Club 103/285 – Ellon United

Match: Ellon United v Fraserburgh United
Date: 18/11/2023
Venue: The Meadows, Ellon
Competition: North Junior Premier League (Tier 6)
Entry Fee: £6
Travel: £31.90
Miles completed today: 348
Total miles remaining: 29804

Rule number one of groundhopping: Don’t travel far in bad weather. Yet as I wake up on Saturday morning with the rain battering down knowing it’s no better up north, I’m unreasonably confident the game will go ahead.
Even as I get to Aberdeen and have a scroll through Twitter seeing ‘game off’ posts all over the place I’m still every bit as unreasonably confident.
It wasn’t until I arrived in Ellon I got the fear. I’d planned Cove Rangers on astro as a backup in Aberdeen if things went pear shaped, but once I’m in Ellon I’m fully committed and there’s no going back. As soon as I stepped off the bus to be pelted with rain I was having my doubts.
This is the kind of rain that’d put you off standing in a park watching a game but incredibly, as the game began the skies cleared and the rain stayed off for the most part. If there is a god up there, he’s done me a solid.

I’d love to tell you all about the journey but I can’t remember most of it. I’ve said this a million times, but if going from city to city use Citylink instead of Scotrail, way cheaper. The bus broke down before it’d left Glasgow but it was only 20 minutes and for the whole journey I was either watching rain batter off the window or sleeping.
Ellon is a place I’d like to see again in better conditions. There’s a river walk which looks right up my street and otters can commonly be spotted here – there’s even a statue of one on a roundabout.

Ellon United have been in the junior ranks since the 1970’s but played amateur as far back as 1890! Funnily enough, on the pitch next to United’s game with the same kick off time is Ellon Thistle, the town’s current amateur team.

Preview

4th v 5th in the league and Ellon go into this game as favourites. It’d be fair to say Ellon’s form has been up and down but that seems to be the nature of this league.
Fraserburgh United have enjoyed this fixture, I looked as far back as 2014 and they haven’t lost to Ellon in that time! Still, McBookie have Ellon as favourites and rightfully so. Both teams have reason to be pretty happy with their start. Ellon finished 8th last season, so sitting in fourth is great reading and likewise for Fraserburgh United, who were promoted this season and are sitting pretty in the top half. This should be a battle of two decent sides in a good place.

McBookie odds:
Ellon United 8/15
Draw 9/2
Fraserburgh United 12/5

The Ground

There are some grounds that are difficult to find. I remember Dyce being a bit out the way and Glentanar just a few weeks ago was in woods you’d never otherwise find but you don’t have that problem here, can’t miss it.
The Meadows isn’t just this pitch, it’s the whole leisure centre. There’s a building with a gym in it, rugby pitches, the ammy pitch where Ellon Thistle were playing and the fenced off Ellon United ground. They rely on a bit of honesty, as from the car park you can watch for free with a great view. There were one or two who did, but they seemed to be trying to watch both games simultaneously then moved on after a while rather than being disingenuous to the club.
The ground is a basic setup, there’s a small cafe suite and the kitchen was open with everything you could ask for. The cafe choices are actually pretty good here. It’s certainly cold and miserable enough for the bacon and lentil soup on offer but I was tempted by a chicken pie which isn’t all too common but very nice, would recommend.
Despite all the fields and roads being soaked roundabout, the pitch was in good condition here. Heavy and a little cut up in places but that’s impressive in this weather.

The Game

I’d never seen either of these teams play before so I’d no idea what to expect but for the first 5 minutes Fraserburgh couldn’t get out of their own half as Ellon passed the ball well and won it back quickly. They couldn’t turn possession into chances however and the first real opportunity of the game came from West as he capitalised on a defensive error and did remarkably well to hit the bar from an unlikely angle.
Ellon’s Scott Gray had their biggest chance of the half when he was slipped through and controlled well but Tait in the Fraserburgh goal rushed out quickly and made a good save.
Fraserburgh United had come the closest overall, but it was 0-0 at the break.
I did wonder if we’d see a goal. Ellon were still in relative control of the game but I thought they did things a wee bit too quickly and had more time on the ball than they actually realised.
Still, Fraserburgh thought they had scored the opener when Zak Conway scored with his shoulder from close range but the ref blew for offside and despite some protest, I think this was the right call.
At the other End, we finally had a goal to celebrate as Ben Milne tapped home a low ball across goal from James Bain.
It seems strange to say, but the goal was probably the worst thing that could’ve happened to Ellon as Fraserburgh’s reaction to going a goal down was strong and they piled on real pressure.
Ellon were fuming at the award of a corner but again, I think the ref got this right, the defender touched the ball before it went out of play! Obviously the resulting corner was scored to add to the ‘controversy’ by Adam Ritchie but we need to talk about the delivery from Liam Strachan. He’s fired the ball on top of the goalkeeper but with dip, swerve and plenty of pace. It was begging for the slightest of touches to guide it goalwards and Ritchie did just that.
Fraserburgh had their second shortly after when a lovely one touch passing move was eventually laid off to Strachan who blasted into the bottom corner from the edge of the box, it was like watching prime Barcelona!
Zak Conway would add a third from close range with a swivel finish in the box which left Ellon United rather frustrated. Not the home side’s day unfortunately but Fraserburgh United’s (minimum) 9 year unbeaten run in the fixture continues.

Full time: Ellon United 1-3 Fraserburgh United

MOTM

Liam Strachan. his assist was delightful and his goal even better. The technical ability shown in both instances was essentially the difference between the two sides. The goal in particular came at such an important time in the game and he couldn’t have hit it any sweeter with the laces.

Summary

Ellon are a good wee club with a hardy band of supporters but sometimes in football it just isn’t your day and that was the case here.
Fraserburgh United need to be given plaudits. Battled away in the first half, went a goal down then really showed their class when they needed to step things up a notch. The game could’ve easily panned out differently if Ellon had converted their first half possession into chances but I believe the teams are similar in terms of quality and I’m not surprised they’re currently joint on points!
Ellon is a fairly short journey from Aberdeen and as there’s a park and ride, public transport is frequent. is a wonderful place to visit and I wish I’d had better weather and more time to take a walk round the river and see the castle ruins. Maybe another time.
Everyone’s groundhopping ‘rules’ are different and I personally wouldn’t count 2 games at the same time, but catching wee bits of Ellon Thistle playing on the next pitch when there was a stoppage in my game was a welcome distraction – especially as they kept scoring goals!

I’m sorry I’ve arrived on a disappointing day for the club, but that gives me yet another reason to return someday. When the project is complete, perhaps I will.

Club 102/285 – Gartcairn

Match: Gartcairn v Arthurlie
Date: 15/11/2023
Venue: MTC Park, Airdrie
Competition: WOS Premier League (Tier 6)
Entry Fee: £8
Travel: £4.30
Miles completed today: 36
Total miles remaining: 30152

It’s hard to believe that a place the size of Airdrie had no representation at Junior level for so long. Even with the turbulent two thousands with Airdrieonians/United nobody could successfully insert another team into an area which seemed to be crying out for it… Then along came an under-10’s team.

It’s crazy to think a club that started with 2 youth teams has grown as much as Gartcairn have. There are others in the west that have a similar history and model, but those clubs are mostly lower down the divisions – Gartcairn have broken the mould and smashed the ceiling.

Despite the humble beginnings, it’s clear the club have pulled a fair bit of investment in from somewhere. I’d pride myself on knowing non league football well and this is the area I tend to focus on with social media as it’s a level that deserves more coverage but despite this, My knowledge is stronger on the SPFL. If there’s a player that played 9 games for Dunfermline in 2009 I’ll recognise him and with Gartcairn, it’s a team full of these players. Of the starting 11, I recognised 7 from their time at SPFL clubs including what would be a debut for Kieran MacDonald from Edinburgh City at left back. I didn’t realise how many players they’d taken from Pollok either.
This may be a club that have just been promoted to this level for the first time, but the team on the park is an extremely high standard.

Preview

I forgot to check the odds beforehand, so that’s that out the window, but I’m fairly certain Gartcairn would’ve been favourites.
They’re sitting 5th in the table prior to this one and with standard of their recent signings it looks as though they’ll be staying up that end of the table. Arthurlie are in the relegation spots but I don’t think they’ve done badly and ARE a good team. It’s just testament to how strong the division is that Arthurlie’s Premier League status is under threat.
My pre-match prediction was a 3-2 home win.
However… Arthurlie have never lost to Gartcairn in their history and that includes a 7-2, 3-0 and a 4-1 the last time the teams met in the Junior Cup of 2021/22.

The Ground

Gartcairn have a disadvantage on other clubs who have been around for 100 years and have a traditional ground. Some of these grounds have gone of course, but the old ground was used as a bargaining chip to get a new facility – Gartcairn can’t do that. They’ve had to play out of an astro cage within Airdrie Leisure Centre and they’ve had to be creative as to what their ground would look like.
Astro cages aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. I’ve been to Alness, Caley Braves, West park United etc etc and they are what they are. However, Gartcairn have the most impressive setup of them all by some distance.
They’ve managed to get some extra space for hospitality behind the goal and have managed to squeeze in 3 seated stands along the only accessible side of the pitch for spectators and they look good! They’ve as much banners and signs up as they can to show off a bit of branding and make it look like home and it works. The biggest challenge the club face now (and it’s a good problem to have) is bigger crowds. This was fairly packed for a Wednesday night and fair play to the sizeable number of Arthurlie fans who turned up in the cold to watch too.

The Game

YouTuber Sam North was in attendance to do a vlog on the game and I think Gartcairn wanted to put on a show for him. As the teams emerged fireworks were set off in the background and blue and white smoke filled the air as the young team lit a fairly impressive pyro show. I’m going to assume that doesn’t happen every week but it really added to the occasion.
I distinctly remember Arthurlie getting down the right early on and drilling a low ball across the face of the 6 yard box that Gerry McLaughlin did really well to intercept. I was hit with deja vu when the exact same move happened again but this time Dylan Dykes was on hand to tap home from close range. Gartcairn would put pressure on Arthurlie who actually dealt with any danger with relative ease but they’ll be really disappointed with the manner of the goals they’d eventually lose. Arthurlie gave the ball away in a dangerous area and Kamil Krol took full advantage racing into the box before colliding with another defender. The ref pointed to the spot and Mark McGuigan tucked the ball into the corner, a real gift of a goal.
Arthurlie had a penalty shout of their own turned down which the supporters round me where less than happy with. I was 70 yards away and looked straight to the ref but he booked the player for diving and there were no complaints from the player himself, so that normally tells it’s own story. Looked like good refereeing, even if I was the only one in a 20 yard radius that thought so.
McGuigan would be in again, this time a miscommunication between defence and the goalkeeper meant that nobody in an Arthurlie shirt dealt with a fairly routine ball over the top which McGuigan took the ball on the bounce and lifted it over the young keeper for 2-1, great finish to be fair.
In the second half Gartcairn would be awarded a second penalty and it’s the easiest decision the ref will ever make. Jamie Taggart latched on to a low ball from the right, took a great touch and just as he was about to (surely) score from close range he was pulled by Roulston who was sent off for his troubles.
This allowed McGuigan to net his hat-trick with another excellent penalty and the game really looked like getting away from Arthurlie.
McGuigan could’ve had 4 with a powerful strike from distance but young Clarke in the Arthurlie goal made a great save to tip over.
Darren Bowie would score the goal of the game coming in from the right and going past a number of Arthurlie defenders before firing low into the corner from the edge of the box.
Gartcairn are good at football…

Full Time: Gartcairn 4-1 Arthurlie

MOTM

Easy choice, I’m going with the league’s joint 2nd top goalscorer and hat-trick hero Mark McGuigan. Two excellent penalties that no goalkeeper would get near and was alert enough to capitalise on a mistake at the back and finish with a lovely dink for the other. A great night for the ex-Stenny star.

Summary

I’m seriously impressed with the team that Gartcairn have managed to put on the park. As I said earlier, I’ve no idea how much finance they have at their disposal or how they acquire it but they’ve built a team that can take anyone in that league on their day.
They’ve also done a great job with the facilities they have and as the club continues to grow they may need to find a way to open up the other side of the ground somehow.
What is abundantly clear is that Gartcairn are a huge part of the community. There’s around 700 players on their books through all levels and the fact many of the kids came out to watch the senior team, especially for a midweek game is great to see.