GLASGOW UNITED (Greenfield Park)

WEST OF SCOTLAND LEAGUE CONFERENCE B, GLASGOW UNITED 2-2 RENFREW, ATTENDANCE: 103 (h/c)

Today, for the third Saturday in succession, I headed to Scotland for my football entertainment. Destination this week was the East End of Glasgow for a visit to Greenfield Park, the home of Glasgow United née Shettleston Juniors.

The reason for the trip north is because Greenfield Park is rumoured to be on the danger list. There is talk of the club moving to a brand new state of the art facility not far away, with Greenfield Park being redeveloped for housing.

Speaking to someone at the ground they were circumspect in when this is likely to happen or indeed if these rumours are actually true. Regardless, there were to be no chances taken and it was a wise move to get here sooner rather than later. There was concern on the journey up about the weather with heavy thundery showers forecast, the electronic warning signs on the M74 motorway doing nothing to ease the worries, but upon arrival in Glasgow the ground was bathed in sunshine and the pitch was actually being watered!

Greenfield Park is what I would say is a typical old Scottish ground that simply oozes character, despite only being two sided. There is covered terracing that has been converted to seating behind one goal and a enclosure one side of the pitch. There was at one stage two enclosures but one was demolished in anticipation of rotating the pitch, which never happened.

The other two sides, one which runs alongside the railway line, are unused and overgrown. There were previously steps of terracing on both sides but this, I was told, disappeared years ago.

Greenfield Park has been home since 1933 when Shettleston Juniors moved there from their previous ground, Well Park. The club was formed in 1903 and had been known as Shettleston Juniors until a rebranding in early 2021. The name Glasgow United was chosen to appeal to the wider community and, hopefully, bring in new sponsorship and commercial benefits.  Some fans are not convinced and are disappointed that a famous name, the club where the likes of Tommy Docherty and Bobby Russell began their careers, has disappeared from the Scottish football scene.

Today's match was in the West of Scotland League Conference B, which is one of the leagues that feed into the Premier League. The full reconstruction, after the mass defection of clubs from the Junior Leagues, is yet to happen after the abandonment of the 2020/21 season.

Renfrew were the visitors this afternoon and it was a feisty affair. There were plenty of robust challenges amongst the fitba and there was much to enjoy, especially in the second half.

Josh McCulloch gave Glasgow the lead after five minutes and the home side held on to the advantage until half time. They lost 'keeper Ewan Roche to injury midway through the half and, with no replacement on the bench, left back Craig Thomsen went between the sticks.

Thomsen was beaten five minutes into the second half when Jamie Benton equalised for Renfrew. Conor Woodhouse restored home advantage after 56 minutes with a neat turn and finish before Ciaran Diver scored a second equaliser for Renfrew, his shot going in off the foot of the post.

The game was end to end but neither team could find a winner. Renfrew certainly created enough chances to win the game but Glasgow definitely merited the draw. There was a bit of handbags at the final whistle as tensions boiled over but it was the usual pushing and shoving before things calmed down.

Another great afternoon in Scotland and, if you haven't been already, then I definitely recommend a visit to Greenfield Park but don't leave it too long, just in case...

MURRAYFIELD STADIUM

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2nd QUALIFYING ROUND, 2nd LEG, CELTIC 4-0 KR REYKJAVIK, ATTENDANCE: 40,000 (est)

This evening was, for me, a rare one on many levels. Due to my job it is impossible to do midweek games unless I take holiday, however the chance to watch football at a world famous rugby ground was not to be sniffed at and well deserving of a night off.

With Parkhead, and the usual fall back of Hampden Park, out of commission due to being used for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Celtic opted to play their Champions League qualifiers in Edinburgh at the home of Scottish rugby, Murrayfield.

For myself, and indeed many other of the groundhopping glitterati, it was therefore a Tuesday trip north and we joined the green and white army as they decamped to the Scottish capital.

The Murrayfield Clock (left) and War Memorial (right)

Murrayfield officially opened on March 21, 1925, when Scotland beat England 14-11, on their way to the Grand Slam. Murrayfield has previously hosted football matches when Heart of Midlothian used Murrayfield as their home venue for their European campaign in the 2004/05 season, and again in 2006, as their Tynecastle Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria. Hearts, and Hibernian, have also used Murrayfield for pre-season friendlies against Barcelona.

Celtic, who have a proud Champions League history, being the first British winners of the trophy in 1967, were 1-0 up from the first leg against Icelandic champions KR Reykjavik. To be honest the tie was over as a contest within 27 minutes as Celtic eased into a 3-0 lead. The part-timers defence being carved open at will.

A brace from Virgil van Dijk (13 & 20) in the opening 20 minutes was quickly followed by a goal from Teemu Pukki (27). KR were not without there own chances and with a little more composure they might have got on the scoresheet. The closest they came was a Gary martin effort smacking the crossbar in the opening minute.

The second half was pretty much a non-event as KR went on a damage limitation act and Celtic, understandably, took their foot off the pedal. Pukki netted his second on 71 minutes to make it 4-0 and see Celtic through to the next round where they will play Polish champions Legia Warsaw.

I was very impressed with Murrayfield as a stadium, once I eventually got through the turnstiles after having problems with my print-at-home ticket (I was ultimately issued with a proper replacement) and also impressed with the Celtic fans, who created a good atmosphere and backed their team throughout. The nature of the singing was good (apart from, obviously,  a certain song long associated with a team in red) and I didn't hear any sectarian chanting at all, which was pleasing. The overall experience of tonight made the long midweek journey very much worthwhile.