November 24 – Preview
Berwick head into November looking to put October behind them with six crucial games coming up.
Five consecutive defeats with two cup exits saw Thomas Scobbie’s side drop to 13th in the Lowland League but hopes are high that recent arrivals can help propel them back up the table.
November sees six games on the slate including one cup tie and four consecutive home games.
All games 3pm kick off unless stated
Saturday November 2 – Broxburn Athletic (A)
November kicks off with a first ever visit to Albyn Park to face Broxburn Athletic.
Stevie Pittman’s side have made an encouraging start to their season in the Lowland League, sitting 6th in the table having collected 24 points in their first 14 games. Their start has been largely powered by the goals of Errol Douglas (11), contributing just over a third of their goals scored on his own and only being outscored in the Lowland League by Cameron Elliot (East Kilbride, 15); Ross McNeil (Caledonian Braves, 14) and Daniel Cummings (Celtic B, 12).
This won’t be the first time the two sides have met with Broxburn, then in the East of Scotland Premier Division, winning a South Challenge Cup Second Round tie on penalties at Shielfield back in October 2021.
Tickets will be priced at £10 for adults, £6 for concessions, £3 for 12-16s with under 12s going free.
Tuesday November 5 – Bo’ness United (A, 7:45pm)
Just over a month after meeting Bo’ness at Shielfield Park, Berwick make the midweek journey north to take on Stuart Hunter’s side once again.
Bo’ness are unbeaten in the five games since their 1-0 victory at Shielfield including securing their progression in both the South Challenge and Scottish Cups.
United have a strong record at Newtown Park, losing just once this season at home on the opening day against University of Stirling. Before that, their previous home defeat in any competition came in December 2023.
However, Berwick’s away form has been relatively strong this season with 10 of their 14 league points coming away from Shielfield while Berwick’s only win against Bo’ness came at Newtown Park back in 2022.
Tickets will be priced at £10 for adults, £7 for concessions with under 12s going free with a paying adult.
Saturday November 9 – Albion Rovers (H)
The beginning of a six game home stretch spanning November and December sees Albion Rovers visit Shielfield.
Sandy Clark’s side had the stingiest defence in the Lowland League in their first season in the fifth tier but this season has seen just four clean sheets with their most recent in their 5-0 win over University of Stirling being their first since late August.
They do sit 8th in the Lowland League currently thanks to a joint league high 5 draws (shared with Caledonian Braves, Celtic B, Cowdenbeath and Gala Fairydean Rovers) with only Braves (0), Celtic B (1) and East Kilbride (2) losing fewer times than Albion (3) thus far.
The two sides split the games last season with both winning their home tie. Albion took all three points in a poor game last October thanks to a brilliant Bright Price goal in what proved to be Stuart Malcolm’s last game in charge of Berwick before the final game of the season saw Jackson Mylchreest score after just 8 seconds in a 2-1 victory.
Tickets will be priced at £10 for adults, £5 for concessions with under 16s going free.
Saturday November 16 – Armadale Thistle (H)
The East of Scotland Qualifying Cup run continues with the Third Round visit of Armadale Thistle to Shielfield.
Colin Strickland’s East of Scotland Second Division side have had a storming start to the season, losing just once in all competitions and sitting six points clear at the top of their league, dropping just two points so far. They progressed to this stage of the competition by easing past Peebles Rovers 4-2 in the Second Round.
For Berwick, victory would equal the best ever result achieved in the competition matching last season’s run to the Fourth Round before losing at a torrentially wet Dunipace.
The winners of this tie will travel to Crossgates Primrose in the Fourth Round who won by the odd goal in 9 against Dalkeith Thistle.
Tickets will be priced at £10 for adults, £5 for concessions with under 16s going free.
Saturday November 23 – Cowdenbeath (H)
The following weekend sees familiar faces visit in Lowland League action when Cowdenbeath come to town.
Dougie Hill finished his playing days with Berwick last season and moved into the dugout at Cowdenbeath but has had a slow start to the season with the Blue Brazil sitting in 15th place, with just two league wins to their name. They have progressed to the Third Round of the Scottish Cup, knocking out League Two Spartans in the process.
Last season, Cowdenbeath came to Shielfield and delivered a professional performance to run out 2-0 winners before Berwick went to Central Park in March and demolished the home side 4-1.
Tickets will be priced at £10 for adults, £5 for concessions with under 16s going free.
Saturday November 30 – Hearts B (H)
November ends with the rearranged fixture against Hearts B in the Lowland League.
The two sides met back in August where the ruthless young Jambos ran out 6-1 winners in a display of unerring finishing and deep Berwick frustration. Liam Fox’s side have never lost to Berwick at Shielfield Park but both previous games have been draws while the young Jambos have hit 6 in the three meetings at their homes.
Hearts’ poor form since that victory over Berwick – three points from a possible 24 – means that, at the time of writing, Berwick sit just two places and one point behind the young Jambos in the Lowland League table.
Tickets will be priced at £10 for adults, £5 for concessions with under 16s going free.
