Strathendrick won game of the day against Cumnock 21-11, in a match which the home team dominated in the first 40 minutes, only for that dominance to switch in the second half, and Cumnock getting themselves back in the game. With 10 minutes to go, there were only three points in it, but a missed tackle in midfield gave Endrick a try under the posts.
The win for Endrick, and no bonus points for either was an opportunity for Paisley and Lenzie to make a gain, but Paisley lost to Clydebank, whilst Lenzie scraped a narrow win against Loch Lomond, so the only Club in the top 4 to gain a bonus point was Paisley, and that was a lose bonus point.
Lenzie have a home game against Millbrae, who have won two of their last three, and in the other, lost by only three points to Cumnock. Cumnock are at home against Cumbernauld, who don’t have a win in 6 weeks, but they only lost by 8 points against Paisley in that time, and in the reverse fixture earlier in the season, Cumbernauld held Cumnock to within a score or two for about 60 minutes. Strathendrick visit fifth placed Uddingston who had a decent win against Cumbernauld last weekend.
Strathendrick are favourites for the title, but they have 6 matches remaining and only five Saturdays to fit them in, and they still have Paisley and Millbrae to play. Paisley and Lenzie are down to their last two games, so really need two wins if they are to hold out hope of the title, and perhaps even the second promotion spot. Cumnock have four games remaining, which includes Birkmyre and WD where they’ll be looking for bonus point wins, whilst games against Cumbernauld and Uddingston could also yield wins.
The unfortunate thing for the opposition teams of the title challengers, is that with things being so close at the top, this could come down to points difference. Endrick are ahead of their opponents, whilst Cumnock are lagging the other three.
There were some big results at the other end of the table. Millbrae continue to pick up points with a 43-5 win over Strathaven, whilst Clydebank also won with an impressive 12-7 result over leaders Paisley. Lomond didn’t win, but they did pick up a lose bonus point, so with WD having the weekend off, it’s they who were the big losers in all of this.
To add to the relegation worries of WD and Millbrae, they have both received another five point deduction. This leaves WD 10 points behind Clydebank and 13 behind Loch Lomond. Millbrae are five behind WD, but they have four games in hand.
It’s looking like Loch Lomond and Clydebank should now be clear of the relegation contest, and tentatively planning for West 2 next season, so leaving the second relegation spot being between WD and Millbrae.
WD have three games remaining - Clydebank, Cumnock and Millbrae. Millbrae have 7 remaining, which includes each of the other teams who have been slogging out the relegation battle since Christmas. Millbrae though are a couple of Saturdays short of being able to fulfil the season, so it will be interesting to see what the Championship Committee do to resolve this issue.The competition across West 2 is just fantastic and looks like going right down to the wire at both top and bottom.
West 1 Update
West 3 Update
I thought it was 3 strikes and you are out - Millbrae & WD?
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