Memorial Park, EOSFL First Division, 28/3/26
Thornton Hibs Football Club
Founded – 1913. 1935 is stated on the badge but this indicates the step up to Junior level.
Nickname – The Hibs
Honours – Fife Junior League – 1952/53, 1958/59 and 1968/69. Fife League East – 1937/38. Fife Cup – 1935/36, 1958/59 and 1974/75. Fife and Lothians Cup – 2018/19. SJFA East Fife/Central – 2003/04 and 2009/10. SJFA East North – 2014/15
Random Fact – Club manager Craig Gilbert is the longest serving non-league manager in the country, taking the role in 2008/09
After a run of three 0 v 0s in the last week may I just say a big thank you to Murray Black for preventing a fourth, albeit my head was all set for a fourth consecutive blank until the Thornton number 7 popped up with a winner on 90 minutes to rescue what was a poor game. More on that later.
With book number three started it was time to start completing the research, or visits to the remaining outstanding teams, hence our trip to Fife today.(Interestingly the away side will feature too). Not too far to head south for us today and the closest remaining team in fact at 114 miles from the door. A doddle compared to a couple of the other pending clubs and sits just on the “not far” border that Wee Man has set. (Burntisland Shipyard his cut off before somewhere is classed as far). Thornton is one of those places that I can’t imagine ever visiting again unless watching the Hibs again. I knew absolutely nothing of the place coming down. Just that is was near Glenrothes. I know a bit more now but I will save that for the book. I enjoyed the stuff away from the game more than the 90 minutes today if truth be told. Meeting fellow Aberdeenshire folk in the Station Hotel pre-game was a decent start to proceedings. Following that at Memorial Park I spoke to numerous really affable people connected to the club who didn’t seem too bothered with my inane questioning. ( I am trying to write a book after all). I also enjoyed Wee Man’s idea of getting a viewpoint at every point of the ground before settling on one. Not his usual plan but it gave a good look at the place. A venue you have to say the club have done well revamping after the pitch was after all not too long ago was just a part of a public park. This coincided with the clubs eventual move to Senior fitba from Juniors although not one of the original clubs that left en masse after the 2017/18 season. (I still class all of the Juniors in the pyramid as Juniors and probably always will).With it fenced in now it has a bit more of a “proper” feel to it and has character and foibles from the wonky railing at the far side wing to the fence not being high enough to stop wayward shooting. But it is a tidy wee place which serves fine pies, coffee in a mug and Wagon Wheels. What is not to like about that. The weather was fine enough compared to the last few days despite a chilly wind and Wee Man was chuffed with a new club visited. Everything away from kicking the ball about was choice for a Saturday afternoon. Then there was the game.
This has not been a good week for my fitba viewing habits with 270 minutes with no goals coming into this. Enough to put you off the sport and this was not much better truth be told and the locals agreed. Not a great spectacle. But i will say it was not two bad teams. They just cancelled each other out quite a bit as they were that similar if that makes sense. Early on the ball was equally shared but Lochore keeper Dylan Fleming had ten fold the touches that opposite number Jarrat throughout the half. It was Fleming who had the most important touch of the half out of any player when he saved a controversially given penalty for handball. I don’t think it was a pen, Wee Man didn’t think it was a pen and interestingly the linesman didn’t seem too sure about it either. But the man in the middle who it must be said, was whistle happy stopping any flow to the game all afternoon, gave it. Kieren Allan stepped up blood splattered head and all. This from an earlier head knock. The Hibs number 8 fluffed his lines and then some. His effort was a worm burner down the middle allowing Fleming to stop with ease. At this point both of us thought this was going to be one of those days as even the penalties were not going in.
HT 0 v 0
The second half was not much better, to the extent the club photographer who I had already blethered with which came over and said he wanted to take my picture as a mug shot to stick on Facebook to ban me from games as I was some sort of Jonah. (Our earlier confab included a mention of the 0 v 0 streak). I am sure anyone connected to either club would have agreed this was no extravaganza of fitba delight. Lightyears away from it. The second half continued to see the free kick count raise more than it ought to have with the ref giving some nonsense and basically invisible infringements then incredibly failing to give a stonewall pen which was more of a foul than the one he did give. This when Hibs man Ciaran Healy drove into the box knocking the ball past Rhys Gait(i think that his name, had a bloody good game too) who upended him. This was right in front of us as we saw contact but the ref booked the Thornton man for simulation. Incredible decision in my eyes. Towards the end both teams had big chances with Thornton hitting the post and Jarrat in the Hibs goal spilling a shot only the rapidly rise to block the rebound and in turn pull off save of the match. A magic recovering stop. Just as the clock struck 90 the ball was swung into the Lochore box but poorly, Healy got a second bite of the cherry and sent it back in, a clearing header was short leaving Murray Black to absolutely wallop the ball into the top of the net, it was a cracking finish given the number of bodies between him and goal, but he cleared the lot keeping the points at Memorial Park and raising a wee bit of a smile on my face as he removed the goal hex that had been over me for a week.
A new club for both of us , one full of fine friendly folk. The game may have been crap but the folk in Thornton clearly are not. Then there is another chapter of the the book that can now be created. A decent day out overall.
Entrance – Me £8, Wee Man Free
Attendance – 101 (rough head count)
Pie – £5, Pie, coffee,2 x Wagon Wheels
Pint – £4.10, Tennent’s, Station Hotel
Score Predictions – Me 3 v 1, Wee Man 2 v 0
Season Score Prediction Totals – Me 3 v 3 Wee Man
FITBAWBAG 