Sometimes though the hidden gems of matches are those not listed on the football coupon or within the fixture section of the BBC website and not covered by Jeff Stelling at Sky Sports News. In the Lothian area we are lucky that there is the East of Scotland League format, a league system which encompasses one of Scotland's three "senior" non-leagues alongside the South of Scotland League and the Highland League. So with that in mind the choice had to be Lothian Thistle against Edinburgh City in the glorious surroundings of Saughton Sports Enclosure.

East of Scotland League

Lothian Thistle v Edinburgh City

Saughton Sports Complex, Edinburgh

Attendances in the East of Scotland Football League are not particularly high, and its no surprise either as clubs in the Edinburgh area compete with a number of SFL and SPL clubs and in the Borders area the sport of Rugby Union is more often seen as being popular to attend. Crowds vary from in the hundreds at Gretna, Spartans and Preston Athletic to handfuls at clubs such as Eyemouth and Lothian Thistle. Generally, the majority of clubs attract a few dozen fans to each match, with a good day seeing 50 or 60 in attendance.

Lothian Thistle Football Club began life in 1969 playing in the lower divisions of the Lothian Amateur Leagues as the employee football team of Lloyds Finance. Lloyds & Scottish, as they were then known, were run by Tom Allison who was an employee of Lloyds. After an uneventful first season in charge of a socially successful team, Tom Allison left the employment of Lloyds and the future of the team was put in serious jeopardy. After much debating with both Lloyds and his players, Tom was refused permission to carry on his role as manager and decided to re- invent the Club taking his players with him. In the summer of 1970 he amalgamated the former Lloyds & Scottish team with another local team Wardie AFC and changed the Club name to Lothian Thistle Football Club as they are known today.

After spending several seasons in the lower divisions of the Lothian Amateurs, the 'new' club again went through a change of sorts as they realised that they were capable of winning trophies. They won the Second and First division titles in successive years and began to attract a good quality of player, a trait that has continued to this day. But it was not until the late 1980's that they began to make a name for themselves in amateur football at national level. Today the club are an established force in the league competing against the likes of Spartans and Preston Athletic.

The home ground is Saughton Sports Complex, a ten minute walk from Murrayfield Stadium the super stadium home of Scottish Rugby Union. The complex includes an excellent athletics track and all weather pitches in a vast grassy expanse. Lothian Thistle play at an enclosed pitched area fenced off from the other facilities with separate changing facilities. Although the running track seems of a good quality the pitch is flat but easily cut up. Fans meanwhile can be seen standing on grassy banks around the athletic track fenced off from the pitch rather like horse racing fans are at a race track. The main Saughton Park facility allows the purchasing of coffee and confectionery. There are also no dugout areas for the team, rather there is one public park bench either side of the pitch for managers, coaches and substitutes to congregate around. The dressing room areas meanwhile appear very run down and sub standard for the league compared to those found at other clubs. Lothian Thistle certainly fall down the league ladder of ground infrastructure compared to other local clubs such as Spartans.

Edinburgh City meanwhile enjoyed a decent run in the national Scottish Cup this season before eventually losing to Montrose. Back in 1938 they can also point to a Scottish Cup victory over Hibernian. The club play at Meadowbank Stadium which is the best facility in the leagues alongside Raydale Park. A club that was reformed in 1986 they have aspirations to reach the league proper and be Edinburgh's 'Queens Park' but the club have little by the way of history and few committed supporters. An attendance of 150 at a home game is a massive turnout for the club.

And so to the game, the early exchanges were all being created by the visiting Edinburgh City team who found it impossible to get past the home keeper who made a few point blank saves. Lothian Thistle struggled to get anywhere near the visiting keeper and it was well against the run of play that Edinburgh City fell behind with a one on one being finished although far from clinically. In the second half Edinburgh City equalized from a header but almost immediately conceded the lead to a penalty which is crashed home to give Lothian Thistle the win.

The crowd in attendance was about 50 with a few fans clearly supporting the visiting Edinburgh City side. Lots of player/supporter interaction could be seen but largely through friendships between fans and those playing. Basically, it was not too hard to detect that those watching were mates of those playing. Crowds at this level are few and far between and its hard for any club to raise money through entrance fee. On a miserable day with grounds exposed to the elements its perhaps not the best place to watch football but on a sunny day with Edinburgh Castle visible to the east, Lothian Thistle offered a different if not relaxing view of football at a lower level.