Oval: Over head height. Glentoran FC.

Words: Mike Bayly

Images: Mike Bayly

The Oval has been home to Glentoran FC since 1892 and for many ground enthusiasts, it is the holy grail of groundhopping.

The history of the place is omnipresent, and in keeping with the most evocative football stadiums is rooted in its environment, in this case, abutting the shipyards of Harland & Wolff who famously built the Titanic.

Due to the proximity of these shipyards, the ground suffered severe bomb damage during the Belfast Blitz of 1941. Luftwaffe squadrons targeted cities and ports that furnished the sinews of war, and Belfast wasn’t exempt. A slew of incendiary devices destroyed The Oval’s stands, terracing and offices, cratering the pitch and wiping out club records.

Thanks to the efforts of supporters and a fundraising committee, The Oval reopened for the 1949/50 season. In 1953, the main grandstand opened (bearing more than a passing resemblance to the one that graced Wigan Athletic’s old Springfield Park) for an Ulster Cup game against Cliftonville. At the time of completion, The Oval was considered among the finest of its type.

The attendance for Saturday’s game against Dungannon Swifts was around 3-4000, rendering large parts of the cavernous ground empty. One can only speculate on what a full Oval would have looked and sounded like when Benfica and Eusebio visited in 1967 for a European Cup tie. Eye-witness accounts that day put the attendance at almost 40,000.

Given its popularity with day-trippers, The Oval has been well-documented. However, it was a surprise to discover the ground is on the Belfast City Airport flightpath, located barely two miles from the runway.

Just as passing trains add a frisson of excitement to events on the pitch, planes regularly soaring overhead provide an extra dimension of photographic opportunities, in a venue that almost has too much to capture in a single afternoon.

Whether it’s the sweeping curved terraces embracing two magnificent stands, spectators standing or relaxing on the grass bank in a scene from a lost Georges Seurat painting, or the nostalgic glimpse at a vanishing epoch of football, there is much to love here. Arguably enough to justify a second visit.

The days of capacity crowds witnessing Europe’s elite clubs may be consigned to the past, but The Oval remains a titan among football grounds.