Round-Up
Premier
Rutherglen Vogue are the official early pace-setters in the top division having seen off another title rival in the form of Thornwood with a 2-0 win. The game was the close encounter expected from two of the division’s top dogs but new leaders Vogue edged it. Thornwood drop to second behind The Vogue on goal difference but have played one game more. Thornwood will look to get back to winning ways when they host Whitehill next week, while The Vogue don’t have far to travel when they take on Westburn in a Rutherglen rivalry. MK Dynamo remain rooted to the bottom of the table after slipping to a 3-1 loss at the hands of an impressive Manhattan Blacks. Dynamo will take solace that they have faced several of the high flyers and will begin to get their season up and running against fellow slow starters Westhill, while the undefeated Blacks renew their rivalry with Castlemilk United from last year.
First
Springhall Spartans continue to bounce back from two consecutive losses to now have two consecutive wins and 3rd spot early on in the first division. This weekend’s win came in a closely fought contest against Castlemilk East, with Springhall edging it 3-2 away from home. East failed to capitalise on their cup win over MK Dynamo last week and now continue to seek the first win of the league campaign against Rutherglen Vultures next Sunday. Spartans will be looking to maintain their third spot over Wellshot next week.
Division 2B
The hunt goes on for AC Volvomax as they fell victim to a 6-1 win for Northend to stay rock bottom of Division 2B. The win shoots Northend into the mix of sides with 6 points at the top of 2B, and will hope to go one better next week when they take on leaders Cranhill United. Volvomax’s pursuit of win number one takes shape with the chance to gain some revenge over last week’s cup opponents, Haldane United.
Division 3
Phoenix United moved into joint first position with a 3-1 win over Kirkwood Thistle, who suffered their first defeat of their fledgling SCAFL career. Phoenix are now in a prime position to move into top spot outright when they travel to face off against Crownpoint United.
MediaSpec League Cup First Round
Overlee Partizans were clinical in their hammering of Division 2B’s Beechwood Albion, with a 10-0 victory. Third Division leaders are not involved in league duties next week, while Albion host fellow strugglers, Glasgow Rovers. Gorbals United are still looking to rekindle the form that saw them to a top half finish last season as they crashed out of the League Cup at the hands of Premier League Beechwood Athletic. Athletic came out 5-2 winners, to set themselves up for their first round tie in the Scottish Cup next week, while Gorbals look to kick start their season against FC Baillieston. Castlemilk Dynamo took it to another level this weekend, seeing off early pacesetters from division 3 Centaur United 20-0. Dynamo were in a different zone from their opponents this time out and will hope to do the same in the Scottish Cup next week. Centaur are also in Scottish cup action next week. Wellshot travelled well this week by running out 6-1 victors over division 3 Cleddans. Wellshot’s win will set them up as they look to move back into third spot of the first division against Springhall Spartans. Cleddans will look to stay in the mix at the top of their own division, when they face off against Bellgrove next week. Drumchapel Thistle continue to impress as they saw off early Division 2A high flyers Cumbernauld Colts Community 4-0 to progress to the next round of the league cup. Thistle will look to take advantage of the top sides facing off against each other by taking on Eastfield Athletic next week, who in their own right will look to get in the mix of the sides at the top. Colts Community will hope to continue their impressive league form when they travel to Third Lanark. Eastend Rovers made it two for in the cup competitions against lower league opposition, with a ravaging 12-3 win against Division 3 side Glasgow Redstar. Rovers will renew an old rivalry against Milton Colquhoun next week as they look to stabilise their league form while Redstar will hope to get their first win against Linthouse. Glasgow Rovers woes continue as they were gunned out of the first round at the hands of Division 3’s Crownpoint United. Crownpoint ran out 6-1 winners in the end to set up a second round berth while Rovers will now need to focus on league duties next week, against Beechwood Albion. Haldane United made a habit of winning against teams from their own divisions in the cup competitions, this time around with an 8-1 win over Westend United. Westend are now out of both cup competitions so far and have no league game next week as they look to go back to the drawing board, while Haldane take on AC Volvomax. Lanarkshire Eagles ran Premier League Castlemilk United very close today and almost got a fairytale cup upset, but United pulled through as 3-2 winners and will be in the second round draw. Next up for Eagles is a home game in the league against Gartferry. Linthouse are looking to be a force to be reckoned with this season and put an exclamation on that with a 5-0 hammering of Premier League side Whitehill. Whitehill have had a shuddering start to the season but may be able to cause an upset against early pacesetters Thornwood. Linthouse take on Glasgow Redstar as they look to continue their impressive league form. Maryhill Cosmos finally got their first win of the season and progressed in the cup to add to the mix. Bellgrove fell foul to Cosmos in a 5-2 loss and will host Cleddans next week in the league while the Cosmos will be representing the SCAFL in the Scottish Cup first round. Quayside ran out 4-0 winners against fellow division 2A side Stanley Athletic. Quayside remain undefeated in the league and cup both but face a stiff challenge in the form of Cumbernauld Colts next week. Stanley are having a torrid time so far in league and cup but will look to find some of their better form next week when they face leaders, Southside Whitecart. Redstar Thistle couldn’t replicate their early league form in the cup this week falling foul to a 5-1 loss at the hands of Gartferry. Gartferry have now seen off two of division 2B’s top sides in the cups and will travel to Lanarkshire Eagles next week in the league. Redstar are off duty next week. Cranhill bounced back from their GlassCo cup loss to Gartferry by grabbing one of the best results of the round, winning 4-2 away from home against Division 1 Rutherglen Vultures. Cranhill now look to extend their lead at the top of Division 2B against Northend next week, while Vultures host strugglers Castlemilk East. Southside Whitecart ran up the second highest tally of the weekend, coming out 14-0winners over Polonia Glasgow. Whitecart are alive and well in both cup competitions and will be looking to stay in top spot next week when they challenge Stanley Athletic. Third Lanark’s hopes of cup glory came to a swift end as they put in a spirited performance against Milton Colquhoun. Milton won 6-3 as they start on a trail they will hope ends with a final berth as they did last year. They travel to Eastend Rovers next week. Third Lanark will look to build on their league victory, by doubling their points tally against Cumbernauld Colts Community. Finally, in the tie of the round, Treble 2 dug deep to secure a first round win over Queen’s Park Spiders, but it took spot kicks to separate the teams. The game ended 2-2 and it went to sudden death before holders Treble won the tie 6-5 on penalties. The sides face off against next week in the league, giving Spiders the ideal chance for revenge, and to open a 6 point gap over their title rivals.
