Hearts B vs Broomhill
Hearts B’s good start has faltered with two losses, two draws and a win in their last five matches. Liam Fox’s full-timers have relied on the experience of goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald (yes, that one) whose form of late has been in question. They will be keen to get back to winning ways when they welcome the Park’s Motor Group Lowland League’s bottom club to Ainslie Park on Friday evening.
For Broomhill’s part, they are looking for better. While the results haven’t been there for Zander Diamond’s charges, he has felt that their performances have improved and their new signings have begun to bed in together. That being said, it’s very easy to find yourself left behind in this league, and they will need to start picking up points soon in order to allay any fears of relegation.
Albion Rovers vs East Stirlingshire
Three wins, two draws and three losses isn’t what Albion Rovers fans would have been hoping for going at this point of the season. Sandy Clark’s side have struggled to put games to bed that they should be winning. They find themselves in eleventh place and will be keen to show what they are able to do when one of the league’s struggling sides visit the Reigart Stadium.
East Stirlingshire are that side and despite taking the lead in several matches this season, they find themselves second bottom of the division. Improving their defensive record will be top of the agenda for Pat Scullion and his team, while he will be looking to his strong attacking lineup to keep the goals coming.
Broxburn Athletic vs Cowdenbeath
Broxburn have found the going a little tougher in the last few weeks of the Park’s Motor Group Lowland League, but they’ve still been one of the most exciting sides so far. They find themselves in fifth, level on points with Tranent and only two points behind their rivals Linlithgow Rose.
Cowdenbeath’s start to the season couldn’t be described as ‘pulling up any trees’. They’re without a win in their last four matches and find themselves in fifteenth. Improvements will be required if they’re to push themselves back up the table.
Celtic B vs Berwick Rangers
Celtic B currently sit second, a position they once sat in beneath their visitors on Saturday. Berwick Rangers dropped to ninth with four losses in a row. There’s more than enough talent in the side to turn that run of form around and they started that process with a morale-boosting comeback victory against East Stirlingshire on 7th September.
Civil Service Strollers vs Linlithgow Rose
Strollers welcome Linlithgow Rose to Christie Gillies Park on Saturday with the hope of a good result, and specifically the hope of ensuring that their goal difference doesn’t suffer another hit. Their defensive record needs work and it’ll be a tough fixture against the joint third top scorers in the league.
Linlithgow Rose have won their last four games and are finally coming into the form that their supporters had hoped to see before the season began. They currently lie in fourth but are only three points off the top of the table. Could they rocket up the table this weekend?
Cumbernauld Colts vs University of Stirling
The person who predicts this one right is more than likely some kind of sage. Some kind of druid whose prophetic knowledge of the most unknowable things either makes them dangerous or makes them worthy of worship.
Suffice it to say that these are two sides whose form and performances have been very hard to pin down this season. This could easily be a high-scoring thriller… or it could be a nil-nil draw. We’ll just have to wait and see.
East Kilbride vs Caledonian Braves
This one was a shoo-in for the Neutral’s Pick this week, and for good reason. This top of the table clash has the potential to go down in the annals of Lowland League history as one of the all time great games (it might also be rubbish, I know, don’t @ me).
Caledonian Braves sit atop the league with a two point advantage over East Kilbride. Ultimately this one is going to come down to the for and against column. East Kilbride have been mighty going forward this season, netting 35 goals to Braves’ 19, but Braves have only conceded 4 while East Kilbride have let in 9 so far.
The sides could cancel each other out, but either way there’s a fascinating match in prospect at K Park.
Gala Fairydean Rovers vs Bo’ness United
No wins in the league so far for Gala Fairydean Rovers, which will upset them after they’ve put in so many stunning performances only to end up with a high-scoring draw. It won’t be an easy prospect this weekend when they come up against a fairly consistent Bo’ness United who have won four of their last five games.
Gala have conceded the most goals in the league so far this season and they’ll know that they need to shore things up if they want to escape the growing relegation battle at the foot of the table. Bo’ness find themselves comfortably in mid-table with room for improvement but also nothing major to complain about from their season so far.
