We gave the boys a nice Christmas holiday and not one of them bought me a festive jumper with Andy Rodgers’ face on it. But still, they’re back, we’re back, happy new year! Let’s preview some exciting GeoSonic Lowland League action.
EAST KILBRIDE VS GRETNA 2008
East Kilbride welcome Gretna 2008 to K Park as they aim to continue their charge towards a second GeoSonic Lowland League title.
Victory last weekend away at Cumbernauld Colts, mixed with BSC Glasgow and Kelty Hearts drawing to Civil Service Strollers and East Stirlingshire saw Kilby open up a six-point gap at the top of the table.
The home side come into this league fixture on a ten-game winning run in all competitions since a 3-1 league defeat away to Civil Service Strollers and have a marque Scottish Cup tie next weekend to look forward away at 2015 cup winners, Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Gretna 2008 moved up to tenth in the table last weekend after a 5-2 victory at home to Dalbeattie Star, the second time they have scored five goals in their last four games and the first time they’ve been in the top ten since Matchday 10.
East Kilbride may be looking at the title, Gretna will feel a top half finish is possible if they can put another run of form together like their four-match winning run earlier in the season.
Gretna could have a pivotal role in the title race over the next few weeks as the next five games see them face all of the top three, starting with East Kilbride on Saturday.
Two goals from Paul Woods secured the three points for East Kilbride at Raydale Park back in November while this fixture last season saw the hosts run out 4-0 winners.
Ones to watch
East Kilbride – Paul Woods
Gretna 2008 – Daniel Smales
SPARTANS VS BSC GLASGOW
Spartans will be looking to close the gap on second placed BSC Glasgow this weekend, however it will be a tough task for the hosts to take all three points.
BSC started the season slower than they would have liked and results were often inconsistent. However, Stephen Swift’s men have improved dramatically recently, and they have become a model of consistency.
Incredibly, the visitors have only lost once in 15 games – and that was in the Scottish Cup against League 1 side Forfar Athletic, although they did draw 1-1 with Civil Service Strollers in their last league outing.
The home side are unbeaten in five, but their most recent two matches ended in draws with Strollers and bottom of the table Whitehill Welfare.
Ones to watch
Spartans – Michael Herd
BSC Glasgow – Thomas Orr
EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY VS EAST STIRLINGSHIRE
Edinburgh Uni will aim to end a five game winless run and put some distance between themselves and Saturday’s visitors East Stirlingshire.
The hosts are currently going through a torrid spell where they have struggled to score. Interestingly though, the bad spell came out of the blue on the back of a very strong run of form where they were unbeaten in five – with their last win coming against East Stirlingshire!
It has been a thoroughly underwhelming season for the visiting side. However, they will be hoping to take advantage of Edinburgh Uni’s poor run of form and avenge the result from the last time they both met.
The visiting side boast the league’s most prolific goalscorer in Ross Allum and he will be hungry to add to his tally of 13 this weekend.
Ones to watch
Edinburgh University – Patrick Baird
East Stirlingshire – Ross Allum
DALBEATTIE STAR VS CUMBERNAULD COLTS
Second-bottom Dalbeattie Star face sixth place Cumbernauld Colts at Islecroft on Saturday with both sides struggling for form lately.
The home side kicked off 2019 with a 5-2 defeat against Gretna 2008 as Whitehill’s draw with Spartans cut the gap to five points at the bottom end of the table. Dalbeattie have only won one of their last seven league outings but three points could be vital in the relegation battle.
Cumbernauld have lost three of their last four matches which has saw them fall away from the pack chasing East Kilbride at the top of the league who Colts lost out to 3-0 last weekend.
When the two teams last met in November, Colts ran out 3-0 winners after goals from Craig Holmes, Sean Brown and Stephen O’Neill.
Ones to watch
Dalbeattie Star – Lee Wells
Cumbernauld Colts – Stephen O’Neill
KELTY HEARTS VS UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING
A stuttering Kelty Hearts face a Stirling University side third bottom in the table but unbeaten in their last three games.
Kelty have only won one of their last four games which has saw them fall nine points behind leaders East Kilbride. Barry Ferguson’s men were 3-1 up against East Stirlingshire last weekend courtesy of goals from Chris Dodd, Scott Dalziel and Stuart Cargill. However, a late collapse which saw Shire score in the 88th and 95th minute meant it was two points dropped for Kelty.
Chris Geddes men come into the match with confidence after a victory against Gala Fairydean Rovers backed up with draws with Shire (2-2) and Edinburgh University (1-1) last Saturday with a Lewis Bonar equaliser after 78 minutes securing a point.
In November when the two teams met at Forthbank, Kelty won 1-0 after a Ciaren Chalmers winning goal.
Ones to watch
Kelty Hearts – Stuart Cargill
University of Stirling – Kieran Hall
EDUSPORT ACADEMY VS GALA FAIRYDEAN ROVERS
It’s a mid-table battle at Galabank in a game that is a toss-up as to who could come out on top.
Edusport Academy will be looking to regain the form they know they’re capable of, despite falling short in recent weeks. In their last fixtures, they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Civil Service Strollers and last weekend, lost by a one-goal margin in a nine goal thriller against Vale of Leithen.
The Fairydean, on the other hand will look to continue from their last fixture – a 6-0 victory over Vale of Leithen, one of the clubs biggest in recent years. Both, Gala and Edusport sit on 22 points in seventh and eighth position respectively meaning taking all 3 points for either side will have huge repercussions for their place in the league.
Ones to watch
Edusport Academy – Matthew Flynn
Gala Fairydean Rovers – Tommy Patterson
CIVIL SERVICE STROLLERS VS WHITEHILL WELFARE
It’s the third week in a row for Whitehill Welfare facing sides that are competing for a Top 4 spot in the league; however, with their recent performances they are capable of causing an upset despite their position.
Civil Service Strollers are certainly on track to gain the form they started out with at the beginning of the campaign. Their last two fixtures have seen them take two points from defending champions, Spartans and second placed BSC Glasgow.
One would be forgiven for thinking this game should be a stroll in the park for Civil, however Welfare are showing signs they are going to fight relegation and aim to reel in 14th place.
Their last two games were the same as Strollers’ – Spartans and BSC. Despite BSC edging them out in the last ten minutes and leaving with a 2-1 victory, Spartans couldn’t manage the same as they only managed an equaliser in the dying minutes of the game.
It begs the question, are Whitehill regaining form? If they are capable of taking a point from the champions, surely they’re capable of more…
Ones to watch
Civil Service Strollers – Steven Froude
Whitehill Welfare – Kevin Keane
