Berwick Rangers 2 Accies 0: Tuesday, 19 February 2002

Bell's Scottish League Division 2, Shielfield, Tweedmouth

Tuesday, 19 February 2002

If this brief report sounds a bit jaundiced, then so be it. But it's now 11.54pm on Tuesday and I'm just back from a terrible performance by Accies down at Shielfield.

Ally Dawson sent out a team with a couple of changes to the one that drew at Cappielow, with Steven Renicks replacing the suspended Ross Maclaren and Michael Martin coming in at left back for the injured Eddie Cunnington.

At this stage, it would be appropriate to tell you just what a dump Shielfield is. The heavy rain had led to very slippery mud just outside the turnstiles and the payment of £8 allowed me access to one of Scotland's very worst sporting arenas. If you haven't been there, my advice is DON'T GO, EVER! The slanting heavy pitch is circled by a speedway track and the terracing only covers a small area opposite the dilapidated stand. The rest of the surround is a grassy (muddy) bank with puddles of mud at the bottom.

Worse news for some of the travelling fans was that there were absolutely NO catering facilities available inside the ground. Not even a soggy old Wagon Wheel or Capri-Sun was available to the hundred or so Accies diehards who had made the long trek to this Godforsaken heap of a stadium. That can't be a good way to treat paying customers who have travelled a long way. It fair made me yearn for Firs Park or even good old Cliftonhill. Luckily, my companion and I had feasted on magnificent Haddock & chips from a chippy in the main street before the game. (Easily the highlight of the evening.)

Enough about the food and the stadium. It would seem that the general air of depression also got to the Accies players. Despite having long periods of possession, they were generally unable to threaten the Berwick goal. Their keeper McCulloch only really had to make two saves worthy of the name, one a brilliant stop from a netbound effort from David McNiven and the other a routine tip over the bar from a speculative McPhee chip. Apart from that, Accies huffed and puffed but were unable to penetrate the well organised Berwick defence. It seemed to me that their normal tactic of lobbing the high ball into the penalty area was futile and their best footie came when they kept the ball on the deck.

The goals were painful to watch but well executed by Berwick. If you were at Alloa, then you have seen their first goal twice already - an easy header by an unmarked forward at the near post. This time the lucky man was Wood after only 8 minutes. The second goal was a good shot by Craig Feroz after 73 minutes when a free kick was rolled into his path some 25 yards out.

I'm not going to start slating individual players for their performances in this game. It was a bad night and they'll have to repair the damage on Saturday against Cowdenbeath. But they'll have to give themselves a shake and start gathering serious points PDQ if they're not to remain in this difficult league for another season.

Accies: Herbet; Renicks, Martin (sub McDonald), Nelson, Sweeney, Graham, Bonnar, McNiven (sub O'Neill), Moore, McPhee, Callaghan.

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