10am 13 November 2021
Strathclyde Saturday Morning League, Championship A
Blairmore Athletic 2 Gleniffer Thistle 2 (att 15)
Having stayed in Ayrshire after Friday night's game at Kilwinning I had the rare pleasure of being able to get to a Strathclyde Saturday Morning League match without having to be up at dawn.
I picked this fixture, in one of the league's trio of regionalised second tier divisions, largely because Greenock is a more challenging destination than most for a 10am start from Manchester.
Blairmore play at the town's Notre Dame High School, on one of two parallel 3G pitches. This match was played on the furthest of the pair, while a boys' game took place on the other.
It's still early days in terms of league tables, but Blairmore went into this unbeaten, having dropped points in drawn games, while Gleniffer were top. A draw was a fair outcome after 90 minutes of very competitive football.
The home side were fortunate to get an early penalty which put them ahead. Arguments following the award of the spot kick resulted in yellow cards, and set the tone for a game that simmered throughout.
Gleniffer were deservedly level before half time, and then went ahead in the second half. In attempting to defend their advantage they were pushed back ever deeper. Eventually the home side's pressure paid off when they made it 2-2.
The referee dished out so many yellow cards it was surprise that 22 players were still on the pitch at the final whistle. Shortly after the whistle, as I was heading towards the car park, tensions between the teams boiled over.
I didn't see what sparked the brawl, but players, coaches and some spectators were involved. Punches were thrown and I saw at least one kick aimed at a player who was on the ground.
Eventually order was resumed, but it was an ugly postcript to what had been an enjoyable match.
Comments
Post a Comment