Cumbernauld Colts v Arniston Rangers

Cumbernauld Colts 4-0 Arniston Rangers
SFA South Region Challenge Cup Second Round
Broadwood Stadium
Friday 14th September 2018

It’s a break from league action tonight for these two clubs as they begin their battle for the biggest senior non-league cup in the Lowland region. Clyde are at home tomorrow, so this game has handily been switched to Friday night, which is good news, as you all know how much I enjoy a Friday night game.

The Ground

I’ve spoken a fair bit about Broadwood recently, so won’t go into any more detail today. Other than mention the new addition to the stand behind the goal, a wooden/metal fox designed to stop birds from roosting on the roof. As you can see from the picture, it works wonderfully.

The Competition

It’s a brand new section here, which will be used from time to time going forward when I’m talking about a competition that is new to the blog. I’ve thought back, and I could definitely have utilised it previously, but I’ve never actually thought of it before today.

The SFA South Region Challenge Cup (usually referred to simply as the South Challenge Cup) came into being in 2007, effectively replacing the Scottish Qualifying Cup (South) when the SFA restructured the Scottish Cup to allow direct entry to full members. It has been played out between all senior non-league teams in the Lowland region since it’s inception, with finals being played at a variety of neutral venues. Spartans are the most successful team in the cup’s history, having won it on three occasions. Whitehill Welfare and East Kilbride have each won the cup twice. Teams play for the impressive trophy pictured above, which I am holding following Whitehill’s win over Dalbeattie Star at Annan in 2013.

The cup has expanded in size almost every year, and this season, with the influx of new teams in the East of Scotland League, it has grown to include 69 teams. An abridged first round saw five ties, to bring us to the second round of 64 teams this weekend. Teams are drawn from the Lowland League, East of Scotland League and South of Scotland League, with amateurs Glasgow University also entering. Civil Service Strollers are the current holders. The parallel version in the North Region was scrapped after just two editions in 2009. Edinburgh United produced the absolutely wonderful programme cover above for their first match in the competition, featuring all 69 teams in this year’s cup.

The Teams

I’ve seen Cumbernauld Colts a couple of times already this season and they have actually only played once since I last saw them against Spartans, with their match last weekend being postponed due to East Kilbride’s participation in the Irn Bru Cup, and their previous match being scheduled against Selkirk, who folded and resigned from the Lowland League. The one match they have played was a 3-2 win in Annan against Edusport. They currently sit 6th in the Lowland League table.

Arniston Rangers are based in the Midlothian former mining village of Gorebridge. They were formed in 1878 and named for the local Arniston Colliery – one of many Midlothian teams to be named after the nearby mines – and the village of Arniston, very close to Gorebridge itself. Until this summer they were a junior side, who had a fair amount of success in the twentieth century, including seven East of Scotland Cup triumphs, and winning the East Region twice in the early 1970s. More recently, they struggled near the bottom of the East Region, with only fleeting limited success.

This past summer they were one of the influx of junior sides who moved to the East of Scotland League. Their move was one of the last to be confirmed, and came after every other junior club in Midlothian had already indicated their intention to go senior. Life as a senior side began poorly as they finished bottom of their Qualifying League section, with just one point (a draw away to Hawick Royal Albert) and heavy home defeats to Tranent and Blackburn United. Since league games begun, they have fared better, and sit in eighth place in Conference A, with two wins and three defeats. They have played the most games of anyone in their conference. Their current manager is Ryan Bissett.

The Game

It was fairly obvious right from that start that Colts were the better team, but they were near constantly frustrated throughout the first half by poor final balls and lacklustre finishing. With five minutes gone, Scott Davidson broke from the back and beat several Arniston defenders before shooting wide of the post. Ten minutes later, a superb run down the right hand side from Callum MacDonald, making his debut on loan from Stirling Albion, saw a wonderful cross put straight across the six yard box. It was crying out to be knocked in by someone, but Paul Nash couldn’t quite get on the end of it.

With 28 minutes played, Michael Wallace got himself in a good shooting position around 25 yards out and stung the palms of Darren McBey, who managed to turn the ball away for a corner. Five minutes later, MacDonald one again broke free on the right and played in Wallace, who really should have done better than screwing his shot harmlessly wide. It was all Colts at this point and on 35 minutes, Pedram Ardalany – back in Scotland after a spell in Japan, Korea and at home in his native Iran – fired a long distance strike only just past the post.

As half time approached, Colts stepped up their game further, but a spell of really good football between Wallace and Stephen O’Neil ended with O’Neil’s cross failing to be converted. Just before the half time whistle, O’Neil again caused problems when he forced McBey into a good save, before turning provider with a cross that was met by the head of Davidson before being held well by McBey. 0-0 at half time, with Colts well on top but being frustrated by their own wastefulness.

It looked like it was going to be more of the same for Colts in the second half, when Craig Henderson’s corner with 48 minutes gone was headed by Davidson and held easily by McBey, but they did finally get the breakthrough just two minutes later. Arniston failed to clear an attack properly and were punished when the ball broke to MacDonald, who slammed the ball into the net from a tight angle. Just before the hour, Nash just failed to get his head on O’Neil’s cross, and Jordan Marshall struck just wide from distance after Arniston could only half clear the danger.

Colts pressure was looking like it could pay off, and with 62 minutes gone, Henderson was unlucky to strike the bar with a 25 yard free kick. Three minutes later, it was 2-0, when O’Neil swung a wonderful free kick into the top corner after Adalani had been fouled around 30 yards out. It was a moment of real quality, but things went from the sublime to the ridiculous almost straight from the kick off. Arniston made a complete mess of things trying to play it out from the back and allowed Henderson to pounce. He sent what looked to be a harmless ball into the box, but it bounced off Dean Boyne, and that touch somehow managed to take the ball past McBey. It was full on comedy own goal territory, and to be honest, just about summed up Arniston’s night.

Colts were enjoying their football now, and with 72 minutes played, substitute Craig Holmes broke in the midfield and played O’Neil through. O’Neil took the ball wide and sent in a cross that was met by Fraser Team – also on as a substitute – who fired just over. Team made amends for that miss two minutes later when he got on the end of Henderson’s cross and smashed a cool finish at the near post in off the post to make it 4-0. Arniston pushed for a consolation goal as time ran out and came close with four minutes to go. Captain Paul Power – just minutes after being involved in some handbags – dispossessed Greg Pascazio and cut the ball back to Kyle Houldcroft-Doig. His shot was saved well by Andy Wilson in the Colts goal, and the game ended without any further incident. The gulf in class between the two sides was evident, but Arniston never gave up, and despite being second best, can be pleased with the way they handled themselves.

The Pies

I didn’t bother with a pie tonight, but did get a Bovril at half time. It was 8 degrees, which meant that it felt a damn sight colder than even that at Broadwood, and the Bovril definitely helped keep me warm for the second half!

Admission: £6
Programme: £2
Pie: £2
Bovril: £1.50
Attendance: 73

Threave Rovers v Kelty Hearts

Threave Rovers 0-4 Kelty Hearts
Lowland League Promotion Playoff First Leg
Meadow Park
Saturday 5th May 2018

After a particularly enjoyable Saturday afternoon watching Kelty Hearts win the East of Scotland League last Saturday, my wife Kaitlin asked me what happened next. When I mentioned that there would be a playoff with the South of Scotland League winners and that the first leg would be in Dumfries and Galloway, her interest was piqued and it’s off to Castle Douglas we go.

The Venue

Meadow Park is situated just south of Castle Douglas town centre. It’s a welcoming little ground, featuring a large indoor pie hut with a decent sized seating area, a bar and hospitality area which caters for both home and away fans before and after the game as well as at halftime, and modern clean toilet facilities. The changing rooms are adjacent to the other buildings. A decidedly wonderful quirk at this ground is the viewing area on top of the bar building, accessed by a staircase giving an excellent view from behind the goal.

All four sides of the ground are used for spectators with a mixture of uncovered stepped terracing, a seated stand, grass banking and hard standing. The roughly 180 seats were purchased from St Mirren when Love Street was demolished in 2009. It’s an old fashioned football ground with excellent facilities and a welcoming atmosphere from entering to leaving. The ground’s official licensed capacity is 1,671.

The Teams

Threave Rovers are based in Castle Douglas, and are named after Threave Castle, the ancient stronghold of the “Black Douglases” situated just outside the town. The club were formed in 1953, and after six years playing friendlies and local cup competitions, they joined the South of Scotland Football League in 1959, replacing Whithorn, who had folded at the end of the previous season. The club remained in the SOSL until the 1998-99 season before joining the East of Scotland League to increase their level of competition. Despite being competitive, finishing as high as third in 2003-04, the travelling became a strain on finances, and the club rejoined the SoSL – where they had continued to run a reserve side – at the start of the 2004-05 season.

Rovers were one of the first non-league clubs to gain an SFA Club License, and were therefore one of the three clubs (along with Spartans and Preston Athletic) who were invited to automatically become members of the newly formed Lowland League for the 2013-14 season. The club struggled to compete at this new level, finishing second bottom in the inaugural season, and bottom in the subsequent two years. Rovers were given the option to remain in the league for the 2016-17 season, but decided to accept relegation back to the SoSL to regroup. All in all, with this season’s championship included, Threave have won the SoSL thirteen times, and have won all of the league’s associated cup competitions on multiple occasions. This season, they won the league with 73 points from their 28 games, winning by 7 points from nearest rivals Mid-Annandale. In cup competitions this season, Threave have still to contest the Potts and Tweedie Cup finals, are still in the Cree Lodge Cup at the quarter final stage, reached the quarter finals of the South Challenge Cup, are still active in the much delayed Haig Gordon Cup, exited the League Cup in the first round, and the Southern Counties Cup at the second round. They were knocked out of the Scottish Cup by junior side Glenafton Athletic in the first round. Scott Wilby is the current man in charge.

Since winning the East of Scotland League last weekend, representatives from Kelty Hearts have been taking the league trophy on a tour of the town, dropping in at schools, sponsors and other local businesses. It’s a real show of community spirit, and has strengthened the community club aspect of Kelty Hearts even further. A sizeable travelling support is expected today from Fife for what is one of the biggest games in the club’s history.

The Game

This is the third season that it’s been possible for this tie to take place since “automatic” promotion to the Lowland League was introduced, but the first time it has actually been necessary. Prior to the 2015-16 season, the pyramid system in the Lowland League region came fully into force, and a team would be relegated from the Lowland League. If both EoSL and SoSL winners were licensed, a playoff would be implemented to decide the team to replace them. In the 2015-16 season, EoSL winners Leith Athletic and SoSL champions St Cuthbert Wanderers were both unlicensed, so neither went up. In 2016-17, EoSL winners Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale had not acquired a license, but SoSL champions Edusport Academy had, so were promoted without the need for a playoff. This is the first season that both league winners have been licensed, so it’s a historic moment in Scottish non-league football.

Threave started the game with pace and with less than a minute gone had almost opened the scoring. A poor clearance fell to 49 goal striker Roman Soltys 30 yards from goal and his attempt to lob Scott Christie was only just tipped onto the bar and over for a corner. It was however, the brightest spot in the first half for the home side, as the EoSL champions regrouped and started to dominate possession. Jake Gemmell in the Threave goal was finding himself a busy man inside the opening ten minutes, as he saved well from Ross Philp, saw Brian Ritchie’s effort fly just wide of his post, and make a remarkable save at point blank range from Stuart Cargill as the visitors were knocking on the door.

Kelty right back Elliot Ford was causing problems for the home side, and with 16 minutes gone his 25 yard effort sailed only just over the bar. Back in the starting lineup following his clinching goal from the bench last week, Scott Taylor-MacKenzie was enjoying his afternoon. With 19 minutes gone, he forced a good save from Gemmell after latching on to a breaking ball. He followed this up with a shot from the edge of the box agonisingly wide on 23 minutes, and a 25 yard free kick that went just over the bar four minutes later.

The visitors were absolutely dominating the ball, reducing Threave to speculative long range efforts, with Soltys cutting a sullen figure being isolated up front. But for all their possession and chances, Kelty just couldn’t find a way through. Four minutes before the break, Ritchie got on the end of a cross from Ford with a diving header but it was saved well by Gemmell. And in the dying embers of the half, captain Shaun Greig’s shot from Philp’s cutback ended up just a matter of inches wide of the post. 0-0 at half time, but the visitors were fully in the ascendancy.

Kelty started the second half as they ended the first with a barrage on the home goal. Threave managed to scramble the ball clear with some last ditch defending after 47 minutes, but their defences were finally breached just a minute later. Scott Dalziel picked the ball up on the right hand side and worked well down the wing before firing a low ball across the box that was met by Philp who knocked it past the despairing Gemmell. The proverbial floodgates had been opened and two minutes later it was 2-0. Cargill pounced on the break of a ball and squared it to Philp, who saw his shot saved by Gemmell. The Threave keeper couldn’t hold onto the ball though and Dalziel was there to tap in the rebound.

Threave were presented with a chance just before the hour, when a loose ball from Sean O’Neil was picked up by Saltys. Despite having space to run into the box however, the striker could only fire a tame shot straight at Christie from the edge of the box. MacKenzie-Taylor once again had a spell of menacing the Threave defence and he almost had the ball in the net with 64 minutes gone. His cross-cum-shot was picked off just under the bar by a grateful Gemmell. Three minutes later he unleashed a long range effort that went just over the bar, and two minutes after that, forced a really good low save from Gemmell.

With 74 minutes gone, the tie was all but put to bed when a Kelty corner was turned in at the front post by Cargill. Kelty continued to attack, and five minutes from time it was 4-0. Another corner was swung in from the right and this time met by the head of Ritchie who powered the ball into the net. It’s one and a half feet in the Lowland League for Kelty as the tie moves to Fife next Saturday. Only a minor miracle from Threave will stop them becoming the first Lowland League side from “The Kingdom”.

The Pies

Threave’s pie hut is extremely welcoming, with seating for about 20 people or so. Their pies are alright, a really good crust, but a tad too salty a filling for my taste. A decent enough pie, but the real gem of a trip to Castle Douglas is Moore’s chip shop located just down the road. We went after the game and shared a scampi supper before heading up the road. It’s easy to see why this place has won countless awards over the years, it’s absolutely up there with the best chippies that I’ve ever been to.

Admission: £4
Programme: £2
Pie: £1.50
Bovril: £1
Attendance: 170 (approx)

Kelty Hearts v Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale

Kelty Hearts 3-1 Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale
East of Scotland Football League
New Central Park
Saturday 28th April 2018

My original plan for this Saturday was Clydebank v Kilwinning Rangers in the West Junior Super Premier, but when I mentioned that I was slightly considering this game, Kaitlin peaked an interest due to the road trip, so it was off to Fife for the East of Scotland League championship shootout.

The Venue

New Central Park is situated pretty much right in the middle of the town, which is handily situated just off the M90. It is almost unrecognisable from just a few years ago having under gone major ground improvements over the past few years, with even more work in the planning stage. The old grass pitch was replaced by a state of the art synthetic surface in 2015, and the facility is used by the youth and women’s setups associated with the club, as well as several other youth sides from nearby teams such as Cowdenbeath and Burntisland Shipyard. It’s a fantastic community facility, and much like I spoke about the other night, it is important for places like this to exist in order for the sport to keep on being attractive to the younger generations. This really is a benchmark for the community football facility.

NCP is a mixture of hard standing and grass banking and has stepped terracing within the enclosures. The two large enclosures on the east side of the pitch were installed in 2016, and can reportedly hold around 500 each. There’s a smaller enclosure on the halfway line on the opposite side of the pitch that can hold about 250, and the official listed capacity of the ground is 2,271 (down from the 3,000 that was notional before the club gained their license.) Plans have been approved by Fife Council for a new 300 seat grandstand, which will sit atop new changing and corporate facilities between the two east side enclosures.

The ambitious plans for the ground match with the club’s on field ambitions, and by the end of the works, Kelty will have one of the best grounds in the Scottish non-leagues (that is if they’re still in the non-league part of the pyramid that is)

The Teams

These two teams have steamrollered the rest in the EoSFL this season, and going into this last game only one point separates them. It really is a true title shootout, with today’s visitors having the upper hand by virtue of a 1-0 win against Kelty just last Saturday at Saughton. A huge fixture backlog had left LTHV forced to play five games in eight days over the last week or so, and incredibly they won all five without conceding, leaving them needing only a draw to take the title and a place in the Lowland League Promotion Playoff with South of Scotland champions Threave Rovers (provided that their SFA License application has been approved, which seems to be a bit up in the air at the moment.)

Kelty Hearts were formed in 1975 and joined the Fife Junior League, winning it on six occasions before reconstruction created the East region. After working their way up to the East Superleague, they won it in 2014-15 and 2016-17, finishing runner up in the season between their triumphs. They also reached the Scottish Junior Cup final twice before resigning from the junior system at the end of last season to enter the EoSFL and the Scottish football pyramid. As the first junior club to make the jump since the advent of the Lowland League and the pyramid, Kelty have been trailblazers, with an influx of applications to the league from the junior ranks being accepted for next season just two days ago.

Kelty’s first season in senior football has been a roaring success. Unless they have played LTHV. Until meeting today’s visitors in the league last week, they had a 100% record, scoring 140 goals and conceding just 10 in their 22 league games. Last weekend’s defeat has left them needing a win today to become champions in their first season and playoff for promotion. The cups have been an entirely different prospect though, although a 3-2 defeat to newly crowned Lowland League champions Spartans in the EoS Qualifying Cup was far from a bad effort. They were eliminated on penalties by Threave Rovers in the 3rd Round of the South Challenge Cup, showing that any potential promotion playoff will be no walk in the park. But it was in the Scottish Cup 1st Preliminary Round and League Cup semi final that LTHV prevailed. Both games were 1-0 wins for the Edinburgh side. Kelty, managed by Tam Courts will have to be at their best to win today.

Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale were formed in 1969, originally as a works team for Lloyd’s Finance. After renaming themselves to Lothian Thistle, they joined the EoSFL in 1995. The club made a formal merger with noted Edinburgh youth side Hutchison Vale in 2011 and won the EoSFL for the first time in 2013-14, the first Lowland League season. Issues at their Saughton Enclosure ground have stopped the club obtaining their SFA license, and the club have therefore been denied the possibility of promotion despite winning the league three of the past four seasons. A license application has now been made, but it is unclear whether this has been ratified in time for them to take up the promotion playoff spot if they win the league today.

Much of LTHV’s season has been detailed above, including their incredible five wins in eight days earlier this month. The club’s only dropped points of the season came in a remarkable 5-5 draw with Leith Athletic a few weeks ago. They reached the final of the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup, although they lost to East Kilbride in the final at Blackburn. It was their Scottish Cup run that caught the attention, beating Kelty and Coldstream in the preliminary rounds before eliminating Highland League side Inverurie Loco Works in the first round proper. The second round saw the team create one of the shocks of this year’s competition as they travelled to League 2 Stirling Albion and came away with a remarkable 5-3 win. The win set up a scintillating 3rd round tie at home to eventual Championship winners St Mirren. They were beaten 7-1 by the Paisley side, but their cup run had turned some heads. A surprise 4th round defeat to Glasgow Uni ended their South Challenge Cup run, they are in the final of the League Cup and remarkably still to start their King Cup campaign. I did mention the fixture backlog. Raymond Carr is the current man in charge.

The Game

With glorious sunshine beating down and almost no parking to be found in Kelty, it was no surprise to see a massive crowd – estimated to be in the four figures – crammed into New Central Park. The crowd were treated to a cracking game of football, with two quality teams going hammer and tong throughout.

Kelty almost took an early lead with only a minute played when Murray Carstairs’ header from a free kick was batted onto the post by Kevin Swain in the LTHV goal. Neil McCabe followed up and although he blasted his shot over the bar, it was a statement of intent from the home side. Lothian’s Paul Crawford dealt well with a cross from Stephen Husband just a few minutes later before the visitors broke forward themselves with Willis Hare’s inviting cross being well defended by the towering Sean O’Neil. It was a frantic opening with the home side knowing that nothing less than a win would do.

Kelty continued to have the lion’s share of the chances, and after some good work to keep the ball in by Scott Dalziel on fifteen minutes, Stuart Cargill was presented with a chance but his poor header was cleared. Six minutes later it was Cargill’s turn to cross for Dalziel, who could only put his header wide of the post. Less than a minute later, Swain was called into action when left back Murray Courts drove a powerful strike at goal from 25 yards. The Lothian keeper did well to keep the shot out and smother the danger. Kelty were dominating possession, but Lothian were also looking dangerous on the counter attack. But despite both sides having decent chances, neither keeper was being particularly tested.

With 38 minutes on the clock, Kelty broke down the left hand side and Dalziel found himself with the ball in the box. His shot was blocked and fell to Courts, who also saw his shot blocked. The rebound was lofted back into the box and despite a couple of his team mates being in offiside positions, Cargill had gotten out quickly enough and launched himself into the air to connect with a spectacular overhead kick that sailed past Swain and sent the home support into raptures. The joy was doubled just four minutes later when Carstairs rose unchallenged to meet Husband’s corner and head into the net to make it 2-0 to Kelty.

The first half action wasn’t over though as Lothian were handed a golden chance to get themselves back in the game right on half time. A misplaced passback was picked up by Kevin Brown who was tripped as he ran into the box and referee Craig Wilson showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Louis Swanson stepped up and drilled his penalty past Scott Christie to make it 2-1 at the break.

The cutest supporter of the day

The second half was a much cagier affair than the first, with Kelty happy to sit back and let Lothian come at them, confident in their defensive abilities. With that said, it was the home side who had the best chance of the early goings. Brian Ritchie picked up a through ball from Courts and raced through on goal. He rounded Swain, but found himself too wide to take a shot. His hooked cross was met by Dalziel who powered a header goal bound, but it was somehow saved by the recovering Swain. It was a truly remarkable stop. It was the clearest chance in the first half hour of the second half as the defences of both teams were more than equal to the attacks.

With 75 minutes gone, Lothian were pushing for the equaliser that would see them crowned champions. Kevin Brown struck with power from 25 yards and saw his shot tipped over the bar by Christie. The Kelty keeper was called into action again from the resulting corner as Connor McGregor rifled a shot at goal, but Christie held well. Lothian continued to push but couldn’t find a way through as Kelty attempted to kill off the game. And kill it off they did deep into stoppage time. Substitute Scott Taylor McKenzie picked up the ball wide on the right, cut inside and unleashed a strike from the edge of the box past Swain to start utter pandemonium in the ground. Coach Murrsy McDowall was dismissed by Wilson after joining in the celebrations with his players and reacted to his sending off by sprinting sideways in front of the packed enclosure to celebrate with the fans.

On the day, Kelty were the better side and deserved the win. It may well have been just one game too many for Lothian after a hectic schedule. To miss out on winning the league after losing just one game all season must be absolutely devastating. Kelty will now play Threave Rovers over two legs to determine who will replace Hawick Royal Albert in the Lowland League next season. Those should be two cracking games.

The Pies

When I initially went for a pie they had run out and were waiting on another batch being cooked (according to someone further up the queue, I must add in case this isn’t actually true!) Being so engrossed in the game I never got back to try one. Which seems a shame because the snack bar menu looked excellent. I’ll make sure to get one next time.

Admission: £6
Programme: £2 (plus free team sheet available on request)
Pie: £1.60
Bovril: £1
Attendance: 1,400

East Kilbride v Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale

East Kilbride 4-1 Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale
Football Nation East of Scotland Qualifying Cup Final
New Murrayfield Park
Saturday 31st March 2018

Another Saturday, another cup final. This time the destination was Blackburn, West Lothian for the final of the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup. The finalists have both already qualified to play Edinburgh City and Berwick Rangers in the semi finals of the East of Scotland Cup itself – although due to fixture backlogs, this cup may form part of preseason for 2018-19 according to today’s programme – but will fight it out today for the trophy.

The Venue

The venue for today’s final was itself an intriguing one. East of Scotland FA finals are usually held at one of their member grounds, or occasionally at an SPFL stadium. The choice to use junior team Blackburn United’s New Murrayfield Park led me to initially wonder if it meant that the rumours of them applying to join the EoSFL for next season were indeed true. I was then informed that the association have used junior grounds for finals before, so while they may still indeed be applying to go senior, the decision on the venue was probably due to it being fairly equidistant for both sides.

So with my probably unfounded conspiracies out of the way, onto the ground itself. Currently known as the Dem-Master Stadium for sponsorship reasons, New Murrayfield Park was opened in 2013, when Blackburn moved from Murrayfield Park, which was conveniently situated right next door. The first thing you notice on approach is the truly impressive main club building which houses the changing rooms, toilets, club rooms and a decent sized cafe bar, which was absolutely full to the gunnels when we arrived. The pitch is a state of the art synthetic one which looks in fantastic shape.

Spectators are housed either on hard standing, or in the enclosure, which was moved from the old ground. I was a bit disappointed to find that the enclosure only has two shallow steps, meaning there’s no real height in the ground at all, but on a day with weather like today, it was the most sensible place to stand by far.

Minor gripe about lack of height aside, it’s a really good modern ground, with excellent facilities, and was a good place to watch a final.

The Teams

The first thing most people will probably wonder is why East Kilbride, being very much in the West of Scotland are even playing in an East of Scotland FA competition. Prior to being admitted as a founder member of the Lowland League in 2013, East Kilbride had joined the South of Scotland League for their first senior season. After one season, they switched memberships to the East of Scotland FA in order to play in their associated cup competitions. And breathe.

Kilby’s run to the final saw them receive a bye in the first round before a 5-1 win at Selkirk in the second round. Their quarter final at home to Civil Service Strollers was a cagey affair in which they ran out 1-0 winners. That scoreline was repeated in their semi-final away to Spartans at Ainslie Park. East Kilbride went into today’s final top of the Lowland League on goal difference from Spartans. Interestingly, in the six cup finals the club have played since turning senior, they have a 100% record of winning the trophy.

LTHV’s route to the final consisted of one more game, and a whole host more goals. In the first round they travelled to Galashiels and prevailed 7-5 after extra time against Gala Fairydean Rovers in a barnstormer of a game. Their second round game at Stirling University was a comfortable 3-0 win, before they dispatched Hawick Royal Albert by 2 goals to 1 in the quarter final. Their much postponed semi-final at home to Vale of Leithen was another 3-0 win. All four of Thistle’s wins came against Lowland League sides. They have won the East of Scotland League title in three of the last four years, but have been denied promotion due to not having an SFA Club Licence, something the club are working hard to rectify. They currently sit second in the league table, despite having a 100% record. Postponements and cup commitments have seen them rack up a fixture backlog, and they have played 4 games less than league leaders Kelty Hearts, who also have a 100% league record.

The Game

It didn’t take long for this game to burst into life, as East Kilbride took the lead just three minutes in. The ball broke to Declan Hughes at the edge of the box and he rifled a thunderous strike past Kevin Swain to put the Lowland League leaders in front. Things were to quickly get worse for Thistle as on thirteen minutes Kilby’s advantage was doubled. A free kick was swung in from wide on the right, and Sean Winter angled a fantastic header into the back of the net. The quickfire double to start the game had some Kilby supporters joking that they were off to Ochilview to see how Spartans were getting on, since this one was as good as done.

Going 2-0 down so early clearly rattled Thistle, who were over committing to tackles and putting themselves in trouble. Referee Stewart Luke handed out several yellow cards, all perfectly justified, but frustratingly let a few similar tackles go unpunished. It always irritates me to see such inconsistent refereeing. As the half progressed, Thistle started to come back into the game slightly, with Louis Swanson and Tony Muir doing their best to create chances. But it looked like the killer blow was struck just before half time when Kilby’s top scorer Ross McNeil latched onto a through ball and lifted a shot deftly over the onrushing Swain to make it 3-0 at the break.

If going 3-0 down on the stoke of halftime had crushed Thistle’s spirits, you would never have known it by the way they came out in the second half. The introduction at half time of Samuel Nhamburo gave them a much needed injection of pace and cracks in the Kilby defence started to open up. On 57 minutes, Kilby goalkeeper Matt McGinley inexplicably dropped what looked like a routine catch, which allowed Louis Swanson to take the ball and squeeze it over the line to make it 3-1. The goal seemed to light a bigger fire under the Thistle team and while Kilby still enjoyed spells of possession, it was the Edinburgh side who looked dangerous every time they pushed forward.

McGinley made amends for his mistake with several excellent saves, and Thistle were left ruing a string of missed chances. With 83 minutes gone, Kilby cleared after a Thistle cross had fizzed across their six yard line. Ross McNeil found himself one on one with Kevin Swain and lobbed the ball over the goalkeeper. His attempt went harmlessly wide, but in the process, Swain had taken him out and the referee pointed to the spot. Sean Winter stepped up and slammed home his second of the game to send the cup back west.

A really entertaining game, the complete opposite of the cagey affairs cup finals can often end up. Thistle, even when 4-1 down late on never gave up, but on the day East Kilbride were just too strong and proved worthy winners.

The Pies

Blackburn United offer both Scotch Pies and Steak Bakes for the bargain price of just £1.30 each. The Bovril was also a much needed hand warmer. The stuff is magic.

The Scotch pie is provided by a local butcher, and you can tell by the quality of the filling inside. Yet again at a junior ground, I’m treated to a fantastic pie. Kaitlin plumped for the steak bake today, and in her words it was “flaky, gooey, with a nice gravy and toothsome pieces of steak.” She enjoyed it.

Admission: £6
Programme: £2
Pie: £1.30 (both Scotch and Steak Bake)
Bovril: £1
Attendance: 220 (approx headcount)