It was to Scotland I headed today for my first new ground of 2014 and what a ground it was too. Today's trip was in order to see Benburb's iconic Tinto Park, before it is buried under a housing estate in the not too distant future. The ground is in Govan, Glasgow, in the shadow of it's more famous neighbour, Ibrox Park.
There can't be many grounds of it's type left in Britain as Tinto Park is dominated by a steep, large covered terrace down the side of the pitch.
Unfortunately it has long seen better days when large crowds used to gather to cheer on The Bens (the record gate at Tinto was around 10,000). The rest of the ground is mostly overgrown, but it is very easy to imagine Tinto in it's pomp.
The local vandals have unofficially begun to demolish the ground as, after torching the old social club, they have turned their attentions to inside the ground and, for instance, the dugouts have no cover and there are signs of fire damage on the terraces. There are also large gaping holes in the terrace roof and empty lager cans strewn across the overgrown grassed areas.
It is due to the ongoing problems with the vandals that the club will not confirm the actual leaving date (as they don't want to indicate that the ground will be vacant to give the vandals free reign) but it will be before the season is out. The club plan to ground share with Renfrew (another ground that is on the way out) in the interim, before moving to a new purpose built ground yards from their current home.
I was not the only 'groundhopper' who was visiting Govan today and there were plenty of familiar faces milling around the ground, plenty of time have a chat and a catch up, which made the day even more pleasurable.
I must confess to be slightly panicked on the journey North as it rained incessantly from Cumbria to Glasgow but upon arrival the pitch looked heavy, but perfectly playable.
As well as the incentive of seeing Tinto Park, the game was also a cup tie. Scottish Junior Cup games are usually full blooded affairs and this game was no exception. The visitors to Govan were Ayrshire-based Whitletts Victoria and the the game was a fine advert for junior fitba.
After carving out the best of the early chances, The Vics raced into a two goal lead thanks to Shaun Allan (35) and Tony Balfour (47) which sent their travelling contingent into raptures, no doubt also helped by a few swigs of the old commotion potion.
However, with seemingly nothing to lose, The Bens went for it and got level thanks to goals from Andrew Wright (62) and Peter Lovering (78).
Neither side were happy to settle for a replay and it could have gone either way but with seconds remaining on the clock Whitletts strikers both broke clear and the ball was squared to Balfour for a simple tap in to book The Vics place in round 5. Very Harsh on Benburb who I felt deserved another crack of the whip, but sometimes football is a cruel game.
A most enjoyable afternoon at a most friendly and welcoming club. There was also a tinge of sadness as it is always a shame when a classic 'proper' ground is set to disappear. For anyone who has not been to Tinto Park I would urge you to get there ASAP.
For more on the history of Benburb, including a picture of The Bens most famous supporter with his boyhood hero, click on this link: http://mygovan.com/html/benburbfc.html
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