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 2077 - Monday 3 August 2026

SEASON 2026/27

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Venue:  CELTIC PARK

CELTIC  1  DUNDEE  0

Scorer: Nygren

Celtic began their league campaign at home to  Dundee with the unusual kick off time of 7:30 on a Monday evening however it didn't stop a massive crowd turning out to see Celtic firstly, unfurl the league championship flag and then getting off to a winning start.  

The win was a narrow one but should have been more comfortable had the Celts not been as wasteful in front of goal.

Match report: LINK

Personal note: 

• 75th time attending this fixture

MATCH 2076 - Saturday 1 August 2026

SEASON 2026/27

SCOTTISH LEAGUE DIVISION 2

Venue:  MEADOWBANK STADIUM

EDINBURGH CITY  0  ELGIN CITY  5

Scorers: Murray, Hyde, OG, Girvan, MacIver

I finally see Elgin win a league game and in some style.   After nine years of going to Elgin matches in the lower tiers of Scottish League football to visit grounds that I hadn't managed to visit for a match, I returned to the revamped Meadowbank Stadium for the same fixture I attended in 2017.  

The new Meadowbank Stadium also known now as the Meadowbank Sports Centre is a huge downgrade on the original stadium that was built for the commonwealth games of 1970.  The replacement stand has just three rows running the length of the running track with a capacity of only 500.  On the plus side the plastic seats are quality, the best in the country and the standard gents toilets are the cleanest and best I've seen inside a football ground.

It was match day 1 of the new Scottish League season so it was a very good start for Elgin City.

Three row stand

Match report: LINK

Personal note:

• Third time seeing this fixture - all in the league and in Edinburgh
• The 9th time seeing Elgin in the league
• Overall this was the 3rd time seeing Edinburgh City and the 13th time seeing Elgin

FRANCO BARESI - No. 6

 FRANCO BARESI 

1960 - 2026

NO. 6

AC MILAN 1977 - 1997

REST IN PEACE

I WAS FORTUNATE TO SEE THE GREAT FRANCO BARESI IN TWO MATCHES

MATCH 1

18/11/1992 - WORLD CUP QUALIFIER - SCOTLAND  0  ITALY  0 - IBROX STADIUM

WHEN FRANCO BARESI MADE A COME BACK TO INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL IN 1992 ONE OF HIS FIRST MATCHES BACK WAS AGAINST SCOTLAND IN GLASGOW.  UNFORTUNATELY THE VENUE WAS IBROX STADIUM AS HAMPDEN WAS GETTING TRANSFORMED INTO AN ALL SEATED GROUND.  ON THE DAY THE TICKETS WENT ON SALE I GOT MY TICKET FOR THE CENTRE OF THE GOVAN STAND (UPPER TIER) AT IBROX WHICH TO BE FAIR IS A PRETTY GOOD POINT TO WATCH FOOTBALL.  ITALY'S NUMBER 6 DID NOT DISAPPOINT AS HE EXPERTLY MARSHALLED HIS DEFENSIVE PARTNERS AS THOUGH HE HAD THEM ON A STRING.

MATCH 2

24/05/1995 - EUROPEAN CUP FINAL - AJAX 1 AC MILAN 0 - ERNST HAPPEL STADION

IN 1994 I WENT TO THE EUROPEAN CUP FINAL IN ATHENS MAINLY TO SEE AC MILAN CAPTAINED BY FRANCO BARESI UNFORTUNATELY BARESI RECEIVED A YELLOW CARD IN THE SEMI FINAL WHICH HARSHLY RULED HIM OUT OFF THE FINAL.  A YEAR LATER MILAN MADE IT TO THE FINAL AGAIN.  THIS TIME AGAINST THE VERY TALENTED YOUNGSTERS OF AJAX.  SO AT LAST I GOT TO SEE THE GREAT FRANCO BARESI PLAY FOR MILAN & IN THE EUROPEAN CUP FINAL BUT LOUIS VAN GAAL'S EXCELLENT DUTCH SIDE DESERVEDLY WON THE MATCH AND THE TOURNAMENT.

MATCH 2075 - Saturday 25 July 2026

SEASON 2026/27

FRIENDLY

Venue:  CELTIC PARK

CELTIC  2  AC MILAN  2

Scorers:  Duran, Forrest;  Camarda(2)

Celtic's last pre-season match before the season starts for real and they welcomed seven time European Champions, AC Milan to Paradise.  My favourite foreign team mainly due to the wonderful players like Franco Baresi and Paulo Maldini.

Thankfully both clubs wore their traditional kits.  Celtic in the magnificent hoops of green & white and Milan in their equally famous red & black stripes. The two finest kits in world football.

Milan's new manager, Ruben Amorim was in the away dug out for his first match in charge, his first job after leaving Manchester United.

It was far from vintage AC Milan with the Rossoneri gifting Celtic the opening 2 goals certainly not in the class of Baresi and Maldini.  Celtic took the lead into half time but it didn't last long as two goals within the first 7 minutes of the restart brought the sides level again.  There were no more goals so the entertaining contest ended in a draw.

Match report: LINK

Personal note:

• This was the 5th time attending this fixture, the other four were in the Champions League
• Overall this was the 7th time seeing AC Milan since 1994

MATCH 2074 - Saturday 18 July 2026

SEASON 2026/27

FRIENDLY

Venue:  CELTIC PARK

CELTIC  1  MIDDLESBROUGH  1

Scorers:  Duran;  Strelec

Typical pre-season match - good competitive first half with both teams finding the back of the net and then the second half continually interrupted with a string of substitutions from both sides.

Middlesbrough brought a good following of around 5,000 fans who gave their team plenty of support especially in the first half.

Match report: LINK

Personal note:

• The 2nd time attending this fixture
• 5th seeing Middlesbrough but the first time in Scotland
• Overall the 1765th time seeing Celtic

MATCH 2073 - Tuesday 14 July 2026

SEASON 2026/27

SCOTTISH LEAGUE CUP - Group Stage

Venue:  LINKS PARK

MONTROSE  1  DUNDEE UNITED  0

Scorer: Webster

Attendence: 1,454

My 46th season attending football matches begins with a trip to a new ground, Links Park in the Scottish north-east town of Montrose. Not the best game as top tier Dundee United struggled to create clear chances against their tier 3 opponents which did not go down well with their good travelling support and especially one very loud mouth fan sitting a few rows behind.

Montrose is a lovely little town to visit prior to a game and has plenty of hotel opportunities to make it a pleasant stay.  It is also very accessible by car as a day trip from Dundee (30 miles) or Aberdeen (40 miles).

Match report: LINK

Personal note:

• Links Park was the 126th ground I have attended 
• This was only the 3rd time seeing Montrose and the 136 time seeing Dundee United
• Overall this was the 141st time attending a Scottish League Cup tie - the 11th not involving Celtic

FLASHBACK - MATCH 460 - 20 June 1990

SEASON 1989/90

FIFA WORLD CUP FINALS

Venue: STADIO DELLE ALPI

BRAZIL 1  SCOTLAND  0

Scorer: Muller

Attendance: 62.500

My final match at Italia 90 and it is a match against the Brazilians although not a vintage Brazil team nonetheless it was fantastic to see them at a World Cup Finals.

The venue this time was Turin and there was meant to be a carnival atmosphere by the time we got there but due to torrential rain, it felt more like summer in Troon and all festivities were off.

The match looked to be heading for a goalless draw but with 7 minutes to go Brazil found the winning goal.

After the match we headed into Turin for a party but everything was closed so had to wait in Turin's train station to catch an early morning train back to Rimini.

Match report: 

Personal note:

• The 4th match I attended at Italia 90 World Cup
• It was also my 5th time seeing a match on mainland Europe
• This was my 18th time seeing Scotland overall and 2nd time seeing them play Brazil

FLASHBACK - MATCH 459 - 19 June 1990

SEASON 1989-90

FIFA WORLD CUP FINALS - ITALIA 90

Group D

Venue:  Stadio Renato Dall'Ara

YUGOSLAVIA  4  UNITED ARAB EMIRATES  1

Scorers:  Susic, Pancev(2), Prosinecki;  Thani

Attendance: 27,833

It was always the intention to get to another match at Italia 90 other than one involving Scotland so I took a train trip to Bologna to watch a random one between the old country of Yugoslavia and the Arab state of United Arab Emirates.

Yugoslavia had some of the finest footballers of European football at the time including Dragan Stojkovic, Darko Pancev and up and coming stars Robert Prosinecki and Dejan Savicevic. So it was well worth the trip from Rimini to see a few stars of European football and they didn't disappoint scoring four goals.  Carlos Alberto Parreira was the manager of UAE at the time.  At the next World Cup he would manage Brazil to their 4th World Cup win.

Italy's set up for the World Cup was excellent for the travelling fans.  As soon as you got off the train there was bus link direct to the ground of Renato Dall'Ara.

Match report: 

Personal note:

• The 3rd match I attended at Italia 90 World Cup Finals
• This was the 4th match on mainland Europe that I have attended
• This was the 2nd time seeing Yugoslavia having seen them at Hampden Park, Glasgow during the qualification stage for the 1990 World Cup.

FLASHBACK - MATCH 458 - Saturday 16 June 1990

SEASON 1989/90

FIFA WORLD CUP FINALS - ITALIA '90

Venue:  Stadio Luigi Ferraris

SWEDEN  1  SCOTLAND  2

Scorers: Stromberg; McCall, Johnston

Attendance 31,823

On this day in 1990 I was at the FIFA World Cup in Italy watching a clash between two Northern European countries Scotland & Sweden.

Like the first World Cup match the venue was Genoa which meant another 10 hour round trip by coach from our base in Rimini.  

Many of the Swedish fans were also based in Rimini and mixed brilliantly with their Scottish counterparts. 

This time Scotland recorded a rare World Cup finals win.

Match report: 

Personal note:

• This was the 2nd match I attended at the 1990 World Cup Finals
• This was the 17th Scotland match I had attended 
• 3rd match attended on Mainland Europe