Rave On Line Fanzine - "A Goose Day Out"

Also many thanks to Kevin Croall, for allowing us to use some of his photos from the big day. Click on the link below to see more of the photos, and to find out how to but photos from the game.

As the year 2004 draws to a close it will be looked back on fondly by most Binos/Beanos (delete as appropriate) fans. Although the Third Division Championship was missed out on by the length of Andy McCondichie’s fingernails promotion to the Second Division was comfortably secured after some unnerving moments, like down at Gretna in midweek where, as the Binos slipped to a 1-0 defeat, stomachs were turning because of the dodgy food – or was it Rowan Alexander’s post match comments?

Undoubtedly, the best trip of last season, despite forays up to Peterhead, where the whole second half was missed by half the Albion support who failed to re-emerge from the pub and advertising boards were shattered by others (not guilty!), and Elgin, where there are always a few Irn-Brus drunk, was to Firs Park where the Binos hoped to clinch promotion.

It was a cracking early summers day and any early nerves were put to bed when Obrie scored a goal after quarter of an hour. Trigger got a couple late in the second half to secure the three points and promotion in a match which was a very different story to the one which took place earlier that season just after the turn of the year. The Binos scored three times in the last three minutes to escape with a 4-2 which was almost an embarrassing defeat. Going 2-0 down against East Stirling was probably the most sobering experience of my life but on that day in May there was no danger of the majority of the support staying (or becoming) sober later that night.

It was early in the morning when a band of twenty or so Binos fans met in Cowie to walk the few miles to f*lkirk to raise money for the Supporter’s Trust. The sun was shining and it was a pleasant walk to The Goose, where we arrived half an hour before opening time at 10.30am. As tradition now dictates the door to the pub was chapped until it was finally opened about five minutes later. And so the drinking started (for those of us who hadn’t started drinking on the walk).









Only a couple of pints down the road Froggy pulled out huge piles of red and white paper which were distributed to everyone in the pub who had the red and white on and told to rip it up to throw at the game. The pub was now absolutely packed with Albion fans and the bar staff were struggling to keep the usual strict codes of behaviour which normally prevail in the Goose adhered to – so much like any other time the Binos have visited. The staff looked perplexed all morning so by the time 2 o’clock came around and it was time to start going to the game, the Goose was bouncing with Binos and the staff had given up controlling the rather drunk masses.












A quick sing-song with a tramp outside followed, which would probably prove to be the most profitable 2 minutes of his life as he was showered with money from the Binos fans who had appreciated his good humour and bizarreness if nothing else. The walk through f*lkirk to Firs Park is always enjoyable and the usual favourites were given a belting on the way to the game – “In your f*lkirk slums”, “Beautiful Sunday” and “Rave On” getting belted out by an army decked in red and white as well as a new addition, “Let’s All Go To Currys”. For those of you who don’t know the actions, basically it involves going into Currys in the f*lkirk retail park with as many people as you can find and doing a quick conga round it. The customers stood in there half laughing, half bemused by what they were seeing but the manager was not so impressed by the conga line, which was not only a line of joyous Albion fans parading their colours but now included Ricco with a traffic cone on his head. Oh for the CCTV footage of that…












The game came and went, was followed by the usual pitch invasion and more notably a Central FM interview with Alan Murie, who spoke to the reporter in his characteristic Neanderthal like grunts and moans! And then more drinking. A lot more drinking. There was time for a swift couple in f*lkirk before getting the train back to Stirling to visit the Falcon. Much of a very boozy night was spent in there getting plastered to celebrate what had been a tremendous season for Allan Moore’s troops. By closing time there was only myself, Ricco and Neil left standing while lightweights like MIF, made off early at quarter to one. Another very lengthy walk back home followed; although how I did it after a colossal amount of drink I’m not entirely sure.

The next thing I remember I had a very sore head and I was getting kicked awake by my mum cause I had decided the middle of my hall floor would make a suitable bed. Here’s to more days like this in 2005!