Spain Park, Highland League, 28/8/24
Me still 322
Banks o’ Dee Football Club
Founded – 1902
Nicknames – The Dee, The Rechabites
Selected Honours – Scottish Junior Cup-1957, Highland League Cup – 2022/23 Aberdeenshire Cup – 2021/22, Aberdeenshire Shield– 2021/22 and 2023/24. North Region Superleague – 2007/08, 2008/09, 2015/16, 2015/16, 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2021/22. Grill League Cup – 2013/14, 2016/17, 2018/19 and 2021/22. North Regional Cup – 1969/70, 1970/71, 1973/74, 1976/77, 1978/79, 1980/81, 1981/82, 1983/84, 1984/85, 2010/11, 2017/18 and 2018/19. McLeman Cup – 1924/25, 1937/38, 1938/39, 1950/51, 1955/56, 1958/59, 1960/61, 1967/68, 1969/70, 1978/79, 1981/82, 1986/87, 1990/91, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2018/19 and 2021/22
Random Fact – The club had the longest unbeaten run in the league in 2023/24 at 19 games.
A somewhat belated maiden visit to Spain Park this season. (No Wee Man tonight so even longer for him) I say this as it is the ground I frequent the most. This being the case since the pangolin induced pandemic hit the world which was also the season I chucked the season ticket at Pittodrie. Now with working away for a month at a time once again and missing the start of the HFL season due to my sojourns to the Tropic of Capricorn, there is good reason for my late first footing for the season.
I have been quite confident in my belief that the Dee will win the league this season. This unexpected result has maybe made me less confident. The first half was incredible. There was no way I was to know of the incoming first half Strathbogie blitzkrieg as I snuck in a pint at Ghillies Lair pre-game(to be noted this was the first time I had ever set foot in there). I am sure my company for the night, Broch fan Steve was also not expecting what unfolded in the first 45. Huntly had the first real chance when Sam Robertson fired one over the bar from just inside the box. A let off for the Dee but also a sign of things to come as the big striker was in yards of space. Miles of space was how the deadlock was to be broken when in controversial circumstances. The home side burst forward with Michael Gilmour sending a cross into he box . The ball was clearly stopped by the hand of Heslop, the referee played on and the Black and Golds (or white and caramacs on the night) broke at pace. A ball forward was completely misjudged by veteran Dee defender Mark Reynolds who made a pigs ear of things allowing a wide open Angus Grant to open the scoring with little difficulty from a Robertson cross. This led to an altercation in the dugouts where a water bottle was lobbed into the home dugout and Dee coach Aggie Gray was then given his marching orders in the stramash. It was not 1 v 0 for long and Huntly once more took advantage of poor defending after rapidly breaking again but this time there was a chasm at the back for the Dee and Huntly were three men to one to the good. Angus Grant had the ball heading to goal, he drew in the only man left defending, Reynolds. The whole ground expected him to square it but instead he sent keeper Daniel Hoban to the ground with a dummy then gently lifted the ball over the keeper and into the net. A surprise was unfolding here. At kick off Steve pointed out that the tannoy of the team lines did not match the numbers worn on the pitch. The team lines printed off Comet did not match the players on the pitch either. This leading us into hoping for bookings to the two players in question. One of which was in the first half but nothing was noticed by the referee. The scoring was not over for the half and in the dying moments a wayward shot came in from the right and fortuitously landed at that man Grant who’s turn was superb and he made no mistake with his hat trick goal. A treble which was scored in only 16 minutes.
HT 0 v 3
To get anything out of this the Dee would surely have to score early, and that’s what they did when a ball in from the right picked out Hamish MacLeod who ran in unmarked to nod home from close range. MacLeod was then guilty of spurning a decent chance when he was one on one with Huntly keeper Robertson. Although the keeper did well to stay up and stay big I still think the Dee man should have buried it. Then the other wrongly numbered player was also booked, but still the wrong shirt was not noticed. Huntly had a huge chance which was to bring out save of the match. Kai Watson thundered a goal bound shot but Hoban got up high to palm the effort over the bar superbly. A quality stop from the home keeper. But that was about it for Huntly in the half. The ball just wouldn’t stick with them at all and Banks o’ Dee seemed to attack more and more as the half aged despite their obvious frustrations which saw some petulance from them earning a couple of bookings but at the same time not earning yellows which could have seen them reduced in men. With ten minutes to go the pressure paid off when full back Stark sent a ball into the box which was put past his own keeper by defender Ross Still. Game on and I genuinely believed we were to be treated to a great comeback and the game was certainly looking like it but the Huntly defence stood up to everything the Dee threw at them including a Gilmour effort that flew just past the post late on. The clock ground down and the Black and Golds held on to take the points back to Christie Park after their first half performance, I would say deservedly so too. Still early days in the league but the with only three wins on the board from seven games, the Dee need to get their groove on, and soon or it will be over before it has even started.
Entrance – £10
Attendance – 162 (Rough head count)
Pie – £7, Pie and coffee
Pint – £4.25, Tennent’s, Ghillies Lair
FITBAWBAG 