August Preview – 25-26
The Dream Team are back!
Berwick open the first six weeks of competitive action with 9 games across three different competitions. This previews looks ahead at to what will be a busy August.
All games 3pm KO unless otherwise stated
August 2nd – Broxburn Athletic (A)
The following Saturday sees Berwick make their way around the Edinburgh Bypass to get to Albyn Park to face Broxburn Athletic.
The Brox’s first season in Tier 5 started very well but petered out a little toward the end although the did finish in a very respectable 7th place. They were helped by the outstanding form of striker Errol Douglas who was one of only five players to bag more than 20 league goals last season and subsequently was rewarded with a new contract in the summer.
Steve Pittman has attempted to freshen up his squad with familiar faces such as Gary Brass and Marky Munro moving on while recruiting players with good Lowland League experience and pedigree including Marcus Lavery (Albion Rovers), Robbie McGale (Cumbernauld Colts), Matty McDonald, Jamie Docherty, Ewan McPherson (all Cowdenbeath) and Louis Kennedy (Bo’ness United).
This will be just the fourth meeting between the two sides with Berwick only holding the single victory – the 4-1 win at Shielfield that secured Lowland League football for this season. The only other trip to Albyn Park was back in November when Broxburn ran out comfortable 3-0 winners.
Tickets will be priced at £10 for adults, £7 for concessions, £3 for 12-16s and U12s going free.
August 5th – Dunipace (H, 7:45pm)
The East of Scotland Qualifying Cup kicks off as Berwick welcome East of Scotland Premier Division side Dunipace to MKM Shielfield.
Berwick’s run to semi finals last season was by far their best run since relegation from the SPFL in 2019 although there was a palpable sense of frustration at the defeat to Dunbar back in April.
Visitors Dunipace are preparing for their second consecutive campaign in Tier 6 after a 6th place finish following promotion in 2024. Their cup campaign was ended at the first hurdle last season with a 3-1 away defeat to Oakley United although they did make the semi finals in 2023/24.
That run to the semis saw Dunipace knock out Berwick in the only meeting between the two sides. On a day Michael Phelps would have called race conditions, Alex Harris was shown an early red card and Berwick eventually succumbed to a 2-0 defeat.
Tickets will be priced at £10 for adults, £5 for concessions with U16s going free.
August 9th – East Stirlingshire (H)
The relentless early season pace continues as Berwick welcome another former SPFL foe to MKM Shielfield as East Stirlingshire come to town.
Pat Scullion enters his third season in charge at Shire and he will be hoping that his side start the season much better than his previous two campaigns. For a good portion of the early months, Shire looked like a side that would struggle in 2024/25 but, by the turn of the year, that had shifted to a side that secured a top half finish in the Lowland League.
Summer business has been fairly lowkey with the biggest summer news being that Shire are returning to play at Ochilview in Stenhousemuir rather than Falkirk Stadium. However, Shire have continued their recent policy of looking for young, hungry players to bring in, securing former Berwick loanee Ben Lamont on a permanent deal while top scorer in 24/25 Lucas McRoberts returns on loan from Ayr United.
In the backline, Ben Hobbs (Kelty Hearts, loan) and Chris Inglis (Spartans) arrive to fill the void left by the departures of Devan McColl (Albion Rovers) and Sam Campbell (Clyde) while striker Jamie Penker (Civil Service Strollers) has also departed.
Ticket information to be confirmed.
August 16th – Caledonian Braves (A)
The South Challenge Cup also begins in August with Berwick not receiving a bye in Round 1, instead travelling to Alliance Park to take on Caledonian Braves.
Both sides will be looking to go much further than 2025/26 where Berwick were unceremoniously dumped out by Threave Rovers while Braves made it one step further before falling to Vale of Clyde.
Berwick have never gone further than the third round of this competition but Braves have had a couple of deep runs, making the semis twice and the quarter finals once in previous years.
Berwick travel to Alliance Park having not defeated Braves in 90 minutes since July 2021 although they do have a cup victory at Alliance Park when Thomas Kay was the shootout hero in a Lowland League Cup tie back in February 2024.
Tickets will be priced at £8 for adults, £4 for concessions with U16s going free.
August 19th – Civil Service Strollers (H, 7:45pm)
The final home game in August is another midweek affair as Civil Service Strollers make the journey south in the Lowland League.
Gary Jardine’s side recorded their fourth consecutive top half finish in the Lowland League after another summer of transfer upheaval and it appears that, despite it being a quieter summer, they will be one of the more difficult teams to face in the Lowland League once again this season.
The arrivals of Jamie Penker (East Stirlingshire) and Ross Pollock (Heriot-Watt University) look to be good signings who will slot in perfectly to Jardine’s side but they did lose young Sonny Aluko to Albion Rovers.
Strollers will be hoping to build on their 4-1 victory at MKM Shielfield back in December, which was their first victory in Berwick since August 2019.
Tickets will be priced at £10 for adults, £5 for concessions with U16s going free.
August 23 – Cumbernauld Colts (A)
Berwick’s August ends with two longer trips west with the first being a trip to Broadwood to face Cumbernauld Colts.
John Doyle’s appointment as Colts boss in January took a while to pay dividends but Colts would eventually pull away from the foot of the Lowland League and finish 14th, two places and a point above Berwick.
With a full summer to work with, Doyle has seen the likes of Zak McKay (Morton), Yan Gromov (Stenhousemuir) and Robbie McGale (Broxburn) depart with returning favourites Callum Home and Billy Mortimer coming back from spells at Albion Rovers to help fill the gaps.
The additions of young midfielder Ji Stevenson (Annan) and Josh Jack (Cumnock) give Doyle additional options further up the pitch while Adam Fernie (Albion), Liam Allison (Linlithgow Rose) and Harry Broun (Broomhill) arrive to help further shore up what was on the leakiest defences in the Lowland League.
Berwick will also be looking to end a six match winless run at Broadwood including three consecutive defeats that culminated in being swept aside 3-0 last August.
Tickets will be priced at £10 for adults, £5 for concessions with U16s going free.
August 30th – Clydebank (A)
August ends with a first time matchup (in their current guise) as Berwick travel to Holm Park to face newly promoted Clydebank.
Gordon Moffat’s Bankies cruised to the West of Scotland Premier Division title last season before defeating Musselburgh to gain promotion to Tier 5 for the first time and will be looking to kick on and challenge at the top end of the Lowland League.
With a settled core built around captain and record goalscorer Nicky Little, Moffat has opted for quality over quantity from the West region with striker Stuart McCann (Johnstone Burgh), wide man Neil McLaughlin (St Cadoc’s) and keeper Owen Stott (Beith Juniors) providing experienced depth.
The last meeting between Berwick Rangers and the original iteration of Clydebank that took place was one of historic significance as it would prove to be the final game in the original club’s history – a 2-0 win for the Dream Team in a League One game at Shielfield in April 2002.
Tickets information to be confirmed.
