Gala Fairydean Rovers’ wait for first league win v Bonnyrigg Rose goes on after 3-0 home defeat
Gala Fairydean Rovers’ wait for their first Scottish Lowland Football League win against Bonnyrigg Rose will go on for at least another five months after being beaten 3-0 at home by the Midlothian outfit on Wednesday.
On target for manager Jonny Stewart’s visitors, back in the fifth tier after three seasons in the Scottish Professional Football League’s second division, in Galashiels were Kallum Higginbotham on 41 minutes, Alassan Jones on 45 and Cameron Ross on 82.
That was Fairydean’s fifth league loss to the New Dundas Park club – relegated after ending up bottom of the fourth tier, level on 36 points from as many fixtures with ninth-placed Forfar Athletic but with a goal difference nine worse – on the bounce, conceding 17 goals in the process and only replying once, via Marc Berry five years ago.
Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic, as they were known at the time, spent three seasons in Scottish football’s fifth tier following their promotion as EoSFL conference B champions and round-robin play-off winners in 2019 but only four of their scheduled league fixtures over that time went ahead due to covid-19 restrictions leading to two call-offs during the first two, with the Midlothian side winning all of them – by 5-1 in February 2020, 4-0 in October of that year and 3-0 in January 2022 at Netherdale and by 2-0 in November 2021 at home.
Gaffer Martin Scott’s Fairydean – the last Borderers in their league following Hawick Royal Albert and Selkirk’s departures in 2018 and that of Vale of Leithen in 2022 – have got the better of Rose once, though, beating them 5-1 at home in an East of Scotland Qualifying Cup fourth-round tie the last time they met before this week, in February 2022, with Scott’s side going on to lose 3-1 to Linlithgow Rose in that May’s final in Penicuik.
Their scorers against Bonnyrigg on that occasion were Gregor Jordan and Zander Murray at the double and Phil Addison, with Kerr Young netting for then manager Robbie Horn’s visitors, left outnumbered by a first-half sending-off for Dean Brett.
Rovers’ 17th-placed finish last term, on 31 points from 34 fixtures, was their lowest yet after ending up 16th out of 18 last year, 12th out of 19th in 2023, 13th of 18 in 2022 and of 16 in 2018, sixth of 17 in 2021, 11th of 16 in 2020 and of 15 in 2016, eighth of 15 in 2019 and 14 in 2015 and tenth of 16 in 2017 and 12 in 2014.
They’re currently 12th, on three points from two fixtures, ahead of a visit from table-topping Caledonian Braves this Saturday, with kick-off at 3pm.
Their reverse fixture away to Bonnyrigg is on Saturday, January 10, with kick-off at 3pm.