2pm 1 April 2017
SJFA West Region, Central League Cup, Second Round
Greenock Juniors 0 Lanark United 3 (att 44)
Recent local press reports have suggested the future of Greenock's junior football club could be in doubt, so I'd been targeting a visit to the town's Ravenscraig Stadium before the end of the season just in case.
Hopefully the club will survive, although like many at this level they're facing a perfect storm of rising costs, smaller crowds and fewer willing volunteers.
I counted just 44 people watching this cup tie, including a fair few from Lanark and two groundhoppers who'd travelled even further than me. Not many on a day when Greenock Morton were playing away, although they were at relatively nearby Dumbarton.
It was a poor day for the hosts, who put in a meek display against a side who play a division lower. Possession was fairly even, but Lanark were much sharper up front, hitting the frame of the goal twice as well as scoring three.
They did benefit from a dubious penalty which gave them the lead in the closing seconds of the first half, but having gone ahead they were never really challenged.
The Ravenscraig Stadium is suited more the athletics than football, although the view from the stand is very good. There's some shallow open terracing on the opposite side, and hard standing around the rest of the ground, but across the running track the pitch is distant.
Fingers crossed the venue will still be staging junior football for years to come. If Greenock Juniors ceased to exist then the Ravenscraig Stadium could be become a concrete white elephant, which would be a huge shame.
SJFA West Region, Central League Cup, Second Round
Greenock Juniors 0 Lanark United 3 (att 44)
Recent local press reports have suggested the future of Greenock's junior football club could be in doubt, so I'd been targeting a visit to the town's Ravenscraig Stadium before the end of the season just in case.
Hopefully the club will survive, although like many at this level they're facing a perfect storm of rising costs, smaller crowds and fewer willing volunteers.
I counted just 44 people watching this cup tie, including a fair few from Lanark and two groundhoppers who'd travelled even further than me. Not many on a day when Greenock Morton were playing away, although they were at relatively nearby Dumbarton.
It was a poor day for the hosts, who put in a meek display against a side who play a division lower. Possession was fairly even, but Lanark were much sharper up front, hitting the frame of the goal twice as well as scoring three.
They did benefit from a dubious penalty which gave them the lead in the closing seconds of the first half, but having gone ahead they were never really challenged.
The Ravenscraig Stadium is suited more the athletics than football, although the view from the stand is very good. There's some shallow open terracing on the opposite side, and hard standing around the rest of the ground, but across the running track the pitch is distant.
Fingers crossed the venue will still be staging junior football for years to come. If Greenock Juniors ceased to exist then the Ravenscraig Stadium could be become a concrete white elephant, which would be a huge shame.
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