Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Mark Pirie

Lowland League opening weekend frustrates Caledonian League boss Ricky Waddell

Boss Ricky Waddell admits it’s “frustrating” that the Caledonian Braves have been left out of the opening day Lowland League fixtures.

The 17-team tier have unveiled their fixtures list for the next campaign which is scheduled to kick off on October 10.

However, the Alliance Park men are the odd team out and miss out on a clash on the opening day.

Instead, The Braves will start their season the following Tuesday (October 13) with a trip to New Dundas Park to face Bonnyrigg Rose.

Gaffer Waddell says they have been building their pre-season around the first weekend.

He said: “I can’t lie we are frustrated that we have to wait for our first league game.

(Rodger Shearer/Caledonian Braves)

“These are the things that happen when you go with a 17-team league though.

“There is no way we want to be idle for the first weekend of the season.

"We knew it was a possibility that it could be us but it’s really disappointing that it’s us on the first day.

“We have been working back our pre-season from October 10 so this does change things.

“We will probably try and get a friendly sorted, but everyone will be playing by then.

Caley Braves will have to wait a little longer to kick-off (Dominic Cocozza/East Kilbride News)

“We will be a game behind everyone else, really, but we will try to find a positive out of a negative.”

The league have also revealed plans for Boxing Day and New Year’s Day fixtures in the 32-game season.

Waddell added: “I’ve been involved in football for a long time, and being in for training on Christmas or New Year’s Eve was a part of that.

"It’s not something we are concerned with and we will deal with it as best we can.”

Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on  Facebook or find us on  Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.