Talbot have been quick off the mark to release their pre-season fixtures which includes a glamour match at Beechwood with Kilmarnock.
Games start on Saturday the 6th of July when Talbot hosts East of Scotland 1st Division side Thornton Hibernian. The Hib’s were good enough this season to win their way into the EOSL middle division after a neck and neck battle with eventual winner Bo’ness Athletic who took the title with a single point.
The match pitches together two of the longest serving managers in the Scottish pyramid with Tucker 20 years at the helm while Craig Gilbert who was wrongly dubbed the longest serving manager in the Scottish Pyramid by BBC’s A view from the terrace has a mere 16 years
On Wednesday 10th July we head up to Pennyburn to play Kilwinning Rangers. This will be the first of three pre-season encounters with teams from the league below, and they will all be keen to get their pre-season preparations off to a decent start as this league looks much tighter this year with no obvious big spenders unlike the past two seasons.
This is followed by a double header on Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th July. Firstly we entertain Lowland League side Tranent on the Saturday in our annual friendly match. Although our visitors finished 21 points behind East Kilbride in last season’s title chase, the “Belters” proved to be a thorn in EK manager Mick Kennedy’s side by dumping them out the Scottish Cup and defeating them in the final of the Lowland League Cup.
The following day we have a visit from SPL side Kilmarnock which should pull a decent crowd to Beechwood considering Killie will be playing in Europe this season.
Talbot are under no illusions that Kilmarnock will probably send a youth squad to Beechwood, but its congratulations to the backroom staff for arranging such a difficult opposition.
Wednesday the 17th has us travelling to Irvine Meadow for a match against the relegated North Ayrshire side who should prove decent opposition as they will be desperate to bounce back out of the 1st Division.
Saturday the 20th we have a home tie to look forward to when 1st Division Thorniewood United come to Beechwood. United had a decent season consolidating the position in the 1st division and under the management of former Talbot legend David Gormley we should have a cracker of a match ahead.
All weekend matches have a 2pm kick off while the midweek encounters at Kilwinning & Meadow match are pencilled in for a 7.30pm start.
