Juniors hit by cold snap
Gary Pews • Published 30 Jan 2012 13:00
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SHORT STAY: Former Greenock Juniors captain Thomas Docherty has been transfer listed by Dalry Thistle after moving to the Ayrshire club just after the start of the season.
ROCK solid pitches led to the postponement of the matches involving both Greenock and Port Glasgow Juniors on Saturday.
The Port's scheduled game at Vale of Clyde was called off just after 9am, when it was clear Fullarton Park was unplayable after the overnight frost.
And Greenock's much-anticipated top-of-the-table clash at Glasgow Perthshire was postponed just under two hours later.
The news came as no surprise, as almost the entire western region card was wiped out, with only two matches getting the go-ahead.
The games at Largs Thistle and the other which was played on an artificial 3G pitch in north Glasgow were the only survivors of the weekend weather.
This Saturday, it is Greenock's turn to travel to Vale of Clyde, while Port Glasgow are at Benburb.
But with below average temperatures and morning frosts forecast for the rest of this week, there are already fears of another weekend of inaction.
However, a number of issues off the field are providing fans of the local juniors scene with some talking points.
Port Glasgow have announced they are to temporarily return to Ravenscraig Stadium for their West of Scotland cup clash against St Roch's on Saturday 11 February.
With the internal refurbishment of the stadium not quite complete, the teams will be using the adjacent Inverclyde Academy for changing facilities.
With Greenock likely to follow suit in subsequent weeks, the news is a welcome boost after several weeks of away fixtures for both clubs, following the storm damage which closed the 3G pitch at Battery Park.
Meanwhile, the draw was made late last week for the opening two rounds of the Central League Cup.
It could have been a more favourable draw for the local teams, with neither being amongst the 25 sides given a bye into round two.
Greenock face a tough first round trip to fellow first division side Glasgow Perthshire, who are currently unbeaten in the league.
The reward for the victors is a tough away tie at Rutherglen Glencairn.
And Port Glasgow and St Roch's were paired together yet again, with the winners having a home tie against Super Premier League club Ashfield.
On the transfer front, Dalry Thistle have agreed to place former Greenock captain Thomas Docherty on the transfer list.
Docherty moved to the Ayrshire club just after the start of this season, after 14 years at Ravenscraig.
With just one win in 12 games, the newly-promoted Dalry have struggled to adapt to life in the Super League set-up, and already look to be facing an uphill battle to avoid an immediate return to the Ayrshire District League.
But Docherty says that is not the reason for his request to move on.
Docherty told the Tele: "There's a great bunch of boys at Dalry and I have enjoyed my time there.
"But the club has lost its training facilities in the Dalry area, and the sessions are now being held in Kilmarnock, which adds considerably to the travel time involved for me.
"On those nights, I am not getting back to Greenock until after midnight, so it is time to look for a club closer to home.
"Dalry are looking for a fee for me so I hope something can be worked out, but in the meantime I will be training with some local amateur teams."
This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 30 Jan 12
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