Arbroath v Partick Thistle, Scottish Championship

 

Arbroath 0-0 Partick Thistle
Scottish Championshi (tier 2)
Gayfield Park, Arbroath
Attendance 2,015

My first tip home to Scotland in three years and of course a visit to my football home, Gayfield Park Arbroath. I started following Arbroath way back in 1970 and have been with them, mostly from afar, through thick and thin from the grim days of the early 2000's when we were one of the worst senior teams in the country till today when we are about to take part in the play-offs to the premiership for the second time in the last five years. This was the last home game of the regular season with Arbroath in third place and Partick in second behind champions St Johnstone who bounce straight back to the top flight. This game had no real significance to the league positions but was a sparring match in anticipation of a possible play-off clash in a few weeks time.

Considering the town of Arbroath only has around 24,000 inhabitants the club is punching well above its weight as a respected and feared championship side. Unlike the other teams in the league they are part-time and the club is very much a community club. They grabbed international headlines back in 2022 when they were only minutes away from beating Kilmarnock to gain promotion to the top flight but missed out after a nail-biting match. Their success was largely due to the charismatic management duo of Dick Campbell (famed for his bunnet) and his brother Ian. Today they are managed by two members of the Campbell squad, David Gold and Colin Hamilton, who seem to have inherited some of the Campbell magic and have lead the team back to the premiership play-offs asfter promotion from League 1 last season. Media, YouTubers and bloggers have all made pilgrimages to Gayfield Park in recent years so I am very much in the slipstream.

Partick Thistle are Glasgow's third team, living in the shadow of the giants, Celtic and Rangers, but have a loyal following who long for a return to the top league. They have been in many play-offs but seldom manage to convert that into promotion. This year they'll be favourites to get through to a play-off final against the 11th team in the SPL, probably Kilmarnock, but I suspect they will not be strong enough to beat them.

The ground

I am a little biased on this topic but this is simply one of the best grounds in the country. Although it has been renovated and improved over the years it still looks very similar to when I followed the team in the early seventies. A small cosy stand and proper old-school covered terracing on the other three sides. The floodlights are rather special as you can see in my photos - I think they were second hand bargains from Hamilton's old ground. You're close to the action whereever you go and when the ground is well filled the atmosphere is great. 

Gayfield is also famous for being the closest ground in Britian to the sea with only a narrow path between the perimeter wall and the fury of the North Sea. It is well-known for fierce cold winds with balls often being lost at sea and goal kicks looping back over the keeper's head and out of the ground. I've spent many freezing afternoons on the terracing over the years.

Opposite the ground is the ultimate fooball pub, Tutties Neuk, where fans of both teams congregate, nearly always amiably.

Food and drink

The staple diet of Scottish fans is the pie and Arbroath offers an impressive selection that usually score highly in reviews - mince, steak, steak and black pudding or macaroni. The macaroni pie was delicious! No beer is alowed unless you are in the hospitality lounge so the fans make do with coffee, tea or bovril. Danish fans would be shocked at the lack of match beer but we Scots make up for the deficiency before and after the game.

The match
Unusually for Arbroath, fans enjoyed a warm, sunny and wind-free afternoon. One pleasnat surprise for me was the lack of fireworks and loud music as the teams came on to the picth. They just ran out, and got on with the business. I get a bit tired of the pre-match razamataz at so many grounds these days.

I got the feeling that the teams were using the game to prepare for the much harder business of the play-offs and Thistle had made quite a few changes to their line-up. Arbroath had more of the play but Thistle were very dangerous on the break and were particularly strong at the start of the second half. I was disappointed at not seeing a goal or an Arbroath win as a reward for travelling all the way from Sweden but when you support smaller clubs like Arbroath you learn not to be too fussy. The visitors managed to extend their unbeaten league run of 13 matches.

Judge for yourself with the match highlights video below.

Match highlights (from Arbroath FC TV)