Dunterlie Park (Arthurlie v Irvine Meadow XI)

On Saturday 11th June I saw my last game of the 2010/11 season at Dunterlie Park, home of Arthurlie. The men from Barrhead were playing 2010/11 West Region league champions Irvine Meadow in the semi-final of the Evening Times Cup Winners Cup, the traditional end-of-season competition in the West Region.

The journey from Paisley to Barrhead is a very short one. I took a bus from Paisley but Dunterlie Park is situated very close to Barrhead railway station which has a direct link to Glasgow Central. Since there were no other football games scheduled for today there was a large crowd at the match, in fact so large that all food at the pie stand was sold out only twenty minutes after kick-off. Today's attendance figure was probably also boosted by the reasonably good weather at the start of the afternoon however the rain started soon after kick-off.

Arthurlie opened the score five minutes before the interval. John McLay's goal was against the run of play but the goal visibly increased the 'Lie's confidence and they had a few more chances before the end of the first half. However, Medda equalised after 68 minutes with a Michael Hughes header. Hughes then scored another header 15 minutes later and it looked like the Ayrshire team were through to the final. Arthurlie were not giving up however and Stephen Keown scored the equaliser three minutes into injury time.

Penalties were going to decide who would play Shotts Bon Accord in the final. The 'Lie showed composure and won the series 4-2 which led to a second pitch invasion within a minute. Arthurlie's goalie Neil Parry was surrounded rather prematurely immediately after his second save but Gary Arbuckle's decisive penalty ensured the celebrations could start for real.

Five days later Arthurlie would win the Evening Times Cup by beating Shotts Bon Accord 1-0 at Newlandsfield Park. This was a match I was not able to attend because I had to travel to Poland once more for my work.

A Medda corner in the first half.

Great old terracing at Dunterlie Park.

I queued up for a pie but everything was sold out before I got to the end of the queue.

Today's team sheet.


A good turn-out today.


Today's weather was typical for June 2011.

A closer look at the enclosure.


Arthurlie score the late, late equaliser.


The Barrhead side won the penalty shoot-out 4-2...


...prompting the local youth to invade the pitch.

The gates to Dunterlie Park after the game.

Saturday 11th June 2011
Evening Times Cup Winners Cup semi-final
Arthurlie 2 Irvine Meadow XI 2 (Arthurlie win on penalties 4-2)
Arthurlie: McLay 40, McKeown 90+3.
Irvine Meadow XI: Hughes 68, 83.
Att: 700 (rough estimate)

Newlandsfield Park (Pollok v Arthurlie)

Last Saturday I made the short journey by train from Paisley to the South Side of Glasgow for the derby between Pollok and Arthurlie in the top division of the Scottish Juniors (West Region). Newlandsfield Park is easy to reach from Glasgow Central as the ground is situated next to Pollokshaws East railway station.

Pollok FC were high on my list of 'junior clubs to be visited' as they are one of the most popular clubs in the junior set-up and the fixture against traditional rivals Arthurlie of nearby Barrhead was the one I had been waiting for. I got off the train at around 1pm and the 1:45 kick-off meant I still had some time to tick off one of the two JD Wetherspoon pubs in Glasgow I had not visited yet. The Sir John Robert Maxwell is a five-minute walk from Pollokshaws East train station but the slow service in the pub, not unusual for a Wetherspoon's, meant I only had time for one pint if I did not want to miss the kick-off at Newlandsfield Park.

Pollok's ground was opened in 1928 and, according to the official website, has a capacity of 4,000. There is no seating and the large enclosure can hold 1,500. The average gate for league games last season was 507, which makes the Lok one of the best-supported junior sides. At the moment Pollok are top of the West Region Super League Premier League.

Although no official attendance figure has been released yet I estimate a crowd of 800-900 turned up on Saturday (Edit: an official attendance figure of 784 has now been confirmed). Pollok opened the score after 10 minutes when Iain Diack sent (what looked like) a cross into the goal area and the ball ended up in the net via the woodwork. The Lie then went on a frantic search for the equaliser but 1-0 was still the score at the interval. Halfway through the second half Frank McKeown headed the deserved equaliser into the net. Only minutes later however Pollok were awarded a penalty. Diack was not so lucky this time and his spot-kick was saved by Neil Parry. The game ended 1-1 each, which meant Pollok are still top of the league and Arthurlie are now runners-up, one point behind their Glasgow rivals but with a game in hand.

First things first: a pint in the Sir John Stirling Maxwell.

The gates to Newlandsfield Park.

High-rise flats overlook the ground.

The large covered terrace.

A closer look at the enclosure.

This Arthurlie free-kick did not go in.

Arthurlie scored the equaliser in the second half.


Arthurlie players do not agree with the penalty that referee Don Robertson awarded to Pollok.

Unfortunately for Pollok, Arthurlie goalie Neil Parry stopped Diack's penalty. The ball that looks like it is in the net is actually a ball lying behind the net...

Saturday 29th January 2011
West Region Super League Premier League
Pollok 1 Arthurlie 1
Pollok: Diack 10.
Arthurlie: McKeown 67.
Att: 784

Townhead Park (Cumnock Juniors v Arthurlie)

Today I travelled to East Ayrshire for my second junior game in 18 hours. Cumnock were taking on Arthurlie in another quarter final of the Evening Times Cup Winners' Cup. The Ayrshire club ended their season in the West of Scotland Super League First Division in second place and won promotion to the Premier League. Arthurlie were runners-up in the Premier League and must have been considered favourites to win this tie however Cumnock were the deserved winners after a spirited performance that saw them put three goals past the men from Barrhead.

Getting to Cumnock from Paisley by public transport is not as easy as going to Irvine by the way. Cumnock does not have a train station so I took a train to Glasgow first and then the Stagecoach X76 bus to Cumnock which takes about one hour and 20 minutes. On Saturdays the last bus going back all the way to Glasgow leaves at 3:45pm which was a bit awkward with a 2pm kick-off so I decided to take the bus back to Kilmarnock (50 minutes), jump on the train to Glasgow Central (40 minutes) and then take the train back to Paisley (12 minutes). There must be a quicker way to do this (train Glasgow-Auchinleck, bus Auchinleck-Cumnock perhaps?) but I only started planning this journey at 10 o'clock this morning.

On another note: just like last night the weather was brilliant. I really enjoy going to the football in this sunny weather especially after all the postponements and disruptions only a few months ago. There was some talk of making football a summer sport in Schotland but I have not heard anything about it lately, we probably start talking about it again in January 2011...

Entering Townhead Park.

The first time I have seen a female linesperson(?). Fiona Morton had a good game.

The great weather helped making this a pleasant game to watch.

The north side of the ground at half time.

The club building in the east end of the ground.

Today's team sheet.

One of many dangerous moments in front of Arthurlie's goal.

The covered terrace on the south side of the ground. There are no seats in Townhead Park.


Cumnock's first goal came from this penalty. The covered terrace in the west end of the ground can be seen in the background.


A closer look at the west terrace.

Saturday 5th June 2010
Evening Times Cup Winners' Cup quarter final
Cumnock Juniors 3 Arthurlie 0
Goals: Wild (pen.) 13. Gary McMenamin 53, 81.
Att: 300 (est.)