TT No.91: Mike Latham - Sat 16 October 2010: Fife & Lothians Cup Round One: Steelend Victoria v Penicuik Ath; Result: 1-4; Attendance: 50 (h/c); Admission: £5; 20pp programme: £1; FGIF Match Rating: 3* 

Matchday images (13) http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/footballgroundsinfocus/SteelandVictoriaFC

Junior football in Scotland is rich in diversity and the experience for the groundhopper is invariably rewarding and varied; from run down, inner-city grounds with a fading glory to smart, beautifully kept grounds from clubs on the rise to remote, rural locations where the club is seemingly run on a shoestring.  They all generally have something in common, a friendly welcome and the reassurance that football is being kept alive by a willing band of volunteer committee men and supporters.

After several recent trips to Glasgow I decided to venture slightly further afield and visit one of the more unusual and unheralded junior clubs. Steelend is a remote former mining village high on the Fife hills above Dunfermline and is virtually inaccessible by public transport.  A bus service used to run once every two hours I was told but even this meagre service has been cut back.

Like many former mining communities the village is virtually unrecognisable from thirty years or so ago. The Lethans colliery was once located between the ground and the hills beyond and employed upwards of 400 men.  Now the site is landscaped and covered in trees and many of the former mining houses have been demolished.  All that remains is the Steelend Working Mens Club and a cluster of houses with the village shop sadly boarded up and no other amenities.

Football in the village dates back to the 1920s and a junior team operated from just after the Second World War, winning the Fife championship in 1951. In 1963 the team changed its name to Comrie Colliery and, now eligible for financial subsidies from the National Coal Board developed the Woodside Park ground.  Even though the facilities are modest it’s obvious even from a cursory inspection that the ground was constructed with great care and no little time and expense.  The playing pitch is pretty flat for such a hilly area and raised above the surrounding land. The colliery side became defunct in 1988 but a new junior club, called Steelend Victoria was formed in 1995 and, battling against the odds continues to this day.

At 182 metres above sea level Woodside Park is the highest ground in the east region ahead of its nearest rivals Arniston and Lochgelly and nearby is the famous Knockhill racing circuit, Scotland’s national motorsport centre, created in the 1970s by developing a racing circuit out of old service roads to a disused mineral railway.  To the west is the village of Saline, an old weaving village with several old weaving cottages being listed buildings.

Woodside Park is a modest ground and on rainy days, and there must be many, perhaps a ground that tests the dedication of the supporter.  There is virtually no cover, just a small lean-to construction against the dressing room wall that may house half-a-dozen at most. There’s a post and rail fence around the undulating pitch, two dug-outs on the far side that look as though they were bus shelters in a former life and a wooden fence around the exterior of the ground.  But there’s a small tea bar from where hot drinks and pies are cheerfully dispensed and a warm welcome at the gate.

Penicuik were expected to progress in this cup-tie and they duly did, taking a 3-0 lead by half-time and after conceding a goal early in the second half going on to seal the game with a penalty.  Steelend gave their all and could not be criticised for lacking in effort but the visitors had the edge in class. Around 50 spectators gathered around the fence on the nearside with most seeming to have come with the visiting team.

On a dry and mild afternoon with the sun occasionally breaking out from behind the clouds this was a peaceful and scenic location from which to watch a well-contested game. The views are spectacular across to the hills where sheep and cattle graze and there can be few more remote locations in the Scottish junior set-up.

An added bonus is that Steelend have an excellent 20-page programme for every match courtesy of Andy McGregor.  It’s an object lesson in how to produce an informative programme that does so much to add to the enjoyment of the spectator and particularly the visitor.  With a history of both clubs, up-to-date results and pen pictures, a series on Steelend’s prominent players of the past, a history of the Fife & Lothians Cup and much more it’s an outstanding effort.  Many Scottish junior clubs seem wary of producing a programme for fear it will damage raffle ticket sales but if more followed Steelend’s lead the rewards for being a groundhopper would be even greater.

Steelend are kept alive by a dedicated band of football fanatics and though no-one would pretend they are the greatest team in the world a visit to this scenic and remote football outpost comes highly recommended.  Grass roots football at its very best.

contributed on 16/10/10