The mid-nineties were a particularly exciting time for me as the starting of high school came with new friends, rapid fluctuations in my vocal registers and the realisation that girls actually existed. This was set to the backdrop of life altering albums like Radiohead’s ‘The Bends’, ‘Park Life’ by Blur & Oasis’ masterpiece ‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?’ as well as awesome movies like the third ‘Die Hard’ & ‘Stargate’ (my debut at the pictures without an adult, where Kurt Russell had fist fights with Egyptian gods and ever teleported the heid aff one). As a football obsessive it was also a fascinating era, as for the first time in decades new clubs were entering the Scottish Football League; first the Highland duo of Ross County & Inverness Caledonian Thistle in 1994, followed by the side that really captured my imagination a season later, Livingston.
I dunno why the rebranded Meadowbank Thistle captivated the freshly teenage me so much, it was probably just because they were new, reasonably local and arrived at a time of major transitions in other areas of my life. Those totally cool black home shirts, sponsored Mitsubishi then Motorola and manufacturer by the once uber popular Russell Athletic certainly would have helped. Whatever it was, it was enough for Dad and I to think long and hard over a summer about following this new club and getting on board with the Lions from the start. We never did, the lure of watching Alloa with my pals was too much, but I enjoyed seeing them rise through the divisions from afar with great players like Rab Douglas, Charlie King, Marvin Andrews, Marino Keith, my childhood idol John Robertson and (amazingly) the Barcelona legend Guillermo Amor on their books. Often I wonder what might have happened if the old man and I had started supporting the Lions from the beginning, would I now be a Livi stalwart and thus there would have been no Fitba Nomad?
Well this afternoon came a second chance to answer that question, as I made a swift return to West Lothian to see one of the newest sides in Scottish Women’s Football; Livingston Women. Founded as recently as last year, the Lionesses came into being as the culmination of a partnership between Premiership Livingston and West of Scotland League neighbours Blackburn United, who have a history of fostering female talent. While girls and development sides remained under the Burnie banner, continuing to play at New Murrayfield Park, the senior women’s side would play in Livingston colours at the awfully/brilliantly named (delete as appropriate) Tony Macaroni Arena. How long this deal lasted and in what, if any, capacity it still exists I do not know, as I note the Lionesses currently advertise fixtures for their own U19 side. However in their debut season they were atop their division when coronavirus caused the campaign to be abandoned and now after ten games into a fresh season Livi Ladies sit fourth in the table, just two points behind leaders Edinburgh City.
Today they welcomed Falkirk Women to the ‘Spaghettihad’ for a SWF Championship South clash, the third tier of women’s game in Scotland. Thus far in my travels I’ve only seen elite level female fitba with trips to Glasgow City, the Old Firm and Manchester City under my belt as well as seeing Scotland vs Jamaica at Hampden and Barcelona Femeni at Petershill Park on school trips. What should I have expected from a lower league game, would it have the supreme technical nous of the SWPL or FAWSL where women shake off tackles that would put guys like Ronaldo into a coma? Well my research shows both teams contain class players, with my friend & colleague at Falkirk Eva Rule having a ton of top flight experience at the University of Stirling. Currently the tough tackling winger is in such a great run of form for the Bairns one commentator on Pie & Bovril suggested recently that Rule could do the job for the League 1 men’s side. As for the Lionesses, Rachel Walkingshaw and Ashley Fish are two names that stand out as products of SWPL giants Hibernian who were both capped at U19 level. Fish won a number of trophies at Hibs before a spell at St Johnstone and arriving at Almondvale, while life long Lions fan Walkingshaw was an SPWL 2 winner with Heart of Midlothian before joining her childhood favourites. Knowing players of this calibre would be on show today made me pretty confident of an excellent afternoon of football ahead.
Pre-match Pints
I had been told that Livingston wasn’t renowned for her boozers, and with an early kick off at half one, I decided to go for a sure thing; The Livingston Inn. A historic venue that opened its doors in 1760, it is one of the many pubs to boast that Robert Burns visited and was the very place where he is alleged to have composed his song ‘The Bonnie Lass of Livingston’, while he was no doubt on the pull. Today the place is well regarded as a venue for food and drink as well as accommodation, with twelve rooms above the shoap available to guests. Arriving via the car park entrance I was escorted through a large, immaculate restaurant area into a smaller and more homely bar which further boasts to be ‘West Lothian Pub of the Year 2021’ at least according to the National Pub & Bar Awards. Sitting down in front of the fireplace, it soon became apparent why this title was bestowed upon it.
First up we have nine keg lines, an impressive number even if for the most part it is pretty standard fare. Then there is the fine decor with plenty of that currently fashionable grey paint as well as a mix of high benches for groups and small circular tables for more intimate meetings. The ceiling was an interesting a mix of modern and ancient that is almost impossible to describe, so I won’t. I didn’t see any of the advertised cask ale on and in the mood for it I went with a bottle of Black Sheep Amber Ale, followed swiftly by a Timothy Taylor Landlord. Both were excellent as was the food; for lunch I ordered the bacon & cheese burger which came with fries and onion rings, it was delicious. However I was somewhat jealous of my mate’s steak pie & chunky chips, even if he did commit the cardinal sin of washing it down with watermelon flavoured cider (he is young and will learn folks). Only one pub this afternoon but, if I had arrived here and knew of others close by, it would have been difficult to move me on to another as lovely as it was.
The Ground
After a twenty minute walk we found ourselves outside the Tony Macaroni Arena with very little idea of how to enter the ground. Wandering about we noted a smart supporters bar (closed today) in the main stand, but for access we were required to go right round to the Norden East Stand where just two quid each got us inside an SPFL Premier League stadium. Looking good for her twenty six years Almondvale is rather smart and a bit reminiscent of Middlesbrough’s equally old Riverside Stadium, except smaller and much more yellow. Opposite from us was a main stand that sits alone and single tier, then round the rest of the pitch we have one impressively sweeping stand that runs from the edge of the main stand right round to the other edge. The place is very enclosed, which would be great for atmosphere if we had more that the eighty to one hundred who turned up today. In saying that it fair boosted the volume of that vuvuzela one young fan blasted away on throughout.
Plastic pitches are clearly controversial, particularly with top flight men’s teams, but here we seem to have a very good looking plush one with a massive camber on it. It is so big I wonder if punters in the front row can actually see the far touchline. Whatever you think of 4G it is a blessing for the women’s game as they get to play in proper stadiums like this rather than being sent out to places like The Oriam or Murray Park, giving matches a greater sense of occasion and the female game in general more credibility. Overall I’m rather impressed and would like to return one day when she’s packed to the rafters. Given her size and geographical location she would be perfect for Scotland U21 games and women’s international friendlies, which I believe have been successfully hosted here in the past.
The Game
After a two minute silence was held as a mark of respect to the fallen heroes in all wars, Livi commenced the game with an all out attack on the visitor’s goal. The Lionesses are clearly a quality side and against a Falkirk team initially operating with clear defensive flaws they ran rampant, five goals up before a quarter of the match was complete! An unfortunate error from the Bairn’s keeper allowed the first to be scored when a spilled ball fell to Jen Dodds for an easy tap in. This was followed by a thirty five yard screamer from Rachel Walkingshaw, who unselfishly supplied a square ba’ to Ashley Fish for the third. Walkingshaw and Fish got another each before Falkirk could pull themselves together and started playing the game. The visitors were simply sitting far too deep at the start, the tactic where the goal kicks were passed out to defenders in the box, instead of simply hoofed up the pitch, meant that not only were they failing to advance they were putting themselves under seige. Falkirk’s improvement meant the score stayed the same until just before the break, when a beautiful cross found Fish on the end of the line for a simple, but impressive first half hat trick.
The second half was a different game with Falkirk playing much better and Livi knowing three points were in the bag. The Lionesses continued to press on the visitors goal with Fish squandering an early chance, by absolutely smashing it over, before a comedy of errors from the visitors saw Dodds get her second. Clearly some Falkirk players had enough at this point, but instead of giving up they started putting in some hard tackles and actually got on the scoresheet with a beautiful curving effort. There was to be no magical comeback however, no return from the dead, as Walkingshaw sealed her hat trick in seventy one minutes before a lovely finish from Stacey Calder ended the rout. Full time at the Spaghettihad and Livingston were richly deserved 8-1 winners.
The Aftermath
Twenty five years since Dad and I first thought about checking out Almondvale I finally made it. Will I be sacking my travels, grabbing a vuvuzela and becoming a die hard Livi supporter? The answer is no, but with a pub good enough for Rabbie Burns, a fine display of football and entry to a beautiful top flight stadium for just two quid I’ll certainly be up for a return visit. Make no mistake, Livingston Women are a quality side destined for a higher level. Yes it is easy to critical of Falkirk after that performance, but in fairness to the Bairns The Lionesses have been dishing out skelpings like that since their inception and others have lost by wider margins. The visitors impressed me by never giving up, even when the result was a forgone conclusion and improving greatly over the ninety minutes.
Two things of note, firstly I’m glad I did my research on Ashley Fish and Rachel Walkingshaw as both are the real deal. Six goals between the two of them today, if Livi are to climb the leagues then both will be essential to making that journey successful. Walkingshaw in particular was excellent to watch in as good a performance as I’ve seen in a long time. Finally I’ll say once again that women’s football is brilliant. The quality of play, the dedication of players who are paid bugger all, the emphasis on fairness and the interaction with supporters. I was harsh to say that it was ‘only’ a crowd of eighty to one hundred as it was a pretty great turn out at this level. No doubt the children in particular enjoy it all the more when their heroes come speak to them at the break and full time, while standing posing for selfies after a long, hard shift.
The Fitba Nomad 