League: Lowland League

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

Heart of Midlothian B vs Cumbernauld Colts

Last time both sides faced each other, it was Hearts B that left Broadwood with maximum points – thanks to a 2-1 win.

Hearts B currently sit in 2nd place with 45 points from their 22 games played – made up of 13 wins, six draws, and three defeats.

The Wee Jambos come into this with back-to-back victories – having defeated Gala Fairydean Rovers 3-1, followed by an astounding 12-0 win over bottom side, Edinburgh University.

Cumbernauld Colts currently sit in 3rd place with 44 points from their 23 games played – made up of 13 wins, five draws, and five defeats.

Colts come into this with a win, a draw, and a defeat in their last three league games – drawing 3-3 with Stirling Uni, defeating Caledonian Braves 2-1, and the recent 2-1 defeat to table-toppers, East Kilbride.

Berwick Rangers vs Civil Service Strollers

The last time both sides faced each other, it was Civil Service Strollers that secured the three points – thanks to a 1-0 victory at home.

Berwick Rangers currently sit in 14th place with 24 points from their 23 games played – made up of six wins, six draws, and 11 draws.

Having lost four of their five previous matches prior, The Wee Gers will have picked up some confidence – coming into this off the back of a 3-3 draw with Gala Fairydean Rovers and a 1-0 win away to Tranent.

Civil Service Strollers currently sit in 6th place with 36 points from their 21 games played – made up of 11 wins, three draws, and seven defeats.

Strollers come into this with three consecutive victories, as well as clean sheets – winning 2-0 v East Stirlingshire, 1-0 v Tranent, and 7-0 v Gala Fairydean Rovers.

Broomhill vs Gretna 2008

The last time both sides faced each other, it was Gretna 2008 that secured the three points – thanks to a 1-0 victory at home.

Broomhill currently sit in 13th place with 24 points from their 21 games played – made up of seven wins, three draws, and 11 defeats.

The Broom come into this having lost five and drawn one of their last six league games – scoring four goals and conceding 14.

Gretna 2008 currently sit second-bottom with eight points from their 23 games played – made up of two wins, two draws, and 19 defeats.

Following five straight defeats, The Anvils come into this with back-to-back home draws behind them – 1-1 v University of Stirling and 3-3 v Celtic B.

Caledonian Braves vs Albion Rovers

The last time both sides faced each other, it was Albion Rovers that secured the three points – thanks to a 2-1 victory at home.

Caledonian Braves currently sit in 11th place with 27 points from their 23 games played – made up of seven wins, six draws, and ten defeats.

The Braves come into this having lost one of their last five matches (2-1 v Cumbernauld Colts) – with the other results coming from 3-1 and 4-2 victories over Broomhill and Celtic B, as well as 1-1 and 0-0 draws with Civil Service Strollers and East Kilbride.

Albion Rovers currently sit in 15th place with 23 points from their 17 games played – made up of six wins, five draws, and six defeats.

Rovers haven’t been in action since Boxing Day, due to weather postponements. Following five games without a victory across all competitions, Rovers will be looking to bring the confidence of defeating table-toppers East Kilbride 3-1 on their last outing.

Cowdenbeath vs Bo’ness United

The last time both sides faced each other, it was Bo’ness United that secured the three points – thanks to a 4-2 victory at home.

Cowdenbeath currently sit in 10th place with 29 points from their 20 games played – made up of seven wins, eight draws, and five defeats.

Since their defeat to Bo’ness United, The Blue Brazil are four games undefeated in the league – a 3-3 draw with Celtic B was followed by wins over Hearts B, Albion Rovers, and East Stirlingshire.

Bo’ness United currently sit in 4th place with 41 points from their 21 games played – made up of 13 wins, two draws, and five defeats.

Like their opponents, the B.U’s are also four games undefeated – a 0-0 draw with Linlithgow Rose is amongst victories over Gretna 2008, Berwick Rangers, and East Stirlingshire.

Cumbernauld Colts vs East Kilbride

The last time both sides faced each other, it was East Kilbride that secured the three points – with Liam Brown scoring both goals of their 2-0 victory from the penalty spot.

Cumbernauld Colts currently sit in 3rd place with 44 points from their 22 games played – made up of 13 wins, five draws, and four defeats.

Since their defeat to EK, The Colts are undefeated in their last five games – with victories over Caley Braves (twice) and Berwick Rangers, as well as draws with Broomhill and Stirling Uni.

East Kilbride currently sit top of the table with 51 points from their 21 games played – made up of 16 wins, three draws, and two defeats.

For the first time this season, The Kilby come into this without a win in two consecutive matches – losing 3-1 to Albion Rovers, and drawing 0-0 with Caledonian Braves.

East Stirlingshire vs Linlithgow Rose

East Stirlingshire secured their first win of the new year with a battling 2-1 victory over Linlithgow Rose at the Falkirk Stadium.

A first half Linlithgow Rose own goal had East Stirlingshire ahead at the break before a Jamie Pyper OG equalled the game for the Rose at the start of the second half, but Scullion’s men responded quickly with a brilliant finish from Jamie Penker restoring the home side’s goal advantage.

Pat Scullion named two changes to his side after defeat away to Bo’ness United as Morgaro Gomis and Oliver Ecrepont made their competitive debuts for the Lowland League club.

It was the visitors who took control of the game with a penetrating run from Linlithgow Rose’s Louis Maguire whose long-range effort glanced the outside of the woodwork following a controlling spell from the West Lothian side.

The Shire, however, opened the scoring against the run of play with a Linlithgow Rose own goal finding the bottom corner of the net after a scramble in the oppositions box led to a flux of activity.

Gordon Herd’s men started the second brightly and was awarded when East Stirlingshire skipper, Jamie Pyper forced the ball beyond the impressive Oliver Ecrepont from on incoming Rose cross levelling the game at 1-1.

Linlithgow Rose’s efforts proved momentary, as five minutes later the oncoming Jamie Penker neatly shifted the ball onto his right foot curling his effort into the roof of Cammy Binnie’s net, giving the Shire a quick response and 2-1 cushion from an emphatic finish.

Linlithgow Rose continued to threaten with a flurry of efforts, with the best of those chances falling to Calum Rae, who failed to cleanly connect with the ball after a tempting cross dangerously rolled beyond the Shire’s penalty area.

During the dying stages of the game Luke Rankin broke away from the ensuing Rose defender, but ultimately sent his effort wide of the mark.

It was an impressive scalp for Scullion’s side as they look to reinforce the positives from the game and gather momentum after securing a long awaited three-point performance.

Ellis Wilson.