Scottish Football Journey

Excelsior Stadium, Airdrieonians

My trip to Airdrie will always be remembered. It was my first Scottish Cup game away from home and I was going down to watch Airdrie United v Cove Rangers in the 3rd round. Cove had beaten Whitehill Welfare in the previous round and were looking to make a good account of themselves. I took the bus down with the Cove fans who picked us up at the drop off lane in Portlethen. The journey took about 2-3 hours and it was a good ride down. A nearby pub was kind enough to make us sandwiches and offer us a pool table and TV to watch football on at noon.

Excitement was building up and on the bus to the stadium I could see floodlights, my heart was pounding. I was either scared we were going to get thrashed or was just really excited. The bus pulled up by the main stand and the stadium looked impressive. It's a shame only one stand was open but the atmosphere from us Cove fans was brilliant. The stadium itself is probably one of the best in the SFL with 3 stands at similar height with the main just larger, all have cover and there was plenty of space in the seating area. This was a special day for top scorer Jamie Watt as this was his last game for Cove before moving to Australia. He was given the captains armband by Kevin Tindal to mark his special day.

The game was won in the first half. Airdrie scored all 3 of their goals to win a comfortable 3-0. Cove had their chances and could have gone 1-0 up but Barrie Stephen failed to hit the target when 1 on 1. The first goal came from Joe Cardle as his low shot outside the box flew into the bottom corner. Their lead was doubled when Simon Lynch rounded Stuart Mckenzie and finished off a neat move. The 3rd came from Lynch again as he headed on a Steven McDougall cross to send Airdrie into the 4th round to take on Dunfermline. Coves only chance in the 2nd half came from a Jamie Watt shot which was hit straight at the keeper. Airdrie finished off a comfortable victory and the Cove fans went home happy with what they had seen despite the score line.

What can I say about my day out? Good stadium, good game, good goals, good team and a chip supper on the way back up to round off a really good day out. Scottish Cup away games are my favourite games to attend as I can make a day of it and enjoy the experience of visiting a new ground and supporting Cove right to the end.