2pm 18 November 2017
Isle of Man League, Division Two
Foxdale 4 Ramsey Youth Centre and Old Boys 0 (att 35)
Is there a better ground address in football than Billy Goat Park, Stoney Mountain Road in Higher Foxdale?
The evocative-sounding venue was just one reason to tempt me to this game. The main one was that it was the day's outstanding fixture in the division, between two promotion contenders.
Foxdale claimed all three points thanks to four goals in the final 20 minutes or so, having been second best for much of what had been a scrappy encounter until then.
The home side's keeper had made some good saves to keep his team in the match, and then capped a fine performance by scoring from a free kick deep inside his own half. Only the second time I can recall seeing a goalkeeper score in such a fashion.
That was Foxdale's third goal, in the closing minutes, and it was quickly followed by their fourth. Youthie, as the visitors are known, collapsed once they went behind.
The current incarnation of Foxdale's football club is a relatively recent one, if Wikipedia is to be believed, and Billy Goat Park dates from the mid 1990s. It's a proper football ground though, with cover for spectators provided by an overhanging roof built onto the front of a pavilion behind the goal.
Pairs of dugouts are on both sides of the pitch, and seem to be used by a combination of coaching staff, substitutes and supporters. Like many Manx football grounds, it serves a campsite during the TT races, which presumably earns the club some valuable extra income.
Isle of Man League, Division Two
Foxdale 4 Ramsey Youth Centre and Old Boys 0 (att 35)
Is there a better ground address in football than Billy Goat Park, Stoney Mountain Road in Higher Foxdale?
The evocative-sounding venue was just one reason to tempt me to this game. The main one was that it was the day's outstanding fixture in the division, between two promotion contenders.
Foxdale claimed all three points thanks to four goals in the final 20 minutes or so, having been second best for much of what had been a scrappy encounter until then.
The home side's keeper had made some good saves to keep his team in the match, and then capped a fine performance by scoring from a free kick deep inside his own half. Only the second time I can recall seeing a goalkeeper score in such a fashion.
That was Foxdale's third goal, in the closing minutes, and it was quickly followed by their fourth. Youthie, as the visitors are known, collapsed once they went behind.
The current incarnation of Foxdale's football club is a relatively recent one, if Wikipedia is to be believed, and Billy Goat Park dates from the mid 1990s. It's a proper football ground though, with cover for spectators provided by an overhanging roof built onto the front of a pavilion behind the goal.
Pairs of dugouts are on both sides of the pitch, and seem to be used by a combination of coaching staff, substitutes and supporters. Like many Manx football grounds, it serves a campsite during the TT races, which presumably earns the club some valuable extra income.
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