Terrace Travels #6: Brazil 2-0 Scotland - A Journey

Click here or read below for my travel nightmare to London for Sunday's Brazil v Scotland fixture. It was published on The Terrace Scottish Football website.

Sunday was all set up for an unforgettable day. Scotland had come off the back of a comfortable 3-0 win over Northern Ireland while their matchday opponents Brazil were on a two game losing streak. The home of Arsenal, the Emirates Stadium, was to host this International Challenge match. Thousands of Scottish fans made the long journey down. For some, it was longer than others as Will Lyon found to his cost…

Scotland in action against Brazil

The plan was simple. Take a train to London on the Saturday, watch the match on Sunday, have a few beers and take the train back home on the Monday. However, as it transpired, things wouldn't be so straightforward...

Walking into Edinburgh Waverley train station at half past three on the Saturday and seeing the three o'clock Kings Cross train still sitting in its’ berth was not a comforting sight, but spirits were high and I shook off any worries and made my way to the platform for my four o'clock departure.

As I took my seat at the platform, my worst nightmare began: “The 4 o'clock service to Kings Cross is delayed.” Fifteen minutes later, the situation spiralled to a new level of doom: “The 4 o'clock service to Kings Cross is cancelled, Network Rail apologises for any inconvenience caused.” Before the panic could take hold of the hundreds of bewildered passengers, we were ushered by a marshal to head for the three o'clock Kings Cross train and told that we were “just going to have to squeeze in.” The train was not a pleasant place to be. Cramped in-between a huge suitcase and an arguing couple, I started to wish I was elsewhere as I heard news of my team Raith Rovers grabbing a crucial equaliser in their league fixture against Falkirk.

The minutes ticked by and just as the dreaded text came through informing me that Raith went on to lose the important game at Falkirk, an announcement was made over the tannoy of the train: “This service to London Kings Cross has been cancelled. There is a major signal fault at York and there will be no services to London for the rest of the day. We will operate an hourly service to Newcastle, but passengers looking to travel to London are advised make other plans or come back tomorrow.” Unfortunately, the first train to London on the Sunday would not arrive in time for the match and there was no guarantee that the signal fault would be fixed in time. With a seat on a plane costing over £150, the next best option was the dreaded Megabus – the infamous last resort of travel. The next bus was to leave St Andrews Station at half past 10 and arrive at London Victoria eight hours later. At a measly £27 the opportunity could not be missed.

After grabbing some dinner, I received a phone call from my mate who had made his way up to London for the game. He had turned up at the hostel we were booked into, only to be greeted by a receptionist who informed him that: “The system crashed when you made your booking, so although you received a booking confirmation, we do not have your booking here and we are now full.” So with that news my mate started running around London looking for somewhere to sleep and I made my way back to the bus station.

Upon arrival, I was shepherded onto a bus and with just one seat at the front and a few more at the back nearby a boisterous Tartan Army group. So I decided to sit at the front where I might be able to catch a bit more sleep. But as the bus started reversing out of its dock, the back of the bus immediately erupted with a chorus of “We'll Be Coming”. The driver was clearly amused, muttering something along the lines of “thank f*ck I'm handing this bus over to someone else,” while the Russians to the right of me looked confused and maybe even a little frightened.

As we made our way out of Edinburgh, I soon realised the man next to me (who had not even glanced at me since I had sat next to him) was on the verge of passing out, probably due to a few too many lemonade shandys on Rose Street. His head flopped back and forth, but he seemed fine – for now. Meanwhile, the Tartan Army were in full voice and mocking the lack of atmosphere at the front of the bus: “Can you hear the front sing? No, no. Can you hear the front sing? I cannae hear a f*cking thing, no, no, no.” The driver and I were laughing, the man next to me was still oblivious to the world around him and the Russians continued to look fearful for their well-being.

As we headed for the border, the man next to me uttered his first words - they were not words that I wanted to hear: “Is there a sick bag underneath the chair?” he gargled. Frantically, I searched for one but found nothing. He crashed his head back on the chair in front and grunted “ahh sh*te.” A few unpleasant noises followed, but thankfully nothing would emerge from his mouth. The bus gradually descended into silent sleep, only to be intermittently interrupted by one of the Russians whose snore was reminiscent of a foghorn.

The bus arrived in London around seven o'clock and the bleary-eyed passengers dragged themselves onto the street. I made my way to Kings Cross to meet my mate who had ended up staying in the Premier Inn near Wembley for a costly £70. We decided to check into our new hostel, which I had booked just before getting onto the bus the night before, ate some breakfast and then did what comes natural to most football fans – we hit the pub. By 11 o'clock, the atmosphere in O'Neill's was already simmering and “Flower of Scotland”, “We'll Be Coming” and “Doe A Deer” were regularly belted out at full volume.

The fans gather around The Emirates Stadium - Home of Arsenal FC

At midday, we began the migration to the Emirates Stadium, with each pub along the way looking just that little bit more full than the one previous. As the stadium loomed in the distance the atmosphere turned to one of a carnival. The Brazilians were thumping away on their drums, surrounded by samba dancers with some additional entertainment being provided by the odd drunk Scot trying to join in.

With match day scarves and programmes purchased we decided to enter the stadium. It was hard not to be blown away by the grandness of the place when you are used to visiting beauty spots such as Cowdenbeath's Central Park. There were no crumbling terraces, filthy seats or limited legroom at The Emirates and the pitch was akin to a bowling green. Behind us were two cockneys - gasping at the fact that only five Old Firm players were in the Scotland team - who were kind enough to point out that Charlie Adam was the nation's only top class player.

The match kicked off under a blazing sun and as expected, Brazil dominated from start to finish. The deadlock was broken three minutes before half time when Andre Santos' cutback found Neymar alone in the box and the youngster coolly slotted past Allan McGregor. The second half saw more of the same Brazilian domination and 13 minutes from the end Neymar made it 2-0 from the penalty spot. And with that, the game was over.

From a fans perspective, it was a wonderful day out. The Tartan Army took control of the city and the atmosphere was electric wherever you went. The whole experience only added to the cravings for an away day to Wembley to face the Auld Enemy.

As well as being a presenter on The Terrace Scottish Football Podcast, Will is sports editor of 'The Student' at Edinburgh University and the official match reporter for Raith Rovers FC. You'll also find other pieces of his scattered around the blog world - search them out! Follow Will on Twitter: @wrl1989

Brazil, Mixu & Takeovers

Please click here to listen to the latest installment of The Terrace Scottish Football Podcast.

There was no SPL action at the week, but there is still plenty talk about, starting with all the international goodness of out potassium-filled trip to face Brazil. We'll discuss what we learned, what's next and what the atmosphere was like among the throngs of Scots down there.

In domestic matters we'll have a round-up of what has been happening in club football, including talking Mixu, and potential takeovers of St. Mirren and Rangers.

Last night was a massive night in the SFL, particularly in the ever-changing race for the SPL taking place in SFL1, while Livingston and Arbroath look shoe-ins for SFL2 and SFL3 respectively. We also want to hear from Alloa and Clyde fans; what has happened with your clubs in the past couple of weeks?!

There's action to preview, including the vital Scottish Cup quarter-final tonight (which is only £10 / £5 to get into - get on that!) between Motherwell and Dundee United as well as a full card of SPL fixtures - including the Edinburgh derby.

There's also our usual goodies of Punt of the Week and Where are they Now?

Email: thetterrace@scotzine.com / Twitter: terracepodcast

Rovers & Staggies Share The Spoils

Click here or read below for my match report from this evening's fixture between Raith Rovers and Ross County. It was published on the official Raith Rovers website.


Raith Rovers 1 v 1 Ross County

The teams

Raith Rovers stay top of the First Division after a 1-1 draw against Ross County.

The visitors scored the opening goal just four minutes into the second half when Jonathan Flynn headed home, but Raith replied immediately after Gregory Tade stabbed home following a stramash in the County box.

The first half was a fairly stuffy affair with the Dingwall side dominating possession but after taking the lead, looked second-best to Rovers, who started to apply more urgency to their play.

Raith created the first real opportunity of the match on the 7th minute when a Scott McBride freekick was curled to the back post where the inrushing Dougie Hill just failed to connect.

County hit back five minutes later after Stephen Simmons gave away a freekick on the edge of the box. From the set piece Steven Milne managed to flick an attempt on goal, but Rovers keeper' Andy McNeil was able to tip onto the bar.

Simmons was clearly struggling after being on the receiving end of a 50/50 tackle early on and was replaced by Mark Ferry on the 15th minute.

County continued to control possession, but failed to create another chance till a corner on the 26th minute. Milne again managed an attempt at goal - which seemed to take a slight touch off an arm - before McNeil was able to gather.

Away fans in the McDermid Stand

The next twenty minutes were fairly uninspiring, although County could have grabbed a goal in stoppage time when a freekick was touched on by Richard Brittain, but Andrew Barrowman's scissor kick fell just wide of the post.

The game was in desperate need of a goal and one arrived four minutes into the second half. Iain Vigurs curled a corner to the front post where the unmarked Flynn glanced his header into the Rovers net.

County manager Jimmy Calderwood immediately changed his side's 4-4-2 formation to a 3-5-2 and may have been punished for this six minutes later when Craig Wilson was able to cross a ball in from the right hand side which John Baird could not quite connect with, but Tade was on hand to send the ball home.

The home fans roared their side on and Raith should have scored another on the 56th minute when Ferry swung a ball into the box but Tade headed over the bar.

The momentum was clearly with Rovers and County had to thank their lucky stars when Allan Walker somehow managed to shoot wide when it looked easier to score. Baird raced past the Highlander's defence high up the pitch and smashed a shot at keeper' Michael McGovern who could only watch as the ball spun over him and onto the bar. 

Raith fans in the South Stand

From the rebound, the ball bounced back over Tade and landed in the path of Walker who awkwardly stuck a foot out but could only watch as his effort scraped the post.

The pressure continued and 20 minutes from time Tade met a Ferry cross but hit his shot into the turf and McGovern was able to gather.

However, Raith were almost caught out when a weak Mark Campbell pass caught Iain Davidson cold and Michael Gardyne nipped in and ran clear at goal, but with Campbell bearing down on him, he snatched at his shot and hooked it wide.

Rovers flung men forward and their last chance would fall on the 88th minute when another Ferry cross was headed at goal by Walker but McGovern dealt with the effort comfortably.

Looking back at second half chances, Raith just about deserved the three points, but in the end, it was too little too late. If they had shown the same urgency and desire in the first half, they may have come away with the three points, especially as the County defence looked shaky when under pressure. 

The Main Stand

However, across the River Tay, Dunfermline Athletic could only draw at Dens Park, so Rovers stay two points clear at the top of the league and with just seven games left, it is all to play for.

Meanwhile, with Cowdenbeath losing to Greenock Morton, County move back out of the relegation playoff position and into 8th place.

Peter Lorimer - Player Profile

Below is my player profile of Leeds United and Scotland legend, Peter Lorimer. It was published in the latest Scotzine fanzine which can be bought for just £1.00 here.

 Legends of Football - Peter Lorimer

I never missed a Scotland game through choice and I’m pleased that I didn’t. I wanted every cap that was offered to me. You never get that time back and it’s always dangerous to assume that you’ll be asked twice if you say no once.

Lorimer in Scotland colours

Those are the words of former Leeds United and Scotland winger, Peter Lorimer, taken from his column for the Yorkshire Evening Post published as recent as February. It is an attitude that current Scotland forward Steven Fletcher appears to be lacking after he turned down Craig Levein’s call-up for the Carling Nations fixture against Northern Ireland last month. Ultimately, Fletcher would not have even been able toturn down the chance to play for his country in the 1970s as he would not have been good enough to get into that talented squad in which Lorimer was an integral part of.

Lorimer was born in Dundee, 1946, and signed his first football contract in 1962 with Leeds United at the age of just fifteen, making his first team debut later that year. He would go on to make 676 appearances in two spells for United, scoring 238 goals which is all the more impressive considering he featured predominately on the right wing.

Of course, it could have been a completely different story. With their son attracting the attention of numerous club scouts from anearly age, Lorimer’s parents were allegedly offered a £5,000 bung from Manchester United scouts to sign schoolboy forms with the club. The Red Devils’ offer was accepted by the working-class parents, understandably so, considering the immense value of £5,000 just short of fifty years ago. It later emerged that The Reds’ manager Sir Matt Busby was not impressed with his scouts’ unauthorised actions as he informed them he had already ‘promised’ Lorimer to Leeds boss, Don Revie. When approached by Leeds soon after, Lorimer’s parents returned the £5,000 to Manchester United and their son would soon move south of the border to join the Yorkshire club.

Lorimer joined Leeds at a time when the club had just narrowly avoided relegation to the English Third Division and they were struggling financially. However, under Revie’s guidance the Elland Road side would achieve promotion to the top tier after just three years in charge. Indeed, Lorimer would play an integral role in Revie’s ‘glory years’ at Leeds United where the club won the old First Division (1968/9 & 1973/4), League Cup (1968), the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (1968 & 1971) and the FA Cup (1972). Despite all of Lorimer’s medal collecting, he could have had so much more. During the period, Leeds finished second in the league five times, lost in the FA Cup final three times, finished runners up in the Fairs Cup once and also fell to AC Milan in the European Cup Winners Cup in 1973.

It was also during this spell that Lorimer became a Scotland regular, making twenty-one appearances and scoring four goals in the process. He will arguably be best known in a Scotland shirt for his star performance in the admirable goalless draw against Brazil in the first round of the 1974 World Cup. He had numerous efforts on goal but was thwarted each time by goalkeeper Emerson Leao. The most eye-catching moment of thematch from Lorimer being a freekick forty yards from goal which he, after a Roberto Carlos-esq run up, blasted the ball at goal with Leao just managing to tip over for a corner. It was one these fiercely struck shots that would give Lorimer nicknames such as “hotshot” and “lash”. Sadly, Scotland failed to qualify for the next round of the World Cup on goal difference and the nation would regret the chance missed by Lorimer and his team-mates, arguably the best talent this country has ever seen, with greats like Billy Bremner,
Kenny Dalgish and Jimmy Johnstone, who remarkably failed to even come off the bench once at the tournament.

Lorimer left the rapidly declining Leeds in 1979 and decided to travel afar to ply his trade at Toronto Blizzard, York City, Vancouver Whitecaps and University College Dublin over the next four years. His spell in Canada at the Whitecaps was probably the most successful period away from Leeds, where the now ageing Scot, would score 23 goals in 87 games.

37-year-old Lorimer rejoined Leeds in 1983 who were now occupying a spot in the Second
Division and he spent three final seasons at the club under the stewardship of former team-mate Eddie Gray. Lorimer broke the club’s top goalscorer record during this second spell at the Yorkshire club and would in total score a total of 17 goals before he retired just immediately prior to his 40th birthday.

Lorimer has kept himself involved in the game as a director at Leeds United, a pundit for BBC Radio Leeds and as mentioned previously, a columnist for the Yorkshire Evening Post. Lorimer also owns a pub in Leeds, situated just a thirty minute walk away from Elland Road, so if you are in town for a Leeds United match be sure to wet your appetite for the football at Lorimer’s Commerical Inn.

By Will Lyon

Doing A 'St. Mirren'

Click here to listen to this week's Terrace Scottish Football podcast featuring Alan Temple, Craig Fowler and myself.

In this week's show we discuss the first trophy of the season being  handed out to Rangers, who defeated Celtic after extra-time in a pleasantly watchable enounter at Hampden yesterday. We pick through the bones of that one and bestow praise and scorn on deserving parties.

Throwing away positive positions in the last 10 minutes of a football match must now be known as 'doing a St. Mirren', and Hearts were the beneficiaries as Danny Lennon's men absolutely St. Mirren-ed it at Tynecastle on Saturday. That and much more in the SPL round-up.

It's almost time for the Scottish invasion of England. We preview the Scotland vs Brazil friendly at the Emirates as I let loose the dorment side of my mind which wants to go topless in London.

A preview of Brechin's trip to St. Johnstone, the SFL round-up and Where are they Now? make up the rest of our weekly offering.

Email us: theterrace@scotzine.com / Twitter: @terracepodcast

Enjoy the show.

The Terrace Scottish Football Podcast - "Givin' Out Daps"

Check out the latest Terrace Scottish Football Podcast here where Alan Temple, Craig Fowler and myself talk Scottish Cup, SPL, SFL, Scottish League Cup and Europa League. Enjoy the show!

Raith Rovers 0 v 2 Partick Thistle

Click here or read below for my match report from today's fixture at Starks Park this afternoon. It was published on the official Raith Rovers website.

Rovers Slump To Fifth Home Defeat

Raith Rovers slumped to their fifth home defeat of the season against Partick Thistle this afternoon after two second half goals from Kris Doolan and Paddy Boyle.

The home side struggled to find any sort of rhythm, while the visitors created numerous chances and could have won by a larger margin in the end.

Remarkably, this was the first time Thistle had overturned Raith since the Kirkcaldy side won promotion to the First Division in 2009.

With Dunfermline securing a 2-1 win away to Falkirk it means the Pars have closed the gap at the top of the table to just two points.

After an encouraging display at Dumfries last week, hopes were high amongst the Starks Park faithful as the teams emerged onto the park at three o'clock, but it was Partick who would cause the early problems.

Just three minutes into the match Raith midfielder Stephen Simmons lost possession in his own box, but thankfully for the league leaders, the ball was cleared behind. From the corner Ryan McGowan headed the ball into the ground and as it viciously bounced up towards goal Andrew McNeil managed to tip over the bar.

Raith tried to gain a foothold in the game but ten minutes later they were struggling to clear their lines once again. A succession of Partick shots were blocked, with the final one landing to right back Paul Paton whose shot was deflected wide by Simmons for another corner.

The corner resulted in nothing, but minutes later Partick had another opportunity when Chris Erskine was played in on goal, only for Dougie Hill to slide in and make a great last ditch tackle to divert the ball wide of the post. The corner was swung in and Rovers fans held their breath as Doolan looked just inches away from connecting with the cross.

Halfway through the first period McGowan had a clear sight of goal as the ball broke to him outside the Raith box, but his effort was comfortably dealt with by McNeil.

Partick's final attempt on goal in the first half arrived on the 34th minute when Paton's cross was glanced past the post by Martin Grehan.

Raith - still being backed by the home fans – finally managed to get a grasp of the game with their first real chance falling on the stroke of half time. Midfielder Allan Walker slipped a delightful through ball to the pacey John Baird who connected well, but Thistle keeper' Scott Fox tipped wide and the half time whistle was blown by Frank McDermott.

Despite being second best for the first period, Rovers fans were encouraged by the final flurry, however they were soon to be disappointed when Partick took the lead on the 49th minute. A corner was curled into the box and the unmarked Doolan headed down through McNeil's legs.

Looking for a quick response, Raith finally managed a few more shots on goal. A freekick was headed wide of the post by Hill, before a cross to the back post was caught on the volley by Walker, only for Fox to tip his effort over the bar.

However, Thistle regained control of the match, causing numerous problems. On the 66th minute, Chris Erskine went on a lung bursting run down the left wing, cutting inside and blasted the ball at goal but McNeil was able to tip over for a corner.

From the corner Grehan managed to flick a cross ball at goal, but McNeil was able to gather.

Raith's Grant Murray nodded over from a corner before McNeil made yet another save, this time from Doolan who was looking to add another goal to his tally.

Rovers manager John McGlynn rung the changes on the 72nd minute as Mark Ferry, Gregory Tade and John Baird were replaced by Gary Wales, Graham Weir and Iain Davidson.

Raith's final chance came five minutes later after a corner fell to Mark Campbell who laid the ball back to the onrushing Simmons, but his effort was high and wide.

The home side threw men forward as the final minutes ticked away, with Partick relieving the pressure admirably and in the final minute of regulation time they sealed the win. Boyle took advantage of a mistake by Campbell who was unable to get the ball out from under his feet and the left back slammed the ball past McNeil to seal Partick's first away victory since October 2010.

All in all, a very poor Rovers performance and the players will have to pick themselves up quickly for Tuesday evening's fixture against Cowdenbeath.

Meanwhile, the victory for Partick means they have moved up to fourth in the league, comfortably clear of the relegation places and top spot respectively. Ian McCall's side will probably have one eye on next season already now.

written by Will Lyon

Terrace Travels #3: Queen of the South 0 - 2 Raith Rovers

Click here to read my article published on The Terrace where I describe a day out at the fitba' down Dumfries way.