League rejig sparing Gala Fairydean Rovers from relegation expected to be approved this week

That rejig of the fifth-tier game nationwide, proposed by the Scottish Highland Football League in a bid to resolve the geographical imbalance of the current set-up, is expected to be voted through by their southern counterparts this Thursday and accried out this summer ahead of next football season.

It would leave the Highlanders’ league much as it is but without Brechin City and, in the event that they’re relegated come the end of the current William Hill League Two season, Forfar Athletic.

It would be all change for the Lowland version, however, as it would be much expanded and split in two, with one half covering the west of the country and the other the east, the latter being home to Fairydean and Berwick Rangers.

An indicative vote taken last week is believed to have seen seen nine of the 16 Lowland League clubs eligible to take part in favour of the move, with six against and one abstention, and that’s to be followed by a formal poll at another general meeting this week in response to a request from Scottish football’s pyramid working group for an official position prior to reporting to the Scottish Football Association.

The new-look Lowland League, retaining Celtic and Heart of Midlothian’s colts, would be expanded from 18 clubs to 32, split into two divisions of 16, with the 14 newcomers being drafted in from the East of Scotland Football League, West of Scotland Football League and South of Scotland Football League and, possibly the Scottish Junior Football Association’s Midlands East Region League too at a later date, subject to possession of SFA entry-level licences.

Initial proposals suggested that Fairydean, Berwick and fellow current Lowland League clubs Bo’ness United, East Stirlingshire, Linlithgow Rose, Broxburn Athletic, Edinburgh’s Civil Service Strollers, Cowdenbeath, Hearts B, Tranent and Stirling University be joined in the east division by the Highland League’s Brechin and the EoSFL premier division’s Musselburgh Athletic, Hill of Beath Hawthorn, Jeanfield Swifts and Haddington Athletic, though one of the latter would miss out were Bonnyrigg Rose, currently six points adrift at the bottom of League Two, to be relegated three years after making it into the Scottish Professional Football League as Lowland League champions.

The west division, as initially proposed, would be made up of current Lowland League sides Albion Rovers, Broomhill, Caledonian Braves, Celtic B, Cumbernauld Colts, Gretna 2008 and East Kilbride, joined by newcomers Dalbeattie Star, Auchinleck Talbot, Benburb, Clydebank, Cumnock, Darvel, Glenafton, Pollok and Irvine Meadow XI, though the fact that the last are 13th of 16 teams in the WoSFL’s first division could count against them and see Kilwinning Rangers or Rutherglen Glencairn take their place.

East Kilbride – currently nine points clear at the top of the Lowland League, on 73 points from 31 fixtures, ahead of a visit from Linlithgow on Wednesday – being in with a chance of promotion to the SPFL could also lead to an extra place being freed up out west.

Potential promotion to the SPFL via a two-legged play-off would become a three-way fight between the Highland League and east and west Lowland Leagues’ champions subject to possession of an SFA bronze licence or a commitment to qualify within an agreed timescale.

Manager Martin Scott’s Fairydean, being three points adrift at the bottom of the table with six left to play for following a 1-0 win away to Stirling University on Saturday, thanks to a 70th-minute goal from on-loan Hamilton Academical midfielder Jared Lyons, are the team standing to benefit most and they look to be in line for a reprieve from relegation – like fellow Borderers Vale of Leithen before them in 2020 and 2021 due to covid-19 restrictions – as even if Thursday’s vote doesn’t end up nine-six in favour like last week’s indicative version and is split at eight-eight, the Galashiels club’s vice-chairman, Thomas Brown, would have the casting vote as chairman of the Lowland League.

If given the go-ahead on Thursday, the pyramid working group would be expected to rubber-stamp the rejig plans this Friday and SFA approval is believed to be a formality thereafter.

Rovers haven’t played any of their potential new east division rivals this season but they were knocked out of the South Region Challenge Cup’s third round 1-0 by Irvine Meadow at home in October, with the visitors’ Euan Baird scoring the only goal of the tie.

It was much the same story the season before, with Gala going out of the Scottish Cup’s second round after losing 5-2 away to Pollok in October 2023, with Nicky Reid and Danny Galbraith scoring for the Borderers and Ryan McGregor, Adam Forde and Hugh Kerr netting for their Glaswegian hosts.

Their last competitive meeting with one of their possible new rivals was a 5-2 second-round challenge cup loss at Musselburgh in October 2022, with Lewis Grant and Marc Berry on target for Rovers and Jackson Barker at the double, Matty Knox and Aaron Murrell, assisted by an own goal, scoring for their hosts.

Fairydean have met the East Lothian outfit again since, losing a pre-season friendly at home to them at Netherdale Stadium last July by 4-1, with Jordan Smith, a trialist, Barker and ex-Rovers striker Nicky Reid scoring for the visitors and Kieran Dolan netting for Rovers.

Rovers’ two-game run-in to the end of the season continues with a visit from second-bottom Broomhill this coming Saturday and an away-day at 14th-placed Gretna seven days later, both 3pm kick-offs.

This campaign’s reverse fixtures yielded losses by 3-2 loss at Dumbarton in November and 2-0 hosting Gretna in December.

Ben Reilly scored both of Fairydean’s goals away to Broomhill, with Callum McKenzie netting twice for their hosts and Cameron Rowley on target as well, and Robbie Ivison and Reece Paterson got the Dumfries and Galloway side’s goals in Galashiels.