It’s that time of year again – the Geosonic Lowland League Cup final! BSC Glasgow take on East Stirlingshire at East Peffermill this Sunday after both teams finished their respective seasons in impressive spots.
Stephen Swift’s men finished runners up – their best season to date – meanwhile, Derek Ure’s squad finished 6th after an underwhelming few months in their league campaign. Both teams will be looking to bolster their squad next season and be even bigger threats, especially with both managers signing on for next season as well as Shire’s announcement they will have a bigger financial backing in hopes of being title contenders.
BSC’s recent run of results on paper have them pegged as minor favourites but only due to fantastic results they achieved to get their place in the final; a 4-0 win over Whitehill Welfare, 3-1 over Gala Fairydean Rovers and a 4-1 victory against an in-form Stirling Uni in the semi-finals. Shire have had a tougher fight to the final putting out major competition in Civil Service Strollers, last year’s cup winners, Cumbernauld Colts and finally defeating Spartans 2-1 in the semis.
Regardless, both sides have improved on their cup runs from last season; East Stirlingshire suffered a 1-0 defeat from East Kilbride in the opening round while BSC Glasgow couldn’t fight past the semi-finals receiving a 3-0 blow from Selkirk.
A bit of silverware would be massive for either clubs with BSC Glasgow’s only cup coming from their 2014-15 South Challenge Cup victory. East Stirlingshire haven’t grabbed a piece of major silver in many years however, so a trophy could really boost morale for next season and get the Falkirk Stadium side the position they are desperate for.
The players to watch have to be Shire’s Ross Allum and Andy Rodgers with Allum being a near-perfect skipper for his side this season, meanwhile Rodgers has proven time and time again he is one of Derek Ure’s major threats in front of goal. BSC’s men to watch out for include Thomas Orr and Ross McMillan with Orr being the top goalscorer at The Indodrill this season and Captain McMillan preventing many teams from scoring against Stephen Swift’s side and keeping hold on a brilliant goal difference record.
Kick-off is at 2pm at East Peffermill, Edinburgh this Sunday.
