24/25 CarMatKings South Region Challenge Cup

[Sergeant Wilson]

When are the postponed games likely to be played. Shotts have the junior cup coming up, 2 weeks later the west. I can see why this cup would have precedence for lower division, but would Rovers have to postpone a league game?

[mtln]

5 minutes ago, Sergeant Wilson said:

When are the postponed games likely to be played. Shotts have the junior cup coming up, 2 weeks later the west. I can see why this cup would have precedence for lower division, but would Rovers have to postpone a league game?

Rovers don’t really have a choice, Shotts don’t have lights so it’ll have to be a Saturday.

My guess would be next Saturday for the postponed ties.

[Sergeant Wilson]

Just now, mtln said:

Rovers don’t really have a choice, Shotts don’t have lights so it’ll have to be a Saturday.

My guess would be next Saturday for the postponed ties.

I hope so, it certainly suits me.

[funky monkey]

3 hours ago, energyzone said:

I think they have as good a reason as any to have a senior side, after all, what's the point in bringing players through from age 4 to age 20 without giving them a platform to play beyond this?  Whether they should be financed to the extent they are just now without much external income is another question.

What's the platform though? To play in front of less 'home' supporters than they did with the youth club? 

There's never a truer saying than football without fans is nothing. 

[FairWeatherFan]

22 minutes ago, Sergeant Wilson said:

I hope so, it certainly suits me.

With no floodlights, chance it will just roll into the next SCC weekend on 16th Nov.

[Cowden Cowboy]

1 hour ago, VodkaTap said:

Cmon Newky, don't let your imagination run away with yourself !!

Threave are certainly doing all the right things because their results prove they are on the right track.

But to claim they are the biggest team in Dumfries and Galloway ??  How's your geography ?? The last time I looked Gretna is most definitely in D & G 

I am sure a matchup between these two fine teams, like many times in the past, would be a tasty affair !!

Queen of the South?  Annan Athletic?

[An Absolute Imposter]

2 hours ago, PossilYM said:

Roamin in the Gloamin

With a Sham****; nope I'm not that person anymore 

[An Absolute Imposter]

5 hours ago, ATFC said:

I must admit that my interest in Threave has been virtually non-existent until now. Is this the biggest result in their history in terms of the number of league places between them and the team they beat? (discounting daft local cups).

I know some LL sides don't necessarily play their strongest X1 in this competition because it's all about the league but you still can't say 3-0 is a mere fluke against a weakened side. I'll be watching the Scottish Cup game v Stranraer with a bit more interest after this, and probably hoping Talbot avoid Threave in the next round. 

Pre-season friendly July '25.

[VodkaTap]

4 minutes ago, Cowden Cowboy said:

Queen of the South?  Annan Athletic?

Not forgetting Stranraer, but of course all of these teams are bigger.

I did assume that Newky was referring to the non league teams in his post.

[Sergeant Wilson]

23 minutes ago, FairWeatherFan said:

With no floodlights, chance it will just roll into the next SCC weekend on 16th Nov.

That should be ok too...weather permitting. Shackleton turned back at the Newhouse Hotel making the journey to Shotts in November.

[newcastle broon]

1 hour ago, VodkaTap said:

But to claim they are the biggest team in Dumfries and Galloway ??  How's your geography ?? The last time I looked Gretna is most definitely in D & G 

Ye were doing fine till you slated my geography   far as I know they've never ventured into Cumbria for players though.

Case closed   

[Sermani]

1 hour ago, An Absolute Imposter said:

Pre-season friendly July '25.

Talbot 8 Threave 1, SFA Scottish Cup 2011? Leishman the Talbot goalie scored.

[mtln]

Anyone any idea when the draw will be?

[holmparkheroes]

9 hours ago, energyzone said:

Threave may be in an artificially low position due to starting at the bottom of the WOSFL.  They beat Stenhousemuir in the Scottish Cup about 15/20 years ago albeit this was pre-pyramid so it's hard to guage how far apart the sides were in terms of league placings.  They seem to have been one of the more successful SOS sides in recent times and did reasonably well during a stint in the EOS league before that.  Apparently they are a well run club and people seem to be very complimentary about their home stadium.

Echo what you say, good people and a great venue.

[An Absolute Imposter]

I think we are all getting a wee bit carried away with Threave at the moment.

Yes, they are most definitely a club in good shape on and off the pitch. But, they are still a Tier 9 club and ghe priority for the season is to finish in the top three of the West Third Division.

There are plenty of senior clubs in D&G, being away from the Central belt I think they can he forgotten at times.

League 1 we have both QOS and Annan, Stranraer in League 2 and of course the ever improving Gretna in the Lowland.

All 4 of the clubs have excellent facilities and infrastructure.

We have a rich football heritage here and the future seems in good hands too.

Edited October 13 by An Absolute Imposter

[southerner]

26 minutes ago, An Absolute Imposter said:

I think we are all getting a wee bit carried away with Threave at the moment.

Yes, they are most definitely a club in good shape on and off the pitch. But, they are still a Tier 9 club and ghe priority for the season is to finish in the top three of the West Third Division.

There are plenty of senior clubs in D&G, being away from the Central belt I think they can he forgotten at times.

League 1 we have both QOS and Annan, Stranraer in League 2 and of course the ever improving Gretna in the Lowland.

All 4 of the clubs have excellent facilities and infrastructure.

We have a rich football heritage here and the future seems in good hands too.

But at the same time I think the general view is the SOSL is not as strong as years gone by.  Also the fact their is no Saturday amateur in the South of Scotland is sad and causes a void for players finishing youth football at u17 level who are not ready to jump to SOSL or one of the two twenties teams in the region. I would say with the lack of a really good Dumfries based south team Threave and Gretna are profiting from that.

[An Absolute Imposter]

54 minutes ago, southerner said:

But at the same time I think the general view is the SOSL is not as strong as years gone by.  Also the fact their is no Saturday amateur in the South of Scotland is sad and causes a void for players finishing youth football at u17 level who are not ready to jump to SOSL or one of the two twenties teams in the region. I would say with the lack of a really good Dumfries based south team Threave and Gretna are profiting from that.

I would say that the gap between u17 and SOS is not as massive a leap as you might think. But the problem is when almost the whole team is like that; prime example being Wigtown&Bladnoch who could easy put out a full team at u20 level. They play good football but just get run over the top of by physically stronger and maturer teams.

Last Sat Threave put out their u20 against Nithsdale in one of our many cups, the weans were 2-0 at half time and could have been more, 2nd half Nithsdale simply overpowered them.

So you need the mix as is evident in the Threave first team.

There are no ammie clubs west of CD and for a number of the players Sunday suits as they have other interests on a Saturday that take precedence.

There is a vibrant youth scene but as you say other than the 3 u20 sides Gretna, Lochar and Threave there are large areas with no representation; Wigtonshire, North Dumfriesshire, North Annandale.

Lochar Thistle are based in Heathhall, which is basically North Dumfries now, but you are right since the demise of Heston and the YMCA, Dumfries town has no SOSFL representative, so where are the Dumfries based players playing is the question.

My feeling is that more local talent is now being drawn to Threave with the summer recruitment seeing a number of players moving from south clubs to Meadow Park. If they continue to climb up the west ladder you would think this would continue to the detriment of south clubs. 

 But what Threave have done is to get the wider footballing community to take a bit more notice of football in the deep south, and dare I say respect it.

I watch a lot of SOSFL games and there is potential there for the area to support a few more clubs in a competitive west environment.

Whether that happens, 'time will tell', as the man says.

 

[southerner]

I coached for 6 seasons in D&G youth league up to 18’s when they changed the age bands and can form the view that the jump to the SOSL is massive and badly missing more football for late teens where more 20’s teams would be the solution. There are some hidden gems of players in the south who would do very well in the WOS premier league but I think the distance and reality of 2 nights training on top of games makes it difficult. Some exceptions over the years and fully expect Threave to be promoted and also give a very good account of themselves against Stranraer.

[An Absolute Imposter]

10 minutes ago, southerner said:

I coached for 6 seasons in D&G youth league up to 18’s when they changed the age bands and can form the view that the jump to the SOSL is massive and badly missing more football for late teens where more 20’s teams would be the solution. There are some hidden gems of players in the south who would do very well in the WOS premier league but I think the distance and reality of 2 nights training on top of games makes it difficult. Some exceptions over the years and fully expect Threave to be promoted and also give a very good account of themselves against Stranraer.

I can only speak for last 3 seasons as that's when I started going to local football. Have seen at Newton Stewart, Creetown and Saints some boys step up from the local u17's and done quite well. Of course there will be plenty who find it tough and like you say drop out. These are the boys who would benefit from another age level being available.

Wigtonshire is crying out for an u20 team I feel. The 3 sides in the West Dev Gretna, Lochar and Threave are definitely benefitting from having that bridge between youth and senior teams. There is nothing west of the Stewartry again.

I was a youth coach in Cumbernauld for 20 odd years. The big difference I see between teams from up home to down here is that elusive competitive mentality and toughness. The one game that sticks in my mind is Lochar v Wishaw last season at u20. The Wishaw boys were street smart and gave the Lochar boys a valuable lesson that night.

A major problem for me with the SOSFL, is the noticeable gap in quality between the top of the table andcthe bottom. If you scan the results it shows there are acttually 2 divisions within the league.  It comes back to what I've been saying the SOSFL is a county league being compared to regional leagues in eos and wos.

The only way forward for senior football in the area is amalgamation with the wos. But there is not an appetite for that even if it was possible at this time with the west having 80 clubs.

[lokforever]