Ahead of the Lowland League Cup Final, we asked Official Catchup’s Chris Pow to take a look at both side’s chances in the match.
It’s a case of Déjà vu ahead of this Sunday’s Lowland League Cup Final at Broadwood, as East Kilbride meet Bo’ness United in the final, for the third time in four seasons.
East Kilbride have come out on top on both occasions over the BUs, with a 4-2 victory during the 2021-22 final, and a 5-4 penalty victory in the 2022-23 final. EK are already the record holders of the competition and will be looking to lift the cup for the fifth time. It is also EK’s fourth straight Lowland Cup Final appearance, however, last season’s final ended in a penalty defeat to Tranent.
Kilby sit top of the Lowland League and are officially two league wins away from claiming a record fourth league title. If records are your thing, EK are also one league goal away from surpassing East Stirlingshire’s most goals scored in a Lowland League season record from 2016-2017.
Ultimately, another crack at promotion to League 2 will be the club’s main objective after last season’s disappointing defeat to Stranraer. The Lowland League Cup will just be a chance to add to the K Park trophy cabinet.
EK go into the final carrying a few knocks, so don’t be surprised to see assistant manager Simon Ferry suited up on Sunday, like he was in the recent midweek league fixture against Civil Service Strollers. Mick Kennedy has bemoaned the number of chances his team has squandered in recent games, so will be looking to lean on the likes of talisman Cami Elliot, Jack Leitch, and John Robertson to make the most of their opportunities in Sunday’s final.
From the highs of finishing third in the Lowland League last season, it’s been a somewhat disappointing year for Bo’ness United, who currently sit ninth in the league. The cup final will be a massive boost for supporters, who likely expected a wee bit more from their club.
It’s fair to say, a few BU fans and neutrals may have preferred a Flints Derby final, which was a possibility, before East Kilbride put out BUs rivals Linlithgow Rose in the semis. Alas, Bo’ness United will be hoping it’s third time lucky against East Kilbride.
It’s pretty obvious East Kilbride come into the game as favourites, going by league positions, previous meetings, and the strength of the squads, however, it’s a cup game and we all know anything can happen. Bo’ness United haven’t scored much from open play recently, which I’m sure manager Stuart Hunter would have been working on at training. The BUs will come in with a game plan and with a good backing on Sunday at Broadwood, no one should be ruling them out.
