Aberdeen still have concerns over arrangements for away fans for next Monday’s Scottish Cup tie at Darvel – but the hosts’ chairman John Gall says he will “prove” the Dons could have had 800 more supporters at the game.
The Reds’ ticket allocation for the fourth-round clash was finally confirmed at the start of the week after wrangling which saw an initial away allocation of 1,750 slashed to 1,210, following an independent safety review requested by Aberdeen and Police Scotland.
In announcing the release of their £18 tickets for the game, which went on sale on Tuesday morning, the Dons – who feel they have done everything in their power to try to make sure it is a safe and worthwhile trip for the Red Army, having first raised concerns in early December – issued a note of caution.
With just days for away fans to snap up the briefs made available for the cup tie, the Dons’ statement warned: “The area in which away fans will be situated is elevated and flat and those not at the front may not be able to see the pitch. Please bear in mind that the area is not sheltered and will be open to the elements.
“TV gantries will be in place due the to live broadcast of this match and the one in particular behind the goal at the away end may affect sight lines.”
This public airing of the Dons’ concerns led to some fans questioning whether to make the trip to Darvel:
Jesus. Wouldn't waste your money tbh. Fair play to the club telling us in advance. Feel like Darvel have shot themselves in the foot here a bit with how they've handled this. pic.twitter.com/XExx1xuIER
— The Famous Aberdeen (@TheFamousReds) January 16, 2023
Aberdeen fans will be housed in a revamped Cemetry End at the West of Scotland Premier League leaders’ Recreation Park.
The raised section behind one of the goals was formerly grass banking, but Darvel have spent £50,000 on the venue in preparation for the tie, which has included groundworks and laying down gravel in the area where Dons fans will stand (visible in the tweet below).
😍 The set-up is almost complete
📸 Graham Healy pic.twitter.com/YVUgV8Z4mB
— Darvel FC (@darvelfc) January 16, 2023
‘It’s miles from the truth – every Aberdeen fan will have a good view’
Responding to Aberdeen’s continued reservations over the setup, including those made public in their statement on Monday, Darvel chief Gall insisted travelling fans will have a “fantastic view” for Monday’s cup clash – and it will “prove” his early intention to give the Red Army up to 2,000 tickets from a total capacity of 4,000 was correct.
He said: “I think it (the Aberdeen statement) was written by a very negative person and could’ve been a bit more upbeat than that.
“If you’re wanting to put people off buying tickets, you’d put a statement out like Monday, that’s what I feel.
“It’s absolutely miles away from the truth – every Aberdeen fan will have a good view of the game.”
Gall says Darvel made the decision to house the Red Army in the Cemetry End after the Dons asked for away fans not to be put in an area surrounding the away dugout – which resulted in the previous plan, approved by East Ayrshire Council, to allocate 1,750 briefs to Aberdeen.
However, following the demand for an independent safety review of this plan, which came from Aberdeen and Police Scotland, the away capacity for Recreation Park was cut by 540 tickets.
Gall added: “Every day I got something different.
“I just had to go: ‘Ach, 1,250? If that’s what it is, that’s what it is – but I’m going to prove to you on the night you could’ve got another 800 fans in to make it up to 2,000. Not a problem.’
“I’m not knocking anybody at all. They’re making decisions for safety reasons.
“I’ve got my experts down in Ayrshire who say there are absolutely no issues for safety at all.
“Any viewing issues? No. It’s a massive area and to only put just over 1,000 fans in there is ridiculous and it’s going to stop people being able to come the game.
“It a fantastic view, great view you can get from up there. Aberdeen fans will say it’s a better view than they get at Kilmarnock, at Rangers and Celtic.”
Ticket wrangle takes financial shine off ‘glamour tie’ for Darvel chief
Gall says he was driven to host as many Aberdeen fans as possible for Monday’s tie because he was aware of early concerns from the Red Army they would only get 500 tickets for the game and knows the Dons fans’ reputation for travelling in big numbers.
He has predicted the Cemetry End will now be “pretty sparse-looking” with only 1,210 supporters.
The reduction in the amount of travelling fans also comes with financial implications for sixth-tier Darvel, with Gall suggesting he regrets the £50k outlay – which also included adding new emergency exits and anti-crush barriers – in hindsight.
He said: “The work we’ve done in the ground is quite extensive to get it up to the crowd we’d hoped it to be, but then it was knocked back from whoever it was knocked back from.
“We just don’t know who instigated the fact it couldn’t hold 1,750 Aberdeen fans – now it can only hold 1,200 Aberdeen fans.
“We’re really disappointed in that, because all of our budgets were made on certain calculations. If it was going to be as low as that I’d never have spent the money, or would’ve had to make the price of the tickets more expensive to cover the cost.
“We’re not going to make as much money out of it as we should.”
Despite the prospect of the historic Darvel v Aberdeen meeting now being less lucrative for the minnows, Gall is still upbeat, adding: “It’s going to be brilliant for the town you know, the town’s absolutely buzzing for it all and we should sell our tickets out by Wednesday.
“The anticipation for the game is unbelievable.
“It’s not as beneficial a tie as it would’ve been, but the glamour of the tie is still there.”
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