The Buffs hit the road this weekend as they travel to Dunterlie Park, where Arthurlie await in what promises to be a fiercely contested West of Scotland Premier Division clash. With both promoted sides eager to build on decent starts, the stage is set for a real battle in Barrhead, in what is expected to be far from ideal conditions.
Manager William Dyer only joined ‘The Lie’ in the Summer; however has had no issue continuing on from last season’s success, which saw the club crowned as well-deserved WOSFL First Division Champions. Much like what we saw last campaign, Arthurlie have had the best start out of the four promoted sides, with Dyer’s side currently sitting fifth in the division on nineteen points. It’s been a really strong run of form in recent months, which has seen The Lie shoot up the league table, thanks to five wins out of their last seven league games, a run which dates back to late August. The stats suggest this weekend’s affair should be packed with goals, with The Lie’s games boasting the most amount of goals in the league this season, followed not far behind by a Buffs side that rank fourth in the league in terms of how many goals their games have seen. Including both goals for and against, Arthurlie have amassed 59 goals in just 12 games, averaging almost 5 per game, with The Buffs seeing 46 goals netted in their opening eleven matches, averaging over 4 a game. Forward Aaron Healy has bagged ten goals already this season in eighteen starts for The Lie, backed up by last season’s WOSFL First Division top scorer Mark Taylor, who has seven goals in thirteen starts for his side this campaign. It was one win apiece between the sides last season, with a Bryan Boylan goal getting The Buffs over the line at Buffs Park before The Lie strolled to a 3-0 victory later in the season thanks to a first-half demolition of The Buffs, who headed into half-time three goals down.
It’s a big weekend for Kevin Kelly’s side, who make their return to league action for the first time in three weeks, at a venue where The Buffs have struggled in recent years. During their fortnight hiatus from the league, The Buffs have dropped to ninth place in the table, with a positive result today taking them back up the league to as high as seventh place.
