MATCH 2078 - Wednesday 12 August 2026

SEASON 2026/27

FRIENDLY

Venue:  CROKE PARK

MANCHESTER UNITED  1  LEEDS UNITED  1

Scorers: Zirkzee;  Aaronson

Attendance: 82,300

I travelled to Dublin purely to see a football match at the iconic Croke Park which traditionally is exclusive to GAA games of hurling and Gaelic football.

The chance to see it with Manchester United was too good an opportunity not to and it didn't disappoint.

Not much to look at outside ground but inside its presence is breathe taking.  It's a monster of a stadium, holding 82,000 which was full for this pre-season friendly between two of England's top clubs.

The 82,000 crowd mainly made up of Irish Man U fans but on every leg of my journey from Glasgow Airport on Wednesday morning to Dublin Airport on Thursday morning all I encountered were groups of Leeds fans heading to and from Ireland's capital.

The Leeds/Man Utd rivalry is one of the most fierce in football but there was absolutely no trouble as the game was played in a wonderfully friendly atmosphere.

Match report: LINK

Personal note:

• My 10th match in Ireland in Dublin,(7) Cork, Dundalk, Derry
• My 87th time seeing Man United
• My 6th time seeing Leeds United

My pictures from Croke Park:

Leeds legend, Eddie Gray

My first view

MATCH 2068 - Saturday 9 May 2026

SEASON 2025/26

ENGLISH FR PREMIER LEAGUE

Venue:  STADIUM OF LIGHT

SUNDERLAND  0  MANCHESTER UNITED  0

Attendance: 47,233

With both clubs objectives achieved for the season perhaps it wasn't completely surprising this game ended in stalemate.  Although both teams had chances, especially the home side you got the feeling early into the second half that it would end goalless.

While the game was a little disappointing the atmosphere was fantastic as both sets of fans gave their sides great support.

It was a horrible day in the north-east of England.  Cold for the month of May with a constant drizzle from the grey sky and unusually for the Stadium of Light I was siting in the lower tier and in the second row.

Match report: LINK

Personal note:

• My 3rd visit to the Stadium of Light this season, overall it was my 34th visit for football
• It was the 6th time attending this fixture all at Sunderland and all in the league 
• The 225th game I have attended outside of Bonnie Scotland

MATCH 2066 - Monday 27 April 2026

SEASON 2025/26

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Venue:  OLD TRAFFORD

MANCHESTER UNITED  2  BRENTFORD  1

Scorers:  Casemiro, Sesko;  Jenson

Monday night football in Manchester for a very interesting fixture against two teams going all out for European qualification. United looking to get back into the Champions League and Brentford looking to qualify for a UEFA competition for the first time in their history.

From the very beginning both sides missed great chances.  United should have gone ahead inside 3 minutes before taking  deserved lead.  Brentford should have been levelled before half time but missed a series of good chances and then United made them pay when they scored their second goal a minute before half time.

In the second 45 minutes United sat back and Brentford applied the pressure however they only managed to half the deficit

Match report: LINK

Personal note:

• The was a new fixture for me - number 439
• This was the 85th time seeing a United game
• This was my 3rd time seeing Brentford but the first in the top tier of league football

MATCH 2061 - Sunday 15 March 2026

SEASON 2025/26

ENGLISH FA PREMIER LEAGUE

Venue: OLD TRAFFORD

MANCHESTER UNITED  3  ASTON VILLA  1

Scorers:  Casemiro, Cunha, Sesko, Bartley

Attendance: 73,997

An early morning drive to Manchester for my first visit to Old Trafford this season. It was typical Manchester weather with heavy showers throughout the day.  My seat was excellent in the the 3rd level of the Alex Ferguson Stand.

After a goalless first 45 minutes the game burst into life in the second half with four goals and many other chances for each team.

This was an important match in the race for a top four spot and qualification to the UEFA Champions league as pre-match both sides were on 51 points and in joint 3rd place in the league.

Match report: LINK

Personal note:

• This was the 3rd time attending this fixture - all in the league 
• This was my 65th match at Old Trafford 
• Overall it was my 84th time seeing Manchester United - 41 of them in the league
• It was the 6th time seeing Aston Villa (5 in the league)

MATCH 2015 - Thursday 8 May 2025

SEASON 2024/25

Semi Final 2nd Leg

Venue:  OLD TRAFFORD

MANCHESTER UNITED  4  ATHLETIC CLUB  1

Scorers:  Mount(2), Casemiro, Hojlund;  Mikel Jauregizar

(Aggregate: 7-1)

Attendance: 73,298

Manchester United came from behind on the night to comfortably book their place in the final which will be played at Athletic's home ground in Bilbao.  Despite being 3 goals down from the first leg the fantastic fans from Bilbao travelled in large numbers and they got some reward with a good first half performance from their team which included the opening goal of the second leg to make it uncomfortable for the United's fans at half time.

However as soon as United levelled the match up in the second half the task was just too great for Athletic as United confidence grew they began to wilt.  4-1 flattered United as did the overall aggregate score of 7-1 however they remain unbeaten in the competition including the five home victories in the ties I have managed to attend this season.

The A fans from Bilbao:

Full support to the end

Match report:  LINK

Personal note:

• The 5th time I attended a Manchester United match this season all in the UFEA Europa League
• Overall the 22nd time seeing Man United in UEFA competition, including three semi final ties
• This was the first time seeing Athletic Club in UEFA competition but overall I've now seen 11 clubs from Spain competing