We’ve had two weekends of inactivity in the Scottish Lowland Football League with the Scottish Cup and South Challenge Cup taking centre stage, but we’re back in action this weekend so it’s about time we had an SLFL preview. As always, let us know where you’re heading and what your predictions are on Twitter.
Vale of leithen vs civil service strollers
Last time out in the league, Alex Cunningham’s Civil Service Strollers side pulled off one of the results of the season as they inflicted early leaders BSC Glasgow’s first league defeat. An excellent 4-2 win at Christie Gillies Park gave Strollers their first win in four and moved them further away from the sides at the bottom, as they instead begin to look up the Lowland League table. One win and one defeat followed in consecutive cup games, with another impressive victory over Gretna putting them into the next round of the South Challenge Cup.
Saturday’s opponents Vale picked up an away win of their own, with a second half goal-fest at Gala giving them their first league win since the beginning of September. With things still tight at the bottom of the table, a win on Saturday could move them two places up the table and only three points behind their rivals this weekend. A tough run of fixtures to begin the season is beginning to clear up, and Chris Anderson will be looking to make some progress and beat last season’s finish of 13th.
Ones to Watch
Vale of Leithen – Jordan Finnie
Civil Service Strollers – Scott Clapperton
Last 5 (League)
Vale of Leithen – WLLLL
Civil Service Strollers – WLDLW
whitehill welfare vs dalbeattie star
It’s 12th hosting 14th at Rosewell, as early strugglers Whitehill Welfare and Dalbeattie Star look to kickstart their campaigns.
Whitehill will play their first competitive match for 3 weeks (weather permitting), having had their cup game postponed last Saturday. Gary Small oversaw two narrow away defeats previously, SLFL challengers Spartans and Cumbernauld hosting, from which Welfare were unlucky to take nothing home. The Rosewell side have done well to overcome a difficult start, and now that the squad are beginning to gel will be looking to progress up the table to a more secure mid-table position.
Darren Kerr’s Dalbeattie have had recent postponement issues of their own, but overcame South of Scotland league leaders Lochar Thistle in last Saturday’s Challenge Cup tie. The Islecroft side haven’t registered a league win since August (a run of three losses and a draw), so will be desperate to create some positive momentum of their own. Young forward Corey Thompson netted his first Star goals in a MOTM performance last weekend and will be one to watch if he has now earned a starting berth.
Ones to Watch
Whitehill Welfare – William Kidd
Dalbeattie Star – Corey Thompson
Last 5 (League)
Whitehill Welfare – LLWWL
Dalbeattie Star – LDLLW
bsc glasgow vs university of stirling
League leaders BSC Glasgow welcome fellow high-flyers University of Stirling to The Indodrill Stadium on Saturday.
BSC’s unbeaten start to the league campaign came to a halt earlier this month when Civil Service Strollers ran out 4-2 winners and that became back to back defeats when Buckie Thistle turned Stephen Swifts men over 6-2 in the Scottish Cup. However, BSC put the record straight last weekend with a 3-1 win over Bonnyton Thistle in the South Challenge Cup. The attacking trio of Martin Grehan and Jack Smith will be looking to add to their combined goal tally of 24, with all-time BSC top goalscorer Aidan Ferris also waiting in the wings to make an impact.
The students will be looking to continue their impressive start to the campaign. Player/Manager Chris Geddes led his side to the Second Round of the Scottish Cup after beating Wick Academy 1-0 in a replay, before being defeated 4-1 by Ladbrokes League 2 outfit Montrose, with David O’Brien notching UoS’s goal. Their last league fixture against Edinburgh University ended a 1-0 win and they’ll be looking to close the gap at the top of the table.
Ones to Watch
BSC Glasgow – Martin Grehan
University of Stirling – Kieran Hall
Last 5 (League)
BSC Glasgow – LWDWW
University of Stirling – WLWDW
east stirlingshire vs gretna 2008
East Stirlingshire welcome Gretna 2008 to Ochilview in a clash between two seemingly well-matched sides.
John Sludden’s Shire have stumbled out of the starting blocks, winning 4 of their 10 league fixtures thus far. Last weekend’s South Challenge Cup success at Gala was another frustrating outing, netting a last minute equaliser before finishing the job in extra time. We’re already approaching the dreaded ‘must win’ territory if the club is to challenge for the title and a possible jump back to Ladbrokes League 2. Andy Rodgers has found his scoring touch recently and the wily veteran will look to lead the way to the top.
Last weekend’s cup fixture saw the Black & Whites suffer defeat to Civil Service Strollers (after extra time), having taken 7 of 9 available points on league duty beforehand. Andy Aitken and Davie Irons’ charges currently lurk as dark horses to make an unexpected title challenge with only 9 points separating them and the SLFL summit; a win here would keep the Raydale Park side well in touch with the early pacesetters. Kevin Connelly leads their goalscoring charts with an impressive 8 goals so far this season.
Ones to Watch
East Stirlingshire – Andy Rodgers
Gretna 2008 – Kevin Connelly
Last 5 (League)
East Stirlingshire – WLWLW
Gretna 2008 – WWDLL
edinburgh university vs hawick royal albert
The SLFL’s basement sides go toe-to-toe at East Peffermill this weekend with both sides looking for improvement, but all eyes will be on Craig Tully’s Hawick side as they look to overcome a ten point deficit to Uni in this match.
It’s been all change at Albert Park but goals have been hard to come by and a 3-2 loss away at Glasgow University in the SFA South Region Challenge Cup will have done little to help the confidence going into this game. Edinburgh Uni on the other hand will be looking to build on a 4-0 win over Burntisland Shipyard in the same competition. Their form has been patchy of late and this is almost certain to be a tight game, with a win for either side having the potential to be a catalyst for their season.
Ones to Watch
Edinburgh University – Ewan Ritchie
Hawick Royal Albert – Rodriguez Nanitellamio
Last 5 (League)
Edinburgh University – LWDLL
Hawick Royal Albert – LLLLL
edusport academy vs the spartans
Dougie Samuel’s Spartans side travel to Galabank on Saturday with an opportunity to supplant BSC Glasgow at the summit of the SLFL table. They go into the match one point behind with a game in hand and will be hoping for a slip-up at The Indodrill where their rivals welcome University of Stirling.
Spartans have been in imperious form recently and have gone under the radar thanks to the way their fixtures have worked out. Ross Allum and co. have scored 23 goals in five games in all competitions including a 9-0 hammering of Ormiston in the SFA South Region Challenge Cup and Edusport Academy will have to be at their defensive best to keep The Spartans at bay.
Edusport themselves have fallen away slightly after an impressive start to the season but they too have dangerous players in their squad and the talents of Sofiane Zeghdane et al. will likely come to bear on the Edinburgh side’s backline as they look to cement their place in the SLFL top 10.
Ones to Watch
Edusport Academy – Sofiane Zeghdane
The Spartans – Jamie Dishington
Last 5 (League)
Edusport Academy – LLWLW
The Spartans – WWWWW
gala fairydean rovers vs cumbernauld colts
An improving Gala Fairydean Rovers welcome a consistent Cumbernauld Colts to Netherdale 3G on Saturday.
Gala’s seven game winless run came to a halt three weeks ago when goals from Jamie Gullan and Billy Miller ensured a 2-0 victory against rivals Hawick Royal Albert. However, the following weekend saw Rovers stuttering form continue as Vale of Leithen defeated Gala 3-1. Last Saturday, Gala showed much more promise as they were minutes away from victory against East Stirlingshire in the South Challenge Cup when Shire equalised in the 89th minute and went on to win 3-1 after extra time.
Visitors Cumbernauld Colts come into the game full of confidence having defeated East Kilbride 1-0 last time out thanks to a goal from William Mortimer. Colts were also defeated 3-1 to Shire, however this was three weeks ago in their last league game, but will be looking to build on their solid start to the campaign and break into the top four.
Ones to Watch
Gala Fairydean Rovers – Jamie Gullan
Cumbernauld Colts – Stephen O’Neill
Last 5 (League)
Gala Fairydean Rovers – LLWLD
Cumbernauld Colts – LWDWW
Selkirk vs east kilbride
Last season’s runaway Lowland League champions East Kilbride may be slightly surprised to find themselves third in the table as we approach the winter, but fans of Saturday’s hosts Selkirk arguably must be even more shocked – last season’s strugglers have started this season on fire, scoring 30 goals in 10 games under new boss Ian Fergus. Now, they have a chance to close the gap further on the league’s early leaders with a third league win on the bounce.
It says a lot about the recent history of their opponents that one defeat from their first 12 league games may be seen as underachieving. This time last year, Kilby were equalling a famous Ajax world record by winning their 26th consecutive game but draws against the University sides and league leaders BSC, as well as that heavy defeat to East Stirlingshire, have shown them it will be a fight to win their third straight Lowland League. A win on Saturday would be massive for Billy Stark and his side but it’s sure to be a tight match.
Ones to Watch
Selkirk – Ricky Millar
East Kilbride – Sean Winter
Last 5 (League)
Selkirk – WWLWW
East Kilbride – LWDLW
