The over 50s travel to Glasgow for the second competitive weekend in a row. This time to participate in the Over 50s trophy, the final event in the Glasgow Life Walking Football Glasgow Trophy. The team start the group stages with Alloa Athletic, Bellahouston Thistle, Giffnock SC Auld Timers, Prestwick and Rossvale Madrid. The top two in the group will progress to the Quarter finals.
Alloa Athletic: Currently sitting seventh in the WFS Central league with one win and two draws out of six games. Bellahouston Thistle: A late replacement for St James who have pulled out both of their teams this weekend. Giffnock SC Auld Timers: Currently sitting seventh in the WFS West league with three wins and two draws out of six games. We have played Giffnock previously in the Champions League losing a tight game 2-0 Prestwick: Currently sitting fifth in the WFS West league with four wins from six games. Rossvale Madrid: Another team from WFS West league sitting in sixth place between Prestwick and Giffnock with four wins from their six games.
This morning as the senior (?) team (the ones that get paid to play) headed to Airdrie for the cup final the over 50s squad headed to Dundee for round 2 of this year’s walking football league. A condensed squad this month due in part to the cup final and partly due to injuries.
Kevin Henderson, Martin Page, Scott Jackson, Charles Doherty, Haig Hutchinson, Willie Carroll, John Wylie.
We sat out the first round of games. Montrose 0-1 St Andrews & East Neuk Arbroath 2-0 Dunfermline Dynamos Fife Wanderers 0-5 St James Dundee Utd 3-0 Saints in the Community
Our first game this month was against St Andrews and East Neuk. Missing the first round of games the team came into this one cold. And if you’ve ever been in the RPC Dundee you’ll understand why. A nervy first six minutes with Raith creating, and missing, many chances we finally got the breakthrough goal in the seventh minute. A move started by Martin Page in the Raith goal with every outfield player passing the ball ends with a through ball from Kevin Henderson to Scott Jackson and Scott slotting past the keeper for our first goal of the day. Two minutes later Willie Carroll steps out of defence and fires a vicious shot goal wards that rocks the crossbar. Raith continue to pin St Andrews back but it’s not until the fifteenth minute that an interception from the St Andrews defence allows Scott Jackson the chance and he bags his second of the day.
Crieff Juniors 2-3 Dundee Utd Raith Rovers 2-0 St Andrews & East Neuk Carnoustie Panmure 1-1 Dunfermline Dynamos Montrose 1-4 St James
Another quick break for the team Arbroath 1-1 Fairfield Fife Wanderers 0-2 Tayport Saints in the Community 0-1 St Andrews & East Neuk Crieff Juniors 3-0 Dunfermline Dynamos
Next up we played St James. In the third minute a slick passing move between Haig Hutchinson, John Wylie and Kevin Henderson finishes with Kevin scoring his first of the campaign and Raith go one nil up. The next six minutes see Raith press St James hard stifling any chance of fluid play from last year’s champions. Then in the tenth minute a momentary lapse allows St James to get a man free on their left and he shoots past Pagey to bring the teams level. The game settles again into a tight battle with very few chances to either side until a carbon copy move has a St James player one on one with the keeper until Willie Carroll brings him down and the ref awards a penalty. The penalty is converted and despite pressing hard for the remaining minutes the match ends 2-1 to St James.
Raith Rovers 1-2 St James Carnoustie Panmure 0-0 Fairfield Montrose 0-1 Tayport Arbroath 4-1 Fife Wanderers
Our final game of the day was against Carnoustie Panmure and we really needed to get something from this game to stay in the hunt. In three minutes John Wylie plays a one two with Scott Jackson and slots the ball past the Carnoustie keeper for a great start to the game. However that lead lasts less than a minute as Carnoustie equalise almost straight from the kick off. The game ebbs and flows backwards and forwards with both teams squandering chances but Raith looking decidedly more tired. And then disater in the thirteenth minute as Carnoustie score and go 2-1 up. Raith attempt to press for the final minutes but were unable to convert the pressure to a goal.
Dundee Utd 1-1 Dunfermline Dynamos Carnoustie Panmure 2-1 Raith Rovers Creiff Juniors 5-3 Saints in the Community Fairfield 2-0 Tayport
And so we finish the first quarter of the league mid table and still in touch with the top of the table. The big lesson learned from today that this is a squad game and we need, if not the full ten man squad, at least a squad of eight to be competitive.
This Sunday the over 50s return to Dundee for round two of WFS East League 2022. This round we face teams from St. Andrews & East Neuk, St James and Carnoustie Panmure.
St Andrews & East Neuk. St Andrews & East Neuk haven’t had the best start to the league having lost all three of their games in the first round so will be looking to score some goals and grab some points this month. Last year we beat St Andrews 3-0 with goals from Harry Younger and John Wylie and the previous year we won one and drew one against them.
St James. League winners the previous two seasons and currently sitting joint top of the league they will once again be a tough nut to crack. They’ve not been as high scoring this season as they usually are and their defence has leaked a few goals so maybe this year they’re vulnerable?
Carnoustie Panmure. Currently sitting mid table with a win, a loss and a draw in round one. Carnoustie Panmure almost wrecked our second place last year with a 3-3 draw on the last day of the league so will no doubt prove to be stubborn opposition.
The team set off this afternoon from Starks Park with high expectations of a good start to this year’s league campaign. We had three games today against Fife Wanderers, Montrose and Saints in the Community.
Back row: Kevin Henderson, Harry Younger, Scott Jackson, Steve Fleming, John Cunningham Front row: Charles Doherty, Martin Page, Johnston Scott, John Wylie
Game 1: Fife Wanderers A tight game as always between us and our near neighbours. No goals until the 12th minute when the ref pinged us for a third run. I had only counted one up until then but…. The penalty was duly taken and the ball ended up in the net until the ref pointed out that he hadn’t blown his whistle so had to be retaken with the same result. 1-0 to Fife Wanderers. In the last minute a 3rd running infringement for Fife give us a penalty which Scott Jackson slides past the keeper as the whistle blows and the game finishes as a draw.
Arbroath 1-0 Carnoustie Panmure Fife Wanderers 1-1 Raith Rovers Crieff Juniors 3-2 Tayport Fairfield 2-1 Saints in the Community
Game 2: Montrose The game starts well for Raith with a 2nd minute goal as Scott Jackson collects a kick in and lashes the ball past the Montrose keeper. In the fifth minute a through ball to Scott lets him in again to score his 3rd goal of the day and boosts his campaign for this year’s golden boot. Chances continue for Raith while Montrose fail to really get much purchase on the game. In the 12th minute Scott Jackson claims his hat trick with a thundering shot that beats the keeper. But a big deflection off John Cunningham takes the goal away from Scott and is awarded to John. A couple of late breakaways from Montrose come to nothing and the game ends 3-0 to Raith
Dundee United 0-1 St James Dunfermline Dynamos 3-2 St Andrews & East Neuk Montrose 0-3 Raith Rovers Arbroath 2-3 Crieff Juniors
Fife Wanderers 0-0 Saints in the Community Dundee United 0-2 Tayport Fairfield 3-0 St Andrews & East Neuk Dunfermline Dynamos 1-3 St James
Carnoustie Panmure 2-2 Crieff Juniors Montrose 1-1 Saints in the Community Arbroath 3-0 Dundee United Fife Wanderers 6-0 St Andrews & East Neuk
Game 3: Saints in the Community Our 3rd and final game of the day and it was a tight one. Plenty of shots fired in by Raith but precious few on target until the 6th minute when an intercepted throw out from the keeper is passed to Scott Jackson and he gives the keeper no chance finding the top right corner of the goal from the left corner of the box. The game continues in the same vein with Raith squandering chance after chance. Luckily the whistle goes and Raith hold out to win 1-0
Dunfermline Dynamos 0-5 Tayport Fairfield 2-2 St James Raith Rovers 1-0 Saints in the Community Carnoustie Panmure 2-0 Montrose
GP
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
PTS
Fairfield
3
2
1
0
7
3
4
7
Raith Rovers
3
2
1
0
5
1
4
7
St James
3
2
1
0
6
3
3
7
Crieff Juniors
3
2
1
0
8
6
2
7
Tayport
3
2
0
1
9
3
6
6
Arbroath
3
2
0
1
6
3
3
6
Fife Wanderers
3
1
2
0
7
1
6
5
Carnoustie Panmure
3
1
1
1
4
3
1
4
Dunfermline Dynamos
3
1
0
2
4
10
-6
3
Saints in the Community
4
0
2
2
2
4
-2
2
Montrose
3
0
1
2
1
6
-5
1
Dundee United
3
0
0
3
0
6
-6
0
St Andrews & East Neuk
3
0
0
3
2
12
-10
0
League Table Week 1
At the end of week 1 the team is sitting nicely joint top of the league losing only one goal (from a penalty) and scoring five. With Scott Jackson staking an early claim for this year’s golden boot with all but one of our goals. Harry Younger scored nil today
The East League starts this Sunday (6th March) at the Regional Performance Centre in Dundee. This year there are thirteen teams taking part an increase of two from last year.
Arbroath: Third in the league last year, losing to Rovers in our penultimate game to confirm our second place. No doubt looking to do better this year. Carnoustie Panmure: Eighth in the league last year holding Rovers to a 3-3 draw on the final day of the league to set up our nail-biter with Arbroath. Crieff Juniors: Newcomers to the league this year. Dundee Utd: Mid table last year would have been disappointing to one of the more well established teams. Dunfermline Dynamos: First season in the league last year ended in a disappointing tenth place. Will be looking to do much better this year, especially against the Rovers. Fairfield: Another new team to the league from Dundee. Fife Wanderers: Mid table last year but with an impressive goalscoring record. Montrose: Former Scottish Cup winners back in league action after a year out. Saints in the Community: Will be looking to improve on their ninth place in last year’s league. St Andrews: A really disappointing performance last season saw St Andrews finish at the bottom of the league. St James: Last year’s league champions will be looking for a three-peat. Tayport: Fourth in the league last year with one of the best defensive records.
Our three games this month are against Fife Wanderers, Montrose and Saints in the Community.
The Champions League kicked off at 1pm today and saw Raith compete against the top two teams from each of the three Walking Football Regional Leagues in 2021. From the West league we have Giffnock SC Auld Timers and Townhead Strollers. From Central we have North Lanarkshire and Hearts 56′. And from the East we have ourselves and our good friends St James. Each team plays every other team once in a league format and the team with the most points after five games, wins.
Back row: John Cunningham, John Wylie, Derek Finnie, Scott Jackson, Jimmy Robertson, Charles Doherty Front row: Kevin Thomson, Martin Page, Paul Gregory, Harry Younger
First up our fellow East league team, St James. We’re expecting a tough tight game here having played St James many times and honours being almost even. Unfortunately we go one down early when big Franny gets the ball and manages to get past our defence and slot the ball home. The game continues and is tight with few chances for either side. A lot of hustle and bustle in midfield. With the game drawing to a close and Raith pressing a saved shot from St James ends at Franny’s feet unmarked at the edge of the box and he managed to seal the game with a last minute strike. St James 2-0 Raith Giffnock 3-2 Townhead North Lanarkshire 0-0 Hearts
Next up West league winners Giffnock SC Auld timers. A sporting gesture from Giffnock at the start of the game as they hand over a team pennant. A tight start to the game with both sides cancelling each other out changed in the ninth minute with two quick Giffnock goals. Despite a lot of effort Raith were unable to get a toe hold back in the game and the game ended at two nil to Giffnock. St Jame 1-0 North Lanarkshire Raith 0-2 Giffnock Hearts 0-0 Townhead
Our third match was against Hearts 56′, runners up in the Central league. Two games in and Raith haven’t yet scored but a first minute goal in this game puts that right. A free kick played to John Wylie sees him slot the ball into the net on the keeper’s right. As in other games a lot of hustle and bustle but no morew goals and Raith hold on for their first win of the tournament. Hearts 0-1 Raith North Lanarkshire 0-2 Townhead St James1-0 Giffnock
Our penultimate game of the day, against Central winners North Lanarkshire and the trophy is out of reach and we’re playing for pride. An early goal from Kevin Thomson in the third minute sets the team up for our second win of the day with Kevin also getting the second after a nice turn and pass from Harry Younger. St James 1-1 Townhead Raith 2-0 North Lanarkshire Hearts 2-2 Giffnock
Our final match against West league runners up, Townhead Strollers. With us sitting in third a point ahead of Townhead a draw confirms our third place finish. Again a tight game with some questionable refereeing decisions for and against each side. For the first time in all five games the ref calls a running foul against us. Then another. And then a third and it’s a ninth minute penalty for Townhead. The taker steps up and puts it to Pagey’s left but it hits the post and the chance is gone. Four minutes later though and a break down the left sees a shot across the goal and in off the post. With two minutes left Townhead play a good pressing game cutting down any Raith chance of an equaliser and the game finishes one nil to Townhead. North Lanarkshire 3-0 Giffnock Raith 0-1 Townhead St James 5-1 Hearts
And so the day ends with Raith in fourth place overall and the Champions League trophy going to fellow East League team St James who once again were unbeaten throughout the tournament. Congratulations to St James. See you again in the league.
Raith head through to Toryglen Regional Football Centre on the 6th February for the inaugural WFS – Over 50’s Champions League. There are 6 teams in the finals, two from each of the regional leagues. Each team will play one game against all other teams for a total of five games, the winner being the team with the most league points after five games.
The teams: St, James. St James from Dundee are two times winners of the East league pipping Raith to first place in 2021 and losing semi finalists in last year’s Raith Christmas cup and the Oriam Tournament. In the league free-scoring St James had a 100% record scoring an average of just under five goals per game while conceding just over one goal per game.
Giffnock SC Auld Timers Giffnock SC Auld Timers were winners of the West league winning five and drawing one of their league games to finish ahead of Townhead Strollers and Pollok Utd with identical records. The league was decided on goals scored as Giffnock and Townhead had an identical goal difference. Giffnock averaged three goals a game conceding only one.
Hearts 56′ Hearts 56′ from Edinburgh were runners up in the Central league two points behind North Lanarkshire and two points ahead of Hearts 98′. In a less free-scoring league than the East league they scored more than the league winners while only conceding just over a goal a game.
North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire ran out winners in the Central league with a stingy defence conceding an average of one goal per game while scoring just under three goals per game.
Townhead Strollers Townhead Strollers from Cumnock finished second in the West league with a very impressive defence conceding just a goal a game. Taking away the three goals they conceded to league winners Giffnock they only conceded one goal in their other three games.
RRCF Walking Football 