The Edinburgh Reporter September 2024

By NIGEL DUNCAN

THE EDINBURGH AND

LOTHIANS COARSE

ANGLING CLUB’S

championship series is

nearing completion with

Geoff Lowe, the former

president, sitting at the top

of the table with 30 points.

New president, Darrin

Ferguson, is second with 29.

points with Jimmy Jones and

Bruce Lawrie joint third on 29

points.

Based on current

standings, it is now a

four-horse race for the title.

Ferguson is also in the

semi-final of the Knockout

Cup and he is in against

Lawrie while Rosalind

Cassidy faces Shug Smith in

the other.

The summer series in the

Bass Rock Shore Angling

League is also nearing

completion and Dunbar

angler Chris Empson won

round eight with six fish for

6lb 9oz.

Jamie McHale from Gifford

was second with three fish

for 6lb 5oz and he also

hooked the biggest fish in

the Dunbar Rover, at 2lb 1oz.

Graham Meadows from St

Boswells was third with two

fish for 1lb 7oz.

The club are also planning

a winter series which will run

every two weeks from the

autumn. Dates to be

confirmed later.

Elsewhere, Mike Kyle from

Easthouses in Midlothian

won the members shore

championship run by the

Scottish Federation of Sea

Anglers at the Cree Estuary in

Dumfries and Galloway with

15 fish.

David Neil from Ayr also

had 15 fish with David

Cooper from Edinburgh third

with 14 fish and Brian

Maxwell (Ayr) fourth on 11

fish.

Ian Campbell (Falkirk),

retail manager of the

Edinburgh Angling Centre,

was fifth with ten fish and

Bruce McLean, a Scotland

international, landed the

biggest fish, a 72cm

thornback.

Loganlea in The Pentland

Hills above Flotterstone

hosted an introduction to

fishing for youngsters and

nearly 20 attended for free

tuition and the organisers

said that a number of them

showed real potential.

23

Speedy Pickering

Dhanda will be “on the ball”

Seeking championship points

Aussie is outstanding

member of the

Monarchs’ squad

22 SPORT

By NIGEL DUNCAN

JOSH PICKERING claimed a sensational 20

points in a recent Cab Direct Championship

defeat suffered by the Stellar Monarchs

speedway team at Glasgow Allied Vehicles

Tigers.

The 27-year-old Aussie received shale-loads

of praise from his own bosses and even from

the opposition for his outstanding

performance, winning six of his seven rides and

only being beaten in his final outing by

opposition No 1, experienced Chris Harris, a

former Grand Prix racer and a three-time

British champion.

Indeed, Glasgow Tigers’ team manager, Cami

Brown, feels the man from Heddon Greta, New

South Wales, has been the best visitor to Tigers’

Ashfield Stadium this summer.

Brown added: “There’s little doubt that Josh

Pickering was different class. He has been the

best visitor to Ashfield this season by some

Hearts signing

Climbing coach

happy on the

sidelines

Smooth transition

for newest player

By BILL LOTHIAN

Edinburgh-born climbing coach Rachel

Carr had a ringside seat as Team GB’s

Toby Roberts struck gold at the Paris

Olympics

Even though Rachel (28) is young

enough to have taken part herself she

wouldn’t have had it any other way in

providing active support to Roberts,

Hamish McArthur, Erin McNeice and

Molly Thompson-Smith in the Le Bourget

Climbing Arena. She has previously

represented Great Britain and won a

variety of titles, and was one of four GB

coaches in Paris.

Rachel is currently head of a major

performance centre in Sheffield.

The former Royal High School pupil

said: “I think I am much better suited to

coaching.

“So, no regrets. To see what these

athletes do in nine hour days I would

have struggled, Also, they have so much

natural talent.

“As a coach I brought a realisation of

the things I couldn’t quite do, grips etc,

and use those experiences to work out

ways I can help others.”

By NIGEL DUNCAN

BLAIR SPITTAL was buzzing when he put

pen to paper for ambitious Hearts on a

three-year deal, and he continues to bed into

the side with competition for places now on a

real high.

Making sure he is on the team sheet

regularly is top of his personal agenda and, to

do that, he believes he must be on his game,

contributing in every training session, so he

catches the eye of the coaching team.

That, he feels, is the key to being successful

with Hearts, but the 28-year-old, Erskine-born

midfielder was under no illusions when he

moved across country to Gorgie from

Motherwell after 73 appearances and 15 goals.

You must, he said, be ready to grasp the

chance when it comes as expectations are high

for the Men in Maroon and he is acutely aware

that Steven Naismith, Hearts’ head coach, is

determined to build on last year’s

achievements, two cup semi-finals and third

place by a distance in the league.

You need to deal with those expectations,

according to Spittal, but becoming a regular

starter is what the former Queen’s Park,

Dundee United, Partick Thistle and Ross

County player is focused on and he is also

determined to play his part in helping his new

employers go the distance in major

competitions at home and abroad.

The European experience, meaning two

matches plus travel every week, will

test the resilience, strength and

By NIGEL DUNCAN

YAN DHANDA moved from Ross

County to Hearts in the summer

and is delighted to join a club

which is, what he called, a

possession-based team.

That’s how he wants to play and

the former England under-

international declared: “I want to

be on the ball and making things

happen.”

That will be music to the ears of

Jambos fans.

They are desperate to see their

men build on the success of last

season when the club claimed a

berth in two cup semi-finals and

finished a clear third in the league.

Progress was made. and head

coach Steven Naismith and his

coaching staff have added to the

squad since then, with Dhanda

one of the key men recruited.

Tipton-born Dhanda admitted

that Naismith’s attack-minded

attitude was important to his

decision to come to Tynecastle.

The player believes he can take

his game to another level with the

help of the head coach and his

staff.

The 25-year-old is also

determined to bring success to

the Men in Maroon.

Since arriving, he has had time

to gel with his team mates and he

enjoys in particular playing with

Jorge Grant.

Dahanda said: “He finds me

spaces that I pick up and he

knows what side to play me in

and how I like to play. I know that

when he’s on the ball his next

pass is probably going to be

to me.”

The stylish player has also

played for Swansea City and was a

youth player with West Bromwich

Albion and Liverpool in the past.

He added “The most important

thing is to believe how good we

are as players and as a team.

“We know we can get a result at

home, with the crowd behind us.”

At Tynecastle, he said, it feels

like the crowd is on top of the

players due to the close proximity

of the of the stands to the pitch.

The new midfielder said:

“That’s perfect for the fans to get

behind us. That is an advantage

to us.

“They can really give us that

extra ten per cent to push

us on.”

quality of the squad and could result in a

turnover in players, opening the door for some,

but that comes with the territory of aiming

high in domestic and European competitions.

The player said: “It has been really good

(being here). It has taken some time to get used

to, but I am enjoying it so far. Now, I’m looking

for the right opportunity to get some minutes

(on the pitch.”

Hearts were a winning team last season and

Spittal admitted: “I’ve had to be a wee bit

patient and, at the same time, take each day to

learn what I can about my new team-mates.

“I have played a number of positions and I

have been versatile (in the past), but it is about

learning a certain style of football (here).”

He firmly believes that he will complete the

style transition and make his mark, but Spittal

admitted: “You can see the quality they have in

the squad.”

The talented player arrived in mid-June after

a productive season at Fir Park, 13 goals in all

competitions and second in assists in the

Premiership with 11, and he said: “In the

position I play in you are judged by numbers.

Last season was a really good one for myself

and I am looking to carry that on. Coming

here, it is a massive club and it has been a

Blair Spittal

David Mollison

Monarchs on the go

Geoff weighs in

Josh

Pickering

Yan Dhanda

margin.”

Praise indeed, for a fierce rival. 

Sadly, with Justin Sedgmen missing through

injury, Picking’s eye-catching haul failed to

earn Monarchs valuable points on the night as

the visitors did not have sufficient back-up.

Glasgow’s squad all contributed, which was

key in that match and crucial to overall success

for all teams who crave success in the Cab

Direct Championship.

Pickering, who started his British career with

Edinburgh in 2017, currently averages over

nine points a match with Sedgmen second best

with nearly eight and captain Paco Castagna

next best with Kye Thomson also over seven.

Lasse Fredriksen averages over five with

Connor Coles three and Max James one so it is

not hard to see where improvement needs to be

made.

The club have already been counted out of

the end-of-season play-offs and the ambition

now is to lift the club off the bottom and finish

as high up the table as they can before the end

of the season. It has not been pleasant for

diehard fans to look at the table in print or on

social media in recent months to see the

Monarchs propping up the rest.

At least, the club still have silverware

ambitions and have something to aim for as a

disappointing season comes to a close.

They square-up to Scunthorpe Scorpions in

the BSN Series, semi-final, with the first-leg at

Armadale in late August followed by the return

at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday 6

September at 7.30pm.

Pickering’s contribution will be key. The

former League Championship winner with

Sheffield in 2023 he will undoubtedly look for

his team-mates to step-up when it matters.

Josh

Pickering

Purple is the new green

By JOHN HISLOP

HIBS’ NEW PURPLE and

green striped third kit is

popular with supporters.

Hundreds of replica shirts

are worn on match days at

Easter Road. The strip was

inspired by the popular 1994

design and made its debut in

the Women’s victory over

Partick Thistle last month,

after which the men wore it

against Celtic in the league

cup tie at Parkhead a week

later. No-one knows for

certain the link between Hibs

and the colour but players

first wore a purple shirt in a

European Cup Winners Cup

tie against Sporting Club de

Portugal, (Sporting Lisbon)

on 13 September 1972. The

first leg was played at

the José Alvalade Stadium in

Lisbon the jersey worn for

the game was an exact

replica of the home shirt

except instead of green, the

top was coloured purple

with white sleeves, much to

the surprise of the small

band of travelling supporters

in the huge 100,000 crowd.  

The reason for choosing

purple was never explained

although the rumour at the

time was that it was

Chairman Tom Hart’s wife

Sheila’s a double from Alan

Gordon and an own goal.

favourite colour. The

Portuguese side scored

twice but a wonderful goal

from Arthur Duncan gave

Eddie Turnbull confidence

for the return leg. The

confidence was more than

justified as two weeks later

in front of 26,000 fans

at Easter Road, and playing

in an all green top for the

occasion, Hibs ran riot and

defeated Sporting 6-1 with a

Jimmy O’Rourke hat trick.

That confidence was

more than justified

because two weeks later in

front of 26,000 fans at

Easter Road, and playing in

an all green top for the

occasion, Hibs ran riot and

defeated Sporting 6-1 with

a Jimmy O’Rourke hat trick,

a double from Alan Gordon

and an own goal.

Third team kit