It’s a game of four halves for Armadale Thistle as West Lothian club are forced to play TWICE in one day

It is high noon in Armadale. The kick-off for Thistle’s first match of the day is in a couple of hours. A second, scheduled for 7.45pm, seems a long way off.

But what is the how and why for two games in one day?

The Schleswig-Holstein question inevitably springs to mind. This was the diplomatic rammy in the 19th century over the jurisdiction of two duchies separating Denmark and Germany.

Lord Palmerston, unaccountably not a regular presence on these pages, once remarked that the question was only fully understood by three people: the prince consort, who had died, a German professor, who had gone mad from trying to figure it out, and Lord Palmerston himself. And he had completely forgotten it.

The Two Games Question is similar. The simple answer to why Armadale had to play two matches at their Volunteer Park home on Saturday is that an East of Scotland League policy prohibits the rescheduling of league games to accommodate the Scottish Communities Cup, otherwise known as the Scottish Junior Cup to the fitba’ world at large.

There are nuances, background politics and cultural attitudes, however. There are also six leagues with varying stances on and affection for this specific cup.

The shake-up in Scottish football with teams switching leagues and some semi-professional clubs deserting the Communities Cup therefore means that the simple answer is not the full answer.

But there is diplomacy in Armadale. Committee member Scott Watson, four hours into a shift extending from 8am to midnight, said: ‘The crux of it all is that regions want a league programme that is fixed. To try to move the game was difficult.’

He had no gripe with the league. ‘The East of Scotland League took us in when the pyramid started so we are not going to argue the toss with them. The East of Scotland League has seemed to get the hard end of the stick but it is not entirely their fault,’ he said.

The decision was made to go for the double-header. It put a strain obviously on the players. But there was a burden for the eight committee members who had to arrange two matches on one day with feeding players, arranging hospitality, cleaning dressing rooms and the ground – and then doing it all again.

It was summed up when Watson had to field a catering question while conducting interviews with the press. Asked by a volunteer if a certain tray of sandwiches was for hospitality, he replied: ‘I don’t know but tell them to go ahead. I have bought hunners of stuff.’

It is 2.30pm and game one kicks off. There is a glut of groundhoppers in attendance amid the 300 or more punters. Roy Little, 65, has only travelled from Falkirk but would match anyone for football adventures.

He confided: ‘I have seven tickets for games in the Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia in January but I suspect it will be a no-go.’ The Houthis may stymie these plans but he consoles himself with the memory of attending the final of the Africa Cup of Nations this year. And his presence, of course, in Armadale.

Tugging on his Vasco da Gama bunnet – Brazil is one of his football haunts – to fend off the sunshine, he remarked: ‘There is a little bit of history here today. I believe this is the second time that a team in Scotland has played two games in one day.’

He was referring to Saturday, April 15, 1916, when Celtic beat Raith Rovers 6-0 (3.15pm kick off at Celtic Park) and then moved on to Fir Park to defeat Motherwell 3-1 (6pm kick-off) en route to the Scottish League Championship. The games had to be played consecutively because of fixture congestion and an unwillingness to extend the season to accommodate this.

Supporters of Orkney FC will point to their side playing two games in one day in 2020 but those games were played at the exact same time, 165 miles apart home and away, so involved two separate sets of players, unlike Armadale and Celtic. 

History repeating itself further down the scale appealed to Little, whose presence in Armadale was predictable though not as exotic as his many travels

‘I love going to games,’ he said. ‘I am a Falkirk fan but never had many opportunities to watch my team in Europe.’ This is said with a smile but he adds: ‘I suppose the whole travelling thing started in 1985 when I went to Nuremberg to watch a game.’ He has travelled extensively since.

‘When I first went abroad to games, it was before the whole groundhopping culture,’ he says. ‘Yes, there were a couple of random oddballs who travelled the world to games and I suppose I was one of them but it was not called groundhopping back then.’

Little, now retired, worked in the engineering industry. ‘I always had the wanderlust,’ he said.

His best trips? ‘South America is always brilliant,’ he said. ‘We think we are passionate in Scotland but it is on another level over there. I also have a particular affection for Dutch semi-professional football. I suppose it is about the same level as here today but the crowds can be big — more than 4,000 — at derbies.’

It is 4.18pm. The first game is won and Colin Strickland, Thistle manager, strides from the park after a successful afternoon.

‘We gave a really professional performance,’ he says. ‘It could not have gone any better. We managed to win the game and get the players off early. The lead gave us opportunities to replace some guys. Five of the players that started there will start in the evening game, but one will be a goalie. The other four were substituted.’

He adds: ‘We have known about this situation for a couple of weeks so we have been able to prepare for it and the club has been brilliant. They have provided ice baths, food, all the arrangements. We are young and fit so we are ready to go again.’

It is 6.27pm. The Scottish Junior Cup is in the house. It has been brought to the park by Kennie Young, Scottish Community FA secretary. It is closely followed by the arrival of the Stonehaven team bus.

Sarah Rollo, secretary of the Aberdeenshire club, is bullish as dusk falls: ‘It doesn’t matter what time of day we have to travel. The two-game situation does not bother us. We stay in our own lane. We think about ourselves, focus on ourselves.’

The message is similar from Cameron Christie, coach. He says: ‘We will focus on what we do. It is very odd to be coming down the road at this time of day but we will take it the same as any other game.’

The step into the unknown starts at 7.45pm. With minutes to go of the cup tie, there is a goalkeeper slip and a Stonehaven shot finds the net, silencing the majority of the 600 or so fans.

It is enough to secure victory. ‘You win some and you lose some,’ says an Armadale fan. This, though, normally applies to a season rather than a day.

It is 9.30pm. There are fireworks in the distance but inside the stadium the fans drift sombrely to the exits. The longest day has ended not with a bang but a whimper.