Promotion scrap thrills Tranent boss

TRANENT boss Tam Shields has heaped praise on his young side for keeping themselves in the thick of the South Division promotion scrap.

With just one place up for grabs, it’s going to be quite a battle between now and the end of the season in the third flight.

Dalkeith, Falkirk and Tranent are all locked together on 30 points, four ahead of Fauldhouse, with Dunbar, Blackburn, Whitburn and Haddington still in the hunt as well.

“In my three years at Tranent, I’d say this is definitely the closest in terms of the title race,” said Shields. “And, given we’re such a young team, we are delighted to still be in the mix heading into the final few months of the season.”

As Dalkeith and Falkirk were sharing the spoils in their top-of-the-table clash last week, Tranent won 3-1 at home to Blackburn. It was a bonus for the top three that Fauldhouse, the title favourites, slipped up on the same day at home to Spartans.

“Fauldhouse have games in hand on the teams above them but it’s wide open and I certainly wouldn’t discount the likes of Haddington,” added Shields, whose side have been boosted by 22 goals from striker Andy Scott. “Most of the teams up there have more experience than us, but we’re determined to stay in the mix as long as we possibly can and see where that takes us.”

Tomorrow Tranent are at home to Harthill while Dalkeith are away to Fauldhouse, the latter fixture having been reversed. Haddington are at Falkirk, while Spartans entertain Arniston in the East of Scotland Cup. Fauldhouse’s match with Dalkeith will now take place in West Lothian.