Balmoor Stadium
Saturday 18th October 2025
This trip has been a bit of a thought since I’ve been planning my weekends. Everyone that I’ve discussed the 42 with seems to have said something along the lines of, ‘Are you really going to spend a cold Saturday afternoon in Peterhead?’ There has been a sum total of zero interest in anyone joining me for this trip.
Another factor, and one of Peterhead’s few claims to fame, is that it is the furthest league ground from a railway station in Britain. When I’ve been able to get a train to the game I’ve really enjoyed it, it’s definitely the best way to travel to the football. That really isn’t an option for this game as the nearest train station to Peterhead is….Aberdeen. There’s absolutely no chance that I would be getting the bus to Peterhead, especially as the game had been moved to an early evening kick-off, so I was left with the need to drive up.
I’m not sure why the game had been moved to a 17:30 kick-off but when I was buying my ticket I noticed that Peterhead were promoting it as their ‘family day’ game. It wasn’t clear what this actually involved other than goodie bags being available for any kids attending the game but the big draw for me was that all tickets were half price. Given full price tickets at Balmoor Stadium would already have been on the lower end of what I had been paying so far this offer meant that the game would likely be the cheapest of any that I attend during my trip round the 42. At just £8.50 for a seat in one of the stands how could anyone refuse a trip to the most isolated ground in British league football?
In the week before the game one of my colleagues at work asked how I was getting on going round all the grounds. I mentioned where I was heading this weekend and he immediately responded, ‘Oh you’ll love it up there, my brother’s a legend at Peterhead’. It didn’t take much pressing for further information to discover that the brother in question is Rory McAllister and a quick google showed that he was absolutely right.
Rory McAllister played youth football for Aberdeen but never managed to get a game for the first team. After his release he signed for Inverness Caledonian Thistle and during his time with the club he spent time on loan with Peterhead. After a productive spell with Brechin he joined Peterhead in 2011 and over the next ten years scored 196 goals in 344 games. A few years at other North East clubs Cove Rangers and Montrose ended with a return to Peterhead where he spent a couple of years before dropping down to the Highland League with Formartine United this summer. During his time in the SPFL he scored over 300 goals in around 650 appearances. He was only the third player in Scotland to score 250 league goals, the first player outside of the Premiership to win the SPFL Player of the Month, and scored the winning goal for Peterhead at Ibrox in a 1 – 2 win over Rangers. I was told that if I mentioned his name to any fans I’d get a good reaction and it’s easy to see why.
The game itself was against Queen of the South and the two teams have had identical starts to the season. Both teams picked up 13 points from the first nine games and had a goal difference of minus two. Of the two Peterhead were probably happier with this start as this is their first season back in League One after winning League Two last season. Queen of the South finished third in League One last year and would likely have hoped to challenge at the top of the table again. They would have come into the game with a degree of confidence though given they had won every previous game between the two teams.
It was my first visit to Peterhead (despite living in the North East for 16 years…) and the landscape and views along the coast were spectacular. Unfortunately the same can’t really be said for the town itself although the people seemed very friendly and welcoming. After a quick walk through the centre of town I headed to the ground getting my first view of Balmoor from the main road.
The ground itself is fairly compact with two very similar stands running down each sideline. The stands are elevated to allow for a view over the benches for the Main Stand and for standing room in front of the East Stand where I had my seat. I took a bit of time to wander around and admire the grass pitch, which is a bit of an annomaly at this level, before finding my seat. As the game was being televised by BBC Alba (I’m sure you were watching!) there was a broadcasting gantry to my left which meant I had a slightly obscured view. The bigger problem though was the proportions of the seats. I’m not exactly a large person but even I could barely squeeze into the seat. Both people either side of me were pressed into me meaning it wasn’t the most comfortable experience.
Queen of the South kicked off to the sound of one of their fans, who were seated at the other end of the East Stand from me, repeatedly letting air out of a ballon to make a lound squealing sound. This didn’t inspire them to a strong start as Peterhead launched their first attack on 2′ and Taylor Charters hacked down Andrew McCarthy inside the area to concede a penalty. Kieran Shanks stepped up and although Queen of the south keeper Ross Stewart went the right way he wasn’t able to get down quick enough to prevent Peterhead taking the lead.
Fortunately the offending balloon popped with a loud bang after ten minutes and peace was restored. Both teams were struggling to create any clear cut chances although as the half progressed Queen of the South seemed to be growing in confidence and definitely looked better with the ball at their feet. By comparison Peterhead were a little one dimensional and were bypassing their midfield and knocking the ball long for Shanks to chase and try to hold up play while he looked for support.
On 33′ Queen of the South carved out their best chance of the half when they worked the ball the full length of the pitch with a series of quick and accurate passes. The final through ball reached Brennan Dickinson who took a quick shot that needed a sharp save from Jack Newman.
This chance might have given Queen of the South some hope of drawing level but instead it was Peterhead who got the next goal. A strong tackle in midfield by Cameron Smith saw Peterhead reclaim possession. Smith picked out Shanks who played in Craig McGuffie and he calmly slotted the ball past Stewart. In truth Queen of the South hadn’t done much wrong and must have been wondering how they were going in at halftime down by two goals.
Given how uncomfortable the seats were I decided to watch the second half from the terracing behind the goal that Peterhead were attacking. The play at the beginning of the half was quite stop-start with neither team able to assert control over the game. Queen of the South were playing like a team that knew they needed the next goal and were pushing forward quickly with every opportunity they had. This was leaving space behing them for Peterhead to take advantage of and only some wasteful finishing and professional fouls prevented Peterhead from extending their lead.
Queen of the South’s attempts to get back into the game became increasingly desperate including a fairly dramatic dive by Jack Stott in an attempt to win a penalty that only earned him a yellow card. Instead it was Peterhead that scored the crucial third goal on 74′ when Jason Brown leaped highest to meet a corner from Niall McGinn and powered his header past Stewart. I felt vindicated in my decision to move for the second half as the players celebrated in front of me.
The third goal effectively ended the game. Queen of the South did continue to try to deny Peterhead their clean sheet but never really came close. Their few fans, who you could probably have counted using only your fingers, looked disconsolate at the prospect of a 250 mile journey home to Dumfries with nothing to show for their day.
The Facts
- Ground
- Balmoor Stadium
- Home
- Peterhead
- Away
- Queen of the South
- Competition
- Scottish League One
- Result
- 3 – 0
- Scorers
- Kieran Shanks, Craig McGuffie, Jason Brown
- Attendance
- 927
- Cost
- £8.50
- Total distance travelled
- 66 miles
- Transport
- Car
- My MotM
- Jason Brown, early on I was thinking this might go to Andrew McCarthy but he was subbed off injured in the first half. Brown was key to Peterhead keeping their first clean sheet in six games and contributed at the other end with a powerful headed goal. It was also his 300th game for the club.
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