Cup Winners Shield

Group Match

Saturday 29th March 2025

Kick Off 14.00 On Time!

Lochar Thistle 2 Whitburn 4, attendance 152

9’ 0-1

29’ 0-2

43’ 1-2

76’ 1-3

89’ 1-4

90’ + 4, 2-4

@ Wilson Park

Tinwald Downs Road

Heathall

DG1 3UB

£5 Admission

No Programme (did an online one though).

After staying overnight in Carlisle, it was an easy 32 mile drive northwest into Dumfries & Galloway, to the village of Heathall, a couple of miles east of Dumfries, for the final round robin game in the Cup Winners Shield (East, South and West of Scotland Cup winners taking part) with the group winners gaining entry onto next seasons Scottish F.A. Cup. This was the final group match, with St. Cadoc’s (West) having played their two matches, with Lochar (South) needing to win today (any winning score other than 1-0 would be good enough), whilst a draw was all that Whitburn (East) required.

Wilson Park is on an industrial estate, adjacent to Dumfries & Galloway Aviation Museum. The car park was only for players and club officials, but plenty of parking in the road outside. The pitch is part railed, with spectators restricted to half of one side, where there is raised grass banking and behind the goal nearest the entrance. There’s just a changing room building, which also housed toilets and a tea bar, which offered the traditional Scottish fayre, all very reasonably priced and a dugout on each side of the pitch, one minus a roof. The forecast was for heavy rain for a couple of hours from 2 o’clock, but although it did rain, it wasn’t as heavy as feared, but combined with a strong wind, made for unpleasant viewing at times and I was glad to be one of just seven people to have an umbrella. The rest of the crowd just seemed to accept they’d get a soaking.

Lochar are going well in the South of Scotland League and despite only being sixth in the table at present, are favourites to take the title. They’re nine points adrift of current leaders Dalbeattie Star, but have six games in hand and having won 12 of the 14 they’ve played so far, it’s a deficit that looks well within their reach. Whitburn are sixth in the East of Scotland League Premier Division, but a fourth placed finish is the best they can really hope to achieve.

It only took Whitburn nine minutes to break the deadlock, when a cross from the right was met with a glancing header into the bottom corner of the net. They made it 0-2 just before the half hour mark, when another cross in from the right was put away from six yards out. Lochar gave themselves hope of getting back into it just before halftime, when a cross totally deceived the ‘keeper and nestled in the far corner. Whitburn were well in command and it was a surprise that it took them until fourteen minutes from the end to finally make it 1-3, when a long clearance from their own half saw their centre forward race clear and finish with a 30 yard lob over the stranded ‘keeper. They made it 1-4 with a minute left, when another right wing cross beat the ‘keeper and was nodded in at the far post and they almost grabbed a fifth when another effort was cleared off the line. In stoppage time, Lochar saw a free kick come back off the crossbar and seconds later, from more or less the exact same position, another free kick struck the crossbar again, but this time it fell more kindly for them and the follow up was headed in from close range. Too late to alter the game though, as the final whistle went as soon as the game restarted.

Having completed the Scottish Football League for the first time in 1995, followed by the Highland League a few years later, the South of Scotland League was the next one done and was kept up to date during my time living in the Northwest. However, there have been a number of new grounds/clubs since then, but at least I’m down to needing just two grounds to complete the set again, the 3G cage at King Edward Park in Lockerbie (I’ve already done the grass pitch here) that’s shared by Mid Annandale/Upper Annandale and the Whitehill Park home of Lochmaben.

The journey back south saw some horrendous driving conditions from Carlisle to just south of Penrith, with strong winds and heavy rain. No traffic problems until reaching J10 on the M25, where the motorway was once again closed in both directions between here and J9, which added twenty minutes on to the journey, but still home for 22.25.