High battling to get back on track

Idle again last week as the weather put paid to their home league game against Jed-Forest – exactly the same as last season – Dundee HSFP will try to get back on track with a first win of 2017 at Musselburgh, writes Steve Scott.

High beat the East Lothian side more easily than the 38-25 scoreline suggests at Mayfield and, after a brief flirtation with relegation, it seems the Stoneyhill club have pulled to safety with big wins over Howe of Fife and Hamilton in their last two outings.

That leaves them just a point behind Dundee in eighth place in the division.

High would hope to have Alan Brown and Peter Redmayne available again this week to bolster the pack, while Blair Cochrane was set for a run in the centre against Jed before conditions prevented play.

Howe of Fife’s final real chance to escape relegation would appear to have ended in brave but ultimately losing fashion last week at Duffus Park, beaten by just a point against GHA.

Their chances of getting anything from promotion-chasing Edinburgh Accies – as impressive a side as this correspondent has seen in the division this year – are definitely slim.

Still there was plenty of fight in the performance last week, which augurs well for the future of the club even if that seems likely to be back in National Two now.

In National Two Kirkcaldy’s chance to make their sizeable gap over Ardrossan Accies almost unbreachable was lost to the weather.

Instead the Fifers go to fourth-placed Preston Lodge this week with their handy 16-point advantage intact, while the Ayrshiremen are in Aberdeenshire.

Perthshire’s 30-0 victory at Greenock sliced into the 12-point gap between them and Dalziel in the National three relegation battle, but there’s still some way to go.

It will be hard for Shire to make up any more ground at second-placed Lasswade, while the Motherwell side are hosting Orkney.

The one result from Caley One last week saw Glenrothes edge home in the Fife derby against Dunfermline and go second in the table behind Gordonians.

Glens are in Dundee to take on Harris this week.

Gordonians are at Stonehaven to take on Mackie.

Caithness and Alloa in Wick sees third take on fourth.