Monthly Preview (July/August)
Three months on from the 4-2 victory over Bo’ness United that ended 2025/26, Berwick Rangers are once again gearing up for a return to competitive action.
Kevin Haynes’ new(ish) looking side open the season with NINE games in a little over a month spanning three competitions and 874 miles of travelling.
An unbeaten pre-season against some strong opposition and featuring three clean sheets has hopes high that the ‘Gers can improve on the 8th placed finish last season.
All kick offs 3pm unless otherwise stated
Saturday July 25 – Lochee United (A)
The new Lowland League East season begins with a first ever trip to Thomson Park in Dundee as we travel to newly promoted Lochee United.
Steven Fallon’s side finished 5th in the Midlands Premier Division last season but, due to some clubs not having required licensing and others declining promotion, United were the side that made the step up a level.
United will certainly be a stern test on the opening day given that they scored over 100 goals in the Midlands Premier Division and also contain players such as former Hearts defender Kevin McHattie, who has over 130 appearances in the top two tiers of Scottish football to his name. Fallon has also added to his side in the summer with youngsters such as Finlay Allan (Dundee) and Harry Welsh (Dundee United) looking to make steps in senior football while familiar faces from the Midlands Premier like striker Ruari Henry and centre half Paul Scobie (both Broughty Athletic) take the opportunity to play up a level.
Tickets will be priced at £10 for adults and £5 for concessions and U16s.
Saturday August 1 – Hill of Beath Hawthorn (H)
The home opener at MKM Shielfield Park sees Berwick face another newly promoted side when Hill of Beath Hawthorn travel south.
Robbie Raeside’s Haws side completed a double last season, winning the East of Scotland Premier League and League Cup to secure their promotion to tier 5. It has been a quiet summer for the Haws with Raeside focusing on keeping the core of his squad together with key men like former Berwick midfielder Calum Adamson penning contract extensions over the summer.
They did lose top scorer Jordan Tosh to Linlithgow Rose while midfielder Paul Simpson departed for St Andrews United. Haws will be looking to follow in the footsteps of recent Premier League winners like Linlithgow and Tranent and compete at the top end of the Lowland League East.
Berwick and Haws have met twice previously, both in the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup. The first, at Keir’s Park in January 2021, saw Lewis Baker score twice for Stuart Malcolm’s Berwick but that wasn’t enough and Hill of Beath ran out 4-2 winners. More recently, the sides met at Shielfield in a quarter final tie where first half goals from Craig Smith, Ben Scarborough and Liam Buchanan secured a comfortable 3-0 win.
Tickets will be priced at £13 for adults, £8 for concessions with U16s going free
Tuesday August 4 – Linton Hotspur (H, 7:45pm)
The first midweek game of the season sees Berwick make their first steps into the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup when Linton Hotspur are the visitors.
Linton will be playing another season in the East of Scotland Second Division (in the new south east region for 26/27) after a 10th placed finish last season. Last season, Linton made it to the Fourth Round of the competition after knocking out Premier League Newtongrange Star and First Division Leith Athletic before falling to eventual First Division champions Armadale Thistle.
The two sides did meet in a friendly last October at New Moor Road where Berwick cruised to a 6-1 victory – Greg Binnie, Mikey Mbewe, Jonny Devers, Liam Buchanan and a Taylor Hendry brace doing the job for Berwick.
Tickets will be priced at £13 for adults, £8 for concessions with U16s going free
Saturday 8 August – Brechin City (A)
It’s back to league action and a familiar away day for older fans of the club as Berwick travel to Glebe Park to face Brechin City.
It will be a first league meeting between the sides in Brechin since March 2008 when Brechin romped to a 5-0 victory in a Division 2 season that would see Berwick finish rock bottom. Since then, both sides have dropped out of the SPFL although City have been closer to returning in their years in the Highland League, consistently battling for the title but losing out on goal difference in each of the last 4 seasons.
League restructuring means they move from Highland to Lowland and Andy Kirk has moved to supplement a strong squad containing SPFL experience in the form of Cillian Sheridan, Scott Fraser, Brad McKay and former Berwick loanee Euan Spark. Kirk has managed to lure Dale Hilson (Stirling Albion), Greig Young (Tranent), Kyle Bell (Broxburn), Kyle Gourlay (Kelty Hearts) and Adam Meek (Spartans) to Glebe Park.
Tickets are priced at £12 for adults, £8 for concessions and young adults (16-17) with U15s £5.
Tuesday 11 August – Hearts B (H, 7:45pm)
Another midweek game sees Berwick enter their third competition of the season as Hearts B visit to kick off the KDM Evolution Trophy group stage.
The young Jambos will be familiar foes to Berwick fans after four seasons of Lowland League competition and confidence in a good start will be high after last season’s league double over Hearts – a 2-0 home win in September (Devers, Buchanan) before a 3-1 win at Ainslie Park where two headers from Buchanan and another from Mbewe secured the three points.
Hearts participated last season being one of only two B teams to make it past the group stage, finishing 22nd before losing out in the Second Round to eventual Championship winners St Johnstone.
Berwick’s last Challenge Cup appearance came in the 2024/25 season where a 3-2 First Round defeat to St Mirren B was overturned after the Buddies fielded an ineligible player. Berwick would then travel to Dumbarton in the Second Round and get comprehensively outplayed and dumped out 4-0.
Tickets will be priced at £13 for adults, £8 for concessions with U16s going free
Saturday 15 August – University of Stirling (H)
Lowland League East action returns to MKM Shielfield Park as University of Stirling make the trip south.
Chris Geddes’ students continue to impress by being so competitive in the Lowland League despite the challenge of constant squad turnover. This summer remains no different with five regular starters departing including top scorer Finn Moffett (Kelty Hearts), midfielders Ben Heal (Spartans) and James Malcolm, goalkeeper Adam Buttigieg and attacker Nathan Tallen.
Uni have a strong recent record against Berwick, going unbeaten against the ‘Gers last season including a 5-2 win at Forthbank in November before the two sides played out a tough late season goalless draw at MKM Shielfield.
Tickets will be priced at £13 for adults, £8 for concessions with U16s going free
Saturday 22 August – Bonnyrigg Rose (H)
The final home game of August sees Bonnyrigg Rose make their way down the A1 in Lowland League East action.
Jonny Stewart’s side looked to be in pole position to win the Lowland League last season but a rough run at the end of the season put paid to hopes of an immediate bounceback to the SPFL as they finished 3rd.
As a result, they did lose a couple of key men in the form of top scorer Cameron Ross (East Fife), experienced wide man Kallum Higginbotham (Kelty Hearts) and goalkeeper Ross Connelly (Caledonian Braves). To replace them, in came forwards Jordan Smith (Musselburgh Athletic) and Mackenzie Scott (Spartans); keeper Jack Lyon on loan from Hearts and wide man Bradley Barrett. Stewart also looked to solidify his defensive options further with the signings of Spartans duo Kieran Watson and Josh Laing.
Berwick played Bonnyrigg three times last season in three very close and entertaining affairs. Greg Binnie’s late penalty secured a dramatic 4-3 win at Ferguson Park in September but Rose got a measure of revenge back in February by dumping Berwick out of the Lowland League Cup at MKM Shielfield. The final fixture at the end of March saw goals from Harry Wright and Taylor Hendry secure a point for Berwick and dent Bonnyrigg’s title challenge.
Tickets will be priced at £13 for adults, £8 for concessions with U16s going free
Tuesday 25 August – Annan Athletic (A, 7:45pm)
The first away game of the KDM Evolution Trophy campaign sees Berwick make a trip along the border to League 2 Annan.
Willie Gibson’s side finished 7th in their first campaign back in League 2 last season after relegation and have seen some turnover as they hope to push back toward the play-offs. With forwards Tommy Goss (Threave Rovers) and Myles Gaffney (East Fife) leaving, in came Ally Roy (Dumbarton) and Corey O’Donnell (Stranraer) while defensive reinforcements Daniel Martins (Caledonian Braves), Aaron Muirhead (Arbroath) and Kirk McKnight (Stranraer) also arrived.
Annan got out of the group stage in last season’s Challenge Cup in 12th place which included a 2-1 away win at League 1 Hamilton. They couldn’t repeat the trick in the second round and fell to League 1 title chasers Stenhousemuir 2-0.
Berwick’s last visit to Galabank was back in April 2019 during the club’s last season in the SPFL where Johnny Harvey’s side were dismantled 6-0 in what was Annan’s biggest win since joining the SPFL. That also added to a miserable record for Berwick at Galabank where the ‘Gers have not won since April 2011 when a Damon Gray brace and Paul Currie goal secured a 3-2 victory for Jimmy Crease’s side.
Tickets will be priced at £18 for seating, £16 for standing, £12 for concessions, £6 for kids aged 12-16 with U12s £3.
Saturday 29 August – Broxburn Athletic (A)
The final game of a hectic first few weeks of the season sees Berwick travel to Albyn Park to face Broxburn Athletic.
John Millar’s side would see their season follow the same pattern as their debut campaign in the Lowland League with a strong start eventually petering out into poor results and falling away from the top sides. Broxburn would not win any of their final eight games last season to finish just one place and three points above Berwick in 7th.
Improving defensively appears to have been the priority for the Brox with Matthew Shaw (Civil Service Strollers), Jake Service (Gretna) and Quinn Mitchell (Edinburgh City) all adding defensive depth while Sam Jones (Tranent) and Morgaro Gomis (East Stirlingshire) add experience and steel in the centre of midfield. Matthew Wallace (Pollok) and Kyle King (Caledonian Braves) arrive in goal after the departures of Bob Watt (Edinburgh United) and Jack McConnell.
Broxburn completed the double over Berwick, inflicting the two biggest defeats on Kevin Haynes’ side last season. A 5-0 defeat at Albyn Park last August was followed by a 5-0 home defeat where Berwick played more 75 minutes down a man after Taylor Hendry’s red card.