Season Preview 2009/10
This promises to be a really competetive season with several teams in with a shout at the title. At the time of writing this preview the destination of last year's championship is still not known. The SFA are certainly taking their time sorting it out. Last season Lochmaben, Lochar Thistle. Terregles Athletic, Upper Annandale and Maxwelltown Thistle all had a chance with only 6 weeks of the campaign remaining.
Lochmaben's challenge was first to go when they had a run of poor results in March which took them right out of contention. They did re-group and put in some excellent displays and won the both the Tayleurian and Burns Cups in the last week of the season, defeating Maxwelltown on both occasions. If they can carry that form into the new season they will be one of the favourites for the title not to mention the cup competitions.
Upper Annandale are still awaiting the decision from the SFA and could be going into the season on the back of three consecutive titles. They got off to a sluggish start last term and unusually it was their home form which caused their problems. They did get back on track and put together an impressive string of results that gave them the best PWDL record of all the teams. This season some of their veteran players are retiring and they will have a bit of a rebuilding job to do. Their young players did well last season so they will be confident of putting in a strong challenge. Rather uncharecteristically Uppers did not win any of the cup silverware last season, losing to Lochar Thistle in both their final appearances. They will be hoping to put this right this time round.
Lochar Thistle benefitted from the demise of Sunday outfit Lochside Colts last year and strengthened their squad which had a poor season on 07/08. This certainly helped them and they played some of the best football seen last term. Their title challenge lasted to the last weeks of the season but losses to Maxwelltown and Uppers in their last matches saw them come up just short. On the cup front they featured in three finals, winning two. Their victories in the League and Nivison Cups came at the expense of Uppers. Their defeat was against their bogey team Maxwelltown Thistle in the British Legion. Lochar have strengthened again this season and have signed several ex-Terregles players among others. They have had a decent pre-season and will be coming out with plenty of confidence
Terregles Athletic had their best season for many a year in 08/09 and were in with an outside chance of the title with only one game to go. To be fair they needed other results to go their way but nonetheless it was still a very cerditable achievement. On the cup front they did reach three semi-finals but couldn't quite get it right on the day and they failed to feature in any of the finals. This season they have lost their management team and most of their players so 09/10 will be a rebuilding job.
Maxwelltown Thistle had a reasonable season and still await the SFA decision on the points deduction to see if they have lifted the title. They did reach four finals for the second year running but only managed to win one, the British Legion in a tight contest against Lochar Thistle. Max lost out to Dynamo Star in the QOS Cup and to Lochmaben in both the Tayleurian and Burns Cups. They probably played their best football in the middle of the season when they put several long winning streaks together but come the end of the season injuries and the heavy games schedule meant that they lost out in the big games. They have kept their squad together and have strengthened so will be one of the main challengers for silverware again this term.
Dynamo Star took a while to find their feet in the DDAFL last season after moving over from the Sunday league. Eventually they got it right and put a strong run together nesr the end of the season. This resulted in a cup win in the league's premier cup competition the QOS Cup at Palmerston where they defeated Maxwelltown Thistle 3-0. They eventually ended mid-table but will be hoping to put a chellenge in right from the start. They showed with wins away at Uppers they can mix it with the best and will be hoping to finish higher in the table in their second season. At a bare minimum they will want to win at least one cup.
First Base Dynamos saw last season out without a victory to their name. This was partly due to the strength in depth of the league and the inexperience of their team when in good positions bear the end of matches. They will be hoping to break their duck this term.
The YMCA finished near the bottom of the table with one of thier poorest campaigns for many a year. On paper they have a reasonable squad and at timnes they played well with their away win at Lochmaben a typical example. An early season semi-final appearance in the League cup was as good as it got in the cup competitions. They have a new manager on board and will be hoping they can make decent progress in 09-10.
Like the YM, Kirkconnel had one of their worst seasons for a long time. The team's playing staff consisted mainly of the players from Kelloholm who finished bottom in 07/08 so expectations wouldn't have been high. They did put together a good run in the South and of the three team representing the league in the quarter-finals they came the closest to progressing. Things are a bit up in the air at the moment with the team losing players to Kello Rovers and Nithsdale it is still not certtan that the league's oldest team will be lining up come the 15th of August.
Morton Thistle have a team that can beat anyone on their day so it is surprising they don't win as many games as expected. That said they had an excellent run in the West of scotland cup and reached the 5th round before bowing out and they had to play most of their home games in Dumfries as Wallace Hall was out of action. This season they have signed a big squad and will be hoping to do better. Their new pitch will be ready soon.
Stewartry are the new boys in the league and are a bit of an unknown quantity. They do have a large area to draw their team from so should be able to compete. That said quite a few of their squad are involved in farming so the beginning of the season will be hard. Most of their players will be drawn from the Stewartry Summer league so will be fit for the start if they are available.