14/42 - Ochilview Park, Stenhousemuir

1st September 2018
Ground Number: 14
Ground: Ochilview Park, Stenhousemuir
Home of: Stenhousemuir FC
Match: Stenhousemuir V Dumbarton
Score: 2-1
Attendance: 616

A strange name for the ground in Stenhousemuir because you can't actually see the Ochilview Hills from the ground but hey what does that matter? To be fair, you might be able to but we certainly couldn't see them from where we were sitting. Ground number 14 was the order of the day and Dumbarton were the opposition today. Glamourous stuff indeed!  

We arrived in plenty time for kick off and found the stadium nestled behind some housing and we got parked really close to the ground. Free street parking of course. First order of the day? Selfie of course!

Before entering Ochilview we saw the intriguingly named "Norway Stand." Was it made it Norway? Bought from a Norwegian club? Actually it turns out that Stenhousemuir have a supporters club in Norway (why wouldn't they!?) and they're the sponsors of the Main Stand. It's certainly better than the "Spice of Life Stand." Let's get into the ground shall we?

£13 each then and we're into Ochilview and straight away we're greeted with the official Club Shop / Shed. It's quaint and we love it. The lovely member of staff behind the counter gives us a bit of history about the place and, more importantly, sells us two pin badges. £3.00 each. Reasonable.

The only option here today is to sit in the Main Stand. That isn't a problem as it's where we had planned to sit. We quickly find a couple of seats deciding on food at half time. There's a fun fair set up directly opposite the ground. Do you reckon if the match is poor we could go for a ride on the waltzers instead? We'll see. Curiously it's the second fair we've encountered at a ground, the other being in Berwick. Not sure how that's at all relevant, just interesting I thought. Just me? Ok. Let's move on. 

It seemed to us that the rest of the ground was inaccessible. Perhaps the standing areas surrounding the rest of the ground are opened for busier matches (and favourable draws in the Scottish Cup) but they certainly weren't needed today with both sets of fans housed in the Norway Stand.

Onto the match then and Dumbarton, who in truth are having a bit of nightmare of a season, take the lead. The small band of travelling fans are loving life. Well they are for about 4 minutes which is when the home side got back into the game. The passionate home support here drive their side on and for most of the rest of the match they are on top. They can't make it count in the first half though and we get to half time all square.

Off we go in search of food and it's certainly the first ground where we've seen breakfast on the menu. It's only served 9am - 1pm though and it begs the question....when is there ever a match on here at those times? It's like they're teasing us! A bacon roll sounds amazing!

So yes, a pie it was. I'm delighted to report David seen the error of his ways from Stark's Park and was also back on the pie today. His official pie rating? 9/10. There are some seriously good pies on this tour! Very tasty. Hot, full of meat, crunchy pastry. Just what a pie should be really. Do you have ketchup or brown sauce on your pie? Controversial I know.

Into the second half then and the home team continue their dominance and, eventually, grab the winner with just under 10 minutes to go. It's no less than they deserve to be honest and it'll be a long journey home with nothing for Dumbarton.

So with that we had our 6th home victory of the tour so far. A great wee club with friendly staff everywhere who were only too happy to speak and help. We'd recommend a day out to home of The Warriors highly and wish the club every success going forward.

Ground 14 done. We're off to do the waltzers now.