It’s a return to league action for the first time in 3 weeks for The Buffs as they travel to Ladywell Stadium to face Maybole Juniors FC in their 10th league match of the season. The Buffs have not actually won a league match since the 1-5 demolition of Blantyre over two months ago, although they have only played another 2 since then.
Maybole Juniors FC were founded in 78 years ago in 1946 following in the footsteps of over 15 previous sides to hail from the small town such as, Maybole Carrick, Maybole FC and then a reformed version of Maybole FC which survived the longest duration of the previous clubs, 26 years from 1895 to 1921. Ladywell Stadium has been the home of Maybole Juniors FC for their entire life and the historic ground seen recent renovations which involved the installation of a seated section featuring over 100 seats. There are also two covered standing enclosures at the ground however all three stands are situated on the one side of the pitch. “The Bole” have not tasted success in over 20 years with their last trophy coming in the form of the South Ayrshire Cup which they won in 2002.
After a shaky last campaign which seen them finish only 1 spot above the relegation zone, Maybole have been one of the shocks of the season so far with The Bole currently sitting, 5 places and 6 points above The Buffs, in 4th place. The Bole have only suffered league defeat three times this season with an opening day 3-4 loss against Thorniewood, a 4-2 loss to St Rochs and a 0-1 defeat at the hands of Rob Roy. Last week Maybole faced Hurlford United in the Scottish Junior Cup and were easily beaten by 5 goals to 1 ,however, before last week’s hammering The Bole were on a 4-game winning run, a streak longer than anything The Buffs have managed to piece together so far this season. The Buffs defence will need to perform resolutely to give the visitors any chance of taking points at Ladywell this weekend as they will be kept busy by,Maybole forward, Gerard Clark who has been on fire so far this season and is the league’s top scorer with 8 goals already. Former Buffs cult heroes, centre back, Tommy Maitland and, forward, Ryan Nisbet currently play in the Maybole maroon and will be desperate to get one over on their former side with a win this weekend. Onto The Buffs, new striker Fraser Malcolm could feature this weekend but may struggle to get into the side after the outstanding performance, earning a 0-2 win away at Sauchie Juniors a fortnight ago, a performance that if The Buffs emulate, they will surely be taking the crucial 3 points home back to Buffs Park. When The Buffs travelled to Ladywell Stadium last season they ran out 2-4 victors thanks to a Graham Boyd hat trick and a Keiren Wood goal, after The Bole defeated the Buffs 0-1 at Buffs Park in the opening stages of the season.
The Buffs have not been defeated on their league travels so far this season and will be hoping they can reduce the gap between the 2 sides to 3 points with The Buffs also holding a game in hand over the hosts.