1. David Gormley (Clyde)
Clyde forward David Gormely not only put in the performance of the weekend on Saturday, it was also the finest individual showing of the season – with four goals and an assist as Clyde trampled all over bogging Berwick Rangers at Shielfield. Admittedly, he was aided along the way, with some rank rotten goalkeeping and hilariously ship-shod defending contributing to his final tally, as Berwick shuffled to the bottom of the table after a derisory performance. Gormley became the first man to score four goals in a single game for Clyde since Gavin Masterton achieved the same feat in 1982. It’s interesting to see the pick-up in Gormley’s performances since Sean Higgins has been removed from the starting line-up. With Annan Athletic dropping points against Arbroath, Clyde now find themselves just three points off the top.
2. Leighton McIntosh (Peterhead)
It takes a special kind of team to lose 10-0, and within nine months, manage to produce a result which is even worse, so fair play to Cowdenbeath for achieving it. While the Hearts humping was considered Cowdenbeath’s most embarrassing result in recent years, that’s now been knocked off the top-spot by this Peterhead pumping. The Blue Toon eviscerated Colin Nish’s troops 7-0. Perhaps the biggest surprise was that Rory McAllister only helped himself to the one goal, with recently recalled front-man Leighton McIntosh staking a rare claim to be his regular foil in a performance that included a hat-trick and two assists. His second goal was probably the best value of the three as not only was it a calm, side-foot finish, it also featured a discombobulated-looking Pat Scullion falling over.
3. Willie Gibson (Dumbarton)
It’s not often that a player who is only on the park for twenty minutes or so could be considered one of the players of the week, but then Willie Gibson’s late cameo was no ordinary performance. In the space of nine quite incredible minutes, the Raith fans went from jovially cheering their team’s every move to decrying them as a bunch of useless tools. All thanks to Gibson, who tormented emergency right-back Lewis Toshney and contributed to all three Dumbarton goals, as they somehow fought back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3. He was also inches away from winning the match when his last-minute effort struck the inside of the post, which, if it had slithered in, would have seen at least 20 people spontaneously combust in the away end. Sterling stuff.
4. Dylan Easton (Elgin City)
For the second week in succession East Fife were involved in one of Scotland’s hum-dingiest fixtures. But unlike the previous weekend’s barn-burning 5-3 win over East Stirling, they were on the reverse of the scoreline this week, with Elgin top-trumping them by four goals to two. Dylan Easton was once again the stand-out with another performance which begs the question: “what on earth is he doing in League Two?” He didn’t take long to affect the game, with his clever reverse pass allowing Brian Cameron to open the scoring after just 38 seconds. He waded in for the third goal too, winning the free-kick from which Darryl McHardy bundled home. On this form, Easton looks a cut-above almost every other player at this level.
5. Kieran Gibbons (Livingston)
These are slightly disconcerting times for Rangers. Not only is the team lacking the zipidee-doo-dah which it harnessed in giant clumps at the start of the campaign, it would appear that while there is a Plan B of sorts, it merely involves bringing on Kenny Miller. It goes without saying this is far from ideal. On Saturday, it was Kieran Gibbons who did more than anyone to keep Livingston in the match, nullifying Nathan Oduwa in particular and generally coming out on top in the middle of the park. Only a few weeks ago, the same player was being criticised for his rather full-blooded approach at stopping Rangers from playing at Ibrox. On Saturday however, he decided that keeping opponents in his back pocket was preferable to kicking them as hard as he possibly could.
6. Jason Cummings (Hibernian)
With Rangers toiling at Livingston there were creeping fears amongst those of a Hibernian hue that their side were going to fail to capitalise with a rather stale, stodgy showing against a surprisingly resilient Alloa Athletic. However, with 30 minutes remaining, Wasps centre-half Dougie Hill inexplicably decided that just being a defender wasn’t for him, as he embarked on a prolonged dribble up the park. Unsurprisingly, this all ended in ignominy as he not only lost possession midway inside the Hibs half, Hibernian then exploited the massive Dougie Hill-shaped hole in the centre of defence to score the game’s only goal. He may still have had a lot to do after receiving the through ball but, with Cummings currently in the form of his life, you never had any doubt that he’d manage to tuck it away. Only goal difference now separates Rangers and Hibs at the top-of-the table. Talk of a title ding-dong now doesn’t appear quite so fanciful.
7. Bobby Linn (Arbroath)
Annan Athletic continue to sit astride the League Two table, but their lead has been somewhat diminished, after they squandered a two-goal cushion to draw 2-2 with the fish-smoking experts of Arbroath. Bobby Linn was the architect of the comeback, reducing the arrears just four minutes after Smart Osadolor had cheekily put Annan two up – after almost catching the ball to tee himself up. We’ll let him off though as we like him. Linn constantly gave the Annan defence a torrid time. And while his goal was a welcome one, he could – and possibly should – have had one or two more. The point keeps Arbroath off the bottom, but only just, with Berwick now assuming the position of the lowest of the low.
8. Ross Docherty (Ayr United)
With every passing week, Ayr United look more-and-more like the real deal -genuinely capable of a bonafide title tilt – as they ripped apart an inept Airdrie side 3-0. As ever, it was difficult to pick out the main highlight of Ayr’s excellent reel, with several clips to delight the senses. Airdrieonians goalkeeper, Neil Parry’s attempt at a goal-kick in the first-half must certainly be up there. An effort that was so poor it forced us to rewind and watch it again, just to see if he was wearing flippers instead of boots. Michael Donald’s goal in the final minute of the first-half was also pretty special, but the best part was surely man-of-the-match Ross Docherty’s double step-over, which should have led to the game’s opening goal in the early stages. Watch and admire, he’s some boy.
9. Alex Harris (Queen of the South)
For twenty-five minutes or so, it appeared that Falkirk were going to be putting even further distance between themselves and James Fowlers sixth placed Doonhamers team. Instead, Fowler, who is starting to face some difficult questions from the fans around his tenure, managed to regain some credit by shuffling his pack and putting two up front – after a period in which Falkirk should have been more than one to the good. This rejig saw Alex Harris handed a supporting role to the strikers, a change which he seemed to revel in. The on-loan Hibs man indulged in some old-fashioned wing play – something which has been missing from Queens’ season to date, along with a lot of other things. While Falkirk continue to look certs for the play-offs, the Doonhamers are locked in a titanic struggle with Raith and Morton to see who can be the most slightly-better-than-average side in the league.
10. Graeme Smith (Brechin City)
With Brechin City being part-time, it’s probably fair to say that their manager Darren Dods is fairly limited in what he can cram in to the twice-weekly training sessions. A bit of fitness work perhaps, defensive drills, set-piece training, that kind of stuff. You’d think he might bring up something in the way of tactics though – perhaps an opponent’s perceived weakness that they could exploit, or even their strengths that his players need to be aware of. At the very least, you’d expect him to have brought up where the game was being held. Surely to goodness? Well, if he did, goalkeeper Graeme Smith certainly wasn’t paying attention considering he turned up at Ochilview for a match that was taking place at Glebe Park. How he navigated the 83 miles to the correct venue is anyone’s guess. Ours is that illegal speeds were involved, unless he dodges about in a helicopter. But after arriving around 25 minutes before kick-off, he made it in the nick of time to play the custodian role in a 2-1 defeat. He also won a tiny wee trophy for his man-of-the-match award. So all’s well that ends well.