

A full list of my attended fixtures throughout the 2008/09 season can be found here, and my current grounds attended here.

Meadow March On

Pollok v Irvine Meadow
Evening Times Cup Final
Thursday 18th June 2009, kick-off 7.30pm (delayed)
Newlandsfield Park, Glasgow

The season finale had finally arrived and two of the junior heavyweights were going into battle for the final time in the 2008/09 season. Newlandsfield Park, home of Pollok FC, was the destination on a wet night in Glasgow, Meadow had agreed to play the match at their oppositions ground despite being given the option of a neutral venue.

The prices were hiked up an extra 20% from my previous junior experiences, but I wasn't complaining as I could watch a game of football in the flesh in mid-June. Many more fans seemed keen to take up this opportunity and with a big queue building outside the gates the kick-off was delayed by ten minutes. The programmes where sold out fifteen minutes prior to the original kick-off time and the queue at the pie hut was getting longer and longer. A rather unique option of being able to purchase a newspaper was on offer inside the ground, it was the days edition of cup sponsors Evening Times newspaper.

The cup brings together all the winners of the league and cup competitions throughout the season. Pollok gained entry after winning the Central League Cup on penalties against Kilsyth Rangers and were drawn at home against Auchinleck Talbot in the preliminary round. A 3-1 victory meant a trip to Largs in the quarter-final where they came from behind to defeat the Super First Division champions 2-1. Dalry Thistle were just cannon fodder in the semi's as Pollok romped into the final, winning 8-0. Meadow entered the competition in the quarters as Super Premier League champions and faced Arthurlie at Dunterlie Park, winning 5-2. They then stumbled into the final after a tight 1-0 victory over Blantyre Victoria on Monday night.

Just under a month ago Meadow came to Newlandsfield and won 2-1, a result that eventually proved to be a title clincher. You could understand why they agreed to play at Pollok's home ground after that result and the fact that the pitch was in excellent condition. A perfect pitch, two top teams, a bumper crowd, everything was perfectly set for a great conclusion to the football season.

Unfortunately the spectacle didn't quite live up to it's billing. The 'Lok started brightly, pressing high up the pitch and forcing the Meadow defence back, although only a few half chances were created. An early injury saw Meadow gaffer Chris Strain sub off his son, who enjoyed some friendly banter with the home support when departing from the action. After a bit of reshuffling they managed to weather the early storm and get a hold on the game.

Pollok seemed to struggle with the ball being flighted into their box, and Meadow had the players to give them something to really worry about in that department. A poorly defended free-kick ended up with Meadow defender Chris Robertson free at the back post, who found the net just as he did last month at Newlandsfield. Meadow held onto their one goal lead into the half-time interval just as the rain started to come down.

The rain didn't put off the young punters from getting a kick about on the fine surface, it was packed with various different games all over the park, it was also arguably more entertaining. A tannoy announcement requesting that they left the field of play to allow the substitutes to warm-up was thankfully ignored, I wanted my moneys worth. It didn't seem to bother Meadow's veteran sub Andy McLaren as he was chuckling away with an interested spectator in the name of Chic Charnley, both controversial characters of the Scottish game in their heydays.

A very professional performance, some would argue that their on professional wages, by Meadow in the second-half as they killed off any momentum Pollok attempted the build up. A very solid, committed defensive display, along with time-wasting and keeping the ball in the corner prevented the 'Lok from getting any real chances, an opportunist effort by Pollok goal-getter Bryan Dingwall was collected at the second attempt by Wardrope in the Meadow goal. That was as good as it got for Pollok and without any real danger Meadow held out to clinch their fourth trophy of the season.

The celebrations began, Meadow had done the quadruple and could call themselves winners of the Super Premier League, Ayrshire League Cup, Ayrshire Cup and now the Evening Times Cup. They'll be looking to add the Junior Cup next season and will be competing in the senior Scottish Cup next campaign after their league success, with their current financial backing there's no reason why Meadow won't become a real force in junior football in the coming seasons.

Pollok will be looking to improve next season and will have former manager Rab Sneddon back at the helm as they seek the title and their first Junior Cup success for thirteen years. Meadow have already added a few new players as they aim to succeed on all fronts, they'll be only the eight victories away from securing European football, you never know.

Other match reports can be found on the official Pollok website, the sponsors Evening Times newspaper and Down the Wing blog. Further photos can be found on the Irvine Meadow blog, Medda Message Board and Pollok FC Fans Forum (will need to be a registered user on messageboards). Also a video of the presentations can be found here.

Result: Pollok 0-1 Irvine Meadow

Line-ups
Pollok: Robertson, Carruth, Dillon (?), Wingate, Walker, McClay, MacKay (?), Turnbull, Dingwall, Essler, Cruickshank.
Irvine Meadow: Wardrope, Ryan, Swift, Robertson, McGowan, Strain (Docherty (McLaren)), Turner, Crilly, Hamilton, McGinty (Hyslop), Barr.

Goalscorer(s)
Pollok: none
Irvine Meadow: Chris Robertson

Attendance: 1153

Pride At Stake

Monday evening brought about the chance to tick off another ground, Brig O'Lea Stadium was the venue for the last Super Premier League match of the season. Home of junior club Neilston who were playing hosts to Junior Cup winners Auchinleck Talbot. The reason for this fixture being played so late in the season was due to Talbot's cup exploits taking priority to their league duties, leaving them with many fixtures to complete in recent weeks. Even the tannoy announcer joked that it was a pre-season friendly match. Neilston were rock bottom and relegated long ago, whilst Talbot still had a chance to finish third ahead of Beith if they were to win.

First thing I noticed when arriving at the ground was the smell of manure from the local farm land, which explained straight away why they're nicknamed The Farmer's Boys. The ground had a sheltered terrace on the far side, access all round the ground to stand and a dugout on each long side of the pitch. To my surprise they had floodlights, which is a bit of a rarity at this level, whether they use them or work is another thing. Not the best looked after of grounds and open to the elements, even the smell!

In the early stages it was apparent that Talbot were much more comfortable on the ball and were taking the game to Neilston, although they looked threatening on the counter. After about quarter of an hour Neilston had the lead against the run of play, a cool finish on the counter that wrong-footed the unsighted Adam Strain in the Talbot goal.

Double the time later and the lead was doubled. Very similar to a goal I'd seen on Saturday at Newlandsfield, a lobbed own goal, Gaughan was the unfortunate Talbot defender to produce a superb finish at the wrong end. Only a few minutes later the deficit was halved by veteran striker Stevie Mallan who nodded in from close range. The interval came and Talbot made a triple change with Mallan and two trialists departing.

The second period was mainly Talbot huffing and puffing, but getting nowhere, the final ball and finish was lacking. Neilston killed off any comeback hopes with a simple counter attack goal which knocked the momentum out of Talbot as the rest of the game petered out.

Full Time – Neilston 3-1 Auchinleck Talbot

My final game of the season will be my next one, Thursday evening finally brings a close to the junior season as Pollok take on Irvine Meadow in the Evening Times Cup final at the neutral venue of Newlandsfield (home of Pollok). Not to worry though, pre-season friendlies will be starting at the beginning of July, which isn't too far away. I intend to try a different format when I post my next entry that I'll hopefully use all next season when I really begin this blog.

Losing Count

Come the end of their Saturday afternoons work Dalry Thistle will have been wishing they hadn't overcome Lugar Boswell Thistle on penalties in the previous round as they were ran ragged in the heat by Pollok at Newlandsfield. The 'Lok had more players watching on in the terraces than available for selection, a trialist started along with another three on the bench who all got run-outs. A good crowd was present as many punters, myself included, were trying to ensure their close-season was as short as possible.

Chris 'the goal machine' Cruickshank, a bit of tongue in cheek there, continued where he left off and was proving to be a real nuisance in the air. He was on a hat-trick after two headed goals in the first period, and even hit the bar with another headed effort at the beginning of the second-half before resorting back to a more familiar defensive role. It was one way traffic as the Ayrshire League champions seemed well off the pace. The Dalry manager seemed more determined to prevent top scorer Dingwall from getting chances that he forgot about the other threats that the 'Lok possessed.

Two early goals in the second-half from Essler and Wingate ended the contest and the trialists came on to give Pollok a new look midfield. The right sided one crossed for the left sided one to score with their first involvement, then they swapped roles with the latter providing the assist for the former. It was a sunny Saturday stroll and Dalry where all over the place, but at least they hadn't let Dingwall score yet, despite his best efforts to steal one of the trialists goals.

Disaster struck again as Dalry added to the 'Lok's tally with a lobbed own-goal. Then at long last the Pollok hit-man got his goal after Essler placed a pass off the crossbar straight to Dingwall to volley home and complete the rout.

Pollok now march on to the season finale, the Evening Times Cup final, where they'll play either Blantyre Victoria or Irvine Meadow who play on Monday evening.

Full Time – Pollok 8-0 Dalry Thistle

Below are youtube highlights of the demolition of Dalry, credit to lokpars. Also credit to codofthenorth for the photo.

Cruickshank's first-half double
Second-half goals
Missed chances

Next up for me will be a Monday evening fixture, not Blantyre hosting Meadow, but I'll make the trip to Neilston's Brig O'Lea ground as the play hosts to Auchinleck Talbot in the last Super Premier League game of the season.

When Midges Attack

Off to the seaside I went on a pleasant Thursday evening to tick off another ground, Barrfields Park, home of West of Scotland First Division champions Largs Thistle. That achievement had won them the right to play in the Evening Times Cup, and a home tie with Pollok was their reward. This was a quarter-final tie, the winners would be at home to Dalry Thistle on Saturday afternoon in the next round.

The pitch was massive, and had plenty of space to be made even bigger if allowed. I got myself some decent grub, put up with the terrible music blasting out and made my trek to the other end of the ground for a good view. Plenty of the locals took advantage of the nice weather and came prepared with their very own carry-outs to aid their enjoyment of the match.

Pollok had a very depleted side and could only name three substitutes, two of which were trialists signed on the day. Largs started at a lightning pace and were very much in control, pinning the 'Lok back for the early stages. They got their deserved goal from a well struck volley that flew through a crowd of players, the 'keeper couldn't get a strong enough hand to it. So, the sea-siders had the lead which they took into the half-time break.

The game proved to be the clichéd game of two halves, all Largs in the first period and it was to be all Pollok in the second. Also for the bloody midges it was a game of two halves, non-existent in the first (just like Pollok), then ran riot in the second.

A minute after me saying that the striker Dingwall was having a quiet game he popped up in the box and scored, albeit via a deflection, Pollok were very much on top now, somehow. With ten to go talented, when he wants to be, midfielder Davie McGeown charged down the wing and whipped in a ball that centre-back/left winger Cruickshank bulleted off the bar and in with a header.

The full-time whistle couldn't come soon enough as the midges continued to attack, I've never seen so many people scratching their heads, although that could've also been in disbelief at what they'd just witnessed. A crime that each team only showed up for forty-five minutes each but the real crime where the midges, it was borderline assault!

Full Time – Largs Thistle 1-2 Pollok

The goals from Barrfields Park are linked below, credit to lokpars.

1-0 goal
1-1 goal
1-2 goal

Next up for me will be the semi-final tie that's now been set-up, Pollok v Dalry Thistle at Newlandsfield on Saturday, 2pm kick-off.