The X Men

A trip through the East of Scotland Conference X as well as trying to make sense of the Scottish pyramid system, with an article submitted to Football Weekends for potential publication by the end of August.

Do you recall the earliest date in the year that you have been at a game? Even a friendly that was a warm up for any given new season counts. This pandemic has certainly caused a lot of heartache, angst as well as peculiarities to life. In the realm of Scottish football, having been away for nearly fifteen months from a football ground, the opportunity to get to a game, even on the first Saturday of June, was too much to resist. It was three weeks earlier than any opening fixture from any previous campaign for me, a St.Johnstone European tie if memory serves me correctly. In 2021, the dust had hardly settled on the Perth side’s magnificent Scottish Cup success at the end of a largely fan free season, but it felt good to be back.

The allowance of relatively small crowds was enough for the non-league scene to reconvene and organise a plethora of friendly matches to work off the six months of inactivity, or in the case of some clubs who chose to go into abeyance, a 15 month passage of time. All these games were arranged ahead of the leagues starting in mid-July. When you consider all action below the 5th tier was halted, then called as null and void, it’s been a frustrating period for all involved, as well as costly.

A few years ago, back in 2015, Scotland finally came into the modern world of football and introduced a pyramid system. Much has been written about the Spring of recriminations in 2020, when self protectionism kicked in, which saw many clubs suffer, but one of the biggest  beneficiaries were Brechin City, with the pyramid playoffs being cancelled. They didn’t learn the lesson and finished bottom again last term, when any lingering morsels of sympathy I had for them drained away as they tried a legal action to stop the playoffs once more. It was a great pity as they have always been perceived as a curmudgeonly nice club with its famous hedge. A hedge that will now play host to Highland league football as they start life outside the league in the fifth tier. Their replacement are ambitious Kelty Hearts, the first Junior side to not only jump across the divide in the recent era (a few jumped from the North Juniors into the Highland as teams joined the Scottish League between 1994 and 2000), but they are also the first to reach the league set up, the first of many I suspect. 

The concept of Junior and Senior football is a tricky one to explain. The name would suggest Juvenile football for the former, but the reality is something else. The nearest I can think of is the two codes of rugby, but then again they have drastically differing rules, whereas that isn’t the case with these two football models, it is merely governance that really differentiates between them. For a long period of football history the Juniors played in their own regional league set up, coming together for the Junior Cup, the blue riband event of the calendar. Such is the depth of history associated with this Cup, part of the negotiation for aiding the vast majority of clubs to move across from the Junior scene, was that those clubs can still participate for this magnificent old trophy, thereby keeping an interest in their rich Junior history.

I am sure many Scottish fans have always enjoyed delving into either world of Senior or Junior football over the decades, but I have to confess I didn’t really get it, and only really got enthusiastic for the non league scene (aside from Scottish cup days) when the intrigue of the newly formed Lowland League and the pyramid started to draw me in. I had only ever been at two Junior games, one a Junior Cup Final in the ‘80’s at Ibrox between Bo’ness United and East Kilbride Thistle, purely as my uncle was a Thistle man, and oddly Kelty’s last ever match as a Junior side when they entertained Linlithgow Rose, which was much more recently in early June 2017. A year before anyone else was thinking of switching, Kelty joined the East of Scotland league, tier 6 of the new pyramid just below the Lowland/Highland level. This foresight undoubtedly gave them the edge over other rival Junior sides who have all followed suit over the last three years. 

When the Lowland League was set up, a number of the stalwarts of the then stand alone East of Scotland league morphed across, leaving Kelty to join a largely ragtag league but where stiff competition still awaited, from Leith Athletic and especially Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale, who ran them very close, with the big deciding match between the two for the title at Kelty drawing a very healthy 1600 crowd. This was a huge nod to the potential drawing power of the locality. The divergence of quality was underlined by an 11-1 thumping I witnessed at Kelty’s Central Park when hosting Scotland’s newest English team, Tweedmouth Rangers. There was all sorts of chat at the time regarding the viability of this very small league, but as more and more clubs have come across, the East of Scotland league is very much alive and well. Had it not been for the pandemic it would now straddle tiers 6 to 8, but with the cessation of activity before Christmas, the splitting of the teams from the two Conferences in tier 7 from 20/21 in to two levels will now come into effect at the end of the new campaign.

This information is important, because the remaining 11 sides from the “East” area Junior scene have now joined the set up too, with the other “East” sides from the Tayside region (Dundee, Angus and Perthshire effectively) now in a brand new “Midland” 6th tier league, forming part of the pyramid system for the Highland league, which will have relegation for the first ever time. In the fixture roster for ’21/22 in the East of Scotland League you will find the Premier League, whose winner will play for the right to join the Lowland League, and three First Division Conferences, A, B, and rather oddly X?!

Conference X are the aforementioned 11 sides who will essentially play a season in a league on their own, ring fenced for a season before coming into the league set up from ’22/23. This is because the splitting of the A and B Conferences didn’t happen last season courtesy of the pandemic, and rightly it has been deemed only fair on those who were in the East of Scotland League last season that they should have the right to win a place at a higher level before the X men cometh and join the eighth tier. Meanwhile, these new sides will all be eligible to participate in the South of Scotland Cup and the King Cup etc as well as make applications to the SFA to participate in the Scottish Cup if their ground meets the necessary standards.

This new Conference started to intrigue me, and ahead of a ball being kicked in a competitive sense this term, I decided to visit a few of the latest Senior members of the East of Scotland league, opening an additional Pandora’s box of potential entertainment going forward. The bulk of the eleven are Junior through and through, and I suspect are sad to see the demise of their league, but there has been a certain inevitability once it became apparent a structure could be set up under the Highland League.

The “cautious” return on fans, restricted in numbers at venues, was rarely ever going to trouble the smaller teams in Scotland with sell out matches, particularly for friendlies very unlikely. However, with the desire to bring contact with the fans closer, and allow for track and trace requirements to be met, as well as reduce the need to handle cash etc, an Edinburgh based business set up between two brothers has slotted in nicely to attend to such wishes and perhaps become the way to purchase tickets going forward, and a new way of clubs communicating with fans long after the pandemic becomes endemic. Fanbase as they are known have created an app, accessing easily all the teams they have under their wing. One early July night I planned my week’s viewing, went on the app and purchased tickets for three matches within minutes. No need to have money changing hands at the gate, just show your “barcode” from the Email for scanning at the entrance and your in, as well as the club having your details for any covid neccesity. 

Livingston United was my first port of call, where they were locking horns with a now well established sixth tier side, and fellow ex-Junior side Camelon. It was nice to be at a game in Livingston where my blood pressure wasn’t rising given the more “famously” named team from the town are essentially a construct and part of the last act of the West Lothian Development Corporation to give the town a league football team. Given the closed shop nature of the game in Scotland back in the day, they decided to pick on my harmless wee team Meadowbank Thistle, moving it lock stock and barrel, name changed et all. It was all too much for the majority of loyal Thistle fans, we walked away. To this day, Almondvale remains a venue only visited by me “if required”. 

The traditional team of the town are Livingston United having been a juvenile club since 1935 and a Junior league member since 1970. Station Park is a neat little venue (capacity 2,000), tucked away in the Deans area of the once new town, but with no floodlights, participation in the Scottish Cup will be beyond them until such a situation can be remedied. The ground has two sheds on either side of the pitch, albeit one has been commandeered for changing facilities while Covid restrictions have to be adhered to. The friendly volunteers run a refreshments stall, but if you are looking for something more substantial the residential area around the venue won’t provide you with a hot meal or beer. It is a reasonable distance from the centre of Livingston and it’s Almondvale centre, so factor that in if you are headed for a visit. Peter Houston and Mark Yardley are two ex Livi United players who went on to have great careers. As a club their trophy cabinet might lack any honours of note but they certainly gave a very good account of themselves against perceived higher level opposition in Camelon, who had to fight back from being one down at the interval to squeak a win 2,1.

The following Saturday I went a little further into West Lothian with a visit to the unusually named Creamery Park, home of Bathgate Thistle. This is an immediately impressive ground on the western edge of the town. It has a very well appointed covered terrace as well as floodlights, making the possibility of a return to the Scottish Cup a distinct near future possibility for the club. A previous club Bathgate FC were regulars in the Scottish Cup up to the late ‘30’s winning the Qualifying Cup in successive seasons. The “newer” Bathgate Thistle will now have a chance to make new history for the town, and while they have occasionally made the latter stages of the Junior Cup, perhaps one day drawing a big Scottish League club to Creamery Park will be something to relish. The ground also has a social club, and post pandemic restrictions I am sure you can enjoy a quaff here ahead of a match, but in terms of amenities right in the vicinity, you’ll need to have a good meal in Bathgate town centre before walking the short distance out to the ground. Lochgelly Albert were the visitors, another old Junior chum from Fife who had moved across ahead of last terms abandoned season. They were sporting a very natty Dynamo Dresden DDR days kit, one reason that I was immediately drawn to the visitors. Despite Albert missing a penalty, Bathgate created more chances, and both teams shook on a 1-1 draw after a fine, competitive match.

If Livingston and Bathgate are relatively easy to get to from Edinburgh or Glasgow, my next venue for a first midweek fixture of the season took me to the small village of Fauldhouse, just south of Whitburn, home to another of the X men in the shape of Fauldhouse United. Park View is right on the edge of town, tucked away amid a housing estate and on a warm summer’s evening, the sight of the countryside beyond the far goal was a splendid thing. The club has a “coo shed” (that’s what it’s called) right on the halfway line, and the very unusual sight of a truck trailer that folds down to create a seated area behind the goal as you enter the ground. With no floodlights, they’ll be excluded from Scottish Cup action until that can be changed. Kirkintilloch Rob Roy, a very splendidly named club who participate now in the newly formed West of Scotland league, where essentially they  mapped across the West Junior league structure on a like for like basis. There was nothing between the teams in this one, and despite it being a friendly, this was another engrossing joust, which saw ‘hoos’ as the home side are known, just edging it 2-1.  Fauldhouse has a fine CV of success from yesteryear including a Junior Cup success back in 1946/47.

The last of my Conference X venues ahead of writing this article took me to Stoneyburn, just East of Whitburn. Indeed, with Armadale, Whitburn, Pumpherston and Blackburn, as well as the other teams mentioned in this article are all with easy distance of each other. West Lothian has a lot of football to keep you amused.

Stoneyburn had scheduled a friendly with Third Lanark, a famous old name in Scottish football, even if this is a reincarnation in amateur form for now. I had researched a nice piece to go along with this article on the historical days of Thirds as they were known. Alas as the week of the match approached it seems they weren’t certain to be able to fulfill the fixture, and the opposition was changed to none other than “cult” Highland League outfit Fort William. The North man in me was overjoyed at this unexpected opportunity to see a Highland outfit this close to Edinburgh.

Beechwood Park, home to Stoneyburn is tucked away at the edge of the village at the end of a housing estate. The view across the pitch to the fields as you enter is very rural, and the ellipse shape of the ground is akin to the shape of Hampden without the seating, or roofing, although it does have the obligatory shed. If you watch the game from behind the goal here you truly are some distance from the action, but then again, why would you! The goalkeepers had a lengthy scamper to retrieve the ball after a wayward shot.

Stoneyburn, like many villages in this region of central Scotland, were built originally around the mining industry, and the club nickname Fulshie comes from the local pit name. Back in the day when coal was at its height in the ‘30’s, Stoneyburn had a team to rival the best, seeing a golden decade rich in silverware for them, but alas they have won nothing much since. 

Fort William, who had gone 707 days and 69 winless games a few years ago, will be hoping that the squad of the new season will have a greater ability than those dark days as the spectre of relegation now hangs for the Highland League for the first ever time. The Fort certainly started this game the faster, looking composed and with no little amount of skill as they dominated the early exchanges. However, Stoneyburn got the measure of the Lochaber side, and while some of the goals were tucked away rebounds off great stops by the keeper, as well as one cruel deflection, a 4-0 interval scoreline had me fearing one of those olden day thumpings for Fort William. The class of ’21/22 however are made of sterner stuff, and they quietly got back into the game, not just in terms of possession, but reduced the arrears to 4-2 with 25 minutes to go. I started searching the memory bank for any 4 goal comeback I had witnessed (and came up with a blank), because for a few minutes it really seemed on, but eventually Stoneyburn got a grip in midfield and saw the game out for a 4-2 win. It had been another invigorating friendly match.

A week later history was made as the Beechwood Park side travelled the short distance to Fauldhouse for both sides first ever Senior league fixture, a local derby opener. I contemplated going back to Park View for this game, but decided instead to head to Albyn Park, Broxburn, home of a more established West Lothian member of the East of Scotland scene, when Broxburn Athletic were in the first big wave of Junior sides changing codes after Kelty. It is a journey that has served them well since 2018, with a very near miss in terms of immediate promotion to the Lowland league, and the year after, going on an amazing Scottish Cup run that claimed the scalp of Cowdenbeath before going down narrowly at St Mirren in the Fourth Round. These are the potential highs awaiting the X men from 2022/23, and I wish them all the best on their new adventures, it’s just a shame it took Scottish football so long to get a proper pyramid in place. However, onward and upwards, no point in regretting the past, a divergent league structure is a healthy league structure.