My Matchday - 473 Abbey Park

Kilwinning Rangers 1v3 Kilmarnock

Pre-Season Friendly

Thursday 23rd July 2015

 Following on from the match at Kilsyth the previous evening, the second game on my Glasgow stopover was 20 miles south of the city in Kilwinning.

Whereabouts and Whatsabouts

Kilwinning is a town on the River Garnock known as "The Crossroads of Ayrshire" Its ancient name is Segdoune/Saigtow from the word 'Sanctoun', meaning ‘Saint town’. Kilwinning is steeped in religious history deriving from its 12th century Abbey, the site of which is said to have been revealed to Saint Winning by a visionary Angel. It was founded sometime between 1162 and 1188 with monks coming from Kelso, dedicated to Saint Winning and the Virgin Mary. The date assigned to St Winin is 715 AD, when his festival was celebrated on the 21st January, when a town fair was held and called St Winning's Day.

According to legend the Saint sent his monks to fish in the River Garnock, however no matter how hard they tried they could even catch a tiddler. The dejected saint placed a curse on the river, preventing it from ever having fish in its waters; the river responded by changing course and thereby avoiding the curse.

This part of North Ayrshire was where the missionary enterprise began in Scotland, with the Celtic Christians or Culdees founded here. The town is also home to the oldest Masonic Lodge not only in Scotland, but the world. The Mother Lodge of Scotland attributing its origins to the 12th Century, and is often called Mother Kilwinning

Kilwinning was a noted centre of Archery in medieval times. Later the town had an association with coal mining, quarrying, iron-founding and textile manufacture, with the Pringle knitwear company originally manufactured their goods in the town.

Kilwinning fell within the area designated to Irvine New in 1966, expanding with new estates built on surrounding farmland to meet the planned increase in population. This included new inhabitants relocated from the Glasgow overflow, and according to the last Census the population is just over 16,000.

Modern industries include the manufacture of plastics and electronics. The refurbishment of Kilwinning Main Street in 2010 by Irvine Bay Regeneration Company led to a number of new businesses opening shops in the town centre, one of a number of regeneration projects in the Irvine Bay area.

Plantpot History

Kilwinning Rangers formed in 1899 and are affectionately known as “The Buffs” a nickname giving to them by the Irvine Herald newspaper after an emphatic win over Kilmarnock Belgrove in 1900. The club began life as a juvenile club, originally playing at Blacklands Park, which they shared with senior team Eglinton Seniors, before officially joining the Junior ranks on the 26th July 1902. The club bagged their first trophy in the Ayrshire Cup in 1905 and won the the Ayrshire First Division in 1920-21, becoming champions an additional nine times throughout their history.

The Junior Cup was won for the first time in 1909, beating Strathclyde 1-0 in a replay after the original tie finished goalless. The Buffs lost out twice in the final against Ashfield in 1910 and St Rochs in 1922, before finally lifting the trophy again after a 90 year wait, when a goal from Gerry Peline was good enough to beat Kelty Hearts at Firhill Park. That 1999 success meant they were the first and last Ayrshire club to win the Scottish Junior Cup in the 20th century, which topped off their greatest season when they won six trophies in 1998-99.

Kilwinning were the second club and the first from Ayrshire to win the West Super League in the 2003-04 season, but over recent years they’ve yo-yoed between the Super League First Division and the Ayrshire District  League, winning promotion again last season. 

Ground no.473 Abbey Park

(Scottish Grounds 65 SJFA Grounds 19 Lifetime Junior Cup Winners 13/27)

Abbey Park is hidden off Church Street, just a short walk from Main Street. From the corner entrance there's seven wooden sleeper steps running up half way towards the away dugout. These sleepers are also behind the far goal with a covered terraced enclosure opposite. The main part of the ground is down one side behind the home dugout. There are cabins which provides catering, a hospitality bar, toilets and the changing rooms. After walking around the ground I discovered there's another paying entrance around the far side, although this too lacks a sign to let you know this is the home of Kilwinning Rangers. The ground looks in great nick, the pitch is immaculate (Aye, I know its still July) and overall the lawns and facilities are well maintained.

The Match

Kilmarnock are regular pre-season visitors to Abbey Park. The Buffs wear blue and white hooped shirts, but tonight they were kitted out in an all lemon number, while Killie wore all orange, so this along with the bright sunshine gave it a summery feeling.

Kilwinning took the lead after just seven minutes when a 20 yard free kick from a central position was nicely placed out of the 'keeper's reach by Ben Lewis. Kilmarnock quickly responded and equalised minutes later when Scott McClean headed home a left wing cross. The first half was pretty even, but it was the senior side that dominated the second half, snatching victory with two goals in the last ten minutes. The game seemed to be heading for a draw until substitute Jack Whittaker got on the end of a right wing cross with a neat side foot volley at the far post. Moments later a shot from Adam Frizzell took a big reflection off the defender to wrong foot the goalie to make it 3-1. Judging by this performance I think the Buffs will do OK in the Super League First Division this season, while Killie have a few talented young'uns on their books.

Matchday Stats and Spondoolicks

KRFC 1(Lewis 7) KFC 3(McClean 13 Whittaker 80 Frizzell 81)

Att.270.apx

Top Bloke - Dean Hawkshaw(Kilmarnock)

Admission £4

 Programme £1.50

Mince & onion pie and coffee £2.30

My Matchday

After a pleasant day in Glasgow, where I got up to my usual gubbins of pub ticking and record store shopping, I caught the train down to Kilwinkie at 6pm. I didn't have to time for a bevvy in the town before or after the game, but a steady pub crawl of about 5 pubs from station to ground is an option for visitors. After returning to Glasgow I called into The Horse Shoe, my favourite pub in the city then a couple of bevvys on Sauchiehall Street, before retiring back at my digs after a long eventful day.

I had a smashing couple of days in Glasgow, my next stop on my wee Scottish tour is Edinburgh, where I'll be meeting up with the breadknife, James Little and Jamie McQ for a birthday eve night out, before my next match which is as far north as I could possibly get to this Saturday.

Foetoes  (Matchday album of 20 pictures from Abbey Park)

I'm in the process of writing a book on the winners of the Junior Cup over the last 50 years, so there'll be a more detailed account of my Kilwinning visit in the publication.

My Matchday - 354 Rugby Park

Kilmarnock XI 2v0 Newcastle United U-21
Pre-Season Friendly
Saturday 27th July 2013 

Probably for the only time this season, a chance to see Newcastle United on an unvisited ground as the club sent a development team up to Rugby Park to face a Kilmarnock XI. Also after the exploits in Europe last season, this is the closest I’ll get to see the club play in another country for quite a while, as I continue to slowly work my way through the Scottish 42.

Kilmarnock is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, being the second biggest town in Ayrshire and the 14th largest populated in Scotland. The name Kilmarnock comes from the Gaelic cill (cell) - and the name of Saint Marnoch or Mernoc who is said to have founded a church there in the 7th century. The town is renowned for its publications of Robert Burns’ first book, the very rare ‘The Kilmarnock Edition’ and the Johnnie Walker whiskey distillery, situated in Killie since the 19th century. John Walker was a local grocer, who had his own offy on the High Street in Kilmarnock. Although he was teetotal, Walker went on to produce his own whisky brand - Walker’s Kilmarnock Whisky. When his son Alexander took over the business he went on to create Old Highland Whisky which was later renamed Johnnie Walker Black Label - the spirit which made the Johnnie Walker brand world famous.

The football club's foundation dates back to that same old chestnut of local cricketers looking to keep themselves occupied in a sporting capacity during the long winter months. During this time football was in its infancy in Scotland, playing a game similar to rugby, hence the connection to the oval shaped game giving the club its eventual ground name. The cricket club formed to play the associated rules of football on the 5th January 1869 during a general meeting at Robertson's Temperance Hotel on Portland Street.

Kilmarnock joined the Scottish League in 1885, twice becoming the Second Division champions to gain election to the top flight. They had originally made their competitive bow in the Scottish Cup in 1873, a trophy they went onto lift in 1920 against Albion Rovers and a second success in 1929, beating the mighty Rangers 2-0 in front of a 114,708 Hampden crowd.

The club's greatest achievement came in the year of this author’s birth when under the management of Willie Waddell, the club were Scottish champions for the first and only time in 1965. Since then they’ve won a third Scottish Cup in 1997 and more recently the Scottish League Cup in 2012.

Kilmarnock played matches at The Grange, Holm Quarry and Ward's Park before the club moved to Rugby Park in 1877, a ground situated on South Hamilton Street which was shared by the local cricket and rugby teams. Kilmarnock moved a hundred yards to the present Rugby Park in 1899, kicking off in August with a 2-2 draw with the then-reigning champions Celtic. The club’s very first game in the top division was watched by a crowd of 11,000.

The ground was originally constructed with a running track, a pavilion and a barrel-roofed main stand along the west side. In 1935 a covered structure, later known as the Johnny Walker Stand (because of its roof advert) was added to part of the south terrace which brought the capacity up to 35,000.

Floodlights first came to light in 1953, before a roof was added to the east enclosure in 1959 and the opposite stand was renovated during the 1960–61 season. It was during this era that Rugby Park witnessed a record gate, as 35,995 fans saw Kilmarnock lose 4–2 to Rangers in the Scottish Cup in March 1962.

After the Taylor Report in 1990 the club’s trio of new directors discussed the possibility of relocation to a new 20,000 stadium elsewhere, but after three years of pursuing this possibility, the board decided to redevelop Rugby Park by replacing the three sides of terrace with seated stands, plus replacing the banking and surrounding track.

The new Rugby Park was rebuilt during the 1994–95 season, the capacity significantly reduced as the construction of three new stands gave the stadium a capacity of 18,128 on completion.

The Moffat Stand and the Chadwick Stand (away end) behind the goals are identical, split into two sections of dark blue seats with an electric scoreboard on the facia. The East Stand is fitted with light blue seats with the cream back walls filled with advertising boards. The four floodlights look to be encroaching from the rooftop and peeping into the stadium. Because of residential reasons the stand doesn’t run pitch length, running about 15 yards short at each side and the structure is nicely finished off with Kilmarnock 1869 on the façade.

For this game the only survivor from the old era was opened; the Main Stand on the west side of the ground, which also has a quartet of floodlights on the roof, which are more prominent in appearance. The stand is smaller than the rest with the blue seats split into three small sections. The team dugouts are on this side, changing rooms and the Sports Bar (opened 2004) towards the south side of the stand. The toilets and refreshment bars are tucked under the stand and I especially liked the memorabilia and programmes on display as I bought my Killie Pie and half-time cuppa. 

I left Newcastle on the 0926 Northern Rail rattler to Carlisle, then after a brief breakfast stop caught the First ScotRail service to Glasgow Central via Dumfries service, arriving at my destination at 1pm  Before match time I had a few drinks in the GBG listed Wheatsheaf Inn (another ‘Spoons) and the Brass & Granite, although the sign outside read ‘Bas & Gr’. When I travel away for games I'm always well organised, equipped with a printed map; plotting the pubs to visit and obviously directions to the ground. As far as this brand new season is concerned I'm just not in the groove yet, no thorough preparation made and just relying on Google Maps on my phone to get me through the afternoon. So as sods law would have it, I couldn't get a GPS signal or an internet connection, having to rely on a town centre info board map to find the B*a*s & Cr***** and Rugby Park.

Kilmarnock Rugby Football Club was clearly marked on the town map so I headed off in that direction, until it dawned on me that no floodlights had yet to come into view, plus I had an inkling that I was going the wrong way. I approached a lad and asked if I was heading on the right track and he told me it was in the opposite direction, but he would show me to way. As it turned out this canny lad was a Killie fan and he told me he’s one of many supporters to give up his season ticket until the removal of the current regime, only supporting the club away from home, with a trip to Aberdeen next week his first match of the season. I told him that I understood, as I too gave up my season ticket which I held for donkeys’ years, because of my own club’s inept and pathetic hierarchy. (I was heading towards a rugby ground by the way)

Rugby Park hosted its first game of the season the previous evening in a 2-2 draw with Carlisle United, so for their second fixture in the space of 24 hours a Kilmarnock U-20 team hosted the Newcastle U-21 side. The match itself definitely won’t rank as the greatest I’ll see this season as the game looked to be heading for a 0-0, as far as quality is concerned, a potential goalless draw in a pre-season friendly sums up how poor it was. Kilmarnock were the brighter side throughout and carved out the better chances, their efforts finally rewarded with 20 minutes remaining when Craig Slater capitalised on misplaced back pass to poke the ball home from close range, then in the final minutes Stewart ran on to a through ball and calmly lobbed to ball over Alnwick to seal the win.

Peter Beardsley’s young side looked out of sorts, with too many passes going astray and attacking play easily snuffed out by the young Kilmarnock side. The U-21 team aren't playing in the image of their manager, as one of the greatest players to wear the black and white shirt, more like the mirror image of the great man – not too pretty in the looks department! 

The return home was a long slog. I usually like to get back as quick as possible but I had to wait until 6.25pm to catch the train to Carlisle, where I then had an hour and a quarter to kill before catching the last train home. The 2126 to Newcastle is the train journey I hate the most, the terminated stop being the thirteen along the drunk and disorderly trek through the Tyne Valley. I only spoke to one other Geordie all day, a bloke who seemed lost and pissed up outside the ground asked me how to get to the turnstiles. I saw him again at all three train stations on the route home. It seems like we were the only two to make this trip as everyone else wearing Newcastle colours had Scottish accents, although the NUFC first time play at Blackpool today, so I imagine the Toon Army have invaded the north-west holiday capital instead of seeing the stiffs north of the border. I finally arrived back home at Gallowgate View at 1130 totally cattle-trucked but it was well worth the effort in achieving my 28^th Scottish League tick and my 121^st ground watching NUFC, at the splendid arena of Rugby Park. 

Matchday Stats
KFCXI 2(Slater 70 Stewart 86) NUFCU21s 0
Att.1,000apx
Admission £8
Programme £2
(Double issue with Carlisle United the previous evening)

Ground no.354 Rugby Park - Matchday Web album (27 pictures)

My Matchday - 215 Fir Park

Motherwell 1v2 Kilmarnock

Scottish Premier League

23rd May 2009 Motherwell is a large town, south-east of Glasgow in North Lanarkshire. The town was known as the steel production capital of Scotland, with its Ravenscraig steelworks one of the longest working plants in the world, earning the town the nickname “Steelopolis” until the facilities closed in 1992.
The town’s football club formed in 1886, the amalgamation of two local amateur works teams; Glencairn and Alpha. Their formative years played on Alpha’s pitch on Roman Road, then from 1889 at Dalzell Park, which opened with a 3-3 draw against Rangers.
Fir Park opened in 1895, when the club purchased a stretch of wooden park land off Lord Hamilton at the north edge of his Dalzell estate. A crowd of over 6,000 witnessed its first game, an 8-1 trouncing off Celtic at the start of the 1895-96 season. In the early years the ground had a pavilion on the east side, then banks of terracing were added which raised the capacity to 15,000 after Fir Park staged its first international fixture.
A two-tier Main stand was built on the west side after further work in improvements to terracing, the playing surface and after purchasing more land; new turnstiles at the Knowetop end.
Success on the park saw the League Championship in 1932, breaking the Old Firm’s monopoly, winning the title for the only time five points clear of Rangers, including a record 52 goal maul from Willie McFadyen .
The Scottish Cup was won for the first time in 1952, a cup run which witnessed Fir Park’s record gate of 35,632 for the 4th round replay - a 2-1 victory over Rangers. That decade saw more ground improvements, with cover added to the enclosure and lamps mounded on the stand roofs, until wind damage to the enclosure roof resulted in four corner pylons being built in 1959.
In 1962 a new Main Stand was constructed at a cost of £92,000 financed by the sale of two players; Pat Quinn and another lad[*] who both signed for Liverpool. Motherwell supporters were naturally upset with this club policy; many shunned the stand making it the least populated side of the ground. The stand remains incomplete to this day, after one of the residents of the neighbouring houses complained, refusing to sell and questioned the property‘s valuation. The annoyed neighbour won his dispute, so by the time the house owner moved on, the club weren’t in a financial position to finish off the stand, although they did purchase the house themselves to use as offices.

[*]The lad in question had the same nickname as a TV character played by Roger Moore and later Ian Ogilvy. This man later had a career in the media, spending Saturday lunch times on our TV screens, hanging on his co-host’s every word and hysterically laughing at his un-witty remarks. I also remember he had an undying love and uncontrollable infatuation for the then England skipper, which he made no effort to hide, or was it only me that noticed this?
I’ve always despised this man, reason being is his unhindered dislike to a football club close to my heart. Earlier in his career he had a trial at this club, but was rejected and always remained bitter thereafter, even though his career path took an upward turn.

The Main Stand is now called The Phil O’Donnell Stand, in honour of the club captain who died on the Fir Park pitch during a game against Dundee United in December 2007. The stand has 3,385 seats in a mixture of claret wooden flip seats, with amber bucket seats added at each side. The stand comes to a stop with the iron girder still visible from the incomplete construction 37 years ago.
Following the Taylor Report work started on the other three sides of Fir Park. In 1991 the East Stand was covered and seats added for 3,128 after ‘Well won the Scottish Cup for a second time and enjoyed their first venture into European football. The stand is known for its KEEP CIGARETTES AWAY FROM THE MATCH façade, since the introduction of the smoking ban in 2006.
The ground is dominated by the South Stand which was constructed in 1993 at a cost of £2.2M, the two tiers of claret seats are split by a row of large windowed executive boxes. The capacity is 4,856 which is reserved for away fans. There’s an amber section of seats directly behind the goal, with FIR PARK picked out in claret.
At the north end the Knowetop Terrace was seated and renamed after one of my personal favourite Scottish footballers Davie Cooper, who served both Rangers and Motherwell and later Clydebank with distinction. He died in 1995 aged only 39 and played a major part in Motherwell lifting the Cup in ’91. The stand was built in 1995 and is divided into five sections, again in the club colors with more executive boxes at the back of the stand. The roof has a large façade but is naked unlike the South Stand which has large advertising space.
An eye catching feature of Fir Park is the floodlight pylons, which lean onto the sides of the stands, looking like a couple of bodyguards shielding both goal side stands. The pitch has caused major trouble for the club over the last few years. The problem is being resolved this summer with remedial work and repairing the under soil heating system. The current capacity of Fir Park stands at 13,742.

The match against Kilmarnock was a clash at the top end of the bottom part of the split, in other words; a mid table clash. Before the teams arrived the PA played a canny little ditty called ‘Up The ‘Well which sounded like it was sung by an Andy Stewart tribute act, this was followed by that awful Russian funeral march they play at sunderland and then a saving grace; a burst of Local Hero when the players ran onto the pitch.
The game was a poor affair with nothing happening of worthy note in the first 25 minutes. The highlights in that opening period were a rather attractive young lady looking for her seat in the stand which caused heads to turn in the press box. Then police and stewards went to great trouble to confiscate an inflatable alligator from the Killy end, which was a bit over the top, as the away supporters were just enjoying themselves and not being any bother.
The first shot on target produced the opening goal on 27 minutes, a fine through ball found Invincible unmarked, who had a simple task of hitting the target from 12 yards past the helpless Krysiak.
The second half continued in similar fashion, although the Steelmen did go close with two headed efforts both from corner kicks, the first of those from Brian McClean bounced back off the crossbar.
Motherwell struggled as the clock ticked towards full time, I could already predict the football manager clichés that Mark McGhee would say after the game, quotes like ‘we weren’t at the races today’ or ‘we struggled to get out of the stalls’ but then when all seem lost ’Well equalized with ten minutes remaining.
A brief spell of pressure ended with Clarkson getting the ball near the bye line, who did well to get in a cross for McClean who side footed the ball first time into the far corner of the net. That looked like that was it, honours even, but in the last minute of the game and for me personally, the last seconds of my season, a cracking goal to finish off my groundhopping campaign. A great piece of skill from Fernandez with a cheeky back heel and flick, played in Mehdi Taouil who himself showed great skill, slipping past a defender then selling a couple of lollipops before slamming the ball home at the near post. Overall maybe Killy just about shaded it, but the performance from Motherwell wasn’t the best way to leave your supporters for the summer holidays.

It’s become an end of season tradition now that my last match of the season is a journey into Northern Britain. There’s a regular train direct from Newcastle to Glasgow which passes through Motherwell, the journey takes about two and a half hours. I caught the 0752 arriving in the town with plenty of time for breakfast and a drink, so regular readers can probably guess where I went? Aye you guessed it, well done! - Wetherspoons. The Brandon Works pub is just around the corner from the station and I enjoyed an excellent big plate of Scottish breakfast washed down with a pint from the local Strathaven brewery.
I really liked Fir Park, a good mix of old and new and with the club colours being amber and claret, (which originated from Lord Hamilton by the way….Eddy) the ground is more attractive than banks of red or blue seats which are commonplace elsewhere.
I’d like to thank the club for their hospitality, I was well looked after from the moment I arrived. At half time the scotch pie and chocolate bar that complemented my cuppa were splendid (apparently you only get a tray of biscuits at Wembley…Eddy)
After the match I had a good hour and a half to kill before the 1604 train, so I planned to check out a few more pubs. I popped my head in a few bars next to the station but I walked back out again, didn’t like the vibes I was getting and the clientele didn‘t look over friendly, so I returned to the safe haven and £1.49 a pint of The Brandon Works. (I must give a special mention to the excellent bar staff at this ‘Spoons, brilliant service both before and after the game, ta!)
So that’s me done for another football season, I’ve traveled some miles this term and as always I’ve thoroughly enjoyed sharing my groundhopping adventures with you. When the season’s over I usually welcome a rest from football, but within a fortnight I’m trawling the papers and internet looking for news of pre-season friendlies and needing a footy fix. For the time being though, I’m happy to go into football hibernation for the summer, which sounds like a long break doesn’t it? But it’s only six weeks until I take in my first game of the brand new football season.

Matchday stats
MFC 1 (McClean 80) KFC 2 (Invincible 27, Taouil 90)
Att. 4186
Admission £18-£22
Programme £2.50

Ground no.215 Fir Park – Matchday Webalbum(20 pictures)