It is top versus bottom this weekend as the Buffs host the struggling Blantyre Victoria at Buffs Park for the 20th league game of the Buffs’ season. The Vics are currently rooted to the bottom of the division with just 2 points to show from their opening 18 games after being deducted 9 points for fielding an ineligible player.
Thanks to a mixture of the 9-point deduction and a very poor start to the season, Blantyre Vics look destined for the drop as they have been cut well adrift from safety in the division, with the club currently sitting 18 points behind Rob Roy who occupy 13th place in the league. Despite their lowly league position, The Vics have pieced together a decent run over the last 8 games in which they have only been defeated once and have picked up 11 points along the way, a run which includes impressive victories against Cumbernauld United and title challengers, St Rochs. In fact, up until last week, The Vics were on one of the longest unbeaten runs in the division, when the club went 7 games without a defeat before losing 0-3 to Kilbirnie. The recent upturn in form has come as a big surprise to the division, as before going 7 games unbeaten, The Vics had actually lost their opening 10 league games in a row, one of which was a 1-5 thumping at the KG Stadium at the hands of The Buffs. Eva Bembo scored a brace, and Blair MacIntyre bagged a hat trick on the day to give The Buffs a comfortable victory when the sides met earlier in the season. The Buffs do have a good record against Blantyre in recent seasons, with 3 wins from the last 3 meetings. Striker, Scott Hansen and own goals top the scoring chart for The Vics with 5, with forward Harry Kent sitting behind on 4 goals so far this season. Bryan Boylan extended his lead at the top of the Buffs’ scoring chart after his midweek winner, with the captain now sitting on 10 league goals in the campaign.
A win for The Buffs could extend their lead at the top of the table, if other results were to go there way, but would definitely keep them in first place at the very least. Despite the opportunity to extend the lead atop the table, Kevin Kelly cannot afford to let his side become distracted by the situation, as the Vics will undoubtably attempt to make it difficult for The Buffs as they look to rebuild the unbeaten run they lost just last week. There are some massive games involving fellow promotion challengers going on as well tomorrow, with 2nd place, Renfrew travelling to 4th place St Rochs and 3rd place Petershill welcoming 6th place Rutherglen Glencairn.
