Rarely have I ever been as angry at a football match. There was that time Barnsley had 3 players sent off against Liverpool, but that was the referee. Here, my blood is boiled at half-time, as I go to pick up my bag and it is DRENCHED. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear someone has deliberately POURED a litre of water down the back of my chair onto my bag. Luckily, my newspaper and innumerable supplements take the main hit, but my three pounds fifty programme is soaked. The only person stood immediately behind me looks a little ‘special’. Not that I’d have caused a scene, a stranger, an English stranger, in a sea of home Scottish fans. Luckily, I’d already determined to see if I could sneak upstairs for a different view of the game. I was hot, bothered and crammed in.
Earlier, I’d been amused by one man’s crusade against the keeper. ‘Keeper, yer shite, mon!’ brought a smile from the custodian. Obviously, it was a bit quiet at that point. ‘Keeper, are yer sponsored by Asda?’ was probably a little more surreal to some…but with ‘George’ on his back, it amused me. (Note: ‘George’ is the clothing range in Asda. I wish I didn’t know that, but I do.)
I’m on holiday in Scotchland, and have deliberately engineered it so as to be in Aberdeen for the weekend. So, while the better half pootles about town, I traverse the long, straight King Street towards Pittodrie. It is a red hot summer’s day, completely out of sync with the weather forecast, so I am ready for a chilled 15 degrees and am carrying the requisite clothing. (‘Carrying’ as it’s too hot to wear.) I could probably do with a drink, but I pass one solitary bar on the way, the Pittodrie Bar, but haven’t yet purchased a ticket, so I scurry on.
I make a right turn and head over a hill and Pittodrie lies in view, below. I did not expect this. I walk down beside the hill, on the South Stand side, and find myself outside the away entrance. With fences galore, they obviously don’t encourage fans to mix around these parts. I continue round to the Richard Donald (East) Stand, the towering two-tiered stand at the seaside end. A golf course divides Pittodrie from the sea, and another adjacent hill provides a view of a cricket match. It’s an unofficial sporting village, this end of town.
A helpful ticket office assistant shows me a plan of the ground and I plump for the Richard Donald Stand. £24, downstairs, £26 up, I aim for high in the lower tier. Turns out my seat is just over halfway up, as the last few rows are reserved for the executives. £26 seemed steep for a Scottish Premiership game, and even more so having sneaked upstairs – the upper tier is appalling. The rake of the seats isn’t steep enough (there’s simply no excuse for this) while to see the near-end goal, you need to look through a perspex screen. How can a modern stand be so poorly designed? There is one good thing though – it’s virtually empty, so I can sit where I want. From photos of the ground, I’d presumed this upper tier would have a supreme view. No wonder the other 3 sides (and the lower tier) are very busy and this isn’t.
Luckily, a view of the near goal isn’t needed, as Aberdeen kick towards the Merkland Stand, second half. Having looked the better team, Livingston threw it away with a stupid sending off in the 40th minute. Centre half Fitzwater underestimates his opponent and is robbed, his automatic reaction in hauling the forward down brings the ref’s automatic reaction, a red card. That limited skill did not improve my perception of Scottish football. If these two are amongst the better teams in the land, heaven help them. Penalty despatched in front of the Richard Donald Stand, 1-0 half time becomes a riot in the 2nd half, as the Dons add 4 more, the pick of the herd being a 20 yarder crashed in off the underside of the crossbar. My mood has somewhat improved since half-time, unlike the 70 or so away fans. I guess it’s a long way to Livingston.
The Damage:
£24 ent
£3.50 programme
= £27.50
The Tunes:
none
