The Lone Rangers

[DerbyJack]

We want stability this season, the tension around Shielfield Park has brought many fans to breaking point over the last two seasons but with the dawning of a new one, The Borderers faithful are gearing up for a potentially positive season.​

1st July 2017
Friendly

Every time we play Portsmouth we at least can travel back up north with something in the bag, once again picking up a creditable draw in an efficient display again the League One strugglers all be it courtesy of a fortunate own goal.


5th July 2017
Friendly

Coventry are stuck in league one, desperate to escape and having just balanced the books, their a club potentially on the rise, however we still managed to give the sky blues a run for their money with only a narrow goal gifting them with the victory.


9th July 2017
Friendly

Having sunk back into the Skrill Premier League, Cheltenham aren't exactly good fortunes of late and following a solid display from a young team we managed to pick up a well earned victory, our first ever against English opposition.


13th July 2017
Friendly

Making the journey back up North we stopped in at our neighbours Gateshead, however the non league side proved to be more then capable of giving us an unwelcome return to the border as we fall to another early goal that leaves more then a slight worry for the Berwick faithful.


17th July 2017
Friendly

We welcome non league side Team Northumbria to Shielfield for our penultimate game of the season. The team that covers our entire region we're put firmly in our shadow as we dominated the minnows with our young players enjoying the run out, with all three goals coming from players under Twenty.


21st July 2017
Friendly

The last game of the pre-season saw one of the Biggest teams in Berwicks long history make their way to Sheilfield Park, as the Toon Army made the rare journey up North. The Premier League side where in no mood to take things easy however running out comfortable winners, with new signing Michu picking up a clinical brace that left Jordan Lowery helpless.

A mixed bag as our traditional pre-season see's us fall way short of the standard of Championship football in our home nation, highlighting a dramatic gulf in class between the two countries domestic leagues, however a rare victory atleast gives hope of one day bridging the gap.​

 

[Sketchkov]

Glad this story's back up mate, enjoying it immensely!

 

[DerbyJack]

Ah cheers man, really appreciate it. I'm still enjoying it, actually getting a bit too far ahead of myself and forgetting to update here!​

29th July 2017
Ramsdens Challenge Cup - First Round

In the cup that gifted us our only silverware of my career we set about in our attempts to reclaim the trophy with a rampant victory against Airdrie coming courtesy of the only Scots man still carving out a career in Berwick, Josh Morris. The lethal finisher netted four goals to send us cruising into the next round

 

[DerbyJack]

5th August 2017
Scottish League Cup - First Round

Our good fortune in the Ramsdens Challenge Cup is quickly replaced by disappointment in the League Cup. Neither competition barely gifts us with any additional funds but a much needed reputation boost could hopefully turn the team to a more professional status however it looks like we're stuck as a semi-professional for a while now.


12th August 2017
Scottish Championship

Dunfermline have made a huge impact in the Championship narrowly missing out on the Premiership by the narrowest of margins over the last few seasons and having done the hard work in the early stages of the game they've already set about making the third attempt, the charm. A red card for new signing Hayden on his debut added to the first game blues.


15th August 2017
Ramsdens Challenge Cup - Second Round

It appears I've signed a lunatic. With his suspension in the league still under review, Hayden added to his increasingly poor reputation with another red card as we struggled to overcome lowly Stirling with only the competitions top scorer, Josh Morris, once again coming to the rescue. We're still in with a shot at the trophy though.


19th August 2018
Scottish Championship

Falkirk just can't get to grips with this league, having failed in every attempt at a return to the Premier League and dropping points against the team many booked as favourites for a relegation scrap has done little to boost there confidence this season. Non the less we returned to Berwick with a very welcome point.


26th August 2017
Scottish Championship

Having picked up a valuable point against Falkirk we picked up our first victory of the season as we sneaked past the worryingly poor Hamilton. Emile Heskey bagged his first of the season with the in form striker Josh Morris netting a winner half way through the second half.


Scottish Championship
August 2017

With a win, a draw and a loss under our belts, its no surprise that we find ourselves snugly in the middle of the table. We're desperate to try and hang on to this safety in the league and with a long way to go until the end of the season we've still got it all to do before we can enjoy mid table obscurity.

 

[DerbyJack]

2nd September 2017
Scottish Championship

We pick up our second victory on the bounce with another well earned victory against our fellow relegation rivals with Bradley Wright-Phillips picking up his first goal of the season as he puts the finishing gloss on a solid display on the road.


5th September 2017
Scottish Championship

Our winning streak runs out of juice pretty quickly after a sensational game against Stenhousemuir that sees nine goals scored in the space of just one hour. Despite our best efforts we were always on the back foot and despite Josh Morris's continued efforts we couldn't turn around our poor home form.


9th September 2017
Ramsdens Challenge Cup - Third Round

Despite holding out slim hopes of adding to our tiny trophy collection we couldn't make it past Championship heavyweights Falkirk as our woeful record in front of the Borderers faithful continues, with a late breakthrough seeing us crash out of the competition. I'm starting to wonder how we won it in the first place.


16th September 2017
Scottish Championship

A point at home and a very welcome one. Raith are one tough team to break down and have become a stubborn force in the league but a Swinglehurst header saw him gain his first of his spell at Berwick and helped us to cling on to the game as we struggled to hold off a seemingly rampant Raith.


23rd September 2017
Scottish Championship

Aberdeen are the favourites this season and despite being given a run for their money late in the game, The Dons always looked comfortable against us, however it was still an encouraging display with even the red card magnet, Aaron Hayden making it out of the referees book and onto the scoresheet following his return from suspension.


30th September 2017
Scottish Championship

Its been a very long time since we've found the back of the net five times in the league, our ruthless days in League Two seem well behind us now but we brought back part of the glory days with Josh Morris again leading the charge with a clinical hat-trick and Wright-Philips netting his second of the season as we destroyed Ross County in style.



Scottish Championship
September 2017

The striker just cant stop of late. Being the only Scotsman in the team makes his days in the team numbered but whilst hes here, he's certainly making a name for himself. With Emile Heskey and Wright-Philips partnering upfront its a surprise for the only player from the original squad I took over to still be taking the limelight.

We move up just one position but in such a small league that's already sent dreams of a playoff push and promotion rushing through Berwick however we're keeping our feet firmly planted on the ground, we're on course and no more, long may it continue.

 

[DerbyJack]

7th October 2017
Scottish Championship

Cowdenbeath have developed some kind of bitter rivalry with us and the manager is keen to enter into a war of words, however he proved to have the backing of a strong team as a blistering start to the game saw former Berwick striker Darren Lavery cap Cowdenbeaths comeback after just four minutes and they duly saw out the rest of the game to take the spoils.


21st October 2017
Scottish Championship

They're not messing around this season and Dunfermline are well on course to make a strong claim for a promotion spot but once again we proved to be a tough obstacle on their route to the top flight, this time picking up a well earned point on the road.


28th October 2017
Scottish Championship

Falkirk where favourites for the top spot this season, yet they find themselves joining us in the middle of the pack and having gifted us a point with a sloppy own goal its easy to see why they've never quite made their push back into the Premier League five season since their exit.


October 2017
Scottish Championship

We're going all out to try and make something from this season but following a tricky month we find ourselves in unwelcome territory. With Brechin and Hamilton already cut away from the pack its fair to say we're not in any real danger but we need to up our game to stay comfortable for the remainder of the season.

 

[DerbyJack]

4th November 2017
Scottish Cup - Third Round

Our final chance at making an impact in the knock out cup competitions comes in the form of Scottish Cup and following an end to end game against Morton we came out eventual winners with Summer signing Wright-Philips taking the plaudits with a neat brace that broke the League One side.


8th November 2017
Scottish Championship

Stenhousemuir proved to be a bit of a handful earlier in the season but this time we were not going to let them be so fortunate running out four goal winners and only slipping up from an otherwise perfect game in the final five minutes as we conceded a conciliation goal.


11th November 2017
Scottish Championship

Wright-Phillips is hitting some fine form at the minute and a stunning hat-trick stunned lowly Hamilton as we cruised to victory in style, with our three man defence managing to keep a tidy clean sheet. An important victory that pushes us further away from the dreaded relegation zone.


25th November 2017
Scottish Championship

Four goal victors one day and defeated the next, with Brechin this time making sure that we completely avoid any kind of form. Having distanced ourselves from Hamilton, we've gifted Brechin with a much needed lifeline, with the Borderers only hoping this defeat doesn't come back to haunt them.


29th November 2017
Scottish Championship

Back to winning ways as we continue to defy the odds against the Leagues bigger teams, this time putting the pretenders Raith to the sword with a late Emile Heskey goal giving us just enough to return down south with all three points.


November 2017
Scottish Championship

Out strikers are back to being the key players in our team, as the three man strike force prove to be a lethal group this season, guiding us towards three victories, with Scottish striker Josh Morris once again showing Heskey and Wright-Phillips that he has earned his place at the head of our attack.

Not seen one of these in a while but its a welcome addition. The strikers have fired me to this award, the key to the season however lies in how we can keep them scoring throughout the rest of the season.

From the edge of the relegation zone to the borders of the play-off zone and just a solitary point away from breaking into the top four. Its already shaping up to be a mixed bag of a season, it only remains to be seen how we fair come the end of it.

 

[DerbyJack]

2nd December 2017
Scottish Cup - Fourth Round

Our rivalry with Cowdenbeath continues to grow and this time we walked away on the high ground courtesy of Josh Morris netting another goal that helps guide us into the next round. Our chances are slim of making it far in the cup but its another potential boost to our flagging finances


9th December 2017
Scottish Championship

The Dons are desperate to break out of this league and by all means they've been making a fine attempt at it, however a trip to the in form Borderers at Shielfield Park saw Aberdeen limp back up North with their tales between their legs thanks to an efficient display from the Wee Rangers...and a red card.


16th December 2017
Scottish Championship

Having knocked them out the cup we continued to pile the misery on Cowdenbeath as Wright-Philips almost single handedly destroyed them, striking late in the first and second half to secure a well earned hat-trick. In this form the former New York Red Bulls striker is simply flawless.


19th December 2017
Scottish Championship

Its becoming a season to forget for County, having started the season as outside contenders for promotion they find themselves keeping unwelcome company at the bottom of the table and Josh Morris was keen to see them make it a long stay with another brace to his growing tally.


23rd December 2017
Scottish Championship

Our winning streak comes to an end but in creditable fashion as we secure a draw against a Dunfermline side keen to ensure Aberdeen don't make light work of the Championship. Bradley Wright-Phillips again nets a well taken goal but its defender Swinglehurst who will make the highlights reel, netting a diving header from a well worked corner to secure the point.


26th December 2017
Scottish Championship

Another tough test for the Borderers and once again we proved to be more then enough to match it, as we again stopped Falkirk in their tracks courtesy of left midfielder, Lee Molyneux's first goal of the season, soon after the break to increase our claim to a spot in the playoffs.


30th December 2017
Scottish Championship

We round off a remarkable month with another well worked victory. We've had mixed fortunes against Stenhousemuir over the course of the season but an early goal from defender Gillesphey gave us the perfect start to a narrow victory that see's us beat our points tally for the previous season already.


December 2017
Scottish Championship

Its beginning to feel like we might have cracked this league but if there's one thing we've taken from the last few seasons, its that in such a tight and ruthless league nothing can be taken for granted but at the half way point I'm certainly starting to dream of Premier League football.

We're pushing them all now as we sail to the highest ever league position in Berwicks long history. Its certainly looking tight in the playoff spots and with Aberdeen already seemingly well ahead of the chasing pack its going to be a nervy second half to the season.

 

[DerbyJack]

The January transfer window has been a bit of a missed opportunity for Berwick Rangers thus far and once again we stuck to tradition.

We do actually make some changes this season, with defensive duo Oli Monguel and Thomas Gardiner both making a return to the English football league moving to Hereford and FC Halifax respectively. Neither player made much of an impact to our team and when first team football came a knocking they were quick to request a move further south.


With the squad already looking thin on the ground we again were left to watch as the transfer window vanished infront of us without being able to make a single signing, however we did managed to add some depth to the squad following a promising Youth trial.

Not since Jordan Armstrong and Lee Armstrong some four years ago, has such a promising player emerged from our youth team but eighteen year old, Bob Halford has certainly got the people of Berwick talking. With some strong defensive abilities already under his belt he looks set for a strong career at Sheilfield Park, although that aggression could see him spend a lot of time in the referees book.

Joining him in the first team is midfielder Lee Hunt. Despite not quite possesing the same ready made technical abilities as Halford, he's more then ready to develop into a fine player with the natural fitness and work rate that could one day see him develop into an effective box to box midfielder at this level.

Neither will be making their first team starts for a while yet but with the team unable to find any form of signing in the transfer window, we've at least still got the youth setup to fall back on.​

 

[DerbyJack]

2nd January 2018
Scottish Championship

So we get things in 2019 off to a ba....whimper. Hamilton are fighting tooth and nail to avoid the drop and despite us knocking firmly on the door Academical where determined to make this one a dull affair for the travelling fans with a display of resilient defending.


6th January 2018
Scottish Championship

The year doesn't exactly seem to be gathering pace either, having been thwarted by lowly Hamilton were once again left frustrated following a toothless display against a bottom half team, as Brechin hold out to leave us once again travelling back down south with just a disappointing point four our efforts.


13th Januray 2018
Scottish Championship

We're not exactly turning things around at home either. Raith were hot on our heels before the turn of the new year but following our recent shyness in front of goal they gladly leap frogged over of us and they very nearly increased there lead except be it for an extremely late goal from Darren Sharp as we rescued another point.


20th January 2018
Scottish Championship

This year isn't exactly getting any better. League leaders Aberdeen are running away with it and a convincing victory showed that we weren't the team to put an end to there dominance with only a second half goal from Yoa being a slim consolation.


27th January 2018
Scottish Championship

Losing to Aberdeen wasn't entirely unexpected however an absolutely thrashing from Cowdenbeath certainly was. Like us Cowdenbeath find themselves now aiming for a play off spot and with a complete annihilation of our team at our own ground its clear that we're not looking likely to threaten any of the promotion hopefuls this season.


January 2018
Scottish Championship

Following a pretty disastrous start to the year, we've spiralled from second place in the league to outside of the play-off zone, picking up just three points throughout the entire month and now becoming outside runners for a return into the play-offs. It's going to be a tense run in towards the end of the season and we need a massive turn around in form.

 

[DerbyJack]

3rd February 2018
Scottish Championship

Five games into the year and we finally pick up a victory following a thrilling game against Ross County. A rapid start to the game saw our veteran English strikers Emile Heskey and Bradley Wright-Philips roar into life as we took it to Ross County and saw out a solid victory despite allowing Smith to run riot against our defence.


10th February 2018
Scottish Cup - Fifth Round

Patrick Thistle look set to join us in the Championship for the forth coming season following a disappointing season in the Premier League and following a fortunate escape in out fifth round clash its fairly easy to see why they're not set for much longer in the top flight.


14th February 2018
Scottish Cup - Firth Round - Replay

Despite running them close to the wire, we couldn't muster another performance slumping to a convincing defeat at the hands of Patrick and our final exit from the cup competitions for the season. We've not made much of an impact over the course of my career but we're certainly making more progress season by season.


17th February 2018
Scottish Championship

Back to the league and back to another defeat. An early red card for defender Gillesphey gave us little chance of holding off a promotion chasing Dunfermline side and with our own play-offs in the balance we watched helplessly as our rivals increased the distance between us and the chasing pack.


24th February 2018
Scottish Championship

Another rival for a place in the Premier League and another defeat. We've all but said goodbye to our hopes of making it into the top flight for the coming season, despite the fact that we're only just outside of the play-off positions, however on the back of these displays it would take a huge effort to dream of getting through the play-offs if we could make it.


February 2018
Scottish Championship

Just two points separate us from a remarkable 4th place in the league, with Raith and Cowdenbeath now joining us in what seems set to be a bitter battle to try and squeeze into the final play-off spot with the season drawing to a close.

 

[DerbyJack]

17th March 2018
Scottish Championship

Its hardly been the most upbeat of years thus far amassing just a solitary victory since the end of 2017 and a trip to lowly Stenhousemuir rubbed further salt into the wound as we succumbed to a loss, following a disappointing display that gifted them a two goal cushion in a lacklustre first half. We're all but set for another season in the Championship now.


20th March 2018
Scottish Championship

Having spared Stenhousemuir in there relegation battle, we fought back to restore our winning ways with a second half fight back against Hamilton. Having just clawed there way to safety Academicals season is all but over however a fortunate own goal might just have given our own a late revival.


31st March 2018
Scottish Championship

Brechin are all but resigned to their fate in League One in the forth coming season but once again we left it till a second half comeback to turn the game around and rescue all three points with Heskey and Wright-Philips again combining to help us on our way to a narrow but important victory in our fierce comeback to the playoff spots.


March 2018
Scottish Championship

Its going to be close. So very close. With just four games remaining of the season we can ill afford to make any more slip ups this late in the season, with the playoffs opening up to be a late free for all with four teams now vying to make a late break into the race or cling on to the last remaining spots.

 

[DerbyJack]

April 10th 2018
Scottish Championship

We're determined to try and salvage this season following our recent collapse in form from the turn of the year and a point rescued at the death from a fierce battle against The Dons gave our recent turn around another fortunate boost. The Dons are all but promoted but with Dunfermline hot on their heels the dropped points will cost them.


April 14th 2018
Scottish Championship

The deciding match of our entire season comes to a soggy afternoon in Raith and a decidely gloomy day has a similar result for the Borderers as our fellow playoff chasers steal the spoils furthering there advantage from the chasing pack and leaving their fate well and truly in their own hands, whilst we can only watch on and hope.


April 28th 2018
Scottish Championship

The previous result might have dented our hopes severley but once again a never say die attitude sweeps through the squad and a convincing victory courtesy of our three man strike force, leaves Codenbeath in our wake and might just leave us in with a narrow chance of taking something from an already productive season.


April 2018
Scottish Championship

Raith slipped up in their final game of the month throwing away the advantage they earned in thrashing us on their own ground and in what is a quickly becoming a theme for the end of the season we're once again back in with a shout. This season is certainly ending in some style.

 

[DerbyJack]

5th May 2018
Scottish Championship

So needing a victory in our final game of the season and for Raith to fall to a defeat, it all looked to be going according to plan, when after ten minutes Heskey opened the scoring with a driven effort. However Ross County were keen not to let us have any chance of escaping the league, coming back in a spirited second half effort to destroy our playoff dream and take the victory.


May 2018
Scottish Championship

As it happens Raith made no mistake rounding off their impressive season, securing the playoff spot in style. For Berwick however despite a record high position in the league we still end it feeling that slight disappointment that had we held our nerve through the early part of 2018 we could have found ourselves competing for a spot in the top flight.

 

[DerbyJack]

The highest finish in Berwicks long history and one that will long be remembered for the Borderers but despite this its still been one of slight disappointment as we narrowly missed out on the play-off spots.

​

2017/2018
Scottish Championship

​

Its been the best season in the entire history of Berwick Rangers and in humiliating fashion for a career supposedly showcasing the might of English football, its the last remaining Scottish player in the team that takes the Player of the Year award, following an incredible season in between the pairing of Heskey and Wright-Philips.

​

A mid table finish for the Borderers is a great achievement and having narrowly missed out on the playoff spots this season we're for once going into a season within the Championship full of hope and expectation, with The Berwick faithful now already talking about another potential promotion push. For those in the know however pushing on from this lofty high is not going to be quite so simple.

 

[DerbyJack]

Our highest league position ever in the history of Berwick Rangers once again has us reviewing the squad that managed to take us to these dizzying heights.

​

Another season down and another Scotsman leaves the team with just one player remaining from North of the border, clinical finisher Josh Morris.

The striker has been with us since day one of my career and having claimed the Player of the season award, it seems he's here for a while yet. The squad however has developed nicely with a fair number of our own Youth developed players now making up the core of our squad.

One massive gap in the end of season squad list however is the mighty Emile Heskey. The most clinical of all finishers has since retired from football bowing out having netted sixteen goals in forty nine matches. Lethal. Its up to the likes of Bradley Wright-Philips and Morris to step up and fill in for Ivanhoe.

 

[DerbyJack]

The backroom staff was seemingly set for a long future at Berwick however with a new season looming theres once again been changes behind the scenes at Shielfield Park.
​

Two former England internationals bid farewell to Berwick following their brief stay in Northumberland with both Owen Hargreaves and David Seaman refusing to extend contracts following a breakdown in negotiations leaving a rather large gap to fill.

​

We didn't waste anytime in bringing in the replacements though with former Tottenham Youth player and now unfortunatley a reality TV star, Mark Wright joining the ranks as a scout and the evergreen, Wes Brown taking up the reigns as assistant to the Youth team.

The duo are joined by a new chief scout, Rob Wesley and Leon Simpson both joining following a lacklustre career in the non league ranks but with plenty to prove amongst the legends in our backroom team.

 

[Dburnsdundeemad]

I'm back, took a bit of a break, looking forward to catching up on this since it's been a while since i last checked

 

[PL7]

Bump

 

[PL7]

How did you get all these legends in your database? They are not on mine?