Loony Joons: Table squeeze offers dramatic run-in for junior clubs

Mar 8 2012

Inside the wacky world of Junior football with Glaswegian hack and Johnstone Burgh goalkeeper Fraser Wilson

ANYONE wondering how to inject more excitement into our game at the top level should take a peak at the juniors' Central District First Division.

There isn't one of the 14 clubs in there who don't have something to fight for in the next couple of months thanks to the fact that more than a third will be either promoted or relegated come May.

And with a table which is tighter than an Aberdeen credit crunch it's making for a tremendous run-in.

As always two teams will be promoted and three will take the drop meaning there's promotion and relegation scraps going on all over the place.

Mid-table obscurity simply doesn't exist here.

That's a fact borne out by Dunipace right in the middle of the scales in seventh - the Pace are fighting against relegation and trying to snatch a promotion place all at the same time!

We found ourselves in a similar position last season. After a blistering start we topped the table after five matches before a blip saw us slip in among the also-rans.

By March we were still looking to nab the second promotion spot but, come the final day of the season, a creditable draw at Thorniewood wasn't enough to stop us plunging into the bottom three.

What makes the competition all the more intense this year is that half the division is Glasgow-based.

Possil side Glasgow Perthshire's incredible unbeaten run means they are well ahead in first but then Shettleston, Yoker and Govan rivals St Anthony's and Benburb are all battling Greenock for the second promotion spot.

At the other end Tollcross club Vale of Clyde look doomed at the bottom but Cambuslang Rangers are anxiously looking over the shoulder in a six-way battle to avoid the three relegation slots.

It all adds up to a fixture list packed with drama and excitement all the way to the end.

Now imagine that in the SPL? Okay you'd always be lucky to have a two-horse race for the title but a 14-team top tier with three going down and three coming up?

That would inject some adrenaline into the two top divisions.

Meanwhile, two Premier League clubs parted company with their managers on Saturday. Arthurlie's sacking of Sandy MacLean on Saturday was followed by the surprise re-appointment of Mark Cameron - just two years after he left the position due to differences of opinion with the Dunterlie committee.

Branco has spent the vast majority of this season coaching us Johnstone and has proved a top operator in the training ground. I'm sure he'll take no time in moving Arthurlie clear of the relegation zone.

Tommy Bryce's resignation at Kilbirnie Ladeside is a sad one as wee Tam - a legend in my eyes following his playing days at Queen of the South - was renowned for having Ladeside playing some of the best football in the Juniors in recent years.

Bryce, pictured, has also been responsible for helping players including Chris Erskine (Partick Thistle), Jamie Longworth and David Anderson (both Queen's Park) make the step-up to senior football in recent years.

Hopefully we'll see Bryce - who scored the fastest hat-trick ever recorded in a match at Palmerston in 1993 - back in the game before too long.

Match of the day: Thorniewood United v Glenafton Athletic, Stagecoach Super League First Division, Robertson Park, 2pm.

Team of the week: Petershill are just four matches away from landing their first ever Premier League crown after winning a seven-goal thriller at Arthurlie on Saturday. Peasy let a two goal lead slip in the second half but fought back to win 4-3 and set up a grandstand finish to the season.