Season: 2023/24

The 2022/23 season of The Park’s Motor Group Scottish Lowland Football League.

East Stirlingshire vs Edinburgh University

Last time both sides faced each other, East Stirlingshire took the three points back to Falkirk – thanks to a 3-0 win at East Peffermill.

East Stirlingshire currently sit in 16th place with 25 points from their 26 games played – made up of seven wins, four draws, and 15 defeats.

The Shire have won three of their last five matches v Linlithgow Rose, Gretna 2008, and Berwick Rangers, losing the other two to Tranent and Gala Fairydean Rovers.

Edinburgh University currently sit bottom of the table with five points from their 26 games played – made up of one win, two draws, and 23 defeats.

Uni come into this off the back of ten-straight defeats and have the worst defensive record in the 23/24 campaign, so far – conceding 112 goals.

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Gala Fairydean Rovers vs Cowdenbeath

Last time both sides faced each other, the whistle blew on a 2-2 draw at Central Park.

Gala Fairydean Rovers currently sit in 15th place with 28 points from their 27 games played – made up of eight wins, four draws, and 15 defeats.

GFR come into this with four consecutive victories, keeping clean sheets in three of them – including their recent 2-0 win over Stirling Uni in the Lowland League Cup.

Cowdenbeath currently sit in 11th place with 33 points from their 25 games played – made up of eight wins, nine draws, and eight defeats.

Following six competitive games without a win (five losses & a draw), The Blue Brazil got back to winning ways – recently defeating Broomhill 1-0.

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Gretna 2008 vs Cumbernauld Colts

Last time both sides met, Cumbernauld Colts secured all three points – thanks to a 6-0 win at Broadwood.

Gretna 2008 currently sit second-bottom of the table with eight points from their 27 games played – made up of two wins, two draws, and 23 defeats.

Since their 6-0 win over Lochmaben in the Potts Cup, the Anvils come into this with three consecutive defeats to Bo’ness United (LLC), Tranent, and Albion Rovers.

Cumbernauld Colts currently sit in 2nd place with 51 points from their 26 games played – made up of 15 wins, six draws, and five defeats.

The Colts come into this seven games undefeated – with six wins (including progression in the South Challenge & Lowland League Cups) and drawing only one.

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Linlithgow Rose vs Caledonian Braves

Last time both sides faced each other, Linlithgow Rose left Alliance Park with all three points – thanks to a 1-0 win.

Linlithgow Rose currently sit in 7th place with 40 points from their 24 games played – made up of 11 wins, seven draws, and six defeats.

The Rosey Posey have won two and lost two of their last five matches, drawing the other – with their recent result being a 2-1 league win over Stirling Uni.

Caledonian Braves currently sit in 13th place with 32 points from their 27 games played – made up of eight wins, eight draws, and 11 defeats.

The Braves have one win from their seven games played in 2024 – with three draws, and three losses (two being cup exits) making up the other results.

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Heart of Midlothian B vs East Kilbride

Last time both sides faced each other, Hearts B took the three points back to Edinburgh – thanks to a 4-2 win at K-Park.

The two teams are the highest scorers in the 23/24 campaign, so far – EK scoring 79, and Hearts B scoring 70.

Hearts B currently sit in 4th place with 48 points from their 26 games played – made up of 14 wins, six draws, and six defeats.

Since their 12-0 win over Edinburgh Uni, the Wee Jambos lost three games in a row, but have since got back to winning ways – defeating Tranent 1-0.

East Kilbride currently sit top of the table with 66 points from their 26 games played – made up of 21 wins, three draws, and two defeats.

The Kilby come into this with a winning run of seven consecutive games across all competitions – scoring 26 goals, and conceding 11.

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Cumbernauld Colts v Berwick Rangers

Cumbernauld Colts leave it late to qualify for the next round of the Lowland League Cup after their victory over Berwick Rangers at Broadwood Stadium.

In their previous encounter, it was the home side who managed to claim all three points in the league. Despite this, it was still a tight encounter – with Cumbernauld Colts only winning 2-1.

Berwick Rangers started the game as the better team as chances were coming in fast. A curled effort from Cameron Graham and an opportunity for Jackson Mylchreest helped their side take control of the match.

Things weren’t ticking for the Colts as manager David Proctor began to get frustrated with the lack of chances being created or converted. The first half became even more annoying for the home side as Tam Scobbie’s side was able to open the scoring.

Lovely passing from the Berwick Rangers forward line helped Mylchreest run through on goal and score into the bottom corner.

Unhappy with their performance in the opening 45 minutes, Proctor felt it was necessary to change his tactics for his team to get back into the match.

Ten minutes into the second half and straight away, you could see a change in intensity from the Colts as chances were able to be developed. The game felt a lot more contested, with both sets of players battling it out.

Cumbernauld Colts were finally able to get back into the match as a ball played into the path of defender Keelan Adams led to him releasing a thunderous shot past the Berwick Rangers ‘keeper.

With it looking like this Lowland League Cup clash was destined for penalties, the Colts had another trick up their sleeve. In the 88th minute, Cole McIntyre was able to brilliantly turn his man and strike the ball into the net.

Going into the final few minutes, Berwick Rangers tried their best to take this tie to penalties.

However, it was all too much for the away side as Cumbernauld Colts secured their place in the next round.

David Proctor, manager of Cumbernauld Colts, discussed how he was pleased to see a change in the performance of his players after a difficult first half.

He said: “I really didn’t see it coming and it took us a while to get into the game. Once we did get going in the second half, you could see the qualities that the boys have in their locker.

“When we show our qualities, I feel the pace of our side is really difficult to defend against so it’s about doing that on a consistent basis.”

Tam Scobbie, manager of Berwick Rangers, was frustrated with the result but felt there were some positives that his side could take from the match.

He said: “It’s a bit of a sucker punch but I feel the boys gave me everything. We implemented the game plan and tried to pass and move it about.

“It’s disappointing but in the bigger picture, some boys got some rest and we managed to get a couple of the guys back who were out with injuries so there’s positives and negatives to take.”

In their next match, both sides return to league action as they travel away from home with Cumbernauld Colts playing Gretna and Berwick Rangers facing up against Celtic B.

Kyle Murphy.

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