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.”

It’s the roundup and since we go straight into a whole new set of midweek fixtures tonight, it’s a little bit of a preview too, so we’ll go through each club in turn, looking at their weekend result and midweek prospects!

Albion Rovers

We picked out Albion Rovers’ fixture with Caledonian Braves as our neutrals’ pick at the weekend and we stand by it after a last minute equaliser for Rovers saw an eruption at the Reigart Stadium and Braves’ manager Ricky Waddell sent off for remonstrating. A 1-1 draw against a Braves team who had seemed free-scoring is nothing to sniff at, but Sandy Clark’s side will feel like they could have more than four points after two matches. 

Callum Home popped up at the end with a goal before issuing a rousing message to fans ahead of Tuesday night’s match against Broxburn Athletic. Rovers will be looking to build on two positive results but this is their first match against the East of Scotland League champions and Broxburn have had a mixed bag so far, winning 3-1 against Broomhill before going down 6-2 in the derby match against Linlithgow Rose.

Berwick Rangers

Berwick are the only side outside the B teams to have a 100% record after two hard-won victories against Linlithgow Rose and Tranent. They will be hoping to continue that as they visit Christie Gillies Park to take on Civil Service Strollers. Matty Collins turned in a last gasp winner at Foresters Park on Saturday – will he be on hand to do the business again on Tuesday night?

Bo’ness United

Bo’ness United travel to Foresters Park looking to take the misfortune of their last two matches and turn it into a win against Tranent, who themselves will feel hard done by having taken only a point from their opening two matches. Gregor Nicol got the BU’s goal in a 1-1 draw with East Stirlingshire on Saturday, and he will be looking to have a hand in a win against Tranent.

Broomhill

Zander Diamond’s Broomhill have conceded seven goals in their opening two matches. A tough opening run featuring a 3-1 defeat to Broxburn, a 5-0 loss to Celtic B isn’t made much easier as they welcome last season’s champions East Kilbride to The Rock on Tuesday night. They will be buoyed by Kilby’s disappointing loss at home to Cumbernauld Colts, but Broomhill supporters will be under no illusions at the size of the task that their new-look squad face this midweek.

Broxburn Athletic

The Albyn Park side were on the wrong end of a 6-2 defeat to Linlithgow Rose at the weekend, and a trip to Coatbridge to meet Albion Rovers will be an interesting challenge for last season’s East of Scotland League champions. The two sides have never met before, and Broxburn will be looking to prolific striker Errol Douglas – who has two goals in two games – to give them the edge in Lanarkshire on Tuesday evening.

Caledonian Braves

Braves boss Ricky Waddell was sent off in the dying moments of Saturday’s match with Albion Rovers and that probably gives you an idea of how the Alliance Park side were feeling when Callum Home’s equaliser hit the back of the net for Albion Rovers. That game finished 1-1 but Braves will be keen to lean on their opening day scoreline of 6-0 when East Stirlingshire visit Bothwellhaugh on Wednesday night. The fixture was originally slated to take place at The Falkirk Stadium, but due to ongoing work on the floodlights, the fixture has been switched and, even without their boss in the dugout, Braves will feel as though they have a real chance with home advantage.

Celtic B

Celtic B won again at the weekend with a 5-0 victory over Broomhill. They welcome Gala Fairydean Rovers, a side with one of the leakiest defences in the league so far, to Airdrie on Tuesday evening. Daniel Cummings netted a hat trick at the weekend – he might fancy finding the back of the net again this midweek.

Civil Service Strollers

Many people in group chats had been writing Civil Service Strollers off following their opening day thrashing by East Kilbride, but writing off a Gary Jardine side is always a risky move. Their win over Cowdenbeath at the weekend was impressive and any side travelling to Christie Gillies Park knows that they’ll be in for a tough game. Berwick Rangers and their 100% record make the trip up the A1 on Tuesday. Alieu Faye is back in goalscoring form for Strollers and honestly, his goals are always a lot of fun to watch.

Cowdenbeath 

Two penalties in two games for Cowdenbeath have improved their goalscoring record but the Blue Brazil faithful will have been a bit disappointed by their start to the season. They travel to Forthbank on Wednesday, looking to get the better of University of Stirling who themselves were on the end of a disappointing result at the weekend. If Cowdenbeath can get Matty MacDonald on the scoresheet again, they’ll have the basis for a strong performance but there are no guarantees in this league.

Cumbernauld Colts

David Proctor’s Cumbernauld Colts beat champions East Kilbride at the weekend thanks to an excellent defensive performance. Danny Hatfield was instrumental in their attacking performance, netting one and assisting the other. He will be important this midweek as they welcome Gretna 2008 to Broadwood. It’s a chance for Colts to put a serious marker down as they look to improve on last season’s fourth place in the league. Gretna got the win against University of Stirling on Saturday and Colts will have to be aware of the threat that they pose going forward.

As an aside, is it not wild how we’re ten teams into an eighteen team league and we’re not even at D in the alphabet?

East Kilbride

Some East Kilbride supporters bemoaned their opponents at the weekend for playing ‘anti-football’ as they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Cumbernauld Colts at Broadwood. Needless to say the supporters of the current Park’s Motor Group Lowland League champions will be expecting an attacking masterclass from the Navy & Gold when they make the short trip to Dumbarton to take on Broomhill on Tuesday night. Former Berwick Rangers defender David Ferguson got Kilby’s goal at the weekend but it will be Cammy Elliott and Calum Biggar who the East Kilbride coaching staff will be looking towards as they look to get back to winning ways.

East Stirlingshire

Shire’s match with Caledonian Braves has been switched to Alliance Park following floodlight issues at The Falkirk Stadium. Shire’s start to the season hasn’t been too bright (sorry) but a 1-1 draw with Bo’ness United will give them cause for optimism. Jamie Penker, whose goalscoring exploits for University of Stirling a couple of seasons ago are legendary, found the back of the net in that match and Pat Scullion will be hoping that the boost to his confidence will see him (and Shire!) go on a bit of a run.

Gala Fairydean Rovers

GFR have had a tough start to the Park’s Motor Group Lowland League season. Travelling to Airdrie to face Celtic B after two heavy defeats against Caledonian Braves and Hearts B respectively is a tough ask for the Borders side but you can never rule out one of the league’s most interesting attacking sides. Manager Martin Scott was impressed with his charges despite the result at the weekend and is looking positively towards Tuesday night’s match.

Gretna 2008

Vinnie Parker got the perfect birthday present from his side on Saturday as they got their first three points of the season away to University of Stirling. Former Dalbeattie Star striker Dean Brotherston got the goal that sealed the three points and proved a point to doubters who had tipped Gretna to struggle this season. They’ll be hoping for more of the same as they face a tough trip to Broadwood to face Cumbernauld Colts. 

Hearts B

Liam Fox’s Hearts B have been scoring for fun so far this season having netted nine in their last two outings. Things might be tougher for them this week when they face Linlithgow Rose, who themselves have found goalscoring form at the weekend. 

Linlithgow Rose

Rose smashed rivals Broxburn Athletic at the weekend and Gordon Herd’s side will be after more of the same as Hearts B visit Prestonfield. Whether that will be the case against the free-scoring B team remains to be seen but Laurie Devine will be the danger man for Rose as they look to make it two wins out of three. 

Tranent 

The Big T have struggled to get going in the Park’s Motor Group Lowland League this season with a draw and a late defeat to Berwick Ranger for their troubles. They’ll be keen to see off Bo’ness United at home to give their season a kick start. 

University of Stirling

Chris Geddes’ Uni might have been surprised to find themselves on the end of a defeat at home against Gretna on Saturday but truth be told it was 90 minutes to forget for the students. They welcome Cowdenbeath to Forthbank on Wednesday night, looking to produce a performance closer to their opening day win over Bo’ness United. Their defence will be the focus with the Uni looking to avoid the shakiness which has punctuated their opening two fixtures.