Competitions

WFS East League Championship 2023 Round 1

After league reconstruction we find ourselves in the East League Championship this year. The second tier of the competition with the hope that we can progress to the highest tier. This season there are three new teams in our league, Luncarty FC from the Perth area, Dundee FC and Highland United and a second team from Tayport, Tayport Yellows.

Today’s squad: Harry Gilfillan, Willie Carroll, Kevin Henderson, Scott McIntosh, Scott Jackson, Ian McMillan, Shaun O’Donnell, Haig Hutchison, Charles Doherty.

Before today’s games kicked off players from all teams across both leagues came together for a minute’s applause in memory of John Cunningham.

Our first game is against newcomers Dundee FC. The game started well with Ian McMillan hitting the bye line in the first minute and cutting the ball back to Scott Jackson who placed the ball behind the keeper for a one goal lead. However Dundee hit back in four minutes when Raith are penalised for a third running offence and Dundee convert the penalty. From here on it’s almost one way traffic as Raith push Dundee back but fail to convert until with time running out a throw out by the keeper is intercepted and, as the ref blows his whistle, Kev Henderson fires the ball into the net. The goal stands!
Dundee FC 1-2 Raith Rovers


Carnoustie Panmure 2-0 Saints in the Community
Dundee FC 1-2 Raith Rovers
Dundee Utc 2-1 Montrose
Highland Utd 0-1 Luncarty FC

Our second game has us playing against semi-newcomers Tayport Yellows. Raith get off to a flyer in this one with two goals in the second minute. First Ian McMillan finds Scott Jackson again for Scott to score and then some nice interplay between Scott Jackson and Scott McIntosh sees Scott McIntosh slot the ball past the keeper. In five minutes a third Raith running foul leads to a Tayport penalty and though Harry Gilfillan gets to the ball he can’t keep it out and Tayport pull one back. Raith continue to press and in twelve minutes the ref awards Raith a corner. The players don’t seem to notice and the Tayport keeper throws the ball into play but it’s intercepted and Raith score. No goal! After the confusion is sorted out Shaun O’Donnell takes the corner to Scott McIntosh who fires the ball past the keeper for a two goal lead. Raith continue to press for the next three minutes but it comes to nothing and the game ends.
Tayport Yellows 1-3 Raith Rovers



Tayport Yellows 1-3 Raith Rovers
Carnoustie Panmure 2-0 Montrose

We sit out the next three rounds.
Dundee FC 1-2 Luncarty FC
Dundee Utd 2-0 Highland Utd
Saints in the Community 2-2 Montrose
Tayport Yellows 0-2 Luncarty FC
Carnoustie Panmure 1-1 Highland Utd
Dundee FC 0-2 Dundee Utd

In our third game we play Perthshire newcomers Luncarty FC. With Luncarty already having won their previous three games this is an important game for today’s league placings. The game starts well for Raith when Luncarty are penalised for a slide tackle. As the offence is in the attacking zone the referee correctly awards Raith a penalty which Scott Jackson converts. The game is all Raith though we fail to convert and in twelve minutes the ref awards Luncarty a penalty for a third running offence which they convert. Raith continue to press but time runs out and the game ends in a draw.
Raith Rovers 1-1 Luncarty FC



Raith Rovers 1-1 Luncarty FC
Saints in the Community 0-0 Highland Utd
Tayport Yellows 0-1 Dundee Utd
Carnoustie Panmure 2-0 Dundee FC

In our final game of this round we play our old friends Saints in the Community. The game starts really well for Raith when Ian McMillan intercepts the ball in the first minute and passes to Scott Jackson who scores. In six minutes Haig Hutchison intercepts a ball in midfield and feeds Scott Jackson who again fires at the keeper who manages a half save but the ball trickles over the line. It’s almost all one way traffic for the rest of the game and further goals from Kevin Henderson and Scott Jackson (Yes Scott, you got a hat-trick) sees the game finish with a four-nil victory to Raith.
Raith Rovers 4-0 Saints in the Community.


Montrose 3-1 Tayport Yellows
Raith Rovers 4-0 Saints in the Community

All in all a good day at the office with no goals conceded from open play. Might need to work on the running fouls we are conceding. However we’re sitting second in the table after the first round of fixtures.

Christmas Cup 2022

Sunday 11th December saw the third annual Raith Rovers Christmas Cup competition. The late withdrawal of Saints in the Community lead to some fixture changes with Raith Rovers cutting one of their team entries to create two equal groups of four. With some extra space in the schedule it was decided that rather than a straight playoff between matching places in each group there would be “semi finals” instead with the first in each group playing the runners up in the other group and third and fourth places likewise playing a semi final before playing a final game each to decide the placings.

Group 1Group 2
Braehead FCCrieff Juniors
Fife Wanderers 65Fife Wandersers
Fairfield BDunfermline
Raith RoversFairfield

Raith’s first game was against current holders Braehead. The game started well for Raith with a nice passing move through midfield leading to a John Wylie goal in the second minute. Some good football from both sides negated each other until the thirteenth minute when a John Wylie pass released Scott McIntosh to put the ball past the keeper for a two nil lead. With the game coming to an end Rovers were penalised for a third running offence and a penalty was awarded to Braehead in the last minute which they coolly dispatched past Pete Munn in the Raith goal to make the score two one. With time running out Raith held onto the ball and recorded a victory against a strong Braehead team.

Raith 2-1 Braehead
Fairfield B 2-2 Fife Wanderers 65
Crieff Juniors 6-1 Fife Wanderers
Fairfield 3-0 Dunfermline

Raith’s second game saw us play Fairfield B. A tight game saw nobody take any initiative for the first eight minutes despite plenty effort. The game came to life however in the ninth minute. Fairfield had a claim for a penalty which wasn’t given by the ref and they switched off. While Raith drove up the pitch and John Wylie scored his second of the day with the opener. A “still out of sorts” Fairfield conceded another within a minute as Scott McIntosh also scored his second of the day to increase Raith’s lead to two. Again within a minute Fairfield got a foot back in the game with a goal and then a minute later equalised with a well worked goal from the left side of the pitch. The goal action wasn’t finished with a fifth goal in a five minute period restored Raith’s lead. Scott Jackson received a ball in the Fairfield half and, feeling the defender behind him, turned on a sixpence to leave him one on one with the keeper to slot the ball past for the winning goal.

Raith 3-2 Fairfield B
Braehead 2-2 Fife Wanderers 65
Crieff 2-1 Dunfermline
Fife Wanderers 2-2 Fairfield

Going into the last of the league fixtures Raith had group one tied up with any of the other teams able to take second place. In group two Fairfield and Crieff playing for first place. However a win for Fife Wanderers coupled with a win for Crieff could see Fife take second place.

The final league match saw Raith play Fife Wanderers 65. In the third minute Ian McMillan bamboozled his defender with some of his legendary fancy footwork and slotted the ball past the Wanderers’ keeper. Fife quickly equalised with a goal from a corner in the next minute. In ten minutes Raith retook the lead when a through pass from defense by Kev Henderson found Scott McIntosh in front of goal. Two minutes later a sweet passing move between multiple players found Scott McIntosh again in front of the goal to increase Raith’s lead to two. A minute later Harry Younger scores his first of the day to make it four one to Raith. With the game running down Fife score a late consolation goal to end the game four two in Raith’s favour.

Raith 4-2 Fife Wanderers 65
Braehead Fairfield B
Crieff Juniors Fairfield
Fife Wanderers 4-0 Dunfermline

And so to the “semi finals” we had Braehead V Fairfield and Raith V Crieff Juniors for the top of the table and Fife Wanderers 65 V Dunfermline and Fairfield B V Fife Wanderers for the lower half.

Raith versus Crieff Juniors had the look of a tight game.Our games in the league this year ended in a 2-2 draw and a fortunate 1-0 Raith win. The game started well for Crieff with star striker Davie getting the ball in the Raith half and firing a low shot past Pete in goals to take a one nil lead. Raith fought back and a slick passing move in the ninth minute allowed Ian McMillan to slip a pass to Scott McIntosh who shot into the net. From the kickoff Crieff pressed and won a corner. However a break away from the corner saw Ian McMillan one on one with the keeper from which he scored. In the twelfth minute a passing move through almost all of the Raith team saw Scott McIntosh score his second of the game for a two goal Raith lead. The two goal margin doesn’t last for long as the ball slips out of Pete Munn’s hands as he throws out and the ball flies high. An indirect free kick results and clever play by Crieff cuts Raith lead to one.A comedy of errors in the sixteenth minute sees Crieff draw level. Kev Henderson takes a kick in level with the Raith box but the ball goes between Willie Carroll and Pete in goals and straight to a Crieff attacker who wasted no time equalising. The game looks to be going to penalties until John Wylie fires past the keeper to win the game four three.
Braehead 1-5 Fairfield
Raith 4-3 Crieff

Fife Wanderers 65 0-5 Dunfermline
Fairfield B 4-3 Fife Wanderers

And so to the final between Raith and Fairfield

A tight first half ended with a break away for Fairfield with the striker scoring following a one on one with the keeper. In the second half Raith pressed and passed up a few opportunities to equalise until Fairfield scored after a through ball in seventeen minutes. A further goal in nineteen minutes put the result beyond doubt and Fairfield ran out worthy 3-0 winners.

So congratulations to Fairfield and many thanks to all the teams, players, officials and referees who turned up on what was a bitterly cold day and played, watched and mixed with smiles on their faces. Special mention to John Wylie for playing on in good spirits after a bad injury and extra special thanks to JJ Henderson for organising the event and being present on the day to keep all of us old guys under control.

Christmas Cup 2022 – Preview

Sunday 11th December 2022 will see the third running of Raith Rovers Walking Football’s Christmas cup. Won in 2019 by Raith Rovers and in 2021 by Braehead FC, this year will see 10 teams competing for the trophy at Starks Park, Kirkcaldy.

Group 1

Saints in the Community
A long established Walking Football Scotland team, Saints finished 11th in the East of Scotland League this year. Despite their lowly league position they are a hard team to beat having drawn 9 of their league games.

Braehead FC
Last year’s Christmas Cup winners and an impressive fourth position in their first competitive year in the Central League.

Fife Wanderers 65
One of two Fife Wanderers teams in this year’s competition, this looks to be the squad that will compete in next years over 65s league competition. On their day a hard team to beat.

Fairfield B
One of two Fairfield teams in this year’s competition. Fairfield finished fifth in the East league in their inaugural season this year. A resilient team, always up for a game.

Raith Rovers Reds
Another team that are here as one of a pair. This Rovers’ version consists of newly league qualified players some of whom will be looking to stake a claim in next year’s league team.

Group 2

Crieff Juniors
Third place in this year’s East league by two goals despite matching St James on goals scored and scoring more than Arbroath.

Fife Wanderers
The other Fife Wanderers’ team in this year’s competition. A ninth position in this year’s league doesn’t do Wanderers justice and they always show up well in this competition.

Raith Rovers Blues
Raith Rovers league squad finished eighth in the East league this year in what was a disappointing showing for the former Scottish Cup winners.

Dunfermline Dynamos
A hard season for Dunfermline in the league with many injury problems leading to some game forfeits. A stubborn side who, on their day, can match most teams in the league.

Fairfield A
The second of Fairfield’s entries this year who will no doubt be looking to make it to the final against Fairfield B.

Teams in each group will play each other once and then the teams in matching positions in each group will play to decide the final cup positions.

First game kicks off at 12:30 with access for teams and supporters from 12. Spectating for the group stages will be from the North Stand with the Main Stand being used for the Final.
Sunday’s weather looks to be dry but cold so wrap up warm and enjoy the fun.

WFS East League 2022 Month 8

The final Sunday of this year’s league and the team head up to Dundee on a bright, sunny but cold morning. Starting the day in eighth place in the league nine points from today’s three games could see us jump to fifth place depending on other results. This month’s fixtures are against Dundee United, Dunfermline Dynamos and Fairfield.

Back row: John Cunningham, Scott Jackson, Dave Fawcett, Willie Carroll, Steve Fleming, Brian Geddes.
Front row: Harry Younger, Martin Page, Kevin Henderson, Haig Hutchison.

We sit out the first round of matches.

Arbroath 4-0 St Andrews and East Neuk
Dundee United 0-1 Montrose
Carnoustie Panmure 3-0 Saints in the Community
Dunfermline Dynamos 1-4 Fife Wanderers

Our first game of the day is against Dundee United who won the first tie earlier this year 1-0. The game starts at pace and a rarely seen yellow card is produced for Scott Jackson in the second minute. No-one is sure what for but it’s only our second yellow of the season. The game flashes bad temperedly in the fifth minute with a hard tackle from behind by a Dundee Utd player which provokes a reaction from Kev and both players receive a yellow card. In seven minutes the deadlock is broken when Scott Jackson finds the back of the net. In twelve minutes a ball from Martin in his goal area finds Harry in midfield who passes to John at the edge of the box and he scores. Dundee Utd continue to press but a Raith corner in the last minute is fired through the Dundee Utd box to find Haig alone at the back and he slots it past the keeper.
Dundee United 0-1 Raith

Carnoustie Panmure 2-0 Tayport
Dundee Utd 0-3 Raith
Crieff Juniors St James

Our second game of the day sees us play local rivals Dunfermline Dynamos. The game starts well for Raith when, in the fourth minute, Dave presses the Dunfermline defense in the corner and the ball comes out to Steve who shoots and scores. Not much of note happens until the tenth minute when John gets a shot off but only manages to find the post. With the game winding down Scott finds John in front of goal in the fifteenth minute and he puts the ball past the keeper for 2-0. Thirty seconds later an almost identical move sees Scott find John again for a third goal to Raith.
Dunfermline Dynamos 0-3 Raith

Dunfermline Dynamos 0-3 Raith
Dundee United 2-1 St Andrews
Arbroath 1-2 St James

We sit out the next round of matches.
Fairfield 1-1 Montrose
Dunfermline Dynamos 3-3 Saints in the Community
Crieff Juniors 5-1 Fife Wanderers

For our final match of the day we play Fairfield. The game starts badly with a pass across the defence being intercepted in the first minute and the Fairfield player slotting the ball past Pagey. It gets worse less than a minute later when a mix up in defense allows Fairfield to take a two goal lead. In four minutes Fairfield score again to give Raith an even harder task. The fightback begins in the eighth minute with a Scott Jackson goal. In eleven minutes John Cunningham hits the post again and that’s that. Fairfield 3-1 Raith

Fairfield 3-1 Raith
Arbroath 2-1 Tayport
Crieff Juniors 4-1 St Andrews and East Neuk

We end the day with two wins out of three so despite not improving our league position it was overall a successful day. A special mention for our stand in ref for the last two games. The ref team were a man down and Matt Ramsey from Walking Football Scotland stepped up. And we’ve got to say he was one of the best refs we’ve experienced all year. When I say “we have to say” he was good that’s because Matt has promised £20 to charity if we do. 😉

WFS East League 2022 Month 8 – Preview

The over 50s travel up to Dundee this weekend for the last set of fixtures in this year’s league competition. Currently sitting in eight place the right results could see the team rise to fourth place.

This weekends games see us playing local rivals Dunfermline Dynamos, the always fiery Dundee United and newcomers Fairfield. Previous games this season saw us beat Dunfermline 3-0 and lose a tight game 1-0 against Dundee Utd. Our game against Fairfield wasn’t played due to Fairfield being unable to play that weekend so was awarded to us 3-0.

WFS East League 2022 Month 7

The penultimate Sunday of this year’s league saw the team once again head north to Dundee. With league changes mooted for next year where we finish in the league will play a big part in where, and who, we play next year. This month’s fixtures are against Tayport, Crieff Juniors and Arbroath. Three straight games in a row, one after the other.

Back row: George Lindsay, Scott Jackson, John Wylie, Martin Page, Charles Doherty Front row: Kevin Henderson, Harry Younger, Haig Hutchison, Dave Fawcett

Our first game is against Tayport and hopefully will only be 15 minutes long this time. As always it’s a tight game with few clear chances for either side. In the sixth minute Haig collects the ball on the right wing and angles a shot across the goal but it goes wide. In the twelfth minute Raith force four corners one after the other pinning Tayport back in their own half. In the thirteenth minute a Scott Jackson shot flies over the bar and that’s the last real action of the game and it finishes Raith Rovers 0-0 Tayport

Saints in the Community 0-3 St James
Crieff Juniors 2-1 Fairfield
Carnoustie Panmure 3-1 Fife Wanderers
Raith 0-0 Tayport

Our second game of the day is against Crieff Juniors who we’ve played only once before competitively. That last meeting was a 2-2 draw so another close game is expected. And so it turns out with much effort but both keepers on top form. In the sixth minute a Crieff attack brings out a great save from Martin Page but the ball falls to a Crieff player alone at the edge of the box. But he slips and blasts the ball high over the bar from just a few yards. In eleven minutes Raith get pinged for a second running offense and now have to take care in the last few minutes. With time running out in the fourteenth minute there’s some controversy as John Wylie rockets in a shot which comes off the underside of the bar and bounces back over the goalkeeper’s head. The referee, much to the ire of the Crieff players, gives a goal adjudging that the ball had bounced over the line and back into play. With only a minute left the Raith boys dig in and hold on for a well fought win.
Crieff Juniors 0-1 Raith

Crieff Juniors 0-1 Raith
Arbroath 6-0 Montrose
St Andrews & East Neuk 0-8 St James
Dundee Utd 2-1 Fairfield

Our last game of the day is another tough one against second placed Arbroath. Always a tough game against a team of big guys. The game starts poorly for Raith when a shot from the right beats Pagey in the goals for an Arbroath lead. In the eighth minute however a lovely passing move ends up at Kev’s feet and he puts the ball behind the keeper for the equaliser. The parity lasts for three minutes however as Arbroath score from a corner that doesn’t seem to be taken from anywhere near the corner. Determined to try and get something from the game Raith press and in thirteen minutes a midfield interception by Charles leads to a pass to Kev who finds John at the right hand corner of the box and he slots the ball past the keeper for the equaliser. However less than a minute later Arbroath score to retake the lead and manage to hold on to take all three points.
Arbroath 3-2 Raith

Crieff Juniors 5-0 Montrose
St Andrews & East Neuk 0-4 Tayport
Arbroath 3-2 Raith
Dundee Utd CT 4-0 Fife Wanderers

The remaining games:
Carnoustie Panmure 2-1 St Andrews & East Neuk
Arbroath 1-1 Saints in the Community
Saints in the Community 0-2 Tayport
Carnoustie Panmure 1-2 St James

The day ends with a draw, a win and a loss and four points out of nine. A good result against three of the teams in the top four and a result that sees us move up a place in the league.

WFS East League 2022 Month 6

The over 50s returned to competitive league action on Sunday after the summer break and an enforced extra month off due to injuries and availability issues. This meant that last months fixtures against Fife Wanderers, Montrose and Saints in the Community were forfeited as 3-0 defeats. This month’s fixtures are against St Andrews and East Neuk, St James and Carnoustie Panmure.

Back row: Charles Doherty, Willie Carroll, Scott Jackson, Dave Fawcett Front row: John Wylie, Haig Hutchison, Kevin Henderson, George Lindsay

After a few months away from league action the team are eager to get back to it but we sit out the first round of games.
Montrose 2-0 St Andrews and East Neuk
Arbroath 2-0 Fairfield
Fife Wanderers 1-2 St James
Dundee Utd CT 1-1 Saints in the Community

Our first game back is against St Andrews and East Neuk who currently sit at the bottom of the table but have a few very good players. The game starts well for Rovers. In two minutes Scott and John exchange a flurry of short passes in front of the St Andrews goal and John slides the ball past the keeper. Five minutes later a pass in from the corner finds Scott who puts the ball behind the keeper for 2-0. Before the restart Willie comes on for Dave. Raith regain the ball after the kick off and a nice passing move through the middle of the pitch finishes with Willie scoring with almost his first touch. A minute later a through ball from Willie sees Kev get the slightest of touches to divert the ball past the keeper for 4-0. In 13 minutes Charles comes on for Haig and a minute later Scott scores again to finish the scoring 5-0. A special mention for George Lindsay in goals for the first time. A few great saves and a clean sheet.
Raith 5-0 St Andrews and East Neuk

Carnoustie Panmure 0-2 Dundee Utd CT
Raith 5-0 St Andrews and East Neuk
Crieff Juniors 3-1 Saints in the Community
Fife Wanderers 0-3 Tayport

We sit out the next round of games.
Fairfield 4-1 Tayport
Montrose 0-6 St James
Saints in the Community 2-0 St Andrews and East Neuk
Crieff Juniors 3-0 Dundee Utd CT

Our second game of the day is against table toppers St James. As always it promises to be a tight competitive game. The game starts well with the defence not allowing St James forwards much space but in the second minute St James get some space and the ball ends up in our net 0-1. The boys press and the game flows back and forward with chances for both sides. In the tenth minute a speculative shot from the left beats George in the Raith goal and St James increase their lead 0-2. A minute later though the fight back starts with a wicked Scott Jackson shot that takes a slight deflection off a defender and flies past the St James keeper 1-2. Raith continue to press but a mix up in defence in the thirteenth minute leaves a St James player free at the edge of the box and he makes no mistake 1-3. Despite some valiant pressing the match finishes.
Raith 1-3 St James

Raith 1-3 St James
Carnoustie Panmure 1-2 Fairfield
Montrose 1-2 Tayport
Arbroath 5-1 Fife Wanderers

We finish the day with a match against Carnoustie Panmure. Never an easy team to play but after a hard game against St James this could be tough. The game starts well for Raith with a rare Willie Carroll goal in the second minute 0-1. However the lead doesn’t last and Carnoustie equalise within a minute 1-1. Three minutes later and he does it again. Willie Carroll is now looking for a hat trick which will make him totally unbearable in the car journey home 2-1. Raith change keeper replacing George with Scott. In the eighth minute the impossible almost happens. First Willie hits the post and then unbelievably he hits the post again with the ball then rebounding off the keeper and……it’s a corner. In ten minutes Carnoustie equalise and just after Raith replace Dave with Charles they score again to go ahead 2-3. With time running out Charles slips the ball to John and he shoots past the Carnoustie keeper to tie things up 3-3.
The game ends with honours even and Raith gaining four points out of nine this month.
Carnoustie Panmure 3-3 Raith

WFS East League 2022 Month 4 – Preview

This weekend sees the over 50’s once more take the trip up to Dundee for June’s fixtures in Walking Football Scotland East League. This weekend we will be facing Dunfermline Dynamos, Dundee Utd CT and Fairfield looking for points to push us up into the top section of the league.

Dunfermline Dynamos
Despite currently sitting tenth in the league with one win and four draws from ten matches there’s always local derby pride to play for when Raith play the Pars at any level. The team will be hoping to get a win from this first game to set them up for a good day.

Dundee Utd CT
Sitting one place below us in the league with a slightly worse goal difference this will be an important. Our matches against Dundee Utd CT are always tight affairs and the team will have to be careful not to drop points against an experienced team.

Fairfield
Our final game sees us play fifth placed Fairfield who have five wins and three draws from their nine games. Fairfield are a team we’ve not played yet in their current guise but we have played against many times when they were under the St James banner.

Three tough games this weekend as always but plenty of scope to win some points and move up the table.

WFS East League 2022 Month 3 – Preview

This weekend the Over 50s head to Dundee for round 3 of WFS East League 2022. Currently sitting in sixth place in the league after a disappointing month two an improvement in results is needed to maintain our push for the league title. Our matches this weekend will be against teams in the upper half of the league: Tayport, Arbroath and Crieff Juniors.

Tayport
Currently sitting fourth in the league with four wins and two losses. Last year we beat them three nil but it was a tough game so we will expect the same tight game again.

Arbroath
Currently sitting second in the league with four wins and a draw. Always a hard, physical team to play against they will be looking to consolidate their position in the league this month.

Crieff Juniors
Currently sitting third in the league solely on goal difference from Arbroath they’ll be looking for a god first season in the league. Top scorers in the league with 18 goals they also have conceded the most goals of the teams in the top eight.

It’ll be a tough day but after facing these three teams we’ll see where we really belong in the league this season.

Glasgow Over 50s WF Trophy

We left Starks Park early this morning for the trip through to Glasgow full of expectations. We find out on arrival that the format has changed due to more teams pulling out. Instead of five fifteen games we’re playing four eighteen minutes games and are straight in with a game against Giffnock SC Auld Timers.

A tight game with many chances and only Pagey’s heroics in goal and our new found ability to not put away our chances had the game finely poised at nil nil going into the fifteenth minute when the ref pings us for a third running offence and it’s a penalty to Giffnock which they convert. Sustained pressure from Raith fails to secure an equaliser and we lose our first game one nil.

Game two in our section ends in a three one win for Prestwick over Rossvale Madrid and Game three also a three one win for Giffnock over Bellahouston Thistle.

We go on to our third game against Prestwick determined to take something and keep our chances of progressing alive. Another tight game against a well organised Prestwick side whose striker gets away with murder constantly running off the ball and even running with the ball. Somehow the ref manages to catch three of his many runs inside the first seven minutes and awards Raith a penalty. Scott Jackson steps up and fires the ball low to the keepers left but the keeper reaches it and parries it away. In thirteen minutes Willie Carroll steps up in midfield and rattles a thunderbolt past the keeper. However the ref decides that the two steps Willie took towards the ball was a run and awards a penalty to Prestwick which they convert. Again Raith pressure fails to find the net and Prestwick manage by fair means and foul to run down the clock gaining a yellow for time wasting in the process.

The next two matches before lunch see Rossvale Madrid beat Bellahouston two one and Giffnock beat Prestwick three one.

Lunch taken care of and we face Bellahouston Thistle. A game we have to win, and hope other results go our way, to have any chance of progressing. Despite many opportunities we’re finding it hard to score with most of out shots rushed and off target. In the tenth minute a nice move with the ball pinging between Chillo, Scott Jackson and John Wylie in front of the Bellahouston box leads to John placing the ball in the net. In the twelfth minute a slick passing move down the left again falls to John Wylie and he finishes nicely to give us a two nil lead and ultimately a win.

The next game sees Giffnock beat Rossvale one nil. Game nine is an important one for us with a win for Bellahouston a must if we have to get to the quarter finals. It’s a back and forth game with Prestwick taking a two goal lead only for it to be reduced to one before being increased again. It’s looking dire for us but two late goals for Bellahouston give us hope. But it’s too late and Prestwick go through.

Our final game against Rossvale is just for pride. In the sixth minute a defence splitting one two leaves a Rossvale player alone in front of goal and he slides it behind Pagey for one nil. A similar move in the twelfth lets Rossvale in for two nil. A minute later John Wylie pulls one back for us and it’s two one. In a frantic final few minutes running penalties are converted by both teams (John Wylie) and the game finishes three two to Rossvale.

So one win from three at the end of the day. A bad day at the office or just unlucky in tight games? A bit of both to be honest. We need to learn to put away our chances. We need to be more direct, cutting out the cute little back heels and fancy Dan stuff. When we have the ball, slick, sharp passes and when we don’t we have a man and we cut down the other teams options.
On the other hand refereeing inconsistencies, which will always be there, hurt us bad today. Awarding a running foul against us when our player was cynically scythed down. And later, in the same game, disallowing a good goal and instead giving a penalty against us. If either of these had been correctly ruled the result would have been different. However we take the rough with the smooth and move on to the next set of games.