Wishaw You Were Here.

Comfort Zone.

Answering “Brentford” to the ice breaker “Where in the world would you most like to go” at a recent work event was given without a 2nd thought. Partly for comic effect but really it was the first thought I had because the London club’s new ground would finish off the 92 for me, again. It could be an obsession, an illness or a defence mechanism, the default answer to a random question, turn it round to something you feel comfortable talking about.

Wishaw, a lovely shade of grey & white.

Football’s pre-season is back and this Summer break was one of the shortest I can remember. From my season ending with the National League Play Off SF at Solihull Moors on 29th May to this work trip in Glasgow exactly 1 month later, that's not much of a break. It's part of that obsession that makes you search out a game when visiting somewhere new. so when meeting colleagues face to face that I’d only previously met on video calls they may have been surprised when I excused myself from an evening get together at an Italian restaurant, with permission from a very understanding boss, to nip over to Wishaw for their pre-season friendly with local rivals Lesmahagow Juniors. 

 The ground is 5 minutes walk from Wishaw railway station, don’t be fooled (like I was) by the field with floodlights along Alexander Street, this is a Council owned field set up for the locals and a fair few were making the most of it. Not fancying a game of football, or being accused of watching young lads huffing and puffing I carried on in search of my own Italian meal, thanks McDonalds. 

Wishaw's Alexandra Street entrance.

The sign for Beltane Park was a welcome sight, not least cos there was a proper non-league ground there and the thought of forgoing lasagne and a pint of cider for a council pitch wasn’t what I wanted, well, ok, it was the thought of the ribbing back at work that was most prominent. I admit my search to attend a game anywhere I seem to go can cloud life changing decisions but there’s no doubting being in a crowd of 87 at a ground I never thought I’d visit, complete with the beautiful colours football provides is good for my own wellbeing. The green baize flanked by a grey and white covered terrace and similarly wonderful grey and white buildings of Wishaw FC gave me a buzz. 

It's small but perfectly formed, the disabled cover.

It’s more than the being there though, admittedly the night would have been perfect had there been a programme for a souvenir of the trip but that’s taking greed to another level. When I asked Robert, who took my £6 admission, if they’d done a programme it was like I’d got a neon light above me advertising GROUNDHOPPER. 

Robert, asked the are you a groundhopper question, followed up by asking where I was from and he was one of the reasons the evening was memorable. Why I had to include “England” after stating “Chesterfield in Derbyshire” I don’t know, I can only imagine I thought his geography was as bad as my pronunciation of Lesmahagow. Bob, I hope he doesn’t mind, regaled me with historic tales of Wishaw before either of us were born. His love of the club shining in stories of being invited to tournaments with Celtic, Rangers, Queens Park and other luminaries of early Scottish football to commemorate the opening of the local railway line. 

Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney, apparently, was brought up in one of the local tower blocks and still comes to see his mates in local cup finals. Football really does provide pride for local folk, just ask Robert. 

A thing of beauty.

The best story though concerned near neighbours Airdrie. When Man Utd were looking for a new manager in 1921, following the retirement through ill health of Jack Robson, Airdrie’s John Chapman was “poached” from the Scottish club. The twist in this particular tale though was that Chapman nicked Airdrie’s kit and gave it to his new employers, hence United played in the red V necked white shirts for 4 years in the 1920’s. 

1920's Manchester United, receivers of stolen goods?

The Scottish pyramid has recently been reorganised and Wishaw find themselves 1 division higher than their historic and local rivals but as Robert said, that won’t mean anything. Wishaw in the 2nd Division of the West of Scotland League and Lesmahagow were in division 3. The game didn’t have a pre-season feel, there was a slight edge, nothing too feisty, but it was a good tussle. I got the impression players from both sides were at least familiar with each other, they'd probably played together at various points in their careers.

Wishaw, in red v Lesmahagow

The atmosphere was enhanced by the Wishaw Ultras, six young lads who looked no older than 12, banging a drum, singing for Wishaw throughout, even setting off a black smoke bomb to give us that European feel. 

The changing rooms at Wishaw.

The stand out player was Lesmahagow’s number 11, Kyle. I first noticed him when he completely miskicked the ball and it went for a goal kick instead of superbly setting up his colleague. Lesser players would have blushed and hid, not Kyle. He set up many a chance for his team mates who won 2-1 and had some nice touches, he didn't lose the ball to his opponents as easily as he did when he totally missed it earlier. That mis-kick could have been his lasting impression on me but he was goading us to watch him closely so he could, rightly, display his moves.

Wishaw v Lesmahagow

Another thing that made the evening special was the tea bar, if I'd not scoffed at McDonalds I'd have tried the Scotch Pie. It was the usual portakabin tea bar, tea, coffee, chocolate, soft drinks or a small choice in hot food but it was the amount of football club pennants on display inside that made this one stand out. It was oozing history which a club founded in 1885 is rightly proud of

Tea Bar.

A new season, fresh hope and all that. I got a new ground in early on so all was good in Bill's world. As is usual after a game the mind wanders on to the next one and on the way back for last orders with my work colleagues I wondered if Alfreton’s new signings would be playing against Sheff Wednesday on Saturday and if I will get to Brentford this season, fingers crossed.