St MIRREN (Love Street)

A theme that seems to be running through quite a few of my visits this season is that of grounds that are soon to be gone. So it was with this in mind that a chance occured to visit two grounds that will/may be no more by 2009. St Mirren was already in mind as they are due to move in January 2009 so it was a case of trying to find a suitable Saturday before then. When, because of a race meeting, Ayr’s game versus Brechin was moved to the Sunday it was no contest. This would be the weekend, as St Mirren were home to Falkirk. A hotel in Glasgow was booked and it was north I headed (no clichés about taking the high road!)

Love Street, the home of St Mirren, was pretty easy to find as it located just off the M8 near Glasgow airport. Arriving in good time meant parking in the street near to the ground was also simple enough. Walking around the stadium it was difficult to understand why the club is moving. The ground looked more than adequate for the needs of club. However, the ground has been sold off to clear debts and (shock! horror!) a supermarket is to be built in its place.

I was disappointed to find that there was no club shop at the ground, so I could not get hold of a badge. It was then off to the ticket office where I purchased my ticket (£18) for the North Stand. This proved to be as hassle free as the lady in the ticket office suggested it would be. When I phoned earlier in the week and asked would there any danger of there being no tickets available she just burst out laughing! After purchasing a programme (£2.50) it was a quick walk into Love Street itself and the entrance to the North Stand. This is where most of the St. Mirren fans appear to be heading to as well. To get into this stand you have to walk up a large ramp, which stretches from the turnstiles over the corner and into the back of the stand. It is a large seated terrace stretching the length of the pitch. It was then a quick trip to the serving hatch to purchase a bridie (£2.40) and well worth the price it was too!

It was then a case of taking your seat, or at least a seat, as nobody appeared to be sitting where they were supposed to be. Nevermind, this suited me as my ticket had an obscured view behind one of the posts! It was now a chance to have a look at the ground it its full glory. The Main Stand is very basic with only a seated section on the top level. It doesn’t run the length of the pitch, only a section on the halfway line. This stand is the smallest and looked the oldest of the four. The stand is behind the goal at one end of the pitch and would appear to be the best view in the ground, yet this is the away end, which today houses a small pocket of Falkirk fans. At the other end is the Family Stand, which is seated terrace with a cantilever roof. Also, behind that stand, in the corners, are remnants of the old terracing which were curved and gave a tantalising glimpse of the ground before redevelopment. It was easy to imagine the bowl shaped ground with big banks of terracing filled with the fans cheering on “the buddies”.

Anyhow, back to the game and quite frankly it was crap (I do seem to be having a bad run of late) and possibly one of the worst games I’ve seen in recent times. Admittedly 10th v 12th in the league table was never going to be a classic but even so you expect something to happen, but nothing did, in the first half anyway. It was goalless at half time. I don’t know what they put in the half time cuppa but the second half kicked off and within two minutes Falkirk took the lead. A cross was whipped in and headed home by Graham Barrett, with the goalie rooted to the spot. This lead didn’t last and two minutes later a silly handball by Kevin McBride gave away a penalty and Billy Mehmet tucked it away to level up. However that was the end of the thrills as the game reverted to the malaise of the first half as both teams settled for a point.

Despite the poor game it was brilliant to get a chance to visit Love Street and to see a match before it is no more. All that remained was a quick trip back up the M8 into Glasgow and off into the city for a couple of beers...................hic!!

















Saturday 20th September 2008
Scottish Premier League
St Mirren 1-1 Falkirk
Attendance: 4,134

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