New Douglas Park: Hamilton Academical 5-0 Annan Athletic

30th Birthday Weekend to Scotland

3 matches in 3 days, what a way to celebrate my 30th birthday! Our journey started around 9.30am as we headed northbound on the M1. Our first stop was in Huthwaite to pick up a mate of ours before continuing our journey north. With a toilet stop at Wetherby Services, we continued up the M1 as we approached Scotch Corner and heading towards Penrith on the A66 then the M6. Although the journey was long, it was very straightforward without any traffic. After passing Carlisle, we we're soon crossing the Scottish border and heading towards Glasgow on the M74. Just after 4pm, we finally reached our Travelodge off the Paisley Road along the banks of the River Clyde. After dropping our bags off and quickly freshening up, we walked into the City Centre for a few drinks in Oswald’s which is a Rangers supporter’s bar on Oswald Street in Glasgow. After a few drinks in Oswald’s, we made the short walk to Glasgow Central Railway Station to get a train to Hamilton West for our Friday night match, Hamilton Academical vs Annan Athletic is Scottish League 1. With a pre-match Scotch Pie and a Bovril for less than £5.00 and entry £10, you couldn't go wrong! Even better was to come, we were treated to a 5 goal thriller at New Douglas Park as Hamilton continued their push for an immediate return to the Scottish Championship. Accies have now won seven of their eight League One matches and needed only two minutes to make the breakthrough here, Jamie Barjonas making a run from midfield and firing home from the edge of the penalty area. It took until three minutes into the second half for Hamilton to score their second, Reghan Tumilty netting from a corner, and 10 minutes later Euan Henderson smashed in a third. It was all too easy for the hosts, and they scored two more through Connor Murray and Joe McGlynn, while Michael Hewitt was denied a sixth by the post. After the match, we made the short walk back to Hamilton West station getting the train back into Glasgow and returning to Oswald’s for a few more drinks and a sing-along to a few Rangers' favourites. We then made our way to Popworld off West George Street for a few more drinks before our night finished with a Pizza Crunch (battered Pizza) from the Blue Lagoon Fish Bar on the way back to our hotel. The next morning, we made our way back to the City Centre for breakfast at Cafe Wander for our delicious full Scottish Breakfast. After breakfast, we walked back to our hotel before hoping in the car and headed towards Ibrox. We parked the car on Torridon Avenue which is close to M77 for after the match and only a 20 minute walk from Ibrox. As you approach Ibrox, you feel a real sense of tradition and history. We went to the fan zone for a drink before making our way into Ibrox. Aberdeen stunned Rangers and intensified the pressure on manager Michael Beale with their first Scottish Premiership win at Ibrox in more than five years. Following four straight wins in all competitions, the defeat is Beale's third league loss in seven games, which leaves Rangers in third spot and seven points adrift of leaders Celtic. The wasteful hosts, who were booed off again, passed up a flurry of clear-cut chances to race into a lead before Stefan Gartenmann capitalised on poor defending to slide in his first Aberdeen goal from a Leighton Clarkson corner. Gartenmann's opener appeared to rock Rangers, who fell two behind in the second half when Jamie McGrath drilled in shortly after Bojan Miovski headed off the left-hand post from close range. Abdallah Sima's tap-in offered a brief lifeline to the home side, who had their woes compounded by former Pittodrie forward Scott Wright's dismissal, before Jack MacKenzie's rebounded effort in off the crossbar restored the visitors' two-goal lead late on. Aberdeen's victory, the first at Ibrox by any Scottish side other than Celtic since March 2020, moves them up to seventh. Defeat saw Rangers' manager Michael Beale sacked the following day. After the match, we made our way back to the car before making our journey south on the M74 over the English border and continuing down the M6 past Carlisle, Penrith and the Lakes. When we reached junction 32, we headed west on the M55 towards Blackpool where we stopped for the night in a B&B. After a quick freshen up, we headed straight out for a few drinks at Shenanigans which is an Irish bar on the seafront followed by Popworld only a few streets away. The next morning was an early start for a 12.00pm kick off at Ewood Park for Blackburn Rovers vs Leicester City. We heading to Greggs in Blackpool for a breakfast roll before heading to the car for the short journey to Blackburn. We parked the car on England Avenue just of Jack Walker Way before making the short walk down the hill to Ewood Park. Due to the incompetence of Leicester City refusing to sell me 3 tickets due to lack of booking history for my mates, we opted to sit in the home area in the Riverside Stand. The Foxes regained top spot in the Championship with a hard-fought win at Blackburn. The win made it eight league wins from nine for Leicester as they took full advantage of rivals Ipswich and Preston dropping points on Saturday, to move two points clear at the top of the table. The game got off to a frantic start as Faes rose at the far post to nod in Abdul Fatawu's cross in the fourth minute, but Leicester's defence - the meanest in the division - imploded shortly afterwards to hand Rovers an equaliser. Szmodics had planted a header into the hands of goalkeeper Mads Hermansen as the Foxes' attempt to play out from the back had presented the home side with a chance but the visitors failed to learn their lesson. Hermansen unwisely gave the ball to Harry Winks, under pressure from Lewis Travis, and when Ricardo Pereira tackled the Blackburn midfielder the ball fell for Szmodics to net his sixth goal of the season. Leicester were not to be denied, however, and when the excellent Wilfred Ndidi broke down the right and delivered an exquisite pass into his path, Vardy's touch and rifled finish into the roof of the net restored the lead. Blackburn had chances in the second half, not least when Hermansen saved from Travis and Jannik Vestergaard superbly blocked Szmodics' follow-up effort, but Leicester's counter-attacking excellence saw them stretch away in the final 10 minutes. Iheanacho scored from the spot after Hayden Carter had hauled down Vestergaard in the box, and Dewsbury-Hall clipped in the fourth after Yunus Akgun had led another searing breakaway to ensure Leicester won their first five away games of the season for the first time in their history. After the match, we walked up Jack Walker Way back to the car. We only travelled a few hundred yards before hitting traffic with everyone queuing to get on the A666 to leave Blackburn. We eventually got moving and made our way back towards the Midlands via the M62 and M1. With a drop off in Huthwaite, we made it back to North West Leicestershire at around 5pm. All in all, a brilliant weekend of football to celebrate my 30th birthday!

New Douglas Park

Sunday, February 4, 2024

Hamilton Academical 5-0 Annan Athletic

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