Troon FC V Darvel FC – West Of Scotland Premier Division (09/10/2021)
A last minute decision to go to a game this weekend as it’s the international break, led to me deciding on Friday night to plan a trip to the Scottish west coast seaside and one of the homes of golf, Troon. A £10 train ticket from Stepps to Troon helped make my choice as being a student money is a little tight, so Saturday morning arrived and I slept through my alarm but luckily my wife woke me up at 1110 and I had to leave at 1155.
So Troon FC V Darvel FC and a first trip to Portland Park it was on a nice wet and grey Scottish October Saturday, safe to say I wouldn’t be going for a dip in the sea. No paddling or sand castles, but I did get to check off another new ground the list which is always a bonus. The train journey was a pretty scenic one with plenty of loch’s and golf courses could be seen from the window. A nice little walk, that took me under 10 minutes,to the ground through housing estates and could see the sea at the end of the road. Didn’t need google maps as I trusted my senses as I spotted the ground from the train, so just heading in that direction.
Got to Portland Park at half one, with half an hour till kick off, a very well set up ground as I got through the turnstiles with ease and was greeted by a programme seller as I got in. There’s a club house inside the vicinity of the ground with great facilities available to fans, I picked up a prematch steak pie and topped it with some ketchup and at £2 it was more than worth the money. The ground is amazing excellent non league ground, with a covered seated area to the left of the dug out and three uncovered sides with a terrace behind one of the goals. Love being back at non league games and the bonus of dogs in the ground, as I was treated to meeting two golden retrievers, Dog Watch is officially back!!
There was a fair turn out fans wise, I’m guessing that’s the perks of it being an international break and will do Troon the world of good via gate receipts. A good mix of home and away fans, which created a good mixed atmosphere. The rumbling of the odd train going past on the opposite side from where I was.
A good first half of football as both sides played well but neither really created many chances, Scott Ferguson for Darvel had the best chance with 10 minutes to go till half time, turning the defender inside out but put his shot across the keeper and just wide. As always the officiating was woeful, a deliberate hand ball right under the referees nose resulted in a free kick and no card, then the linesman signalled for a corner and the referee gave a goal kick, although it was good to see linesman in the junior leagues for a change.
The away side broke the deadlock and took the lead at the start of the second half as Daryll Meggatt rose above the defenders to head home from a corner for 1-0. Darren Miller hit the post from a free kick on the edge of the box, as Darvel looked the better side in the early stages of the second half.
Another set piece and a second goal for Darvel as Jason Marr got up well and headed past the keeper to add to the away teams lead with just under five minutes left, a deserved second goal for their second half performance.
In all a good game, both sides looked decent and played some good football, the right result in the end as Darvel were the better side and deserved the win. Really enjoyed my first visit to Troon and would highly recommend it to anyone who fancies an afternoon out, a well ran club and a great ground with brilliant character. Was great to see a Hearts hero of mine, Ryan Stevenson lining up for Troon and an added bonus I got to have a chat and grab a photo with him after the game.
So onto my ratings…
Ticket Price – £7
Programme Price – £2
Programme Rating – 7/10
Refreshments – 7/10
Stadium Facilities – 9/10
Getting To Stadium – 9/10
Stadium Rating – 8/10
Thanks for reading my thoughts on Troon against Darvel.
Daz Carding
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