PHOTO DIARY OF A FOOTBALL SEASON – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER/MAY

With Linfield having two away games on the first two weekends of November 2020, it wasn’t until the middle of the month that I finally got to see a game, Linfield’s 2-0 win over Glenavon.

A few days later, I was at Windsor Park again, to see Linfield take on Glentoran.

That would be my last match for a few weeks, as football fans would be punished due to the rest of society being unable to behave themselves with games now to be played Behind Closed Doors.

It would be the Saturday before Christmas before I see another game, Linfield’s match against Dungannon Swifts at Windsor Park.

This would be my last match for a while with an unplanned Winter Break in the Irish League as part of Lockdown, before games resumed in January in empty stadiums.

January, no football for me.

February, no football for me.

The same again, in March and April, and May.

Well, most of May, I was able to get to the Irish Cup Final towards the end of the month.

As Linfield’s final two games were away from home, that was me for the season as they are home fans only.

Let’s hope 2021-2022 is a lot better.

Linfield v Glenavon

Linfield v Glentoran

Linfield v Dungannon Swifts

Irish Cup Final

Irish Cup Final Photo Album

2020 IN PICTURES – SEPTEMBER

Unfortunately, due to the situation with Coronavirus, it was too big a risk to travel anywhere, so I decided to have a Staycation in Belfast when using up Annual Leave in the middle of the month, walking up hills North, East, South and West, as well as documenting Street Art on the Peace Wall.

Monday was spent at Cavehill. The weather was dull so the photos weren’t that good.

Tuesday was spent at Giant’s Ring, more daylight to work with and a lot better photos, as well as an enjoyable walk.

Wednesday was spent getting photos of Belfast Peace Wall, while on Thursday, I went to Lisnabreeny Hill, but like Cavehill, the weather was dull, so the photos didn’t come out as I hoped. 

Friday was the best day of that week for weather and photos, so I headed to Blackmountain, and got lots of photos, travelling along the Ridge Trail this time, as my previous visit saw me head up Divis first.

Two days later saw the return of Hit The North, originally postponed due to Coronavirus and back in it’s original traditional slot of September having moved from it’s new traditional slot of May. 

I was out on the day getting photos, and then was out the following week getting photos of the aftermath.

Cavehill Photo Album

Giant’s Ring

Giant’s Ring Photo Album

Belfast Peace Wall Art Photo Album

Lisnabreeny Hill Photo Album

Blackmountain

Blackmountain Photo Album

Hit The North

Hit The North Photo Album

Hit The North Aftermath Photo Album

PHOTO OF THE SEASON : 2019-2020

Even though my matchgoing season ended prematurely, I still had a lot of photographs.

So, I decided to collate my favourites and let you choose the best.

RED

During the July Holidays in 2019, I snuck off to Dublin for a few days. I had a stroke of luck that St Patrick’s Athletic were playing a UEFA Cup game while I was there, so I headed along.

The weather was perfect for phototaking. As the teams lined up, red paper was left out for fans to do a pre-match display. The framing worked out perfectly which is why I love this photo.

STRETCH

Another photo where it all fell into place, as Matthew Clarke chased a ball trying to keep it in. If you care, he wasn’t able to keep the ball in.

SUTJESKA

 

It’s all about the reactions, Mark Stafford running away in celebration, Ryan McGivern in the middle loving it and fans with their hands in the air. Unsurprisingly, this was a big goal in a big game.

MILLAR

My favourite. It was a big goal (a late winner against Glentoran) and everything just fell perfectly, catching Kirk Millar sliding in celebration, players running towards him and fans going wild.

CAMERAMAN

Another picture where it all fell perfectly due to the framing, and the rain making a nice effect although it didn’t feel that way when I was getting drenched taking it.

DUNGANNON

Even though it was now October, I was still having a lot of daylight to work with. Dungannon is kind for phototaking and the framing of this just worked as Kirk Millar looked to get a cross in.

FANS

You know I love arty photos and this end of Warrenpoint allows you to experiment. As fans stood at the side of the pitch while action was ongoing, this was too good an opportunity to miss.

FLOODLIGHT

Over for a United match, I was able to take in a Salford City match while I was there. The first thing you see as you walk towards the ground is the floodlights in the shape of the club badge. I managed to capture it in all it’s glory.

Well, that was my favourite photos of 2019-2020, feel free to vote for your favourite, even though i’ve canvassed for what I think you should vote for.

Hopefully, it won’t be too long until i’m back in a football stadium taking photos so I can have a similar poll for 2020-2021.

PHOTO DIARY OF A FOOTBALL SEASON – FEBRUARY/MARCH

February 2020 was a strange month of football watching, a month which began and ended on a Saturday, both of which were football free. The football matches sandwiched inbetween were quite good though.

My first football match of the month saw Linfield get a win over Dungannon Swifts to go top of the table, and then cement their place with a win at Warrenpoint Town the following Saturday.

The following weekend, I spent my birthday in Ballymena. Grim, I know. It wasn’t all bad, as Linfield secured a 4-1 win.

Four Goal Fridays continued the following weekend, as Linfield hammered Crusaders 4-0 live on TV.

Usually, these photo round-ups cover one month at a time, but I only got to go to one match in March 2020 because of you know what, a trip to Taylor’s Avenue to see Linfield beat Carrick Rangers.

Leaving Taylor’s Avenue that day, looking forward to the match against Larne the following weekend and the title run-in, unaware of what was to follow.

March was still a better month than April, not a single football match attended. Not even a single photo taken, football or otherwise.

Or May …. Or June.

I had anticipated being at Euro 2020, instead I was stuck indoors as my football watching for the season was officially confirmed as over, and I have no idea when i’ll be in a football ground again.

Be positive, you have to. I’ve already booked to do a Dublin/Bray break to try and blag a ticket for the Last 16 match of Euro 2021 in Dublin.

As I won’t be going to Edinburgh in August, i’m hoping to do a mini tour of Scotland towards the end of the year. I may take in a game while i’m there.

The problem is, waiting to see when crowds are allowed in, I can’t book any football specific trips. When the fixtures are released, I immediately jump in to book a trip to Old Trafford knowing i’ll get a good price. There’s no point booking if I don’t know if i’ll get in.

So, that was 2019-2020, ended prematurely in exceptional circumstances.

Usually, I sign off Photo Diary Of A Football Season by saying i’ll continue to take photos the following season.

There’s no guarantee of that, but as soon as i’m allowed back into a football ground, you know i’ll be taking photos.

Linfield v Dungannon Swifts

Warrenpoint Town v Linfield

Ballymena United v Linfield

Linfield v Crusaders

Carrick Rangers v Linfield

PHOTO DIARY OF A FOOTBALL SEASON – JANUARY

A new year, but same old football related photo adventures.

Thankfully, a home game to see in the new year (didn’t really fancy the 212 on New Year’s Day) against Institute, and a 3-0 win for Linfield.

My first Saturday game of the year saw me visit a new ground for the first time. The less said about Linfield’s trip to QUB, the better.

Things got a bit better on the pitch, the weather less so, as I headed to Solitude nine days later in the middle of Storm Brendan to see Linfield go top of the League with a 2-1 win against Cliftonville.

Linfield’s inconsistent form continued with a 0-0 draw at home to Dungannon Swifts the following Saturday.

The following midweek saw my first football trip of the year, to Old Trafford to see United lose to Burnley.

While I was there, I was able to take in another match, Salford City v Accrington Stanley in the EFL Trophy, which meant I was able to visit another new ground for the first time, the second of the month.

The following Saturday, I headed to Windsor Park to see Linfield hammer Glenavon 8-1.

That was then followed by a trip to Larne the following midweek, my first visit to Inver Park since 2005, to see Linfield lose 3-1.

Linfield v Institute

Queen’s University v Linfield

Cliftonville v Linfield

Linfield v Dungannon Swifts

Salford City v Accrington Stanley

Salford City v Accrington Stanley Photo Album

Manchester United v Burnley

Manchester United v Burnley Photo Album

Linfield v Glenavon

Larne v Linfield

PHOTO DIARY OF A FOOTBALL SEASON – DECEMBER

I had to wait seven days for some football watching, heading to Windsor Park to see Linfield take on Cliftonville.

That was followed by a road trip to Warrenpoint to see Linfield get a 2-0 win.

The end of the month got a bit busier heading to Windsor Park to see Linfield draw with Crusaders. The following Saturday saw me head to Coleraine to see Linfield get another draw.

Sandwiched inbetween that was the traditional Boxing Day game against Glentoran, this season held at The Oval. The less said about that, the better.

Linfield v Cliftonville

Warrenpoint Town v Linfield

Linfield v Crusaders

Glentoran v Linfield

Coleraine v Linfield

PHOTO DIARY OF A FOOTBALL SEASON – OCTOBER

October began with a disappointing trip to Seaview to see Linfield lose to Crusaders.

It got better the following Saturday, with a 4-1 win at Dungannon Swifts.

That was then followed by two quick trips to Windsor Park, to see Linfield beat Ballymena United 2-1, and then hammer Warrenpoint Town 7-0, before the month ended as it started, with a disappointing away defeat for Linfield, this time at Coleraine.

Crusaders v Linfield

Dungannon Swifts v Linfield

Linfield v Ballymena United

Linfield v Warrenpoint Town

Coleraine v Linfield

PHOTO DIARY OF A FOOTBALL SEASON – SEPTEMBER

It took a week for September’s football watching to start, with a trip to Solitude to see Linfield beat Cliftonville on their return to domestic action after their European exploits.

That was followed 48 hours later (well, 52 hours and 44 minutes later, to be precise) with a trip to Windsor Park to see Northern Ireland take on Germany in a Euro 2020 Qualifier.

It was Windsor Park again the following Saturday to see Linfield beat Glentoran, before a nine day wait to see Linfield take on Carrick Rangers on a wet Monday night live on TV.

The month ended with a goalfest, as Linfield hammered Glenavon 7-0.

Cliftonville v Linfield

Northern Ireland v Germany

Northern Ireland v Germany Photo Album

Linfield v Glentoran

Carrick Rangers v Linfield

Linfield v Glenavon

PHOTO DIARY OF A FOOTBALL SEASON – AUGUST

August’s football watching began in dramatic fashions with three games in the first three days of the month.

The 1st of the month saw me head to Windsor Park to see Linfield take on HB Torshavn in the UEFA Cup.

The following day, I headed to Edinburgh for a short break. It would have been rude not to take in some football.

On Friday 2nd, I headed to see Dunfermline Athletic take on Dundee, while on Saturday 3rd, I went to see Hibernian take on St Mirren.

The rest of the month was a residency at Windsor Park, seeing Linfield’s League matches against Institute and Coleraine, and their UEFA Cup matches against Sutjeska and Qarabag.

Linfield v HB Torshavn

Dunfermline Athletic v Dundee

Dunfermline Athletic v Dundee Photo Album

Hibernian v St Mirren

Hibernian v St Mirren Photo Album

Linfield v Institute

Linfield v FK Sutjeska

Linfield v Coleraine

Linfield v Qarabag

PHOTO DIARY OF A FOOTBALL SEASON – JULY

The 2019-2020 was always going to be memorable, due to the contrasting emotions watching Linfield ranging from the highest of highs to the most ridiculous of lows. I’d hoped it would end at Old Trafford before beginning 2020-2021 a few weeks later taking in a couple of European Championship games in Dublin.

Of course, it became memorable in a way that nobody could imagine. My matchgoing season is now officially over, although I had accepted that fate a long long time ago.

At the end of each season, I do a month by month look back at the season just past, so I might as well look back at this most eventful of seasons.

My 2019-2020 football watching season began in mid July at a very wet Windsor Park, seeing Linfield take on Rosenborg in the European Cup.

With the July holidays, I took the opportunity to spend a few days in Dublin. As luck would have it, there were a few football matches on, St Patrick’s Athletic v IFK Norrkoping and Bray Wanderers v Limerick.

Upon my return to Northern Ireland, I headed to Wilgar Park to see a much changed Linfield side take on Dundela in a Pre-Season Friendly.

Linfield v Rosenborg

St Patrick’s Athletic v IFK Norrkoping

St Patrick’s Athletic v IFK Norrkoping Photo Album

Bray Wanderers v Limerick

Bray Wanderers v Limerick Photo Album

Dundela v Linfield