Saturday 14th March 2026 ko 10:45

East of Scotland League – Division Two

LOCHGELLY ALBERT 1 (Donald 7og)

INVERKEITHING HILLFIELD SWIFTS 4 (Vannett 3 Shears 13 48 87)

Att 303

Entry £7

Programme £2

I always look forward to GroundhopUK’s visits to the Kingdom of Fife but sadly on this occasion the news wasn’t good, one of the coach drivers had been rushed to hospital after collapsing at a filling station. His condition wasn’t life threatening, thank God, and his wife was travelling from South Wales to Dunfermline Hospital to be with him.

The fact that he was in the best of hands was pretty much the only thing that mattered, but with our second driver Joey having enough driver hours to get through the day, and then to Birmingham on the way home, we were able to run the event as planned. In the end a relief driver met the coach on Sunday evening to take over for the final leg. As I type the driver who was taken ill is back home in Wales and recovering.

With all that in the background, perhaps you can understand why Chris, Craig, Robyn and I just wanted an easy day, and Lockgelly Albert certainly helped us. The town grew around the Fife coalfields, and was must have been the bane of every Scottish schoolchild- the Tawse was invented here! Football has always been popular here, Lochgelly United played in the Scottish League from 1914 to 1926, sadly their ground is long gone.

Lochgelly Albert were formed in 1926, the programme asked why they use Albert in the name, one theory and perhaps the more obvious one is Prince Albert, indeed the team colours of gold and black are that of his Royal Livery. The issue is there was quite a gap between his death in 1861 and the club being founded so the more popular opinion is that the name referes to Albert in France. The town is near the Somme battlefields where men from Lochgelly were among the many that died during World War I. Adding further weight to this is the fact that soldiers did form the current club as a possible replacement to the recently disbanded Lochgelly United.

Albert play at Gardiners Park, now re-styled Purvis Park recognition of local businessman Robert Purvis a major sponsor of the club. The ground is a real gem, with the grass banking put in place for was put in place before a Scottish Junior Cup tie in 1948 against Bo’ness United, although I do wonder how they crammed 11,645 in the ground? That is a record I’m sure will never be beaten!

Despite all of this I’m sure many will remember here for what is, in my opinion, the best pitchside advertising board out there. If nothing else, if you ever need a waste disposal firm in the Lochgelly area, you know where to come!The game was decided by Finlay Shears’ sharp shooting, and it was a pleasure as always to see the good folks at Inverkeithing, yes a visit to their new ground is in the pipeline, but I don’t think any of us will ever forget Lochgelly, they were anything but “Shyte!”