Category: East of Scotland First Division

Lewis Hall: Vale ready for new campaign

After eight months without competitive football, the Vale get the new Lowland League campaign under way on Saturday (10 October) with the opening day match away to Berwick Rangers.

Lewis Hall, the club’s newly appointed Vice Captain, looks ahead to the new season: “It’s been a long period without a competitive game so I’m sure the whole team along with me are really excited to finally get back at it. 

I believe we will definitely improve on the results and the position we ended up last year. Personally I want to start contributing more in the sense of setting up and scoring goals myself, last season was my first ever season where I’ve not managed to get on the score sheet. So that’s something I can improve on. 

Last year was my first in the lowland league, so it was a difficult start. I think coming up from a successful Spartans 20s team maybe made me underestimate the pace and quality of the league and the amount of hard work you have to put in. This pre season I’ve put in the extra running and workouts on top of training to ensure I’m fit and ready to start the season as best I can. Especially because I’ve learnt from last year how important it is to get a good start to the season, so we want to get points on the board as soon as we can. 

I think we will compete much better this season and won’t suffer any big defeats like last year. We’ve got a fairly new squad but I think the players who have come in have brought a fresh mentality and style of play into the squad. We’ve shown in pre season that we can score goals and get big results when we work hard. So I’m excited to see how we fair in the upcoming campaign.”

Berwick Rangers v Vale of Leithen kicks off at 3pm and is a behind closed doors march due to current restrictions. You can get updates on the match by following the Vale’s twitter account @ValeLeithen

League Fixtures Released

Competitive football will begin on Saturday 10 October when we open the Lowland League season away at Berwick Rangers.

Our first home game will be on Tuesday 13 October against newly promoted Bo’ness United.

There will be a New Year’s Border Derby on 4th January, when we host Gala Fairydean at Victoria Park.

Vice Chairman John Anderson “Everyone is delighted that football is getting under way again. Initially the games will be behind closed doors but we hope spectators will be allowed back into grounds.”

Manager Chris Anderson said: “All the boys are eager to get started. We all want to get off to a good start and build momentum. Everyone is looking forward to 10th October.”

A full list of fixtures are on the club website – valeofleithen.co.uk

SQUAD UPDATE: Trio confirmed for next season

The club are delighted to confirm that Michael Robertson, Calum Oneil, and Ryan Higgins have signed up for next season. All three were committed members of last year’s squad, and we are pleased they have decided to remain committed to the club.

We can also confirm that Paul Thomson, Liall Smith, and Liam Ireland have left the club to continue their football elsewhere. We thank them for their time at the club and wish them well.

Manager Chris Anderson has made a number of new signings over the close season and we will be announcing further additions in due course.

Ando add striker to squad

Manager Chris Anderson has signed striker Jonny Grotlin to the squad for next season.

Chris said: “I’ve tried to sign Jonny for a while as he always impressed me at Spartans with his attitude and potential. I’m delighted he’s signed for us having had a number of offers and I’m sure he can’t wait to get started.”

Jonny Grotlin played for Preston Athletic last season.

Ndiweni joins the Vale

Chris Anderson announces his latest addition to the squad. Donovan Ndiweni join the Vale from Preston Athletic. Chris said: “I would like to welcome Donovan to the Vale and I’m sure he will make a big impact next season.”