CASTLECHARGE ONWARD
Manager hailed in quest for championship victory
Doune Castle are on the verge of sealing memorable back-to-back titles as they eye up a sensational league championship victory this weekend.
The Moray Park outfit are one game away from sealing the Caledonian Premier Division, having won the First Division title last season.
Castle sealed back-to-back Caledonian Premier Division titles in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
However, in 2016-17 a rebuilt side finished mid table and were relegated at the end of the following season.
The plan this term was to stay in the league and solidify their status as a Premier Division team. However, under new boss George Ward Castle have been one of the divisions most dangerous sides and are now just one victory from claiming a memorable title win.
Castle set up the title tilt with an emphatic 7-0 hammering of St Joseph’s on Wednesday that has put them within touching distance of the title.
Goals from Sean Wilbert, Jack Wardrope, Alan Inglis, Christopher Macdonald, Grant Craig, Tam Nelson
– and even Castle goalkeeper Allan Pacitti – got on the scoresheet.
It now means Castle just need to beat the division’s basement boys, Cambria, this weekend to win the league.
Club official, Ian Sommerville, said: “Under George Ward, in his first season we won the First Division title last year. Our realistic ambition this year was to consolidate our league position and hopefully enjoy decent runs in the national cups. We’ve done what no other side has done in Caledonian League history – winning the Premier Division title as a promoted side. And, of course, we won the East of Scotland Cup for the third time and reached the quarter final of the Scottish Amateur Cup.”
At one stage, Doune trailed East Kilbride YM by a considerable margin due a fixture backlog. But Castle has put the points on the board to propel themselves firmly into the driving seat.
Ian added: “Our runs in these two cups meant we were so many games behind long-term league leaders East Kilbride YM who rattled games and points on the board and set us an incredibly challenging target to catch them. We enjoyed a run of 16 wins and 2 draws to do just that. So, it’s been a remarkable resurgence.”