The Other Claret and Amber Club
MOTHERWELL - THE OTHER CLARET AND AMBER CLUB
(from a fan of Bradford City)
The story goes something like this - it was Sunday 3rd May and we had just watched City's last game of the season:
"What are we going to do next Saturday?"
"Let's go and see a Scottish match, their season hasn't finished yet".
"Let's go and see our claret & amber cousins Motherwell!"
So that was it! We set off for Motherwell at 9.30am, arriving at Fir Park some four hours later. We found the ground and somewhere to park without any problems. We were surprised at the small number of supporters about. In fact we probably saw more Celtic fans than we did Motherwell, with coaches and buses full heading the 20 odd miles to Glasgow.
Walking to and around the ground my dad's City shirt got a few looks from the 'Well fans - some who knew it was a Bradford City shirt, others who probably thought that it was the new shirt for next season! Not being familiar with the ground we asked some fans where the best place to sit was (Fir Park is all-seater).We decided to sit in the stand opposite the main stand for £11. Inside two stewards greeted us as "the other claret & amber club!" The ground was smaller than I imagined, but there was a large two tier stand behind one goal which dominates the ground. It was used for away supporters and by kick off was half full of Aberdeen fans.
Familiar names were Jim Leighton and Mike Newell for Aberdeen and Tommy Coyne for 'Well. Aberdeen got an early goal - 2 mins - from the spot and went further ahead in the 22nd minute. We started to joke about claret & amber being not the only thing that 'Well had in common with City! In the second half 'Well fought back to 2-1 but that remained the final score.
The game ended with a pitch invasion from the younger fans, the players came back to give out various items, shirts, boots, etc. The players ended up mingling with the fans which was nice to see - unlike the City players who legged it straight to the dressing room never to be seen again at the end of our season!
Motherwell's home strip was claret & amber halves, however, many fans were wearing a ridiculous illuminous green and black effort which we presumed was their away shirt. Interestingly at half time their new strip was paraded, the shirt was mainly amber with a band of claret, it was applauded by the fans - I imagine that a similar kit at Valley Parade would receive a somewhat different reaction!
Overall we had an enjoyable day, although it was strange watching another team play in claret & amber. Definitely worth a return trip if (sorry when) we play 'Well in a claret & amber friendly.
Carolyn Stirk
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