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

Cumbernauld Colts v Spartans

Cumbernauld Colts 0-2 Spartans
Scottish Lowland Football League
Broadwood Stadium
Friday 24th August 2018

Cumbernauld Colts’ groundshare agreement with Clyde gives the SPFL League 2 side priority over use of the ground, meaning that when the two teams are scheduled at home on a particular weekend the Lowland League side elect to play on a Friday evening. It’s working out well for me since I particularly enjoy Friday night football, so once again headed for Broadwood to see two teams who will both be hoping to challenge for the title this year.

The Venue

I was at Broadwood just three weeks ago so will refer to that post for the details on the ground itself. Tonight, the stadium lived up to it’s reputation of always being freezing, and despite it still being August and not really all that cold outside, it was less than balmy in the stand.

The Teams

In the three weeks since I last saw Colts defeat Kelty Hearts 3-2, they have had a mixed time of it in the two league games they’ve played. A 1-0 loss away to Civil Service Strollers – which on the face of it doesn’t look a bad result considering Strollers’ early season form – was followed up by an excellent 3-2 win at home to East Stirlingshire last weekend. The club sit third in the table going into tonight’s game, one point ahead of their opponents.

Spartans were formed back in 1951 by former students of Edinburgh University, whom upon graduation found themselves with no football team to play for. The club quickly grew into an all encompassing club, although many former students still find their way into the setup. The club won the East of Scotland League on nine occasions, most recently in the 2010-11 season before being elected as founder members of the Lowland League in 2013. They won the inaugural edition of the Lowland League, but there was no promotion playoff established at this time. They won their second Lowland League title last season, but were defeated by Cove Rangers in the Highland/Lowland playoff.

Spartans, in partnership with the Spartans Community Football Academy based at Ainslie Park, run teams for males and females of almost every age and ability. The Academy has won numerous awards for their pioneering community outreach work, and in my own personal experience have always been a well run, welcoming club. The club moved to the purpose built Ainslie Park in 2008, having previously played at City Park just across the road. Going back to their links with Edinburgh University, the Uni’s former manager Dougie Samuel has been in charge since 2012. Spartans’s season started in July, as winners of last season’s Lowland League they received an invite to play in the group stages of the Betfred Cup. They earned draws with League 1 side Dumbarton and in hugely impressive fashion against Premiership St Mirren, before losing out to Queen’s Park and Kilmarnock to finish bottom of the group. Their League campaign started with a bump with draws against both Stirling and Edinburgh Universities, but back to back wins over Vale of Leithen and Dalbeattie Star have propelled them back up the table.

The Game

There’s no real way to sugar coat it, so I’ll come right out and say that that this was far from a classic. Neither side was at their best throughout, but with that said I was very infrequently less than entertained. Spartans took an early lead when Jamie Dishington made an excellent run down the right wing and cut the ball back to Jack Smith just inside the box. The former BSC Glasgow striker struck the ball beautifully on the half volley and it flew past Jordan Pettigrew to make it 1-0 to the visitors.

Dishington was one of the few creators of quality in the early stages, and two minutes after the goal he again crossed to Smith in the box, but the ball was just too high and Colts cleared the danger. With twenty minutes played, Colts had their first chance of any real note when Craig Holmes’ cross was nodded own by Fraser Sheridan, but Sean Brown couldn’t quite find his way onto the end of it. Spartans keeper Blair Carswell had a bit of a scare five minutes later when Holmes’ corner landed just about on top of him. Carswell spilled the ball, but managed to gather it at the second attempt with Brown close by ready to pounce.

Dishington continued to look the most likely to create something, and with 26 minutes gone he again found space on the right and whipped a tantalising ball across the face of the goal. Frustratingly, no Spartan could make contact and the ball fizzed away from danger. Three minutes later, Spartans were handed a golden opportunity to double their lead. Colts failed to properly clear from a corner and the ball eventually fell to Smith, whose strike bounced off the hand of Scott Davidson away from goal. The referee had little hesitation in pointing to the spot and David Greenhill dutifully stepped up to blast an unstoppable penalty into the roof of the net.

With 35 minutes gone, the best footballing move of the match saw several Spartans players string several passes together leading to Greenhill finding himself in space on the edge of the box. He took a strike that forced Pettigrew into a very good save to keep the score at 2-0. The half fizzled out, and Colts defender Davidson blasted a shot well over the bar right on halftime, a strike that pretty much summed up the home side’s half.

Colts came out like a different side in the second half, and within a minute of the restart, they had their best chance of the match. Holmes’ cross was met at the front post by the head of Fraser Team, but he couldn’t keep it down and the ball ended up just over the bar. It was about as good as it got for Colts though, as they never really came close to threatening the Spartans goal again. Sheridan did have a decent strike at goal from distance five minutes later, but it was easily held by Carswell.

With an hour played, Spartans left back Gary Cennerazzo burst down the wing and sent a fabulous cross towards the back post. Dishington got his head onto it and sent it back across the goal, but the ball fell just beyond the post. Two minutes later, some absolutely suicidal defending from Colts allowed Willie Bremner to steal the ball and reach the byeline. His cutback was met by Greenhill who came very close to squeezing in a third.

The game was meandering to an anti-climactic conclusion, but Dishington did manage to force Pettigrew into one more save as the game approached the last ten minutes. A scramble in the Spartans box with seven minutes remaining saw Brown’s shot blocked before Craig Henderson’s follow up was smashed well over the bar. Soon after, the final whistle went to hand Spartans a deserved win. Not the best of games quality wise, but a pretty decent night’s entertainment.

The Pies

I finally tried a pie tonight at Broadwood, and I was quite impressed. The scotch pie was encased in a pretty perfect crust that was flaky and also rigid enough not to fall apart in my hands. The filling was nicely balanced, and it hit exactly the spot I needed it to fill.

Admission: £6
Programme: £2
Pie: £2
Bovril: £1.50
Attendance: 130 (approx)

BSC Glasgow v Edusport Academy

BSC Glasgow 2-2 Edusport Academy
Scottish Lowland Football League
The Indodrill Stadium
Saturday 18th August 2018

The fact that Adam Strachan has joined BSC Glasgow this season means that I’ll probably cover them a fair few times, as Kaitlin is a big fan of the fact that he seems no more than a few minutes away from a complete meltdown at any point during matches. So it’s a return trip to Alloa today for a game between two teams whose standing in the pyramid frequently cause social media meltdowns of their own from some people (who really should be old enough to know better.)

The Venue

I’m going to once again refer back to this post for my musings on the stadium formerly known as Recreation Park. We’ve become somewhat frequent visitors to this excellent ground recently, and I’ll look into some quirks for future visits. I mentioned last time that Alloa have narrowed the pitch considerably for this season. The photo below shows just how much, with the green line being the previous width. It’s the same on both sides.

The Teams

BSC have played just once since I last saw them two weeks ago and they got their season back on track with a 3-1 win away to Gala Fairydean Rovers last Saturday. They currently sit in eleventh place in the formative Lowland League table. Talismanic midfielder Stevie Murray was missing for the hosts today, and ended up sitting just a few rows away from me in the stand.

Edusport Academy are a particularly strange addition to the Scottish football pyramid, and a team who have caused plenty of controversy (albeit mostly online, with very little of it actually coming from those within the game) during their short existence. The academy was formed in 2011, with the intention of giving young French footballers the opportunity to develop their language and football skills, with the goal of gaining professional contracts with British clubs. Originally based in Motherwell, the academy now uses Lesser Hampden as a training base, and City of Glasgow College for the education side of their operation. The “students” pay a handsome yearly fee to be a part of the academy.

In 2014, the Academy was successful in their application to enter a senior side in the South of Scotland Football League, making them the first private football academy to ever appear in a FIFA sanctioned league. The club initially played at Hamilton Palace Sports Ground, before moving a year later to share at Annan Athletic’s Galabank, in order to lessen travelling for the other teams in the league. Edusport won the 2016-17 SoSL and with the East of Scotland League champions being unlicensed, gained promotion to the Lowland League. In 2018, Edusport’s founder and managing director Chris Ewing announced plans to separate the senior team from the academy and attract a fanbase by launching a new online membership scheme, Our Football Club. After a “fan vote” it was also announced that the name of the club would be changed to Glasgow United, although it is unclear if or even when this will happen. The club have intentions to build a new ground, rumoured to be located within Strathclyde Park, but this has yet to gain any steam.

The senior team has moved away from being mainly made up of the French students over the past couple of seasons, and although they still feature in the squad, more and more Scottish players are featuring. Ricky Waddell is the current head coach of the senior team, who sit tenth in the table at this early stage of the season with four points from only two games played. They are certainly an interesting team, and it does seem that their story will only grow.

The Game

It took a while to get going for both teams, and an early tetchiness continued for the whole game. BSC had the first chance of any note with seven minutes played, when Ryan McStay’s corner was headed just over by Ross McMillan. Four minutes later, some quick thinking from Adam Strachan when the hosts were awarded a free kick saw a clever one-two played with Declan Hughes, but Strachan’s shot was held routinely by Edu keeper Solal Pelmard. A minute later, BSC had an excellent chance when Bryan Prunty played a fantastic pass to Ross Lindsay, but the midfielder screwed the ball across the box with no-one waiting in the middle and the danger was cleared.

Edu’s first real opportunity came with twenty minutes on the clock. Matt Flynn got on the end of a long ball out of defence and looked poised to shoot when an excellent blocking tackle from Hughes broke up the chance. Scott McLaughlin followed up with a decent effort, but it was held by Ryan Marshall in the BSC goal. With just under half an hour gone, BSC threatened again when Strachan played in Martin Grehan. Grehan controlled the ball well, but his shot from just inside the box was always rising and flew harmlessly over the bar.

Neither goalkeeper was really being called into action as the game was mainly being played as a midfield tussle. David Sinclaire had a long range strike for Edu that sailed over the bar on 36 minutes, and two minutes later a mishit cross from Grehan at the other end had to be fumbled over for a corner by Pelmard. The half ended with Strachan getting into a good position near the corner, but failing to do anything with the ball. 0-0 at half time and although an entertaining 45 minutes, it was hard to see where a goal would come from.

It took a while for either team to get going in the second half as well, with both defences snuffing out any potential chances. On 53 minutes, Jamie Mills did well on the left for the home side, but couldn’t find a final ball. Five minutes later, McLaughlin played a wonderful weighted pass to Ryan McCann, who composed himself well and forced Marshall into a smart save. With an hour gone, the deadlock was broken out of nowhere. An excellent run down the left wing from Strachan saw his cross deflected into the path of Hughes who rattled a powerful low strike into the bottom corner to give BSC the lead.

The goal sparked the game into life, and with 63 minutes played, Jean Guy Lucas found space down the right and played a good ball into substitute Mark Kelly. A fantastic tackle from Ross Smith prevented the Edu trialist from equalising on his debut. Two minutes later, BSC sub Thomas Orr had a powerful strike across the goal pushed away by Pelmard, who got just enough on his save to take it away from the advancing Grehan. With 71 minutes gone, Flynn found himself inside the BSC box, turned a defender and struck a low shot that was well saved by Marshall.

The game looked to be put beyond the visitors just two minutes later when the home side were awarded a penalty. Orr was adjudged to have been brought down by Lucas on the left hand side of the box, a decision that looked harsh from my vantage point. Unfazed, Orr picked up the ball and slotted a cool penalty into the bottom corner to make it 2-0. Edu didn’t let their heads go down though, and Kelly saw a shot well blocked by McMillan after the ball had broken to him in the box. With 79 minutes gone, Flynn did well to keep possession, but couldn’t find a way through the BSC defence. He eventually worked the ball to McLaughlin who’s shot from the edge of the area went just over the top.

There was to be late drama, as Edu were awarded a penalty with six minutes remaining. Alex Abadie on a charging run into the box was impeded by McMillan, and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Sinclaire dispatched the penalty low just inside the post to set up a frantic finish. And it was to be BSC’s own doing that they gave Edu the opportunity to score the equaliser. With time running out and the ball in the corner, they lost possession and allowed a counter attack. Kelly just about managed to get a cross in, and Maxime Oulahito snuck in at the back post to turn the ball past Marshall. In teh aftermath of the goal, Strachan managed to pick up a booking for starting a fight with one of his own team mates, in an ending that had more drama than most television shows.

The Pies

After Kaitlin had a mis-step with her macaroni pie last time, I was determined that she would enjoy Alloa’s legendary pie hut more this time round. In the end, we both had a cheeseburger, which due to the low crowd today, was cooked to order. It was a pretty standard football cheeseburger, and it more than hit the spot. For just £2 as well, the value at the Indodrill is always excellent.

Admission: £7
Programme: £2
Pie: £2
Bovril: £1.50
Attendance: 30

BSC Glasgow v East Kilbride

BSC Glasgow 0-3 East Kilbride
Scottish Lowland Football League
Indodrill Stadium
Saturday 5th August 2018

I’m continuing to enjoy that start of the season and today was a trip to Alloa to see a “home” game for the still technically homeless BSC Glasgow. I actually saw this exact fixture towards the end of last season although there’s been some changes for both sides since then.

The Venue

As I said last time round, despite being more than forty miles away from BSC’s traditional home, the Indodrill (formerly Recreation Park) has functioned as a good home for the side. Notably, Alloa Athletic have narrowed the pitch considerably in advance of their season in the Championship. Whether this will have any bearing on BSC’s fortunes is still to be seen.

The Teams

BSC Glasgow ended last season with manager Stephen Swift leaving the club after a third place Lowland League finish. Within 2 weeks he was back at the helm and it was business as usual. The side lost last season’s player of the year Jack Smith to Spartans, but have otherwise seemed to keep a fairly settled squad. Interestingly, they have brought in two former East Kilbride players in the shape of Bryan Prunty and Adam Strachan. This will be Strachan’s first appearance against his old club since this explosive interview after being released at the end of last season.

BSC started the season with the Irn Bru Cup playoff against East Stirlingshire after the SPFL changed the goalposts on qualification to allow a couple of fifth tier English sides into the competition. They lost that game 1-0, and started their league campaign midweek with a 1-1 draw away to the same opposition.

East Kilbride’s close season wheelings and dealings can be read about here. The club started this season with a thumping 10-0 win over hapless Selkirk last weekend, following that up with a 3-1 victory away to Dalbeattie Star midweek.

The Game

The game was only a few minutes old before Paul Woods was causing chaos for BSC down the right wing. Twice in the space of the opening five minutes he made a good run and sent inviting crosses into the box that just couldn’t quite be converted. It only took seven minutes for the deadlock to be broken, when Kilby captain Craig Malcolm latched onto a wonderful through ball from Anton Brady and finished well past Ryan Marshall in the BSC goal. Just five minutes later, Woods was causing more problems for the home side and struck the post with a finely hit shot from the angle of the box.

It was a great start from the visitors, and it seemed to take the home side a bit of time to find their footing in the game. With 20 minutes gone, Stevie Murray pinged a wonderful crossfield ball to Adam Strachan, who reached the byeline before having his cross cut out. Murray looked the most likely to create anything for the home side as Strachan cut a forlorn figure who was arguing with anyone in sight, while Martin Grehan and Thomas Orr could not be brought into the game, isolated up front. Murray played a wonderful cross into the box with 25 minutes played, but the header from Josh McArthur ended up harmlessly over the bar.

Kilby were dominating possession without creating too much, despite a visable shakiness in the BSC defence, who never looked comfortable for the entire game. With two minutes remaining until half time, a beautiful footballing move from Brady and Michael Anderson played in Woods who unleashed a powerful strike from the edge of the area. The shot looked goalbound all the way but a spectacular fingertip stop from Marshall pushed it onto the post and the home side managed to scramble the ball clear to keep the deficit at one at the break.

The second half started in much the same way the first had finished, with Kilby happy to keep possession and BSC unable to find a way through when they did get the ball. Ten minutes into the second half a strike across goal from Orr caused some concern for the Kilby defence, but it was about as good as it got for the home side. With 58 minutes played, the visitors doubled their lead. Jamie Longworth picked the ball up wide on the right and cut into the box with no discernible challenge. He cut the ball back to Malcolm who rolled it into the empty net to make it 2-0.

Just after the hour, Longworth had a chance to score himself, but his shot on the turn from the edge of the area hit the side netting. With 66 minutes played, BSC’s defensive frailties came to show again when a dreadful clearing header from John Tennent fell at the feet of Graeme Holmes, who could only fire his shot wide. Three minutes later though, it was 3-0. Kilby failed to convert what had looked like a decent chance from Woods, but BSC right back Joe Irvine inexplicably dithered on the ball inside the box instead of clearing. He was robbed of possession by Malcolm who then slammed the ball past Marshall to complete his hat trick.

Kilby were content to play possession football for the rest of the game, and despite a couple of ventures up the park, BSC couldn’t find a way to get back into the game. It was a comfortable three points for the early Lowland League pace setters, and BSC will have to sort out their defensive problems if they want to challenge this year.

The Pies

As always, Alloa’s pie hut offers a wide variety of food for extremely reasonable prices. I had a roll and bacon and tattie scone today and it was fantastic. Kaitlin had a macaroni pie, which unfortunately wasn’t up to the standards she was hoping for. It was a rare miss for the food here, and I hope she has a better experience next time.

Admission: £7
Programme: £2
Pie: £1.50 – £2
Bovril: £1.50
Attendance: 130 (approx)

Cumbernauld Colts v Kelty Hearts

Cumbernauld Colts 3-2 Kelty Hearts
Scottish Lowland Football League
Broadwood Stadium
Friday 3rd August 2018

I really enjoy a Friday night game, and with Clyde having first dibs on Broadwood on Saturdays, it’s always pleasing that Cumbernauld Colts choose Friday evenings rather than Sundays to play any Lowland League games that clash. It’s my first chance to see a Lowland League game this season and on paper it looks like it should be a good one.

The Venue

The last time I was at Broadwood, to see Cumbernauld Colts Ladies, the game had been switched to the back pitch due to a scheduling conflict so this is the first time I’m getting to talk about the stadium itself on the blog.

Broadwood was opened in 1994 as a new home for Clyde FC who had been nomadic since being evicted from Shawfield in 1986. The stadium originally opened with the two side stands built, with a total all seated capacity of 6,000. It was sold out for the opening game, a 2-0 loss for Clyde against their previous landlords Hamilton Academical in February 1994. Three years later, the stand at the south end of the ground was completed, bringing the total capacity to 8,086. The mooted fourth stand was never built, and one of North Lanarkshire Council’s flagship gym and sport centres now sits in the space. Cumbernauld Colts moved in with their election to the Lowland League in 2015, and are now the primary tenants of the stadium, although Clyde’s SPFL status does give them priority for Saturday afternoon games. The stadium has also hosted four Scottish Challenge Cup finals, and is home to the West Region Scottish Rugby Performance Academy.

Broadwood gets a bad rap from fans, and I’m not really sure why. I assume most of the grumbling comes from the usual people who complain about soulless, out of town stadiums. I personally find it to be a very pleasant place to visit, easily accessible, comfortable and offering good views of the pitch from just about the whole ground. I’m definitely not as much of a traditionalist as some, but I just don’t get the disdain for somewhere that allows anyone to watch a game in relative comfort despite the conditions. (If anyone’s sole reason for disliking Broadwood is the cold, however, I can’t really find an argument against you.)

The Teams

I spoke a bit about the history of Cumbernauld Colts when I saw their women’s team back in April. They were formed as a youth team in 1969 and have had a constant presence in the town ever since. Their adult team initially played in the Caledonian Amateur League, before the club made an successful application to join the Lowland League for the 2015-16 season. They finished their first year in senior football in an impressive fourth place, with two successive sixth placed finishes following, showing that they are very much in the league on merit.

The club have had a fairly settled squad over the last couple of years, but did struggle for in the goalkeeping position last season. Jordan Pettigrew has joined on loan from Livingston for the new season, and reports were full of praises for the youngster in the 2-1 opening win over Gala last week. Co-managers Craig McKinley and James Orr have brought in a few players from the junior ranks over the summer as well, notably Arnault Bembo from Kilbirnie Ladeside and Fraser Team from neighbours Cumbernauld United. They were one of the teams who had no midweek fixture, so sit with three points from their single game played so far.

I saw Kelty Hearts twice last season as they won the East of Scotland League and were promoted to the Lowland League. Since then they have added to their squad in the shape of Ciaren Chalmers from Selkirk, Willis Hare from Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale and brothers Chris and Matty Gay from Kennoway Star Hearts. They drew their first game in the Lowland League 2-2 at home to Dalbeattie Star last weekend, before hammering Whitehill Welfare 6-0 away from home on Tuesday night for a great start to their campaign.

The Game

Colts started the game strongly and within the first five minutes, Fraser Team had burst free of the offside trap, but could only scuff a tame effort into the welcoming hands of Scott Christie. A minute later, the home side had another chance but the ball ended up behind after some good defensive work. There was an early scare for Kelty when Christie went down injured, but the goalkeeper was ok to continue, although his kicking did suffer for the remainder of the game.

Colts took the lead after fourteen minutes when Richard Kirwan broke down the right hand side after finding himself in a ridiculous amount of space. He crossed into the box where the ball was turned in by Team at the back post. It was no more than Colts deserved, but they almost paid for some complacent defending just three minutes after taking the lead. A Kelty corner was dealt with poorly and ended up at the feet of Matty Gay. His shot took a deflection on the way through and ended up behind for another corner. With twenty minutes gone it was Kelty’s turn for some slack defending when Sean Brown pounced on a poor back pass before whipping a low cross into the box. Craig Holmes made a good connection but Christie made a smart save to keep the deficit at one.

Gay must have been getting the feeling that it wasn’t going to be his night with 22 minutes played. A good break down the Kelty right saw Elliot Ford send a wonderful cross into Gay, but his strike was saved really well by Pettigrew. Colts were experiencing some real joy on the wings, and Holmes in particular was causing all sorts of problems for the Kelty defence. Just before the half hour, his cross was met by a diving effort from Brown which was well saved by Christie. Just a minute later, his 25 yard free kick was tipped over the bar, and Christie was put under serious pressure from the resulting corner.

It took until about ten minutes before the break for Kelty to get any sort of foothold on the game. With 36 minutes gone, Ian Nimmo broke free of the defence before playing in Brian Ritchie who forced a good save from Pettigrew, and three minutes later Murray Carstairs came close but headed his chance from a corner over the bar. Just as it looked like the home side would go into the break with a one goal advantage, Kelty equalised right on the stroke of half time. Pettigrew seemed to lose track of the flight of the ball from a corner and Ciaren Chalmers was there to knock the ball in at the back post. Kelty level at the break and a little fortunate to be so.

The second half was only a few minutes old when the game had to be delayed for a serious looking injury to Kelty’s Ross Philp. The attacker was helped off the pitch without being able to put any weight on one of his legs. The agony was almost confounded just two minutes later when Greg Pascazio made a fantastic run down the right and put a fantastic ball into the box. It was met by Kieran Coleman, but he blasted the ball over the bar when he really should have at least worked Christie. With 53 minutes gone, Kelty had a good chance following some great work from Elliot Ford, but substitute Scott Dalziel’s shot flew across the face of the goal.

The visitors had started the second half strong and were rewarded for their efforts on 58 minutes. A good ball across the box reached Ian Nimmo, who steadied himself and fired a wonderful strike past Pettigrew and into the net off the far post. It was a fantastic goal worthy of taking the lead in any game. Kelty continued to push, but were met with some stern defending from Colts. With 20 minutes remaining, a free kick from Stephen Husband cannoned off Colts defender Stephen Tart and somehow managed to not end up extending the lead.

With 75 minutes gone, Jeff Fergus worked well on the overlap on the Colts left but Christie did well to hold onto the eventual cross. Just a minute later, however, Colts were back on level terms. Good strong play from Brown allowed him to advance into the box bearing down on Christie. Brown unselfishly squared to the ball Stephen O’Neil who rolled the ball into the empty net. Both sides fought hard for the next ten minutes without many chances being created. With five minutes to go, O’Neil mishit a cross, but outfoxed everyone and saw the ball come back off the outside of the post.

It was a frantic ending to the game as both sides searched for the winner. Kirwan made a searching run forward for the home side and forced a good save from Christie with 86 minutes gone. Christie then launched an immediate counter attack which saw Pettigrew make a sharp save at his near post from Stuart Cargill. From the resulting corner, Dalziel thought he had won it with a crashing header, but the ball struck the underside of the bar and was scrambled clear.

There was still time for more drama though, and as the game entered stoppage time, Colts won a corner that was met at the back post by Brown, who headed powerfully into the net and hand the home side a dramatic last gasp win. It was a fantastic night of football, with two quality sides going hammer and tong throughout. Well worth attending.

The Pies

Hot and cold drinks along with crisps and sweets were available throughout, with pies on sale for around half time. I didn’t try one this time round.

Admission: £6
Programme: £2
Pie: £1.50
Bovril: £1.20
Attendance: 260 (approx)

East Kilbride v Dumbarton

East Kilbride 1-3 Dumbarton
Pre-Season Friendly
K-Park Training Academy
Saturday 30th June 2018

With competitive action in Scotland now starting in mid July, it means that pre-season games are now starting at the tail end of June. It’s a good opportunity to see some bigger clubs for discounted prices, and today’s fixture is giving me the chance to get a first look at Dumbarton’s new look squad before their assault at League One, as well as another look at potential Lowland League challengers East Kilbride

The Venue

Situated in the picturesque Calderglen Country Park, K-Park Training Academy was opened in 2011 by the East Kilbride Community Trust. The charitable organisation intended the venue to be a state of the art training and community sports venue. East Kilbride FC began playing here in 2011, and continued to use it as their home venue when they were accepted as founding Lowland League members in 2013. I was actually here for the club’s very first home game as a senior club, when they defeated Whitehill Welfare 1-0 back in August 2013.

K-Park was supposed to be a temporary home ground for the club before moving to their own purpose built facility, but delays have meant that they continue to call it home. In partnership with the EKCT, who still own the facility, a covered enclosure behind the goal at the clubhouse end was erected by the club last year.

In addition to the new enclosure, spectators are housed in the single grandstand the runs almost the entire length of the pitch on the entrance side. The stand has 400 seats in four rows, and provides good cover in most weather conditions. The official capacity of the ground is capped at 660. The main clubhouse buildings are highly impressive, housing multiple changing rooms for both the main pitch and the small sided pitches at the complex. There are also significant catering and corporate facilities. The separate pie hut is just across from the main buildings and doubles as an entrance hut.

The Teams

East Kilbride have kept a good core of the side who finished second in the Lowland League last season, with Kieron Gibbons, Bryan Prunty and Adam Strachan being their most high profile departures in the playing department. More crucially however was the resignation of manager Billy Stark, who left to take up the position of Under 19 manager in the Scotland setup. Former Albion Rovers boss Brian Kerr, himself a former Scotland international, took the reins in May.

Kerr has signed several players from SPFL sides in order to strengthen his side for another title challenge, with Jamie Longworth coming in from Stenhousemuir, Anton Brady joining from Queen’s Park and Graeme Holmes making the switch from Albion Rovers. Drew Ramsay and Graeme McGregor have also signed from Lowland League rivals East Stirlingshire, and with many of Kilby’s big names staying with the club, their fans can definitely feel positive about the season ahead.

Dumbarton’s squad following relegation from the Championship will be almost unrecognisable, with only captain Andy Dowie, Craig Barr, Stuart Carswell, Kyle Hutton and Calum Gallagher being retained from last season’s squad along with the management team of Stevie Aitken and Iain Durrant.

Aitken has made use of a partnership with stadium sponsors C&G Systems to sign players on part-time contracts, while C&G offer them full time employment on the railways. It has proved to be a fruitful partnership so far, with several players who were full time last season signing on. Former Dumbarton favourite Ross Forbes has signed from Morton, nine years after his wildly successful loan spell at the club. Goalkeeper Grant Adam has joined from Forfar, while defenders Cammy Ballantyne, Willie Dyer and Ross Perry have signed from Dundee United, Brechin City and Albion Rovers respectively. The summer signings have also included Bobby Barr from Raith Rovers, Ryan Thomson from Stranraer and Rory Loy from Falkirk. With only thirteen players confirmed as signed, expect a large number of trialists to feature for the Sons today, as Aitken looks to complete his squad.

The Game

Speaking of trialists in the Dumbarton team, the Sons had one in their starting line up. This trialist did turn out to be the familiar figure of Iain Russell, though, aiming to earn an extension to his deal from the back half of last season with a strong pre-season showing. It was a cagey start to proceedings as was to be expected in the early pre-season. Ross Forbes put in a good cross for Dumbarton with three minutes gone, but Matt McGinley in the Kilby goal punched clear well. The home side had their first real chance with ten minutes played when Ross McNeil found himself one on one with Grant Adam. The usually reliable striker fired his shot well over the bar though to keep the game goalless.

As both sides began to get a feeling for the game, there were some half chances being created. With thirteen minutes on the clock, Forbes sent a speculative long range free kick only just wide of the post. Four minutes later at the other end, Sean Winter found himself in space at the angle of the box and forced a decent save from Grant Adam. Forbes was causing some issues for the Kilby defence, and with 21 minutes gone, he again tried his luck from just outside the box, but saw his shot fly just over the bar.

Following a water break in the baking heat, Dumbarton began to take control of the game. Their efforts were rewarded in the thirty third minute when Ryan Thomson picked the ball up around the halfway line and drove forward. After beating a couple of defenders, Thomson hit a low, hard shot that was pushed away by McGinley. The rebound was met by Calum Gallagher who fired the ball into the net. Just a minute after the restart, Thomson almost doubled the lead but saw his effort from twenty yards saved well by McGinley.

Dumbarton continued to press for the remainder of the half, and could count themselves a bit unfortunate not to be further ahead at the break. Russell attempted an overhead kick that was cleared away, while shortly after, Bobby Barr’s charging run into the box was broken up by an excellent blocking tackle by Fabio Capuano. The visitors went into the break with their slender lead.

East Kilbride started the second half brightly, but Paul Woods was unable to force the ball over the line after some good work from Craig Malcolm shortly after the break. Their bright start was nullified with 48 minutes gone though when Dumbarton doubled their lead. Forbes played a good ball into Cammy Ballantyne on the right wing and the right back got to the byeline before cutting the ball back into the danger zone. Thomson rushed onto it and slotted the ball past substitute keeper Jacob Kean.

Two minutes later, Dumbarton won a corner which was headed towards goal by Andy Dowie. The ball broke off a Kilby defender to Russell, who attempted a second overhead kick of the game and saw it fly only inches over the bar. A raft of substitutions for both teams changed the pace of the game, and the hosts began to come back into it. With just under an hour gone they had a goal back. Graeme McGregor, on as a substitute played Sean Winter through on the right wing. Winter took on Willie Dyer and floated a cross towards the back post that was met by the head of Woods, who directed the ball past Dumbarton’s trialist sub keeper Jamie McGowan.

The goal lifted the hosts and just a minute after scoring had another chance but Malcolm could only strike his free kick off the wall. Dumbarton created a couple of chances just after the hour, with Stuart Carswell, on as a half time substitute, hitting a beautiful half volley from 25 yards which Kean saved well. Ballantyne, who was having an impressive first game in Dumbarton colours, then saw his cutback cleared off the line.

With around 15 minutes to go, Kilby were very much on the front foot, with Malcolm forcing another decent save from McGowan. Four minutes later, Malcolm again broke through with a powerful run but poked his shot harmlessly wide. The home side had another chance with nine minutes to go when Woods found himself with the ball inside the box. The Kilby winger had his shot blocked by Ross Perry and couldn’t get a proper hold of the rebound.

As the game came to a conclusion, both sides had chances with Winter shooting just wide for Kilby and Russell forcing a save from Kean for the Sons. But despite East Kilbride having the better of the last half hour, it was Dumbarton who had the final say. With the final whistle approaching, teenage trialist Kieran Campbell sprung the offside trap and squared the ball to Russell who only had to tap the ball into the empty net to seal victory.

The Pies

There was a full catering service on today, and the pie hut seemed to be doing a roaring trade in hot dogs in the sunshine. Midway through the second half, a committee man came along with a couple of pies for a friend in the crowd. Said friend didn’t actually want a pie, so I ended up with a tasty free pie. I’ll never say no to that!

Admission: £6
Programme: None
Pie: £1.80
Bovril: £1.50
Attendance: 165 (approx)

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)

Whitehill Welfare v Gala Fairydean Rovers

Whitehill Welfare 4-2 Gala Fairydean Rovers
Scottish Lowland Football League
Ferguson Park
Saturday 14th April 2018

After watching Whitehill at Ochilview last week and catching up with some old friends, I was struck with the urge to get through to Rosewell before the end of the season. I hadn’t immediately expected it to be quite this soon, but with no other games on the fixture card jumping out at me, it was into the car for a long overdue trip to Midlothian.

The Venue

I have spent a lot of time at Ferguson Park over the years, on the terraces, in the seats when we installed them back in 2013, on both sides of the bar, and many a Saturday morning on the pitch trying to get it ready for a referee’s inspection while being bellowed at by Rosewell legend Peter McGauley. I have so many great memories of this ground that I’m going to have to rein myself in and not ramble on forever.

Ferguson Park has been the home of Welfare for their entire existence, and was the former home of Rosewell’s former junior team Rosedale. The name comes from the farmer who provided the turf for the pitch. The ground has evolved a lot over the decades, and especially in the last 20 years or so. The impressive pavilion was constructed in 1997, with funds from the previous year’s Scottish Cup tie with Celtic being utilised to modernise the facilities. As I previously mentioned, around 150 seats were bolted onto the steps of the existing covered enclosure in 2013 and have proved a popular addition for home and visiting fans alike. There is a large uncovered terrace on the same side as the stand, with the rest of the ground being surrounded by grass banking. The official capacity is 2,614, as stipulated by Midlothian Council when appraising the club for licensing.

The beating heart of the ground is the Eddie Thomson Lounge. Named for the former Welfare player who went on to play for Hearts and Aberdeen before moving to Australia, the lounge hosts a well stocked bar with ample seating and a big screen TV, open to fans before and after home games. The hospitality room is also located in the building. I have spent many a Saturday evening (and well into the night) in the bar, and to this day it is one of my favourite places. I popped in for a beer at halftime, and had a good catch up with some old pals. The fantastically maintained pitch took a battering on Wednesday night, and Peter told me in the bar that he was worried by the rain over the last few days, but with a bit of sand and a lot of hard work, it held up. Ferguson Park is a wonderful ground which the club can be very proud of.

(Photo credit Whitehill Welfare)

The Teams

Having watched Whitehill Welfare just a week ago, I’m not going to rehash the same spiel again. But there’s a lot to say about this club, so I’ll go into a wee bit more history today. Rosewell has a long history of being a mining village, and it’s not surprising that Welfare were formed by a group of miners. The team’s name comes from the Whitehill Colliery, the mine where the founders of the club were employed. The Colliery closed in 1961, but the club’s mining heritage has lived on to this day, mining equipment is prominently displayed in the top left hand corner of the club’s badge.

1974-75 saw one of the most dominant seasons in juvenile football history, as Welfare won an incredible nine trophies, including the East of Scotland and Scottish Juvenile Cups. This huge success at under 21 level, coupled with the dwindling numbers in the Midlothian Juvenile League was a huge influencing factor when the club decided to turn senior in 1979.

Gala Fairydean Rovers have existed in their current form since 2013 when Gala Fairydean and Gala Rovers, who had a longstanding informal link dating back to the late 1940s, formally merged. Their history is actually highly interesting in that the team who originally formed in 1894 were called Gala Fairydean Rovers and split into the two sides in 1907. Following World War II, Fairydean were Galashiels’ semi-professional club, while Rovers were the town’s main side in the Border Amateur League. As full SFA members for almost a century, Fairydean have a storied history in the Scottish Cup, but have never gone further than the third round. They unsuccessfully applied to become SFL members on four occasions and were East of Scotland League champions on eight times, a total that is second only to today’s opponents.

The merged club were admitted as founder members of the Lowland League in 2013, and received their entry level club license shortly after. They have been a lower mid-table side in the Lowland League, reaching a high of 8th in 2014-15. This season, they sit in 12th position, three points ahead of Whitehill. Gala however, finish their league programme today, and could find themselves sliding down the table, with Whitehill, Dalbeattie Star and Vale of Leithen all having games in hand below them. Manager Steven Noble has announced that he will step down at the end of the season, and the club have already revealed that former Hawick Royal Albert boss Dean Shanks will take over in the summer.

The Game

Due to an accident causing some horrendous traffic on the Edinburgh City Bypass, I arrived at the ground just as the match was kicking off, and didn’t see the build up to Fabio Neto putting Welfare ahead with just a minute played, but did see the ball hit the back of the net. Less than two minutes later, however, I did see a goal in full, as Mark Smith’s break down the right sent Kyle Mitchell through one-on-one with Gala goalkeeper Lewis Moore. The Welfare striker slipped the ball under the on loan Rangers stopper to double the lead with less than three minutes played. It was a frantic start to the game that had the home support in high spirits in the glorious sunshine.

Gala could have crumbled after conceding two early goals, but instead rallied and dominated possession for the majority of the first half. With only seven minutes on the clock, Grant Rose found himself on the end of a through ball, but was forced wide by the Welfare defence and keeper Ross Jardine eventually held onto the ball. Reece Craigie was next to attack for the visitors, but saw his shot hit the side netting, and with 13 minutes gone, Welfare had to deal with another Gala attack with the visitors looking dangerous. Mitchell was given another chance on 18 minutes, but Muir was quickly out of his goal and cleared well. From the clearance, Darren Smith broke for Gala but his inviting cross was cleared by Craig Reid.

Gala continued to press, with Welfare struggling to get a grip on the game. Their pressure paid off with 36 minutes gone when David Brown’s cutback was slid in by Craigie low under Jardine. As Gala pressed trying to find an equaliser before the break, Welfare almost restored their two goal lead. With the ball at the feet of Neto following a corner, his hooked ball back found the head of Gary Nicholson, but his looping header landed on top of the net, and the half ended 2-1.

The second half started at the same high pace as the first as Welfare found themselves piling on the pressure, but it was Gala who found themselves with the best chances in the early going. With 57 minutes gone they almost had their equaliser, when a free kick wasn’t properly cleared. Rose made a good connection with his strike but Cammy Watson threw himself at the ball and cleared off the line. Gala were made to rue their missed chances a little over a minute later when Welfare substitute Darren McCraw burst through from the halfway line. His pace took him past the Gala defence into the box where his shot was well saved by Muir. It was the Welfare man who reacted quickest though and he sent the rebound into the net to make it 3-1.

Both sides continued to play at a high tempo, and were creating chances with no one being able to find the final touch. Reece Craigie fired just over the bar with a 25 yard strike, while Kyle Mitchell had a great chance when he rounded Muir, but the Gala keeper had pushed him wide enough that he couldn’t find the net. With the game entering it’s final ten minutes, Jack Wright won a free kick for Welfare and swung it into the box only for Neto’s excellent headed to be cleared off the line by former Welfare player Ross Aitchison. Neto had another chance two minutes later when substitute Josh Morris cut the ball back, but Muir saved well from the striker’s shot.

With 84 minutes gone, Welfare killed the game off when they won a free kick on the left around 25 yards out. With everyone expecting a cross, Josh Morris lofted the ball over the head of Muir into the top corner. It was a fantastic goal that drew a huge reception from the crowd. Gala kept pushing despite being three goals down and were rewarded for their persistence with two minutes to go. A long ball wasn’t properly cleared and landed at the feet of Rose who held off the defence and turned the ball past Jardine. Welfare held on though and recorded a vital win that guarantees Lowland League survival. It was an entertaining, competitive game from start to finish, and an excellent three points.

The Pies

Welfare’s Scotch Pies have always been excellent and today was no exception. A crunchy crust, and a soft meaty filling on the inside, perfectly seasoned. And always served with a smile.

Admission: £6
Programme: £2
Pie: £1.50
Bovril: £1
Attendance: 135 (approx headcount)

East Stirlingshire v Whitehill Welfare

East Stirlingshire 3-1 Whitehill Welfare
Scottish Lowland Football League
Ochilview Park
Saturday 7th April 2018

When I was first perusing fixtures, this one stood out as a good opportunity for me to see Whitehill Welfare without having to travel too far. When it was announced in the past week that it would also be East Stirlingshire’s last game at Ochilview it held even more of a pull. It’s a second Lowland League game in as many days.

The Venue

Ochilview is another old ground in central Scotland, being home to Stenhousemuir since opening in 1890. Like the other grounds of its era, it has undergone many facelifts and is unrecognisable from when it was first built.

The main feature of the ground is the 626 seater main stand, opened in 1996. It is known as the Norway Stand, due to a sponsorship with the Stenhousemuir Norwegian Supporters’ Club. The story of that particular group is one for another day. The stand houses the changing rooms and toilet facilities, as well as a hospitality area. The large roof is a fantastic shelter from the elements. The only other side of the ground used for spectators is the terracing behind the goals at the Tryst Road end, which has a large enclosure almost the entire area. With the standing areas on both sides of the stand also added in, the capacity is 3,746.

The pitch is a FIFA approved two star 3G, and there are also smaller sided community pitches behind the goals at the east end of the park. I wish I’d managed to see the ground when the famous “Doll’s House” stand was still there, but it’s still a fantastic place to watch football, and I’m glad to have been here on a somewhat historic day.

The Teams

East Stirlingshire were founded in 1881, and were first elected into the Scottish football League in 1900. Most of their existence has been spent in the SFL and it’s successors, but there’s an undercurrent of turbulence that rears it’s head at several times throught The Shire’s history. Following World War II, Shire were one of the clubs that were denied re-entry to Division Two, and became founder members of the C Division, alongside several reserve teams. The club were promoted back into Division Two two years later, but after being relegated and finding the C Division abolished,were forced to play in regional leagues for six years until the SFL expanded in 1955. In 1964, the club merged with junior side Clydebank to become ES Clydebank, and were moved to the Dunbartonshire town. A legal challenge from Shire shareholders saw them move back to Falkirk after one season, with both clubs retaining a place in the league.

Recent years saw Shire frequently finish bottom of the Scottish Football League including five consecutive seasons from 2002-03 to 2006-07. Two third place finishes in 2008-09 and 2009-10 gave Shire fans hope, but they never finished higher than eighth again, and had the indignation of becoming the first club to be relegated to the Lowland League at the end of 2015-16, losing the relegation playoff 2-1 on aggregate to Lowland League champions Edinburgh City. They finished second in their first season in the Lowland League behind East Kilbride, and sit third this season, with just two games remaining. Sir Alex Ferguson began his managerial career at the club, who at the time played at Firs Park in Falkirk. They left Firs Park at the end of the 2007-08 season, citing that the refurbishment costs would have been prohibitive. This is a controversial topic for Shire fans and I’ll leave it for another time, because it’s a rabbit hole of a story to get into. Since 2008, the club have shared Ochilview with neighbours Stenhousemuir, but today is Shire’s last fixture here, as they will move home to Falkirk from next season as tenants at the Falkirk Stadium.

I mentioned when watching their Under 20 team last week that I have a longstanding history with Whitehill Welfare. When living in Bonnyrigg a few years back, I started going to games along the road in Rosewell, and ended up joining their committee for a few years. I was there at the exciting time when they were accepted as founder members of the Lowland League, and enjoyed several trophy wins in my time at the club. Since moving back west, I’ve seen them precious few times, but have held the club close to my heart and keep a keen interest in their results and off the field goings on. Welfare were founded in 1953 as an Under 21 side. After 26 trophy laden years, the applied in 1979 to join the East of Scotland Football League, and were accepted as a senior club. Welfare went on to become the most successful club in the East of Scotland League’s history, winning the league in their first four seasons, going on to amass sixteen titles. Their last was the 2012-13 season, their last season in the league before being elected as founder members of the Lowland League.

Welfare have had tremendous cup success over the years, winning an incredible 46 cups as members of the East of Scotland and Lowland Leagues, as well as numerous trophies when competing in juvenile football. Welfare are probably best known for their 1996 Scottish Cup 3rd Round match at “home” to Celtic. The game was played at Hibs’ Easter Road in front of over 13,000 spectators. After finishing fourth in the inaugural Lowland League season, Welfare have found themselves frequenting the mid table in the league. Gary Small is the club’s current manager, and after having to assemble a new squad from scratch last summer, the club have been stuck in the bottom half of the table. Due to the ridiculous winter though, Whitehill have games in hand over most of the teams around them, and will be confident of doing enough to guarantee survival, even if a second relegation place opens up. I’ll be writing about Whitehill on a semi-regular basis on here and look forward to sharing more of this fantastic club’s history.

The Game

The game started tentatively, with neither side really getting a foothold on the game in the early stages. Whitehill had the first real venture forward with about seven minutes played as Robbie Carter attacked down the left hand side, but the chance fizzled out. Shire were next on the front foot after thirteen minutes when a free kick wide on the left was floated onto the head of Steven Brisbane, whose attempt slipped inches wide of the post. A couple of minutes later, Scott Lucas sent a ball through searching for Josh Morris, but Shire keeper Jamie Barclay was quick off his line to intercept. Morris forced Barclay into a good save after twenty minutes, and Steph Murray came close from the resulting corner.

The game was swinging back and forth, and after a good spell from Welfare, Shire took a bit of control back. The home side were awarded a free kick right on the edge of the box with 29 minutes played when Ryan McKenzie was adjudged to have brought down Brisbane. Andy Rodgers’ free kick was struck just wide of the post. Three minutes later, Shire attacked again through Drew Ramsay, but he was forced wide by the Welfare defence, and by the time he worked the ball to Rodgers the chance had gone. With half time approaching though, Shire were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead when Ryan McKenzie brought down Rodgers in the box. The Shire captain picked himself up and dispatched the penalty with aplomb to give the home side the lead going into the break.

Shire started the second half buoyed by taking the lead just before the break. Rodgers was causing problems for Welfare every time he ventured forward, and three minutes into the second half, he slipped a shot just wide of Ross Jardine’s post after latching onto Simon White’s pass. Rodgers did get his second goal of the game after fifty minutes though when he sent a wonderful chipped shot over Jardine just under the bar. It was a real piece of quality from the veteran striker, drawing applause from even the visiting supporters. Welfare introduced Fabio Neto shortly after the goal, and the big striker gave them a directness that had been lacking up to that point. With 54 minutes gone, he made a searching run past several Shire defenders, but couldn’t find the final ball.

Welfare were in the midst of a good spell, and Lucas forced Barclay into a decent save. From the resulting corner, Murray picked up the ball and drove into the box, where he went down under a heavy challenge from Andy Grant. Referee Gavin Ross pointed to the spot and Josh Morris sent his penalty into the bottom corner to equalise. Five minutes later Murray had a chance to score himself when Jack Wright was fouled just under 30 yards from goal, but the Under 20 captain fired the free kick well over the bar.

Any hopes of a Whitehill comeback were undone after 69 minutes when Graeme McGregor won the ball and fired a stunning strike past Jardine from the corner of the penalty area. The goal was the first of McGregor’s career and was met with jubilation from the home support. The goal killed the game off, and neither side was really able to create much in the closing stages. Steph Murray received a late red card after picking up a second yellow for dissent, and the dismissal sealed Welfare’s fate.

There wasn’t a great deal between the sides, especially in the first half, but two real moments of quality from Shire in the second half really were the difference. A great way for Shire to end ten years at Ochilview, and enough on show that Welfare should be confident of securing their Lowland League status in their remaining games.

The Pies

There must be something about this part of the country and fantastic snack bars. After the varied fare on offer at Alloa last night, I was treated to Stenhousemuir’s fantastic pie and other delights selection today. And I have to admit that I was a fat bastard and had two different pies today. Firstly their steak pie, pictured below, which was simply superb. You can probably see the flakiness of the pastry from the photo. I then decided to sample their chicken curry pie, and that was my best decision of the day. A delicious chicken curry, wrapped in the same flaky pastry. A very reasonably priced snack bar, and well worth a visit if you’re at Ochilview.

Admission: £8
Programme: I didn’t see any, but not sure if I just missed them.
Pie: £1.60 (Scotch) £2 (steak, macaroni, chicken curry)
Bovril: £1.50
Attendance: 176

BSC Glasgow v East Kilbride

BSC Glasgow 0-1 East Kilbride
Scottish Lowland Football League
Indodrill Stadium
Friday 6th April 2018

There’s something really enjoyable about a Friday night game, so when the fixtures threw up this top four Lowland League clash on a Friday night in Clackmannanshire, it was an easy decision to go and watch what should hopefully be some good quality football.

The Venue

Recreation Park, currently known as The Indodrill Stadium for sponsorship reasons has been the home of Alloa Athletic since 1895, making it one of the oldest grounds in Scotland still in use. That said, a lot has changed about the ground in the last 123 years.

The ground consists of two stands, one at the centre of each sideline running around halfway along the pitch. The Main Stand, which seats 424 people, all raised well above pitch level, was constructed in 1991. There’s a couple of poles for structural stability, but the stand still gives a good view. Underneath the stand are the changing rooms and toilet facilities as well as the dugouts. As we were leaving, the East Kilbride players were coming out the back door of the stand. Apparently, as part of BSC’s groundshare agreement, they don’t have use of the away changing rooms, so they were heading next door to the Wasp Club to change. I don’t know if that was just for this game, or if it’s a regular thing. Bizarre either way. I’ve since been told it was a one off access issue and they usually have full access to both changing rooms.

On the opposite side is a stand that was erected in 2008. This “temporary” structure houses away supporters at Alloa games. There’s a small covered terrace behind one of the goals, with large areas of open terracing around the rest of the pitch. The capacity of the ground is 3,100. SWPL2 side Central Girls are also tenants of what must be a busy wee place. A 3G pitch was originally installed in 2007, and was upgraded in 2016. It’s a cracking wee ground, and even with a relatively small crowd managed to generate a good amount of noise.

The Teams

BSC Glasgow officially came into being in 2014, as a senior team affiliated with the longstanding Broomhill Sports Club, a multi-sport youth team from Glasgow’s west end. BSC Glasgow were formed with the intention of giving the sports club’s young players a pathway into senior football. They were accepted into the Lowland League for the 2014-15 season after entering into a groundsharing agreement with junior side Maryhill at Lochburn Park and obtaining their club licence. The club’s time at Lochburn was frought with issues, with games often being played at other junior grounds around Glasgow. When their two year agreement with Maryhill came to an end, the club unsuccesfully tried to find another suitable groundshare option in Glasgow. When no arrangement could be found, they approached Alloa Athletic about the possibility of groundsharing Recreation Park. This has resulted in home games being played over forty miles away from their traditional base in Broomhill for the past two seasons. The club has intentions of moving back to Glasgow in the near future, either in another groundsharing arrangement or at a facility of their own, although this has proved difficult in the past.

The club have had a successful season in the Lowland League, sitting fourth with three games remaining. They have a game in hand on third placed East Stirlingshire, who they are currently a point behind. They are all but guaranteed to finish in the top four and earn themselves a first ever spot in next season’s Irn Bru Cup. They have reached the semi-final of the South Challenge Cup this season where they’ll play Edusport Academy, but due to the inclement weather, this competition has yet to reach its’ conclusion.

East Kilbride were formed in 2010 as a result of a merger between local youth sides Jackton Boys Club and Stewartfield. The new club were formed with the intention of bringing senior football to the town, one of the largest in Scotland with no senior side, and giving youth players a pathway into senior football at the same time. Their first adult team played their first few seasons in the Scottish Amateur Football League, winning Division 2 in 2011-12, and Division 1 the following season. At the end of the 2012-13 season, the club applied to the South of Scotland Football League, and were accepted, finally bringing senior football to the town. Before kicking a ball in the SoSFL, the team were admitted as surprise founding members of the Lowland League, and gained a club license a few months later in April 2014. The club are based at K-Park Training Academy in Calderglen Country Park, and have initial plans to move to a new stadium when a site and funding can be secured.

The club have enjoyed huge success on the field, reaching six cup finals and winning them all, most recently less than a week ago in the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup win over Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale. In 2015-16, they reached the last 16 of the Scottish Cup, where they lost 2-0 to Scottish champions Celtic in a game that was played at Airdrie’s Excelsior Stadium. Last season, they won their maiden Lowland League title, and defeated Buckie Thistle in the Highland/Lowland playoff, before missing out on promotion to League Two on a penalty shoot-out against Cowdenbeath after a 1-1 aggregate draw. Former Scotland manager Billy Stark took over the team in the summer, and they sit second in the Lowland League, one point behind Spartans, each with three games to play. They’ll be looking to pile the pressure on their Edinburgh rivals with a win tonight.

The Game

The game was delayed by around seven minutes due to referee Craig Napier arriving to the ground late. We would probably have seen a more competent refereeing display if he hadn’t bothered showing up at all. Frustratingly inconsistent, touchy to the point of being soft, and just completely out of his depth from start to finish. I’ve seen some poor officiating displays before, but this one was right up there.

It was a tetchy start from both sides, something that would continue throughout. BSC had the first chance of the game on six minutes, when former Kilmarnock star Stevie Murray (who still looks a class act at 35) fired just over after a well worked corner. Just a minute later, BSC could have taken the lead when Matt McGinley in the Kilby goal failed to deal with a ball over the top, but the chance was cleared away. With sixteen minutes gone, the home supporters were on their feet as Tom Bentham crashed a 30 yard drive off the crossbar. Kilby were riding their luck at this point. But then the Craig Napier show began. With 23 minutes gone, a free kick from 25 yards out was thundered against the BSC wall and Napier pointed to the spot. Martin Grehan was shown a yellow card for handball, a decision that seemed harsh, as there didn’t look to be much intent from where I was sitting. Sean Winter stepped up but his penalty was spectacularly saved low at his left hand post by Ryan Marshall. Then, as Kilby were preparing to take their corner, Grehan was shown a second yellow card, presumably for dissent, and BSC were down to ten men with 65 minutes still to play.

With half an hour played there were huge shouts for handball in the East Kilbride box. With definite resemblance to the incident at the other end, Napier decided that nothing was doing this time. Kilby were starting to make their man advantage count, but poor finishing from Scott Stevenson kept the game goalless. East Kilbride did have the ball in the net after 35 minutes, but Sean Winter was judged to be in an offside position. It was 0-0 at half time in an entertaining, but strange game of football.

Just five minutes into the second half, Kilby took the lead in some style. A good passage of play found Craig Malcolm with the ball just on the edge of the D. He curled a gorgeous strike past Marshall into the bottom corner to send the sizeable visiting support into raptures. It was a truly excellent goal. But BSC were not giving up, and despite being a man down, were enjoying the bulk of possession. Stevie Murray was causing the Kilby defence all sorts of problems on the right hand side, but despite sending three quality crosses into the box, BSC couldn’t find a finish.

BSC were creating much more than Kilby, who were fighting hard but not able to connect their midfield to their forwards. Barry Russell was a titan at the back, cutting out several potentially dangerous balls and shepherding his defence with real vigour. In the last five minutes, Murray won a dubious free kick for BSC around 25 yards out. He slammed his effort just over the bar. Two minutes later, he put a fantastic cross into the box, but Bentham could only divert his header straight at the grateful McGinley in the Kilby goal. The game couldn’t end without Craig Napier making himself the centre of attention one more time though. In stoppage time, following the most innocuous of “incidents” he saw fit to book both Ross McMillan and Stevie Murray of BSC for alleged dissent. To add insult, he then sent BSC coach Michael Moore to the stand. It was a fitting end to one of the most bizarre – yet fantastically entertaining – games I’ve seen all season.

This was my third time seeing East Kilbride this season, and it was comfortably the worst performance I’ve seen from them. But they dug very deep and fought to the end. They say that it’s performances like this that can win championships, and if they can dig out results like this, the title run in will be spectacular.

The Pies

I had a fairly heavy lunch and dinner today, so I eschewed Alloa’s fantastic range of pies and hot rolls. In the queue for a Bovril, however, I saw the sign for the famous Recreation Park lentil soup. I’ve heard about how good this soup is for years, and decided to try it. At £1 a cup it is absolutely fantastic value. A thick, hearty and ultimately very tasty snack. And as promised, the spoon really does stand up by itself in the cup! This is a legendary snack bar for a reason, and a must visit if you ever find yourself at the ground.

Admission: £7
Programme: £2
Pie: £2-£2.50. Soup £1
Bovril: £1.50
Attendance: 200 (approx headcount)