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Match Review
Match Number: 543
Date: Sunday 21st September 2008
Kick-Off: 3:00pm
Match: Ayr United 1 Brechin City 1
Competition: Scottish League Two
Stadium: Somerset Park
Attendance: 1,317 (40 ish)
Stadium Stats
No. of visits to stadium: 1
Total no. of stadiums visited: 100
Programme and Ticket
No ticket stub given on entrance.
Photos
Review
Travel to match
Method of Travel: Car
Travelling time: 35mins
I was on holiday near to Ayr with my wife so the trip to Somerset Park was a shorter trip than had it been if I was going from home. Leaving our holiday home at 10:45am we were by the ground at 11:20am.
Pre-Match
After seeing where the ground was we headed into the town centre and to
the Kyle car park which was near to the main shopping area. We had lunch
there and popped into a few shops and there was enough there to leave
the missus for a few hours. The walk to the ground was a short fifteen
minute one, with the floodlights visible from the main road.
Stadium
I really like Somerset Park- the traditional and old feel to it especially
with the amount of terracing and fencing inside. The floodlight's however
stick out the most as can be seen by the photos below. The ground is certainly
in need of some work but it would be a great shame if the club do move
to a proposed new stadium in the town.
Admission
It was £12.00 for adults for both terracing and seating areas- I
chose to stand and headed to the open terrace. Entrance was via the turnstiles
at the Main Stand/Somerset Road corner (despite the sign telling you otherwise)
and I was able to walk behind the goal and onto the terrace. The view
was ok but the terrace was quite shallow so despite my height I struggled
to see some areas of the pitch. A good idea is taking a hat to the game
as the seagulls do like to use the match as target practice as a few people
around me found out!
Programme
£2.00 got you 28 pages and it was absolutely dreadful. If I have
bought another one so bad I cannot remember it. The cover is fantastic
but the content is only 14 pages and it takes only a few minutes to read.
There was no visitors profiles (the bare minimum I think you can expect)
and nothing of interest for anyone. I'm was surprised to see so many of
the home fans had bought this if this is the rubbish the club produce
every other week.
Food and Drink
I had already eaten in the town before the match so once again didn't
try anything in the ground- though the burgers and chips looked nice and
were bought by quite a few of the home support.
The Game
The game ended in a 1-1 draw which was a fair result. Poor defending led
to Brechin's goal but the best moment was Ayr's equaliser which was excellent.
The home side looked like they might have got a winner in the second half
but they had a very poor forward line.
Home Fans
I was slightly disappointed with the home support- there wasn't a chant
from them until 65 minutes into the match and those around me were very
critical of their players.
Before the game I was speaking to one of the older fans and he was really nice, interested in why I have come so far to the match (and holiday) and telling me about the new ground move. The other fans around me all seemed nice, and despite their being little atmosphere at least you don't have to listen to the rubbish that I often hear week in week out following Carlisle!
Away Fans
I counted 40 Brechin fans and they didn't make a sound other than the
goal.
Stewards / Police
Whilst walking round the ground before the match a steward asked me to
leave the area behind the open terrace which was overlooked the pitch.
I got to this via the hospitality area and it over a good view of the
ground. The police outside the ground stopped me taking a drink in and
they also searched what must have been an 80 year olds pockets which I
thought was totally unnecessary.
The Ref
I thought the referee done a good job and tried to keep his cards in his
pocket for as long as possible.
The Journey Home
Travelling time: 30mins
I walked to the Tesco supermarket which was up near the racecourse by Somerset Park where I met my wife. After a quick shop we left Ayr at 5:15pm and were back at our holiday home thirty minutes later.
Statistics
Travel: £5.00
Ticket: £12.00
Programme: £2.00
Total: £19.00
Mileage: X
Travelling time: 1hr 5mins
Stadium character: 7/10
Facilities: 3/10
View of pitch: 7/10
Atmosphere home fans: 2/10
Atmosphere away fans: 1/10
Match Rating: 7/10
Wish to go back to stadium: 8/10
