Easter Road fan experience rated as Hibs demolish Aberdeen

You can quite easily take your pick on routes into Easter Road, depending on how you travel to Edinburgh. A train into Waverley station leaves a roughly 25 minute stroll out to the stadium, which on a chilly yet sunny January afternoon, isn’t too bad at all.

If not, there are regular buses from adjoining Princes Street which pass nearby the ground. If you’re travelling by car, Easter Road is about an hour’s drive from Glasgow – but don’t expect to get a parking space right at the front door unless you’re planning to arrive several hours before kick-off.

The Harp & Castle on Leith Walk (Image: Liam Bryce)

Checking-in early is highly recommended, I find plenty to fill my time and would happily have hung around longer. Now, I know I’m hardly revealing some niche, unknown corner of Edinburgh to the masses here, but nearby Leith Walk really is ideal for a day at the football. The pubs, cafes, and everything else in between are plentiful, making the most difficult part of the afternoon choosing where to frequent.

In my dilemma, I turn to a trusted capital-dwelling pal I’m confident will be able to recommend a good boozer (an underrated quality), and he does not let me down. If you’re looking to keep it authentically Hibs on your day out, the Harp and Castle is safe bet. The pub has plenty space to accommodate a mass of green and white jerseys, the atmosphere is friendly and there are multiple TV screens showing the FA Cup’s early kick-off between Accrington Stanley and Leeds United.

Be aware there is a £5 minimum spend when paying by card, so I must lob in some peanuts to my drink order. Still, I get a snack and a pint of the black stuff for only £5.60, which is good value considering I fork out the same amount for just a beer back in Glasgow later in the evening.

At risk of outing myself as one of those Guinness drinkers, I’ll say no more about my pint other than it looked great and had the taste to match. There were also decent options on tap, from a regulation Tennent’s to Staropramen. If you’re after something craftier, I passed by ‘Bier House’ on my way over, with punters swilling pints of German wheat beer on some outside tables.

Pints were reasonably priced (Image: Liam Bryce)

There’s a distinct split in the Harp and Castle’s clientele, with younger fans gathered up by the pool table and more experienced campaigners huddled around the bar and nearby tables. One punter’s declaration of ‘if we can’t beat these today, we ought to f*****g liquidate’ garners widespread approval as bodies begin to file out of the pub.

Facilities, vendors and entering the stadium

It’s a short walk up to Easter Road but an enjoyable one; there’s just something magical about watching a stadium rise up before you in the distance and before long I’m milling about looking for the entrance.

I can’t see much in the way of vendors outside the ground – match programmes are delivered digitally to season ticket holders and only available in print on-request – but it’s straightforward to get in by simply scanning a QR code at the automated turnstile.

The toilets are well maintained and, not a given at the football, there’s no nasty surprises for the nostrils upon entering, which is about as much as you can ask for. The various entrances to the seating are clearly signposted and I have no trouble at all spotting where I should be heading.

Food

Once inside, you can’t miss the food kithcens, which are well-staffed and stocked. The cashless stalls are separated, some selling standard fare in a variety of pies, while others serve up some more gourmet offerings.

This definitely makes queuing easier, and I plump for a steak and gravy pie and a tea, which comes to £6.45 – steep considering the pie tastes of pretty much nothing.

Easter Road pies were pricy (Image: Liam Bryce)

Maybe I should have opted for something a little more adventurous; there was a range of burgers, hot dogs and even ‘cheese and bacon fries’, which I would be lying if I said I didn’t consider returning for at half-time after the cardboard pie left me feeling sad and empty.

If it’s not hot food and drink you’re after, there plenty else on offer in the form of Coke, Lucozade and share bags of chocolate and crisps.

Seating

My ticket is for up in the rafters of the East Stand, but even if you aren’t scaling all the way to the summit, the stairs are steep.

One surprise leg workout out later, I’m in my seat and being let down by my expensively acquired pastry. The seats are clean, there’s more than enough legroom and it’s easy to shuffle in and out for a trip to the toilet.

In these higher-altitude positions, some may feel a bit detached from the action. But, to be honest, you get what you pay for and at £24 I can’t complain about the view. If you’re into the tactical side of the game, such a wide angle is perhaps even preferable, offering a better perspective of how the teams are shaping up.

There was, from my vantage point, a bit too much sunshine on Leith in the opening stages as the sun set behind the west stand, not that I should complain about a bit of bright weather in the dark depths of January.

Atmosphere

By now you’ll have no doubt been acquainted with this fixture’s rather cruel billing, inspired by the meeting of two managers in urgent need of three points. The perception around the afternoon is that one of Lee Johnson or Jim Goodwin will be out of a job not too long after the final whistle sounds here.

My initial thought is that it’s perhaps a tad unfair to judge the atmosphere under such circumstances, and it certainly feels a bit subdued in the home end prior to kick-off. Aberdeen’s Ultras are distant yet still noisy in support of their team. For their manager… less so. A ‘Goodwin out’ banner is unfurled before a ball is even kicked, and relations between supporters and club only deteriorate further.

Mind you, having grown up going to Cappielow every other week, it left me rather oddly able to pivot to mild amusement when atmospheres become so mutinous it borders on ridiculous. Listen, judge me if you like, but when you spend your childhood watching Morton plummet through the divisions, you learn to process terrace toxicity in your own way.

Aberdeen find themselves 3-0 down and without a hope by half-time, and hearing a team being booed back on to the park after the break is certainly a first. From there on, though, it gets absolutely excruciating for Goodwin and I find myself urging on the final whistle to spare him any further humiliation.

From a Hibs perspective, that pre-match trepidation quickly turns to joy when they race into a 2-0 lead. In terms of creating atmosphere, they too have an Ultras section, but they are way off to my left and all I can really hear is the low rumbling of a drum. Whatever they may be singing doesn’t catch on much with the rest of the stand, apart from when they join the Aberdeen fans in informing Goodwin that his P45 awaits in the am, and there are extended periods where I can clearly hear the players communicating on the pitch.

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There’s laughter all round near the end, however, as an opportunistic young fan vaults the barrier and runs the length of the pitch to meet Kevin Nisbet, followed by playful booing as he’s apprehended by a steward. Fair play to the kid for making sure he got the full on-pitch experience for his own Easter Road day out as his team romped to a 6-0 victory, but I’m not sure my journalistic license would’ve extended quite that far.

Transport and local amenities: 5/5

Facilities, vendors and entering the stadium: 4/5

Food: 3/5

Atmosphere: 4/5

Total: 16/20