St. Mirren 3-1 St. Johnstone, Wednesday 30th October 2024

St. Mirren 3-1 St. Johnstone, Scottish Premier Division, SMISA Stadium (St. Mirren Park), att. 6,042(c.500 away)

The second instalment of my midweek Scottish double-bill (after Greenock Morton last nite), I was off to their local rivals St. Mirren for an evening of VAR. Not being unlucky enough for my own team to have reached the heady heights of needing VAR, tonite was an education. FIVE times VAR was needed, for four goals (3 ruled out) and a possible red card (not given). What an abomination. I don’t know if this is how games get officiated in Scotland, but the ref appeared to let a foul go, then when the goal was scored, or the shot taken, he’d whistle up for the foul. And when a St. Mirren goal was disallowed for a foul in the build up (an obvious foul, winning the ball in his own half) I worried that the foul was that far back it wouldn’t be given. Meantime, a St. Johnstone header from a corner was initially disallowed. For what? VAR intervened and the right decision was made (goal), but still.

It’s fair to say I wasn’t excited about the prospect of St. Mirren Park (or the SMISA Stadium, the St. Mirren Independent Supporters Association Stadium. If ever a stadium name showed how small-time a club was…) I’d seen photos. 4 tiny stands all of which looked the same, albeit decked out in neat black and white seating. It was worse, outside, as each of the four stands looked like the kind of boxes you see on industrial estates, with nary a decoration to show otherwise. Opened in 2009, a capacity of less than 8,000 shows a distinct lack of ambition. Indeed, previous ground Love Street once held 47,000, though it’s not noted how many were supporting visitors Celtic. Glasgow is approximately 15 minutes away by train.

At least the selling of Love Street allowed the club to clear its debts and build the new stadium. And St. Mirren are enjoying a bit of a golden period right now. This season marked their first foray into European competition in 37 years. Tonite, over 6,000 turn up for the Saints’ Derby, Mirren v Johnstone, despite it being live on telly. I head for the ticket office and choose my stand, the one opposite the Main Stand. (Perhaps subconsciously, I just thought it’d be cheaper, or less busy.) Would I like a seat near the drummer? Absolutely not, but his boom echoed through the stand anyway. And fair play to the ‘Ultras Firm’, their racket never stopped. However, putting them at the end of the stand, towards the away fans, did nothing for spreading the atmosphere among the home fans. Only winning did that.

The ultras had their capos, their cheerleaders, as well as a banner which was lifted to the roof on pulleys. ‘It’s showtime’ announced a figure with an uncanny resemblance to Robert Smith of The Cure. Indeed it was. 3-1 to St. Mirren, a cracking end to end game only slightly ruined by VAR and by game’s end, the West Stand was almost bouncing. 4 defeats on the spin had been arrested and the Buddies (a nickname to strike fear into no-one) had risen 3 places from 10th to 7th. What a league. But one thing about a new stadium...you can have a railway station next door. So it was that 15 minutes after the full-time whistle, I was on a train direct to Glasgow from Paisley St. James.

The Damage:
£27 ent
£3 prog
£3.50 Scotch pie
£4.90 rtn from Glasgow
= £38.40

Aberdeen 5-0 Livingston, Saturday 27th August 2022

Aberdeen 5-0 Livingston, Scottish Premiership, Pittodrie, att. 13,739 (c. 70 away)

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