30/42 - Fir Park, Motherwell

31st August 2019
Ground Number: 30
Ground: Fir Park, Motherwell
Home of: Motherwell FC
Match: Motherwell V Hibs
Score: 3-0
Attendance: 5964

Into the thirties we go and today we were back seeing some Premiership action as we took in this brilliant match at Fir Park, home to Motherwell FC. The club have been playing here since 1895 and as such there's a real mix of the old and the new here but we'll get to that soon. First, despite all the planning in the world, you just cant plan for horrific traffic!

It was a real challenge reaching Fir Park and it soon became clear we were going to miss kick off. I don't know about you but I really HATE missing kick off! I love the build up to a game and the atmosphere etc. In the end we decided just to drive directly towards the ground and chance our luck to see how close we could get parked. Our luck was very much in it would appear as we got park right at the ground. Here's the view from our parking space!

Parked up we decided to head for the John Hunter Stand which we knew accepted cash at the gate and was the cheapest entry at £20 each. Once inside the ground we made our way straight for food and imagine our horror when we're told they had sold out of Scotch Pies! 5 minutes after kick off! Steak Pie it was then and, well, it was a thing of beauty to be honest. Fate meant we were meant to have this glorious pie today! Very tasty indeed. It's worth pointing out that Motherwell have decent meal deals on offer at their food kiosks too.

Off to find seats we go and we find two vacant ones about in line with the 18 yard box which, despite a few pillars here and there, provided a decent view of the action. By the way, what an atmosphere the Mothewell fans generate. The place was buzzing! Drums, singing, great encouragement from the stands. Brilliant. 

Off to our right was the Davie Cooper Stand which housed the family section of the ground and, it seemed, some hospitality boxes too. To the left was the large imposing South Stand which houses the away support. It really is a behemoth of a stand! Directly opposite us was the odd looking Phil O'Donnell Stand which was raised above pitch level, seemed to have those awful bucket seats and didn't run the full length of the pitch! There is metal work in place indicating the stand was originally going to be the full length of the pitch, I've no idea why they stopped building it where they did.

The match itself was a procession for Motherwell who won 3-0 going on 10-0. Hibs were poor today and they were also poor when we saw them earlier in the season at Easter Road, despite that being a cup match. If I were a Hibs fan I'd be a smidge worried for the season ahead. Not as worried as Hearts fans must be at this point though!

At full time we were grateful to see that the Club Shop (housed in the Davie Cooper Stand) re-opened so off to find a pin badge we went. They had a decent selection but the only club crest one was this silver one priced at £3.00. We didn't really want one with "STEELMEN" or "FIR PARK" written on it. 

The Club Shop offered everything you could possibly want from mugs, clothing, footballs (don't bounce them in the shop though!) and everything in between. It was doing a roaring trade too! Why don't all clubs have their shops open at full time? It baffles me.

Overall thoughts on Fir Park then? It's a strange one. There's a real mix of classic and modern here. Some areas feel like they really need dragged into the 21st century. On the flip side though, the atmosphere, food and shop were all amazing and we couldn't have asked for any better. Would I like a view without pillars? Yes. But there were other options available to us to avoid that if you're willing to pay a bit more cash. We enjoyed Fir Park. A ground doesn't have to be ultra modern to provide a good day out. We'd recommend a visit.

Next up we're back to League 1 with a visit to the home of Clyde.