Haddington Athletic - Millfield

Haddington Athletic FC

Millfield

Tynebank Road

Haddington

EH41 4DB

07878 333586

Official Website

EOSL Page

Twitter

Ground Number: 1156
Saturday 18th March 2023
Haddington Athletic 1-3 Dundonald Bluebell
East Of Scotland Premier

HADDINGTON ATHLETIC FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1939. They played in various junior leagues throughout their early years. They were Edinburgh & District League champions in 1957 but later on in the decade saw a decline but they won the Lothians District League Division Two in 1999. Fortunes improved after the millennium and in 2015 they were East Region South Division champions. A 3rd place finish in the Scottish Junior Football East Region Premier League in 2018 was also another notable achievement in what was the final season of the league. Following that, they joined the East Of Scotland League. Last season they won the 1st Division Conference A to seal promotion to the Premier Division. 

In terms of local cups, Haddington have won the East of Scotland Junior Cup in 1941, 1957, & 1973, the Fife and Lothians Cup in 1940, the Brown Cup in 1959, the Thornton Shield in 1940, 1941 & 1947, the St Michaels Cup in 1950 & 1959 and the Laidlaw Cup winners in 1979. The Royal Burgh of Haddington is a town in East Lothian It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian. It lies about 17 miles east of Edinburgh. It has a population of just over 10,000.

MY VISIT

This hop was booked back in January and with coach travel included from Beaconsfield, it worked out great value. As I was sharing with Colin, it worked out at £259 but even as a single room, it was only £309. At 917 miles round trip, it would have cost nearly £200 in fuel and car costs, plus you had the hassle of driving. Working it out as a per-game cost once you take ticket cost out of the equation, it worked out at £34 a game. Considering it included a hotel and as much as you could eat for breakfast, it was even better value. Chris had to do battle with Scottish rugby fans this weekend too, hence we had stayed off route at the same hotel as last year. It was a pleasant and comfortable establishment, the only drawback was its isolated location. The price was similar to what was charged for other hops, plus in that case, you had to get yourself to the area rather than being supplied with a coach pickup. For that reason, I was more than happy to take the hit on my season ticket for the Wycombe v Barnsley game.

From our last game at Dunbar, it was a slow but steady journey and we were there around 15 minutes before kickoff. I met Sam North who does the YouTube channel Football Adventures. Even better was a lovely black and white dog called Sammy who was very friendly and loved attention and fuss. It was soon time for kick-off and we settled down one end where Dundonald were shooting. Fellow hopper Daniel got a phone call from his mum who called him 'my little baby boy' in front of myself and George who was with him. Sadly the tea bar queues were long again but at least they sold out of food. It's important that clubs do well out of these hops.

 

Haddington Athletic were sitting 5th in the league, a credible effort for their first season in the top tier. Dundonald Bluebell were down in 8th but still doing pretty well. The hosts were on a ten-match unbeaten run, having last lost on 5th November at Penicuik Athletic. This included a rollercoaster game last weekend as they beat Sauchie Juniors 4-3. The visitors had suffered a huge number of postponements, having only played three games since early December. These had resulted in 5-1 win at Hill of Beath Hawthorn and a 3-1 win at Tynecastle but a 1-0 loss to Linlithgow Rose. Dundonald dominated proceedings and they took the lead on 12 minutes, a lovely lob from Kieran Hall. It was 2-0 on 35 minutes, a low shot from Scott Cameron. The chances dried up after this but on 75 minutes, a great ball forward found Guy McGarry who deftly finished past the keeper. A third goal for Dundonald was disallowed for offside but they were not to be denied for much longer. They made it 3-1 with a penalty by Regan Lumsden but the same man was sent off a minute later for his part in a scuffle.

THE GROUND

MILFIELD PARK is a smart and tidy ground and very colourful. It has just one stand, a mixture of seating and standing. There's a small tea bar but no alcohol available.