After the midweek round of games, the question has to be asked: who would try to preview this league? What kind of fool would offer predictions and suggestions on what might happen in the topsy turvy world of the Park’s Motor Group Scottish Lowland League?!
Hi, I’m Michael, and I am that fool.
Gretna 2008 vs Linlithgow Rose
This one is our neutral’s pick for this week. If you can get down to Gretna, you’re definitely in for an interesting 90 minutes!
SURPRISE PACKAGE ALERT! MARK YOUR BINGO CARDS! Gretna 2008 reached half of their 2023/24 points total with a 1-0 victory over University of Stirling in midweek. In his post-match interview you could see how excited Gretna manager Vinnie Parker was about the result, and he talked up his boys’ ability to dig deep, although he was less than complimentary about their finishing.
Linlithgow Rose have been tough to pin down so far this season, with two losses sandwiching a big win over Broxburn last weekend. Rose went in 2-0 up at half time against Hearts B. Assistant boss John Millar praised their commitment and their fitness but is aware that they will struggle if they don’t take their chances. Dylan Paterson and Laurie Devine were on fire and will be hoping that they can be the difference makers for Rose on Saturday.
Part of the reason for us picking this one for the interested neutral is the ability for a season to utterly change the outlook for a Park’s Motor Group Lowland League side. Gretna 2008 lost this fixture 2-9 (nine) last season but it’s hard to see that scoreline being repeated on Saturday.
Last Season:
Gretna 2008 2-9 Linlithgow Rose
Linlithgow Rose 5-0 Gretna 2008
Berwick Rangers vs Broomhill
Berwick Rangers are three for three following a hard-fought away win over Civil Service Strollers on Tuesday night. The club, who had their troubles off the park last season, have bounced back in a big way and are the only Lowland League club (outside the B Teams) to have taken maximum points from their start to the season. Liam Buchanan is one of the league’s most potent goalscoring threats but Arran Laidlaw has also emerged as a serious danger for the men in black and gold.
Broomhill’s start to the season has been the opposite of Berwick’s. They travel South of the border still looking to get their first point on the board after the Dumbarton side went down 5-0 at the hands of reigning champions East Kilbride on Tuesday night. Broomhill have put their faith in youth this season and any success they hope to have will revolve around keeping their heads held high when they concede.
Last Season:
Berwick Rangers 4-0 Broomhill
Broomhill 2-0 Berwick Rangers
Bo’ness United vs Albion Rovers
Bo’ness keep coming close this season and their fans will feel that the BU’s first win can only be just round the corner. They endured a heartbreaking last minute defeat against managerless Tranent on Tuesday night, Dean Brett converting a penalty for their opponents in that one. Elsewhere they narrowly lost to University of Stirling on opening day before drawing with East Stirlingshire last Saturday. Smart Osadolor will be familiar to many Lowland League fans – his recent signing from Bonnyrigg Rose and subsequent goal on Tuesday night will give the Bo’ness faithful hope ahead of the weekend.
Albion Rovers are another team in a similar boat to the BU’s but are three points better off thanks to an opening day victory over Gretna 2008. Since then they have pulled off a last minute comeback to equalise against Caledonian Braves and then went down 3-0 at home against Broxburn Athletic.
Matches between these sides are usually interesting and tight contests. It’s hard to see this one being any different!
Last Season:
Albion Rovers 0-0 Bo’ness United
Bo’ness United 0-1 Albion Rovers
Broxburn Athletic vs Cumbernauld Colts
To say that Broxburn have been a surprise package in the Park’s Motor Group Lowland League so far might be to do them a disservice but if you ask their supporters then they’d mostly be delighted to have taken six points from their opening three games. A heavy defeat (6-2) to Linlithgow Rose last weekend has been bookended by victories over Broomhill and Albion Rovers.
Cumbernauld Colts were looking to this season to build on their impressive finish last season but David Proctor’s side have struggled to get out of the blocks despite a handy victory over East Kilbride last Saturday. A narrow defeat against Celtic B won’t have set any alarm bells ringing, but their lacklustre defeat at home to surprise package Gretna 2008 in midweek might have some starting to show concern.
There’s a lot riding on this one in terms of two sides looking to kick on.
Caledonian Braves vs Civil Service Strollers
Caledonian Braves took three points in a hard fought win over East Stirlingshire on Wednesday night. Reg McLaren fired home and despite Braves being down to ten for most of the game, they were able to come through and take all three points.
Civil Service Strollers will have easier matches than they did against Berwick Rangers on Tuesday night but as I keep saying, Gary Jardine and his side can never be written off. It’s been said that the unique characteristics of their home ground make them more dangerous at home, but Strollers away record was pretty impressive last season. They’ll be hoping to capitalise on any struggles Caledonian Braves might be experiencing and will be looking to their back line and goalkeeper Freddie Owens to keep Braves at bay.
Last Season:
Caledonian Braves 0-1 Civil Service Strollers
Civil Service Strollers 1-1 Caledonian Braves
Celtic B vs East Stirlingshire
Celtic B may have thought that welcoming Gala Fairydean Rovers to the Excelsior on Tuesday night would have been a foregone conclusion but they were surprised by Gala’s sticktoitiveness and came out of the match with a 2-2 draw.
Shire lost narrowly to Caledonian Braves in midweek but given that Braves had ten men for most of the game, Shire fans might be a bit concerned at their side’s failure to trouble the Braves goal in that game. They’ll be hoping for better at the weekend.
Shire were one of the few sides to do the double over Celtic’s young team in the league last season, a 6-4 victory at The Falkirk Stadium being a particular highlight, and they’ll be hoping for more of the same at the weekend.
Last Season:
Celtic B 1-2 East Stirlingshire
East Stirlingshire 6-4 Celtic B
Cowdenbeath vs Gala Fairydean Rovers
Fans of the Blue Brazil might have hoped for a stronger start to this season but two draws and a defeat might have something slightly gentler than alarm bells ringing for the Central Park faithful. One of those wee reception bells maybe? It’s not an insurmountable task to kick start their season and they’ll be looking to do that on Saturday when Gala Fairydean Rovers come to town.
Gala Fairydean Rovers had suffered two heavy defeats going into their midweek fixture away to Celtic B, and most would have predicted another gloomy evening for the Netherdale side. Liam Watt decided to put that to the side though, and after Celtic B took a 2-0 lead into half time, the GFR midfielder popped up with a goal to bring them back into it and a last gasp goal to give Gala their first point of the season.
Last Season:
Cowdenbeath 2-2 Gala Fairydean Rovers
Gala Fairydean Rovers 1-2 Cowdenbeath
East Kilbride vs University of Stirling
East Kilbride put Broomhill to the sword on Tuesday night with a decisive 5-0 win. They will be delighted to see their squad sharing the scoring responsibilities but will have to be acutely aware of the threat that University of Stirling pose.
Uni themselves have put that last sentence to the test over the last week or so with a shaky performance in their loss to Gretna 2008 last weekend but put in a more effective and positive performance in their 1-1 draw with Cowdenbeath on Wednesday night. They’ll be hoping to take their Win-Draw-Loss and make it 2Win-Draw-Loss (is that a thing?) at K Park.
Last Season:
East Kilbride 4-2 University of Stirling
University of Stirling 1-1 East Kilbride
