Glebe Park
Saturday 18th July 2026
The final stages of the interminable 48-team World Cup are still playing out but Scotland’s involvement came to an end over three weeks ago meaning that attention has thankfully started to swing back to the domestic game. League fixtures might still be a couple of weeks away but the League Cup got underway last weekend with the first of the group stage games taking place for most teams.
My plan for today was to head down to Dundee to see Arbroath playing at Tannadice but when I discovered it was an evening kick off I hatched a plan to stop off in Brechin on the way to watch them take on Stenhousemuir in the afternoon. It seemed a little bit of a far-fetched plan at first but Naomi had other plans for the day and was happy to let me escape to see a couple of games for my first day of the new season.
Brechin (I’m refusing to refer to them as City given their population of just over 7,000) last featured in this blog on the last day of last season in an unseen role as they threw away a chance to win the Highland League when Brora Rangers drew with Huntly. That was their last chance to win the Highland League, and probably their best chance to get back into the SPFL as they move to the much more competitive Lowland League for this season.
It was a perfect day for football, bright sunshine and a gentle breeze. The drive down the A90 passed quickly and I arrived at the ground in time to watch the teams warm up and get my first view of the thing that Brechin are best known for, the hedge. It was resplendent in its summer foliage and fully lived up to expectations towering over one side of the pitch.
The other huge appeal of Brechin, although this one wasn’t known to me in advance, was their new mascot, Hedgie the hedgehog. I’m a sucker for a good mascot and the more unusual the better. Not only is Hedgie the first hedgehog mascot I’ve seen but he’s also a really likeable version and seemed to be well received by the fairly modest crowd in attendance.
I watched the first half on the halfway line of the hedge side of the pitch and was stood between a fantastic cocker spaniel and a less fantastic American supporter who was far more interested in his own voice than anything happening on the pitch. Thankfully his conversational companion grew bored of him fairly quickly and so he took himself off to pester someone else (out of earshot of me) instead.
On the pitch Stenhousemuir settled quicker than the home team and looked exactly like the team three divisions above the other. They managed to hold a strong shape whilst still pressing quickly and high up the pitch and looked likely to draw Brechin into mistakes. It didn’t take long for the one to be punished. A ball from Stenny’s left wasn’t dealt with by Brechin and dropped to Michael Anderson on the edge of the box. He took a touch and curled the ball into the top corner for a fantastic opener.
Brechin started to force their way into the game as both teams struggled to get out of midfield. Stenhousemuir were still the better side but they seemed to be missing any width and their final ball was often lacking. Brechin’s first chance came via a shot from their right back which was spilled by the keeper, Dale Hilson picked up the rebound and picked out a teammate in the six yard box but somehow their point blank shot was deflected over the bar.
A few minutes later Brechin looked to be in on goal when a professional foul brought their winger down. The resulting freekick bounced around in the box but wasn’t cleared and Hilson was in the right place at the right time to poke it home. The goal came five minutes before halftime and looked to be perfectly timed for the home team. Unfortunately they immediately switched off and just a couple of minutes later Stenny had restored their lead when Dale Carrick copied Anderson by scoring his own goal from the edge of the box. An exciting few minutes but a frustrating passage of play for Brechin fans.
By halftime the breeze had dropped and the sun was increasingly warm. I would have taken off my jumper but decided that I didn’t fancy revealing the Arbroath top below to the home fans around me. Instead I decided to relocate to the shade at the top of the main stand to take in a new view of the ground.
Unfortunately the second half was nowhere near as interesting as the first. Play was continually broken up by fouls, injuries, and substitutions. Neither side could find any rhythm and didn’t really look like threatening either goal. The best chance fell to Stenhousemuir substitute Matthew Aitkin late on when his good movement allowed him to find some space at the back post but his header was very tame and straight at the Brechin goalkeeper.
The game finished 1 – 2 which felt like a fair reflection of the game. Despite claiming the win Stenhousemuir would probably have been disappointed that they couldn’t show more against fairly lowly opposition. In a tough League Cup group though they’ll have been glad for the three points.
I headed back to the car and carried on south down to Dundee to see another unconvincing winning performance from the better team on paper. The scoreline at Tannadice may have looked comfortable at 3 – 0 but United looked poor to be honest and I’d be surprised if they managed to finish in the top half of the Premiership this year. Despite seeing yet another Arbroath loss it was good to see them in another ground and really good to get back to football in person after watching a lot of rubbish televised games over the summer.
The Facts
- Ground
- Glebe Park
- Home
- Brechin City
- Away
- Stenhousemuir
- Competition
- The Scottish League Cup
- Result
- 1 – 2
- Scorers
- Dale Hilson | Michael Anderson, Dale Carrick
- Attendance
- Not announced
- Cost
- £15
- Total distance travelled
- 40 miles
- Transport
- Car
- My MotM
- Michael Anderson, with no team sheet and no team numbers against the line-ups online it was a bit difficult to know exactly who was who. I quite liked the look of Lewis Hodgkiss for Stenhousemuir as well but Anderson’s brilliant opener is enough to give him the nod.
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