Monday 2 April 2012

Away Day Review - Firhill, Partick Thistle FC.

So, it’s been two away wins in a row and all of a sudden the away day review seems like a match happier piece in ‘ROAR’ – I was hoping it would stay this way come the end of the game.

Pre-match commitments meant I didn’t arrive to the ground until a bit later for this one but Partick were offering a decent deal in their ‘Aitken Suite’ before the game of a pie, beans and 2 beers for £3 – a cracking deal right there for those who were able to take them up on it.

’Firhill for thrills’ they say (whoever ‘they’ are?) so this one had a lot to live up to. We’re normally housed in the North stand behind the goals but this time round, we were given the North end of the
Jackie Husband Stand. A welcome change personally given my preference for a side on view.

A bit of an increase in admission fee at £17 but given it was another ground with no pillars blocking the view or seats falling apart when you sat down added with the side on view meant I was more willing to pay it the extra here than some other places. Under 16’s were granted access for free, which was a welcome bonus for many parents.

The sun was out in force for this one so opted for a pie and juice this week. No thrills on the pie front but it wasn’t stuck to the tin and didn’t crack your teeth with every bite, it did lack much of a taste though. Brown sauce to the rescue…

As mentioned, our view was better than other grounds although given we were right at the far end of the stand, it did mean that we had that horrible experience of never knowing what way the ball was heading when it was in the air down the other end. We did get a decent view of 3 of the 5 goals though so that helped make up for it. The pitch itself was in poor nick given there had been a rugby match played on it the night before but that did infact work in our favour, contributing to our first goal so no complaints on that front…

An attendance of just under 2,000 was announced but even given that everyone was housed in the same stand, there did seem to be a lack of any real atmosphere. Even with what appeared to be an improved away contingent. I would have expected a bit more of a ‘feeling’. There was, of course, more of a ‘noising up’ offered when both teams scored with supporters being right next to each other but it was nothing more than friendly banter – easy to say when you’re team wins in that situation though!

So there we are, three away wins on the bounce with a midweek trip to Starks Park next on the cards.

Access – 7/10
Admission – 7/10
Pie and Drink – 6/10
Stadium/View – 7/10
Atmosphere – 4/10

Overall – 31/50

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