Hearts B vs Broomhill

Hearts B’s good start has faltered with two losses, two draws and a win in their last five matches. Liam Fox’s full-timers have relied on the experience of goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald (yes, that one) whose form of late has been in question. They will be keen to get back to winning ways when they welcome the Park’s Motor Group Lowland League’s bottom club to Ainslie Park on Friday evening. 

For Broomhill’s part, they are looking for better. While the results haven’t been there for Zander Diamond’s charges, he has felt that their performances have improved and their new signings have begun to bed in together. That being said, it’s very easy to find yourself left behind in this league, and they will need to start picking up points soon in order to allay any fears of relegation. 

Albion Rovers vs East Stirlingshire

Three wins, two draws and three losses isn’t what Albion Rovers fans would have been hoping for going at this point of the season. Sandy Clark’s side have struggled to put games to bed that they should be winning. They find themselves in eleventh place and will be keen to show what they are able to do when one of the league’s struggling sides visit the Reigart Stadium. 

East Stirlingshire are that side and despite taking the lead in several matches this season, they find themselves second bottom of the division. Improving their defensive record will be top of the agenda for Pat Scullion and his team, while he will be looking to his strong attacking lineup to keep the goals coming. 

Broxburn Athletic vs Cowdenbeath

Broxburn have found the going a little tougher in the last few weeks of the Park’s Motor Group Lowland League, but they’ve still been one of the most exciting sides so far. They find themselves in fifth, level on points with Tranent and only two points behind their rivals Linlithgow Rose. 

Cowdenbeath’s start to the season couldn’t be described as ‘pulling up any trees’. They’re without a win in their last four matches and find themselves in fifteenth. Improvements will be required if they’re to push themselves back up the table. 

Celtic B vs Berwick Rangers

Celtic B currently sit second, a position they once sat in beneath their visitors on Saturday. Berwick Rangers dropped to ninth with four losses in a row. There’s more than enough talent in the side to turn that run of form around and they started that process with a morale-boosting comeback victory against East Stirlingshire on 7th September. 

Civil Service Strollers vs Linlithgow Rose

Strollers welcome Linlithgow Rose to Christie Gillies Park on Saturday with the hope of a good result, and specifically the hope of ensuring that their goal difference doesn’t suffer another hit. Their defensive record needs work and it’ll be a tough fixture against the joint third top scorers in the league. 

Linlithgow Rose have won their last four games and are finally coming into the form that their supporters had hoped to see before the season began. They currently lie in fourth but are only three points off the top of the table. Could they rocket up the table this weekend? 

Cumbernauld Colts vs University of Stirling

The person who predicts this one right is more than likely some kind of sage. Some kind of druid whose prophetic knowledge of the most unknowable things either makes them dangerous or makes them worthy of worship. 

Suffice it to say that these are two sides whose form and performances have been very hard to pin down this season. This could easily be a high-scoring thriller… or it could be a nil-nil draw. We’ll just have to wait and see. 

East Kilbride vs Caledonian Braves

This one was a shoo-in for the Neutral’s Pick this week, and for good reason. This top of the table clash has the potential to go down in the annals of Lowland League history as one of the all time great games (it might also be rubbish, I know, don’t @ me). 

Caledonian Braves sit atop the league with a two point advantage over East Kilbride. Ultimately this one is going to come down to the for and against column. East Kilbride have been mighty going forward this season, netting 35 goals to Braves’ 19, but Braves have only conceded 4 while East Kilbride have let in 9 so far. 

The sides could cancel each other out, but either way there’s a fascinating match in prospect at K Park. 

Gala Fairydean Rovers vs Bo’ness United 

No wins in the league so far for Gala Fairydean Rovers, which will upset them after they’ve put in so many stunning performances only to end up with a high-scoring draw. It won’t be an easy prospect this weekend when they come up against a fairly consistent Bo’ness United who have won four of their last five games.

Gala have conceded the most goals in the league so far this season and they’ll know that they need to shore things up if they want to escape the growing relegation battle at the foot of the table. Bo’ness find themselves comfortably in mid-table with room for improvement but also nothing major to complain about from their season so far. 

Hearts B 0-2 Bo’ness United

Friday night saw Hearts B continue their league slump as Bo’ness United took the advantage and put a goal away in each half to consign the youngsters to defeat. 

The match was played at pace and it was credit to Bo’ness that they were able to keep their energy levels up throughout with their desire to take all three points on display for all to see. 

Broomhill 1-3 Linlithgow Rose

Broomhill had a moment of resurgence before they succumbed to Linlithgow Rose’s incisive finishing at The Rock on Saturday. 

Goals from Sneddon and McMullan, added to a penalty from Brown were enough for Rose to overcome a Broomhill side who are looking much more able in recent weeks and struck the crossbar twice. Rose manager Gordon Herd told club media that he believed his side were below the standards required, while Broomhill manager Zander Diamond told his club that it is ‘too easy’ to score against his side. 

Much to work on for both sides as we head into the cup break…

Caledonian Braves 0-0 Gretna 2008

We had this one down as being a tight match, but we didn’t foresee Braves and Gretna playing out a 0-0 draw at Alliance Park. 

We also didn’t see Gretna 2008 manager Vinnie Parker dusting off the gloves to play in goal. We didn’t envisage him receiving a straight red card for a challenge on Lennon Walker with fifteen minutes remaining. We didn’t predict the resulting free kick being well palmed away the trialist substitute ‘keeper and Gretna immediately conceding a penalty with the very next touch. 

Were we clairvoyant enough to see said Trialist save the penalty to keep the match level? At a certain point you just have to say yes. 

East Stirlingshire 2-3 Berwick Rangers

Shire must have thought this was it, their first win of the season when Shaun Brown and then Stephen O’Neill fired them into a two goal lead at half time. 

Berwick must have feared the worst for their chances when the break came, but it was Scotland’s Englishest (??) side that came roaring out after the break as Liam Buchanan bagged a brace on either side of goals from Grant Nelson to secure three points for the visitors. 

Shire had a chance to win it themselves when Matty Flynn’s stunning strike was well saved by Callum Antell, but it was three points squandered for Pat Scullion’s side. 

Gala Fairydean Rovers 4-4 Cumbernauld Colts

Gala Fairydean Rovers do not do boring matches. In fact, if you’re a neutral and you’re not making plans to get to Netherdale this season then I would declare you to be a fool. 

Cumbernauld Colts went in at half time 4-2 down as Hall, Sharp and Sinclair netted for Gala before Sean Borland grabbed two in reply for Colts. 

Things didn’t slow down much after half time. Gala hit the woodwork twice in the 90 but it was John Binnie and Aiden Malcolm that sent Colts home happy, if slightly tachycardic. 

A stunning 4-4 draw. All in a day’s work. 

Tranent 3-1 Civil Service Strollers

Tranent continued their excellent form of late by dispatching Civil Service Strollers 3-1 at Foresters Park. 

Adam McGowan, Euan Bauld and Ben Stirling got the goals for the Big T as they tightened their grip on sixth place. Civil might be disappointed not to have taken the lead Alieu Faye set up their first goalscorer, Mackie Scott, with his strike taking a deflection and skewing wide. 

On another note, I particularly enjoyed Tranent’s ‘Fan Cam’ feature on socials this week!

University of Stirling 2-1 Broxburn Athletic

Broxburn went into this one as slight favourites thanks to their strong performances and goalscoring form so far this season, but it was Chris Geddes’ side who took all three points with goals from Jack Hodge, and Thomas Vonk. 

Broxburn never stopped pushing for an equaliser and Errol Douglas came close with a sublime volley in the dying moments, but a fantastic save from Adam Buttigieg denied them a point.  

Photos: George Vekic & Thomas Brown

East Stirlingshire vs Berwick Rangers

East Stirlingshire can count themselves slightly unlucky over the last couple of matches, with a loss away from home against Linlithgow Rose in midweek and a 2-2 draw with University of Stirling last Saturday leaving them level on points with Broomhill at the bottom of the table.

They’ll be hoping that Berwick Rangers’ recent slump in form, punctuated by a 3-0 loss at home to Caledonian Braves last Saturday, can be the catalyst for their first three points of the season. Berwick were in cup action in midweek where they ran out 5-0 winners over Fauldhouse. They’ll be keen to improve on their -15 goal difference and start making positive moves back up the table.

Shire’s Jamie Penker is hitting goalscoring form at the right time, the former University of Stirling striker has promised great things over the last few seasons and it will be his goals that will make the difference as they look to move away from the other teams at the bottom of the league. As for the visitors, it’s hard to look past Arran Laidlaw and Liam Buchanan as their danger men.

Broomhill vs Linlithgow Rose

I feel like I go into every match at the moment suggesting that ‘this could be a tough one for Broomhill’, but Linlithgow Rose are a goalscoring force to be reckoned with at the moment. Broomhill are fresh from an encouraging comeback against Albion Rovers on Tuesday night, having missed a couple of gilt-edged chances to equalise. 

They left with a 3-2 defeat, but will go into this one feeling a little more confident thanks to two goals from open play from Alex Fairlie and Finlay Corrigan will give them hope as they welcome free-scoring Rose to The Rock.

Laurie Devine and Dylan Paterson have ten of Rose’s nineteen goals between them this season and they will be looking to kick on further and push their side ahead of Broxburn Athletic.

Caledonian Braves vs Gretna 2008

Caledonian Braves four wins from their last five games is one of the best records in the league and they will be keen to press their home advantage against Gretna 2008. After a bright start for the Raydale Park men, things have slumped a little with four defeats in their last five matches.

Vinnie Parker will be looking to new signing Robbie Hogg, while Ross McNeil continues to threaten at the front for Braves as he has done over so many seasons in the Park’s Motor Group Scottish Lowland League. He’s on nine league goals for the season, the same number that their opponents have scored all season…

Gala Fairydean Rovers vs Cumbernauld Colts

Gala Fairydean Rovers are sitting in 16th place in the Park’s Motor Group Scottish Lowland League but have by far and away the worst goal difference after shipping seven goals against a rampant Tranent in midweek. They’ll be looking to make amends for that with a strong performance against Cumbernauld Colts at Netherdale.

For Colts’ part, they have endured a harder start to the season than manager David Proctor might have hoped for. They sit in 13th on eight points and are struggling a little for goals. Danny Hatfield, Aiden Malcolm and Ashton Pellow all have two for the season so far, and they will be acutely aware that Gala Fairydean Rovers are not to be underestimated. After all, this is the same side that drew 3-3 with Albion Rovers last Saturday and 4-4 with East Kilbride the week before!

Tranent vs Civil Service Strollers

Tranent blew Gala away on Tuesday night, smashing seven goals past them with no reply. Good preparation for a side that have won three of their last five, to take on the team sitting in fourteenth, right? 

Mm, maybe not. Civil Service Strollers are fresh from their own herculean effort in midweek, turning over a 3-1 deficit at Christie Gillies Park to beat Cumbernauld Colts 4-3. Alieu Faye and Josh Laing are Strollers’ top scorers this season, and Tranent are spreading their goals around with Dean Brett, Euan Bauld, Danny Handling and Adam McGowan all on three goals each.

University of Stirling vs Broxburn Athletic

Who are University of Stirling this season? Chris Geddes’ side have experienced a bit of a Jekyll & Hyde start to their campaign but have one of the league’s top scorers in Finn Moffett (six). They’ve had two losses, two draws and a win in their last five games, finding themselves in 11th with nine points. 

Broxburn on the other hand have been a revelation so far, sitting in 4th position with sixteen points. Errol Douglas has smashed home eight goals so far, while Alassan Jones has netted four. They’ve three wins from their last five, but have suffered a loss and a draw (against East Kilbride and Bo’ness United respectively) in their last two matches.

Many thanks to East Stirlingshire’s historian Drummond Calder for sharing his incredible statistics and knowledge with us for this season.

Civil Service Strollers 1-1 Celtic B

No messing about for Civil Service Strollers as they fought hard to take something from their home match against Celtic B. They managed it with a late strike from their Captain, Matty Shaw, who popped up with a goal five minutes from time to give Gary Jardine and his boys something to take into next week’s match against fellow strugglers Broomhill. 

For those seeking to topple Celtic B, this match could be viewed as something of a blueprint, with Strollers hard work and defensive organisation eventually leading to a chance which they were able to convert. With the B team currently top of the league, many around them will be looking to see what kind of setups work best against the youthful full-timers. 

Cowdenbeath 1-1 Caledonian Braves

Cowdenbeath are the kings of the late penalty in this season’s Park’s Motor Group Lowland League so far. Braves took the lead through another well-timed Ross McNeil header (feed his heid and he will score as they famously don’t say down at Alliance Park). 

In dying moments, the ball broke to a Cowdenbeath attacker who was wiped out just inside the penalty box for his trouble. Jamie Docherty stepped up and dispatched the penalty to equalise and send Braves back down the road with a solitary point. 

Cumbernauld Colts 3-0 Berwick Rangers

This one was the Neutral’s Pick for this weekend but suffice it to say this isn’t how we saw this one going. A comfortable winning margin for David Proctor’s men added more woe to a Berwick side who suffered a 7-0 humiliation to University of Stirling in midweek. 

Berwick, who started the season strongly, have now conceded 10 goals in two matches. They will (and do) point to a run of nine matches in twenty-nine days as the reason for their tough run, but they’ll need to pick themselves up and go again after a week’s break. They welcome Caledonian Braves to Shielfield Park on Saturday, while Colts – whose youngsters impressed where higher profile signings have disappointed this season – welcome Hearts B to Broadwood. 

Gala Fairydean Rovers 4-4 East Kilbride 

Not much to say about this one really…

Kidding!

Nine-man East Kilbride will count themselves lucky to have left Netherdale with a point following Tiwi Daramola’s 88th minute equaliser. A red card either side of half time will give Kilby an out, but Gala Fairydean Rovers assistant Steven Craig praised his players’ commitment and drive to progress and claimed that EK’s second red ‘ruined the game a bit’.  

A match that saw the lead change hands multiple times and a number of scintillating goals can only be described as ‘one for the neutral’. Hearts were undoubtedly in mouths as the ball crossed the line for the equaliser and it is unlikely that anyone will underestimate Gala Fairydean Rovers for the rest of the season, after a tough opening run.

That being said though, one point is one point and it lifts them above East Stirlingshire and Broomhill who are both still on one point.

Gretna 2008 0-2 Broxburn Athletic

Gretna’s bright start to the season was halted at home when high-flying promoted side Broxburn came to Raydale Park. This one was an option for Neutral’s Pick, with both sides having impressed so far this season. 

It was a close-run thing for the opening 70 minutes with both sides failing to break the deadlock. However, when Kyle Bell was fouled in the penalty box, the referee pointed to the spot and suddenly the game changed when the Brox midfielder converted the resulting penalty himself. Alassan Jones popped up ten minutes later, converting the second after his initial attempt was blocked.

Broxburn find themselves sitting pretty in third place, but face a challenging weekend when they welcome East Kilbride to Albyn Park. Gretna on the other hand, are facing a trip to Bo’ness to take on 11th place Bo’ness United.

Linlithgow Rose 2-1 Albion Rovers

Albion Rovers were looking to this one as a chance to kick on, but it was Linlithgow Rose that took the spoils at Prestonfield on Saturday. The opening goal went Rovers’ way and honestly you’ll never see a more ‘Scottish fitba’ goal as a ball destined for Dom McMahon was intercepted by Rose’s Jamie Allan, put out of reach of on-rushing keeper Cammy Binnie, and into the path of Peter Mendy who turned the ball into an open goal.

In the second half, Rose’s Louis Maguire found his way into the box and squared the ball through the CORRIDOR OF UNCERTAINTY to PJ McGiff who smashed it home. Linlithgow wrapped up the points when Ross Connelly over-committed in the Rovers goal, allowing McGiff to get a second.

Tranent 3-1 East Stirlingshire

East Stirlingshire’s early season woes continued as they went down 3-1 to Tranent at Foresters Park. In truth, things looked fairly simple for Tranent as they went into a two goal advantage, but Shire were able to pull one back through Jamie Penker to set up an exciting finish. Unfortunately for them, they were punished as they pushed for an equaliser and Harry Girdwood bagged all three points for Tranent with a composed finish.

Tranent are off to Airdrie to take on Celtic B this coming weekend, with more points the aim as they look to press home their position in the top six. East Stirlingshire, on the other hand, welcome University of Stirling to The Falkirk Stadium, still looking for their first win of the season.

University of Stirling 2-2 Hearts B

A fun Sunday afternoon in the beautiful city of Stirling for both sides as the young teams left Forthbank with a point each. Uni went in at half time 2-0 down and it looked as though their weekend might go the way of many teams who come up against the wee Jambos this season, but whatever Chris Geddes said to them at half time, lit a fire.

Nathan Tallen was the catalyst when he came on at half time, capitalising on a mistake by rookie keeper Jamie MacDonald in the Hearts goal to put Uni back in contention. Uni did their best to put B on the back foot and almost got their reward when Ben Heal reached the end of a mazy run only to find MacDonald waiting for him. 

Their patience and hard work paid off though, when Carter Jenkins levelled things up with a bullet header in the dying moments of the game.

The Scottish Lowland Football League is delighted to announce a landmark sponsorship deal with Park’s Motor Group.

Under the record-breaking, two-year deal, Park’s Motor Group will become the title sponsor of the SLFL League, League Cup and the Lowland Development League.

The deal represents a five-figure injection into the game at this level. Park’s have demonstrated their support for the Scottish game by continuing with their sponsorship with the SLFL, which will be referred to as The Park’s Motor Group Scottish Lowland Football League.

The Scottish Lowland Football League chairperson, Thomas Brown, said: “We are delighted to have reached agreement with Park’s Motor Group on this record-breaking agreement for the next two years.

“This is excellent news for our clubs and for the profile of the League and the Development League.

“Park’s have shown their commitment to Scottish football and we look forward to working together with Park’s to help develop the Lowland League.”

A Park’s Motor Group spokesperson said, “Park’s are proud of our association with Scottish Football over the last fifty years and are delighted to be continuing our partnership with the Scottish Lowland Football League.

“We look forward to the season and wish all players and management success in their games.”