League match day 7 sees Bonnyrigg face Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale for the first time in a competitive fixture at the Saughton Enclosure on Saturday, although the two clubs have played in a number of friendly fixtures previously.
LTHV have been champions of the East of Scotland League in three of the past five seasons, and were runners up in the other two. The sole reason they have not been playing at a higher level than EoS up to now was due to their lack of a SFA license, which is required to play in the Lowland League. That was all rectified a few months ago however, when they were accepted as the SFA's 90th member club and are the latest club to be admitted. All other non licensed clubs are still in limbo at present given the current embargo imposed by the SFA board which we understand is still in place at the moment, subject to a long awaited communication from the SFA board meeting which took place on October 4th which we may hear news of at some point next week. Until the embargo is lifted only six clubs are eligible for promotion to the Lowland league (Burntisland, Coldstream, Hawick, Linlithgow, LTHV & Preston - plus Dalkeith, Haddington & Blackburn if they meet licensing criteria).
LTHV have by their standards over the past number of seasons had an inconsistent start to the season to date. Having come through the League Qualifying Section unscathed they have picked up just four league points from their six games. Three of those points was a remarkable victory at Dundonald, where they came from a goal behind with ten men (with an outfield player in goal as their keeper was sent off) to win by two goals to one. They also claim The Spartans as one of their scalps this season, knocking out the Ainslie Park outfit in the 2nd round of the South Challenge Cup and Raymie Carr's side are not a team to be underestimated.
Saturday will mark new interim manager Davie Burrell's first game in charge, although he is carrying forward a one game suspension from his time at Berwick so won't be in the dugout. On the player side we are hoping to have one or two of the players back who have been out for the past few weeks, although the players who have been in the side over the past few weeks have been doing extremely well. It won't take him long to realise the strength of the current squad we have, with every player justified in seeking a starting position. He will be looking to start his tenure with three valuable league points and maintain out position at the summit of Conference B.
Admission at Saughton is £5 for adults, £3 for kids/concessions.