Title photo: Cumbernauld Colts vs Albion Rovers (CCR Photography)
Berwick Rangers 1-7 East Kilbride
At a certain point, you have to just say that more than one team in the Park’s Motor Group Scottish Lowland League are very, very good at playing the sport of football.
East Kilbride are one such team, travelling as they did to the merry old land of England on Saturday with the express intention of gaining three points in the title race.
Did they need to smash Berwick Rangers 7-1? Who knows, but smash them they did as the Wee Gers barely managed to get into gear as East Kilbride turned on the style, with doubles for John Robertson and Cami Elliott putting the hosts to the sword.
Bo’ness United 3-3 Celtic B
Celtic’s B team continued their unbeaten record in the league, but slipped to fourth in the table thanks to their fifth draw of the season at Newtown Park.
Bo’ness United were 3-0 down in the 60th minute, and staring down the barrel of a heavy defeat ahead of their Junior Cup match against Kilsyth scheduled to take place the next day(?!), until in the 85th minute Michael Travis goal looked to have given them a consolation.
Further goals in the dying minutes from Smart Osadolor and Lewis Duffy brought Bo’ness back from the brink of defeat and gave the BUs a bounce going into their Junior Cup match, which they won!
They must be knackered…
Broxburn Athletic 5-0 East Stirlingshire
One Shire fan described his team’s defence as looking like they ‘just don’t care’ at the weekend as Pat Scullion’s side capitulated 5-0 to free-scoring Broxburn.
Scullion would have hoped for more from his charges following their midweek routing of Cumbernauld Colts, but it was more of the same from a team struggling for impetus in the Park’s Motor Group Scottish Lowland League this season.
From Broxburn’s perspective it was all too easy as they kept the heid and scored two very early goals to settle any doubt that they might have difficulty in the match.
Cumbernauld Colts 1-1 Albion Rovers
Chances are that this one was always going to be a close run thing between two evenly matched sides, but with Cumbernauld Colts reduced to nine men with nearly twenty minutes left, Albion Rovers supporters will likely be left disappointed that their sideweren’t able to secure all three points.
Caledonian Braves 3-2 Hearts B
Braves ‘could have made things much easier for themselves’ according to their manager Ricky Waddell, but even he will be delighted that three points against the young full-timers (and Jamie MacDonald) keeps his side on top of the league.
Hearts will be disappointed that their comeback ultimately amounted to nothing, but Braves are no easy prospect this season and a brace from Ross McNeil and a finish from the impressive midfielder Ryan Murray was enough to see off the Jambos.
Civil Service Strollers 4-2 Gala Fairydean Rovers
THESE TEAMS DO NOT DO BORING GAMES. Our Neutral’s Pick for this weekend turned out to be an utter banger as Gary Jardine’s Civil Service Strollers won out over Gala Fairydean Rovers in a match that was jam packed with incident.
Strollers were 2-0 down inside twenty minutes at Christie Gillies Park, but were level just ten minutes later! Alfie Smith and Mackie Scott brought them back into it, and they were ahead on 33 minutes when Marc Laird converted a penalty.
Laird stepped up again in the 66th minute, converting another penalty to completely turn things around for Strollers.
Drunken Groundhopper was there to take it in (always drink responsibly, folks):
Gretna 2008 1-1 Cowdenbeath
This one had the potential to be very evenly matched and that was how it transpired at Raydale Park. Gretna 2008 manager Vinnie Parker described the game as ‘hardly a classic’ as the sides largely cancelled each other out.
Stuart Douglas was on the scoresheet for Gretna, while Rhys Walker was the scorer for the Blue Brazil.
Broomhill 0-3 Tranent
Broomhil held on until the second half against a Tranent side who are now on a run of four wins in five. Broomhill manager Zander Diamond praised his players’ attitude, but doubts will be beginning to creep in as another encouraging opening 60 minutes leads to a last 30 minutes of collapse. Broomhill need to get points on the board, and soon, to avoid relying on other teams to move them away from the relegation zone.
University of Stirling 1-3 Linlithgow Rose
A fairly tight game saw Linlithgow Rose come away with three points and third place in the Park’s Motor Group Lowland League as they battled hard to win 3-1 at Forthbank on Sunday.
The game was fairly even, and it took a penalty for Rose to come back into the game at 1-0 down, but from there they took control of the match, a gorgeous low strike from Dylan Paterson – a real daisy cutter – putting them into the lead before a last minute goal from Calum Rae sealed the points.
A week of cup action is our teams’ reward for their endeavours at the weekend. Keep an eye on social media for more from the Park’s Motor Group Scottish Lowland Football League!
