Dumbarton FC

Dumbarton 2 Airdrie United 0 - Scottish League Division Two

Scottish Football League

During World War II Dumbarton was heavily bombed by the German air force. The Germans were targeting the shipyards, and the area in the vicinity of the yards was consequently hit, with Clyde and Leven street being severely damaged. In an attempt to lure the German aircraft away from the shipyards, decoy lights were routinely placed on the Kilpatrick hills above the town, lights were set out on reservoirs to mimic those of the shipyards reflecting on the waters of the Leven and Clyde, this was sometimes successful in diverting the bombers and many bombs fell harmlessly onto the moors and lochs. From the mid 1700's to the early 1800s Dumbarton's main industry was glassmaking. As the glass industry declined the town became a major centre for shipbuilding and remained so well into the 20th century. There were many shipbuilding yards, although a number of them were later absorbed by larger yards. A great many ships were built in the town, the most famous of which is probably the Cutty Sark which was built by the Scott & Linton yard, she was one of the final 'tea clippers' to be built, and one of the fastest.

Cutty Sark

This was the 3rd leg of my epic 3 matches in less than 48 hours in Scotland. It had started with a Friday night trip out to Coatbridge to watch Albion Rovers take on the emerging Gretna and was followed by a Saturday lunchtime encounter between Stranraer and Peterhead. This adjustment to the fixture list was caused by Scotland taking on Holland over 2 legs in a European Championship Qualifying Pay-Off.


The stadium has a capacity of 2025, and was built in 2000 after the move away from Dumbarton's traditional home, the wonderful Boghead Park visited by the Pieman in 1996. The stadium is a one-stand affair, opened in December 2000. Apart from the Pieman, Airdrie United were also making their first visit to the Strathclyde Homes Stadium. However, I did have a problem with the Dumbarton mascot, a ridiculous looking elephant, who after me finding a superb seat proceeded to block my view. I was able to move seats but this elephant also had an altercation with the Airdrie left back and was clearly a pest.

As was the case for Boghead Park, Dumbarton East is the nearest railway station, being no more than 10 minutes walk from the Stadium. Having enjoyed a few pints the previous day in Stranraer, I settled for just the one at the Stags Head, a decent pub opposite the railway station. Even on a Sunday there is a regular train service and after the match it was not long before I was on my way back to Glasgow in order to catch the connection to the airport for my flight to Stansted.

The Pieman's visit to Dumbarton's former ground - Boghead Park

Stranraer FC

Stranraer 0 Peterhead 2 - Scottish League Division Three

Scottish Football League

Stranraer is a town in the south of Scotland in the west of the region of Dumfries and Galloway and in the county of Wigtownshire. It is best known as a ferry port connecting Scotland with Belfast in Northern Ireland. Stranraer lies on the shores of Loch Ryan on the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer and its surrounding area saw a significant amount of activity during the Second World War, as it became a focus for anti U-boat work. Flying boats operated from the area to attempt to secure the waters of the North Channel and the south western coast of Scotland, with both areas seeing almost all Britain’s shipping imports pass through those seas en-route to the Clyde or the Mersey.

Stena Caledonia entering Belfast Lough from Stranraer

An early start to catch the 07.13 from Glasgow to Stranraer. Like the Albion match and all others this weekend, this fixture was switched to allow supporters the opportunity to watch the Scotland v Netherlands match in the afternoon. A noon kick off at 'Stair Park' was the order of the day. Apart from myself, Peterhead were also making their first ever visit to 'Stair Park' and will have been delighted to come away with all the points courtesy of a 2-0 victory

Coo Shed Stand

This was the 2nd leg of my epic 3 matches in less than 48 hours in Scotland. It had started with a Friday night trip out to Coatbridge to watch Albion Rovers take on the emerging Gretna The conclusion being a Sunday afternoon fixture between Dumbarton and Airdrie United. This adjustment to the fixture list was caused by Scotland taking on Holland over 2 legs in a European Championship Qualifying Pay-Off.

After the match there was the little matter of the Scotland game and I adjourned to the Rudicot Hotel, as recommended in the superb Scottish Football Ground Guide and emerged 5 hours later. The locals allowed me to join their party and I watched the Scotland match and the 2nd half of Russia v Wales in splendid company. The landlord provided the complimentary Scotch Pies for half time.


The Pieman is unable to comment on the return train journey back to Glasgow as he was rather sleepy!

Albion Rovers FC

Albion Rovers 1 Gretna 3 - Scottish League Division Three

Scottish Football League

Coatbridge is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland approximately 9 miles east of Glasgow. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 41,170 making it the 23rd largest town or city in Scotland. In the 19th century, fuelled by the local discovery of ironstone, Coatbridge became a major centre for the iron and steel industry. The town expanded quickly and the new industries assisted the massive impact Glasgow made on the world of shipbuilding. However, with the decline of shipbuilding on the River Clyde in the mid 1900s the demand for iron and steel dropped. This led the iron and coal industries to collapse which led to poverty and deprivation which in turn led to drastic population fall from approximately 90,000 at the end of the 19th century to today's level.

Main Street, Coatbridge as it was c1904

A late morning flight from Stansted enabled me to reach Glasgow mid-afternoon. Despite rain throughout the day, all 5 of the scheduled Friday evening matches went ahead. My choice being the short journey to Coatbridge, home of Albion Rovers. I travelled from Glasgow Queen Street (low level) station, alighting at Coatdyke from where a short walk enabled me to reach the ground.

Cliftonhill
www.albionrovers.com

Gretna, who I had seen in their non-league days at venues such as Whitley Bay and Belper Town (whole match Nigel -Ed), now had a wealthy backer and were already looking a good promotion bet. The Cliftonhill Stadium is another venue that has seen better days. For my visit, as is the norm, only one side of the ground was open. It poured with rain throughout the match and despite being under cover the terracing in front of the main stand was still liable for a soaking via the unintended ventilation gaps. On the terracing at Cliftonhill there was a fan known as 'Mad Professor' if I recall correctly, taking travel bookings for the next away match.

Cliftonhill
www.worldstadia.com

Gretna were good value for their 3-1 victory, playing some neat pacey football in the process. This was the 1st leg of my epic 3 matches in less than 48 hours in Scotland. It was followed by a Saturday lunchtime encounter between Stranraer and Peterhead. The conclusion being a Sunday afternoon fixture between Dumbarton and Airdrie United. This adjustment to the fixture list was caused by Scotland taking on Holland over 2 legs in a European Championship Qualifying Pay-Off.

Jamie's visit to Cliftonhill courtesy of Fitba Daft

Tunbridge Wells FC

Tunbridge Wells 0 Cray Wanderers 3 - Kent League

The town of Tunbridge Wells began with a chalybeate spring. Chalybeate means it contains iron. Rainwater fell on ground containing iron deposits, soaked through them then rose in a spring. The iron deposits in the spring water stained the ground around the spring a rusty colour. The spring stood by a common where local people grazed their livestock.

In the early 17th century people believed that they would be healed from diseases if they bathed in or drank from certain spas. In the year 1606 a nobleman, Lord North, who was staying at Edridge was out for a ride. He came across the spring with rust coloured edges and wondered if it had health giving properties. (At the time he was suffering from tuberculosis or some similar disease). He drank some of the spring water and was, he said, healed from his illness. When he returned to London he told all his rich friends about the spring and soon many people flocked to drink from it.

I am unable to give the usual public transport details as I travelled on the unofficial Cray Wanderers supporters transport - Jon Smith's car. However, the station I believe is a hike and on a dark evening this ground could easily be missed as it is down a dip in a remote part of town. Jon (left), as some will remember, switched from supporting Spurs to following the fortunes of his beloved Cray and was rewarded when they won the Kent League championship. Jon watches all of Cray's matches and often makes up the entire crowd behind the goal at away matches where thick cigar smoke can be seen billowing over the ground and the rest of the surrounding area. Jon wishes to be remembered to those who know him. He also has a strong liking for tomato ketchup and hot indian curry.


Cray won this match comfortably and looked a very competent side. I stood behind the goal with our hero for the majority of the match and enjoyed listing to the banter. As can be seen from the photographs, there is ample covered accomodation for the level of football and the Culverden Stadium is a nice place to visit.

Leicester City FC

Leicester City 1 Tottenham Hotspur 2 - FA Premier League

Leicester is the largest city and unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and is the traditional county town of Leicestershire. Leicester became a town of considerable importance by Medieval times. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book as 'civitas' (city), but Leicester lost its city status in the 11th century owing to power struggles between the Church and the aristocracy. It was eventually re-made a city in 1919, and the Church of St Martin became Leicester Cathedral in 1927. The tomb of King Richard III is located in the central nave of the church although he is not actually buried there. "Chisit" is the regional nickname and dialect for the people of Leicester. They are often referred to as Chisits because of how they speak and more commonly of how they pronounce the question 'how much is it'? sounding - in the Leicester dialect - like 'im a Chisit'. The nickname was given to the Leicester folk from the inhabitants of the Lincolnshire seaside town of Skegness which is a popular holiday destination for the people of Leicester. Also, our mate Foxy (Stewart Henry), is an extremely passionate supporter of the club.


This was my first visit to the Walkers Stadium. We travelled to Leicester by train from London St Pancras and visited a public house away from the stadium area to enjoy a pleasant lunchtime drink. We were familiar with the area as we used the same pub often before matches at Filbert Street. The Walkers Stadium is only a few hundred yards away from the old ground and this Pieman was at the last competitive match there when Spurs visited.


The Walkers Stadium is certainly an improvement on the old place, which with the exception one modern stand had become very dated. However, like many new venues, it can not match Filbert Street for character. Spurs struggled for the majority of this match and it looked like Leicester City would claim all three points. Late on in the game however, a wonder strike from South African Mabiizela "he will never score another like that" (he never scored another at all - Ed) and a late Kanoute goal, robbed the foxes and the points headed to London N17.





Attendance: 31,521
Programme: £3

The Pieman's initial visit to Filbert Street

Manchester City FC

Manchester City 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0 - FA Premier League

Premier League

Manchester city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester, which has had city status since 1853, has a population of 441,200. Manchester lies in a bowl-shaped land area bordered to the north and east by the Pennine hills, a mountain chain that runs the length of the Northern England and to the south by the Cheshire Plain. The city centre is on the east bank of the River Irwell, near the confluence of the River Medlock and the River Irk and is relatively low-lying, being between 35 and 42 metres (115 to 138 ft) above sea level. The Manchester area has been settled since at least Roman times.[29] The Roman general Gnaeus Julius Agricola constructed a fort on a defensible hill in the area, as a staging post on the road between Chester and York. The settlement that grew up around the fort was named Mamucium (Celtic for "breast-shaped hill").


The 48,000 seat City of Manchester Stadium was first occupied by the Manchester City at the beginning of the season in August 2003. The stadium had originally been built to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. It had been decided that on conclusion, Manchester City Football Club would inherit the stadium as their new home ground to replace Maine Road stadium in Moss Side. After the Games the Stadium was further developed, a new North Stand was installed and the running track was removed and re-laid at other sporting venues. The Stadium can also be easily reached by rail and bus, being just a 20 minute walk from Manchester Piccadilly Station and the city centre.


Walk it from the city centre we did as many seem to do, there are buses that do the same journey but when the regular match and shopping traffic is in full flow you often find that the pedestrians overtakes the buses.


On this particular occasion Manchester City did everything but score in front of a 46,842 crowd. Spurs rode their luck throughout and only came to life in the final minute when they might have stolen all three points. The Pieman would not have complained but does acknowledge that it would have been 'daylight robbery'.





The Pieman's first visit to Main Road

Trafford FC

Trafford 4 Skelmersdale United 2 - North West Counties League, Division One

The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford has a population of 211,800, covers 41 square miles and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston. The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 as a merger of the boroughs of Altrincham, Sale, and Stretford, the urban districts of Bowdon, Hale, and Urmston and part of Bucklow Rural District. All were previously in Cheshire, apart from Stretford and Urmston which were in Lancashire. The Trafford area has a long heritage, with evidence of Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Roman activity. Amongst the relics of the past are two castles – one of them a Scheduled Ancient Monument – and over 200 listed buildings. The area underwent change in the late 19th century and the population rapidly expanded with the arrival of the railway.


Trafford F.C. are a football club based in Flixton, Greater Manchester, founded in 1990 as North Trafford FC. Their home ground is Shawe View. The Pieman was in Manchester for work and was delighted to be able to visit Shawe View to take in the match. An easy short train journey from Oxford Road took me to Chassen Road, the nearest station, only 5 minutes walk from the ground. A decent encounter between two sides on opposite sides of the Mersey/Manc divide proved good entertainment with the home side displaying just enough to claim the points.

Crawley Town FC

Crawley Town 1 Tottenham Hotspur 3 - Friendly

Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex. It is 28 miles south of London. The area has been inhabited since the Stone Age, and was a centre of iron making in Roman times. Crawley developed slowly as a market town from the 13th century, serving the surrounding villages in the Weald; its location on the main road from London to Brighton brought a passing trade, encouraging the development of coaching inns. It was connected to the railway network in the 1840s. Gatwick Airport, now one of Britain's busiest international airports, opened on the edge of the town in the 1940s, encouraging commercial and industrial growth.

Queen's Square

After the Second World War, the British Government planned to move large numbers of people and jobs out of London and into new towns around the South East England. The New Towns Act 1946 designated Crawley as the site of one of these. A master plan was developed for the establishment of new residential, commercial, industrial and civic areas, and rapid development greatly increased the size and population of the town in a few decades.


Broadfield Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Crawley, England. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Crawley Town F.C.. The stadium has a capacity of 4,996 people, and is owned by Crawley Borough Council.


The Pieman walked from Crawley station to the ground and although his leisurely stroll took a detour via a wonderful Hall and Woodhouse pub, 20 minutes is all that was required. A fine stadium is the Pieman's verdict on Broadfield. The young Spurs side took time to settle into the match, but once the did some fine passing led to goals from Slabber, McKie and Marney.



The Pieman's earlier visit to Town Mead

Oxford United FC

Oxford United 0 Tottenham Hotspur 3 - Friendly

Oxford is a city, and the county town of Oxfordshire. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre. For a distance of some 10 miles along the river, in the vicinity of Oxford, the Thames is known as The Isis. Oxford is home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world. Buildings in Oxford reflect every English architectural period since the arrival of the Saxons. During the English Civil War, Oxford housed the court of Charles I in 1642, after the king was expelled from London, although there was strong support in the town for the Parliamentarian cause. The town yielded to Parliamentarian forces under General Fairfax in the Siege of Oxford in 1646. It later housed the court of Charles II during the Great Plague of London in 1665-66. Although reluctant to do so, he was forced to evacuate when the plague got too close.


We took the train from London Paddington direct to Oxford for this pre-season friendly match. Ciderman had researched the local pubs and I was delighted when the chosen venue in Jericho boasted a superb selection of real ales. The Scottish landlord was also an avid Queen of the South supporter. Accordingly the bar was awash with match programmes and other souvenirs.


We travelled to the stadium courtesy of the special buses running from the railway station. A good service but at the time I felt that greater frequency would be required if supporters were to be encouraged to use the service. Chicken and egg perhaps as if the service was already undersubscribed then what would be the point? Anyway I found it efficient.


A decent match for a friendly saw Spurs win comfortably in the end but both clubs will have been happy with the game in preparation for the forthcoming season. We had seats in the main stand, which enabled a quick exit on the final whistle to the waiting buses.





Oxford United: Simon Cox, Scott McNiven, Matt Robinson, James Hunt, Andy Crosby, Matthew Bound, Chris Hackett, Tommy Widdrington, Dean Whitehead, Danny Brown, Julian Alsop, Subs: Manny Omoyinmi, David Oldfield, Jefferson Louis, Dexter Blackstock (for Alsop 75), Mark Rawle, Derek Townsley (for Hunt 58), Steve Basham (for Hackett 62), Jamie Brooks (for Brown 86), Rob Lovegrove (for Whitehead 88), Darren Patterson, Dwight Ciampoli.

Tottenham Hotspur: Robert Burch, Mark Hughes, Mauricio Tarrico, John Jackson, Ron Henry, Chris Perry, Darren Anderton, Gustavo Poyet, Bobby Zamora, Jonathan Blondel, Matthew Etherington
Subs: Shwan Jalal, Steven Carr (for Hughes HT), Danny Foster, David Galbraith (for Jackson 69), Jamie Slabber, Robbie Keane (for Zamora HT), Mark Yeates (for Etherington 80), Lee Barnard.

The Pieman's initial visit to the Manor Ground

Tooting & Mitcham United FC

Tooting & Mitcham United 1 Molesey 1 - Isthmian League, Division One South

Tooting has been settled since pre-Saxon times, and its name means "the dwelling of the sons of Totas". As with many of South London's urban suburbs, Tooting developed largely during the late Victorian years. Some development occurred in the Edwardian years but another large spurt happened during the 1920s and 30's. The BBC comedy series Citizen Smith was set in Tooting and popularised the cry "Freedom for Tooting!” Star of the series Wolfie Smith (played by Robert Lindsay) was a beret-hatted Communist "leftie" type, founder of fictional revolutionary political organisation, the Tooting Popular Front. Neighbouring Mitcham is located between Croydon and Morden. The River Wandle bounds the town to the Southwest. The original village lies in the west, although expansion has pushed the eastern boundary the furthest. Mitcham Common takes up the greater part of the boundary and area to the south. The name "Mitcham" is Anglo-Saxon in origin and is believed to mean big settlement. Even before the Romans and Saxons were present, there was a Celtic settlement in the area. The industrialisation of Mitcham occurred first along the banks of the Wandle, where snuff, copper, flour, iron and dye were all worked. Mitcham, along with nearby Merton Abbey, became the calico cloth printing centres of England by 1750.

An after work jaunt with Kareoke Bob Gilligan involved catching a train to Wimbledon where we enjoyed some refreshment at the local Wetherspoon establishment. After this a short tram journey was undertaken to Mitcham. The tram stop is only a few minutes walk from Imperial Fields. Turn left on the road bridge station exit and keep walking along Bishopsford Road. Imperial Fields is on the left.

A fairly tame match resulted in a goal per team and a draw was a fair result. Not a great deal else to report. It was a bit disappointing that the only beer available from the club bar was tinned, perhaps this has now changed. For a new build the stadium is good with a fine view afforded from most areas. Strangely though, there are gaps beneath the back walls of the ground above the terracing, which on a windy day will cause unnecessary discomfort.

The Pieman's earlier visit to Sandy Lane

Romford FC

Romford 1 Woodford Town 0 - Essex Senior League

Romford is a large suburban town in Greater London, England and the principal settlement of the London Borough of Havering Romford has been a market town since 1247, and it holds the exclusive right to hold markets over an area of radius "six and two thirds miles" centered on Romford, a right granted in medieval times but successfully used to prevent nearby Ilford from opening a market as recently as the 1990s.

The view from Romford Station along South Street c.1860

Romford is the birth place of a large number of sporting professionals, including the footballers Tony Adams, Frank Lampard, Ray Parlour, and racing driver Johnny Herbert. Of course, none of these come close to Paul Oakes in terms of celebrity status. I never did get to see the original Romford FC before they folded in the late 70's (MK Gould did though, following his beloved Harlow Town and encountered some ugly hooliganism of that era from West Ham thugs - do I recall correctly Mick ? - Ed). Accordingly this was my first visit to a Romford FC home match.


The reformed club are now struggling again and crowds are very low. Some might say this is pay back time for swallowing up the quaint Collier Row FC a few years back. Collier Row having merged with Romford quickly disappeared from the merged name and all that is left is Romford FC without a ground! This is perhaps a little harsh though, as Collier Row were struggling enough on their own.

www.hoppysnaps.blogspot.com

Romford by the time of my visit were residing at Ford United's Rush Green Road base. I travelled by bus to/from Romford station and the services are regular even for evening matches. A totally uninspiring match was won by the home team by a single goal.