Another crucial weekend ahead at the top and bottom of the GeoSonic Lowland League. Jordan, Ronan, Craig and Martin have all your previews of Saturday’s action.
WHITEHILL WELFARE VS VALE OF LEITHEN
It’s a huge game at the foot of the GeoSonic Lowland League this weekend as Vale of Leithen make the trip to Ferguson Park to face Whitehill Welfare.
The visitors currently sit two places and eleven points clear of the bottom side as the fight to avoid the drop begins reach boiling point. Whitehill are five points adrift of Dalbeattie Star and safety.
Vale of incredibly only played twice since the turn of the year due to postponements and are looking for their second win of the calendar year after that thrilling 5-4 victory over Edusport Academy on the 5th of January.
Whitehill are searching for just their second win of the season, their one and only one coming back in September against Dalbeattie Star. Welfare haven’t won in any competition since beating Edinburgh University in the Scottish Cup.
They have however, been picking up draws at home in their last two appearances at Ferguson Park against Cumbernauld Colts and Spartans.
Vale needed a late equaliser between the two sides earlier in the season to snatch a point in a 2-2 draw at Victoria Park.
Ones to watch
Whitehill Welfare – Kieran Somerville
Vale of Leithen – Ger Rossi
EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY VS BSC GLASGOW
BSC Glasgow will be hoping to extend their impressive unbeaten run when they take on a seriously out of form Edinburgh Uni side on Saturday.
The visitors have not been beaten in nine games and they can make it a perfect ten at the weekend. Home side Edinburgh Uni have failed to win in their last eight outings, and they have only scored four goals in that time whilst they have conceded a whopping 21 goals.
The home side know that they will have to pull out all of the stops to take anything from this one and they will have to be particularly wary of BSC hitman Tam Orr. Orr has scored 15 goals so far this campaign and he has been one of the standout performers in the league so far.
Ones to watch
Edinburgh University – Patrick Baird
BSC Glasgow – Thomas Orr
EDUSPORT ACADEMY VS SPARTANS
Edusport are currently enduring a horrendous run of form which they will be hoping to end at the weekend with a positive result against Spartans.
The home side have failed to win in their last eight and lost seven of those eight games in a row. A draw in their last game against BSC brought the losing streak to an end and they will be hoping to use that result as a springboard to kickstart their season again.
However, they will be under no illusions about the difficulty of the task. Visiting side Spartans will be fully motivated as they know that a win here can potentially lead to them leapfrogging Civil Service Strollers into 4th and put them within touching distance of Kelty Hearts.
Ones to watch
Edusport Academy – Scott McLaughlin
Spartans – Aaron Scott
GALA FAIRYDEAN ROVERS VS KELTY HEARTS
Mid-table Gala host title challenging Kelty Hearts at Netherdale 3G on Saturday.
Dean Shanks ken come into the game off the back of a 1-0 loss at BSC Glasgow last weekend where Darren Smith squandered the chance to take a point after missing a penalty in the 90th minute.
The hosts have a thin squad at the moment with after only making one sub against BSC with two youngsters from the amateur squad named among the subs but still battled well against Stephen Swift’s men.
Barry Ferguson’s men stretched their unbeaten run to seven matches after a 4-0 victory against Gretna 2008 last weekend. Goals from Stuart Cargill and Ciaren Chalmers secured the points for Kelty when the two teams last met in October.
Ones to watch
Gala Fairydean Rovers – Sean McKirdy
Kelty Hearts – Errol Douglas
EAST KILBRIDE VS CIVIL SERVICE STROLLERS
League leaders East Kilbride welcome Gary Jardine’s side to K Park on Saturday.
Kilby appointed interim boss Stuart Malcolm as their new permanent manager through the week after he impressed when Brian Kerr departed.
Strollers were the last team to beat East Kilbride when the two teams met in October. However, Malcolm’s side have won 12 consecutive league matches since then, meaning they are eight points clear with a game in hand at the top of the table and will be looking for revenge over the Edinburgh side.
Last time out, Strollers thrashed Edinburgh University 5-0 which saw them rise to fourth in the table.
Ones to watch
East Kilbride – Craig Malcolm
Civil Service Strollers – Steven Froude
EAST STIRLINGSHIRE VS DALBEATTIE STAR
Shire will hope to capitalise on a Dalbeattie side continuing the fight out of relegation, however a win for the Falkirk Stadium side could see them jump back into the top six.
Derek Ure’s side could bag a fourth consecutive win in the Lowland League after crucial victories over Edinburgh Uni, Gretna 2008 and an impressive 3-1 win over Cumbernauld Colts last weekend. Further performances similar to the previous weeks could help the side cement a finish in the top six.
Dalbeattie will surely be getting tired of sitting in 14th place, although despite a run of losses earlier in the season, a few draws in recent months have proved them capable of goals and the occasional upset. Despite Shire going in as heavy favourites, Star could easily surprise the Falkirk side and leave with a point a piece.
Ones to watch
East Stirlingshire – Andy Rodgers
Dalbeattie Star – Lee Wells
UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING VS CUMBERNAULD COLTS
It’s a mid-table battle at Forthbank between tenth place Stirling Uni and sixth place Cumbernauld Colts. Either side taking all three points could change that section of the table drastically.
The University side will hope to continue an unbeaten year so far. After a series of draws, the side found their first three pointer of 2019 last weekend thanks to a 2-0 win over Whitehill Welfare. Chris Geddes men will strive to continue an admirable streak; however Colts are always a difficult task.
Colts, on the other side, have only won one game this year and will need to bounce back after a 3-1 loss to East Stirlingshire last weekend. Despite only a few decent results, the Broadwood side still sit in sixth place although with only six points between the sides, the table could be entirely reshuffled through fixtures like these.
