Thursday 21 July @ Central Park, Whitburn

From one Central Park to another for Game 8, an intriguing looking West Lothian derby pre-season friendly match.

I nearly didn’t make this one. Somehow I had it in my head that Armadale Thistle were hosting the game at Volunteer Park, only to discover on getting there that it was on a few miles up the road in Whitburn.

A thorough rain soaking and five-minute taxi ride later, I got into Central Park, Whitburn-style just a couple of moments after the 7.15pm kick off time.

Perhaps the most interesting facet of this fixture was that, for the first time in a very long time (or possibly ever), Armadale went into it as a higher ranked club than their near neighbours.

The Dale will play in the SJFA East Region’s Premier Division (second tier) again this year, while Whitburn are in the South Division below following their second successive relegation at the end of last season.

Traditionally, Whitburn are a much bigger club and better side. It’s only eleven years since they won the blue riband prize at this level of football, the Scottish Junior Cup.

Despite having a popular social club, the last couple of years have seen them struggle financially, with the root cause rumoured locally to have been a weighty tax bill.

Whether that’s the case or not, the Burnie have had to cut their cloth quite considerably, with comparatively big wages paid out to players now a thing of the past.

A new managerial team of Robert and Russell Lee have recently taken over and have the tough task of getting the club back out of the South Division.

This is a task akin to escaping Alcatraz. Only the champions of this hugely competitive league are promoted, a bone of contention for the fifteen clubs involved.

Whitburn's supporters look on during a touch first 25 minutes

Going on the early stages of this game, I would have said that their task looks nigh on impossible.

Armadale quite simply steamrollered them for the first 25 minutes or so, a combination of some superb finishing and horrific defending allowing them to establish a 3-0 lead.

Pick of the goals was a well struck free kick for the second one, although there were big question marks over the Whitburn ‘keepers positioning.

Such was Armadale’s superiority that an embarrassing scoreline looked on the cards. It really was X-rated viewing for the Whitburn- supporting majority in a crowd which numbered around the 200 mark.

But football is nothing if not unpredictable, and a well taken volley pulled a goal back for Whitburn on the half hour, giving them a glimmer of hope.

The Whitburn penalty

Before long, they were awarded a penalty, and the deficit was reduced to a single goal, much to the verbal displeasure of Dale boss Jim Henderson, a man who has an expletive for every occasion.

For a mere friendly, the entertainment value of the five-goal first half could not be questioned, even at a relatively steep £5 admission cost.

It was almost inevitable that the second half would be a disappointment in comparison, and so it proved.

Obviously under orders to tighten up, both sides dutifully did so, to the detriment of the game as a spectacle.

There were no further goals, meaning that Armadale ran out winners by the narrowest of margins.

On the basis of the early stages, that seemed a decent outcome for both sides; Armadale got the victory that was expected of them, Whitburn gave their supporters some cause for optimism with the competitive action only a week or two away.

Central Park – situated as the name would suggest in the centre of town – is a fairly typical Scottish junior venue in many respects, although it is distinctive for its three separate entrance points.

Only one was in operation for this game – the tight passageway that runs down the side of the social club which is set back slightly from Whitburn Main Street. The pavilion is on this side, just to the left on entry, while the main spectator facility, a large covered terrace, is opposite.

The roof itself was renewed a year or two ago and typifies a ground which though basic is very well maintained. It covers a substantial terrace made up of a combination of concrete paving slabs and sections of railway sleeper.

Both ends are grass banked, there is a further half length section of shallow terracing on the pavilion side.

On normal matchdays a tea bar operates from a portacabin in one corner of the ground, but sadly there was no catering in operation tonight, and a chance to sample the fine pies and sausage rolls went a-begging.

On past visits here I’ve had a pint in the social club – which contains a bar and a substantial function suite – although this was a school night and I gave it a miss.

If you have the time, the club is well worth a visit. The drink is cheap and decent enough and there’s a fair amount of club photos and memorabilia around to have a look at.

Tuesday 19 July @ Central Park, Cowdenbeath

I wasn’t short of match options for this Tuesday evening but decided to accompany my good friend Steven Dow, proprietor of Edinburgh football retailer Football Nation to Cowdenbeath.

Our Under 19 side had a game arranged in Edinburgh with Craigroyston, but with no cover on offer at St Mark’s Park and the rain showing no sign of abating, Central Park seemed like the better option.

It has it’s critics but I’m a fan of rough and ready Central Park, which is a popular venue for stock car racing in addition to its role as home to Cowdenbeath FC.

It’s dual purpose involves compromises from a football perspective. There’s obviously a racetrack round the pitch for a start, while safety requirements mean that there’s also a high mesh fence on all sides.

A very wet Central Park

With its impeded and distant view of the pitch, what do I like about Central Park?

It’s hard to put my finger on it to be honest, but it’s a more individual venue than almost anywhere else in Scottish League football. In the age of identikit grounds, Central Park remains refreshingly unique and I like that.

Then there’s the fact that I’ve got some decent memories of matches here. I can’t think of too many, if any, defeats for Meadowbank or Livingston.

My first visit here was a thumping 5-1 victory back in 1992, which I watched that game from the small enclave of open terracing which staddles the halfway line.

It has remained largely unaltered over the last couple of decades – apart from an occasional lick of fresh royal blue paint on the barriers.

A small band of hardy supporters took to this terracing, their number diminishing as the rain intensified either side of half time.

I generally prefer to stand, but on this occasion we sensibly decided to take in the action from well-sheltered seats in the stand opposite, a much more recent addition to the ground.

Despite the fact that St Mirren put out what looked like their first team, there weren’t too many travelling supporters in the meagre attendance of 221.

The vast majority of Buddies who decided to give the game a miss probably made the right choice, given that their side was surprisingly well beaten by an energetic Cowdenbeath team.

Cowden took the lead with a well executed free-kick and although the Saints quickly got back on terms with an equally spectacular strike from Paul McGowan, they came unstuck in the second half.

Greg Stewart scored the two goals which earned the Blue Brasil a deserved win – on with a header and the other with a superb curling shot.

Perhaps a tad unfortunate not to stay up in the First Division last season, Cowden look like a decent bet to be in the Second Division promotion race on the evidence of this showing.

Sunday, July 17 @ Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh

It was inevitable that I’d see a stinker of a friendly eventually, and this was it.

I suppose that it goes with the territory; after all, pre-season friendlies are all about preparing for the competitive challenges ahead and giving players a chance to get ‘match fit’.

Nevertheless, when you are expecting supporters to turn up and pay for admission, then there has to be some responsibility incumbant on both sides to make the game interesting.

Maybe I am being unfair on Hearts and Royal Antwerp, a ‘great old’ institution, now languishing in the second tier of Belgian football. There was certainly effort on show, just a desperate lack of fluency from both sides.

I’m not a fan of pointless stats – for me all that matters in football is goals – but the ‘pass completion’ rate for most of the players on show must have been woefully low.

All too often, Hearts hoisted the ball long for Chris Sutton, spurning the more aesthetically pleasing option of feeding the ball to Medhi Taouil, their new midfield signing from Kilmarnock.

Hearts' main stand facade

There was a cup at stake, to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Hearts’ time at the current Tynecastle Park, and as the game progressed, a penalty shoot-out to decide the destination of the trophy looked inevitable.

Until, with five minutes left, a clumsy challenge in the box from an Antwerp defender saw referee Steven McLean give a penalty which was nicely put away by another new Jambo, Jamie Hamill.

Come full time, Tynecastle stadium announcer Scott Wilson tried his best to talk up the significance of the game and the silverware he was tasked to present, but the underwhelmed way it was accepted and half-heartedly held aloft by Hearts skipper Marius Zaliukas summed up the low-key atmosphere to the entire afternoon, which was only lifted by the noise generated from the couple of hundred Antwerp supporters across in the Roseburn Stand.

If there was one saving grace from a personal point of view, it was the fact that I had enjoyed the afternoon as a guest of Innovators Sports, who arranged the game, and was able to watch it from the comfort of the Tynecastle directors’ box.

Amongst other activities, Innovator act as agents for a number of our players at Livingston and it was a good opportunity to get to know a couple of their main men better.

Hearts certainly treat their guests well; there was a very nice pre-match and half time buffet on offer, and the Directors Suite itself was interesting as it contained a variety of artefacts from Hearts long and illustrious history.

My seat was bang in the centre of Hearts’ marvellous but ageing main stand, designed by Archibald Leitch almost a century ago.

Directors' box view

The vantage point was very good as you might expect, although the ubiquitous pillars make the view from the directors’ box, usually the best in any ground, inferior to that of the press box, where I have sat before.

Given that the structure is getting older, and probably requires a fair bit of maintenance, I can understand why Hearts are keen to replace the old stand with something new and shiny, but there’s no doubt that if it ever does go, then most of Tynecastle’s remaining character will go with it.

To some small degree it compensated for the lack of entertainment on the park by providing a point of interest off it. Concrete breezeblocks just don’t do that.

Updates still being made!

Saturday, July 16, 2011 @ Braidwood Motor Company Stadium, Livingston

It’s fair to say that I didn’t expect that four tough looking pre-season friendlies against SPL clubs to come and go without a Livi home defeat.

After his defeat of a composite Hearts team, that’s the reality though, and it’s certainly a confidence booster for the start of the competitive action against Airdrie on Saturday.

Like the Dunfermline, Hibs and Inverness games, I thought we played some excellent stuff and certainly matched our opposition.

Inevitably we rode our luck a bit, and it’s certainly the case that if former Livi youngster Gordon Smith had put his shooting boots on then Hearts might have got a result out of the game.

He missed a few chances while our star striker, Iain Russell made a decisive contribution at the other end after 34 minutes when he crashed into the six yard box to force Kenny Deuchar’s looping header over the line.

In the second half we should have had a second goal when Marc McNulty had a shot which appeared to be handled by a Hearts defender before it bounced off the post.

It’s only right to point out that Hearts didn’t play their full strength team, although the effect of a few second half subs meant that it was beginning to look like it by full time.

In contrast our team started out with a recognised first-team look about it before the introduction of a trialist striker and some younger lads later on.

Based on that alone, holding on for a win was a real positive.

The camera gantry, perched on top of the West Stand

Before the game, I managed to take in the Braidwood Motor Company Stadium from a brand new vantage point when I went to visit Peter Glasgow and Stuart Macrae, who make up the LIVItv team, up in the camera gantry which sits on top of the West Stand.

It’s remarkable that in more than a decade of being closely involved at the club that I had never been up for a look.

While it’s a bit exposed to the elements, it offers a tremendous view of the pitch, which supporters can now see for themselves through our free-to-see highlights packages.

Pitch view from the camera gantry

Saturday, July 16, 2011 @ Albyn Park, Broxburn

A midday kick off at Albyn Park in this one meant I was able to put together a pre-season ‘double’, this being the first game of the day.

Albyn Park has recently undergone a transformation and as well as a substantial pavilion building, a seven-figure investment from Broxburn United Sports Club, West Lothian Council and Sportscotland has seen a floodlit 3G artificial pitch installed.

There are still remnants of the old Albyn Park around. The old dressing room building still exists, tucked away behind one corner of the ground.

The bigger of two covered enclosures has also survived, although the new pitch configuration means that it now offers a more distant view than it did previously.

Albyn Park's surviving covered enclosure

Happily, it still provides good shelter from the weather, no bad thing here in West Lothian, where the rain never seems to cease, even during the ‘summer’.

Predictably, there were a few spots of rain when this game got underway, although it brightened up later.

After years in the doldrums, Broxburn seem to have taken a lift from their ‘new’ surroundings and are a good side these days.

Last season saw them very nearly gain promotion to the East Region Super League for the first time, though they were eventually denied by a single point.

Their superiority over South Division opponents Stoneyburn was apparent from the earliest stages of this game.

With the perfectly flat artificial pitch to play on every other week, Broxburn have developed the kind of passing game that isn’t often seen in the long ball dominated junior ranks.

Less experienced but with plenty of enthusiasm, Stoneyburn are more typical of this level, their main tactic to lump the ball into the channels for their strikers to chase.

With contrasting styles on view, the game was an interesting watch.

First half action

Broxburn got their noses in front after nine minutes, but were pegged back by a long range strike from Stoneyburn winger Gary Bonnes.

Parity didn’t last, with Athletic edging ahead before half time and going on to add some gloss to the scoreline in the second half, which they largely dominated.

One point of interest in the second half was the appearance of a black trialist up front for Broxburn. This might not seem noteworthy to readers from south of the border, in particular, but non-white players at this level of the game are still comparatively rare in Scotland.

It will be interesting to see how these two local sides fare when the real action gets underway in a few weeks.

Broxburn still have some team-building to do, but they look like being a force in the East Region Premier League again, especially with the advantage of their pitch.

Stoneyburn had a decent campaign last year, and although well beaten on this occasion, look capable of finishing top half in the South Division.

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Match photos from a photographer at the game

Saturday, July 9, 2011 @ Braidwood Motor Company Stadium, Livingston

Another friendly against so-called superior opposition and another good showing from our lads.

Inverness brought a full strength side to Livingston but going by their performance, Terry Butcher has quite a bit of business to do before the SPL campaign.

In fairness, Caley are halfway through a rebuilding job while our side is settled, and that undoubtedly contributed to the fact that we were the better side on the day.

The big talking point of the game surrounded their goal and the application of the offside law.

Richie Foran scored, but not until he had strayed into a position that was yards offside in the build-up to the goal.

The Irishman tried to run onto a long pass down the flank and was rightly flagged by the assistant ref, who along with the ref then decided to play on when Jonny Hayes ran onto the ball instead instead.

Hayes then proceeded to drive the ball into the box where Foran lay in wait to stick the ball past Darren Jamieson in our goal.

Going by the letter of the law it was probably a legitimate goal, given that the game had moved into a new phase between Foran being offside and him receiving the cross for the goal, but it was a clear example of the law itself being incompatible with the spirit of the game.

I’m obviously biased but for me Foran clearly gained an advantage by being in the original offside position. His run impacted on our defenders’ positioning and, in my view, generated space for Hayes to run through.

Then there’s the fact that he might not have got into the scoring position in the box had he not been as far up the field as he was when the move began in the first place.

The point was made afterwards that our players should have played the whistle rather than stop momentarily when the linesman raised his flag, which is fair comment, but the point remains that the offside rule as it is currently applied is unnecessarily complex and open to interpretation.

I’m all for the rules being geared towards encouraging attacking play but if there has to be an offside rule (maybe there doesn’t?) then it should give defenders a sporting chance.

I’m happy to note that Inverness didn’t worry us too much outwith that incident.

Paul Watson was missing from our defence but with Cammy MacDonald deputising alongside the outstanding Craig Barr in the centre, I thought we coped well with Caley’s long ball tactics.

Our equaliser was well executed by Kyle Jacobs, and on another day we’d have got a winner before the end.

We played good football, as we tend to do when given the opportunity, but it was also encouraging to see that our young side was capable of competing with a physical team that was packed full with taller, stronger and more experienced players.

Just as a follow-up to the ‘One Night in Aruba’ post, it seems that the Aruban national side contrived to blow their 4-2 first leg lead against St Lucia in the World Cup qualifiers.

Going into the second game with what looked like a decent cushion, they fell to a 4-2 defeat at Mindoo Philips Park in Castries on Tuesday night before losing the penalty shoot-out.

So, with nearly three years still to go until the big event in Brazil, Aruba’s hopes of progress in the 2014 World Cup are over.

That first leg victory might still see them jump a couple of places in the FIFA World Rankings though – the next update is due on July 27.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011 @ Braidwood Motor Company Stadium, Livingston

I know, I know. Results in pre-season don’t really matter.

Nevertheless I thoroughly enjoyed this one, as my team put together a great team performance to earn a good result against SPL side Hibernian.

Kenny Deuchar got the evening off to the best possible start with a goal inside a minute and from there on in, we rarely looked like surrendering the lead.

There’s no doubt that this wasn’t a vintage Hibs performance and there’s no argument that the current Hibs side is a poor one, but you can only beat what’s put in front of you and we did that well.

The first half was all Livi and although Iain Russell scored a corker of a second goal, the half time 2-0 lead was the least we deserved for dominating the game.

Hibs defender David Stephens was incredibly lucky not to put through his own goal at one stage, and there were a couple of missed chances.

The second half was a different kettle of fish with Hibs enjoying a big territorial advantage while we defending deep and tried to hit on the counter.

The Hibees’ controversial new signing Gary O’Connor pulled a goal back not long after half time, but in general we coped well with what the Easter Road side had to offer up front and deserved to win 2-1 in the end.

Predictably, all the post-match chat has been about Colin Calderwood’s position, with the Hibs manager likely to be lured back down south to become assistant to either Chris Hughton or Steve McClaren at some point.

Hibs chairman Rod Petrie issued a stinging pre-match rebuke to Calderwood’s suitors, but his manager’s words and body language suggest that he’d rather be somewhere else doing something else.

Did that impact on the Hibs performance? Very possibly, but that shouldn’t detract from a very good Livingston performance which built on Saturday’s good showing against Dunfermline.

Defensively we looked strong, although I wasn’t impressed by the performance of trialist right-back Neil McGregor. Further up the field, 18-year old striker Marc McNulty showed that he has the ability to break though and make an impact in the First Division this season.

He has an unbelievable scoring record at Under 19 level – more than a goal a game – and looks like he has worked on his strength over the summer.

Iain Russell and Kenny Deuchar will need to keep scoring, like they did in this game, to keep hold of a starting position when the real action starts in a fortnight’s time.

The qualifying campaign for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil is already underway in earnest with some of CONCACAF’s minnows involved in playing preliminary games.

Amongst the big ties at this elementary stage is Aruba v St Lucia with the first leg resulting in a slightly surprising 4-2 victory for Arubans last night.

The match was played at the grandly named Complejo Deportivo Guillermo Prospero Trinidad which is situated on the outskirts of the island’s main town Oranjestad.

I was fortunate enough to visit the Caribbean island of Aruba on honeymoon last month and thanks to a very understanding new wife managed to squeeze in a game at the Trinidad Stadium while I was there.

Trinidad Stadium by day

Very much geared up for tourists, particularly American ones, Aruba isn’t known for its football, although the official stats suggest that as much as one-tenth of the population plays the game.

If the official FIFA rankings are to be believed, the Aruban national team is pretty dire, currently ranked 200th in the world. As it stands there are only seven sides ranked below it, so the St Lucia result looks like lifting them above the likes of the Bahamas, Guam and the Cook Islands, who occupy some of the places above.

All of the Aruba national team is drawn from their local league, the Division di Honor, which is run under the auspices of the local FA, or Arubaanse Voetbal Bond.

The match I saw in Oranjestad was one of the post-season play-off games from this league, which are played in a round-robin format by the four teams which finish highest in the ten-team league.

Deportivo Nacional, hailing from the tourist town of Palm Beach were pitted against La Fama, from the industrial south of the island.

After checking out the stadium in daylight, Mrs Dave and I decided to taxi it to the stadium at night, paying 36 US dollars for the return trip from our hotel.

(In Aruba the dollar is widely used, although everything is also priced in the local currency, the Aruban florin.)

Given that the local football isn’t on the radar for 99.9% of tourists, it wasn’t surprising that the stadium was geared up for dealing primarily in florins, although I was able to pay in (7 dollars for two) and purchase Balashi beers using American cash.

Inside the Trinidad Stadium with Nacional's supporters

Boasting a reputed capacity of 5,000, Trinidad Stadium has seating on two sides of the artificial 3G pitch, which is circled by a six-lane running track.

Only one side was open, which was plenty for the crowd of a few hundred that turned up to watch.

Partially covered and with the tunnel segregating two banks of bench seats, it offered a decent view of the action, although towards the bottom the view was obsured slightly by a mesh fence.

Kick off was at 7.30pm local time, which was around the time it got dark, so the relentless sun which beats down on Aruba wasn’t a factor. It was still very warm and humid though, and this effected the pace of the game, particularly in the second half.

Before the game got underway, the assembled crowd were treated to a rendition of the (lengthy) Aruban national anthem, the players and match officals facing the national flag at the far end of the ground throughout.

Anthem time

‘Flower of Scotland’ it wasn’t, and it was relief when the formalities were dispensed with.

The game itself got off to a lightning fast start with La Fama silencing the bigger Nacional support by scoring the opener within a couple of minutes.

Nacional quickly hit back with an equaliser and with two goals in the opening five minutes, I sat back expecting a goal fest.

Alas, it never materialised, although that was only due to the poor finishing of both sets of strikers, who were presented with numerous chances by some kamikaze defending, a symptom of what seemed to be a complete lack of positional awareness.

Tactically both sets of players were clueless, although there was no shortage of technical ability with the ball. If this represented the cream of local footballing talent, it’s little wonder that Aruba struggle at international level.

La Fama should probably have won the game by virtue of the fact that they missed the best chance of all, a first half penalty, but their penalty taker screwed the ball wide.

The draw subsequently helped Nacional into the championship final where it appears that they lost out to Racing Club Aruba.

Nacional fan shows his colours