Gala Fairydean Rovers agree loan deal for young Hearts striker

Hearts youth player Leeroy Makovora joins fellow Tynecastle forward Sean Ward on loan at the Galashiels club.

The 18-year-old, born in Tranent in East Lothian, has also featured once for the Edinburgh club’s first team, making his debut in a 1-0 Scottish Premiership defeat away to Kilmarnock in May 2018.

Since then, he’s been loaned out to fellow Scottish Lowland Football League side Spartans and League Two’s Brechin City to get more first-team experience.

Gala manager Neil Hastings moved quickly to snap up Makorova after learning of his availability, and the youngster will go straight into the squad for their next game, a league match away to Stirling University this Saturday, December 5.

A run of six straight victories for the Borderers, their longest winning streak for eight years, was ended by a 2-1 defeat by Fife’s Kelty Hearts at the weekend, but they’re hoping to start racking up points again as soon as they can.

Saturday’s game will kick off behind closed doors at 3pm at Stirling’s Forthbank Stadium.

The students are currently one Scottish Lowland Football League place and two points behind their visitors despite having played two more games.

Last Saturday’s defeat saw Neil Hastings’ side slip one place to seventh with 18 points after nine games but they’re level on points with sixth-placed Bo’ness United.

Kelty are up to second place but level on 24 points with table-toppers BSC Glasgow and with two games in hand.

This weekend’s trip to Stirling is one of five games Rovers have lined up this month.

Next up after that is a Scottish Cup second preliminary round tie at home to Dumfries and Galloway’s Wigtown and Bladnoch the following Saturday, December 12, at 3pm.

That’s followed by three league games – one at 7.45pm on Wednesday, December 16, and the others on the next two Saturdays, December 19 and December 26, both kicking off at 3pm.

The first is away to fifth-placed East Stirlingshire, the second at home to Bo’ness United and the third away to 11th-placed Berwick Rangers.

The Berwick game is the first part of a double-header concluding at Netherdale on Friday, January 1.

Winger Ward, also 18, joined Rovers on loan at the start of October.