The_Judge

Bobo, are you Martin Lauchlan?

Really missed Sean Winter yesterday. A wide player who's extremely consistent and scores regularly is a huge asset. Kevin McCann has started the season well but was missing yesterday with 17 year old Michael Anderson given a start ahead of Martin McBride and Craig McLeish. Scott Stevenson looks more at home at right full back than Dom McLaren and the rest of the back four Howie, Russell and Coll all looked fine yesterday..but..it still seems weird to have the best defender at the club [David Proctor] watching from the side.

So...Mr Bobo, welcome to P&B . Yesterday you know little or anything about the old management team's departure but are compelled to post about how strange it is 'the local paper' has made "absolutely no mention of it"? You then speculate blindly about the paper being threatened with a ban?! Today we get the tired old, and completely unsubstantiated, lie cliche that "it's a well known thing in football circles". A couple of hours later you're now FULLY in the know in terms of the contract and EK's payments system and advise that if I ask ANY player at a senior or junior club they'll know all about it . I don't know and don't claim to know but would offer the suggestion that if things were as bad as you've suggested then surely MANY of last season's squad would have left?

Todays Sunday Herald showed the same result and the same table as above!? They too must have been relying on BBC for their info

Wow....when I checked the BBC site for scores earlier I could have sworn it said 'Spartans 2 - 1 BSC Glasgow'!! That is indeed a tremendous result .

EK stumbled more than strolled to victory today. First half was very similar to the opening game of the season against Dalbeattie. The away side were on top for the first 15 - 20 minutes before The Kilby started to come more into it. The first half ended 0-0 with EK failing to trouble Cumbernauld's keeper. The Colts on the other hand will look at a move during which they had no fewer than 3 great chances to score although somehow they were kept out by a save from Kean and blocks from two EK defenders. After the break Cumbernauld appeared to have less energy and EK were on top fairly quickly and starting to fashion chances. McNeil missed a great chance with a header but then soon after got the opener after good work from Adam Strachan who gave the visitors full back a torrid time for most of the match and assisted in all three goals. Aiden Nisbet was replaced by Liam Coogans who notched a double to make the final score look a bit more comfortable.

Lowland League Result East Kilbride FC - 3 Cumbernauld Colts - 0 Goals scorers for Kilby were Liam Coogans (pictured) (2) and Ross McNeil

What an utterly bizarre post!? Thanks for stopping by .

Confirmed.

Massive congratulation to BJ Coll who made his 100th appearance for the club today against Vale of Leithen!

East Stirlingshire, EK and Spartans (all away) would have been, at least on paper, your three toughest looking fixtures of the season. If you can get something from The Spartans match then it's very much game on. Should be a cracker.

Celtic 9–0 Aberdeen (2010–11)[ These things happen

Ha....that's living alright

Cheers Jerry. Gerhan has the strength to hold up but can also play. Jack seems to have an instinct for getting into good striking positions......I certainly cheered him enough the season before last when he was scoring for fun at EK.

I was away but brother in law mentioned a guy that featured in the Celtic match that he hadn't seen since.... Agree about the potential for an exciting league this season. Didn't see how we could really hope to match last season's amazing run and with Spartans and BSC both strengthening and ES retaining most of their squad it could be a great contest.

We were asking the same question tonight. Did he play in the Celtic friendly?

A good game in front of a good crowd. First half very even, second half I felt we played a lot better finally starting to pass the ball around (no coincidence that Kieran Gibbons was back after missing Saturday's match). We got the goal via Declan Hughes at the second attempt after a good initial save. BSC defence were convinced of offside although I couldn't say either way. We soon had a great chance for a second with goal machine Sean Winter given a head start 40 yards from goal only to pull up with a hamstring injury. The visitors got their equaliser late on through a lovely Jack Smith half volley but weren't settling for the draw with the game going end to end until the final whistle. Always dissapointing to surrender a lead but a draw was a fair result. Don't normally criticise officials BUT may have been the worst ref I've encountered in a while. He didn't affect the result he just seemed very unsure of himself, made strange decisions and seemed to consistently react to shouts (his stand-side linesman didn't do him any favours either). Was impressed with 'Paul/Paolo' playing up front for Glasgow..,but couldn't find any info via their website? My comments from Saturday about our striking position still stand. Tonight we started with Ross McNeil who was getting 60 yard passes fired up to him. The BIG centre half had him on toast. We brought on Ferris playing on the right and then Caldwell through the centre and again they both worked hard for the team with the former looking the most likely.

Are you a talksport listener?

A lethargic start today in a match that seemed certain to finish 0-0 until the deadlock was broken in the last few minutes of normal time. EK started with the same backup three in defence as started in the mauling by Albion Rovers (which was worrying), For the first time in a long time David Proctor didn't start in central defence and although Barry Russell would normally be a suitable replacement he had an uncharacteristically nervous first half (and he wasn't alone). The first 45 was quite even with EK having the best single chance although the Dalbeattie keeper saved brilliantly at close range from Winter. Star for their part rattled the crossbar with a 25 yard strike and forced Jacob Kean into a good save before the break arrived. In the second half EK managed to gain some momentum and started winning a lot more second balls, that said there weren't many real chances being created and when the deadlock was broken it was a strange looking goal. A Kilby corner was heading to the near post where Craig Howie looked to be bundled forward.....the ball went over his head and got a touch from someone sending it through the keepers legs where it was stabbed in by Declan Hughes although not before a visiting defender tried to stop it with a diving save. The remainder of the game was pretty much end to end with Dalbeattie again hitting the woodwork from a free kick right at the death. The flag went up quickly after but I assume that a goal would have been awarded had the first kick gone in. Dalbeattie looked a much younger team than the one I saw last season and played some nice football at times. Their number 2 was quick and had a couple of great runs from deep one of which would've been an immediate goal of the season contender if he'd found a finish. When interviewed last week Billy Stark talked about the loss of Joao Victoria and how hard it might be to replace his goals. We've signed 3 new strikers with some pedigree but so far no one looks to be a straight replacement. Aiden Ferris started up front today and worked very, very hard harrying defenders and winning the ball back for the team but he rarely received it in goal scoring positions and I don't remember him getting a shot on target. When he was eventually replaced by Ross McNeil he looked lean and sharp and more of a goal threat although the game was quite stretched by that time which could've been a factor.

East Kilbride FC Manager, Billy Stark, last night confirmed the make-up of his back-room staff for the season ahead, with Craig Young being appointed Assistant Manager, and David Proctor named as First Team coach. Young, who held the same position in the Club’s maiden Lowland League season in 2013/14, is confirmed after assuming the number two role on a temporary basis since Stark became gaffer in June, whilst Proctor will combine a playing role alongside undertaking some of the weekly coaching duties. Manager Stark was pleased to confirm the appointments, telling ekfc.co.uk, “Craig is a local coach with a great passion for the club, who I have been really impressed with over the summer, and who has the respect of the players and everyone at the club. He also possesses a huge knowledge of the Lowland League and the player market we work within, and has really earned his spot in the dugout. It will also be great to see David step up and start to combine some coaching with his playing time, his experience at the highest level of playing in Scottish football commands the full respect of the dressing room and I believe he can grow into a good coach and be a big asset to East Kilbride in the future.” Speaking of his delighted at being formally named as assistant boss, Young, known throughout the game as ”Gigz” stated, “ I am absolutely delighted to officially become assistant manager of the first team again. As a local guy from East Kilbride, I have a real passion and determination to help the club achieve its aim of SPFL promotion, and to get the opportunity to do this alongside Billy Stark and David is a very exciting prospect” Young will continue to work with Graeme Mullin and Ally Graham with the U-20 SPFL Development squad who will participate in the U-20 SPDL Development League West this season. Experienced defender Proctor also spoke of his pride at being asked to join the coaching staff, commenting. “It has always been my ambition to explore a pathway into coaching, and I hope to be able to pass on some of my experience, whilst remaining available for selection to play as often as possible. The chance to learn and improve my coaching knowledge with the gaffer and Gigz, alongside my Physiotherpy studies is fantastic, and an opportunity I intend to grab with both hands.”

East Kilbride gaffer Billy Stark has warned against complacency this season as they prepare to get their Lowland League title defence underway on Saturday. Kilby dominated the league last term under former boss Martin Lauchlan, topping the table from start to finish, and ended up winning the trophy by seven points from East Stirlingshire losing just three times in 30 games and were only denied promotion to the SPFL after losing to Cowdenbeath on penalties in the play-off final. Kilby are the bookies' favourites to retain their crown. However Stark is wary of the sides around them, as well as league new boys Edusport. And ahead of their opener with Dalbeattie Star, the 60-year-old said: “Nothing will be plain sailing because we had a good season last year. “It would be folly to think just because we won the league last year, we will win it again this year. “We are there to be shot down and clubs will find that little extra against us, so we have to come to terms with that. “All the teams around us have strengthened – Spartans, East Stirling, BSC Glasgow. “But Edusport are going to be an interesting one. They are basically a full-time team. They train at Lesser Hampden every day, they are all French players who have come over, so that’s an interesting project. “They are going to be nothing other than strong. Barry Russell lifts the Lowland trophy for EK last season “We train twice a week, they train every day so I would expect them to be real contenders. “You look at East Stirlingshire, they scored a lot more goals than us last season. “We’ve lost Joao Victoria, who was our top scorer, and that’s difficult at any level. If you lose a guy who guarantees you 20-odd goals, it’s very difficult to replace that.” The vast majority of the title-winning squad remain and Kilby have signed the likes of Ross Caldwell, Aidan Ferris and Liam Coogans in the hope of finding the goals that can fire them to a repeat of their 2016/17 success. Last season East Kilbride won their opening 14 league matches to take a stranglehold on the division by November. It will be tall order to repeat that feat, but Stark – who has seen it all at the top level during his time with Celtic and Aberdeen, among others, over his career – isn’t fazed by the success EK enjoyed last season. However, he admits he will put pressure on himself to be a success at K-Park. He said: “I’m not going to say we are going to win 14 games in a row or anything like that. I’m only interested in winning the next game. “If we win it, great, it’s history and we move on. If we lose it, we need to bounce back in the next one. “In terms of pressure, the outside pressures can be higher the further up the ladder you work. “But it all comes down to how much pressure you put on yourself to be the best you can be – and that doesn’t change whatever level you are working at. You have to have a focus on what your ambitions are and keep working to them. “The publicity the club got with the Celtic game and winning the league last year, I have to make sure that nobody has any sign of complacency and understand that other clubs are fighting to reach the level we want to reach. There’s clubs who have equal aspirations, so we need to show that we are good enough to overcome that and get there in the end.” It’s a hectic start to the campaign for Kilby, who have been competing in the Betfred Cup alongside SPFL sides. The visit of Dalbeattie is closely followed by a clash with potential title challengers BSC Glasgow on Tuesday night (kick-off 7.45pm). The meeting with BSC has been switched to K-Park at the request of both clubs and Kilby will play the away game later in the season.

Ooft!! Talk about a bad day at the office. A re-jigged back line featuring three back up players including a centre half playing at right back saw Albion Rovers go through them like a does of salts twice in the first five minutes. Slowly but surely EK gained a foothold mostly via Adam Strachan who was far and away the home sides most effective player. The second half started in similar fashion to the first with a flapped punch clearance (under no pressure) resulted in back to back corners and a third from Rovers. David Proctor then gift wrapped the visitors a fourth as the day went from bad to worse. EK then got two within a couple of minutes, the first from Winter at the second attempt after a clever pass from Gibbons. The second an own goal from about 10 yards out. Before it got any more worrying for Albion they restored their 3 goal cushion. They also had the best of the remaining chances with a returning Joao Victoria doing everything but scoring. For good measure it rained heavily for almost the whole match .

East Kilbride triumph over Queen of the South on penalties [4-1] after a goalless draw in Dumfries. Great result for the Kilby (and the LL). Starting lineup was: McGinley, Stevenson, Russell (c), Proctor, Coll, Strachan, Gibbons, Hughes, Winter, McLeish and Caldwell. Penalty scorers were Strachan, Ferris, Stevenson and McNeil.

Saturday was his debut but he only got about 25 minutes. Have heard some positive stuff about him so fingers crossed