26/42 - Cliftonhill Stadium, Coatbridge
4th May 2019
Ground Number: 26
Ground: Cliftonhill Stadium
Home of: Albion Rovers FC
Match: Albion Rovers v Annan Athletic
Score: 0-2
Attendance: 274
Hello again. It's been a while. Sorry about that. Work, holidays, other commitments. Life getting in the way basically! At the weekend however we were back on the road and it was to visit ground number 26 on our little world tour of Scottish football. Does it get any sexier than Cliftonhill in Coatbridge? Well yes, yes it does actually.
"The Reigart Stadium", as Cliftonhill is currently known, is celebrating 100 years as the home of Albion Rovers this year and whilst is does have it's own unique charm it does also look 100 years old in places!
We found the ground with no issues and found free street parking very close by. Obligatory photos taken we were into the ground for the sum of £13 each. You've got two choices when you enter through Cliftonhill's solitary turnstile. Turn left or turn right. We chose left and were immediately greeted with a small garden. It was lovely and not something you often see inside a football ground. Up some stairs and you're presented with yet more options! Left to the Club Shop / Portakabin (an original feature from 100 years ago. Ok maybe not) or right to, well, everything else. We of course chose left to source a pin badge and were delighted they were in stock and good value at £3.
We love grounds where you have pretty much free reign to wander wherever you want and that's the case here. You can choose to sit in the stand or you can choose to stand behind the goal to the right of the stand. All other areas however are out of bounds including a covered terracing directly opposite the main stand. That's either only used for matches which attract large crowds or condemned. We're not quite sure which. So off we go on our wander to take in the full panorama of Cliftonhill and we quickly decide we're going to make this a game of two halves. First half we'll sit in the stand and the second half we'll take in the match standing at the side of the pitch. At least we chose from those options, some local kids chose the hill outside the ground. Chancers!
Views taken in we are off to the cafe where "everyone is welcome." Sadly there is no menu / price list on show so we can't really share with you what the options are here. The staples are all here though and you'll be delighted to know we were back on the pies this time. At just £3 for a pie and a juice we thought this represented excellent value and the pie was everything you would hope for in a pie. Hot, tasty, great filling. 8/10.
Into the stand we go then and it's here you get two things. One is a decent view of the action (except for the nearside right corner) and free stand up comedy. The tannoy guy at Cliftonhill is actually hilarious and kept us and the other 272 intrepid souls entertained. Well done to that man.
Back to our view of the match then. All the signs of an old school stand are here. Wooden seats, minimal leg room, pillars obstructing the view etc etc. We were seated towards the right side of the stand and here there is a glaring design flaw. You cannot see the whole pitch! Surely we should've been sold a restricted view tickets! ;) I'm sure we would've got a full view of the pitch if we'd sat a bit more central but as it was we saw most of the first half action.
For a final game of the season the game was actually pretty competitive with both teams having chances throughout the match. In was into the second half before the goals arrived and it was Annan who grabbed two late goals to take the points. On the basis of the second half it was probably just about deserved.
So with that it was the 12th away victory we've witnessed. A whopping 46% of the games we've seen so far if you're keeping score. We witnessed goals 67 and 68 of the tour and the club had pin badges in stock. All in all a successful day!
Clubs like Albion Rovers and the fans who support them are the lifeblood of the game. I have so much respect for them. How easy would it be in this part of the world to support Celtic, Rangers or even Partick Thistle? They might not have the best of facilities, the best of teams or even a level pitch (really!) but they do have a passion for their club and we were delighted to be part of their world for 90 minutes on a Saturday.
Thanks for the memories Cliftonhill. Where to next?
Ground Number: 26
Ground: Cliftonhill Stadium
Home of: Albion Rovers FC
Match: Albion Rovers v Annan Athletic
Score: 0-2
Attendance: 274
"The Reigart Stadium", as Cliftonhill is currently known, is celebrating 100 years as the home of Albion Rovers this year and whilst is does have it's own unique charm it does also look 100 years old in places!
We love grounds where you have pretty much free reign to wander wherever you want and that's the case here. You can choose to sit in the stand or you can choose to stand behind the goal to the right of the stand. All other areas however are out of bounds including a covered terracing directly opposite the main stand. That's either only used for matches which attract large crowds or condemned. We're not quite sure which. So off we go on our wander to take in the full panorama of Cliftonhill and we quickly decide we're going to make this a game of two halves. First half we'll sit in the stand and the second half we'll take in the match standing at the side of the pitch. At least we chose from those options, some local kids chose the hill outside the ground. Chancers!
 |
| The unused terracing opposite the main stand. |
Into the stand we go then and it's here you get two things. One is a decent view of the action (except for the nearside right corner) and free stand up comedy. The tannoy guy at Cliftonhill is actually hilarious and kept us and the other 272 intrepid souls entertained. Well done to that man.
Back to our view of the match then. All the signs of an old school stand are here. Wooden seats, minimal leg room, pillars obstructing the view etc etc. We were seated towards the right side of the stand and here there is a glaring design flaw. You cannot see the whole pitch! Surely we should've been sold a restricted view tickets! ;) I'm sure we would've got a full view of the pitch if we'd sat a bit more central but as it was we saw most of the first half action.
For a final game of the season the game was actually pretty competitive with both teams having chances throughout the match. In was into the second half before the goals arrived and it was Annan who grabbed two late goals to take the points. On the basis of the second half it was probably just about deserved.
So with that it was the 12th away victory we've witnessed. A whopping 46% of the games we've seen so far if you're keeping score. We witnessed goals 67 and 68 of the tour and the club had pin badges in stock. All in all a successful day!
Clubs like Albion Rovers and the fans who support them are the lifeblood of the game. I have so much respect for them. How easy would it be in this part of the world to support Celtic, Rangers or even Partick Thistle? They might not have the best of facilities, the best of teams or even a level pitch (really!) but they do have a passion for their club and we were delighted to be part of their world for 90 minutes on a Saturday.
Thanks for the memories Cliftonhill. Where to next?
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