Your Friday preview of a full card of Lowland League action coming up tomorrow.
EAST KILBRIDE vs KELTY HEARTS
By Craig Edwards
The league leaders head to K Park on Saturday aiming to continue their fine start to the season.
Kelty have only lost one league game this season as they sit top of the Lowland League table with 30 points from 11 games and only a victory would guarantee them staying top ahead of Bonnyrigg Rose.
The defending champions have had a stuttering start to the defence of their title and already find themselves 13 points adrift of Kelty.
Anything less than three points on Saturday and their title challenge may be over. Kilby have failed to win in the league in their last three matches.
The hosts will look back at last season when they completed the double over their opponents as inspiration as they aim to get their title challenge back on track.
Ones to watch
East Kilbride – Craig Malcolm
Kelty Hearts – Stephen Husband
BSC Glasgow vs Gretna 2008
By Martin Fleming
BSC Glasgow return to league action this weekend as they face 14th placed Gretna 2008.
Stephen Swift’s men have been in cup ties for the last three weekends having secured a place in the next round of the South Challenge Cup as well as a third round fixture with East Fife in the Scottish Cup after they were able to secure a 2-1 victory over Lochee United in last weekend’s replay. Currently sitting 4th in the Lowland League table, they are in the fortunate position of having two games in hand over 3rd placed East Stirlingshire, so every point is valuable if they wish to challenge for the title.
The traveling Raydale men will arrive in Alloa surely in finer spirits than usual. Chris Humphrey’s side come off their first win of the season having beaten dead bottom Vale of Leithen 2-0 last weekend thanks to goals from Ryan Rogers and Kevin Connolly, although they will be without Dean Makunike as he received a straight red last weekend.
An upset could be a possibility, but this is the sort of game BSC need to easily dominate if they want to continue the fight in the top three.
Ones to Watch
BSC Glasgow – David McKay
Gretna 2008 – Kevin Connelly
Vale of Leithen vs Civil Service Strollers
By Martin Fleming
The Edinburgh men make the journey to Innerleithen as heavy favourites as it’s the 5th against 16th.
After their defeat to Gretna 2008, Vale of Leithen sit uncomfortably right at the bottom on a measly four points. Their last points came at the end of September when they were able to secure a win over Dalbeattie Star. With only a point between themselves and Edinburgh University and Gretna 2008, any point that could be gained will be massive.
Gary Jardine’s men will also look to gain all three points in order to catch up with 4th place BSC Glasgow. Coming off a 2-0 victory over Cumbernauld Colts last weekend, the atmosphere will be positive around Christie Gillies Park as Civil hope to continue their fantastic start. With the side already out of the Scottish Cup and South Challenge, they have the luxury of putting all their focus on the league.
Ones to Watch
Vale of Leithen – Brad Rixon
Civil Service Strollers – Cammy Muirhead
edinburgh university vs gala fairydean rovers
By Damon Main
One glance at the Scottish Lowland League will tell you all that you need to know about the predicament that Edinburgh University find themselves in.
Currently sitting 2nd bottom after 12 games, this Saturday’s clash against the Galashiels team might not have the glamour of any of the top of the table fixtures but for Uni it might be the game which fundamentally tells them where they are in terms of this seasons Lowland League.
The form guide for University is so poor it makes worrying reading.
With 9 defeats from 12 matches and only 7 goals scored the form of the home side is further taken into focus when you consider 33 goals have been conceeded; an average of 2.75 goals a game. So whatever the player running stats say and however much of a willing shift the players put in each week Uni know that a few wins can go a long way to installing some sort of confidence and optimism for the rest of the season.
Points are required and quickly.
Manager Ogunro knows that this season’s start stands in complete contrast to the solid start that was made last season where at one point his team sat in 3rd place. All in all the form in 2019-20 makes relegation come April a stark possibility for University unless things change.
Gala Fairydean Rovers meanwhile have fallen a little in the table despite a solid start to this season’s fixtures. Sitting only 3 points ahead of Edinburgh University the Borders club will hope to use the recent excellent performances against Formartine United in the Scottish Cup (which included a draw in Pitmedden) to springboard them onto better things for the reminder of the campaign.
ones to watch
edinburgh university – stuart macfarlane
gala fairydean rovers – danny galbraith
dalbeattie star vs the spartans
By Ronan Alexander
Both Dalbeattie Star and The Spartans aim to get back to winning ways in league action after defeats last weekend.
The hosts find themselves 11th in the table having had an excellent start in October with a 5-5 draw against Caley Braves and a 3-0 win on the road at Stirling Uni. They will also be buoyed by the fact they got a positive result from this fixture last season after a 1-1 draw which continued their good home record against the top sides in the league.
The visitors were in action during the week when Aaron Murrell got on the scoresheet in a 2-1 win over Berwick Rangers in the East of Scotland City Cup. Dougie Samuel’s men have been unlucky with injuries this season and have barely been able to field a full strength team but they will not use that as an excuse for their league position as they aim to climb higher in the table.
ones to watch
dalbeattie star – lee wells
the spartans – aaron scott
east stirlingshire vs cumbernauld colts
By Ronan Alexander
Derek Ure’s East Stirlingshire will host Cumbernauld Colts this weekend in what will be an eagerly awaited game by both sets of fans with two of the stronger Lowland League sides going head to head at The Falkirk Stadium.
Craig McKinley and James Orr’s Cumbernauld side have been quite hot and cold so far this season, with impressive wins over Kelty Hearts and BSC Glasgow earlier in the season perhaps being overshadowed by draws to struggling sides Gretna 2008 and Vale of Leithen respectively. Colts move into this fixture with a 3 game unbeaten run in all competitions, with a 2-2 draw to Vale of Leithen beginning a run which has seen victories over Jeanfield Swifts and Edinburgh University, although an away game to East Stirlingshire will surely be a more challenging task. The Loss of Arnault Bembo in the middle of the pitch may prove to be a cause for concern on the large pitch at The Falkirk Stadium, however Marty Wright will look to cause difficulty against the Shire defence, while the reliable Colts defender Greg Pascazio will look to provide a solid base at the back..
East Stirlingshire come into Saturday’s fixture after a 3-1 away win to Spartans last Friday night, which softened the blow of a tight 1-0 loss to fellow title hopefuls Kelty Hearts the Friday previous. The Shire will look to string together some positive results in a run of games which sees Shire mostly play teams from the lower end of the table until New Year, with the exception of BSC Glasgow and East Kilbride. Jamie Dishington will look to continue his hot run of form which has seen him gain a place in the October Lowland League Team of the Month, as he proves to be a real handful for defenders. Shire may find themselves thin at left back, after Willie Dyer dislocated his shoulder at Ainslie Park last Friday.
ones to watch
east stirlingshire – jamie dishington
cumbernauld colts – marty wright
bonnyrigg rose vs university of stirling
By Ronan Alexander
Bonnyrigg Rose will be aiming to get back to the top of the table tomorrow as the welcome a University of Stirling side who come into the game off the back of an excellent 1-0 win away to East Kilbride last Saturday.
The hosts have won seven matches on the bounce and kept six clean sheets in the process and will be looking to extend this record at the weekend. They also come into the game fresh having not had a fixture last Saturday due to Scottish Cup replays.
Chris Geddes’ men will again need to be solid at the back and will be led well by skipper Angus Mailer and hope that their attacking threat is enough to break down a strong Bonnyrigg team.
The two teams met in the cup last season and couldn’t be separated as the game ended 0-0, with Rose coming out on top after a penalty shootout.
ones to watch
bonnyrigg rose – george hunter
university of stirling – angus mailer
caledonian braves vs berwick rangers
By Ben McNicol
Will be published later today.
