League: Lowland League

The Scottish Lowland Football League, along with the Highland League is the 5th tier of Scottish football.

Celtic B vs Cowdenbeath

Celtic B defeated Cowdenbeath on both occasions, last season – winning 3-1 at the Excelsior and 3-0 at Central Park.

The Young Hoops suffered an opening day 1-0 defeat at the hands of Cumbernauld Colts – a side they haven’t been able to beat on four consecutive occasions.

They did, however, get their first three points on the board – thanks to a 5-1 win over Caley Braves, with Lewis Dobbie and Ben Quinn scoring two apiece, and Bruno Davidson grabbing the other.

This is Cowdenbeath’s opening Lowland League fixture, having participated in the Viaplay Cup Group Stage – losing 1-0 to both St Mirren and Forfar, and drawing 1-1 with Arbroath and Montrose, but losing to both on penalties.

The Blue Brazil’s inaugural season in the Lowland League saw them finish in 15th, and they’ll be hoping for a better outing in 23/24.

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Berwick Rangers vs Cumbernauld Colts

Berwick Rangers go into this one with the better head-to-head record from last season – winning 1-0 and drawing 3-3 with Cumbernauld Colts.

The Wee Gers will be disappointed with the start to their 23/24 campaign, having lost on both occasions – 1-0 away to Caley Braves and 2-1 at home to Bo’ness United, despite going into the break with the lead.

Cumbernauld Colts will be delighted with their start to the 23/24 season – defeating Celtic B 1-0 on the opening day, followed by a 3-0 away to Stirling Uni, midweek.

Billy Mortimer will be equally as pleased with his own performance, as the league’s joint top scorer has scored all of The Colts goals, so far.

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Broomhill vs Caledonian Braves

Broomhill were the victors on both occasions, last season – defeating Caley Braves 3-1 and 3-2.

The Broom will be pleased with their start to this season’s campaign – losing 2-1 in a competitive opening fixture v East Kilbride, and a 2-0 win over newly promoted side, Linlithgow Rose.

Corey O’Donnell scored for Broomhill in both games, and will be looking to continue his goalscoring form against The Braves.

Caley Braves opened their campaign with a 1-0 win over Berwick Rangers at Alliance Park – with Jamie Watson getting on the scoresheet.

Watson equalised against Celtic B midweek, but the Young Hoops proved to be too strong, winning 5-1.

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Civil Service Strollers vs East Stirlingshire

When both sides met last season, it was Civil Service Strollers who picked up the majority of points – thanks to a 2-2 draw at home, and leaving Falkirk with a 3-1 win.

The Strollers have been on both sides of high-scoring games for their opening matches – a 4-3 away win over Edinburgh University, and a 3-2 defeat at home to Hearts B.

Conrad Balatoni has scored three goals in The Strollers opening two matches, and he’ll be hoping to find the net, once again.

Having lost their opening fixtures, East Stirlingshire have yet to pick up a point in the 23/24 campaign – losing 2-1 at home to Tranent, and a 2-0 away defeat to Gala Fairydean Rovers.

The Shire will be looking to put their first three points on the board, as they aim to better last season’s 16th place finish.

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Gala Fairydean Rovers vs Heart of Midlothian B

Hearts B’s inaugural season in the Lowland League saw them go undefeated against Gala Fairydean Rovers – securing a 3-0 win at home, and a six-goal thriller at Netherdale that saw both teams share the spoils in a 3-3 draw.

Having lost their opening day fixture 3-0 away to Bo’ness United, Gala were able to pick up their first three points, midweek – thanks to goals from Nicky Reid and Danny Galbraith to secure a 2-0 win over East Stirlingshire.

Hearts B are one of five teams who have made it two wins from two, and have scored 10 goals in the process – with a 7-0 win over Gretna 2008 and a 3-2 victory over Civil Service helping them sit top of the table on goals scored, having equal goal difference with East Kilbride.

Young Jambo Makenzie Kirk is the league’s joint top goal scorer, with Tranent’s Cammy Ross and Cumbernauld Colts Billy Mortimer having also scored four goals in two games.

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Gretna 2008 vs Linlithgow Rose

Gretna 2008 and Linlithgow Rose have only met each other once, previously – with The Rose comfortably defeating The Anvils 5-1 at Prestonfield in the 2019 South Challenge Cup.

It would be difficult to imagine a worse start for Gretna 2008, as their opening fixtures saw them lose 7-0 to both Hearts B and East Kilbride.

The Black & Whites need to start finding the back of the net soon if they want to pick up points – a tough task to be had, considering they’ve only scored eight goals in 2023.

Linlithgow Rose are finding their feet in the Lowland League, having been promoted as East of Scotland Champions.

Having secured an opening day victory with a 3-1 win over Stirling Uni, they suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Broomhill, midweek. But, The Rose will be hoping to capitalise on the poor form of Gretna 2008.

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Tranent vs Bo’ness United

Tranent’s inaugural season in the Lowland League saw them defeat Bo’ness United 2-0 at Newtown Park, and draw 1-1 at Foresters.

Both sides have taken maximum points from their opening two games. Tranent won 2-1 away from home against East Stirlingshire, and blew Edinburgh University away with a 6-2 victory at Foresters.

Bo’ness United opened their campaign with a 3-0 win at home against Gala Fairydean Rovers, and came from behind to defeat Berwick Rangers 2-1 away from home.

Having left Tranent to take over as Bo’ness United boss in 2019, Max Christie made a return to the hotseat of The Belters at the end of last season – taking Alassan Jones and Lennon Walker with him. Defender, Shaun Rutherford made the reverse trip, leaving Tranent to join the B.U.s.

An early season fixture that has it all, making it this weekend’s ‘Star Match’.

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University of Stirling vs East Kilbride

Both sides met on three occasions, last season – twice in the League, and the other being in the Lowland League Cup.

The Uni went the league campaign without losing to The Kilby – with the games ending in a 2-0 victory and a 2-2 draw. But, EK would get their win en route to lifting the Lowland League Cup, thanks to a 2-1 win in the semi-final.

Having lost 3-0 to Cumbernauld Colts midweek, The Uni will be looking to quickly find the home form of last season – that saw them win 10 of their last 11 matches at Forthbank.

Kennedy’s Kilby will take confidence travelling up to Stirling, after brushing Gretna 2008 aside with a comprehensive 7-0 win away from home.

East Kilbride have scored nine goals in their opening two games, with eight different players on the scoresheet.

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