Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
West End rewarded for Premier display
FORFAR West End stole the honours for local clubs in the Premier League.
Daryl McKenzie’s men were consistent throughout the campaign and finished third in the table, securing a play-off spot against Newtongrange Star i n t he process.
And the Strathmore Park side duly proved their worth by beating the Lothian outfit 3-2 on aggregate over two legs to claim a Super League place next season.
West End had a poor season in the cup competitions, going out in the early rounds.
However, promotion was always the Angus side’s No 1 goal and they’ll be confident they can hold their own in the top flight next season.
While Forfar West End were stealing the honours in the Premier League, there was disappointment for Tayport, who finished in fifth position but some way short of challenging for one of the promotion spots.
Apart from their league disappointment, the season finished on a low note for the Fifers when they lost 5-1 to Broughty Athletic in the final of the GA Cup.
They didn’t do so well in the other cups, losing to Jeanfield in a penalty shootout in the East of Scotland Cup and 2-0 to Blantyre Vics in the Scottish, also in the second round.
Manager John Ovenstone has adopted a youth policy as the way forward for the club and, with a year’s experience behind them, he remains confident they will be one of the challengers for promotion next season.
Downfield finished their season with a 6-0 hammering at Tayport and a 1-0 defeat from Sauchie.
However, nothing should be taken away from what was, overall, a successful season for the Spiders.
Their first priority was to remain in the league after promotion the previous season and they did that with something to spare.
They finished in 10th position on 33 points and they should have enough experience in their pool of players to do even better next season.
The high point of the season came when they beat Lochee United in the East of Scotland Cup, although they lost to Bonnyrigg in the next round.
They went out of the GA Engineering Cup in the second round after losing a penalty shootout to Forfar West End and they made an early exit from the Scottish Cup when they lost 5-1 at home to Broughty Athletic.