Club 32/279 – Dundee United

Match: Dundee United v Livingston
Date: 11/12/2021
Venue: Tannadice Park, Dundee
Competition: SPFL Premiership
Entry Fee: £24
Travel: £27.10
Miles completed today: 170
Total miles remaining: 39533

Sometimes in ground hopping, plans are out of the window. . I’d planned a trip into Dundee to take in the Lochee derby and was really looking forward to going somewhere new.
There were 5 games in the city of Dundee scheduled and United was the only one to survive the weather!
That left me heading along to Tannadice, not out of choice but I was still looking forward to it.
I normally write an introduction to all the clubs I visit but do the Terrors need any introduction?
One of Scotland’s biggest clubs, United are in a fairly good place at the moment after a few turbulent years consisting of relegation and the struggle to get back up. Last season they finished 8th and are currently in the top 6 – progress for sure.
It’s my first trip into the Premiership on ‘official business’ but neither side score many goals and I had an incline that the dreaded 0-0 would rear it’s ugly head.

Preview

Dundee United Last 5
LWDLL

Livingston Last 5
DLLLW

Odds:
Dundee United 7/5
Draw 2/1
Livingston 20/10

As I said above, my only expectation was a low scoring affair. No outcome would surprise me here, it could really go either way.
Livingston may not have one of the best sides in the league on paper but they’re physical, hard to beat and have a habit of grabbing a goal when they really need one.

The Ground

It’s not my first trip to Tannadice but I absolutely love it. It’s not your typical four stands round a pitch. What I mean by that is…. there are 5!
Only 3 were in operation for this game. The Jerry Kerr stand was closed amid recent storm damage to the roof whilst ‘the shed’ behind the goal is used for bigger games – usually large away supports.
As Lochee was due to kick off at 13.30 – I was one of the first in the stadium with this being a 15.00 start.
The pitch looked in great condition considering Dundee had been battered with rain for at least 24 hours previous.
I’ve sat in every stand at Tannadice throughout the years and I’m unsure which I prefer. This time I went for the George Fox stand (the largest) and around the halfway line.
It’s a good atmosphere and a little different – genuinely one of my favourite grounds to visit.

The Match

Livingston started the better and had Dundee United under pressure for the initial part of the first half. Alan Forrest came the closest with one just past the post from the edge of the box.
United rode the storm and came into the game. Ian Harkes had a massive chance but skied his effort – much to the frustration of the home support. Not an easy chance to take but he should’ve done better.
Kieran Freeman was probably United’s most dangerous player in the first half and they were dealt a blow losing him to injury only a few minutes into the second half.
United still marginally better but neither team looked likely to score. The home support were anxious and impatient regarding playing out from the back but when they did choose to go long, Peter Pawlett and Nicky Clark had little chance in a physical battle with Livingston’s Fitzwater and Obileye.
Livingston’s goal came from the penalty spot as Obileye tucked the ball away confidently into the corner. Was it a penalty? I’m not sure.
It’s the typical case of the away fans adamant and the home fans outraged. I was 70 yards away and can’t say either way but I did hold my breath when I saw Andrew Shinnie go to ground.
After what United saw as an injustice they became increasingly frustrated with the referee. He did have a bit of a mare in fairness. In the opening few minutes he tried to book Declan Glass before realising he’d forgot his cards and had to run off the pitch to retrieve them.
The penalty is up for debate but some of the needless whistle blowing disrupted the flow of the game and some of the fouls of the soft variety.
Plenty of good balls were delivered into the box with nobody on the end of them. I can’t help feeling like an imposing figure like Jon Daly would’ve had a lot of joy today. United huffed and puffed deep into stoppage time but couldn’t find a way through.

Full time: Dundee United 0-1 Livingston

MOTM

I’ll pick a MOTM each game I attend. This isn’t the official MOTM, just who I feel was the standout player.

As it’s the Premiership the matches are well covered and reading through some of the reports I’m surprised nobody has singled Jason Holt out for praise.
Holt’s work rate was unbelievable as he disrupted United’s midfield for the full 90 minutes. The Terrors really struggled to play through their midfield for the most part and Holt is a big part of the reason why.
Kieran Freeman would’ve had a shout if he’d not come off injured so early. Obileye was dominant at the back and did net the winner but Holt was fantastic and deserves the shout.

Summary

It’s a disappointing day for United but Tannadice is one of my favourite SPFL grounds and this is a stadium I’d be happy to frequent more often.
It’s a brilliant place that’s seen plenty of good and bad over the years. I’m happy Dundee United are back in the top flight and once again going strong.
Some of the supporters round me were rather angry at the performance and I’d agree that there was very little to get excited about going forward.
Dundee United move down to 5th and have Rangers at Ibrox next but a top 6 finish is a very real possibility and I reckon they’d be happy with that.
I think the squad is a little threadbare and a striker is an absolute must in January!
A big congratulations to Livingston too – this is a huge 3 points away from home.

Club 31/279 – Thornton Hibs

Match: Thornton Hibs v Newburgh
Date: 04/12/2021
Venue: Memorial Park, Thornton
Competition: King Cup, 2nd Round
Entry Fee: £6
Travel: £9
Miles completed today: 134
Total miles remaining: 39703

Thornton Hibs date back to 1913 and were formed as a juvenile team. It wasn’t until 1935 the club took their first steps into the juniors where they lifted the Fife Cup in their first season.
I’m not sure whether the club’s founders had some link to Edinburgh’s Hibernian, but the club play in the same colours. For any Fife based Hibees – this is the non league club for you.
Opponents Newburgh are another that’ve been around a long time and the clubs no doubt know each other well. It was King Cup duty at Memorial Park.
The King Cup has been around a while and acts as a sort of Challenge Cup for teams in the East of Scotland setup outside of the Premier League. This was a second round tie and with some good sides already eliminated there’s a chance here to go on a run.

Preview

Thornton Hibs Last 5
LLLWL

Newburgh Last 5
LDLLL

Odds:
Thornton Hibs 2/5
Draw 5/1
Newburgh 31/10

Neither side are in particularly good form but it’s a cup game and there has to be a winner. Hibs had started the season well but have found it tough recently. In the home dugout was Craig Gilbert who’d been gaffer here since 2008. On the other hand this was Newburgh manager Allan Moody’s first match in charge and it’s a hard one to call with any certainty. That being said, I took a stab at 5-0 Thornton and was very close. (I did, honestly… I have witnesses).

The Ground

Memorial Park has been home to Thornton since their inception into the juniors. It’s a park in a larger park (also called Memorial Park) after the fallen from the village in the first world war.
The ground is one of the more basic but does have a fair sized terraced area which is well covered. This was an absolute godsend as I was largely unaffected by the rain and snow which battered down throughout.
There was an exercise bike placed between the two dugouts. I’m unsure if this is a sponsor’s thing or not but was one of the more random things I’ve seen at a game.
Just like Sunnybank, Thornton sell tea out of a proper mug and do a mean hot dog. Fully recommend!
The weather was absolutely rotten – a mixture of heavy rain, sleet and snow battered down but I was upbeat and feeling blessed that my game hadn’t been called off unlike many others in every corner of the country.
A crowd of 50 or so watched with almost everyone huddled into the sheltered stand. I did notice Newburgh had a decent following through too – always great to see.


The Match

Thornton had a dream start and took the lead after only 3 mins. Newburgh failed to clear their lines from a cross and the ball fell to Joe Kinninmonth who blasted home from close range.
It’s become my pet peeve in football (and more predominately at this level) that every time a ball goes over the top of a defensive line there’s shouts for offside from defenders and a dugout. Some calls are justified and some are ridiculous but this no doubt makes it harder for a referee without linesman.
That may have been the case in this game as Thornton had onside players pulled up for being offside and vice versa. They may have benefited from one of these calls for their second goal.
Joe Kinninmonth found himself clean through and being in a good position I thought he was off. The game continued and Joe rounded the keeper and slotted away for 2-0.
One Newburgh fan in particular would not let this one go and berated the referee for the remaining seventy five minutes of the game over this decision!
Jamie McNeish scored the goal of the day after 27 minutes with a delightful chip Newburgh’s Callum Sutherland in goal. This dink was shades of Lionel Messi and I was impressed he managed to get it up so high yet come down in time to hit the back of the net.
Half time and Thornton looked to have had the game out of sight.
The second half started the same as the first. Ben Rolland effectively killed the game by cutting in from the right hand side and blasting one towards goal from the edge of the box. It’s a decent strike but Sutherland got a big hand to it and will be disappointed this ended up in the back of the net.
By this point the pitch was struggling to cope with the amount of rain and sleet that had fallen throughout the match. It became a bit of a slog for the players and both sides did well to battle through these conditions.
Although Thornton deserved the winning position they’d found themselves in, I felt Newburgh deserved a goal and they finally got it through Jamie Forrester as he made the most of a stramash in the box. Scrappy, but they all count!
Subtitute Kieran Dall rounded off the scoring with only a few minutes left to play to cap an excellent day for Thornton Hibs.
On reflection I feel that the game was a little closer than the scoreline suggested but there’s absolutely no question that Thornton deserved the win and their place in the next round.

Full time: Thornton Hibs 5-1 Newburgh

MOTM

I’ll pick a MOTM each game I attend. This isn’t the official MOTM, just who I feel was the standout player.

The official MOTM award was given to the man who scored the first two goals but I’m going to go for centre half Stuart Drummond. The guy was a rock at the back. I remember two last ditch tackles in the first half which Newburgh would’ve otherwise had massive opportunities to score. Moments like these fly under the radar when your team score 5 goals but it could’ve been a whole different game had these chances gone in.
Drummond is dominant in the air and reads the game very well. Newburgh had little joy going forward and a big factor of this was Stuart’s defending. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance.

Summary

Prior to this fixture Thornton had won one game in 10 so I definitely picked a good time to go along.
I enjoy cup games more as draws are no good. Teams tend to play with a bit more freedom and for my 6 quid I got to see two teams with plenty of attacking intent.
Just before making the jump to the senior setup along with most of the other junior sides, Thornton Hibs had finished 3rd in the Superleague ahead of some of the big hitters and this will be the level they aspire to get themselves to.
I’d like to give them a lot of credit for putting on an entertaining and exciting match despite playing in horrible conditions and the result was never really in doubt.
Thornton is a very small village in comparison to some of the other’s I’ve found myself in on this adventure but Memorial Park and the club are at it’s heart.

I’ll end by wishing them good luck in the next round!