Football Focus ~ London Calling

 STADIA VISITED

Grounds:  8

Matches:  14

Teams: 15

FULL BREAKDOWN OF VISITS TO LONDON FOR FOOTBALL MATCHES SINCE 1986:

Ground 1: HIGHBURY STADIUM

1986 - ARSENAL  0  CELTIC  2 - DAVID O'LEARY TESTIMONIAL

1991 - ARSENAL  2  CELTIC  2 - PAUL DAVIS TESTIMONIAL

Ground 2: SELHURST PARK

Visit 1
1993 - Wimbledon  1  Manchester United  2 - Premier League

Visit 2:
1994 - Wimbledon  1  Manchester United  0 - Premier League

Ground 3:  WEMBLEY STADIUM (old)

 1994 - MANCHESTER UNITED  1  OLDHAM ATHLETIC  1 - FA CUP SEMI FINAL

1996 - GERMANY  2  CZECH REPUBLIC  1 - UEFA EURO 1996 FINAL

Ground 4:  WEMBLEY STADIUM (new)

 2009 WEMBLEY CUP TOURNAMENT

Ground 5:  EMIRATES STADIUM

 

2016 - Arsenal  3  Sunderland  1 - FA Cup 3rd Round

Ground 6:  The TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM

 

2019 - Tottenham Hotspur  1  Inter Milan 1 - Friendly

Ground 7:  LOFTUS ROAD

2020 - Queens Park Rangers  0  Bristol City  1 - Championship

Ground: 8:  LONDON STADIUM

 

2023 - West Ham United  1  Manchester United  0 - Premier League

MATCH 1924 - Saturday 3 June 2023

SEASON 2022/23

SCOTTISH CUP FINAL

Venue:  HAMPDEN PARK

CELTIC  3  INVERNESS CT  1

Scorers:  Kyogo, Abada, Jota;  Mackay

Celtic won their 41st Scottish Cup, completing the domestic treble for an eighth time.  Celtic had not previosly beaten a highland side at Hampden in three meetings with Inverness and Ross County however Inverness arrived at the final as a mid-table Championship side so were always unlikely to cause an upset.  Despite defending stoutly Kyogo scored his fifth cup final, in only his third final, to give Celtic the lead just before half time.  Abada made it two and although Mackay scored for ICT with a few minutes to go their were no dramas as Jota completed the scoring on 90 minutes.

Personal note:

• 4th time seeing this fixture in the Scottish Cup - 2 wins each, 2 at Celtic Park and 2 at Hampden
• My 19th Scottish Cup final - 18 including Celtic
• Last match for me this season - total games attended 47 - 38 Celtic, 1 Celtic-B and 8 non-Celtic

MATCH 1923 - Saturday 27 May 2023

SEASON 2022/23

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Venue: CELTIC PARK

CELTIC  5  ABERDEEN  0

Scorers:  Kyogo(2), Starfelt, Oh(2)

Celtic rounded off another successful league campaign with a champion performance against 3rd place Aberdeen, collecting the trophy at the end of the 90 minutes.

Player of the year, Kyogo Furuhashi was as sharp as he's been all season in front of goal and put his team two up before half time.  Unfortunately he limped off early in the second half but his replacement Oh Hyeon-Gyu also grabbed a brace after Carl Starfelt's first Celtic Park goal had made it 3-0.

Trophy day at Celtic Park as title no. 53 is celebrated in style.  The Green Brigade's tifo honours the two great pillars of the club, Willie Maley and Jock Stein.

Personal note:

• End of league season I attended 26 matches in SPFL Premiership making it 1121 Celtic league matches in my 42 seasons
• This was the 3rd Celtic v Aberdeen fixture at Celtic Park this season, overall I've seen this fixture 109 time in the league in three stadia - Celtic Park, Pittodrie Stadium and Hampden Park.
• This was my 136th Aberdeen match overall - 131 v Celtic, 2 v Motherwell, 1 v Airdrie, Inverness and Man Utd.

MATCH 1922 - Wednesday 24 May 2023

SEASON 2022/23

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Venue: EASTER ROAD STADIUM

HIBERNIAN  4  CELTIC  2

Scorers: Youan(2), Nisbet, OG; Hatate, Oh

Attendance: 18,171

East Stand

A six goal end of season thriller.  Celtic were reduced to 10 men with just over 20 minutes to play.  Hibs took full advantage scoring three times in the final 15 minutes to record a win that will greatly help in their quest for European football next season.

In the main stand as usual for this fixture.

Personal note:

• 52nd visit to Easter Road
• 132nd Hibernian match overall
• 121st time seeing the "Battle of the Scottish Greens" since 1982

MATCH 1921 - Saturday 20 May 2023

SEASON 2022/23

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Venue:  CELTIC PARK

CELTIC  2  ST MIRREN  2

Scorers: Kyogo, McGregor;  Main(2)

First game at Celtic Park for a few weeks and the first since winning their 53rd title two weeks ago.  St Mirren were up for it but Celtic gave the impression off a side fulfilling their fixtures.  Celtic did atleast score two quality goals to cancel out two first half goal from Curtis Main however the same player had three further good chances in the second half which would've given the Paisley side a surprise win.

Personal note:

• 73rd time seeing this fixture overall, including 63 in league 
• 3rd time attending this the fixture this season all at Celtic Park
• Overall 74th time seeing St Mirren putting them 10th in the list of clubs I've seen
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MATCH 1920 - Sunday 7 May 2023

SEASON 202/23

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Venue:  LONDON STADIUM

WEST HAM UNITED  1  MANCHESTER UNITED  0

Scorer:  Benrahma

Attendance: 62,477

Second game in two days and second new ground.  From the bottom of the Scottish League to the top of English Football and two of most prestigious clubs.  The chance to visit the London Stadium for the visit of Manchester United was too tempting and although the Reds were not on form it was certainly worth it.

First time I seeing West Ham United in a compeditive match which they won thanks to an awful mistake from the Manchester United goalkeeper, David de Gea.

The stadium certainly unconventional for football as the sheer size of the ground makes it hard to fans to connect with the players however it is still impressive for a one off visit.

Personal note:

• 4th time seeing West Ham
• 173rd match in England, including 15 in London
• 75th Manchester United match, 4 of them in London 

MATCH 1919 - Saturday 6 May 2023

SEASON 2022/23

SCOTTISH LEAGUE DIVISION 2

Venue:  NEW DUNDAS PARK

BONNYRIGG ROSE  3  ELGIN CITY  0

Scorers:  McGachie(2), Gray

Attendance 2,057

Admission £10

Another lower league ground visited, so another Elgin match and another heavy defeat for the Highlanders.

A very basic ground with more grass than terrace and it felt like a ground from the first round of the Scottish Cup rather than a league ground but on the positive side a very healthy crowd.

This was the last day of the 36 game league season and there was still one issue to be decided. After goalless first half Bonnyrigg increased the pressure on their opponents in the second and quickly got their reward of the first goal.  There was no looking back and two more goals followed to secure their place in league two, confirming the wee Rovers in the play-off spot.

Personal note:  

• This was my first time seeing Bonnyrigg Rose and first visit to New Dundas Park, making it the 40th Scottish League ground out of the current 42 I've been to for a match.
• 10th Elgin match and still waiting for the first win (9 defeats and 1 draw)

MATCH 1918 - Sunday 30 April 2023

SEASON 2022/23

SCOTTISH CUP SEMI FINAL

Venue:   HAMPDEN PARK

CELTIC  1  RANGERS*  0

Scorer:  Jota

A first half header from Jota is enough to put Celtic into another Scottish Cup Final.

Personal note:

• My 35th Scottish Cup Semi Final match, 33 involving Celtic including 4 replay ties
• The 135th time attending a match at Hampden
• 41st match of the season

MATCH 1917 - Saturday 29 April 2023

SEASON 2022/23

ENGLISH LEAGUE DIVISION 2

Venue:  BRUNTON PARK 

CARLISLE UNITED  2  SALFORD CITY  3

Scorers:  Garner, Dennis; Hendry, Bolton(2)

A crowd of just under 11,000 including ex-Manchester United stars Nicky Butt and Ryan Giggs who have invested in Salford City watched this exciting encounter as both sides looked to confirm their place the end of season Play-offs to gain promotion to League One.

Ticket price £21.00 for a place in the Paddock terrace.

Personal note:

• 23rd seeing Carlisle with 21 at Brunton Park and two away.
• 1st time seeing Salford City
• 204th match outside of Bonnie Scotland

MATCH 1916 - Saturday 22 April 2023

SEASON 2022/23

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Venue:  CELTIC PARK

CELTIC  1  MOTHERWELL  1

Scorers:  McGregor; van Veen

On the fourth anniversary of Billy McNeill's death, Celtic are at home but give a less than inspiring performance against a Motherwell side determined to disrupt play as often as they could.  Despite having seven extra minutes Celtic are unable to break the deadlock following a well taken equaliser early in the second half.        

The fine Billy McNeill statue on The Celtic Way

Personal note:

• 33rd Celtic match of the season
• 5th time seeing Motherwell this season, making it 132 overall putting them in 4th place of clubs I've seen.
• 122nd attending this fixture