Hopes high as Junior football clubs all set for the big kick-off

MUSSELBURGH ATHLETIC

Musselburgh Athletic 3 Arniston Rangers 4

The last of Musselburgh’s five pre-season friendlies saw them face up to Premier League visitors in Arniston Rangers, who’d finished their 2015/16 campaign in exceptionally strong form and aim to push for promotion to the top tier this season. While Olive Bank boss Calvin Shand had rebuilt the Burgh squad from scratch, Arniston counterpart Jock Landells had kept most of his players, and his team were expected to present a tough challenge.

Matti King was first to get his name on the scoresheet when he confidently converted from the penalty spot, before a knock suffered by Michael Moffat forced his early substitution, Chris Gray coming on as replacement. Arniston went on to level through Kevin Moffat after young keeper Luke Mancini’s touch let him down, allowing the visitors’ striker to dispossess him to the left of his six yard box before taking time to make sure he found the net from a central position. Burgh restored their lead when a slack Arniston pass went straight to the feet of Sean Murphy around 25 yards out – the ex-Leith Athletic striker looked up and sent a fantastic shot high into the net beyond keeper Cornet, once of Musselburgh. At the end of the opening 45 minutes it was again all square, Thomson having scored a second for the visitors from just inside the penalty area.

With an hour on the clock Arniston took the lead with a superbly executed free kick from Moffat, over 25 yards from goal. The visitors’ position was made all the more comfortable just three minutes later when, after pressure in and around the home penalty area, the ball was played in from the left and McTernan was well-positioned on the six yard line to direct it into the net. Matty Lynch wrapped up the scoring with a well-worked goal, the visitors ultimately winning an entertaining affair by the odd goal in seven.

This week’s focus at Olive Bank has been on Saturday’s Superleague opener there against Bo’ness United. The BUs were title contenders for much of last season and as one of the best-supported Junior teams around are always expected to challenge for trophies – there’s no doubt they’ll present a tough challenge to Musselburgh in Calvin Shand’s first competitive game in charge. Given the wholesale changes over the course of the close-season it’s expected Burgh will take a little time to fully find their feet, however Bo’ness too have new players and it’s always difficult to forecast the outcome of opening day fixtures – in seven previous Superleague campaigns however Burgh have failed to overcome Bo’ness at home, with four games drawn and three victories for the BUs. On Wednesday evening boss Shand takes his men to Penicuik Athletic, themselves much changed over the close season after ex-Haddington boss Johnny Harvey took over as manager a month ago.

HADDINGTON ATHLETIC

Haddington Athletic 4 Danderhall MW 3

Haddington Athletic 1 Yoker Athletic 4

The Hi Hi’s management team of Brian Johnston and Kevin Twaddle have had a very busy time since their appointment just over a month ago, taking over just after pre-season training began and having to add considerably to the depleted squad which they inherited. In their opening friendlies against Leith Athletic and Kirkintilloch Rob Roy there had been some promising signs despite narrow defeats, and it was hoped last Thursday night's home friendly against amateurs Danderhall MW might bring about a better result. If though any Haddington players were naïve enough to think they might be in for a relatively easy time, they soon found out they were much mistaken. In the visitors’ ranks were a few ex-Juniors including Danny Taylor, formerly of Dunbar United, and Darren Flynn, who spent the second half of last season at Tranent Juniors – Flynn put his team in front nineteen minutes in with a powerful striker from just outside the box, giving former team-mate Sinclair Inglis no chance. Within three minutes the Hi Hi had levelled, Sean Martin heading in at the back post from a good cross from Ross Larner on the right, but Danderhall went in leading by two goals to one after Laing scored with a low drive from the eighteen yard line two minutes before the break, after the home defence could only partly clear following a corner from the right. Again though it was a short-lived lead, as the Hi Hi levelled in the third minute of the second half, Andy Jones doing well on the left before sending in a low ball which Craig Wojtowycz controlled on the six yard line before prodding it into the net. With 18 minutes left Wojtowycz put the hosts in front with a free kick which took a deflection off a defender on its way into the net, this time though it was their turn to lose a lead quickly as Flynn brought Danderhall level again two minutes later, netting from the penalty spot despite Liam Amos’ best efforts. With five minutes left, Wojtowycz completed his hat-trick with a fine free kick from the edge of the box, but Haddington were fortunate to hold on for an unconvincing victory – towards the end Danderhall saw a shot hit the bar, another effort cleared off the line by George Cunningham, and yet another well-saved by Amos.

Saturday brought a visit east from Yoker Athletic, who play in the West Region’s second tier. The teams had drawn 2-2 at Yoker’s Holm Park a year earlier, but there weren’t many on the field last week who featured in that match, with many changes on both teams. Striker Chris Robertson, recruited from Edinburgh United and a debutant against Danderhall after returning from holiday, put the Hi Hi ahead inside four minutes when he scored from close range after skipper Bob Berry played the ball in from the left. Berry himself came close to doubling the home lead three minutes later, shooting just wide, but Yoker equalised on 17 minutes when Maitland finished clinically from a free kick right on the 18-yard line. Midway through the first half Dean Woods was a whisker away from restoring the home lead, his shot coming back off the crossbar – luck wasn’t on Haddington’s side, as they lost debutant centre half Willie Kidd to injury on 32 minutes, just after Yoker centre forward Brennan put them ahead. Andy Jones came on, and Haddington had several decent openings before the break but remained 2-1 down when the half-time whistle blew. Playing the second half with a makeshift back four, the Hi Hi found themselves two goals down within a couple of minutes of play restarting, Brennan finding the net for Yoker all too easily. Paul Devlin wasn’t far away with a 25-yard effort minutes later, but there was little to please the home management team thereafter as Yoker controlled the game for the most part. Wojtowycz cleared off the line to prevent Brennan claiming his hat-trick on 73 minutes, and the visitors could easily have found themselves further ahead before eventually Hynes netted their fourth with two minutes left. While the first half had the Hi Hi contesting the game encouragingly, the second half was all Yoker’s.

Forfar West End visit Millfield on Saturday as Haddington’s second Premier League campaign gets underway, expectations lowered in the wake of close season developments. West End finished mid-table last season, having enjoyed a strong second half to the season – when they visited in March a Paul Devlin goal gave the Hi Hi a 1-0 win but much of course has changed since then. On Wednesday night they travel to take on Arniston Rangers, on the face of things a very challenging fixture given Arniston’s form towards the end of last season.

TRANENT JUNIORS

East Kilbride Thistle 0 Tranent Juniors 5

The fifth pre-season friendly of Tranent’s preparations saw them at the unfamiliar environs of the Showpark home of East Kilbride Thistle, Scottish Junior Cup winners in 1983 but currently occupants for several years of the bottom division in West Region football. Tranent took a full squad through to Lanarkshire, but were missing goalkeeper Connor Wood and defender Jamie Todd, both away on holiday. Manager Gary Small gave a first start to much talked about signing Kevin Thomson, the former Hibs and Rangers midfielder, while Liam Robertson stood in for Wood in goal. On a tight pitch East Kilbride got in about their visitors from the off, pressing quickly whenever the opportunity arose, but their only real chance came from a poor Robertson clearance – they failed to take advantage and, by the time the first half reached its midway point, Tranent had taken a grip of the game following a little tactical tweaking from Small. Dean Knight put the visitors in front with just over twenty minutes played, and within a few minutes Shaun Conlon had doubled Tranent’s lead. Minutes from the break Ben Miller added a third direct from a free kick, and even before the halfway stage it was evident Tranent were fitter and stronger than their hosts, pretty much as anticipated given differing recent fortunes. They were never in any real danger of conceding a goal after the break, being well in control throughout, and Kayne Paterson, on as a sub, made it 4-0 around the half way mark. Knight wrapped things up with his own second and Tranent’s fifth 10 minutes from time.

A comfortable win then before Tranent rounded off their warm-up schedule on Tuesday evening with a game at Foresters Park against a Hibernian XI. On Saturday they break new ground by featuring for the first time in a Premier league fixture, their new adventure starting with an away fixture against a Tayport outfit relegated from the Superleague after a solitary season back upstairs. Reports indicate recent downsizing at Tayport, whose trophy haul over the past decade has been relatively small after their first 15 years in Junior football from 1990 brought many successes including two Scottish Junior Cup wins in 2003 and 2005. Their Canniepairt pitch has ample space for Tranent to make good use of, but they’ll travel cautiously optimistic rather than over confident, respectful of Tayport’s status. On Wednesday evening Dalkeith Thistle are the first ever Premier League visitors to Foresters Park – the Jags have, like several other clubs locally, undergone significant personnel changes since the end of last season and look to have gone down the route of recruiting a number of promising youngsters. As with all new ventures, it’s unclear exactly how Tranent will fare against higher quality opposition than they’re used to, but most observers fancy them to do well.

DUNBAR UNITED

Newtongrange Star 2 Dunbar United 0

Seasiders’ boss Geoff Jones hadn’t had his troubles to seek in the days ahead of last Saturday’s visit to Newtongrange Star for their final pre-season friendly, with a number of personnel concerns having had him at one point considering a request for cancellation. It hadn’t come to that though, and though the Dunbar squad on the day contained a number of players who weren’t fully fit they went on to apply themselves very well. The Star had struck nine goals past a shell-shocked Preston Athletic earlier in the week, and naturally there were fears they’d prove much too strong for Dunbar too – that though was to prove far from the case. Over the course of the opening 40 minutes there wasn’t much at all between the teams, with goalmouth action at a premium most of the time – Dunbar’s best openings came courtesy of well-delivered corner kicks from former Star favourite Chris King, but they were unable to make the most of them. With five minutes left in the half, a questionable penalty was awarded in Star’s favour after John Johnstone collided with a home striker – Cropley scored from the spot; this after Dunbar had needlessly conceded possession inside the opposition half. Barely three minutes later the hosts were awarded a second penalty after Wes Mitchell caught his man from behind, again after possession was conceded unnecessarily, but this time Johnstone saved Cropley’s effort. Youngster Liam McCathie replaced Johnstone in the Dunbar goal for the second half and found himself picking the ball out of the net within a minute of taking up his position – the Seasiders lost possession almost straight from kick off and O’Brien fired an unstoppable shot from 20-odd yards into the top corner. Boss Jones made a few changes to good effect, though he’d rather not have been forced to withdraw Mitchell, who pulled a hamstring. Dunbar found chances hard to come by but they defended well, with McCathie impressing with some fine saves. All things considered a 2-0 defeat was no disgrace at all, with Dunbar having given Jones plenty of scope for encouragement in circumstances which weren’t ideal.

Dunbar’s South Division season starts this Saturday with a home game against Stoneyburn Juniors, who finished bottom of the table last season with a squad consisting mainly of youngsters. Jones again has a number of personnel concerns to contend with, but is hopeful that regardless of how his team lines up they ought with the correct application to be good enough to pick up all three points.