Match: Shotts Bon Accord v Auchinleck Talbot
Date: 12/03/2022
Venue: Hannah Park, Shotts
Competition: Junior Cup Quarter Final
Entry Fee: £7
Travel: £7.80
Miles completed today: 54
Total miles remaining: 37807
When I first started doing research on the crazy ‘get round every club in Scotland’ idea I had a wee list of around 20 or so clubs that I couldn’t wait to get around. Somewhere on that list lay Shotts Bon Accord. Hannah Park is a favourite of neutrals like myself and there’s no better time to visit than when the Talbot come to town in the Junior Cup.
It’s that quarter final stage of the Junior Cup and both of these sides know what it takes to win. Shotts have lifted the trophy twice, firstly in 1958 and most recently in 2012 when they defeated today’s visitors in the final. Auchinleck Talbot are no strangers to success in this competition either – nobody has won this cup more than the Ayrshire side.
If you don’t know too much about the West of Scotland League you’d be forgiven for thinking that top of the Premier League Talbot should win comfortably against a side in the division below but this really isn’t the case. Hannah Park isn’t only the home of Shotts Bon Accord – it’s a fortress. The Bonnie haven’t lost a game here since mid July.
Odds:
Shotts Bon Accord 21/5
Draw 11/2
Auchinleck Talbot 7/25
The Ground
Hannah Park is a beautiful old school ground situated in the north of the village. It boasts the largest playing surface in senior Scottish football best viewed from the large terraced stand that runs along the side of the pitch. There’s plenty of terracing around the park although the curve behind one of the goals is a fair distance from the action.
This is undoubtedly a ground full of character but today was all about the occasion. I’m rubbish at estimating a crowd but there must be north of 1000 here to watch this one.
Auchinleck Talbot are well supported and will always bring a good crowd but anyone connected with Shotts made a real effort here. A large band of kids from their youth academy were in attendance and made some noise but more impressively was the voice of the home support in the stand – particularly in the second half. What was great to see is the amount of neutrals that’d turned out. Just at a glance I noticed punters in Rangers, Celtic, Livingston, Hearts and even Haddington Athletic gear just to name a few. Now these neutrals (myself included) don’t turn up if we expect the home side to take a beating, we come because we think there might just be an upset and I’m sure I can speak for all non Talbot fans when I say we hoped Shotts could make a game of it.
Shotts pie stall is called the Bonny Bistro and they have an extensive selection of food and drink available at great prices. Any club that’ll sell a steak pie for £1.50 is worthy of a nod of approval – even more so when the pie is delicious! This is further backed up by the fact this was the biggest pie queue I’ve seen anywhere in Scotland this season.
The Match
This would be a match keenly contested by hard work and determination. Heavy rainfall in the last few days cast a little doubt over the match but an early pitch inspection was passed and it was game on.
This did look heavy and would cut up throughout the match. When coupled with some strong winds it was going to be difficult to play pretty football. It’d be disrespectful to call this a leveller but it’d certainly change the way the game was played.
The bulk of the first half belonged to Shotts who looked the better side. With the wind behind them the Bonny used this to put balls in between Auchinleck’s defence defensive line and goalkeeper. This seemed to be working and I had the feeling that Shotts would strike first but the manner of the opening goal was utterly bizarre.
A corner swung into the box was expertly handled by Andy Leishman in the Talbot goal. Nothing to see here I thought and momentarily glanced down at my phone. My head shot back up when I heard a roar from the home fans to find a Shotts player on the deck and a penalty being awarded. A rather honest Talbot fan told me that Leishman (with the ball still in his hands) had shoved the striker to the ground and agreed that it was a penalty which goes totally against what the other Talbot fans close by thought of the decision but fair play to the guy for explaining without the bias.
Ally Martin tucked the penalty into the corner and Shotts had the lead. Still the home side looked the more likely and thought they had a second but the linesman’s flag denied them.
The last 15 minutes of the half saw a turn in the tide as Talbot pushed for an equaliser. For the most part Shotts defended well without threatening themselves but their failure to clear a cross from a free kick found Bryan Boylan who found himself with a yard of space inside the penalty area to draw level.
The second half was dominated by the away side. We didn’t see as many incidents as the first half but the big moment was to come. Talbot found themselves clean through and Shotts keeper Johnny Murdoch rushed out to try and deal with the danger. He was beaten to the ball but the ball did not beat him as he made a good save with little time to react. The only issue with this save is that it was 2-3 yards outside the box and the referee had no choice other than to produce the red card. I believe it’s the linesman that’s given it but I was right in line and it’s a good decision from the officials. The resulting free kick came off the wall but would ricochet to Craig McCracken who’s close range effort found the far corner. Craig deserved a goal having already had one off the post and the bar earlier in the match!
From there the game would fizzle out. Shotts only really had one chance from a corner but whilst Craig Crawford won the header he could only fire the ball harmlessly over the bar.
The home fans in the stand supported their side fantastically singing songs of encouragement to give the players a lift but it wasn’t to be.
Auchinleck Talbot would hang on for the win – not the prettiest game of football I’ll ever watch but thoroughly entertaining nonetheless.
Full time: Shotts Bon Accord 1-2 Auchinleck Talbot
MOTM
This is the hardest one yet. This game was the epitome of a battle and the tough conditions meant there weren’t really too many moments of quality that’d prove to be the difference. I’m going to go with Talbot defender Craig McCracken as the defender dealt with Shott’s long ball very well, scored the winner and was unlucky not the net a hat trick!
Summary
In the end it’s disappointment for Shotts but the club can take real pride in their showing on and off the park.
Their side went toe to toe with (probably) the best tier 6 side in the country and ran them close. Off the park the beautiful ground that is Hannah Park saw a bumper crowd all in good spirits and fine voices.
There are good match ups all around the country on any given Saturday but I can honestly say there’s not one other match I’d rather have been at and I walk away with a really positive experience of Shotts Bon Accord.
Auchinleck Talbot did what they always find a way to do – win games. Good luck to them in the semis!
GroundhopScot 