https://almax1.files.wordpress.com/2022/04/gayfield-1.jpgGayfield is the home of Arbroath FC.

In May 2018 Sons played Arbroath in the semi-final of the Tier 2 relegation/Tier 3 promotion play-offs. We won there 2-1 and drew 1-1 at home to reach the final where we lost in extra time to Alloa.

Since then it’s fair to say the two clubs’ paths have taken very different courses.

The next season Arbroath absolutely strolled to promotion. Their sojourn in Tier 2 has been even more successful than ours. They have already reached the promotion play-offs this season and might even finish first being only one point behind with two games left – one of those a difficult one away to Kilmarnock, the only team above them.

It’s a magnificent achievement for a part-time club in these times but their performances this season should make them able to approach the game with no trepidation – and the pressure ought to be on Kilmarnock as favourites and a full-time team.

As for us, we could easily be relegated to Tier 4 in our forthcoming play-offs.

The photo below, showing Gayfield in all its lower league football ground beauty, is taken from a private blog I frequent.

Edited to add: the embedding of the photo no longer works.

But you can view it here.

This lies opposite Gayfield football ground.

Entranceway. The balcony and canopy above the door, the windows in and beside the door, plus the rounded corner to the left – and the flat roof – are deco features. The glazing has been mucked about with though:-

Showing rounded corner, balconies, strong horizontals and verticals:-

View of side and rear:-

SPFL Tier 2 Play-off Semi-final, first leg, Gayfield Park, 2/5/18.

Now here’s a rarity.

I was composing this post in my head just before the final whistle and it began, “Well, I’ve still not seen us win at Gayfield,” when – lo and behold – we do just that, Craig Barr knocking the ball in at the second attempt.

Admittedly this followed an almost continuous run of Sons pressure where both Iain Russell and Liam Burt perhaps should have scored.

But it all ended up rather better than it might have.

Scott Gallacher had already had to make two (comfotable) saves before we threatened their goal but their keepers saves were of a higher order, first from Danny Handling’s header and then from Tom Walsh’s shot from the rebound. A defensive mix-up at the bakk almost let Arbroath score but their forward amazingly pulled it back too far and it escaped the post.

Second half we were more in the game and got the opener when fine work by Andy Stirling allowed him to cross. Tom Walsh’s header was perfect for Calum Gallagher to loop his header over the keeper.

Their equaliser came from a free-kick given at the edge of our box but play should never have got that far as a shove in the back tokk one of ours out of the play in the build-up. The goal encouraged Arbroath and they came at us with Scott Gallagher having to make two fine saves. Then after Iain Russell and Liam Burt came on for Calum Gallagher and Tom Walsh came that late push.

It’s not over yet, Arbroath showed they could theaten us, but we go into Saturday’s second leg in a better position than I had feared.

It will still be a nervy affair though.

How to explain the move of David Beckham to Paris Saint Germain?

It can’t be on footballing grounds. He has been playing for six years in the US, where the standard isn’t the best, he’s 37 years old and plays in midfield where it’s hard to hide. Okay, he admits himself he never had any pace to speak of, but still. How many minutes playing time do you reckon he will have for PSG between now and season’s end?

In any case I have always thought he was more than a touch overhyped as a footballer. He could take a free kick and put in a cross but rarely dominated a game in the way great players do. As for his most famous feat in England – scoring from his own half – that’s not even unusual. Chic Charnley did it in a Dumbarton shirt, and it’s a regular occurrence at Gayfield (wind-assisted of course.)

The news programme I first saw this on yesterday implied Beckham was a big football name and mentioned, condescendingly, that PSG had also recently signed players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic. As far as the present football scene is concerned Zlatan is a much bigger star than Beckham – and more valued.

For some unfathomable reason Beckham is still assumed to have a superstar’s lustre. PSG can only have signed him to promote their global brand and sell jerseys.

In football, British football anyway, the phrase “selling the jerseys” means to make a mistake that costs your team – a goal, two points, the match. PSG may have scored an own goal here.

SFL Div 1 play-off, second leg, Gayfield Stadium, 12/5/12. (Aggregate 1-2.)

Why do we do this to ourselves?

This was torture. As Onebrow said to me at the end, “That was the best and the worst 0-0 draw I’ve ever seen.”

Arbroath are the best footballing side I’ve seen this season (in the game at Gayfield on 10^thMar; Cowdenbeath, though, were the most effective.) In the first half here however they abandoned their measured approach and were much more direct.

The omens were clear inside five minutes. Alan Lithgow made a mistake allowing an attacker in on Stephen Grindlay, who forced him wide, but he still got his shot in. Lithgow had recovered to head it off the line. A goal then might have sunk us.

We were barely in it for twenty minutes, Arbroath having several shots/headers on goal – a one-on-one save by Stephen Grindlay and other efforts put wide, but gradually we managed to foray upfield. Craig Dargo was through on their keeper but took it just too far past him and had to turn it back from the bye-line but his cross in was poor. Prunty was then right through but the keeper deflected it for a corner.

Arbroath came out for the second half much more settled and started to stroke the ball about. There followed a succession of chances for them. It didn’t feel like backs to the wall stuff, though, we just couldn’t seem to pass the ball to our own players. Stephen Grindlay had a very good save from a free kick and then an unbelievable one from a close range header. He without doubt saved the jerseys, Dumbarton’s man of the match, no question. He rode his luck a few times, though, when coming for the ball.

The second half was excruciating, with us mostly not able to get out of our own half and unable to keep it for long when we did.

Edited to add:- I forgot to say Lithgow had one magnificent tackle when an Arbroath forward seemed right through.

Late on, in one of our few flurries, sub Pat Walker nutmegged a defender by the bye-line, crossed it in and Mark Gilhaney forced the keeper into a save.

There was still time after that for Arbroath to force a couple of corners. The final whistle was a relief and a release.

Given our defensive record this season it’s a minor miracle we managed to keep a clean sheet. This was a magnificent and remarkably disciplined effort (Kevin Nicoll’s booking apart) by the lads.

We have to do it all again on Wednesday and Sunday, though.

Edited to add:- I was drained at the end of this. I hope I’ll be as drained (in a good way) next Sunday!

Sons players celebrate:-

Sons fans celebrate.

Just to show what an unusual day it was here’s a man in his shirt sleeves at Gayfield. The sun was out for most of the game. Normally you have to be well wrapped up. The wind got up as usual, naturally. It’s a vintage Palermo shirt apparently.

SFL Div 2, The Rock, 5/5/12

Again I wasn’t at the game but this was a good win considering a lot of first team regulars were rested with the play-offs in mind.

Congratulations to Craig Dargo on his hat-trick and to Glen Thomson on his debut goal.

I note that the two goal margin means we didn’t finish the season on a negative goal difference. To do so while in third place would have been bizarre.

As it is it’s on to new territory. I doubt I’ll make Wednesday’s game but I have Gayfield pencilled in for Saturday. We don’t have a good record up there so we’ll need to get something midweek or we’re probably stuffed.

During a break at work yesterday I noticed the leaves on one of the trees outside were turning yellow.
It’s still August!
There were more trees like this on the way home, and even more today when I travelled to Perth and back.
I don’t remember trees turning so early before.
After a not very warm summer – the second in a row – maybe I was more sensitive to it but this was dispiriting.
Just goes to show the Scottish weather is totally bizarre.
Only two years ago I took in the delights of Gayfield (note to that American Christian website; it is not Homosexualfield) on the last Saturday of October to see Dumbarton achieve their now traditional draw there. And it was warm.
Before this I’d never been warm in Arbroath in my life!