Meadow Park (Irvine Meadow XI v Livingston)

I had not updated my blog for exactly a month. One of the reasons is that I have not seen that many matches lately. I still have some pictures in the vault however which I will post in the next few weeks. I just have to make time to do it!

At the weekend the fourth round of the Scottish Cup was played and it featured a number of mouthwatering ties including Peterhead v Celtic, Arbroath v Rangers and Hearts v Auchinleck Talbot. I had not planned to see any football this weekend, also because the weather usually spoils things around this time of the year but it is now actually really mild for the time of the year. Still, the 'high winds' at Gayfield Park are never far away...

I did manage to see a third round Scottish Cup tie back in November. I made the short trip form Paisley to Irvine to see junior side Irvine Meadow XI, who qualified for the Scottish Cup as 2011 West Region Superleague winners, take on First Division team Livingston. Two season ago Medda eliminated Arbroath at this stage of the competition. Their reward was a glamour tie at Easter Road. Around 2,000 Irvine fans saw their team lose 3-0 to Hibs.

Few people expected the home side to repeat the feat of two years ago as Livingston are of a different calibre than Arbroath and it turned out that Livi were much too strong for the Ayrshire side. Marc McNulty, Livi's 19-year-old striker, needed less than five minutes to open the scoring. He added a second and a third to his tally but limped off with an ankle injury just after Rory Boulding had made it 4-0. Six minutes into the second half Kenny Deuchar scored the visitors' fifth. The home fans chanted "We're going to win 6-5" but Bobby Barr made sure it was a convincing scoreline for the West Lothian side as he scored 6-0 a minute before the end.

Not the most exciting game I had ever been to but always nice to see a packed junior ground. Highlight for many of the younger fans was probably the presence of Scotland and Everton striker James McFadden who for whatever reason decided to visit a junior club on a Saturday. I cannot blame as he probably does not get the opportunity on most Saturdays. After he was spotted by a clever local kid he was constantly signing autographs and posing for pictures and he seemed to be happy to do so for which he should be commended.

At the weekend all fourth round ties went ahead as planned by the way, even Arbroath v Rangers, which turned out to be a rather convincing 4-0 win for the Glasgow giants. Livingston had a disappointing result at home against fellow First Division side Ayr United. The Honest Men won 2-1 on Saturday and will play Falkirk in the fifth round, one week after their League Cup semi against bitter rivals Kilmarnock at Hampden Park.

For more pictures of Meadow Park see this post.

Approaching Meadow Park


The main stand


Livingston fans turned up in good numbers as well...


...and they even brought flares, which is a capital crime in Scotland

The south end...


...from where Scotland and Everton striker James McFadden was watching the game, or at least he was trying to!

Looking towards the southern end of the ground.

Some of the Medda and Livi fans were getting closer and closer to each other in the north end but four policemen managed to keep the peace.

Saturday 19th November 2011
William Hill Scottish Cup third round
Irvine Meadow XI 0 Livingston 6
Goals: McNulty 5, 26, 40, Boulding 41, Deuchar 51, Barr 90.
Att: 1,500

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)

Meadow Park (Irvine Meadow XI v Rutherglen Glencairn)

Tonight I took a train to Irvine (about 20-25 minutes from my hometown of Paisley) to see Irvine Meadow take on Rutherglen Glencairn in the quarter finals of the Evening Times Cup. Meadow Park is a 15 minute walk from the station. The quickest way to reach the park when you are walking from the station is through the Rivergate shopping centre.

Glencairn, who won the West of Scotland Super League First Division this season, more than held their own during the first half against Premier League side Meadow and there were no goals before the interval.

In the second half Meadow continued to struggle but it was a Glencairn own goal that opened the score after around 65 minutes. Chris Robertson made sure the Ayrshire team reached the semis of the Evening Times Cup with a converted spot-kick 10 minutes before time.

For more pictures of Meadow Park see this post.

The main stand.


Glencairn (in black and white) more than held their own during most of the game.


Close-up of the main stand.

Again the main stand.

Roberton's penalty sealed the win for the men from North Ayrshire.

Friday 4th June 2010
Evening Times Cup Winners' Cup quarter final
Irvine Meadow XI 2 Rutherglen Glencairn 0
Goals: Glencairn o.g. 65. Robertson (pen.) 80.
Att: 300 (est.)