I had not updated the old blog for a few weeks because I have been busy with many things lately and adding posts to the site was not one of them. That does not mean I have stopped going to football matches so I will update you on my most recent trips in the upcoming days.
On Saturday 12th November I decided to take a train to Saltcoats to see the Emirates Junior Cup second round tie between Saltcoats Victoria and fellow Ayrshire side Darvel. This fixture had already been postponed twice in the previous couple of weeks but it seemed it was finally game on and the weather forecast looked fine. I picked this fixture as it was a relatively short trip (only thirty minutes on the train from Paisley) and it gave me the opportunity to tick off another Wetherspoon pub, the Salt Cot. I had forgotten about this pub but fellow groundhopper Stephen aka Groundhopper 2000 reminded me just in time.
I got off the train at Saltcoats at 1pm, exactly one hour before kick-off. From the train station it was a short walk to my first stop, The Salt Cot, one of the smaller JD Wetherspoon pubs I have been to but with plenty of real ales available. After I had finished my pint of Avalanche I made my way to Campbell Park, home of Saltcoats Vics and a fifteen-minute walk from the town centre.
When I arrived at Campbell Park it seemed very quiet, and I got that eerie feeling that is well known to most groundhoppers...a quick check on the Saltcoats Vics internet side confirmed that the game was off. It also mentioned that the game was supposed to be be played at Ardeer Stadium, home of Ardeer Thistle. So not only was the game postponed, I had shown up at the wrong ground as well. Unfortunately the SJFA website had the game still down as 'on' at that time and no mentioning was made of a ground switch.
It looked like I had wasted my money on train ticket but I quickly checked the Junior fixtures and found out Kilwinning Rangers were playing at home against Lugar Boswell Thistle. I decided to take the 2:35pm train to Kilwinning.
The Junior Cup tie was rescheduled to Saturday 19th November and the venue was switched to Darvel's home ground, Recreation Park. Despite losing home advantage Vics thrashed their opponents 8-0.
First a pint in the Salt Cot
The gate to Campbell Park remained closed...
Saturday 12th November 2011
Emirates Junior Cup second round
Saltcoats Victoria P Darvel P
Emirates Junior Cup second round
Saltcoats Victoria P Darvel P
Een P-P. Wat zijn dat toch twee nare letters. Zie dat je dit weekend naar Stranraer gaat. Ga je de '42' dit seizoen afvincken?
ReplyDeleteGelukkig woon ik redelijk in de buurt...Stranraer is wat verder van huis. Het weer is hier heel slecht geweest, vorige week kon ik 1 dag niet naar mijn werk omdat half Greenock was onderstroomd en deze week lag er alweer sneeuw en nu regent het weer flink. Ik zal @StranraerFC in de gaten houden zaterdagochtend. Ik hoop de 42 af te vincken dit seizoen maar ik doe het kalmpjes aan.
ReplyDeleteJe hoeft gelukkig alleen nog maar zuidelijke ploegen toch? Ik zag dat er ontzettend veel Junior wedstrijden waren afgelast. Ik ben benieuwd wanneer er weer geluiden over een zomercompetitie komen.
ReplyDeleteIk ga zelf weer iets heel doms doen. Eerst rond de jaarwisseling in Noord-Engeland vincken en de week erop de Schotse cup. Stiekem kick ik wel op P-P's, denk ik.
Ja klopt, naast Stranraer moet ik nog naar Queen of the South en Berwick Rangers. Maar eigenlijk moet ik ook nog eens naar Arbroath, want daar had ik ook een P-P. Als je rond de jaarwisseling gaat roep je het inderdaad over jezelf af ;-) Wel goede Scottish Cup fixtures inderdaad.
ReplyDeleteArbroath hoort je te bezoeken met een P-P. Je hebt waarschijnlijk ook dat boekje van Gary Sutherland gelezen en die lukte het ook niet om Arbroath te vincken.
ReplyDeleteZelf heb ik de dubbel Dundee v Kilmarnock & Forfar v Aberdeen op zaterdag in de planning. Zondag hoop ik op Peterhead v Celtic, maar zelfs met tickets voor Arbroath v Rangers zou ik erg gelukkig zijn. Momenteel lukte het me voor allebei de clubs nog niet.