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Daily Mail
30-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
SPORTS DIGEST: New-look Bankies stir the soul as they move one step closer to a return to the senior game
Clydebank undoubtedly possess one of the most unique histories in the Scottish game, given their various incarnations over the years. But could the fifth version of the storied club be on the verge of returning to the senior game following a 23-year absence? The Bankies this week secured promotion to the Lowland League, the fifth tier of the Scottish game, after overcoming East of Scotland Premier Division champions Musselburgh Athletic 3-1 on aggregate in their two-legged play-off final. After a 1-1 draw away at the Olivebank Arena earlier this month, Clydebank emerged 2-0 winners after a fraught second leg at their own Holm Park, with club legend Nicky Little's 74th-minute penalty kick proving decisive. That means they are now just one more promotion away from returning to the senior set-up they departed in 2002 when they were bought out by Airdrieonians after years of decline following the controversial sale of their Kilbowie home. Sunday's win marked the highest point yet in the club's remarkable journey back from oblivion and it ensured the Bankies became the first West of Scotland Football League team to gain promotion via the pyramid structure, following recent domination of the Lowland League play-offs by their East of Scotland counterparts. It also put the seal on a campaign that will live long in the memory for supporters. The Bankies' current Holm Park ground will soon be playing host to Lowland League fixtures The club lost just once in the league all season, pushed Premiership side Hibernian all the way at Easter Road in the Scottish Cup and broke countless records along the way before securing promotion on Sunday. Manager Gordon Moffat, a former East Stirlingshire and Albion Rovers defender, said: 'It's the season of your dreams. 'When you're sitting in July talking about what you want to achieve and you have targets, then it's blown all of that away when you look at our league campaign and then topping it off with promotion. 'It keeps being called a season like no other and it's probably a good way to describe it.' The fact that 33-year-old Little had such a decisive role in the triumph was fitting given that he had broken a 50-year-old record for the most goals scored by any Bankies player in a single league campaign. 'His penalty kick was his 34th of the season. 'I had supporters telling me after the game that they'd seen Clydebank play Celtic in a Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden 35 years ago,' Little continued, 'and that the Musselburgh game was the biggest game in the club's history. 'That put the magnitude of what we've gone and achieved this year into perspective. It shows how much it meant. 'This team of boys will be spoken about in years to come, so to be part of that means a lot.' Scotland's golden boys can bring back feelgood factor This time last year, anticipation for Euro 2024 was reaching fever pitch as Steve Clarke's Scotland side made their final preparations before heading to Germany. Since that disastrous tournament, it's been a bit of a rollercoaster. Improved performances in the first Nations League fixtures went by without any reward, before wins over Croatia and Poland gave Clarke's men the chance to stay in Group A with a play-off against Greece. After doing the job in Piraeus, Scotland capitulated at Hampden in the second leg to relegate them to Group B. Confidence-wise, it feels like this team is starting from base camp again as they prepare for the upcoming friendlies against Iceland and Liechtenstein. But there are plenty of individuals who will feel on top of the world after success with their clubs. Andy Robertson just won the Premier League with Liverpool for the second time. Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour played key roles as Napoli lifted the Serie A title. Lewis Ferguson captained Bologna to the Coppa Italia, their first major trophy in 51 years. Max Johnston just lifted the Austrian title for the second consecutive year with Sturm Graz. They all bring momentum into a squad that badly needs a lift after the debacle at Hampden against Greece, and with the World Cup qualifiers getting underway in September. Perhaps most excitingly, Clarke can now build his team around the three golden boys playing in Italy. As well as the title, McTominay won Serie A Player of the Year in his debut campaign. He's become an icon in Naples and has long been an important part of Clarke's team, but looks like he's only getting better and better. Gilmour, meanwhile, has yet to establish himself as a regular starter under Antonio Conte but still played a key role at the business end of the season. Plus he brings a level of composure on the ball that no other Scotland player currently has. Ferguson has struggled to get into Clarke's favour and unfortunately missed out on the Euros last year with injury. But he can no longer be ignored by the national team coach. The prospect of those three making up a midfield trio is an enticing one and these friendlies offer an opportunity to see how it could work. Johnston is another who took a risk by moving abroad and the right-back is surely due an opportunity in these games. He's been an ever-present for the back-to-back Austrian champions. These games look the ideal chance for the 21-year-old to show what he can do. On the other side of the back four, Josh Doig could be in line for a first senior cap after helping Sassuolo win the Serie B title. As Clarke looks to build confidence heading into the World Cup qualifying campaign, there's certainly a lot to work with. All the recent silverware should give this squad a shot in the arm. Some may argue that the fact these are friendlies – and the timing of them – render the matches meaningless, but when a team seems to feed off momentum as much as this Scotland side, there is no such thing. Bloom investment adds to positive mood at Hearts In the immediate aftermath of a tough season for their club, fans are normally left scrambling to find reasons for optimism. That's not been the case for those of a Hearts persuasion these last couple of weeks. After a shambolic campaign that saw the Gorgie side tamely exit the Europa Conference League at the group stage, finish in the bottom half of the Premiership and dispense with two managers along the way, the Tynecastle faithful were desperate to see some positive movement in the close season. Thus far, their prayers have been answered. The Hearts hierarchy wasted no time in getting their new manager, Derek McInnes, in the door. The former Aberdeen and Kilmarnock boss has bags of experience and has the strong personality needed to be in charge at a big club. For an outfit keen to 'disrupt' things in Scotland's top flight, McInnes seems to fit the bill. Then came the news earlier this week that Tony Bloom's proposed £10m investment offer had been approved by the club's majority shareholders, the Foundation of Hearts (FoH). The Brighton owner's analytics firm had already established a partnership with the capital club to improve their recruitment strategy. Bloom certainly has lofty ambitions for the Tynecastle outfit and this new cash injection should be a big step towards them becoming a force in Scottish football again. 'We have a wonderful opportunity now, I believe, to begin to tackle the challenge of becoming a disruptor of the long-standing status quo in Scottish football,' FoH chairman Gerry Mallon said in a statement. 'It will take time, and it will require the continued – and indeed increased – financial commitment of Foundation members, current and new, to achieve this goal, but we have never been better placed to reach that position.' The club have also moved fast to improve their squad this summer, with Greek winger Alexandros Kyziridis set to join, Craig Gordon signing a new one-year deal and striker Elton Kabangu making his move from Union St Gilloise permanent after a successful loan spell. After a shambolic season, the mood music around Gorgie feels much more positive all of a sudden. It's very early days yet, but it's funny how quickly things can change. Ritchie has no regrets over missing out on Lions call Scotland back-rower Jamie Ritchie insists he is comfortable with the feeling that he did everything he possibly could to put himself in with 'a real shout' for British and Irish Lions selection. The 28-year-old Edinburgh forward was disappointed not to be included in Andy Farrell's squad for the summer tour of Australia after bouncing back strongly this season from a tough start to 2024 when he lost the Scotland captaincy. Speaking for the first time since his Lions snub three weeks ago, Ritchie told the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast: 'Personally, I feel like I'd done all I could in terms of how I performed and stuff, so I was comfortable with that. 'At the end of the day, it's down to someone's opinion and decision-making and what they feel they need in their squad. 'At that point, it's outside of my control. For 2021, I feel like I was further away than I was this year, but I was more upset then. 'I'm a bit more mature now in terms of how I react to these things. 'Obviously, it would have been nice to have that moment, but I'm comfortable with the performances that I've put in to put myself in the mix. I said this to my wife because she was quite upset when we watched it together. 'I said to her, if you look at the position we were in a year ago after Six Nations, where it hadn't gone the way I wanted to in terms of selection and missing out on the captaincy and humming and hawing about whether or not I was going to go on the summer tour, if we'd said we'd be sitting here at the Lions announcement day, feeling like we were in with a real shout and then disappointed when it didn't happen, we would absolutely have taken it. 'That's the perspective that I'm taking on at the moment. I felt like I did all I could. The call didn't come, and that's OK.' Asked if he had been given any indication that he might be on a standby list, Ritchie said: 'I spoke to JD (Lions and Scotland coach John Dalziel) afterwards around some of the thinkings around selection. 'I've not heard about anything official, but I'm just trying to stay fit and concentrating on playing well for Edinburgh.' Scots can make up ground in Tri-Nations series It might still be two years away, but Scotland's men's cricket side will next week continue their qualification bid for the 2027 Cricket World Cup. Doug Watson's Saltires face off against the Netherlands and Nepal twice each over the course of the next fortnight in a Tri-Nation Series at Forfarshire Cricket Club in Broughty Ferry, with results going towards the all-important Cricket World Cup League 2. The Scots are currently in a qualifying position in the eight-team table, sitting fourth, but have four tests in hands on most of their rivals. The Netherlands are in second place behind the United States and boast a formidable record at this level, but the Scots currently have the best net run rate (NRR) among all eight nations and will fancy their chances of moving closer to the head of the standings. Whatever happens, there will still be a long way to go before anything is decided... the qualification process runs until December 2026! In Nepal, the Scots face the current lowest-ranked nation, albeit the South Asians have eight tests in hand on some of the sides above them. Scotland kick off proceedings against Nepal on Monday before facing the Netherlands on Friday. They face Nepal againon June 8 before rounding off the one-day series against the Dutch on June 12. After that they will head to Clydesdale in Glasgow for four T20s against the same nations between June 15-20. Tickets for all matches are available on the Cricket Scotland website.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How Greenock Juniors could still be promoted as fears grow for future of rival club
GREENOCK JUNIORS may have missed out on promotion from the Third Division - but the Ravenscraig side could yet make the step up as fears grow for the future of one of their rivals. Having spent most of the season in the promotion places, Gary Fleming's men missed out after being overtaken by Threave Rovers in the final week of the campaign - with the Nock's 5-1 win at home to Lugar on the last day proving to be too little too late. Threave made the step up to the Second Division alongside Kilsyth Athletic and champions Thorn Athletic, with Greenock left to rue the 12 points dropped in the course of a five-match winless run during March. But events off the park elsewhere could yet see Greenock among the teams lining up in the Second Division for the 2025-26 campaign. All should become a little clearer when the Scottish Lowland League's AGM takes place in the coming days. READ MORE SPORT Skipper reveals efforts to extend his playing career after three years at Morton Wemyss Bay kid reflects on meteoric rise from Port Juniors to Scotland under 19s Morton to host in-person kit launch next weekend Morton boss to hold talks with Championship rival as race for hotseat nears climax That meeting will see administrative confirmation of Broomhill FC's relegation from the Lowland League to the West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL). Broomhill's place in the Lowland League will be taken by Clydebank, who secured promotion to the fifth tier when they completed a 3-1 aggregate win over Musselburgh Athletic in the second leg of the Lowland League play-off at Holm Park on Sunday. However, the Tele understands that neither the Lowland League nor the WoSFL has received any communication from Broomhill, who played their final game of the Lowland League season on April 25, a 2-1 win over Civil Service Strollers at Stenhousemuir's Ochilview Park. That has sparked fears that Broomhill, who have played their home matches at Dumbarton FC for the last two seasons as part of a five-year groundsharing deal, could fold. Should no communication be received from Broomhill by June 7, the date of the West of Scotland Football League's AGM, then the teams in fourth place in the WoSFL's First, Second, Third and Fourth Divisions will all be promoted - with Greenock one of the four teams who would benefit, along with Kilwinning Rangers, Lanark United and Easterhouse FA. Broomhill have played in the Lowland League since the club's formation as BSC Glasgow 2014-15, having previously groundshared with Maryhill, Alloa Athletic and then, for a single season, at Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld. The current BSC Glasgow team, which competed alongside Port Glasgow in the WoSFL's Fourth Division in 2024-25, split from Broomhill in 2021. There's also doubt over BSC Glasgow's future in the WoSFL after a torrid campaign which saw them finish bottom of the table, with just three points to their name and a total of 165 goals conceded - an average of 5.5 per game.
Daily Record
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Heartbroken wife of champion Lanarkshire bodybuilder pays tribute to her 'rock'
Jimmy Thomson, 87, claimed the Masters Over-40s British title at the age of 60 - one of his proudest achievements to date. A champion bodybuilder who left a lasting legacy to the sport in his hometown of East Kilbride has died aged 87. Paying a heartfelt tribute to Jimmy Thomson, his heartbroken wife Janice described the muscle man as her "rock" and an "amazing man" who loved helping others. The father-of-five, who suffered mobility issues in recent years, passed away in Hairmyres Hospital last Monday, April 14 following a bleed on the brain. Jimmy featured in the sport pages of the East Kilbride News over his glittering bodybuilding career claiming West of Scotland, Scottish and British titles during his time on the circuit and also winning bronze at the World Championships in 1997. That same year he claimed the Masters Over-40s British title at the age of 60 - one of his proudest achievements to date. Opening a gym at Duncanrig Sports Centre where he worked and creating a bodybuilding community through his fitness classes was, Janice said his "lasting legacy". Speaking to Lanarkshire Live, Janice said: "Jimmy was 44 when he started training and working in Duncanrig Sports Centre. He initiated the opening of a gym and his training really took off from there. "He started competing and taught bodybuilding classes at the gym which wasn't the norm back then but everyone was interested. He started it all so he's left a lasting legacy. "Jimmy competed for 20 years all over Scotland and England and even went to the world championships coming third place. He just loved it, it was his life. For his age, he was an amazing man. "Jimmy was outgoing and loved the limelight. He loved competing on stage and was just a lovely person. He was nice to everybody and treated everyone the same. He would help everybody." Whitehills couple Jimmy and Janice met in 1992 at Duncanrig Sports Centre while members of the bodybuilding club and after eight years, their friendship blossomed into a heavyweight romance, marrying in Jamaica in 2000. Despite a 26-year age gap, the couple's bond was as strong as ever as on weekdays Jimmy and Janice would get up at the crack of dawn to hit the gym for 6am. Janice added: 'We were the best of pals and training partners for 10 years until, I always joke, Jimmy wore me down. 'The two of us were at the same club and got to know each other through training and doing coaching classes. I couldn't believe how hard he trained. "He was besotted with me and would have done anything for me. He was my rock. I'm heartbroken, I've known him for 38 years. It's only just hitting me now what a big loss he will be. "But I've had great support from our family and friends." Jimmy is survived by his five children Elizabeth, Janie, Jamie, Corrine and Kirsty. A funeral service will be held at the Linn Crematorium on Tuesday, April 29 at 12pm.
