The Nivison Cup, sponsored by Metrik Office Supplies, has been very badly hit by the weather so far but the match secretary will try to move it along tomorrow with three ties.
In Round 2, Upper Annandale and YMCA will be hoping to get the tie played after three postponements. With two in-form sides it should be a good game although Uppers, with their unbeaten home record, will start as favourites. Both had good wins last week with Uppers being very impressive against Terregles Athletic and YM accounting for First Base. Uppers already have a league double over YM under their belts and, despite YM’s excellent form, they ought to win.
Lochar Thistle meet Maxwelltown Thistle at the same stage. Two old rivals, this should be another fine contest although, again, I feel the home side will start as slight favourites. There was big disappointment for Lochar last weekend, going out of the South Cup although they had no excuses on the day. For Max the three points from a workmanlike win over Stewartry kept them at the top of the league. Their two league meetings have produced a draw and a 4-3 win for Lochar, showing how close they are in ability. However, Lochar , with a good home record, might just edge this.
At the semi final stage, Dynamo Star and Lochmaben fight it out for a place in the final. This should be very tight although previous meetings have gone the way of Lochmaben and, with their playing so well lately, they will start as favourites. Star, though, have a habit of proving me wrong. They had no game last weekend but, before that they’d had a good run which had seen them up to top equal in the league and they have shown time and time again that, if they are on their game, they can compete with anyone. However, for me, it’s Lochmaben to go through.
On to the Queens’ Trust League and there’s a chance for one of the bottom two to pick up some points when First Base Dynamos take on Stewartry. The only points either has picked up all season in the league is when Stewartry won their first meeting at Crocketford back in October. Since then, things have not gone too well for either. Mind you, although both lost again last week, there was certainly much in their performances to be admired and both showed definite signs of improvement. First Base went down to YMCA but matched them until the interval while Stewartry fought hard against Maxwelltown Thistle before losing 4-2. In almost two years, First Base have never even managed a draw so it would be great to see them pick up something. Stewartry, too, deserve something. It’s a pity both can’t win.
Terregles Athletic and Morton Thistle clash for the first time in the league this season tomorrow. Both had hard games last week but both were well beaten, Terregles at Moffat, Morton at Lochmaben. For Terregles, February has been particularly disappointing, with no fewer than nine goals lost in every game. On the other hand, until last week, Morton had been going well and had moved into the upper reaches of the league. I expect this to be closer than recent matches for Terregles but I’m sure Morton will still take the points.
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Defeat for Lochar Thistle in the South of Scotland Cup on Saturday ended the league’s participation for another season. A big, strong Chirnside team were too powerful for Lochar and fully deserved their 5-2 win.
The first half was very even. A twentieth minute shot put Chirnside in front only for James Rogerson to turn his marker and fire in the equaliser before the interval. What sunk Lochar was Chirnside’s burst at the start of the second half in which they banged in four goals in a mere twelve minutes to establish an unassailable lead. Mike McGauchie did pull one back late on. Lochar were best served by John Howie, James Rogerson and Davie Paterson.
Maxwelltown Thistle maintained their one point lead at the top of the league by beating Stewartry 4-2. The first half belonged to Max and they took a two-goal lead through a Paul Kearney penalty followed by Paul setting up Craig Lavan to head in at the back post. When Johnny Banford sidefooted in an Ally Walker pass right after the interval, it looked like curtains for Stewartry but they rallied well through Stevie Campbell’s shot and a header from Calum Luescher. They did have chances to equalise but the vital next goal went to Max, Craig getting his second from a Mark Montgomery cross. Steven Hogg starred for Stewartry; Craig Lavan and James Smith did best for Max.
A great display, especially in the first half, by Upper Annandale saw them up to second. They accounted for Terregles Athletic by 9 goals to 2 after having been six up at the break. Glen Jardine, who had a tremendous match, grabbed four goals including one lovely run in which he beat three defenders. Neil Roddick hit a hat-trick with the others coming from Ryan Johnstone and Davie McDowall. Terregles gave a better account of themselves in the second half. Stuart Clark tapped in after a good move and there was one for Scott Gordon. Best for them were Chris Cloy and Arthur McAdam.
Stealing quietly up the table are Lochmaben who continued their good run by beating Morton Thistle 4-0 at home. It was a physical, hard but fair tussle in which Lochmaben grabbed the only goal of a very even first half through Stevie Hislop from close in. A good passing move saw Ross Kuklinski set up Alan Maxwell to double the advantage and two late Dougie McRobert goals clinched the points which saw Lochmaben leapfrog Morton into fourth.
Another side going well lately are YMCA and they picked up three more points with a workmanlike victory over First Base Dynamos. A curling shot by Craig Broadfoot gave YM a tenth minute lead only for William Jeans to equalise five minutes before the interval when he chased a long ball and cracked home a fine volley. YM moved clear with three second-half strikes; Colin Rippingale smashed in a beauty from twenty five yards. John Wells fired in a low shot and Steven McDill netted from close-in. A good, clean game with YM deserving the points but First Base showing improvement.
Saturday’s results: South of Scotland Cup:- Lochar Th 2, Chirnside 5.
Queens’ Trust League: First Base 1, YMCA 4; Maxwelltown Th 4, Stewartry 2; Lochmaben 4, Morton Th 0; Upper Annandale 9, Terregles Ath 2.
Fixtures for March 6: Nivison Cup (sponsored by Metrik Office Supplies)
Round 2: Lochar Th v Maxwelltown Th (D McGuffie); Upper Annandale v YMCA (D Laurie)
Round 3: Dynamo Star v Lochmaben at Holm Park (J McEwan)
Queens’ Trust League: First Base Dynamos v Stewartry at Jocks Loaning (W Vivers); Terregles Ath v Morton Th (B Dewar-Riddick)
QUAKER
Despite their best efforts, Lochar Thistle had to admit defeat to the frost last weekend. This meant the postponement of their South of Scotland Cup tie with Chirnside but they’ll hope it can go ahead tomorrow. As I said last week, this will be a tough ask against a side second in the Borders’ top league. However, Lochar themselves are no slouches, with only one defeat in the league and, with home advantage, they have every chance of making the last four. Good luck to them.
The remaining four games are in the Queens’ Trust League. The leaders at present are Maxwelltown Thistle, on goal difference over Dynamo Star and one point ahead of Upper Annandale. Max’s chances of the title are slim because they have played so many more games but they should pick up the points tomorrow as they host Stewartry. Nil-nil draws are very rare in the league but Max featured in one last week while Stewartry were involved in a really strange affair where they held Lochmaben 1-1 at the break before conceding no fewer than seventeen in the second half. Max to win this.
Upper Annandale, too, look on course to pick up the points when they entertain Terregles Athletic. Neither played on Saturday. It’s been very stop-start for the champions lately with only one game in the league since the New Year and that only got played by switching to Beattock to beat the weather. As for Terregles, things haven’t gone well lately, heavily beaten last time out and losing lots of goals. Uppers won easily when they first met and I expect more of the same this time.
The tightest game could well be at Lochmaben where Morton Thistle are the visitors. In two wonderful displays of attacking football in the past fortnight, Lochmaben have scored almost forty goals; it will be interesting to see how they get on tomorrow. Morton are fourth at present and featured in that scoreless draw with Max. They are tight at the back and will make it difficult for Lochmaben but I still fancy a narrow home win. Incidentally, Morton’s draw on Saturday was the first time they’d shared the points all season. This is the first league meeting this season between the sides.
First Base Dynamos against YMCA completes the programme and this could well provide the day’s only away win. Compared with recent results, the 5-1 defeat for First Base last week was their best for some while. This was the half-time score in their game with Dynamo Star and means they went the whole second half without losing a goal. Congratulations to them and also to Star who deserve the highest praise as well. YM’s game at Moffat fell victim to the frost but last time out they produced their best display of the season and will be hoping to build on that. Their recent form has been very good and they ought to pick up three points here.
Three games escaped the frost at the weekend although the big casualty was Lochar Thistle’s South of Scotland Cup tie with Chirnside; they will try again this Saturday.
Lochmaben qualified for an away tie with Dynamo Star in the Nivison Cup, sponsored by Metrik Office Supplies, after yet another wonderful display in which they beat Stewartry by eighteen goals to two. The strange thing was that it was 1-1 at half-time and Stewartry had missed a penalty as well.
Stephen Hislop opened the scoring in the twentieth minute but Steven Hogg squared matters. The second half, though, was a different story. Stephen went on to get four altogether, including a beauty from twenty five yards for the best of the match, while Charles Common also got four. There were two each for Gary Whyte, Dougie McRobert and Alan Maxwell, singles from Stefan Ramsay and Laurie Maxwell and two own goals. For Stewartry, their second came from Callum Luescher.
It was the other end of the goalscoring scales when Morton Thistle drew nil-nil with Maxwelltown Thistle. As the score indicates, both defences played very well, conceding few goal-scoring opportunities throughout the whole ninety minutes. The point for Max was enough to see them regain top spot on goal difference although they are well ahead in games played. For Morton, it was their first draw in the league all season. The nearest the deadlock came to being broken was late on when Morton’s keeper Billy Gracie produced a great save to turn an Alan Varco shot on to the post. Outstanding for Morton were Neil Sturrock and Chris McGregor; for Max, Bruce McQuarrie had a superb game as did Graham Carling until he was injured.
The other league game saw Dynamo Star beat First Base to move level with Max at the top; this ended 5-1, which was also the half-time score. This reflects great credit on both sides. For First Base, it shows how they kept going, and on Star for changing their side around and not knocking in countless, irrelevant goals as other sides might have done. Brian Dick continued his fine form with a good hat-trick. His first was a shot, the second a powerful header at the back post and the third when he finished off a well-worked move. Campbell Steele curled in a shot from just inside the box and Colin Tennant converted a penalty. First Base’s goal, which put them in front for the first time in very many games, was scored from close range by William Jeans.
Results: Nivison Cup Round 1:- Lochmaben 18, Stewartry 2.
Queens’ Trust League: Dynamo Star 5, First Base Dynamos 1; Morton Th 0, Maxwelltown Th 0.
Fixtures for Saturday February 27
South of Scotland Cup: Lochar Th v Chirnside ( J McEwan)
Queens’ Trust League: First Base v YMCA (J Thomson) at Jock’s Loaning; Lochmaben v Morton Th (A McNay); Maxwelltown Th v Stewartry at Troqueer (I Brack); Upper Annandale v Terregles (W Vivers)
Lochar Thistle’s reward for an excellent win at Gordon in the South of Scotland Cup last weekend is a home tie tomorrow against Chirnside in the quarter final of the competition. They will have to be at their best to compete with the side presently lying second in the Borders’ top division. On recent form, however, Lochar should face the game with a fair degree of confidence. Last week’s result was just the latest in a string of good performances recently. It certainly won’t be easy against a top quality side but, especially with home advantage, Lochar stand a reasonable chance of making the last four.
There are two cup ties and two league games as well this weekend. Two sides, Upper Annandale and YMCA, who had good wins in the league last week, meet at Moffat in Round 2 of the Nivison Cup, sponsored by Metrik Office Supplies. Uppers pulled away in the second half to overcome Morton Thistle on Saturday and move up beside them at the top while YM had a field day against Terregles Athletic to leapfrog them in the table. Both league meeting have seen Uppers come out on top and they will start as favourites again, despite YM’s improvement. I don’t think there will be much in it this time, however.
The other tie has Lochmaben at home to Stewartry. This should be more clear cut, especially as the Crocketford side have not played for many weeks. In that time, Lochmaben have looked more like their old selves, slowly climbing the league. They had a huge win last week although the result did make them look more like bullies than silky soccer stars. I’m afraid this could well be another trouncing tomorrow.
The Queens’ Trust league is looking quite exciting at the top. After a blip in form, Dynamo Star showed their fighting spirit last weekend by beating Maxwelltown Thistle to get back on track. If results go their way this weekend, they could go back to the top as they ought to pick up the points against bottom club First Base. One wonder just how long the First Base boys can take the beatings handed out to them week after week before they say enough is enough. They deserve the greatest praise for keeping going but if it must surely take its toll eventually. However, that’s not Star’s problem and they should take the points.
Morton Thistle, too, can go top if they win against Maxwelltown Thistle. Both lost last week. It was a good display by Morton at Moffat but eventually they were worn down while it was much the same story for Max who held Dynamo Star in the first half before being overcome in the second period. The first league meeting in September saw Max take the points. At present, form points more to a Morton victory. I go for that by a narrow margin.
Lochar Thistle kept the flag flying for the local association on Saturday when they beat Gordon by five goals to three to earn a place in the quarter final of the South of Scotland Cup.
A well-deserved win it was, too. Apart from a short spell just before the interval, they always held the upper hand. Terry Jardine tapped them in front after twenty-five minutes before Trevor Campbell dinked one over the keeper for a second, with eight minutes of the half left. It was then that Gordon had their little purple patch but Trevor’s second, an audacious chip from outside the box had Lochar back in front by half time. They continued on top in the second half scoring twice through James Rogerson. A mazy run in which he beat several defenders brought his first and the second was much the same, both lovely goals. Gordon scored a late consolation. Lochar now play Chirnside, second top of the Border league, at home this Saturday.
In the Queens’ Trust league, Lochmaben annihilated First Base Dynamos in a game that few could really have enjoyed. The list of goalscorers looks like Lochmaben’s electoral roll with four each for Stephen Hislop, Charles Common and Dougie McRobert, three for Gary Whyte, two for Alan Maxwell one each for Laurie Maxwell, Peter Johnstone, Steffan Ramsay and own goal. Anne Wells, the First Base secretary, missed the game through illness. Best wishes from everybody to Anne for a speedy recovery.
Plenty of goals, too, for YMCA as they turned in their best display of the season to beat Terregles Athletic by nine goals to nil, having been three up by half-time. There was a hat-trick here for Dale Talaszko, including a cracking twenty two yard volley. There was an another superb goal, this time a fantastic diving header, from Darren Milligan who finished with two goals, as did YM’s Man of the Match, John Wells, while Joe Jardine and Ricky Goudie also got on the scoresheet. The three points take YM above Terregles, who never really got going.
Upper Annandale beat Morton Thistle 3-1 at Moffat to go back equal with them at the top of the table. A very tight first half ended goalless. The breakthrough came when Ryan Johnstone beat the offside trap and slotted in. Peter Pagan’s long ball was collected by Neil Roddick to score Uppers’ second before Neil Sturrock pulled one back at a corner with quarter of an hour left. The points were clinched, however, with Mark Leighfield’s header at a corner with five minutes left.
Dynamo Star ended their poor streak with a very good win away to Maxwelltown Thistle by four goals to one. An even first half ended with the score at one apiece but Star controlled the second period. An eighth minute penalty by Paul Madden put Star in front only for a cracking left foot shot by Ross Halliday to square matters soon after. A minute into the second half saw a peach of a shot from thirty yards by Brian Dick restore Star’s lead and, just before the hour, the same player headed home at a free kick. The fourth came when Derek McDowall had a good shot well saved but he scored with the rebound. Star now go third.
Saturday’s Results: South of Scotland Cup: Gordon 3, Lochar Th 5.
Queens’ Trust League: Lochmaben 21, First Base 0; Maxwelltown Th 1, Dynamo Star 4, Upper Annandale 3, Morton Th 1; YMCA 9, Terregles Ath 0.
Fixtures for February 20
South of Scotland Cup – quarter final: Lochar Th v Chirnside at Heathhall (J McEwan)
Nivison Cup (sponsored by Metrik Office Supplies) Round 2: Lochmaben v Stewartry (J Thomson); Upper Annandale v YMCA (I Brack)
Queens’ Trust League: Dynamo Star v First Base Dynamos at Troqueer (D McGuffie); Morton Th v Maxwelltown Th (D Laurie)
At long last Lochar Thistle should get their third-round South of Scotland Cup tie played tomorrow. They travel to Gordon, after the Borders side won their second round tie which had been postponed every week since November 7 – a record for call-offs.
Gordon are a second division side so Lochar stand a good chance of becoming our only side through to the last eight. They had an easy run out at the weekend with a cup win over First Base and have been playing very well, especially up front. If they play to their potential, Lochar should win and everyone in our league hope they can do it to restore a little pride.
There are four Queens’ Trust league matches on the local front. Uppers were disappointed to find their game at Crocketford postponed last weekend, especially as Maxwelltown Thistle knocked them off top spot. They face quite a tricky game tomorrow with a visit from Morton Thistle. The Thornhill side moved alongside them on points when they had an excellent win over Dynamo Star, just a fortnight after the same side had beaten them easily in a cup tie. Their away record isn’t as good and they will find it hard at Moffat to get the better of an Uppers side unbeaten at home in the league. They’ll push Uppers but I expect the points to stay at home.
Having been going so well, Dynamo Star will be anxious to get over their bad little run when they go to Maxwelltown Thistle. Consecutive defeats have dented Star’s hopes and they face a club who have quietly picked up points to now go to the top, albeit having played more games than the others. Three points from a hard-fought win last week against YMCA saw them clear in front of Uppers. Star disappointed against Morton although they put up a good fight. The first league meeting saw a big win for Star; this time should be much closer and could well see the points shared.
One side getting into their stride these days is Lochmaben. They still have a bit of work to do if they are to challenge at the top but they are playing well and are a match for any side. Last week, they put paid to Terregles with a devastating first half performance and they should pick up three more points tomorrow at home to First Base Dynamos. The visitors, still without a point, have had some heavy defeats this season but none just as big as when these two met back in October. Let’s hope it isn’t as bad this time. The one glimmer of hope for Dynamos is that they did score two goals last week. However, Lochmaben should take the points with plenty to spare.
There’s not a lot at stake in the final game between YMCA and Terregles Athletic. They lie next to each other in the bottom half with little chance of closing the gap above them. Just the same, this could be a very good game to watch between two well-matched sides who do try to play football and score goals. Between them, they scored six last week against two good sides but the combined loss of thirteen shows where a lot of their problems lie. YM were rampant in their first meeting at Terregles. Although this should be closer, I still think YM will complete a league double by taking the points.
League leaders, Upper Annandale, had their game at Crocketford postponed and this allowed Maxwelltown Thistle to take over at the top thanks to a 4-2 win over YMCA.
Overall, Max deserved to win an enjoyable match but YM pushed them all the way. Davie Gauld opened the scoring in the nineteenth minute, cutting in from the wing and firing home. Within two minutes, YM were level when a save rebounded to Joe Jardine who headed in. Nearing half-time, a pass was chested down and volleyed into the top corner by Paul Kearney for a lovely goal which put Max back in front. Stuart Wight added to the lead with a free kick from the edge of the area and Paul added his second after a well-worked move just as the game entered the final quarter. A hard, low cross was deflected in for YM’s second.
Morton Thistle pulled off a fine win against Dynamo Star to move above them into third. Leading 2-0 at the break, they went on to win 3-2, reversing a recent defeat by Star. Both first half goals came from Martin Rush, one a shot from just inside the area, then a penalty. At the start of the second half, Brian Dick headed Star back into contention only for Russell Jardine’s curling shot to make it 3-1. Cameron Steele’s low shot with twelve minutes left set up a tense finish but Morton held on to claim the points in a good, hard tussle.
There were plenty of goals at Lochmaben where the home side beat Terregles Athletic by nine goals to four. In the first half, Lochmaben were completely dominant. They turned round six-nil up and, although Terregles were very much better in the second period, they were never going to get near Lochmaben. Gary Whyte continued his good form with a first half hat-trick, including a cracker from twenty five yards, and followed this up with another after the break. Stevie Hislop had a couple which also included a beauty from well out. There were two more from Russell Paisley, and Charles Common outpaced the Terregles defence for the ninth. As said, Terregles played well in the second half. Lee Taylor pulled one back and Mike McGhie ran through to make it 6-2. It was 8-4 when Mike repeated his feat and then James Crosbie, Terregles best player on the day, beat two defenders to set up Lee for his second.
In a Metrik Office Supplies sponsored cup tie, Lochar Thistle moved through to a home tie with Maxwelltown Thistle after their expected win over First Base Dynamos. It finished 11-2, having been 5-1 at the interval.
First Base battled well, especially in the first period. Both their goals came from William Jeans. Lochar’s good form continued. Their goal scorers were three for James Rogerson, two each for Terry Jardine and Mike McGauchie and singles for Martin Neil, Trevor Campbell, Willie Dempster and Joe Brown.
Saturday’s Results: Nivison Cup – Round 1 (sponsored by Metrik Office Supplies)
First Base 2, Lochar Th 11.
Queens’ Trust League: Lochmaben 9, Terregles Ath 4; Maxwelltown Th 4, YMCA 2; Morton Th 3, Dynamo Star 2.
Fixtures for February 13
South of Scotland Cup – Round 3: Gordon v Lochar Th
Queens’ Trust League: Lochmaben v First Base (B Dewar-Riddick); Maxwelltown Th v Dynamo Star (W Vivers) at Troqueer; Upper Annandale v Morton Th (A McNay); YMCA v Terregles Ath (D McGuffie)
Provisional:- Stewartry v Lochar Th.
Friday night’s frost put paid to both Nivison Cup ties at the weekend but all three Queens’ Trust league games did go ahead.
Second top Dynamo Star had a real off-day, beaten 5-0 at home by Lochar Thistle. Having said that, Lochar did play really well. Having missed one penalty on the quarter hour, they took the lead five minutes later with another spot kick, James Rogerson taking this one. It was two just after the half hour when Mike McGauchie volleyed home from fifteen yards.
The second half continued in the same vein. Willie Dempster lobbed the advancing keeper for James to finish off for the third. The best of the lot was probably John Howie’s low drive from just outside the box for number four and Mike rounded things off with his second, curling a free kick twenty five yards out into the top corner. These points take Lochar up to fifth, two points behind Star.
Playing their first game for many weeks, Maxwelltown Thistle showed little early rustiness to run out comfortable 4-1 winners. They dominated the opening half, going in three up, and, although Terregles improved markedly after the break, Max won fairly comfortably. In eighteen minutes Stuart Wight headed in at the back post as he got on the end of Paul Kearney’s flick. Stuart then provided the cross for Graham Carling to add a second before Paul himself scored the third with a backward header from a long throw in.
Terregles showed more spirit in the second half. They pulled one back when Arthur McAdam, set up by Lee Taylor, fired home from just inside the box. The good work was soon undone, though, as they left Bruce McQuarrie unmarked at a free kick and he scored the fourth.
Best for Max were Tommy Jardine and Paul Kearney while Lee Taylor and Cammy Grierson shone for Terregles.
The third game saw Morton Thistle overwhelm First Base Dynamo by fourteen goals to one. It was 6-1 at half time. Ally McQueen led the way with six goals, there were hat-tricks for Mike Devlin and Russell Jardine and one each for Jason Geddes and Chris McGregor. Aaron Brown had First Base’s consolation.
Saturday’s results: - Queens’ Trust League – Dynamo Star 0, Lochar Th 5; Maxwelltown Th 4, Terregles Ath 1; Morton Th 14, First Base 1.
Fixtures for Saturday February 6
Nivison Cup Round 1 (sponsored by Metrik Office Supplies) First Base Dyns v Lochar Th (J McEwan) at Jocks Loaning.
Queens’ Trust League: Lochmaben v Terregles Ath (I Brack); Maxwelltown Th v YMCA at Troqueer (D Laurie); Morton Th v Dynamo Star (J Thomson); Stewartry v Upper Annandale (D Erskine)
Queens’ Trust League
P W D L F A Pts
Upper Annandale 8 7 0 1 37 12 21
Maxwelltown Th 12 6 3 3 47 24 21
Dynamo Star 9 6 1 2 32 16 19
Morton Th 9 6 0 3 48 17 18
Lochar Th 8 5 2 1 41 17 17
Lochmaben 8 4 2 2 41 13 14
Terregles Ath 10 4 0 6 36 40 12
YMCA 10 3 2 5 35 28 11
Stewartry 11 1 0 10 20 81 3
First Base 9 0 0 9 11 100 0