Well, well, well… you couldn’t leave well enough alone could you? Standing at your bathroom mirror saying ‘Admin, Admin, Admin’.
Here I am – you’ve summoned me!
We’re going to check in with our clubs every few games to tell the story of their season as we go! Let’s do this… and since our last update from the inimitable Chris Pow started at the top of the Park’s Motor Group Scottish Lowland League, we’ll start at the bottom today!
East Stirlingshire (Current Position: 18)
I’m glad I didn’t write this piece earlier in the week as East Stirlingshire’s nightmare start to the season took a new turn on Wednesday as it was announced that Pat Scullion had departed from his role as Shire manager. Midfielder and Lowland League stalwart Matty Flynn will lead the club into their match this weekend and will be looking to add a bit of steel to the side who have lost four of their last five matches.
Without the threat of relegation, you could argue that a season of sitting at the foot of the league and looking ahead to next season wouldn’t be an unreasonable thing to do, but the East Stirlingshire faithful will accept nothing less than maximum effort from their team. Whoever comes in will have a tough job to lift the club from the doldrums, and will have a big rebuilding project if they are to challenge going forward.
Gretna 2008 (Current Position: 17)
Gretna enjoyed a fairytale start to life under Vinnie Parker at the beginning of last season, and it looked like it might be another strong start when they beat Bonnyrigg Rose on the opening day. Since then results have been much harder to come by with five defeats on the spin for the Anvils. But there are reasons to be cheerful for their supporters. Iain Anderson is firing on all cylinders and is sharing goalscoring responsibilities with Sean McKenzie. The division is a much tougher nut to crack this season, but there is clearly a project underway at Gretna with long-term sustainability in mind.
University of Stirling (Current Position: 16)
The last time we checked in with the teams in the Park’s Motor Group Lowland League, University of Stirling were rooted to the bottom of the league. Both Chrises, our correspondent Pow and Uni manager Geddes, had stated that Uni would pick up results going forward and that has proved to be the case. Two draws and a win aren’t exactly thrilling results, but they’re a team with potential and are always good for goals.
Civil Service Strollers (Current Position: 15)
Civil Service Strollers are one of those teams who you can absolutely never rule out. A slow start won’t necessarily be indicative of how the rest of their season will go. A tough run of early fixtures will balance itself out in the next few weeks and you can expect Gary Jardine’s team to start picking up more points and pulling themselves up the table.
Heart of Midlothian B (Current Position: 14)
Hearts might like to be further up the table but, unlike their fellow B team Celtic, their form will go up and down over the course of the season as players come and go between their squads. They face a few stern tests over the next couple of weeks and I wouldn’t anticipate a massive leap forward for Angus Beith’s team.
Berwick Rangers (Current Position: 13)
Berwick are still sitting on one win from their opening six fixtures and things won’t get any easier over the next couple of match days. Three draws, while not necessarily thrilling for the Shielfield faithful, will have provided a bit of stability in matches which could have gone the other way last season. Berwick’s fans will be conscious that a decent set of results could see them on a launchpad to the top half, but they’re struggling for goals, their seven scored this season being the lowest of any team in the Park’s Motor Group Lowland League so far this season.
Tranent (Current Position: 12)
Tranent were in second place when we last caught up, and now they are… not. Three defeats on the spin have left Tranent in 12th place in the league, and finding themselves on the end of a 5-0 hiding by fellow title-favourites Clydebank will have set alarm bells ringing at Forester’s. Their supporters will be expecting an uptick in form… and fast.
Caledonian Braves (Current Position: 11)
Braves and Tranent’s positions have confounded pre-season expectations, but not in a good way. Ricky Waddell’s team find themselves in 11th with three wins and three losses from their opening six matches. Losses to teams that they would be expecting to beat at the beginning of the season will give them pause, but as with most of the teams around mid-table, a couple of good results will bounce them right up to the sharp end.
Cowdenbeath (Current Position: 10)
Cowdenbeath will be feeling vindicated following a bit of a summer rebuild. The seeds are in place for the future and sitting in tenth place will feel like a win given their travails at the early stages of last season (albeit they’ve played one more game than the teams around them). This young Cowdenbeath team are still building into their season and Blue Brazil fans will know that their young side will have their ups and downs this season.
Albion Rovers (Current Position: 9)
More wins than losses and some pretty impressive performances have been the story of Albion Rovers’ season so far. Not bad for a side whose off-the-field question marks had suggested that they may struggle for results this season as the club look at funding sources to build a sustainable future.
Well, surprise! Rovers sit in 9th place with decent results against sides that – as it turns out – have had impressive starts to the season themselves. The next few games will be tough for Rovers, but their fans will be plenty happy with what their new-look side has been able to do so far this season.
Broxburn Athletic (Current Position: 8)
Three wins, a draw and three losses have seen Broxburn Athletic find their way into 8th place. However, it’s off the pitch that the big question marks are for the Brox. Manager Steve Pittman has stepped down this week and there will be a dash to find the right man to take them forward ahead of the league splitting next season. Derek McWilliams will take the club into the next few matches, and will likely be a realistic candidate for the job himself.
Gala Fairydean Rovers (Current Position: 7)
Wait, let me just clean my glasses. SEVENTH?! Gala Fairydean Rovers have confounded the early season predictions (in a good way) and the team who narrowly escaped relegation last season, just pipping the now defunct Broomhill to survival, have used that to spark a revival in their on-field fortunes.
Martin Scott’s side have won three out of their six opening games and are once again creating a situation where I’m too afraid to make any predictions about them. So… Gala Fairydean Rovers… regard them and draw your own conclusions.
Bonnyrigg Rose (Current Position: 6)
Bonnyrigg Rose’s return to the Park’s Motor Group Lowland League hasn’t been quite as smooth as they might have liked, with the relegated side having struggled with consistency and injuries in the opening games of the season. Their temporary home at Ferguson Park hasn’t exactly been a fortress but the results are slowly beginning to come. A 5-1 win over bottom side East Stirlingshire would have been a real shot in the arm for them, going into a run of fixtures that includes Tranent, Celtic B and Albion Rovers.
Cumbernauld Colts (Current Position: 5)
I might need to clean my glasses again as it appears that Cumbernauld Colts are sitting in 5th place in the Park’s Motor Group Lowland League. John Doyle and his dream backroom team of former Broomhill managers David Gormley and Zander Diamond have overseen a mini-revolution at Colts and have started the season incredibly strongly. Three wins, two draws and two defeats is nothing to sniff at and even if they slip back, they’ll still be having a fairly successful season.
Doyle has strengthened in positions where Colts were too often picked open last season, and they’ll be hoping for more exciting results in the next few weeks.
Celtic B (Current Position: 4)
Yep, of course they are.
Bo’ness United (Current Position: 3)
Bo’ness were consistently decent last season but never looked like pulling up many trees. You could argue that their opening six fixtures haven’t been the toughest tests, but you can only beat what’s put in front of you and for the most part, Bo’ness United have. Tom Grant and Kieran Mitchell look dangerous in attack, but the BUs fans will know that upcoming matches against the likes of Clydebank and Linlithgow Rose will provide a clearer perspective of where they are in the league running.
Clydebank (Current Position: 2)
Clydebank were the early pace-setters in the division, but a 1-1 draw against Cowdenbeath gave Gordon Moffat’s side the closest thing they’ve had to a reality check so far. The Bankies still have to be counted among the favourites for the league, and five home games in their next six upcoming fixtures will give them a solid platform to build into their challenge. For their visitors, it’ll be up to them to find a way to stop them…
Linlithgow Rose (Current Position: 1)
Linlithgow Rose are rampant this season. One loss to Gala Fairydean Rovers on the opening day of the season shook the cobwebs away and since then Gordon Herd’s side have won all five matches, scoring 26 goals in the process. Dylan Patterson is on 8 league goals for the season already, but upcoming games against Bo’ness United and Cumbernauld Colts could prove slippery prospects. There is a palpable sense of excitement among the Rose faithful at the moment, and they’ll be hoping that the good times continue to roll.
