East Region Superleague

[Jock Tamson]

To be honest, Broughty defence  was excellent and did not give NE front players anything, and their out ball to the strikers gave NE defenders a torrid time on the break. If North End had went for it they would have lost more goals. Broughty controlled the game all over the pitch from start to finish.

That's very honest Jon. Spot on too.

[Den Spark]

Lochee United 2 Broughty Athletic 2

Lochee United finished the season unbeaten in the league as The Fed became only the second team to take points off the Thomson Park side this season.

An unfamiliar looking Broughty side applauded their opponents onto the field but the niceties stopped there as the league runners-up looked to be the first to topple the Bluebells.

As early as the second minute Lochee keeper Mark Fotheringham had to save from Bradley Smith and he had Greg Kirk to thank for keeping his goal intact when Kirky blocked a close-in shot from Billy Young.

The visitors took the lead against a lacklustre home side on 17 minutes. Stephen McNally put team mate Scott Webster under pressure with a poor pass and he was robbed by Marc SCOTT. The Broughty striker raced down the touchline and found the net from a difficult angle.

Lochee replied with a Scott McComiskie header which was cleared off the line by Jamie McCunnie but they equalised on the half hour mark.

Ross McDonald made ground up the left and sent in a terrific cross with the outside of his left boot to McCOMISKIE who volleyed home.

Lochee went close again when a Danny Cavanagh free kick was punched away by Broughty keeper John Sinclair.

The home side started the second half in more determined fashion, with Cavanagh and McDonald combining well down the left.

A McNally free kick almost put Lochee ahead but Sinclair saved before the danger was cleared by Young.

The Bluebells took the lead in controversial fashion on 51 minutes when Cavanagh found BIRSE unmarked six yards out. With Broughty claiming offside the Lochee striker calmly slotted the ball into the net.

Lochee dominated for a spell after that with Reece Ritchie going close and a terrific move involving McComiskie and Cavanagh earning applause from the large crowd.

Logan Davie, Bryan Deasley and Jamie Reid were all brought on by the home side to see the game out, but it was the visitors who grabbed a late equaliser.

If Broughty thought they were hard done by for Lochee’s second goal, it was evened up by another controversial decision in added time.

Substitute Louis Appere seemed to foul Scott Webster on the edge of the box but was allowed to continue and cross into the penalty area for the inrushing Stewart McCONNACHIE to net from close range.

So ends a great league season for Lochee United but Broughty have one cup in the bag and are in the hunt for two more. They certainly look like a team to watch in future.

Lochee United: Fotheringham, Webster, Kirk, McNally, McDonald, Ritchie, McWalter, Lawson (Davie 85), Cavanagh (Reid 89), Birse (Deasley 88), McComiskie.

Broughty Athletic: Sinclair, McMillan (McCracken 46), Young (Appere 74), Warwick, Anderson, McCunnie, Coupar (Banyard 60), Smith, Farquhar, McConnachie, Scott.

[GNU_Linux]

Kinnoul offski to the EOS

[lowenan]

Could be 18 north and 18 south teams next season.

[Pyramidic]

5 hours ago, lowenan said:

Could be 18 north and 18 south teams next season.

That would turn up some mouth-watering fixtures - Coupar Angus v Lochee United etc. But the Hoose would have a good chance of winning an 18 team South Super and would get some variation in the fixture list if it came to fruition.

A big problem would be further dilution of the standard of football.

[Ylf]

juniors in the east are fucked now.

[AlanCamelonfan]

3 hours ago, Pyramidic said:

That would turn up some mouth-watering fixtures - Coupar Angus v Lochee United etc. But the Hoose would have a good chance of winning an 18 team South Super and would get some variation in the fixture list if it came to fruition.

A big problem would be further dilution of the standard of football.

I still think theyd run two tiers. 2 leagues of 9 or 10 and 8 teams leagues.

[Spyro]

4 hours ago, Ylf said:

juniors in the east are fucked now.

Unfortunately this so true and the harsh truth... wonder how long it’ll be before Forfar, Cupar Angus, etc do what Roselea did and take there chances in the North of Scotland league 

Edited June 8, 2019 by Spyro

[LongTimeLurker]

2 hours ago, AlanCamelonfan said:

I still think theyd run two tiers. 2 leagues of 9 or 10 and 8 teams leagues.

They needed 40 clubs minimum to make this work reasonably well. What happens if you have an eight team division lined up and a club like Coupar Angus goes into abeyance? They could do a lot worse than check out how the EoS conferences are structured for next season as a way to have a bit more variety.

Edited June 8, 2019 by LongTimeLurker

[FairWeatherFan]

5 minutes ago, Spyro said:

Unfortunately this so true and the harsh truth... wonder how long it’ll be before Forfar, Cupar Angus, etc do what Roselea did and take there chances in the North of Scotland league 

Think Montrose Roselea was a relatively unique set of circumstances. They got up to Premier League level and got sort of stuck in the middle. Good enough not to get relegated, but no where close to promotion. They had the choise of existing  region wide in the East Premier or play across similar distances in the North Super League with the potential to compete more.

Apart from Forfar WE none of the other Angus area clubs really played many region wide seasons. So they'll probably be happy staying in the same sort divisions that have been largely uninterrupted even by the introduction of the Super Leagues.

 

[lowenan]

They will probably go 10 for each of the superleagues, and 8 for the tier below. Could also do 2x18, don’t think the difference between top and bottom would be bigger than in the Highland League. 

Could also do something creative. Two 18 team leagues, one north and one south, and split after the first round of fixtures into two tiers. Would be 25 matches for each team (or 33 if they did home/away after the split). That way Lochee and Broughty would meet twice (or three times with home/away), and they would only meet Coupar Angus once if they are poor.

Edited June 8, 2019 by lowenan

[FairWeatherFan]

[Kicker Conspiracy]

46 minutes ago, lowenan said:

They will probably go 10 for each of the superleagues, and 8 for the tier below. Could also do 2x18, don’t think the difference between top and bottom would be bigger than in the Highland League. 

Could also do something creative. Two 18 team leagues, one north and one south, and split after the first round of fixtures into two tiers. Would be 25 matches for each team (or 33 if they did home/away after the split). That way Lochee and Broughty would meet twice (or three times with home/away), and they would only meet Coupar Angus once if they are poor.

That sounds an excellent idea to make the best of what they are left with. Much too imaginative, I fear, though. 

I suspect making sure that all the first round of fixtures are completed before the split will be too difficult, although it shouldn't be if they use the league cup as a buffer between the two halves of the season.

[Jock Tamson]

Just the double.

[Ylf]

very poor teams on that list. lucky if you have 5 decent teams. east super league used to be really competitive not now. it’s totally fuked imo

[Pyramidic]

1 hour ago, FairWeatherFan said:

FairWeatherFan always comes forward with these useful listings - much appreciated.

For me the spreadsheet highlights what a Pig's Ear the East Region are left with.

It is so disappointing that the 7 stronger 2018/19 Superleague clubs from Tayside are going to be shafted with the introduction of mini-divisions to accommodate the needs and requirements of the West Lothian clubs. Personally I would stick with the status quo and the 2018/19 format if at all possible.

If the mini-divisions route is followed and Dunblane and Syngenta are in fact accepted, I would suggest that Newburgh are moved to the Premier North. There must be proper equalisation between North and South.

[FairWeatherFan]

22 minutes ago, Pyramidic said:

FairWeatherFan always comes forward with these useful listings - much appreciated.

For me the spreadsheet highlights what a Pig's Ear the East Region are left with.

It is so disappointing that the 7 stronger 2018/19 Superleague clubs from Tayside are going to be shafted with the introduction of mini-divisions to accommodate the needs and requirements of the West Lothian clubs. Personally I would stick with the status quo and the 2018/19 format if at all possible.

If the mini-divisions route is followed and Dunblane and Syngenta are in fact accepted, I would suggest that Newburgh are moved to the Premier North. There must be proper equalisation between North and South.

I wouldn't accept Syngenta regardless if they have got a ground in place. Chances are they will apply for the EoS 2020-21 and just disturb everything again. Same with Dunblane if all they're talking about is groundsharing Sauchie with nothing in place for a ground in their town. Whatever people think about Bo'ness and Linlithgow junior teams you know they'll be in it for the long haul however things play out.

[LongTimeLurker]

The Bo'ness team are definitely happening given they have been welcomed into the Bo'ness United fold, their use of Newtown Park has been confirmed, they have a presence on facebook and twitter, have announced a player signing, etc. The other three haven't really surfaced yet beyond being message board rumours.

Edited June 8, 2019 by LongTimeLurker

[lowenan]

1 hour ago, Pyramidic said:

FairWeatherFan always comes forward with these useful listings - much appreciated.

If the mini-divisions route is followed and Dunblane and Syngenta are in fact accepted, I would suggest that Newburgh are moved to the Premier North. There must be proper equalisation between North and South.

Newburgh going north makes perfect sense.

Edited June 8, 2019 by lowenan

[Marten]

5 hours ago, FairWeatherFan said:

Think Montrose Roselea was a relatively unique set of circumstances. They got up to Premier League level and got sort of stuck in the middle. Good enough not to get relegated, but no where close to promotion. They had the choise of existing  region wide in the East Premier or play across similar distances in the North Super League with the potential to compete more.

Apart from Forfar WE none of the other Angus area clubs really played many region wide seasons. So they'll probably be happy staying in the same sort divisions that have been largely uninterrupted even by the introduction of the Super Leagues.

 

Tbh, I think the Tayside clubs would be better off in the north. They currently have 32 clubs there, if you add 19 Tayside teams (including Newburgh), that would make 51. That could mean a 16 team Superleague, 14 team Premier League and 10 & 11 team district leagues. Then the weaker Tayside teams will stay with each other.