Ibrox: Rangers 1-3 Aberdeen

Rangers 0-0 Celtic

If you were asked to name one of the world biggest football rivalries, the Old Firm would be on that list. I (Ross) was lucky enough to be offered a last minute ticket to see the Old Firm derby, a match that is on bucket list of most football fans. Myself and my mate set off on our long journey just after 7am getting as far north as Gretna for around 10:30am for some breakfast. After our breakfast, we were back on the road by 11.30am making our way towards Motherwell. An hour and a half later, we were parking the car on Gavin Street in Motherwell just a short walk from Fir Park. Fir Park is situated in a suburban area consisting of large spacious roads with many old dormer bungalows built from large brown coloured stone, a very typical style of house in Scotland. It’s only until you reach Edward Street you start to see the large stands and towering floodlights appear into sight. Following a brief walk around Fir Park, we stopped off at a sports bar outside the ground called Club 100 where we watched the early kick off with a pint of Tennent’s. When the early kick off finished, we headed for the exit and walked over the road to the East Stand turnstiles off Knowetop Avenue. The East Stand in a narrow stand that runs the length of the pitch with a concourse area and toilets at the back of the stand. Situated on the far side of the stand next to the away fans in the two tier South Stand are the Motherwell Ultras, "Block E", who throughout the match created a lively atmosphere. Opposite the East Stand is the Main Stand which runs two-thirds along the length of the pitch, almost looking have complete. To our right, behind the goal, is the Davie Cooper Stand which is a small single tier stand with corporate boxes to the rear of the stand. And onto the match and it will feel like two points dropped for the home side, who controlled large parts of the games and conceded a cheap equaliser as Ward dropped a cross with nine minutes to play. The Well started brightly but it was Kilmarnock who took the lead after a sweeping move led to Djenairo Daniels firing home on the 19th minute of the first half. 0-1. Motherwell could've equalised from a corner when Apostolos Stamatelopoulos' header was blocked. Persistence by the home side paid off. A great move ended with a weak Ibrahim Said shot which Killie goalkeeper Maks Stryjek should have held, and Tawanda Maswanhise slammed home the equaliser. 1-1. Spurred on by their equaliser, the Steelmen raised the intensity and deservedly went ahead shortly after the hour. They turned the ball over in their own half and broke quickly. It looked like the chance was gone after Stamatelopoulos chose the wrong option, but the ball broke to Emmanuel Longelo who drilled the home side ahead. 2-1. The hosts looked the better side through the second half but gifted the visitors a way back into the game. Motherwell keeper, Calum Ward, failed to gather a simple cross and George Stanger tapped the ball home. 2-2. That mistake took the wind out of Motherwell's sails and the closest either side came to a winner was a Marley Watkins header for the visitors. FT 2-2. After the match, we walked back to the car and continued our journey north for 20 minutes to our Ibis Budget hotel in Springfield Quay on the banks of the River Clyde in Glasgow. After a quick shower and change of clothes, we made our way over the River Clyde into the city centre for an evening of food and drinks until the early hours until we turned in for bed ready for the Old Firm the following day. Being a 12pm kick off at Ibrox, we checked out of the hotel around 8am and drove the short distance west to Torridon Avenue where we parked the car. We took the short walk through Bellahouston Park to a nearby McDonald's off Helen Street where we had breakfast. The atmosphere around Govan was building nicely and you could sense this match was a big deal to the supporters who eagerly anticipated kick off. Due to the hostility of this fixture, the Celtic supporters were already inside the stadium nearly 2 hours before kick-off to prevent any trouble between the two sets of supporters. Outside the grand entrance of Ibrox, protests against the under pressure manager, Russell Martin, and the Rangers board were well under way. Was this an unwanted distraction prior to one of the important fixtures of the season? With crowds forming outside the stadium, I decided to head towards the turnstiles whilst my mate, who kindly donated his ticket to me, headed to a nearby pub to watch the match. I was glad to get in the stadium when I did as finding my seat became quite a mission. After much confusion to myself and various stewards, it turned out that my seat was amongst the disabled seating area on the front row of the main stand. A pitchside view with the action just yards away! Onto the match which was a nervy, error-strewn derby between two sides who failed to produce any genuine moments of quality. Chances were few and far between in a very poor Old Firm meeting with the only highlight of the match being a John Souttar first-half header which was ruled out for offside which was greeted with howls of home frustration when it was ruled out by the video assistant referee (VAR). The Old Firm finished in a spirited but goalless stalemate. Rangers' winless Scottish Premiership start to the season continues. FT 0-0. After the match, I headed to the Ibrox exit gates to meet up with my mate outside the stadium before the relatively short walk back to the car for our long voyage back across the southern border. The first leg of the journey was trouble free and within 3 hours, we were at our half way stop at Scotch Corner at around 5pm. With a quick bite to eat at KFC and toilet break, we continued our journey southbound on the A1(M), before joining the M18 at Doncaster and M1 Southbound. After dropping my mate off, I was home for 8.15pm. An enjoyable trip north of the border taking in two Scottish Premiership matches, both ending in draws, however good to visit a new stadium and to witness the famous Old Firm Derby.

30th Birthday Weekend to Scotland

3 matches in 3 days, what a way to celebrate my 30th birthday! Our journey started around 9.30am as we headed northbound on the M1. Our first stop was in Huthwaite to pick up a mate of ours before continuing our journey north. With a toilet stop at Wetherby Services, we continued up the M1 as we approached Scotch Corner and heading towards Penrith on the A66 then the M6. Although the journey was long, it was very straightforward without any traffic. After passing Carlisle, we we're soon crossing the Scottish border and heading towards Glasgow on the M74. Just after 4pm, we finally reached our Travelodge off the Paisley Road along the banks of the River Clyde. After dropping our bags off and quickly freshening up, we walked into the City Centre for a few drinks in Oswald’s which is a Rangers supporter’s bar on Oswald Street in Glasgow. After a few drinks in Oswald’s, we made the short walk to Glasgow Central Railway Station to get a train to Hamilton West for our Friday night match, Hamilton Academical vs Annan Athletic is Scottish League 1. With a pre-match Scotch Pie and a Bovril for less than £5.00 and entry £10, you couldn't go wrong! Even better was to come, we were treated to a 5 goal thriller at New Douglas Park as Hamilton continued their push for an immediate return to the Scottish Championship. Accies have now won seven of their eight League One matches and needed only two minutes to make the breakthrough here, Jamie Barjonas making a run from midfield and firing home from the edge of the penalty area. It took until three minutes into the second half for Hamilton to score their second, Reghan Tumilty netting from a corner, and 10 minutes later Euan Henderson smashed in a third. It was all too easy for the hosts, and they scored two more through Connor Murray and Joe McGlynn, while Michael Hewitt was denied a sixth by the post. After the match, we made the short walk back to Hamilton West station getting the train back into Glasgow and returning to Oswald’s for a few more drinks and a sing-along to a few Rangers' favourites. We then made our way to Popworld off West George Street for a few more drinks before our night finished with a Pizza Crunch (battered Pizza) from the Blue Lagoon Fish Bar on the way back to our hotel. The next morning, we made our way back to the City Centre for breakfast at Cafe Wander for our delicious full Scottish Breakfast. After breakfast, we walked back to our hotel before hoping in the car and headed towards Ibrox. We parked the car on Torridon Avenue which is close to M77 for after the match and only a 20 minute walk from Ibrox. As you approach Ibrox, you feel a real sense of tradition and history. We went to the fan zone for a drink before making our way into Ibrox. Aberdeen stunned Rangers and intensified the pressure on manager Michael Beale with their first Scottish Premiership win at Ibrox in more than five years. Following four straight wins in all competitions, the defeat is Beale's third league loss in seven games, which leaves Rangers in third spot and seven points adrift of leaders Celtic. The wasteful hosts, who were booed off again, passed up a flurry of clear-cut chances to race into a lead before Stefan Gartenmann capitalised on poor defending to slide in his first Aberdeen goal from a Leighton Clarkson corner. Gartenmann's opener appeared to rock Rangers, who fell two behind in the second half when Jamie McGrath drilled in shortly after Bojan Miovski headed off the left-hand post from close range. Abdallah Sima's tap-in offered a brief lifeline to the home side, who had their woes compounded by former Pittodrie forward Scott Wright's dismissal, before Jack MacKenzie's rebounded effort in off the crossbar restored the visitors' two-goal lead late on. Aberdeen's victory, the first at Ibrox by any Scottish side other than Celtic since March 2020, moves them up to seventh. Defeat saw Rangers' manager Michael Beale sacked the following day. After the match, we made our way back to the car before making our journey south on the M74 over the English border and continuing down the M6 past Carlisle, Penrith and the Lakes. When we reached junction 32, we headed west on the M55 towards Blackpool where we stopped for the night in a B&B. After a quick freshen up, we headed straight out for a few drinks at Shenanigans which is an Irish bar on the seafront followed by Popworld only a few streets away. The next morning was an early start for a 12.00pm kick off at Ewood Park for Blackburn Rovers vs Leicester City. We heading to Greggs in Blackpool for a breakfast roll before heading to the car for the short journey to Blackburn. We parked the car on England Avenue just of Jack Walker Way before making the short walk down the hill to Ewood Park. Due to the incompetence of Leicester City refusing to sell me 3 tickets due to lack of booking history for my mates, we opted to sit in the home area in the Riverside Stand. The Foxes regained top spot in the Championship with a hard-fought win at Blackburn. The win made it eight league wins from nine for Leicester as they took full advantage of rivals Ipswich and Preston dropping points on Saturday, to move two points clear at the top of the table. The game got off to a frantic start as Faes rose at the far post to nod in Abdul Fatawu's cross in the fourth minute, but Leicester's defence - the meanest in the division - imploded shortly afterwards to hand Rovers an equaliser. Szmodics had planted a header into the hands of goalkeeper Mads Hermansen as the Foxes' attempt to play out from the back had presented the home side with a chance but the visitors failed to learn their lesson. Hermansen unwisely gave the ball to Harry Winks, under pressure from Lewis Travis, and when Ricardo Pereira tackled the Blackburn midfielder the ball fell for Szmodics to net his sixth goal of the season. Leicester were not to be denied, however, and when the excellent Wilfred Ndidi broke down the right and delivered an exquisite pass into his path, Vardy's touch and rifled finish into the roof of the net restored the lead. Blackburn had chances in the second half, not least when Hermansen saved from Travis and Jannik Vestergaard superbly blocked Szmodics' follow-up effort, but Leicester's counter-attacking excellence saw them stretch away in the final 10 minutes. Iheanacho scored from the spot after Hayden Carter had hauled down Vestergaard in the box, and Dewsbury-Hall clipped in the fourth after Yunus Akgun had led another searing breakaway to ensure Leicester won their first five away games of the season for the first time in their history. After the match, we walked up Jack Walker Way back to the car. We only travelled a few hundred yards before hitting traffic with everyone queuing to get on the A666 to leave Blackburn. We eventually got moving and made our way back towards the Midlands via the M62 and M1. With a drop off in Huthwaite, we made it back to North West Leicestershire at around 5pm. All in all, a brilliant weekend of football to celebrate my 30th birthday!

Ibrox

Sunday, February 4, 2024

Rangers 1-3 Aberdeen

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