In more than 35 years covering and reporting on Scottish football, I figured I had pretty much seen and dealt with everything the game could throw at me.
And then, just before 4.50pm last Saturday, it completely blindsided me!
With Cove Rangers holding on to a deserved advantage given them by captain Mitch Megginson early on, and having survived a couple of one-on-ones which would have sealed their fate, Partick Thistle made one last push.
As referee Steven MacLean allowed the match to roll into a fifth minute of stoppage time, Stuart Bannigan sent in an inviting corner.
I had not noticed him charging up the field, but goalkeeper Jamie Sneddon suddenly caught my eye, and as he found space inside the penalty area, rose to meet the ball perfectly, directing an angled header across the box and inside the far post.
It was one of those moments where everything seemed to happen in slow motion; it was as if time had stood still.
🚨 GOALIE SCORES A HEADER KLAXON 🚨
Jamie Sneddon with the latest of late equalisers for Thistle! 😍#cinchChamp | @PartickThistle pic.twitter.com/DL5oefssbh
— SPFL (@spfl) December 5, 2022
Then the explosion from the visiting team and fans, who, having gathered off to our right to make a quick exit, now flooded on to the pitch in celebration.
When the ball soared through the air before nestling in the goal, it was like a punch to the solar plexus. Another gut-wrenching moment in a campaign which has produced a few similarly painful incidents.
But that, ladies and gentlemen, is the harsh reality of life in Scotland’s toughest and most competitive division.
Unforgiving Championship
The Championship is utterly unforgiving, as we at Cove have found to our cost on a number of occasions.
Having been part of the club for the past six months, I know only too well the hard work and dedication put in behind the scenes. I see the preparation before every game, and I watch the players, most of them having done a full day’s work beforehand, putting everything into training, sometimes in the most inhospitable conditions imaginable.
Being a part-time club does not help, but there is most certainly a full-time, highly professional approach and mentality applied to each and every match.
But none of that matters when the footballing Gods conspire against you, and they certainly did that last Saturday. It was the first time I have ever seen, in the flesh, a goalkeeper score in a senior game, and it is something I would have happily missed out on!
As we near the midway point of the season, anyone who has watched Cove regularly would, I feel sure, agree that the team has played better football, and been more entertaining, in the second quarter of the campaign. And yet, with only Dundee to face, that has produced fewer points than the first one.
There are obviously many factors, but a few outstandingly bad refereeing decisions have not helped, and neither did losing a 4-1 lead at Hamilton. The team could comfortably be half a dozen points better off.
The Championship was always going to be a severe test; everyone at Balmoral knew that only too well, and having all but done the rounds twice, the players understand exactly what lies ahead of them.
One thing is for sure, it won’t be boring!
Aberdeen left to make big decision on new stadium plans… again
It would seem the Dons’ hopes of locating their new stadium at the heart of the beach redevelopment have suffered a serious – potentially fatal – blow.
With a report due in front of councillors next week which will confirm Aberdeen City Council have no plans to part-fund the project, the club will be left with a big decision.
Whatever indications had previously been given, it was always going to be a big call by councillors to help pay for the ground, and the hardening of their stance has hardly been a major surprise. Given the ongoing financial crisis, and the budgetary constraints politicians at all levels are having to contend with, could any of them really justify raiding the public purse?
There would of course be benefits for the community, and there was the suggestion of the stadium providing a “billion-pound boost” for the city, but the club were always going to be the main beneficiaries.
It would appear they are going to have to go back to the drawing board. Again.
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