Random Matches You Are Going To...

[Crow]

Vale of Leithen 2-4 Blackburn United (1-1 HT) @ Victoria Park . 2.30pm. EOSFL 1st Division. 1-1 heading into the last 15 minutes it was the visitors who struck twice ️️ to lead 3-1 before a late Vale fightback was ended with the last kick from the penalty spot. Crowd 43.

[The Mantis]

WOSL Div 3 and a well-contested derby in difficult conditions at Moor Park.
Lanark Utd 1 Lesmahagow 2.

My first visit since 1999 (see top photo).
Lanark made most of the running with Gow always dangerous on the break, and so it proved on the half hour when Marchant's cross from the left was turned into his own net by Meikle to send the home side in at half time a goal behind.
The Yowes finally got their equaliser courtesy of Bulloch with 15 remaining, and at that point a winner for Lanark looked a fair bet. However they paid the price with about 3 minutes to go, when Duddy made his way in from the left, before squaring it to Clarke,  who cheekily took his time at the back post, before converting to send the away crowd bananas.
Pub report today - The Wallace Cave in Lanark pre-match followed by a favourite haunt, the Crown at Biggar on the way home.

[Sarto Mutiny]

Bonnyrigg Rose 0 Stranraer 0. A pretty uneventful game in truth. A Bonnyrigg player (not sure who, sorry) missed a good chance when clean through midway through the first half, and there was one good run and shot from a Stranraer player which was well saved, but aside from that it was mainly half chances. The wind didn't help, and it really felt like both sides struggled to acclimatise to it. And, obviously, the pitch was terrible. A draw seemed fair to me and the pie was very nice, I enjoyed my day despite the lack of action.

[Le Tout P'ti FC]

1 hour ago, The Mantis said:

WOSL Div 3 and a well-contested derby in difficult conditions at Moor Park.
Lanark Utd 1 Lesmahagow 2.

My first visit since 1999 (see top photo).
Lanark made most of the running with Gow always dangerous on the break, and so it proved on the half hour when Marchant's cross from the left was turned into his own net by Meikle to send the home side in at half time a goal behind.
The Yowes finally got their equaliser courtesy of Bulloch with 15 remaining, and at that point a winner for Lanark looked a fair bet. However they paid the price with about 3 minutes to go, when Duddy made his way in from the left, before squaring it to Clarke,  who cheekily took his time at the back post, before converting to send the away crowd bananas.
Pub report today - The Wallace Cave in Lanark pre-match followed by a favourite haunt, the Crown at Biggar on the way home.

Bottom photo taken from the summit of Tinto?

 

[The Mantis]

1 hour ago, Le Tout P'ti FC said:

Bottom photo taken from the summit of Tinto?

 

I imagine you already know that Tinto is in the first shot, but here's another anyway...

 

[DiegoDiego]

BEA Mountain 1-1 Invincible Eleven.

Good day out at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium, named after a Barbadian who was once one of the richest women in the world. Aesthetically, it's the Cappielow of Liberia.

On entering the ticket seller told me to go to the right, whereas a steward told me to go left. I went left and ended up with the Mountain fans, which turned out to be the correct choice.

The game wasn't great, and by the end I was half-cut, but the atmosphere was great thanks in part to a four-man brass band.

The BEA of of Mountain shirt was a belter, so during the break I asked someone where I could get one. The answer turned out to be from the changing room in the middle of their team talk. 

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, DiegoDiego said:

BEA Mountain 1-1 Invincible Eleven.

Good day out at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium, named after a Barbadian who was once one of the richest women in the world. Aesthetically, it's the Cappielow of Liberia.

On entering the ticket seller told me to go to the right, whereas a steward told me to go left. I went left and ended up with the Mountain fans, which turned out to be the correct choice.

The game wasn't great, and by the end I was half-cut, but the atmosphere was great thanks in part to a four-man brass band.

The BEA of of Mountain shirt was a belter, so during the break I asked someone where I could get one. The answer turned out to be from the changing room in the middle of their team talk. 

Delighted to know there's is still a place I can go to football and kid on I'm in the English Third Tier in 1983

[DiegoDiego]

1 hour ago, Groundhopping Adventures said:

Delighted to know there's is still a place I can go to football and kid on I'm in the English Third Tier in 1983

You know what, put a couple of thousand extra folk in there and you're probably right. There's definitely some time warping going in here as I've heard Dilemma by Nelly ft. Kelly every single day since I entered this country.

[Crow]

Arsenal 3-1 Liverpool (1-1 HT) @ Emirates Stadium . 4.30pm. Premier League. A deserved win for the home side. After Gabriel levelled with an OG (45) the game was in the balance until a rare van Dijk / Alisson mix up gifted them a 2nd and a late 3rd sealed it. Crowd 60,374.

[tamthebam]

9 hours ago, The Mantis said:

WOSL Div 3 and a well-contested derby in difficult conditions at Moor Park.
Lanark Utd 1 Lesmahagow 2.

My first visit since 1999 (see top photo).
Lanark made most of the running with Gow always dangerous on the break, and so it proved on the half hour when Marchant's cross from the left was turned into his own net by Meikle to send the home side in at half time a goal behind.
The Yowes finally got their equaliser courtesy of Bulloch with 15 remaining, and at that point a winner for Lanark looked a fair bet. However they paid the price with about 3 minutes to go, when Duddy made his way in from the left, before squaring it to Clarke,  who cheekily took his time at the back post, before converting to send the away crowd bananas.
Pub report today - The Wallace Cave in Lanark pre-match followed by a favourite haunt, the Crown at Biggar on the way home.

You may be amused to know, Mantis old chap, that on my only visit to Moor Park the chap in front of me in the queue bought the last pie... 

[Crow]

14 hours ago, tamthebam said:

You may be amused to know, Mantis old chap, that on my only visit to Moor Park the chap in front of me in the queue bought the last pie... 

What a pity for you Tam … did he have red or brown sauce on it !?

[DiegoDiego]

Mighty Barrolle 1-1 Liberian Petrol Refining Company Oilers.

My last match in Liberia and a trip to Buchanan to see George Weah's first professional team.

No players of Weah's calibre on display, but still a really entertaining game. The Oilers played a Veldman-esque high line and got caught out multiple times before eventually conceding in the tenth minute.

After that they changed things about leading to a more even, back-and-forth match with plenty of decent chances.

The Oilers hit both posts and the crossbar in a matter of seconds following a corner, which was quite ridiculous to watch. They got a deserved equaliser mid-way through the second half and despite decent chances for both sides, that's how it ended.

Decent attendance of 500 or so, less than a quid to get in.

[Sergeant Wilson]

20 minutes ago, DiegoDiego said:

Mighty Barrolle 1-1 Liberian Petrol Refining Company Oilers.

My last match in Liberia and a trip to Buchanan to see George Weah's first professional team.

No players of Weah's calibre on display, but still a really entertaining game. The Oilers played a Veldman-esque high line and got caught out multiple times before eventually conceding in the tenth minute.

After that they changed things about leading to a more even, back-and-forth match with plenty of decent chances.

The Oilers hit both posts and the crossbar in a matter of seconds following a corner, which was quite ridiculous to watch. They got a deserved equaliser mid-way through the second half and despite decent chances for both sides, that's how it ended.

Decent attendance of 500 or so, less than a quid to get in.

Is that an African relative of Sideshow Bob?

[Distant Doonhamer]

Visiting friends just outside London so took in Sutton United v Doncaster Rovers in a League 2 relegation battle on Saturday. Finished 1-1. The first half was absolutely dreadful. Much better 2nd half and Sutton looked to have deservedly won the game until their keeper had a crazy moment to give away a penalty deep into 6 minutes of stoppage time. Penalty duly converted but still more drama as Sutton very nearly scored on restart with a shot from halfway with the last kick of the game. We did the hospitality package. £39 for lunch and a match ticket in the stand. Really friendly club staff and overall a decent afternoon. 

[Jute]

Bonnyrigg Rose 2-0 Elgin City. Comfortable win for Bonnyrigg with a goal in each half enough to see off an Elgin side who only really showed any attacking threat once they were 2-0 down. Every time I come to Bonnyrigg there always seems to be another ground improvement. Just a pity they can’t do anything about the slope on the pitch. 

Edited February 6 by Jute

[Crow]

Bonnyrigg Rose 2-0 Elgin City (1-0 HT) @ New Dundas Park . 7.45pm. Midweek cinch SPFL League 2 action and a Conor Doan ️️ goal in each half secured 3 big points for the home side. Bonnyrigg move clear in 5th place on 28 points. Elgin stay 8th. Crowd 477. 

[Crow]

Hibernian 1-2 Celtic (0-1 HT) @ Easter Road Stadium . 8pm. cinch Premiership. The visitors ahead early on from the penalty spot but Hibs came to life in the 2nd half and scored a great equaliser . Celtic won it in stoppage time from a 2nd Adam Idah spot kick. Crowd 18,303.

[GNU_Linux]

On 06/02/2024 at 22:14, Jute said:

Comfortable win for Bonnyrigg with a goal in each half enough to see off an Elgin side who only really showed any attacking threat once they were 2-0 down. Every time I come to Bonnyrigg there always seems to be another ground improvement. Just a pity they can’t do anything about the slope on the pitch. 

 

Think the pitch is being levelled over the summer with an artificial turf to be installed next year

[atfccfc]

To carry on my trip in Portugal, had a double header on Saturday 3rd February. Only 45 minutes south of Porto was AD Ovarense V Juveforce Adc Ponte Vagos 1-1. in the regional 5th tier Aviero Campeonate. Tickets were €5. Again no programmes (didn't expect any) this was actually a decent match for its level and a decent crowd of over 400. Ovarense in a Queen's Park style strip are over 100 years old with their opponents only 9. 

Looking at the table this should have been a home banker as the hosts were unbeaten at home and Juveforce had been poor away. But recent form suggested it would be closer, and that's how it turned out. 0-0 at half time the visitors took the lead after a mix up at the back with a right footed shot into the bottom corner. The natives weren't happy! Given the manager a bit of abuse. They did show some resolve though and equalised 10 minutes late to claim a point. 

A decent if old and slightly crumbling ground with two decent size stands and unused flat standing behind one goal and opposite the main stand. 

[atfccfc]

The second game on the 3rd February was Porto V Rio Ave 0-0. Crowd was 39330, at the Estadio do Dragao. An absolutely stunning stadium for a few build. Ticket was the most expensive of the week at €21. There again wasn't a programme but they do produce a monthly magazine which previews up and coming games, which I bought. (not quite like the Kilmarnock issue though)

Despite being 0-0 this was actually a decent watch. Mainly a Porto attack against a very disciplined Rio Ave defence. 

After 2 minutes though Porto were awarded a penalty, but a quick VAR Check overturned it for Evanilson diving. He then received a yellow card. Porto then had the ball in the net on 10 minutes. But a more lengthy VAR check then disallowed it for offside. Porto kept playing their short sharp passing game and creating chances, but some fantastic defending kept them out. On 39 minutes a brilliant quick move resulted in Porto having the ball in the net again, only for VAR again to interven and give another offside. The crowd were getting restless, but to the players credit it didn't seem to bother them as they just kept playing. 

Rio Ave did have an opportunity or two and almost scored in-between the two disallowed goals when they broke forward and a shot went just wide of the post. 

The second half was more of the same. Attack against defence. Bit Rio Ave held out for a point. They did finish with 10 men though when Boatang relieved a second yellow card for a foul.