28/42 - Easter Road, Edinburgh

20th July 2019
Ground Number: 28
Ground: Easter Road, Edinburgh
Home of: Hibernian FC
Match: Hibernian V Alloa
Score: 2-0
Attendance: 5544

Our first match of the 2019/20 season would take us back to the Scottish capital to tick off our final ground in Edinburgh. This time we're at Easter Road, home of Hibernian FC. 

New work commitments are playing havoc with our ground touring schedule but we're determined to get it done this season so although the updates may be less frequent stick with us as we get through this quest! 

David had scouted where to park in advance and, although he went the scenic route, we found free on street parking about a 10 minute walk from the ground. Easter Road is one of these grounds where you have to buy a ticket in advance. No cash gates here. So, off we go to the Club Shop to buy tickets and, of course, a pin badge!

The Club Shop can be found below the Famous Five Stand and, it must be said, is an impressive affair. There is anything and everything you could possibly think of for the Hibs fan in your life stocked here! Replica kits, clothing for babies, beach towels, mugs, scarfs. Oh and pin badges! Good value and decent quality ones too at £3.00 each. Sadly the customer experience is somewhat lacking in the Club Shop!

With it being the first home game Hibs have had this season we're willing to give them the benefit of the doubt however it can best be described as organised chaos! Bear in mind today's home crowd was about a third of what it usually would be. Inside the Club Shop there were queues going here, there and everywhere! There was no organisation to anything. Add to that there were only 2 members of staff serving (sometimes reducing to one!) it took us 10-15 minutes to buy a pin badge!

To add insult to injury we were then told we had to visit a separate "ticket pod" to buy match tickets our frustrations started to grow. Oh and the shop staff couldn't tell us where the ticket pods were! Why? They didn't know!  

So quite honestly, we left the store and followed the crowd in the hope of finding where we could buy tickets. We made our way to the East Stand and indeed did find the ticket pod just to the right of the turnstiles. A huge slice of good fortune followed as a generous Hibs fan handed us a free ticket explaining he didn't need it. Thank you so much Sir! So with just one ticket to buy we made our way inside Easter Road. First things first....food!

Upon entering the East Stand you're immediately met with a large spacious concourse area home to the food kiosks and toilets etc. They have a fantastic selection of food on offer here with everything from the traditional pie to pizza! We of course opted for the humble pie. It was alright. And we really do mean alright. Didn't taste of much. Filled a wee hole though as they say. Onwards to our seats!

If we were forced to pick one word to describe the East Stand, our home for the afternoon, it would be fabulous! We found two vacant, pretty central, seats and were very impressed with the view offered to us and the leg room too. Very spacious here! The East Stand is the only single tiered stand at the stadium but with a steep gradient we think you'd get a good view of the action from just about anywhere in this stand.

Directly opposite is the West Stand, considered to be the Main Stand, with all of the grounds main facilities housed within it. Again, it's an impressive looking structure. Behind both goals are identical looking two tiered stands. Off to our left the pocket of visiting Alloa fans were housed in the lower tier.  Easter Road has a very enclosed feel which would no doubt make for a cracking atmosphere.  Today, as we knew it would be, the crowd was much smaller than usual and it was the real hardcore Hibs fan that was in attendance today. Scottish football fans just haven't bought into the BetFred Cup format really have they?

Anyway, as for those Hibs fans, they're a hard bunch to please let me tell you! I get that they were up against lower league opponents and I get that they should be sweeping these teams aside. But Alloa are no mugs and, come on guys, it was the first home league game of the season. Cut your team some slack. Every misplaced pass (and there were a few) and every shot off target greeted with sighs, insults and even booing! 

Finally 68 minutes into the match Hibs got the lead and quickly doubled it a short time later much to the relief of the home crowd. It was harsh on Alloa who put so much into the game but a home win was indeed the right result. A good thing too by the way otherwise there may have been a riot! Ok probably not but you get the idea.

As we left Easter Road we reflected on our day. We thought the ground was stunning. A really modern looking stadium and we had a great view from our seat. No complaints there. As with so many clubs it's all the "extra" stuff that we feel lets it down. Sooooooooooo much hassle to buy a pin badge and ticket. Honestly the shop was chaos. And why make it so difficult for fans to access your ground? I accept most Hibs fans will know the usual "arrangements" to get tickets but for newbies and neutrals like us honestly it was a stressful affair.

Overall though, we did enjoy our visit to Easter Road. There are so many nice touches around the ground both internally and externally and, on big match days, I've no doubt the atmosphere inside this stadium would be bouncing!

Oh and did I mention we were lucky enough to get Sunshine On Leith?

Onwards to ground 29.