Forget Pollok, Clydebank, Auchinleck and Lochee it's…

Forget Pollok, Clydebank, Auchinleck and Lochee it's all about Johnstone Burgh v Ardeer Thistle - Loony Joons

There's a fixture which stands out as the most important of the lot in the juniors today ... even if the result doesn't matter a jot.

Forget Clydebank vs Pollok, tantalising as that may be. Look past Whitburn v Lochee United despite the fact it has a crucial bearing on the east Superleague title race.

Even the West of Scotland Cup quarter finals can take a back seat for now.

Because no matter how important those games are, none have quite the bearing on any club that the friendly between Johnstone Burgh and Ardeer Thistle has.

There's no mention of the Keanie Park clash on the fixture list.

But if anyone is at a loose end then the friendly between the two sides struggling at the foot of the bottom division should be their port of call.

Why? Because the more people through the gates at Keanie then the more chance Ardeer have of surviving the latest hammer blow struck by sick vandals at their home in Stevenston.

The firebugs torched a cabin and the club's hospitality area at Ardeer Stadium last week, leaving the club facing a hefty sum in damage and lost revenue.

Ardeer management team Paul Kellington and Jim Catterson (Irvine Herald)

Sickeningly it's the second time this season the Ayrshire side has been hit in the pocket because of vandals. As if their disastrous campaign couldn't get worse.

Sitting bottom of the bottom division in the west and just a few months after the heaviest defeat in the club's history, the brassed off Jags committee could be forgiven for thinking enough is enough.

They say they can't afford to insure the property any more such is the frequency of damaging attacks.

Thankfully the junior fraternity is at its best in times of need. Various clubs have stepped up to help none more so than the Burgh who hastily arranged today's friendly with all gate receipts going to Ardeer.

Hurlford United donate cash to Ardeer Thistle who had their ground set on fire by heartless vandals

So with the sun set to shine on Keanie I'd suggest anyone at a loose end gets along to bolster the attendance - and Ardeer's hopes.

The Burgh themselves know all too well the cost of vandalism having been targeted in recent years. As do Forth Wanderers, Kilsyth Rangers, Benburb, Carnoustie Panmure, Dunipace and no doubt a few others.

What the hell the heartless hoodlums think they're achieving is beyond me. But I know what I'd do with them. Restorative justice has to be the ideal solution here.

Make these scumbags work for a year for the club they've attacked. Make them turn out on match day and help the volunteers set-up, run the gate, manage the pie stall, do the paperwork, maintain the park and everything else that goes on behind the scenes.

All after they've been forced to rebuild what they've destroyed.

Maybe then they'd learn a bit about values, community spirit and selflessness.

I wish Ardeer and their committee well. It's not so long ago they were a Superleague side.

And if there's one feature more than any other that makes the junior game attractive then it's possibility for any club to go on a charge through the divisions.

Ardeer Thistle's ground set on fire by heartless vandals