#37 Solitude, Cliftonville

Cliftonville 3 Glenavon 0

Saturday 29th October 2016, NIFL Premiership

We emerged bleary-eyed from the revelries of the previous evening and hopped on a train bound for Belfast. Our destination was the home of Ireland's oldest club Cliftonville and their creepy and enigmatically named stadium, Solitude.

In the politically charged sometimes sectarian world of Belfast football, Cliftonville are firmly on the republican left of the scale. Examples of this include their recent spat with unionist Glentoran fans over their decision to donate one pound of every ticket sold for the derby to the refugee crisis or their volatile 1984 friendly against Celtic which had to be called off after 79 minutes as fans clashed with RUC officers and loyalists outside the ground.

In their 137 year history the Reds have won two all-Ireland championships, three Northern Irish championships, eight Irish Cups and five Northern Ireland Football League Cups. They start today's match in 4th place, 2 points ahead of 6th placed Glenavon.

We arrived with minimal faff and plenty of time to spare at Solitude and decided to avail ourselves of the bar facilities and watch the tail end of Arsenal battering Sunderland. We spoke to a couple of friendly locals, who must have smelled groundhopper when we entered with our backpacks and started taking pictures of everything. The programme seller wasn't optimistic when Daz asked for a prediction as apparently the reds hadn't been scoring of late. However I've looked over their recent results and they've scored 12 in their last 5 games, losing only once. Obviously a hard lot to please.

Considering we were warned by various people about the dangerous nature of the area, including by Daz's boss who is a former Belfast resident, I found this to be one of the friendliest clubs I've visited so far. The only slightly unsettling thing was the massively armoured police vans that marauded the streets.

What immediately catches the eye when you enter Solitude is the absolute relic of a main stand that lines the side of the pitch. A massive hulk of red corrugated iron that looks like it could've been there as long as the club has. Large chunks of the side panelling were discoloured or missing and you could see long grass growing on its roof, it looks as if a stray ball hit with enough force could keel the whole thing over. Unfortunately the stewards weren't allowing people up there today although there were a few official looking people with cameras and microphones up there. It turns out the plan is to demolish the stand this year to make way for a new main stand. The top tier contains an array of seemingly randomly arranged red, white and green seats whilst underneath is a mix of seats and terrace.

We took our seats in the Cage End stand which I believe is the most recently built of the stands, replacing an ancient curved terrace that used to be in that part of the ground. It's a modern seated stand which is very steep despite not having that many rows, so we got a good view from two-thirds up. Next to this stand is a quite dilapidated old white house which used to contain the clubhouse and training facilities but is now, like the main stand, scheduled for demolition

Opposite the Cage End there is the away end which seats 880 and has a row of standing at the back, which most of the travelling Glenavon fans used. The side of the ground opposite the main stand has had temporary seating in the past for Champions League fixtures but now sits empty. Over in that direction you can see some pretty spectacular views of the surrounding hills which looked nice and eerie in the afternoon fog.

The game kicked off and the Reds hit the post early doors at 14 minutes, Glenavon do the same from a free kick on 36 but other than that it's a bit of a haphazard 45 minutes. A lot of sloppy passing, a fussy ref and a lino on the left wing who got almost every call wrong took the vigour out of the first half.

Early in the second half a Glenavon player crossed the ball back to his keeper from near the corner flag but failed to notice a Cliftonville player chasing it down. The keeper didn't quite control the ball and a goal looked certain, so certain that the PA man chose to start playing the goal celebration music, which was shut off abruptly as the keeper finally wrestled back control of the situation and booted it away. The comedy of errors was completed when this absolute lamp by the keeper was met by a Glenavon midfielder who decided the best way to control this wayward ball would be to attempt an awkward scissor kick which would ultimately lay him on his arse.

Glenavon, despite their mishaps, have a good spell five minutes into the second half and come close to opening the scoring twice but it is the home team that do so from a well-worked corner and a Jason McGuinness header in the 57th minute. This goal seems to spur on the Reds who double their lead two minutes later through a 25 yard Ruairi Harkin screamer that took a slight deflection.

Truthfully Glenavon had enough about them to not deserve the pounding they were now receiving but a fully revitalised Cliftonville were passing with the same confidence and intention that we saw from Dundalk last night. The awesomely named Davy McDaid should have made it three when he plowed an effort over from inside the box on the 70th minute but made up for it five minutes later by tapping in a blunder from skipper Kris Lindsay who chested the ball down to his opponent in front of goal.

Satisfied to have experienced a true piece of Irish football history and another good home win, we started on the long road back to the motherland (Stoke-on-Trent) ready for the second half of our epic quest.

#36 Oriel Park, Dundalk

Dundalk 4 Galway United 1
Friday 28th October 2016, League of Ireland Premier Division

Pack up your turnip lanterns and call me Eoin because the Partizan Bristle/Pint of Football Four Day Four Nation Groundhopping Extravaganza™ is upon us. Days were booked off work, logistics were fawned over and a plane was caught from Birmingham for the start of a glorious football road trip where Daz and I would be taking in matches in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales (kind of) and good old England.

First on the list were current Irish champions and darlings of the Europa league, Dundalk. Daz's irrepressible fascination with overseas leagues was the genesis of this trip as he'd been following Dundalk's European exploits and decided we should get in on what was proving to be a historic run in the history of Irish football.

Dundalk qualified for the qualifying rounds of the Champions League and progressed well, overcoming Iceland's Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar and Belarus' FC BATE Borisov before succumbing to Polish champions Legia Warsaw. Dropping to the Europa League group stage, the Lilywhites were able to hold AZ Alkmaar to a draw at AFAS Stadion as well as beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-0 at Shamrock Rovers' ground Tallaght Stadium. A week previous to today Dundalk had their first defeat in the group stage at Tallaght to Russian giants Zenit St. Petersburg in a hard-fought contest where they scored first but ended up losing 2-1.

As well as their European heroics, Dundalk also stormed the domestic league this season and had in fact already won the title the previous Sunday at home against Bohemians. If that wasn't enough, Dundalk also have an FAI Cup final coming up on the first Sunday of November at the national stadium against Cork City.

We had originally planned to go and watch a Europa fixture however a tip-off from another groundhopper about the underwhelming and temporary feel of Tallaght Stadium led us to forgo the glamour of European football and seek out a league game at the more characterful Oriel Park, with the added bonus of getting in on the end-of-season party.

After a long journey we arrived in the sleepy town of Dundalk. A special mention must go to our kindly B&B owner Larry who offered us a lift to the ground, without which we would have almost certainly missed kick-off. He also does a smashing white pudding and soda bread.

We picked up our tickets and squeezed our way into the ground which was packed to the rafters and buzzing with a carnival atmosphere. Half the crowd were stood on their seat or sat on the perimeter wall and the noise coming from the small shed opposite the main stand was lovely to hear. It was obvious that the locals were intent on partying through the 90 mins judging by the smell of weed coming from some of the stands or the bloke that wandered out of the clubhouse, glass pint in hand and went to chat a steward, who then had a sip himself. The very stuff of life. Even the 10 or so Galway fans that had made the final trip of the season were in fine voice, with their drum and flags loud and proud.

Oriel Park is another traditional ground that has opted to bring in a modern 3G pitch and in order to fulfil their European commitments there are a lot more seated areas than you might expect from such a small ground. As previously mentioned there is a small roofed portion of seats opposite the main stand with more uncovered seats to either side. This roofed portion is where the large majority of the noise was coming from and they did an amazing job of keeping it going all night, which I suppose is easy when you've won three league titles in a row. The main stand is a pretty harrowing looking pillared grey beast which seats 1,000. There are more uncovered ground level seats to the right and to the left is the away end which is half seats and half ancient terrace split in half diagonally. Both ends of the ground are empty save for an access road for the youth academy and a large grass verge. Due to the absolutely rammed nature of the place, this verge is where we ended up standing and it afforded us a great view to be fair. It's not a pretty ground for sure but it didn't matter tonight and we were caught up in the excitement immediately.

As expected from the league leaders, Dundalk inflicted absolute carnage during the first half and were 3-0 up by the 39th minute, playing fast-paced passing football with the ever present menace of Daryl Horgan and his driving runs and cuts into the Galway box. Ulsterman Dean Shiels netted the first, followed by an odd one from Paddy Barrett who lamped what looked like a cross into the box which the Galway keeper Conor Winn gathered but then fumbled into his own net. Dean Shiels netted his brace soon after, ably assisted by Robbie Benson in a nifty one-two followed by a chip over the committed Winn.

Out into the second half and the visitors regain some pride early on when a strong shot from Ryan Connolly is parried by Gabriel Sava for Connolly to easily slot home on the rebound. This didn't cause the singers in the shed to pause their song even for a second. As the match trundled towards it's conclusion and kids hopped over the walls ready to run onto the pitch there was a sense that the team wanted more. After a 10 or so minute period of sustained pressure it was Ciaran Kilduff who ran clear and poked in the final goal in injury time. The rejoicing was such that the ref couldn't be troubled to clear the pitch and complete the other two minutes of injury time.

After soaking it in for a while, Daz and I decided to beat the crowds and duck in for a pint. I'd say the real jewel in the crown of Oriel Park is the clubhouse which is basically a massive Irish pub underneath the stand. We had a lovely time listening to bonkers Irish folk-pop and passing around a bottle of questionable free fizz given out by the club. It was truly a privilege to share in a special day for Dundalk and Irish football in general. I'll definitely be keeping a look out for the Lilywhites for the rest of their European run and wish them the best of luck.

Redux: Ashton Gate

Bristol City 1 Blackburn Rovers 0 
Saturday 22nd October 2016, Championship 

Whilst I want to avoid covering the same grounds multiple times, I am going to allow myself to under the following circumstances: 

- It's a big occasion. For example a local non-league team drawing a big club in the FA Cup or a play-off or cup final. 

- I've only had access to a small part of the ground due to being in a fenced-off away section, like my trip to Macclesfield Town. 

- The ground has changed substantially since my last visit, as is the case today. So without further ado:

This weekend I was extending the warm, gooey tentacle of hospitality to my mate Nash (who was with me at Accrington), his mum Sam and her friend Mandy as they watched their beloved Blackburn Rovers take on my loathed Bristol City.

Besides the prospect of a rollicking good match, my motivation for attending was the completion of Ashton Gate's new West Stand and the fact that the last time I attended the place generally looked like a building site. I thought it might be a decent match, what with Blackburn fighting to avoid being sucked into a relegation battle and in decent form, with a draw and a win against Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest respectively in their most recent fixtures. City meanwhile were, as always, pushing for that fabled final promotion to the Premier League but had come off the rails somewhat with losses against struggling Cardiff City and mid-table Queens Park Rangers.

After a few pints at The Phoenix near where the Blackburn contingent were staying, a taxi was grabbed to Bedminster. The streets were particularly busy this Saturday because City had put on a deal for their season ticket holders where they could bring two friends for a tenner. As such a crowd of 21,452 had descended on South Bristol, suddenly making me very aware of the Stuart Sinclair badge pin I'd left on my coat but fortunately we were able to reach the away entrance uneaten. 

First order of business in the stadium was a minutes silence for Gerry Gow, a Scottish midfielder who made 375 appearances for City before going on to play for Manchester City. During his stint with the Blues he played the entire 210 minutes of both 1981 FA cup finals, narrowly losing in the replay to Tottenham Hotspur. Sadly Gow lost his battle with cancer two weeks prior to today at the age of 64.

Not a whole lot had really changed since my visit to the Gate last season. Apart from the new West Stand, which considering it has two tiers and 11,000 seats should probably be classed as a big change. It looms large over the rest of the place and is, in fairness, a very impressive spectacle. Officially named the Lansdown Stand in a fairly bold move on the part of City's owner... Steve Lansdown, it is one of three stands to have been given the once over in the most recent overhaul and one of two to have been completely torn down in the process, along with the Wedlock Stand or "East End" which was the traditional home of vocal City supporters. 

As I said in my previous write-up I'm almost certainly at odds with Lansdown's target audience on this one and it's not really a fair comment seeing as I have only ever seen Ashton Gate pre-development from the outside but judging from old pictures and today's atmosphere, it does seem like this re-development has muted some of the unique charm of the stadium. Obviously this is the way things are going across the game and shouldn't be seen as a swipe at City only (step away from your email client).

I think showing someone a picture of the East End and a picture of the new South Stand and seeing which they prefer would be a pretty good barometer of where their preferences lie when it comes to football grounds. I'm firmly in the East End camp as the new stand looks very bland and Meccano-like to me. With the demolition of the East End the vocal support seems to have been shifted from it's traditional home to the small quarter of the Atyeo Stand which isn't taken up by away fans and (a somewhat spirited display of flag waving during the team walkout notwithstanding) it was very, very quiet throughout most of the match. Before I'm accused of bias it's worth pointing out certain City fans seem to agree. The atmosphere may well come to miss the East End with it's cavernous, echoey metal roof.

The outside of the stadium is more neutral than it was in times past as well. What once was a striking red barn of corrugated iron is now all grey, white and futuristic. I find myself in agreement with Roger Taylor on Football Ground Guide when he mentions that it would be hard for an outsider to tell instantly who plays there. The lettering on the Dolman simply reads "Bristol" rather than Bristol City and the place is plastered with adverts for Bristol Rugby, Bristol Flyers and the myriad of other teams that have been acquired by the Bristol Sport machine.

In summary, impressive, comfortable and very not for me. I'll stand on the Blackthorn Terrace any day thanks. Maybe I should enjoy the Memorial Stadium while I can.

Compared to my previous trip, where I entered the salubrious concourse of the home end, the Atyeo Stand facilities were a lot more basic and consisted of a cramped brick corridor with a small hatch for refreshments. The small Blackburn following of 556 weren't going to be any trouble for the tenacious old ladies of the tea hatch this afternoon though. Whilst queuing for the beers at half-time, a few of the Blackburn herd were chatting with a very lanky, strangely familiar looking steward who I was later informed was none other than famous Bristolian Tim off The Undateables. His talent for lady charming remained strong as he chatted quite uninhibitedly to Sam and Nancy about his love of women in uniform. He seemed like a nice guy.

The game was not the classic that I hoped it might be. For the most part Blackburn battled for possession, defended well and kept Chelsea starlet Tammy Abraham out of the game but were generally rubbish in front of goal. I thought they would probably leave with the valuable point they deserved. However one lapse from the defence where a Blackburn player took a terrible touch on a long ball forward from Lee Tomlin allowed substitute Aaron Wilbraham to get a shot off in the box which proved to be their undoing. A disappointing result for my companions but to be honest I think they had their eyes firmly on the night out in Bristol by this point.