Match: Longside v Glentanar
Date: 12/08/2023
Venue: Davidson Park, Longside
Competition: North Junior Championship (Tier 7)
Entry Fee: £8
Travel: £39.55
Miles completed today: 374
Total miles remaining: 31354
I could write you a whole post on why I began this project. Some of the many include going to Villages I didn’t know existed to see teams I’d never heard of – Longside definitely falls into that category.
I told numerous people that I’d planned to visit Longside (all of them Scottish) and no one knew where it was. I don’t blame them, you have to zoom pretty far in to see it on a map but wedged between Mintlaw and Peterhead is a wee village with a football team.
As someone who enjoys staring out the window thinking about a million different things, the journey was long but pain free.
The morning started at 7:15 with a train into Glasgow, followed by a direct bus to Aberdeen, another to Mintlaw, and a very short jaunt over to Longside. Booking with different companies is one of the many reasons public transport should be nationalised and the costs can add up but even giving myself more stop over time as a buffer in case disaster struck, it can be done.
Longside is a small village with just over 1000 people residing. I didn’t even look at where the ground was on a map or look up a postcode because I was confident enough that I could walk the entire village in 10 minutes, so surely I couldn’t miss it.
Longside FC doesn’t have any kind of social media presence, so finding info on their games is pretty scarce. Although I say I couldn’t miss the ground, it was my sole reason for visiting. Most people will bounce straight through the village not knowing it’s there. It’s far from a ‘local club for local people’ but if you weren’t looking you’d probably never know.
Preview
It’s the first league game of the season but with three League Cup fixtures under their belt already, Longside can be pretty happy with their start.
A disappointing Tuesday night defeat to Deveronside was made irrelevant by the fact they’d managed to qualify from the group stage regardless thanks to wins against Premiership opposition in the form of Fraserburgh United and Buchanhaven Hearts. Only one team qualifies from the groups, so Longside’s progression is an achievement in itself.
Longside hasn’t beaten Glentanar since 2019 (two attempts since) but finds themselves the favourites here.
Nothing is won or lost in the opening fixture of a league season but it looks to be a wide open league this year and it’s the only weekend where every single team is filled with excitement and optimism.
Odds:
Longside 1/2
Draw 9/2
Glentanar 13/5
The Ground
I won’t proclaim to be an expert regarding football clubs in this area but I’ve been around enough to know what to expect. Respectfully, grounds are basic in nature.
I was completely wrong. There are teams all over the country that’d kill to have these facilities and they smashed my expectations.
As you wander through the car park you’re met with the social club. This seems to be an epicentre for the community and is used as an actual pub rather than a football team’s social club. The bar was open to non footballing punters and some caught a bit of the game from the beer garden peering over the wall. It seems a smart move, I’m guessing this goes a long way into how the team is funded.
As I stood in Davidson Park staring at the Alan Davidson stand, I figured he must be of great importance to the club. He passed away just a few years ago but the man played for and ran the club for over 50 years – even writing a book on their history which I’d like to get my hands on. It’s plain and simple, without these people clubs at this level simply don’t exist, and I can only assume that without Alan, there wouldn’t still be a Longside FC to visit.
The ground is floodlit and the stand has 3 rows of terracing and would provide ample cover for all spectators if the weather wasn’t on our side. There’s a pavilion for the changing rooms which obviously I didn’t have access to and another separate building for the kitchen.
I didn’t expect much in terms of facilities from a ‘small’ club from a small village but this is top notch.
My only downside here is that I was overcharged to get in, and didn’t even realise it at the time (ok, that bit is my fault). I handed the guy a tenner and got £2 back, but now that I come to think of it, entry is only £6! I still think I got value for money.
The Game
After the high’s of qualifying in the cup, the anticipation and excitement was quickly drained from the home side as they found themselves 2 down within the first half hour.
There didn’t seem to be too much between the sides and I can’t make my mind up whether Glentanar were better going forward or just better at the back than their opponents, but they were good value for their lead.
The first goal came from a low driven cross from the right. Moroney was sharper than the Longside defence nipping in front of one of the centre halves to blast home from around the penalty spot. Great goal from Glentanar’s point of view, but poor defending too from Longside.
Moroney just about had his second with a similar move but just as he was about to (surely) finish from close range, Longside’s Elrick came from nowhere to make a brilliant tackle and put the ball out for a corner – a goal saving tackle no doubt.
The second did come however, MacKintosh found himself clean through and has the composure to lift the ball over Fraser in the Longside goal making it look easy in the process. I felt that Longside were much better than they were performing. They’d shown flashes of good football and had the odd chance themself, but after the second goal the team were arguing with each other and heads were gone. They needed the half time whistle and fast.
I’ll brag and say that I thought I’d see a different Longside in the second half. Just a few minutes after the second half kicked off, I send a DM in a football group chat on Twitter saying I think Lonside will win from 2-0 down.
Harry Copeman had one or two promising runs with the ball in the first half but Longside couldn’t get him involved. The second half however, belonged to Harry. The changing room window was open and I was deliberately listening out for Longside’s coaching staff getting the hairdryer out but it was deathly quiet. Whatever he said worked though, Longside came out like an animal possessed and played with a ferocious tempo leaving Glentanar’s midfield chasing shadows. Their failure to clear a long ball fell to Copeman on the edge of the box who calmly placed the ball into the bottom corner and from there on there was only going to be one winner. Copeman had the ball on the edge of the box (right hand side) before cutting in on his left and sending a low drive off the post and in. It’s bounced right in front of the keeper who could maybe have done better but who cares, it’s 2-2.
Copeman again found himself with too much space and with only the keeper to beat, slid the ball underneath him for 3-2.
The only Glenatnar chance I can think of in the second half was an edge of the box strike from Brown which looked a sure fire goal but for a phenomenal reaction save from Fraser. Had that gone in, the game might’ve changed but the team in the ascendency marched on. A ball over the top was plucked out of the sky by Copeman and as Beattie tried to put a foot in, ended up lifting the ball over his own keeper for 4-2. Wouldn’t blame him too much, it’s a challenge he had to make!
We had one more incident to speak of, a red card! As Longside were breaking on the halfway line 2v1, Johnston made a challenge from behind which led to a straight red. It’s one of these that I’d want it to be a red card, but it isn’t. It’s as cynical as they come and Longside quite rightly were aggrieved, but it’s a textbook ‘taken one for the team’ yellow. The only exception (and this might’ve happened, I’m not sure) was that Johnston caught the boy high, in which case I’d have sent him off too. It mattered not though, as the game was dead and buried by then.
What a comeback!
Longside 4-2 Glentanar
MOTM
Do we really need to ask? Harry Copeman’s second half hat-trick is more than enough to hand him the accolade. The difference between the first and second half for Longside was about as big a gap I’d ever seen and the guy was clinical and unplayable. There’s not much to say that I didn’t cover in the match report but I simply don’t think they’d have won without him.
After the dust settled
I picked a belter of a game to watch. Although there’s two teams on the pitch I always come to see the home side and Longside provided entertainment from being both rubbish and brilliant! 6 goals, a red card and an unlikely comeback is great value and the 40-50 spectators were spoiled!
Longside’s facilities dwarf bigger clubs and I wonder if they’ll be one of the few in the area to get their SFA license where they’d be eligible to dream of a road to Hampden in the Scottish Cup. I’m impressed that a village so small has been able to sustain a football team at this level for such a long time and it seems a good time to get along to watch them. I reckon if they spread the word a bit more they’d bring more punters in, specifically young boys which I’ve seen pretty much everywhere in their droves were about the only thing missing here.
For being so far away from home, I was back for 10pm to end a long and productive day.
The geography in the north east of Scotland is still something I’m getting to grips with and I’m enjoying exploring what the areas have to offer. Davidson Park seems to be one of Scottish football’s less travelled roads but you’ll be impressed. With Aberdeen not in action till the Sunday, I wonder if more locals can frequent these games.
Longside was a trip where I got more than I bargained for, and that’s what makes the journeys worthwhile.
GroundhopScot 