SEP 5: JUNIOR FOOTBALL TIPS

EVERY Saturday William Hill's Owen Scott and McBookie's Paul Petrie will do battle in the junior football challenge.

The dynamic duo will be putting up trebles every weekend and keeping a tally of their winnings. Last week there were no winners.

For those who don't know anything about junior football the level of the top clubs is equivalent or in some cases better than Scottish League 2 outfits and we can gauge that easier now with the champions of the three regions – North, East and West – qualifying to play in the William Hill Scottish Cup along with the Junior Cup winners.

The term “junior” has nothing to do with players' ages and it often confuses people outside Scotland. Some of the top clubs such as Auchinleck, Hurlford, Irvine Meadow and Linlithgow pay bigger wages than most League 1 and League 2 teams and therefore attract players who could be plying their trade at a higher level.

McBookie list all games online and take bets on every junior match while William Hill only take bets in shops. It's worth pointing out Ladbrokes list top-flight junior games in shops on their Totally Scotland coupon.

So that's a little education – and now for the tips.

Paul writes: In the East Region I am going to take a punt on Downfield to beat Thornton at 13-8. This game should have a bit of an edge to it considering Downfield lost out on the league title to Thornton following a points deduction and the home side will be pumped up to make a point. They had a great victory over Coupar Angus last weekend and look decent value at a big price.

In the West Region I will be backing Cumnock at 4-6 against Kilsyth. It was a shocker for them last week when they lost 4-0 to Greenock and they will want to prove that was a one off and get their title challenge back underway. Clydebank are now title favourites ahead of Cumnock but the Ayrshire side can't be as bad again game and despite a good win for Kilsyth last weekend the home men should be too strong.

Finally, in the North Region I like the look of East End to beat Longside at 1-1. They pulled off a shock win over Buchanhaven last weekend and I would be hopeful they can build on that against Longside. Both are 5-1 to win the title so on paper this should be a tight game and will tell us which one is going to be a more likely challenger at the top.

Paul's treble

Downfield
Cumnock
East End
Treble pays £87.50 to a £10 stake at McBookie

Owen writes: Well week one turned out to be just like every other week of last season as I didn't even get close to a treble. This weekend I'm sticking to the West Region as I aim to get off the mark.

I'm starting with Troon at 8-13 who will be on a massive high after reaching the first final of the season with a penalty win over Kilwinning in midweek. Today they face Kilbirnie who kicked off with a draw at home to Hurlford so this match will be no walkover for Troon but I reckon they will get all three points.

Kilwinning at 8-13 are my next pick as they take on Blantyre. The Buffs lost 5-1 away at Yoker last week but that was a one-off and they should bounce back.

Finally I'm on Hurlford at 1-2 as they play host to Beith. Both sides kicked off with a draw but Hurlford will be looking at this as a must win as they aim to take advantage of title rivals Auchinleck playing in the senior William Hill Scottish Cup.

The treble pays just under 3-1 but I'm wanting off the mark and into profit as soon as possible this season.

Owen's Treble

Troon
Kilbirnie
Hurlford
Treble pays £40 to a £10 stake at William Hill

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