Adverse weather looms large over fixtures

THERE is going to be early morning pitch inspections to determine whether the only two Premiership matches to have survived the frost by close of play last night will be able to go ahead this afternoon.

If Braidholm gets the thumbs- up then there will be plenty on the line as second- bottom GHA host basement- dwellers Musselburgh.

The home side are currently eight- points clear of their opponents with both teams having three matches left to play, so a GHA win would almost certainly condemn the visitors to relegation, while an away win would see this tussle to avoid the drop go to the wire.

Musselburgh have the easier run in against seventhplaced Jed at home and sixthplaced Glasgow Hawks away, while GHA face the two top teams in the division – Currie Chieftains at home and Hawick away – in their remaining matches.

“It’s all or nothing at GHA,” said Musselburgh head coach Derek O’Riordan. “We have shown this season that we can go at teams in and around the top four, but we have struggled to manage the pressure of playing teams in similar positions to ourselves.

“This is a massive opportunity for us to overcome that block and put ourselves in a position to survive against a team that could seal our fate.”

Opposite number Calum Forrester said: “Musselburgh pose threats across the park, so we will need to be at our defensive best on Saturday. The squad has trained well this week and look forward to the challenge ahead.”

Meanwhile, if Fullarton Park is deemed playable, fifthplaced Marr will be looking for a haul of five league points to keep the pressure on Selkirk in the battle for the fourth play- off slot – but know that they will need to perform close to their best against a Jed- Forest side who have won their last three games on the bounce.

It will be a big occasion for Scott Bickerstaff, who is making his 250th appearance for Marr.