Alba/Scotland (A)

[elroy]

From reading YBIG it seems the lads in the LL had a rough time of it. We were in the jock stein stand and more or less had no problems.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Sorry to hear.
Some people are just ignorant pigs.

[Bottle of Tonic]

Wasn't all rosy in the Jock Stein either. I got a belt and a mate was hit with coins. 'Irish cants GTF' and all that sort of stuff. But 99% of the Scots we mixed with before the game were bang on.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Tbf 95%+ of Alba fans are fine, but there is an endemic anti-Irish current through certain strands of their society, sadly, dating back to days of empire.

[DannyInvincible]

We were in the Lisbon Lions Lower with Scottish fans on all sides and didn't have any hassle at all despite loudly joining in with every Irish chant going. The rivalry was pretty good-natured, from my own experience anyway. One Scottish lad was overheard dishing out some hateful stuff towards McClean in relation to the poppy matter, but he was promptly told to give it a rest by a compatriot nearby. Whilst the Scots I spoke to before the game seemed resentful towards McGeady and the "granny rule", they were still happy enough to converse, engage and wish us all the best as we went our separate ways.

We moved further left from where we were standing in the second half, but it was only to get a bit closer to the main body of Irish support as opposed to us having any problems with the Scots around us. A few Scotland fans were forcibly begging us to stay such was the jovial nature of the exchanges!

After we had picked up our tickets from the ground earlier in the evening, we hopped into a taxi for a pub. It was an interesting journey. Our driver was what you would call a character; a fairly intense Ireland-supporting Glaswegian with proud Achill roots and a near-constant deranged gaze back at us in the front mirror. I think he might have looked at the road in front of him once. Or maybe twice... Nevertheless, he was very eager to impress the Irish visitors and he gave us a rich (expletive-ridden) running commentary of the journey as he took us through the heart of Bridgeton on the way. I didn't think such sights existed outside of the north, but the pubs, shops and take-aways there were decked out with Union flags and other loyalist symbolism. I don't know if that's how it always is or if it was just that way for the weekend. The driver pointed out a particularly notorious drinking establishment called Walkers; it was outside there, we were told, that a lone by-passing Celtic fan had his throat slit years ago. Every by-stander in the vicinity - he pointed to each and every one as we were stopped at a red light, pet dogs included - was, unmistakably, a "f*ckin' hun". We were glad for a pint after getting through that!

[ArdeeBhoy]

Aye, ended up going past there on the bus myself, sounds like you had an ideal guide...

[brendy_éire]

Can't say I enjoyed the game, but little hassle to be had in the stand.

Was drinking in Drygate before the match, chatting away to the Scots. Decent enough banter in the crowd during the game too. Did notice the coins being thrown, but it didn't appear to be at any particular target.

Handshakes all round at FT, and meet a decent amount of Scottish fans back in Edinburgh after.

Dreadful game though. Very disappointed with our standard. They weren't much better, but their goal was really well worked.

[IsMiseSean]

Terrible night. Crap performance, sh*te view in the away end & got a £40 fine for taking a p**s....

[paul_oshea]

Haha Good man IsMiseSean, the police approached me walking up from Lynches, i quickly tried to knock back the pint, the two lads laughing as they grabbed it "I didnt rush over here so you would drink quicker". I thought he would let me finish it but he didnt the ******

The good old "freeeee.....eh hold on no" response worked well against the Scots. They can take the win, but they'll never take their freedom.

In the LL too, and a couple of lads in front of us were shouting some bad stuff and gesturing to all the irish but we were ok, maybe because i was with the missus but I was chanting and ddin't have too much of a problem, it seems because i was in amongst them i wasnt seen as a "proper" irish fan and hence hte vitriol was kept for the corner. Having said that not sure if we had scored and I celebrated how it would have gone down.

Overall not really impressed with the place, queuing for an hour to get a taxi from the train station. Queuing for an hour at a rank to get home after the game(well the end of the night) and Black taxis just dont stop there, having to walk home most of the way in the end and pubs and the walk from the stadium taking an age as well. Not setup for big crowds really, in Dublin ye can get in and out easily from landsdowne and get taxis too. I suppose the fact that I had to be up early and drive down to Mayo/Sligo for a wedding from Dublin Saturday morning didnt help the fact.

Had a lovely indian though that night when we got back into town. Lovely. That was the highlight of the trip for me

[Stuttgart88]

Terrible night. Crap performance, sh*te view in the away end & got a £40 fine for taking a p**s....

AB told me to be very careful when I did the same. I knew he was right but still needed to go. It was near the chippy in that wasteland between Gallowgate and the stadium.

[Junior]

POSH, you were lucky you werent nicked for drinking in the street - Told you about that!

[paul_oshea]

Did you tell me? I don't remember, ah right! Well he was a nice enough chap anyway!

That walk up from lynches was a balls, way too long. Do ye normally do that on Celtic match days? The pubs all up there reminded me of typical english pubs! And i hate typical english pubs!! Sorry Junior. I've just insulted your mother, your whole family there :P

[IsMiseSean]

To be fair I was a bit relieved when the two guys turned out to be cops. When they first approached me I thought they were going to kick the **** out of me.
Anyone know what happens if I don't pay the fine?

[Junior]

Did you tell me? I don't remember, ah right! Well he was a nice enough chap anyway!

Yeah I did but as per usual you very rarely listen to those your are talking to I think the police relaxed it on the night due to the large amount of fans new to the city. Its a rule that is fairly rigorously enforced on a Celtic match day I can assure you. A fine or even getting nicked is not uncommon for those who choose to risk it.

That walk up from lynches was a balls, way too long. Do ye normally do that on Celtic match days? The pubs all up there reminded me of typical english pubs! And i hate typical english pubs!!

Ahh what are you whining about. A 30 minute walk in a straight line? Nope I dont do that walk very often, if at all normally, however I did do it on Friday. You walked through Bridgeton, staunch Rangers/Loyalist territory. In fact there are plenty of posts above suggesting people avoid it and use the Gallowgate (though this is no shorter), which normally is sound advise. However it was more a case of safety in numbers, 1000's of Irish and Scottish were walking along London Road and plenty of Polis in position also - so it was safe enough.

I'm not sure what sort of typical english pubs you are referring to but if you mean ones that are decked out in the butchers apron, pictures of the queen and king billy with his little pony, UVF emblems and paraphanelia - then yep thats the sort of pubs they were. I'm not a big fan of them myself to be honest

Sorry Junior. I've just insulted your mother, your whole family there :P

I have absolutely no clue what you mean by that - wooooshhhh

[paul_oshea]

To be fair I was a bit relieved when the two guys turned out to be cops. When they first approached me I thought they were going to kick the **** out of me.
Anyone know what happens if I don't pay the fine?

You were relieved because you had just taken a ****.

It should be an on the spot. They will isuse an Arrest Warrant, schengen area will all be notified and when you next step oN british soil(including NI) you will be arrested.

[IsMiseSean]

He told me I could pay online. He said something about an arrest warrant alright. Feck it, I suppose I'll pay!!

[ArdeeBhoy]

Overall not really impressed with the place, queuing for an hour to get a taxi from the train station. Queuing for an hour at a rank to get home after the game(well the end of the night) and Black taxis just dont stop there, having to walk home most of the way in the end and pubs and the walk from the stadium taking an age as well. Not setup for big crowds really, in Dublin ye can get in and out easily from landsdowne and get taxis too.

Except that it's as least well geared up as Croke or the New Lansdowne.
The general area might be a bit grim but it's served by around six bus routes, two train lines and why the feck you would need a cab to do a 30-45mins walk unless you're geriatric or it's torrential rain, is beyond me.

There are loads of international grounds served by far worse access, so please don't just post complete drivel on the matter?

[DannyInvincible]

After having been driven through loyal Bridgeton in a taxi earlier in the night and knowing it was territory to strictly avoid from the sound advice on here, I said to my brother who was leading us post-match on foot towards the city centre with his trusty phone navigator to keep close to the Gallowgate for safety. We simply couldn't get a taxi after the game so just kept walking, but I don't think it really dawned upon him that Bridgeton - a Rangers hotbed - was so close to the south-west of Celtic Park and I'm not sure the name really would have been of any great significance to him anyway if he saw it on a map. He was also eager to take the shortest route back to the city centre, so we simply followed in the dark assuming the earlier concerns lodged had been taken on board, registered with the intelligent device and all was good. Having looked back at the route we took on Google Maps when I got back to Manchester, I'd like to think of our 45-minute walk as some sort of achievement, making it through there alive, twice in one night, just three drunken eejits, in full colours and scarf... I even took a lengthy and desperately-needed p*ss in the middle of a big, fat, wide-open park. Beat that!

it seems because i was in amongst them i wasnt seen as a "proper" irish fan

That must have been hard to take.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Is the right answer...

[paul_oshea]

He told me I could pay online. He said something about an arrest warrant alright. Feck it, I suppose I'll pay!!

Sean John nothing will happen dont worry. Its like a sheap stealer in poland, big in poland, no one cares outside of poland.