Today is a day for love. It’s a day for laying down your previous animosities and offering wee kisses to the people that have wronged you in the past. That’s right folks… it’s East Stirlingshire vs East Kilbride day.
East Stirlingshire vs East Kilbride
There’s always a wee bit of needle when East Stirlingshire and East Kilbride meet and as two of the form teams in the league, you can expect this one to be another exciting match under the lights at The Falkirk Stadium.
East Stirlingshire have won their last three Park’s Motor Group Lowland League matches, while Kilby are sitting pretty at the top of the table having won every single one of their last six matches and are two points clear of Caledonian Braves with three games in hand.
Hearts B vs University of Stirling
Hearts B have lost three of their last five matches and find themselves in 13th place in the league. They’re just a point behind their visitors this evening, University of Stirling, who sit in 12th after their 1-0 victory over Albion Rovers last Sunday.
Both sides have lost three of their last five matches.
Broxburn Athletic vs Gretna 2008
A narrow defeat to East Kilbride last week won’t have hurt the Albyn Park support too much as Broxburn Athletic welcome Gretna this weekend. The Brox are still comfortably in sixth place, while Gretna’s impressive season has seen them leave their pre-season tag as relegation favourites behind and put them on an upwardly mobile path towards the top half of the table.
Caledonian Braves vs Berwick Rangers
Caledonian Braves needed a last gasp goal at the Dumbarton Stadium last weekend to sink bottom of the table Broomhill and Ricky Waddell and his side will be conscious that they need to avoid underestimating their visitors this weekend, Berwick Rangers. Berwick managed a spirited 2-2 draw with Gretna last time out which has arrested their slump in the league slightly, but they still find themselves in 15th place with teams around them taking points.
This one might not quite be must-win, but the more points they can take from matches like this, the less they’ll need to worry about ending the season in relegation danger.
Celtic B vs Bo’ness United
Bo’ness United visit Celtic B this weekend on the back of a thrilling 4-3 victory over the league’s other B Team last weekend. They will be hoping to continue to reel in Broxburn Athletic and Tranent who sit directly above them, and a win over third-placed Celtic B would help them out no end.
Cumbernauld Colts vs Broomhill
Bottom meets third bottom at Broadwood this weekend. It was suggested to me by Chris at Official Catchup that I would be cancelled if I didn’t pick this one as this weekend’s Neutral’s Pick and – as much as I enjoy winding him up – I’d be daft not to.
This is a real relegation six-pointer and with Broomhill holding a three-game-in-hand advantage over Colts, it’s going to be a real test of both teams’ resolve. Broomhill have lost four of their last five matches, while Colts have picked up two wins in their last two matches to give them a slight cushion over Broomhill and Gala Fairydean Rovers.
Both managers will be acutely aware that this match could define their season and if you need a match to check out this weekend, you’d better get yourself along to Broadwood.
Gala Fairydean Rovers vs Albion Rovers
Gala find themselves second bottom of the Park’s Motor Group Scottish Lowland League despite having scored almost as many goals as Caledonian Braves who sit in second (let’s ignore the fact that they’ve conceded more than three times as many as Braves, shall we?). They can count themselves fairly unlucky to find themselves in the position that they do but it will be vital to improve their fortunes at the back as they welcome Albion Rovers to Netherdale.
Albion Rovers lost to University of Stirling last weekend, adding more fuel to the fire for those who believe that their club should have won more than once in their last five matches. There will be a certain expectation among Rovers supporters who will make the long trip from Coatbridge to Galashiels on Saturday, that they should be coming away with three points.
Linlithgow Rose vs Civil Service Strollers
Rose have become that club that I talk about quietly going about their business. Three wins in their last five have seen them rise to 4th in the Park’s Motor Group Lowland League, only four points behind Celtic B with a game in hand. A win over Gary Jardine’s Civil Service Strollers would put them in a really good place.
That being said, if results go their way, Strollers themselves could jump as high as 7th. This one should be a fascinating contest.
Tranent vs Cowdenbeath
The Big T have lost their last three league matches and have slipped down to 5th. Is that ever since I touted them as being title outsiders? I wouldn’t like to comment, I doubt that my words in these pages have that much influence. It’s a concern though, since Tranent will feel that those matches were ones that they should have been taking more from.
Cowdenbeath are still up and down form-wise but they’ve got themselves a cushion over the bottom four sides and will be looking for a good result in this one to climb away from the danger zone and back towards mid-table obscurity. Given the way they were looking just a month ago, that would likely be seen as a victory for the Central Park faithful.
