Berwick v Ayr. Betfred cup.

Well it’s time for the first competitive game of the season. Berwick hosting Ayr united. A defeat would be the bookies favourite and realistically that’s what I expect. The squad hasn’t had many games to gel and Ayr are a good team 3 leagues above us William Hill has a Berwick win at 12-1. For teams like Berwick the betfred can been seen as extra training games. The teams are seeded in such a way that there is very little chance of qualifying out of the group. It is a nice little money earner though. A decent amount of money for finishing last in the group and the gate is split 50/50. I’ll be down with my Dad for this one.. It’s about a 2 hour drive to Berwick so I like to get there around lunchtime and get my dad his lunch. Foulis in Tweedmouth is a decent spot, we can usually get parked outside so it’s easy for him to access. He’s normally wanting chips and curry sauce from the van at Shielfield for his lunch instead but those days are numbered. I believe the van won’t be returning for this season so Foulis it is for this game. We have hospitality booked so we might also have a sandwich and a cup of tea at half time.
Here’s hoping for a reasonable performance from Berwick but it’s tough to know what to expect. (Written on Friday night).

Arrival.

So we arrive around lunchtime as planned and Foulis it is. A all day breakfast but we’ve learned our lesson and get one portion of chips between us. (Chips come as part of the breakfast). Still too many chips and my belly is full as we head up to Shielfield. The van has gone but the Bandits cafe is open for the game. Nice to see a bit of cooperation between the football club and the speedway. It’s a waste of money and resources to have things separate. Chips and curry sauce on the menu as well so noted for when I bring my dad down on a Saturday. I buy a couple of cups of tea and take one back to my dad who is sitting in the stand before. I head off to see if anybody needs a hand. There were plenty of volunteers today though so my assistance isn’t required so I buy 5 50/50 tickets and head back to the stand to sit next to my dad an talk about what may be...

The game!

Well for the first 20 minutes or so we looked ok. Brennan pulled off some good stops in the game (despite the score line) and Euan Smith (6) having a great game, quick and covering well. Lewis Barr looked decent too. Heads went down a bit when the first goal went in and by halftime we were down by 5. Final score Berwick 0 Ayr 7. It’s tough to see what will come when we are playing against a good Championship side. The Betfred cup is a somewhat demoralising start to the season. The team are still pretty new to each other too. We kept our shape much better than last season but time will tell. Next week it’s Stranraer, a league one team. How we will fare against them is again anybody’s bet. Hopefully not such a heavy defeat as we suffered today.