DoingThe42

Amazing weekend ahead in League Two. Every single game has something important riding on it. A Sportsound with a dedicated League One and Two reporter would have them at Albion Rovers v Elgin who could give updates on everything across the league. It's a great day's football ahead, and there's so much going on. But they'll just read out the scores.

40/42: Celtic 3-1 Hearts, Premiership, 8/3/23. Fun going ahead early, but an under strength Hearts were never likely to see it out. Premiership done for the season, and I’ve now seen every SPFL team play this campaign. Hearts’ opener was the 200th goal I’ve seen this season. Only stenny and Dunfermline to go.

My brother said 'It's like a shite K-Park'. A more damning verdict I cannot imagine. If I lived across the road, I wouldn't be going there regularly.

39/42: FC Edinburgh 3-0 Clyde, League One, 25/02/2023. f**k me, that was terrible. I expected bad, but it was worse. Twelve quid to get in, with no option to stand, forced to use the pishy wee stand they've got, which meant watching the game through the wee barrier. Depending on slouching in my seat or sitting up straight I could see or not see. The seats were uncomfortable to the extent that my back is giving me jip this evening. Neither my brother nor I are fat, but we found the space a struggle. I don't think I'm a man given to hyperbole, but I think considering the level and price etc, that's the worst place I've ever watched football. I've been at daft wee cage grounds down the leagues, I've been at second division games in Europe and Asia with big running tracks etc. But these things have always been dirt cheap or really low level etc. This is League One, and it's a disgrace. My brother and I spent a good while thinking about it in the car home. We've both been to see football a lot of places, and we both reckon that's the worst. Will not be back. The game itself was classic Clyde. Played really well for 44 minutes. The better team. Then went behind and fell apart, as per. Only positive about today is that it's a step closer to the seasonal 42 and is in fact my personal Lifetime 42, as I've now been to the home ground of all the teams currently in the SPFL. First time I've ever been able to say that. A nice wee milestone. Celtic are the only team in the SPFL I've not seen play yet this season, but that will be rectified in my next game. Celtic, Stenny, Dunfermline still to go.

Edinburgh v Bully Wee today for me. Expectations are low.

Sounds great. I've got a mate who does similar for the FA Cup. He used to start at the First Round proper, but since Covid has been starting in August at the Extra Preliminary Round, or whatever they call it, then just following it all the way through. I think I'm going to give it a go next season in either the Scottish or English Cup. I know he did the full run twice, but now he just takes it up to the quarters then ignores the semis and final as they tend to be really expensive and awkward things to attend due to transport etc. His view is that those games aren't really what he's into, and the Road to Wembley has gone as far as Wembley, but we argue over the semantics of this.

38/42: Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2-2 Greenock Morton, Championship, 4/2/2023 My trip to ICT brings down the curtain on my first completed division of the season, as I chalk up the last remaining Championship club on the list. Attempts to buy a ticket through ICT's website were abandoned after it wouldn't let me access the payment page, and since nobody was answering the phone in their shop (shut, it seems), I missed out on the early-bird price, costing me TWO QUID! So, in a fit of pique I decided to sit in the away end with the Morton fans. A noisy bunch who seemed to enjoy their day out. A great shot from Calvin Miller put them ahead early on, and Morton deserved their lead for a composed start. ICT came into it, and Doran fumbled a good chance to equalise when one-on-one, and Mackay could have scored too. The equaliser didn't come till after half-time, Mackay scoring on the rebound from close range. But Muirhead put Morton back in front after some catastrophic home defending, and they looked on for a great three points and a move into the play-off places. They switched off at the back though, and Cairns punished them with a good finish to make it 2-2 and a share of the points. This was a pretty decent game.Both sides had a go at winning it, and I found the 90 flew by quite quickly. Chicken curry pies were excellent. So, that's my first division finished, and my last big trip of the season done. A hint of sadness about that, but the end is now in sight. Edinburgh, Celtic, Dunfermline, and Stenny still to go. The ten Championship grounds saw me take in league games as well as matches in the Scottish Cup and Challenge Cup. The eight Championship games cost me an average of just over 20 quid each.

37/42: Peterhead 1-0 Clyde, League One, 21/1/23. Second week running at a wind-affected game, but this one was even more farcical than East Fife last week. A gale blowing in meant that each keeper got a half of taking goal kicks that would get nowhere near the halfway line, and this was the main feature of this game between two of the worst teams in the SPFL. Clyde failed to make enough of having the wind behind them in the first half. Jordan Allan should have scored when one-on-one and then wasn't sharp enough to make the most of a poor passback, but Clyde should have been using the wind more to get shots in from the edge of the area, but were too indecisive. Peterhead used the conditions better when it was their turn in the second half, and won it with what looked like quite a sharp finish from Shanks not long after the break. Clyde should have cleared it, but that's a familiar story. Clyde seemed clueless as to how to play into the wind, and 1-0 seemed inevitable from soon after the goal. Cunningham was unlucky when his deflected effort spun up in the air and past the keeper, but Ritchie was able to get back and catch it as it held up in the wind. That kind of season. So, Clyde remain without a win since August in the league, and slip to the bottom of League One. Grim. Clyde have brought some bodies in this week, and Martin Rennie showed enough in his sub appearance today to suggest he'll be useful. But it's really not looking good.

I saw Aberdeen twice in a week back in the autumn, I was at the game at Tannadice when they lost 4-0 and then the game they won 2-0 against Hearts at Pittodrie. What seems amazing to me is the recurring weakness in defensive wide areas. What do they do in training? Against United they were exposed badly at left-back and then threw in some calamity central defensive errors on top of that, all while not looking like a bad side when they had the ball. The following week they could well have lost to a Hearts side with no real defence to speak of, and could easily have been 2-3 down if Hearts hadn't been wasteful, again shambolic central defence and the left-hand side of the park giving up lots of space. I left Pittodrie that day pretty confident Hearts would finish clear of Aberdeen, even having lost the game. Last night they just repeated that defensive performance. Calamity at centre-half and far too easily got at on their left for goals two and four, as well as the chance that hit the post and Humphrys' miss. They must be a dream to prepare to play, as you know they'll make errors at the back and are soft on the left, and it's mad that they haven't done anything to address that over the last few months. They'll probably recover for a bit, but they've shown that every now and then they are just going to take an absolute pasting, and I'd imagine the next one will get Goodwin the sack if this one doesn't.

36/42: East Fife 1-1 Stenhousemuir, League Two, 14/1/2023. A shocking day for fitba, and my first visit in about a decade to, I think it's fair to say, one of the SPFL's less-inspiring venues. To be fair, it ended up a pretty entertaining game despite the conditions. Also in spite of - or maybe because of - error-strewn showings from each side. Last time I saw East Fife they were genuinely impressive in their win at Forfar. Shepherd, Ferguson, and Schiavone looked a great attack that day and they scored some good goals. Not so much of that today, but they did go ahead through a well-taken goal by Alan Trouten, the build up to which owed a lot to the farcically windy swirl that twice confused the Stenny defence. After that though, Stenny took control for long spells. Fleming made a good one-on-one save to keep East Fife ahead at the break, but then seemed to be at fault for Yates' equaliser on the hour, as he misjudged the flight of the ball in. Again, maybe need to give him a pass for the conditions. Both sides had chances to win it, but I'd need to say the visitors shaded it overall. Yeats at left-back battled against the elements well, while Wedderburn gave them good composure in the middle. First time I've seen Stenhousemuir this season, now only Celtic and Edinburgh I've yet to see home or away this season. Basically looked like what they are, middle of League Two. I gather they were well-fancied pre-season, but they just look par for the course in the League Two pack. Could finish third, could finish tenth. New Bayview isn't great, obviously. But even if I were tempted to go back to it any time soon, charging 18 quid for League Two fitba would certainly put me off. My next visit is unlikely to be soon. Anyway, six to go, and it's still 16 wins each to home and away sides! With Celtic and Dunfermline still to go, I'd put my money on home wins coming out on top in the end, but it's much closer than I expected.

I was talking about this with someone today. All clubs' (young teams) seem to have settled on exactly the same songbooks. I had Motherwell v Hibs on the radio the other day, and the Hibs young team were belting out a decent noise. But if I'd put it on and not known who was playing, I could have mistaken it for the Hearts young team, such is the crossover of songs/chants these days. I'm all for the noise these lads make, but the lack of variety from club to club is getting dull. I've been all over the UK watching fitba the last couple of years, and I've lost count of just how many players or clubs are 'putting on a show'. Far too much copy and paste these days.

Sula was a big improvement on Thicot for sure, and I thought the team looked far better for Craig's absence. I am absolutely baffled as to why he's been signed up for the rest of the season. The lad does his best, but he's nowhere near good enough. And since the evidence suggests the deal with Killie requires him to play all the time, this is going to be a major drag on the team for the rest of the season.

Accies 3-2 Clyde, Challenge Cup Quarter-Final. Not really a random one, since I'm getting to a lot of Bully Wee this year, but enjoyed the Young Team viewing the game from the top of a shipping container. Nae luck for Clyde, with Roberts hitting the post with literally the last kick of the game.

Yeah, Pinilla especially was a mad one. One of the most technically excellent players we've ever had, on the bench for Jamie Mole. I know Pinilla had problems, but surely you just play him.

Did Molethegoal not scud in an absolute beauty against St Mirren at some point? Ended up at Blyth Spartans.

Pre-match music at higher level games is awful and simply kills the atmosphere. I've been at cup finals and semi-finals etc that would have been vastly improved by the PA just leaving it to the fans. But I absolutely love when clubs at a really low level copy this behaviour. There's something really amusing about The Final Countdown or Insomnia blaring out to the white-hot atmosphere of two minutes to go until the kick-off of East Kilbride v East Stirlingshire. I love that.

Of the 42, only Stenny, Bonnyrigg, Kelty, Elgin, Alloa, Montrose, Cove, and Edinburgh were new places for me at the start of the season. And, yes, it's 42 clubs, so NDP and Ochilview require two visits.

The floodlights at Palmerston should be on the UNESCO list.

I'm a Hearts supporter, but I've always had the BW as my second team for family reasons. I'm going to see them against Kelty tomorrow. They're very dear to me, but the more time I spend at Clyde games and among certain parts of the Clyde support, the more I understand why they get up other fans' noses. That said, I wouldn't swap the Clyde support for the likes of the Accies' sweetie rustlers. One thing you have to hand it to them for is that Clyde fans make an atmosphere and sing etc. In the lower leagues this isn't always a given. And, to be honest, I love how vitriolic they get. Fitba's meant to be like that. Three points tomorrow? Probably not.

Everybody is different, but I think it should be kept in mind that going to the fitba/groundhopping is meant to be enjoyable, so I don't have much time for complicated rules. This season I'm going to all 42 SPFL clubs in one season, and for that I'm only counting competitive first-team games, obviously. But in general for a ground to count as visited, I'm quite happy to count Reserve or Youth games or friendlies or neutral matches. If you've seen a game at a ground, then you've seen a game at that ground. Why over-complicate it? It's all fitba. For me, there's no strict definition of what counts or doesn't count. You can usually just know. For example, there's an amateur team that plays in a league in my local park. That clearly doesn't count, but another team in their league with a wee stand and an enclosed pitch would count for me. I think you just know. And if you need to (or want to) leave a few minutes early, then whose business but yours is that? I'd probably be uncomfortable counting one if I hadn't stayed past the hour or so, but it's really up to you. Don't let any of these mad Groundhopping Know-all types get in your head. Just enjoy it.

35/42: St Johnstone 2-3 Hearts, Premiership, 28/12/2022. Hearts beat St Johnstone 3-2 for the second time this season in a nice wee boost to my season goal-per-game count. Went to the Muirton Lounge before the game, which is a very nicely-appointed spot, but the queues for a pint after our first drink were ridiculous, so we just packed it in and went into the ground. Once things got underway it went inexplicably well for Hearts in the early stages. Soon 2-0 up and playing very well, Hearts fell out of it for spells and carried a bit of luck in reaching half-time with that lead intact. The second half was entertaining/nervy, and a further three goals made for an enjoyable game played amid a pretty good atmosphere. Even at 3-1 to Hearts, I said to one of my mates that this could finish 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 3-4, 4-4... It just felt like the kind of game where it could go absolutely any way, especially with the VAR interventions and three penalties awarded. Overall, probably a deserved win for Hearts on balance. A great result that's been a long time coming in Perth, and Hearts' move into third is starting to look ominous. I've seen St Johnstone three times now this season, and they've looked pretty decent each time. Interested to see where they finish up this year. So, with 2022 coming to an end, I'm 35 games into The 42 and it's currently standing at 16 home wins, 16 away wins, and 3 draws. Didn't expect that.

Decent enough point. I'd have taken it before, and I think it'll do for a day's work. Picking up more injuries is fucking infuriating though. Hard to see Gordon coming back from that one, so at least we've got cover there. The two defensive injuries are a big worry though. You can only push things so far with a weakened defence, and we're pushing our luck now.

34/42: Kelty Hearts 1-2 Dunfermline, League One, 24/12/2022. First ever visit to Kelty for me today. It's a nice stadium and I'll definitely be back. Arrived to find I'd inadvertently bought myself a ticket for the away end, so enjoyed the game surrounded by Dunfermline fans. It's a funny thing watching the game as a neutral among partisans. The Pars fans around me were giving the referee dug's abuse. I thought he had a pretty decent game and generally got things right. There you go. First half was dreadful. Pure shite. Kelty had one cleared off the line, but not much else happened. Second half Kelty took the lead through Agyeman with half an hour to go. Dunfermline were unlucky that a block left the keeper on the ground and out of position as the rebound went into the net. Dunfermline stepped things up at that point, but weren't exactly making a lot of chances. Eventually they got level through a Lewis Martin OG after a good ball across the goal, before Lewis McCann won it for the visitors with four minutes to go. I suppose some begrudged credit must go to their ned of a Head Coach for some good subs. Four points clear, merry Christmas for the Pars.

33/42: Bonnyrigg Rose 3-2 Stranraer, League Two, 23/12/2022. First visit to New Dundas Park for me, and an entertaining game as Bonnyrigg lift themselves from the foot of the table and up to just three points from the play-offs. What a division! Josh Walker opened the scoring for Stranraer with an excellent shot from distance. A really good goal, but it was all the visitors did in the first half in an attacking sense. Goals from Gray and Mitchell had Bonnyrigg deservedly ahead by half-time. Stranraer improved in the second half, and thought they had equalised after a wee stramash, but the linesman and ref didn't give it as over the line. For some reason, Stranraer's Watt continued to remonstrate with the linesman at the other end of the park about this for a few minutes afterwards. It had absolutely nothing to do with him! There was a lengthy stoppage as Stranraer keeper Scullion was stretchered off after hurting himself in the process of giving away a penalty. I think it was Mitchell who bravely challenged for the aerial ball going through towards the keeper and got absolutely wiped out. Clear penalty, and Martiniuk stuck it away. Watt pulled a goal back for Stranraer just a few minutes later, heading in from a corner. But that was that, shree points for Bonnyrigg.

32/42: Queen of the South 1-2 Kelty Hearts, League One, 17/12/22. A day that saw Plan A (Peterhead v Clyde) and Plan B (East Fife v Stranraer) called off ended up with a visit to Palmerston to see Kelty come from behind with two goals in the last ten minutes to move level with Queens and comfortably clear of the play-offs. This was the first time I'd seen either side this season, and Kelty certainly seemed to have more about them than the hosts. Kelty played lots of decent build-up stuff but struggled to break through. I thought they had a decent shout for a penalty in the first half, after going 1-0 down to a nicely-worked goal from Paton. Even at 1-0 up the home fans around me seemed less than impressed with the home team's less than imaginative style. 'PLAY SOME FUCKIN FITBA!' being one memorable shout. Kelty equalised (deservedly) through Nathan Austin with a decent far-post finish before Higginbotham won it with a penalty a few minutes later after a foul by the keeper. So, bad new for me, really. As I think Kelty's win today is the final nail in the Clyde coffin. A straight shoot-out between Clyde and Peterhead to make the play-offs and avoid going down automatically. In truth, that was probably the case weeks ago. But there we go. Palmerston remains excellent. Shite pies, mind.