Saturday 15th March ko 11:00

East of Scotland League Division Two

HARTHILL ROYAL 1 (Strickland 66)

Carroll missed penalty 59

DALKEITH THISTLE 0

Att 328 (ground record)

Entry £5

Programme £2

Sometimes it’s what, sometimes its where, but in the case of Harthill Royal is was definately a case of both! The small town of Harthill lies close to Whitburn and like there, owes much of its existance to coal mining – in this case the Polkemmet Colliery. Back in the day Gibbshill Park was known as Beechbank Park and was home to Polkemmet Juniors. When the mine closed in 1984 the football club lasted only another 4 years.

Harthill Royal started life as Harthill Royal Bar, presumably after a pub and after a stint in the Amateur ranks moved to the East Region Juniors in 1992 dropping the “Bar” in the process. They took on the old Polkemmet Juniors ground, renaming it. And before you ask, the club are called Royal for a reason, this is very “Staunch” country- not a place to wear green and white hoops!

But if that’s the what, it’s the where where the curiousity lies. Harthill lies in North Lanarkshire, but Gibbshill Park is just over the county boundary into West Lothian. Or to out it in Scottish footballing terms it is also where the East Region becomes the West. While Polkemmet and Harthill played their Junior football in the East, the ground was and is in the west. When the mass movement from the Juniors to the Seniors in occurred in 2021, Royal opted for the West of Scotland League. They only stayed for one season, I can imagine the journey to Campbelltown Pupils may have been a factor, and moved to the East of Scotland League where they’ve been ever since.

But once you’d traced out just how close to the border the ground lies, you couldn’t have helped but but be charmed by the welcome we all got. I got whisked away to hospitality to be plyed with tea and pies, which was lovely, but it did delay my usual stroll around a notably spick and span ground. Once I did, it was obvious how much all present were enjoying just being there.

There was even a little enclosure for Harthill’s band of youthful ultras. They were slightly better equipped than their cousins we’d seen on the Swedish Hop last year but no less enthusiastic! I did ask what might happen when they get older, and I’d better not say who I asked, as the answer was

“Well HMP Shotts is just down the road!”

The game summed up Harthill’s season in the sense that as a relegation haunted side, they struggled to beat another struggling team, Dalkeith Thistle. One or two were surprised to see the visitors travails, perhaps the disembowelling we watched them dish out to Tweedmouth Rangers 4 years ago was why? I couldn’t begrudge Harthill their win, but as I headed back to the coach it was clear that their win wasn’t just on the pitch.