August 2nd 2014: vs. Livingston in the League Cup

Another cup game, our first trip to Cliftonhill of the season, and we still hadn't made use of our season tickets yet. Before the game we stopped for a pint in Owen's, a classier pub than its proximity to the stadium would suggest. The food smelled great and I resolved to come early the following week to try some. 

 

The matchday programme was more substantial than I expected it to be, and particular mention must go to the exhaustive pie review which ran to 2 pages. Although no great lover of the football pie myself, the passion that the writer feels for the subject has to be admired.

Once again, Rovers put in a fine, battling performance against higher-rated opposition. I was surprised that there seemed to be less noise from the Rovers fans than there was at Airdrie, but perhaps that says more about the rivalry between the two North Lanarkshire clubs. Despite the 2 divisions separating them, Livi vs Rovers didn't seem like a one-sided contest at all. Albion punched above their weight and Livi looked poor. As a result, the game ended goalless, forcing extra time.

Livingston won a penalty in extra time and it looked to be game over, but I had a strange feeling that after last week's heroics Neil Parry could stop another important penalty. As it turned out, he didn't need to and the shot sailed over the bar. From this point on it looked like we were going to see our second penalty shootout in as many weeks, and so it came to pass.

We had a dream start when Parry yet again pulled off a fantastic save to deny Livi their first penalty. Unfortunately their keeper Darren Jamieson was in the mood to become a hero, pulling off two excellent saves to ultimately win the day for Livi.

Still, it was an impressive performance from the Rovers against a comparative footballing giant. As the rain battered us once again on our walk to the station our thoughts turned to the start of the league the following week, and we were both hopeful and optimistic about our chances of witnessing a successful season for our newly adopted team.

July 26th 2014: vs. Airdrie in the Petrofac Cup

In an effort to get into the swing of ARFC fandom, Alex and I decided to make the short trip to Airdrie to see the North Lanarkshire derby contested in the first round of the Petrofac Cup. Airdrie appear to be the most despised of Rovers' rivals so this was a no-brainer. After getting off the train at the wrong stop and generally getting a bit lost, our rain-soaked journey led us past an amusingly nationalist shed to New Broomfield stadium.

Excelsior Stadium (which is what it's actually called) is big and relatively new, built to comply with SPL regulations. We went for a quick pint in the stadium bar and stood sheepishly in the corner with a few other Rovers fans. We didn't get a sense of any real animosity between the fans, but living in Glasgow we know all too well how lively derbies can get.

The game didn't get off to a great start, with an Airdrie goal after about 5 minutes. They were in control for the majority of the half until Ally Love scored 5 minutes before the break to level the game. An excellent strike, and an opportunity to sing a few bars of "Love Will Tear You Apart" which was most enjoyable. The Rovers fans were in fine voice throughout the match and particular mention must go to the Young Team sat by us who brought a drum for added atmosphere. "What do we think of Airdrie?" "Shite!" "Who do we think are shite?" "Airdrie!" "Thank You" "That's Alright".

Airdrie scored from a great move midway through the second half to make it 2-1, and it looked like the end for Rovers. However, they battled hard and fought back once again to level the game with a John Gemmell strike in the 87th minute. Despite being in the lower league, Rovers looked every bit Airdrie's equal over the course of the 90 minutes and an even scoreline was a fair reflection.

Extra time provided some good football but no goals, with Rovers looking slightly stronger. As the teams prepared for penalties, we were more than satisfied that we had got our £15 money's worth (a bit steep for a lower league cup game and, of course, more than we paid for our ARFC season tickets...)

The shoot-out gave us our first Rovers hero - take a bow Neil Parry who saved Airdrie's first 2 penalties making life that much easier for his penalty-taking teammates. It was left to player-manager Darren Young to convert the winning penalty and send the Rovers fans into delirium. Over the course of the whole game I was impressed with their resilience and ability to go the distance, plus coming from behind twice showed great character.

On leaving the ground there was little friction between the 2 sets of fans which was good to see. As we passed the nationalist shed for the second time we reflected on how lucky we were that our first game as Rovers fans was a derby win against a higher-league opposition. But moreso, it was an encouraging performance and if we can maintain this level of football then we'll be very well placed for a promotion push.

Introduction

Sometime around 2003 my brother introduced me to the PC game Championship Manager 01/02 which is my favourite video game of all time. Never a sporty child, it took a video game to spark my interest in football. Even then it didn't do much; as the years progressed, my football knowledge remained stubbornly stuck in July 2001. Leeds Utd are one of the best teams in England. The SPL has a genuinely world class player in Henrik Larsson. Thanks to my increasingly distant and specific knowledge of the game, I don't discuss football with anyone. Football exists only in my head - Cherno Samba, Taribo West, and various made-up Greek players are my Ronaldos and Zidanes.

Then in 2007 I discovered Fantasy Football and suddenly I was forced to bring my tragically game-informed football knowledge up to date. With a bit of money at stake, I took it seriously. I started watching Match of the Day and Soccer Saturday to identify the movers and shakers in the EPL. And it was only at this point that I slowly became a football fan. But something was wrong.

Every football fan has a favourite team, surely? I come from a Hearts supporting family. And support them I do, especially last season when our young squad played with an integrity that softened the blow of inevitable relegation. But I only see a couple of games a season, and my focus on Fantasy Football means that Scottish Football takes a back seat. I think I've always been quietly envious of real football fans, turning out week after week to cheer on their team while I'm stuck at home praying for Jonjo Shelvey to get some fantasy points so I can pull ahead in my private league.

So in May, when a story started doing the rounds that Albion Rovers were offering a season ticket on a pay-what-you-want basis (from as little as £11) I knew I had to pick one up. I live a 20 minute train ride from Coatbridge and actually watched a cup game there with my dad last November (as a Deveronvale fan... another family favourite). I was impressed by the scheme, and appreciated the chance to be able to nip across on the odd Saturday afternoon if I didn't have any other plans. My friends David and Alex also parted with £11 for the privilege of becoming season ticket holders. As the season approached our excitement grew. Alex and I bought the home strip (David's hunt for a scarf continues... can anyone help? This one seems a little excessive...) and we decided that we needed to attend as many games as we realistically could.

And so this is the journey that led me to where I am now: An Albion Rovers season ticket holder who never would have looked twice at the team were it not for the pay-what-you-want scheme. Not a real fan? I'm not sure. A new fan, certainly. What is a real fan? Hopefully I'll be able to better answer this question at the end of the season. For now, I'm looking forward to blogging the whole experience.