Ryan Moffat is passionate supporter of all Scottish non-league football and loves to spend his time travelling all around the country to take in games, soak in atmospheres and, most importantly, sample pies…
Football and a pie (or pies, I’m not judging) go hand in hand.
As a frequenter of non-league grounds in Scotland, I’ve sampled a lot of pies up and down the country with some standing out above the rest.
My routine when visiting a non-league ground, after paying the always affordable admission fee, is to generally head to the nearest corner flag and take a photo of the ground in all its glory. After I’ve got the perfect shot and posted my pre-match tweet, it’s straight to seek out the pie stand and see what is on offer.
I say pie “stand” but at non-league level these often comes in all different shapes and sizes. I’ve been to a lot of games, even at the highest level, and every pie stand is pretty much the exact same, nothing too exciting.
In non-league however, there’s far more character to them. Some grounds have them in their social club or bar, such as Civil Service Strollers, or in their tearoom, like Edinburgh Uni. Most however, have pie “huts”. These are often emboldened by a plethora of colours or writing to make them stand out – with Dunbar and Tranent’s particularly catching the eye.
Thankfully, clubs also typically have a wee board with all the options and respective prices scribbled down, as a lot of the time you need to double take to ensure you have read the absurdly cheap prices correctly.
More often than not at these grounds, you are served by one or more very cheery and welcoming volunteers, just one of many small things that makes non-league football so, so special.
The fact that you can get entry to an exciting football game and buy a top-drawer pie whilst getting change from a tenner is brilliant.
Tonight, I made the short drive from Bonnyrigg to neighbouring village Rosewell for a King Cup second round tie at Ferguson Park between East of Scotland League First Division sides Whitehill Welfare and Preston Athletic.
Despite having been to the ground several times this season, I was yet to see the residents The Welfare play – due to Heart of Midlothian B also using the ground for their “home” games. The most recent encounter between the hosts and The Panners, also at Ferguson Park in the league, ended 3-1 to the visitors.
With admission in Rosewell setting me back a measly £7, this was a clash I was very excited for. With my aforementioned obligatory corner flag photo taken and pre-match tweet posted, it was then off to the pie stand for a bite to eat whilst watching the players go through their warm-up.
Steak is usually my go to pie – unless I’m at Tranent who without doubt do the best macaroni pies I’ve ever tasted. A steak pie was calling my name, but on this occasion, I noticed Whitehill now had macaroni pies and I’d have been a fool to not see how it faired up against Tranent’s.
Alas, the Big T still hold the macaroni pie crown for me.
The fact that you can get entry to an exciting football game and buy a top-drawer pie whilst getting change from a tenner is brilliant. The games at this level are always entertaining as well, so when you compare that to what you’d spend at a top-flight game, it’s a no brainer as to what one to attend for me. You generally find that the pies at these grounds are a lot better than those you’d get in the topflight as well.
The entertaining clash ultimately ended 2-0 to Whitehill and, above all else, the pie was very decent. It was straight out of the oven and warmed me up on what was a freezing cold night in Midlothian.
If I were to pick my top three pies, an elite grouping of culinary perfection if I may say so, it would be as follows:
1. Dunbar United: Steak Pie
2. Bonnyrigg Rose: Doner Kebab and Chilli Pie
3. Tranent Juniors: Macaroni Pie
Whitehill just miss out – with a still impressive 9/10 rating for their terrific steak pie. League Two outfit Bonnyrigg Rose sneak into the mix, but given they were a Lowland League club less than 12 months ago, I’m taking this as a win for non-league!
I’ve got plenty more non-league grounds to visit and plenty more pies to sample, but they’ll have to be heavenly to break into a very solid top three.
Ryan can be found sharing his consistent non-league exploits, as well as his fervent support for Bonnyrigg Rose and great work with Bonnyrigg Rose Ladies FC, on Twitter @RyMoffat.
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