Ravenscraig Stadium (Greenock Juniors v Thorniewood United)

On Saturday I saw my first game at Ravencraig Stadium in Greenock, a ground I have been passing by on my way to work for the last ten years but I had never seen it from inside. Ravenscraig is the home ground of both Greenock Juniors and Port Glasgow Juniors. It is also an athletics stadium with a running track and a large stand which seats about 650 spectators. Unlike Dam Park in Ayr, which I visited two weeks ago, this athletics venue is in a terrible state of disrepair. I just found out however that Ravenscraig is about to undergo a major refurbishment and Saturday's game was Greenock's last at the stadium for the time being. I am glad I was still able to take a few pictures of the 'old' Ravenscraig but the refurbishment, which is set to start this week, looked long overdue.

The game I saw on Saturday was an encounter in the Central District First Division, the third tier in the West Region set-up of the Scottish Juniors. Home team Greenock Juniors were playing Thorniewood United of Uddingston in Lanarkshire. It was a very entertaining six-goal thriller and it was a shame only about 50 people, many of them supporting Thorniewood, turned out to see it. I do not know what kind of numbers Port Glasgow Juniors usually attract in terms of home support, however looking at the distance between Ravenscraig and the town of Port Glasgow it cannot be much more than that either. Despite the small crowd there were still pies and Bovril (but no tea of coffee) on sale during the interval. After the game I headed to Branchton train station again, a ten-minute walk, for the 25-minute train journey back to Paisley.

The stand seen from outside. It is in dire need of a bit of TLC...

The stand holds about 650.

Wooden benches in the stand.

The view from the stand. Small terraces can be seen on the other side. The high-rise building that dominates the Greenock skyline is Inverclyde Royal Hospital.

Lee Mitchell scores for Greenock: 1-0.


Thorniewood's Steven Mullen scores the equaliser: 1-1.


Thorniewood take the lead after Chris Queen's scores: 1-2.


After the interval Greenock's Thomas Docherty equalises again: 2-2.


Thorniewood go 3-2 up again thanks to a Chris Lafferty free-kick.


Greenock player manager Stevie Mooney was then sent off after picking up a second booking...


...however Greenock still manage to draw level. Ryan MacDonald scores 3-3.

Saturday 19th March 2011
West Region Central District First Division
Greenock Juniors 3 Thorniewood United 3
Greenock: Mitchell 20, Docherty 54, MacDonald 80.
Thorniewood: Mullen 22, Queen 32, Lafferty 56.
Att: 50 (est.)

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Ravenscraig Stadium (Greenock Juniors v Thorniewood United)

On Saturday I saw my first game at Ravencraig Stadium in Greenock, a ground I have been passing by on my way to work for the last ten years but I had never seen it from inside. Ravenscraig is the home ground of both Greenock Juniors and Port Glasgow Juniors. It is also an athletics stadium with a running track and a large stand which seats about 650 spectators. Unlike Dam Park in Ayr, which I visited two weeks ago, this athletics venue is in a terrible state of disrepair. I just found out however that Ravenscraig is about to undergo a major refurbishment and Saturday's game was Greenock's last at the stadium for the time being. I am glad I was still able to take a few pictures of the 'old' Ravenscraig but the refurbishment, which is set to start this week, looked long overdue.

The game I saw on Saturday was an encounter in the Central District First Division, the third tier in the West Region set-up of the Scottish Juniors. Home team Greenock Juniors were playing Thorniewood United of Uddingston in Lanarkshire. It was a very entertaining six-goal thriller and it was a shame only about 50 people, many of them supporting Thorniewood, turned out to see it. I do not know what kind of numbers Port Glasgow Juniors usually attract in terms of home support, however looking at the distance between Ravenscraig and the town of Port Glasgow it cannot be much more than that either. Despite the small crowd there were still pies and Bovril (but no tea of coffee) on sale during the interval. After the game I headed to Branchton train station again, a ten-minute walk, for the 25-minute train journey back to Paisley.

Approaching Ravenscraig Stadium.


The stand seen from outside. It is in dire need of a bit of TLC...

The stand holds about 650.

Wooden benches in the stand.

The view from the stand. Small terraces can be seen on the other side. The high-rise building that dominates the Greenock skyline is Inverclyde Royal Hospital.

Lee Mitchell scores for Greenock: 1-0.


Thorniewood's Steven Mullen scores the equaliser: 1-1.


Thorniewood take the lead after Chris Queen's scores: 1-2.


After the interval Greenock's Thomas Docherty equalises again: 2-2.


Thorniewood go 3-2 up again thanks to a Chris Lafferty free-kick.


Greenock player manager Stevie Mooney was then sent off after picking up a second booking...


...however Greenock still manage to draw level. Ryan MacDonald scores 3-3.

Saturday 19th March 2011
West Region Central District First Division
Greenock Juniors 3 Thorniewood United 3
Greenock: Mitchell 20, Docherty 54, MacDonald 80.
Thorniewood: Mullen 22, Queen 32, Lafferty 56.
Att: 50 (est.)

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Dam Park Stadium (Whitletts Victoria v Clydebank)

Yesterday I went to Ayr for the Scottish Juniors West Region First Division clash between Whitletts Victoria and Clydebank. This was a vital game for both clubs as both are vying for promotion to the Super League Premier Division and were sitting in the top two spots in the First Division league table before Saturday's match, which was played at Dam Park. Whitletts' traditional home is Voluntary Park but this ground, which is also used for greyhound racing, was closed recently by South Ayrshire council as there were major health and safety concerns. Dam Park is a council-owned athletics venue and spectators are quite far from the pitch but the facilities are better than at many other junior grounds. Clydebank, in their previous incarnation, had played at Dam Park once before. This was for a league cup tie against Ayr United in 1972. Clydebank lost 5-0 almost 40 years ago but they had a much easier ride yesterday.

Tommy Martin missed the chance to put Bankies ahead after only twenty minutes when his kick from the spot went about a yard over the crossbar but when Whitletts' Rikki Harvey was sent off not much later for a dreadful stamp on Martin Clydebank's dominance became too much for Whitletts with goals from Stevie Dymock and Mark Hailstones before the interval and a Gordan Moffat goal two minutes after the break. Craig Main scored for the home side with seven minutes left on the clock, but as the footballing cliché goes, it was all too little, too late. Clydebank are top of the league now although all other rivals for promotion have at least two games in hand.

Approaching Dam Park.

The stand at Dam Park holds 478.

The ground is primarily an athletics venue.

Tommy Martin missed a penalty in the first half.

Whitletts' Rikki Harvey was sent off for a stamp on Tommy Martin.

A closer look at the stand at half-time.

Whitletts Goalie Steven Douglas saved this effort...


...but Gordon Moffat scored for Clydebank from the rebound.

Another look at the stand after the sun had come out late in the second half.

Saturday 5th March 2011
West Region Super League First Division
Whitletts Victoria 1 Clydebank 3
Whitletts Victoria: Main 83.
Clydebank: Dymock 35. Hailstones 44. Moffat 47.
Att: 250 (est.)

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Dam Park Stadium (Whitletts Victoria v Clydebank)

Yesterday I went to Ayr for the Scottish Juniors West Region First Division clash between Whitletts Victoria and Clydebank. This was a vital game for both clubs as both are vying for promotion to the Super League Premier Division and were sitting in the top two spots in the First Division league table before Saturday's match, which was played at Dam Park. Whitletts' traditional home is Voluntary Park but this ground, which is also used for greyhound racing, was closed recently by South Ayrshire council as there were major health and safety concerns. Dam Park is a council-owned athletics venue and spectators are quite far from the pitch but the facilities are better than at many other junior grounds. Clydebank, in their previous incarnation, had played at Dam Park once before. This was for a league cup tie against Ayr United in 1972. Clydebank lost 5-0 almost 40 years ago but they had a much easier ride yesterday.

Tommy Martin missed the chance to put Bankies ahead after only twenty minutes when his kick from the spot went about a yard over the crossbar but when Whitletts' Rikki Harvey was sent off not much later for a dreadful stamp on Martin Clydebank's dominance became too much for Whitletts with goals from Stevie Dymock and Mark Hailstones before the interval and a Gordan Moffat goal two minutes after the break. Craig Main scored for the home side with seven minutes left on the clock, but as the footballing cliché goes, it was all too little, too late. Clydebank are top of the league now although all other rivals for promotion have at least two games in hand.

Approaching Dam Park.

The stand at Dam Park holds 478.

The ground is primarily an athletics venue.

Tommy Martin missed a penalty in the first half.

Whitletts' Rikki Harvey was sent off for a stamp on Tommy Martin.

A closer look at the stand at half-time.

Whitletts Goalie Steven Douglas saved this effort...


...but Gordon Moffat scored for Clydebank from the rebound.

Another look at the stand after the sun had come out late in the second half.

Saturday 5th March 2011
West Region Super League First Division
Whitletts Victoria 1 Clydebank 3
Whitletts Victoria: Main 83.
Clydebank: Dymock 35. Hailstones 44. Moffat 47.
Att: 250 (est.)

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Newlandsfield Park (Pollok v Arthurlie)

Last Saturday I made the short journey by train from Paisley to the South Side of Glasgow for the derby between Pollok and Arthurlie in the top division of the Scottish Juniors (West Region). Newlandsfield Park is easy to reach from Glasgow Central as the ground is situated next to Pollokshaws East railway station.

Pollok FC were high on my list of 'junior clubs to be visited' as they are one of the most popular clubs in the junior set-up and the fixture against traditional rivals Arthurlie of nearby Barrhead was the one I had been waiting for. I got off the train at around 1pm and the 1:45 kick-off meant I still had some time to tick off one of the two JD Wetherspoon pubs in Glasgow I had not visited yet. The Sir John Robert Maxwell is a five-minute walk from Pollokshaws East train station but the slow service in the pub, not unusual for a Wetherspoon's, meant I only had time for one pint if I did not want to miss the kick-off at Newlandsfield Park.

Pollok's ground was opened in 1928 and, according to the official website, has a capacity of 4,000. There is no seating and the large enclosure can hold 1,500. The average gate for league games last season was 507, which makes the Lok one of the best-supported junior sides. At the moment Pollok are top of the West Region Super League Premier League.

Although no official attendance figure has been released yet I estimate a crowd of 800-900 turned up on Saturday (Edit: an official attendance figure of 784 has now been confirmed). Pollok opened the score after 10 minutes when Iain Diack sent (what looked like) a cross into the goal area and the ball ended up in the net via the woodwork. The Lie then went on a frantic search for the equaliser but 1-0 was still the score at the interval. Halfway through the second half Frank McKeown headed the deserved equaliser into the net. Only minutes later however Pollok were awarded a penalty. Diack was not so lucky this time and his spot-kick was saved by Neil Parry. The game ended 1-1 each, which meant Pollok are still top of the league and Arthurlie are now runners-up, one point behind their Glasgow rivals but with a game in hand.

First things first: a pint in the Sir John Stirling Maxwell.

The gates to Newlandsfield Park.

High-rise flats overlook the ground.

The large covered terrace.

A closer look at the enclosure.

This Arthurlie free-kick did not go in.

Arthurlie scored the equaliser in the second half.


Arthurlie players do not agree with the penalty that referee Don Robertson awarded to Pollok.

Unfortunately for Pollok, Arthurlie goalie Neil Parry stopped Diack's penalty. The ball that looks like it is in the net is actually a ball lying behind the net...

Saturday 29th January 2011
West Region Super League Premier League
Pollok 1 Arthurlie 1
Pollok: Diack 10.
Arthurlie: McKeown 67.
Att: 784

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