Volunteer Park, East of Scotland Football League 2, 28/12/24
Me 329, Wee Man 194
Armadale Thistle Junior Football Club
Founded – 1935
Nickname – The Dale
Honours – Edinburgh & District League – 1939/40, 1940/41, 1949/50 and 1952/53. East Region South Division – 2008/09. East Region Division Two – 1984/85 and 1988/89. Lanarkshire Hozier Cup – 1942/43. East of Scotland Junior Cup – 1943/44, 1948/49, 1952/53 and 1961/62. St. Michael’s Cup -1999/00. Brown Cup -1942/43, 1943/44, 1946/47, 1950/51 and 1953/54
Random Fact – The club were the first ever Junior side to host a floodlit match when they hosted Roswell Rosedale in 1956
Volunteer Park , named after ‘C Company Volunteer Battalion Royal Scots’ who moved to Armadale around 1880 from their previous headquarters in Torphichen. It is a place I have fancied taking on for a long time now and today we made it. It is up there with one of the oldest grounds in the country and dates back to Victorian times. 1881 as a football ground to be precise, this being part of the appeal. I don’t have a bucket list of fitba teams to drop in past but there is a couple that I have always thought, “I fancy that” and Armadale Thistle are one. What better way to do it than a festive derby against Bathgate Thistle, a fixture which in the past we have seen the reverse of at Creamery Park, however Bathgate will want to forget about that as the lost to local rivals 1 v 7. Sticking on festivities this was to be a festive day out of sport for Wee Man and I as we were heading to the ice hockey in Dundee on the way back up the road between the Dundee Stars and Fife Flyers.
Walking into the Volley I was immediately enamoured with the big stand that faces you on arrival. It’s a fair old size and impressive structure at this level.Going by old photos it has had a sizable facelift over recent years. That goes for the whole ground as I noticed once I stopped to take it all in. Gone was the grass pitch, gone was the ability to use the terrace, gone was parts of the terrace. The club are clearly in the midst of an upgrade of the joint and moving with the times. I would like to know what will become of the hill/terrace behind the far goal as it currently sits looking condemned and sorry for itself. A lot will have changed since future Torino man Joe Baker played at the Volley.
After a being caught in 5 mph traffic at the Forth Road Bridge, lunch was out the window, as it turned out a pint was too as the local boozer the Corrie Bar was not kid friendly, this leading to an early ground entrance. So early it was, the pies weren’t even on the go meaning I had to wait for a Dale Donner. The club were the first I was ever aware of that sold the now popular delights. Fine once I acquired one but I preferred the steak to be honest. Maybe I am just stuck in my old ways.As we were that early, a wee kick about in training goals was had before the teams emerged for this festive spectacle in front of a commendably chocked crowd. “Over 500” was the official number from the Dale. Some armed with dogs, some armed with buggies, some with carry outs and us with the usual yellow ball, but it all made for a cracking atmosphere under the Volley lights.
The game was a strange one as I would say the better footballing team lost in my eyes. But although Bathgate were the better side on the ball, they did not create a huge amount of chances. I couldn’t fathom why the home side resorted on long balls and humps up the park when they had a perfect artificial surface to knock the round thing about bonnie on, but then again the Dale are top of the league by a considerable distance, complete with a single black mark against them(Easthouses Lily the only team to take full points off them in the league). So what do I know. But to be fair to Armadale I thought they looked more likely to score in the first half. Bathgate had the first chance when number 11 Smith managed to banana an effort over the bar from close range. But the chances came for the Dale. They saw the ball cleared off the line before Juwon Abubakar passed up the biggest chance of the half when he found himself with a glorious chance as he burst clean through. But instead of smashing his team into the lead from around 12 yards he inexplicably tried to square it left. A huge opportunity massively squandered. The Dale were getting in behind and looked the more likely of scoring but going into the break it was a stalemate.
HT 0 v 0
Again Bathgate tried to play bonnie fitba and were definitely the better team in the opening stages. They also had the first solid chance of the second half when Campbell struck low from distance but Murphy got down well to his right to palm the fizzing effort wide. But again with all the good football being player it was not bringing up the goods in terms of chances. Speaking of football, the best move of the match for the Dale and arguably their first quality move of the game led to the opening goal. Passing the ball about with ease, a ball in from the right found Ryan Robertson in the box who set about unleashing a venomous volley which rattled the bar and was cleared or a corner. The forward should have been celebrating but opting for the World Cup finish was not his greatest idea. However his blushes were spared from the resulting corner where he was on hand to tap in from close range. It was that man again who put the game to bed when he raced through to send a finish across Saunders in the Bathgate goal, at this point we had moved to behind the opposite goal for the final minutes, hard to see the build up given the amount of players between us and the ball, but the finish was quality. That’s without any doubt. Armadale played out the final minutes knowing the local bragging rights were staying on home soil and as the locals sang, the ref blew for time on a game that was definitely worth the trip. Not a bad game, decent crowd, fine pies and a historic ground, which is clearly evolving. I suppose this is a sign of the introduction of the pyramid, clubs ambitions change, maybe and I am just speculating, the Dale may be creating a house worthy of climbing the leagues. Who knows, maybe one day the town may see league fitba again, something that has not happened since November 1933.
As we left the Volley with the drizzle so thick it was blurring the floodlights, the derbies were not over for the day as we were to head up the M90/A90 to the City of Discovery for another rivalry this time on ice where we could stay a bit drier.
Entrance -Me £8, Wee Man Free
Attendance – Over 500 according to the club
Pie – £6.75 Pie x 3
Pint – N/A , held up in traffic, tried the nearby Corrie Bar but it was no kiddos
Score Predictions – Me 2 v 0, Wee Man 3 v 1
Season Score Prediction Totals – Me 2 v 1 Wee Man
FITBAWBAG 