Heed Hopper

✓959. Meggetland Stadium

Tynecastle 1-2 Glenrothes

East of Scotland League Premier Division

Saturday 10th May 2025

The original Tynecastle Boys Club formed in 1928. The club merged with East of Scotland Football League side Tollcross United in 2005, becoming Tynecastle F.C.

This merger gave the club admission to senior level for the first time, taking Tollcross United's place in the EoSFL First Division. Tynecastle played their first ever senior match in a pre-season friendly (5/8/05) against Hibernian, which ended in a 2–2 draw.

East of Scotland Football League First Division Winners: 2008–09, 2019–20 (Conference B)

Alex Jack Cup Winners: 2017–18

South & East of Scotland Cup-Winners Shield Winners: 2017–18

Meggetland Sports Complex

4 Meggetland Wynd,

Edinburgh, EH14 1XN

Tynecastle originally played at the Fernieside Recreation Ground, which was Tollcross United's home since 1971. They shared Saughton Enclosure with Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale from 2015. The team moved to the Meggetland Sports Complex in 2018, where they share the main stadium grass pitch with Boroughmuir RFC.

Meggetland is a multi-purpose sports pavilion, the complex consists of multiple astroturf and grass pitches for football, rugby, hockey, and cricket.

The main stadium has a smart segment shaped stand filled with blue seats. There's a length of terracing opposite which is out of bounds. At the entrance, outside the social club is a large seated area which sits above the goal as a good view point, plus there's standing section underneath.

Tynecastle 1 Glenrothes 2

East of Scotland FL Premier Division matchday 30

14th v 10th

2.30pm ko

Att.120.est

Spon :

Admission £8

Coffee & Scotch pie £3.80

Tynecastle’s best spell came after they conceded a second goal with less than ten minutes remaining. They pulled a goal back and could have equalised, but were denied by a magnificent save from the Glenrothes ‘keeper.

15” 0-1 Cooper Thompson

81’ 0-2 Ross Balmer

86’ 1-2 tbc

#Heedhopper

94 miles Tyneside to Tynecastle

0841 train to Edinburgh, arriving at 1010.(return on 1903)

A smashing day out in Edinburgh, which started with some successful record shopping, picking up bargains in Vinyl Villains and Elvis Shakespeare. I stayed around the north end of the city, having a pint in the Old Eastway Tap and the Artisan bar, before catching the number 10 bus to the match.

Afterwards I called into Mathers for a pint then met up with my mate James(who had been to the Hearts match) for a few jars in the Jinglin’ Geordie, which is one of my favourite pubs in the city.

✓958. Dearne Welfare Community Ground

Dearne & District 5-2 South Leeds

Northern Counties East League Division One

Saturday 12th April 2025

Dearne & District FC are based in Goldthorpe, a small town in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley. It was anciently a small medieval farming village and recorded in the Domesday Book as a part of the Manor of Bolton upon Dearne.(population: over 6,000)

The club was founded in 1982 as a youth team with an adult side formed in 2018, joining Division One of the Doncaster Senior League.

Doncaster Senior League 2018 - 2021.

Central Midlands League North Division 2021 - 2024:

Central Midlands Alliance Premier North Division Champions 2023-24

North East Counties League debut season 24/25

Dearne Miners Welfare Community Ground

Furlong Road, Goldthorpe Green

Goldthorpe, S63 9EH

The club originally played at Dearne Valley College, before moving to the Kingsmark ground in Goldthorpe. After being refused planning permission for floodlights they moved to the Welfare Ground in 2023.

The ground has a covered seated stand and an enclosure, each side of the dugouts. There's another covered seated stand behind the far goal, next to the changing rooms.

Dearne & District 5 South Leeds 2

NCEL Division One matchday 42

(4th v 9th)

3pm ko

Att.110

Spon:

Admission £5

Steak pie £3.50

Coffee £1

(Programme available £2)

After falling 2-1 behind early in the second half, Dearne bossed the game once they equalised to finish the regular season with a convincing win. An impressive 4th place finish in their debut NCEL season means they’ll face third place Wakefield AFC next week in the play-offs.

7’ 1-0 Chris Wilkinson

36’ 1-1 Billy Law

53’ 1-2 Wilf Frimpong

59’ 2-2 Jamie Austin (pen)

81’ 3-2 Jake Phillis

84’ 4-2 Jamie Austin

85’ RED Will Harling(SL) - dissent/2nd yellow

90’ 5-2 Jamie Austin

#Heedhopper

111 miles door-to-door

Katie & Lee picked me up at 10.30. We arrived in Goldthorpe two hours later, where we called for refreshments in the Market Tap and the Corner Tap before the match.

✓957.Lochburn Park

Maryhill 5-4 Caledonian Locomotive

West of Scotland League 2nd Division

Saturday 29th March 2025

Maryhill is an area in the north-west of Glasgow and part of the A81 road which runs three miles between the city centre and the suburb of Bearsden.

The name derives from Hew Hill, the Laird of Gairbraid, who had no male heir and so he left his estate to his daughter, Mary Hill (1730–1809).

Maryhill formed in 1884 as a Junior club and were beaten finalists in the second-ever Scottish Junior Cup in 1887–88, before turning senior the following season. The club entered the Scottish Cup three years running from 1888, but eventually returned to the Junior ranks in 1894, reaching five Junior Cup finals and lifting the trophy in 1900 and 1940.

Scottish Junior Cup Winners: 1899–1900, 1939–40

Runners-up: 1887–88, 1900–01, 1901–02, 1906–07

Glasgow Junior League champions: 1900–01, 1903–04, 1904–05

Central League Premier Division champions: 1996–97, 1997–98

West of Scotland Cup winners: 2000–01, 2003–04

West Central Division Two champions: 2012–13

The club made national news in April 2017 when Gavin Stokes broke the World Record for the fastest recorded goal scored, coming in a home game against Clydebank, with his strike to the top corner of the net from half-way timed at 2.1 seconds.

Lochburn Park

18a Lochburn Rd, Maryhill, G20 9AQ

Capacity: 1,800 (205 seats)

Redcord Attendance: 3,500 v Ashfield 1920

Scottish grounds visited 126

Maryhill have played at Lochburn Park since 1897, built on the site of a former quarry and previously home to the Kelvin Dock Curling Club. The ground is hemmed in on all sides, with access in one corner. The pitch is sunk by six feet below the terracing.

After purchasing the club in 1989, local businessman Freddie Duda invested £700,000, adding seats, a gym with sauna and one of the few Junior grounds to have floodlights.There’s a covered terrace down one side and behind the far side goal is a section of multicoloured open bucket seating, installed in 1998.

Maryhill 5 Caledonian Locomotive 4

GreenVersity Second Division matchday 24 (8th v 7th)

2pm ko

Att.70hc

Spon:

Admission £6

Coffee £1.50

Scotch pie £2

A cracking match on a heavy pitch, saw the hosts go two goals down early on, but they looked good enough to turn it around. Midway through the second half Maryhill took the lead, but the visitors kept hitting back and it took a last minute winner from the Hill to finally claim the win. Nine goals from nine different goalscorers:

7' 0-1 Cameron McNeil

13' 0-2 Connor McAteer

30' 1-2 Jonny Baxter

49' 2-2 Callum Imrie

65' 3-2 Connor Hamilton

69' 3-3 Joe Slattery

87' 4-3 Logan Dempsey

89' 4-4 Daniel Gray

90' 5-4 Ross Daly

#Heedhopper

0744 train Newcastle to Edinburgh (2056 return)

Scotrail train connections to and from Glasgow, arriving at 1020.

A day out in Glasgow with the breadknife. Following breakfast we caught the clockwork orange to Hillhead, for drinks in the Tennant's Bar and the historic Curlers Rest. The breadknife then headed back into the city and I walked through the Botanic Gardens and along the river to Maryhill. As a fan of Still Game I obviously had to do the obligatory selfie picture outside Osprey Heights, but unfortunately Stevie's bookies has long gone, so I couldn't put a bet on. After the match we had a pub crawl around the city and we called into a couple of my favourite Edinburgh pubs before the train home.

Around the Alliance 30

I’ve finally completed the Northern Alliance grounds for this season, following a visit to Bedlington United yesterday. This post also includes a match at Bede Academy before Christmas,which Blyth Rangers regularly use, plus a bonus ground, as Stobswood Welfare used Hirst Welfare 3G, to get their fixture fulfilled last week.

Pictures and match facts:

Saturday 21st December 2024

947. Bede Academy (North)

Blyth Rangers 1 Blyth Town Reserves 7

Northern Alliance 2nd Division matchday 15v16

(14th v 8th)

2pm ko

Att.29hc